Posted on August 24, 2024 in Books
Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin, Aneesa Abbas Higgins (Translator)
A literary debut by a French Korean author. This was a short novel of 154 pages. My library did not have the original French version. I would have been curious to compare them even though my French is probably not good enough for literary analysis. Translation seemed good though. The book was strong on character work and setting which are my two pathways. The unnamed narrator was unmoored and became fascinated with a visiting French comic artist. They explored her seaside hometown of Sokcho in winter. No one was really likeable but the pacing was just right. If it were a longer novel, I’d have disliked it. There was an ambiguous ending. I do not generally like very ambiguous literary endings, but it did not feel too bad here. Nice short litfic to start off Women in Translation month. I like reading about winter in summer.
August 1-3, 2024. Started first few pages on Kobo Mini.
James by Percival Everett
Narrated by Dominic Hoffman. Audiobook listened and immersive reading for about 40% to of the book. A very hyped 2024 release that was recently long listed for the Booker. This was understandably a heavy book and normally, I would avoid it due to the content warnings. However, I really liked Jim from the Mark Twain novel and I hoped to get more from the character here. The Jim in this book different but still heroic and very compelling. This novel was like the best fan fiction. It was cathartic. The book does not really follow the original novel and there were a couple of melodramatic moments. I still think it was really well written and purgative. A gripping reimagining and historical fiction of an African American slave in the south.
Reflecting on James over a week later, I still do not regret reading it and even enjoyed it. However, there was a rape scene. On Storygraph, it was tagged as moderate. It was graphic enough for me. I reflected how I really do not wish to read about significant sexual assault content unless in some exceptional context. This prompted me to weed several TBR print books which included a lot of literary fiction award winners. I do not mind some dark topics and it is very subjective how each reader tags and rates content warnings. Overall, unless I am getting strong recommendations on some books, it’s better to take out the ones with content that I know will bother me. There are too many other books without it.
1.25-2.5x. August 3-4, 2024.
Posted on August 10, 2024 in Books
Here is New York by E.B. White
This was a nice essay and love letter to NYC. A good way to use my thrifted, upgraded Kobo mini.
July 19, 2024. Read on Kobo Mini.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Narrated by Elijah Wood. About 30% audiobook. Great narration. I did not like the Tom Sawyer book and after this book, I hate the little brat. This book was a big improvement. Huck was a much better character who had actual development. Jim was interesting and the real hero of this story. I am looking forward to reading Percival Everett’s James.
1.25-1.5x. July 19-26, 2024.
Foster by Claire Keegan
Beautiful, sad, and lovely novella. I adored Small Things Like These and this one may even be better for me personally. Keegan is deftly able to explore people and feelings in such a short amount of time and words. Extraordinary.
July 27-28, 2024. Read on Kobo Mini and Kobo Libra 2.
The Liszts by Kyo Maclear
Nicely illustrated children’s book about an eccentric family who make lists.
July 30, 2024.
Roaming by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki
Three Canadian nineteen year olds go to New York City. There is roaming and a lot of coming of age feelings. The Tamakis’ are good at capturing the adolescent and young adult vibes here. Even though the characters were moody and even annoying at times, they felt real for their age. The art was interesting as well.
July 30-31, 2024.
Posted on August 4, 2024 in Books
Audiobooks narrated by Nicolas Ralph. I listened to this nonfiction memoir series from February to June.
These books were wonderful. All five books were lovely. They were very cozy and relaxing. Ralph’s narration was excellent. I listened to them on Libby but will look into getting my own copies so I can relisten. I liked all the books but I found the last three most comforting. I preferred the small animal stories over the ones about cows. There were many funny stories. I did sometimes have second hand embarrassment and found some of the clients annoying. All in all very wholesome and lighthearted. Made for perfect audiobook listening before bed and any time of the day really.
“All Creatures Great and Small” 2020-Present TV Series
Four series/seasons have aired and we watched them from June to early July.
The new TV series changed a number of things and gave focus and arcs to the female characters. We found the show very well done. It was as cozy especially with the food and the knitwear. They even improved a couple of the sad stories from the books. I recently rewatched North and South, and Brian Percival who directed it (and worked a lot on Downton Abbey) also directed a lot of this series.
I see this TV adaptation as a fictional alternate reality to the memoirs which is almost as good as the memoirs in its own way. Looking forward to more series to come.