Another beguiling and gorgeous book from Neil Gaiman.

I enjoyed the fairy tale style and illustrations. I love the protagonist and her troop of Dwarves.

There is also a slight creepiness or darkness to Gaiman’s works which is really nice. It’s not over the top most of time and raises the stakes and suspense level. It makes it oddly realistic in a fantasy work.

It’s always a pleasure to read a Gaiman book.

Read October 17, 2015.

When reading this book, I saw the weaknesses with some of Rowling’s writing. Notably her overuse of certain words (in this case, I counted “salubrious” twice early on) and plot holes. I think her editor could have caught a couple of things. Though I do wonder because with big name authors, editors seem to be less open to suggesting things. In any case, these are minor quibbles.

The mystery was fine. I had an idea who the killer was early on, but Rowling kept throwing lots of red herrings on the way to throw me off. I am noticing that fame and envy are big themes in this series. Cormoran’s own life has themes of these with his family history and his relationship history.

I would like Cormoran more as a character even he did not spend so much time thinking about Charlotte. I don’t like the idea of Charlotte or any character whose primary physical appearance is “beautiful” or so attractive that she made heads turn. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I’m irked by Charlotte’s behavior. Thankfully she does not show up in this book at all and Cormoran shows more character development by getting over her.

I do like the supporting cast a lot and not just Robin. I like Cormoran’s childhood friends and his brother Al. I like Cormoran more when they are around them too. I can only take so much of the anti-hero stuff.

Looking forward to the next book.

Read September 27-29, 2015.

This novel was okay. I did not hate it, but I did not think it was a credit to Agatha Chistie or a particularly great mystery.

Poirot is not quite Poirot. The character felt a bit forced, but I could overlook that. I had more issues with Detective Catchpool who is insecure, inept and I suspect, deeply repressed in some way. I found the character a very poor narrator and simply annoying. He never spoke up. He never wanted to trust in Poirot even though Poirot is well respected and well known. He seemed surprised Poirot was right. I do not how the author could make such a bad detective character. Christie’s novels have good police detectives who are great friends with Poirot and don’t display Catchpool’s incessant anxiety about his work and value. The ending suggested that the author would like to write more about the bumbling Catchpool which I will not partake in reading.

The mystery was alright until it became ridiculously convoluted. At the ending and resolution, I was trying to figure out why there so many random puzzle pieces. It made me miss Christie’s cleaner denouements and closing acts wherein all the facts were laid bare, but without all the extraneous details. Clever, but not cumbersome or padded.

The lesson here is that I need to read much more of Christie before I consider reading another of these adapted works.

Read September 17-18, 2015

This was a lovely novel. I finally found a Tóibín work I adore.

Set in the 1950s, the novel follows an Irish girl as she emigrates to Brooklyn, away from her family and friends. The prose is simple. The characters lightly drawn, but not overly simplistic. The period details were evocative. The themes were classic.

I related to a lot of this novel. Like the protagonist Eilis, I made a journey across an ocean to a place I’d never been, without family or friends, and it took me awhile to adjust. I experienced homesickness in a different way because I do not have siblings, and I chose to move away in away that Eilis did not. Still, living in a new place among st strangers and a different culture will always affect you.

Also like the protagonist, I fell in love for the first time when I went away and the moments Eilis shared with Tony reminded me of those times. It really brought me back. Eilis’s mother also reminded me of my own parents which was unnerving. I find the story very realistic to anyone who has been an immigrant before.

I read this novel in anticipation of the upcoming movie starring Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, and Domhnall Gleeson with an adapted screenplay by Nick Hornby. I knew the general story based on the trailer and this is a love triangle though it’s obvious what Eilis will do however tempting it is. I’m excited for the movie not only because I enjoyed the book. I adore Ronan and think she’s my curent favourite ingenue actress. She’s talented and beautiful. I have a crush on Gleeson, but I know his part will be small. My penchant for Hornby’s work has been documented on this blog before. I think he’s the right author to adapt this work.

All in all, a satisfied book experience in anticipation with what will probably be a satisfied film one.

Read September 6-7, 2015.

I like Bill Bryson’s writing. I like history. I didn’t really like this book.

Certain sections and certain figures were interesting, but the design of the book was disjointed. It moved from one thing to another. I actually like when Bryson writes like this and it works in his memoirs and his previous nonfiction works, but the restrictive timeline of this book limited the topics.

I was really bored during certain sections and found it slow going. I only finished it because after a boring section, it would become mildly interesting again. After the half way point, I decided to just finish it. It was well researched. However, I really have to consider each new Bryson books more thoroughly from now on.

Read August 15-September 6, 2015.

One reviewer on GoodReads called this Kate Middleton fanfiction.

It really is and I don’t even like Kate Middleton. I picked this up from the library Express/popular reads. I have not done that in a long time. I’ve been very behind on my reading this year and have too many books already. I picked up this book for two reasons. First, it was chicklit and I haven’t read that in a long time. I thought it would help me back on the reading horse. Secondly, the authors are the Fug Girls. That cinched it.

I have a lot of fanfiction in the past, but this kind of author self-insertion fanfiction is not something I’ve been keen on. While all the names have been changed, it was still very easy to picture all the real life characters. I think there were a good amount of characters and dialogue for this kind of novel. Prince Nick was a tad too generic romantic hero at times. Then again, that was in line with who he was based on.

This novel was addictive at times. It had enough drama, character moments, and plot twists to keep me reading. I liked the moments between Bex the protagonist and her sister. I found the whole love triangle bit realistic in a complicated way. The ending was a bit rushed though. As a former London dweller, I adored the references to various streets and buildings. However, it also didn’t feel like the authors had actually lived there. Still not a bad research for a chick lit novel.

All in all, a nice quick read. I enjoyed it. For the record, I am a Freddie girl. 🙂

Read September 3-5, 2015.

Even though I am a perpetually single person, I find reading books about relationships and romance interesting from a sociological and psychological point of view.

This is one of the most well known of relationship self-help books and I knew most of the concept of it by reading the author’s website awhile back. This book was very easy to read which is probably one of the reasons it was so popular. The book also has a very Christian
bent which is something that I did not need. I think the themes in the book are rather universal for couples.

I noticed some of the advise in the book came natural to me. For example, the idea that people should write their feelings at various times and places in their day as a way to help them express their feelings. As an uberintrospective person, I do this naturally, but it’s a good technique for those who are not analytical or whom assess their relationship often.

A couple of lines from the book that I felted echoed with my own experience of relationships (romantic or otherwise: “Being sincere is not enough.” and “Love is a choice and cannot be coerced.” I think both are things that fairy tale movies do not necessarily tell you.

Reading the book confirmed my “love language”. My rankings:

1. Quality Time
2. Acts of Service
3. Words of Affirmation
4. Physical Touch
5. Receiving Gifts

At first, I felt like Words would above Acts, but if I look at my own childhood, Acts is more important for me. I grew up in a culture where my parents did not verbally tell me they loved me nor would they compliment me. As I grew older, I knew and appreciated that they loved me through their acts of service.

Overall, I think this book reaffirms what most relationship and psychology experts think is the best way of maintaining a long term relationship: kindness and generosity. The Atlantic had an article about this specifically last year. I feel like reading that article more or less was the same as reading this book.

Read July 11, 2015.

This book took me a bit longer to read. I kept putting it off for other books and had to return it to the library twice. In the end, I finished it on the Kindle. As a typical introvert, I’ve wanted to read this book for awhile, but I didn’t get into it easily. The more I read this book, the more I related to it. Continue reading →

A funny and light autobiography. I actually read this book straight through rather than choose any choices as I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything. While not completely linear, going by the actual page numbers was fine. NPH and the book publisher made it relatively cohesive if you read it straight through.

I laughed a couple of times which is all one can really ask for from a biographic work of an actor known for comedy.

Content wise, I was amused by the celebrity gossip and most of the stuff did not shock me. I like NPH, but I didn’t really start to know him until “How I Met Your Mother”. I enjoyed that show in its early years (not so much later). Harris’s insight on the show tickled me because he addresses how he himself loved the Robin character and engineered it so that Barney and Robin would get together. I was a Barney/Robin shipper because I saw the attempts at chemistry. I’m glad it was intentional.

All in all, a night and frothy cocktail of a memoirs.

Read June 16-17, 2015.

This is a small book on tidying, organising and minimalizing in life.

As with many people, I like stuff. I would say I am a collector too. I have small collections of pens, agendas, writing paraphernalia, bags, clothing, and of course, books. I like to think that I have decent self-control with shopping and finances too. I do love a good deal. I love window shopping and I routinely even put things back in the store. I am not particularly dirty or particularly organised. Everything could be better so I dabble in minimalism by reading such topics and books.

There are lots of nice tips in this book that spoke to me. I think on the whole, it addresses the issue that people will and do get attached to things and objects, but they must serve an emotional and practical purpose. This is why Kondo recommends people asking “Does this spark joy?” and actually talking to the item. I discard clothes more easily through donation and take the same perspective as well. I also try to do the vertical folding method, but it can become inconsistent.

The book reminded me to not buy if I didn’t need it. There were good tips about having a closet for each person in the household. I also appreciated the sentiment how parents find it difficult to see their children discarding things. Most of the things I use less frequently, files, books, out of season clothing, and more are at my parents’ place. When I tried to donate some clothing from there, my mother said I shouldn’t and got anxious about it.

I still need to clean my own one bedroom flat. I am lucky to have two closets. I don’t think I could do all that Kondo recommends for my current situation and life, but I can definitely use the philosophy behind it.

After reading the book, I read the Good Reads reviews and was surprised by how many people hated it. In fact, many called Kondo “crazy” or “insane”. I guess it’s the kind of book that you either understand or don’t. I think a lot of the negative reviews took Kondo’s method too literally and they also didn’t exactly understand her lifestyle or Japanese mentality and culture. I think this book is very Japanese and Eastern. I would even venture to say that the method is very spiritual. Kondo talks about her own experiences working as a Shinto temple maiden and the idea of respecting your possessions and imbuing them with energy aligns to many Eastern religions which emphasize minimalism and energy. She emphasizes the present day as well when evaluating items which is important to Buddhist philosophy of living in the moment.

Personally, I can take many of these tips to my own life. I hope to keep a copy of the book with me so I can review it in the future. I look forward to evaluating my items in my next clean-up.

This is a quick tips list of Kondo’s method on Today.com.

Read June 15, 2015.

The last couple of Hornby novels were starting to confirm that I loved Hornby’s non-fiction writings more than his novels. This novel reminded me why I keep reading Hornby’s fiction.

This novel was delightful, snappy, and full of distinct characters. I really enjoyed the dialogue and the pacing. The novel is about the cast and crew of a 1960s British sitcom, and there were just enough period details to make it fun and believable.

I’ve been ruminating a lot on romantic relationships and there were characters and relationships in this novel in that same vein. There is a central romance, but it’s subtle and the man in love with the protagonist has a crush on her for years. He admitted he would be happy if he could just eat breakfast with her everyday for the rest of their lives. I thought there was a good emphasis on companionship, both romantic and platonic in this novel.

I am very glad Hornby seems to be really back in the novel game. While I didn’t dislike his last couple of novels, they were not as memorable for me. This one makes me more excited about reading all his works.

Read May 23-24, 2015.

I started this 1970 time travel novel on the day of “Mad Men”’s 7B premiere. This book does excel in its details about 1882 New York City. It was an interesting historical novel to read about 1970 as written by a writer of that time. It had some interesting moments about how someone would think about it. There was even a line about “seeing Negroes… and I prevented myself from going over there to tell them I had liked Martin Luther King Jr.”

The plot and characters were alright. Neither aspect was exceptional. I thought the protagonist and most of the characters were decently drawn out. I understood their motivations. At times, I was a bit irked that for a man trained by a government time travel programme, he made a number of historical gaffes in the past. The plot prodded along. I did no find it very compelling and not much actually happened until the last quarter.

I found the actual time travel method used in the book to be a bit silly. Maybe it was the style at the time, but there was no technology or magic involved. It was never explained in detail. The author just wanted the character to go back to 1882 more than anything.

The ending was interesting. I will no spoil it, but there is a paradox involved. It is not annoying because I think for the purposes of character and plot development, I liked the ending. However, if you have read or watched even a couple of time travel books, shows, and movies, you’d realize the paradox.

Not a bad novel. I recommend it to New Yorkers since if I lived there I’d love to find time and explore the city as the characters did.

Read April 5-6, 2015.