books read: 2024 april

[meitachi]

Keeping track of the year through the F1 schedule: Miami was a good weekend, dramatic and interesting and good for me personally (VCARB points, livery) even if annoying at times (McLaren).

We enter May and I've officially removed all AST emails and such from my phone! I live in ignorant bliss now while I continue with the job application and interview process, and work on home improvements and logistics around listing/moving. There's a lot of social meetings in between, with a lot of gratitude for the fantastic people in our lives, and a sense of restlessness leading up to the Alaska cruise because I keep feeling like I should be "doing something". (Things are being done! I need to be chill in the downtime. Read my damn books.)

Anyhow, read a lot in April's spare time. Let's try for the same in May.

1. A Stepmother's Märchen Vol 1 by spice&kitty - Picked up this webtoon/graphic novel from the library. The art is pretty (though I still like Villains Are Destined to Die) more in terms of hair and dresses). It is fake Germany! Time travel where I'm supposed to think this sixteen-year-old who married an old dude is a political mastermind and also a caring stepmother! I don't get it.



2. How to Carry Water: Selected Poems by Lucille Clifton - Beautiful poetry, and very self-referential to her life.



3. The Understory by Saneh Sangsuk - Translated from Thai very much in the tradition of oral storytelling. with some gruesome man-eating tigers. A little dense to get into to start, but there's action aplenty near the end.



4. Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber - (Broken Hearts Trilogy #1) Loaned to me from a friend, a classic of the romantasy genre, I think? It was, well, the worldbuilding felt very 'pastede on yey'. It would make for a beautiful webtoon/graphic novel, but I did not find the characters or the plot particularly compelling!



5. The Manicurist's Daughter by Susan Lieu - Fantastic memoir from a Vietnamese American who lost her mother at 11 after a botched tummy tuck. Touches on the immigrant story, the mother-daughter relationship, feminism and self-image, broader family issues, more. Quite interesting and compelling.



6. The Price of Humanity: How Philanthropy Went Wrong—And How to Fix It by Amy Schiller - Felt like this book was tailor-made for me! Examining the overall problem with philanthropy today while making a case for why a different type of philanthropy has merit (for things that improve public life/good). A combination of philosophical, economic, and social arguments for and against. Ugh, nonprofit fundraising is totally fucked these days.



7. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman - Essentially, kind of fucked up people and their difficult, complex relationships in one apartment building, but told whimsically through the lens of fairy tales as shared between an eight-year-old and her grandmother. There is underlying heart and charm, but I was also distracted by the constant pop culture references (through the lens of the 8 y/o protagonist, so appropriate, but distracting nonetheless).



8. Aunty Lee's Deadly Specials by Ovidia Yu - (Singaporean Mystery #2) Generally still an enjoyable series that makes me hungry! I feel like the characters are the right amount of annoying and likeable to make it work.



9. A Stepmother's Märchen Vol 2 by spice&kitty - I kept reading this series but why...I will not enjoy the eventual romance and am not invested in the supposed grander political plot.



10. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb - A memoir from a therapist about going through therapy herself, and it's interesting to see both sides of her practice. A bit meta as she tried to psychoanalyze herself and her own behavior with her therapist! Overall a good read and insightful about how therapy works (differently for different people).



11. The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson - A kind of unrealistic but feel good story about the people who change your life, and trying to reconnect to the past (and when it is serving as avoidance when facing an uncertain future). Fairly predictable in plot and characters, but overall sweet.



12. The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo - (Detective Kindachi #6) Historial Japanese murder mystery. Very gruesome! Learned a lot about random Japanese culture, including chrysanthemum dolls, which are pretty creepy ngl. Overall fun and violent, with a setting of time and place that feels tangible and relevant.



13. Small Gods by Terry Pratchett - A delightful reread; I love Om the tortoise. Made me think a lot about current events and the current state of how we treat religion as justification for a lot war, however. Never quite so easily resolved as in the books. (Similar thoughts when rereading Jingo.)



14. Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier by Arthur C. Brooks - I enjoyed Brooks' columns on happiness in The Atlantic, but the book didn't really cover much new ground, and overall felt much more schlocky and self-help in long-form. Especially with random Oprah inserts. Strongest chapters for me were on work and friends, while the family and faith sections made a lot of assumptions about what is morally right/good without understanding the vast breadth of experiences that might add complicating nuances to their broad statements. Small c-conservative views I don't agree with, even if I largely agree about the importance of some kind of spirituality (nature!) and idea/sense of family being essential and and anchoring in life.

Comments

[superborb]

Whoo! Best of luck with your move!