Year: 2019

Marcus Wareing is a Michelin starred London based chef. He is widely known on UK TV for judging “Masterchef: The Professionals”. I’ve been a fan of Wareing since watching him judge “Great British Menu”. Masterchef: The Pros is one of my absolute favourite TV programmes. Last year, I was lucky enough to dine at Marcus at the Berkeley. It was one of the best dining experiences. I hope to go back one day.

I was gifted a copy of this book and another of book by Wareing. Of the two books, this one is looked more informal which is why I read it first.

I started this as a bed time book last December and there many weeks (if not months) where I did not read it at all. I made a concerted effort to finish the last third which compromised of Entertaining (irrelevant for me) and Baking (more relevant but smaller section).

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This is a fictional graphic novel of an underrated artist from Singapore. The work charts the political history of Singapore from the second world war, through independence, and finally, its development as a first world city-state.

I was privileged enough to spend a week in Singapore last month. I really enjoyed my time there for a plethora of reasons. I found it fascinating and enlivening. When I got back, I tried to find some books to learn more about the country.

Since it is a graphic novel and faux memoirs, Sonny Liew uses various styles of comic art to convey history and time. It’s a very meta work. It also incorporates real people in Singapore’s leadership. I learned a lot about Singapore’s history and I’m sure most people would. The achievements of Lee Kuan Yew and PAP to create modern Singapore were not done without bloodshed. They removed and manipulated political opponents and the press. The book makes the reader reflect that while Singapore has changed rapidly in the last fifty years, there is a cost.

I found the book a little sad. I enjoyed the historical aspect and the subversive themes in the book; however, there wasn’t any character that I felt truly invested in. I was not moved by the character of Charlie Chan Hock Chye for some reason.

It’s an ambitious work and will be a classic of Singaporean literature.

Read August 21-22, 2019.

I have been reading Kinsella’s novels off and on for at least 16 years. I did read one of her most recent novels targeted for young adults. It was OK. After I Owe You One, I think I’ll be more cautious about picking up Kinsella’s novels for a very long time. I think I’m growing too old for her style and probably chick lit in general. I was never into chick lit that much any way.

This book had too many unlikeable, superficial characters. Most of them were described as painfully selfish, spoilt, or misogynistic. One of the characters is a narcissistic sociopath and conman. Kinsella has had some weird characters in her other books, but at least they were somewhat interesting or amusing.

The protagonist is nice and a tiny bit relatable, but Fixie (what a stupid name) is very insecure and a doormat for almost the whole book. It was incredibly frustrating to read the first person narrative of a woman who is so blind to be stuck on man (aforementioned sociopath) since she was 11 years old.

I thought the book would get easier because Kinsella usually sticks the landing. However, the beginning set up took too long and actually made me angry about how bloody entitled some of the characters were. I use to find some Kinsella’s characters eccentric, charming, or harmless. Most of those in this book are boring, asinine, or contemptible.

The ending itself is unremarkable. It was hard for me to be invested in any of the characters. Characters do change by the end, but the developments felt undeserved. They were drawn out without much depth from the beginning. Even if they were not as bad as the narrator described, as the reader, I can only judge what the author presents. This is not literary fiction where I should be questioning the narrative accuracy nor should I when reading this type of book. It shouldn’t irk me so much either.

In the past, I’ve found the London setting in these novels make me nostalgic especially when set around Christmas. There was not enough of London. I really couldn’t care anymore about the holiday details because I wanted to be finished with the novel.

I gave this two stars on GoodReads which makes it equal to the last book. It’s probably closer to 1.5 stars. It was a waste of a couple of hours, but I did finish it.

Two low rated books in a row make me a bit sad. Ahh well. Onwards to the next one.

Read August 20, 2019.

I bought two Eckhart Tolle books ten years ago in London. If these were library books, I would have given up on them.

This book had too many repetitive messages and the tone is a tad condescending. I was able to finish this book for a couple of reasons.

First, I started to read them in bed before sleeping. As mentioned in an earlier review, I have never been in the habit of reading in bed, but I wanted to start to fit more reading in my day. I would read about 15-30 mins before falling asleep. This was great before bed because it is boring and repetitive!

I can see why they were popular and bestsellers. Tolle’s messages and lessons aren’t inherently bad for me personally. I have been meditating more again and I have been open to spiritual or “New Age” books and messages. There were some meditation tips buried in this book, but that could be gleaned from other works too.

I thought the execution of this book didn’t work. Not only did he repeat things about being in the now, he kept using random teachings from other religions to reinforce this message. These interpretations are sometimes of dubious quality. Interpretation is interpretation except I didn’t see how he was better than other spiritual teachers. The book makes you think he is more enlightened than many others except I find it hard to believe sometimes based on how patronizing he can be.

A lot of this book wouldn’t work for most people either so I am surprised these books sold so many couples. I think the messages in the book are explained better by other books or even by going to certain free meditation courses. The best would be to discuss some cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) with a trained counselor or therapist as Tolle’s methodology is similar. He is very vague though about the details.

I will read my copy of The New Earth after this and I do not anticipate it being any better.

Started in 2009, but picked up again August 4-18, 2019.

The premise and theory behind this book is one that I have thought about and experience for most of my adult life. Even as a teenager frustrated with the education system, I began to realize that most jobs in the world are are bullshit.

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It’s taken me years to read this novel and it’s actually high demand at my library. I have a habit of taking out books several times before actually reading them. I could never renew this one beyond the three weeks because it was always on hold for someone else. I’ve probably taken it out at least a dozen times before finally reading it this week.

This is a very nice novel. When I first started, I had read this would be one of Murakami’s “simpler” and less weird works. After Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, I was looking forward to reading more of him. That novel had very little plot and only a couple of characters of note. It was also very surreal yet memorable in its imagery.

This one is more of a typical novel but it’s full of nice writing:

“With my eyes closed, I would touch a familiar book a nd draw its fragrance deep inside me.”

Not flowery pose, but lovely stuff none the less.

There are a lot of characters and personalities. It’s very slice of life. At times, this book felt like a collection of short stories. However, that mirrors life as well.

Here are some more funny lines from the novel that I enjoyed:

“Whenever I put on hard work, hippies and run-away kids would gather outside to dance and sniff paint thinner or just sir on the ground doing nothing in particular, and when I put on Tony Bennett, they would disappear.”

“The coffee I had with it tasted like boiled printer’s ink.”

I really like you, Midori. A lot.”
“How much is a lot?”
“Like a spring bear,” I said.
“A spring bear?” Midori looked up again. “What’s that all about? A spring bear.”
“You’re walking through a field all by yourself one day in spring, and this sweet little bear cub with velvet fur and shiny little eyes comes walking along. And he says to you, “Hi, there, little lady. Want to tumble with me?’ So you and the bear cub spend the whole day in each other’s arms, tumbling down this clover-covered hill. Nice, huh?”
“Yeah. Really nice.”
“That’s how much I like you.”

“How much do you love me?”
“Enough to melt all the tigers in the world to butter,” I said.

There are some very funny and genuinely sweet things in this book.

Speaking of being in love with two people:

“Things like that happen all the time in the great big world of ours. It’s like taking a boat out on a beautiful lake on a beautiful day and thinking both the sky and the lake are beautiful.”

This book has a lot more characters and it’s a lot more slice of life and book about growing up. A bit similar to Maugham’s Of Human Bondage in that way.

When I compare to this to Wind Up Bird Chronicle, I’m sort of in awe of Murakami’s range as a writer. He does have a probing and sometimes odd style, but these books show he can do a lot. Not many fiction writers have a range as wide as this. It makes me want to read more from him.

A very good read. I’ll likely try Kafka on the Shore next but I am not sure when.

Read August 6-9, 2019.

I am in a bit of a reading rut lately. I do find that reading about books and reading in general helps me ease back into reading more regularly. I have had this on my To Be Read list for awhile. It’s a lovely memoirs where each chapter is about a memory in the author’s life, a book, and a recipe to go along with it.

Since the author and I are almost exactly the same age, I have read most of the books in her childhood and adolescence chapters. I also liked the mix of recipes included which had lots of baking and savoury dishes too. As with all North American cookbooks, I wish there were actual metric weight ingredients.

This book in hardcover is lovely. Very think and bright paper. There are also some beautiful watercolour illustrations by a friend of Nicoletti’s. I really enjoyed reading it.

In an effort to read more and have good night time routine, I’ve taken to read more in the evenings. In the past and growing up, I have always read most of my fiction and lighter non fiction in less than 3 sittings. In recent years, I have struggled with this way of reading books because life has changed. As much as I prefer to read for days on end in the summer, I cannot. So I read this book in the evenings after dinner and before bed. I like incorporating reading in my pre-bed time routine, but it’s different. I am still trying to get use to it. I’ll see how it goes moving forward but I need to find ways to read more as my life changes.

Read July 28-Aug 1, 2019.

Intimate Strangers (06 07 2019) – Watched on a flight to South Korea. This is the Korean version of the Italian Perfect Strangers. I haven’t see the Italian version but I saw the French one a couple months ago. This was much better than the French one as they were able to walk the line with the black comedy better. It also felt a bit more honest and I really liked the cast. The ending about everyone having three lives: public, private, and secret was interesting and drove the message better.

Captain Marvel (06 07 2019) – Fun! I really liked Larson in this role. She possesses both charm, humour and kick ass strength. Everyone in the cast were great too. I really look forward to seeing more of Captain Marvel and she may become my favourite Avenger.

The LEGO Movie 2 (11 07 2019) – Another easy flight movie. Not as good as the first one, but I still like the world building. I no longer find Pratt as funny or endearing as when the first movie came out, but it was fun here.

Aquaman (11 07 2019) – This was not bad. I think everyone involved did a decent job. I found the plotting convoluted and overwrought. While I think Momoa generally has chemistry with most people, him and Heard (who is beautiful) was moderate, but not stellar. I’d watch a sequel if the reviews for it are decent.

Cruise of the Gods ( 27 07 2019) – My partner the Steve Coogan fan made me watch this but it was not bad. It’s a satire about celebrity cruises and fandoms. I find Brydon’s character too much of a jerk to be believable but this is a comedy after all. James Corden as sweet little Russell makes me wish we saw him in those kind of subtle roles again.

Always Be my Maybe (01 06 2019) – Very cute and funny. I liked a lot of the jokes and could relate to a lot of the character touches. Not all the jokes landed or the pacing at times, but it worked for me. I rewatched the Keanu Reeves intro scene a few times.

Madame de / The earrings of Madame de (07 06 2019) – Well shot with lovely visuals. An old French classic with a very romantic plot of affairs. It’s over the top romance that works because of Max Ophüls’s direction. It’s been awhile since I watched a black and white film, but this one reminded me of the lighting and shots that were so innovative back then. I enjoyed it and felt invested by the end. I watched it again with film critic commentary too.

Les Grandes Chaleurs / Heatwave (12 06 2019) – A Quebec film from 2009 which I got for Francois Arnaud from The Borgias a few years ago. This film is set in the Quebec City region which i visited in May again so I understood the area. It was a cute film but was a bit slow in parts.

La Pianiste / The Piano Teacher (12 06 2019) – This is one of those French films where there is a very repressed female protagonist. Erica is an unlikeable character with lots of issues. This is not an enjoyable film to watch but the direction and two leads did a good job.

Spider-man Far From Home (29 06 2019) – Watched this 3D abroad where it was not dubbed but maybe even slightly censored. I find 3D rather useless and it didn’t add to this film much. Watching with a non-english speaking audience was interesting as they didn’t find some things as funny but they found others hilarious. I don’t think this movie was as good as the first Marvel Spider-Man and it was predictable and too jokey in parts. I do like the main cast.

This is actually a literary magazine. It was a gift from a friend who said that I would enjoy it. I am not sure where she got it (maybe her own mother) since my friend is not as interested in literature like me.

This was definitely up my alley. The magazine is focused on books from the past, forgotten authors, or topics adjacent to book lover’s life. Most of the books covered in each quarterly is no longer being published or in active print. I really enjoyed the various articles. The magazine is easy to read as each article is about 4 pages.

This magazine and my recent trip has inspired me to go back to reading. I am very behind on my reading challenge this year and have not been reading as much. Other things have gotten in the way, but I am reminded that it is all about commitment.

Since I moved into to my current home over 1.5 year ago, I’ve found it difficult to carve time here for reading. This happened at my previous apartment as well, but I love my current home more to the point where I do other things but read. I will commit to booking time for reading for the rest of the summer.

A really good magazine. I am not in the position to subscribe, but I will check out their podcast and hope to find another opportunity to read the magazine again.

Started June 24, 2019. Finished July 21, 2019. I read it mostly in these two days.

For more information about Slightly Foxed, please visit their website here.

Volume 1 and Volume 2

I did not like the first volume. It felt disjointed and chaotic. There did not seem to be a lot of character development. I felt indifferent to most of the characters. This often happens with comics and graphic novels which is why I favour graphic novels with strong character work. As a result, I did not really care if the characters survived and the plot was rather loose too. The first irked me to the point where I almost didn’t read the second one.

I did like the second volume much more as it seemed to work on character backstory more. There definitely more moments of character development and relationships. I looked forward to the third volume and the TV series by the end of it.

Read Volume 1 on May 21, 2019. Read Volume 2 on May 24, 2019 in comic book reader file.

Umbrella Academy Season 1

For the most part, I liked season one. The music was good and the casting worked for the most part, but I found issues with certain characterizations and the length. The series was too long. I actually think this is a common problem with a lot of Netflix shows. The show would have benefitted from cutting some storylines much shorter and making this first season about eight episodes rather than ten.

Having said that, the show really took the characters and gave them some character development. I think casting worked well for the most part. I do think Allison could have received more character focus especially compared to her brothers and even Vanya. I did not like the addition of Leonard/Harold or so much extra stuff with the Cha Cha and Hazel. A little goes a long way with these kind of villains.

I am glad the show is renewed and it was a fun watch.

Watched June 2019.

Movies

Hail Caesar! (16 04 2019) – I remember seeing the trailer a couple years ago and looking forward to it but the reviews were not great so I put it off. The pacing in this movie is odd. It’s lacklustre and often times feels like a bunch of random scenes rather than a cohesive movie. I didn’t hate the movie but it did drag for the most of it. Good points is that every scene looks great. I love this era in the film and you can tell the Coen’s do too as they put effort in the look and of course the great casting. All in all, I still gave it a thumbs up on Netflix but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Bumblebee (24 04 2019) – Much better than anything Michael Bay could ever do. Sweet and easy popcorn flick. I hope the transformers franchise changes for the better.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (20 05 2019) – I needed to wash my brain after that GoT finale and see Emilia Clarke in a character with nuance. I put off watching this for awhile mostly because I knew it would be a decent popcorn flick. I watched it while doing chores, having lunch, and making Swedish cinnamon rolls. Maybe it’s because I knew going in that the movie had some weak areas, but I liked it. I thought it had a great cast and that everyone got to do something interesting.

The Death of Stalin (21 05 2019) – This is such an odd movie. It somehow manages to balance the inherent anxiety and fear of the time with black comedy. It’s very unique in its very dark themes and plot, but it is done well. Fantastic cast and acting. It is entertaining and thought provoking. While not completely historically accurate, it probably does capture the gist and spirit of history. A good watch.

TV

April:

The OA” – We started this late March/early April. We watched it slowly for about five episodes but I wanted to move ahead so I binged the rest of Part 1 and all of Part 2 around April 22. I really liked this show. Good acting, very well shot, but it has a very interesting premise and world building. It is very slow so I am wary to recommend it to anyone, but I enjoyed weird shows like this.
Line of Duty” Series 5 – Have not even seen series 1-4. I liked it and can see why it’s good, but some of these interrogation scenes were very long. End felt a bit dragged out.

May:

Game of Thrones” Season 8 – I don’t want to talk about it.