What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel (Translator), Ray Porter (Narrator)

I am still undecided about my views on Murakami as a novelist. I have read a couple of nonfiction articles by him. As a runner, I’ve wanted to read this book for awhile. This was very much a memoir about running. It was a very easy listen as it was short and the narrator did a great job of Murakami’s tone. I did not find anything revelatory in it. I have only recently gotten back to running after a couple years away. I have minor physical issues now which makes me a slower and more cautious runner than before. Even at my prime, I was not a marathoner or a runner like Murakami who was able to run daily and at great distances. I envied and I related to him because running is a fantastic sport especially for loners. I do think he was dismissive about people who walk on runs.

1-3-1.5x. Oct 12-13, 2024.

The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares, Jorge Luis Borges (Prologue), Ruth L.C. Simms (Translator), Suzanne Jill Levine (Introduction), Norah Borges de Torre (Illustrator)

A 1940 Argentinenan sci-fi novella. Pacing is fast and the tone is that of a psychological thriller. The protagonist is a fugitive on what he believed to be deserted island and soon becomes obsessed with a woman whom he sees. As I do not read a lot of thrillers or sci-fi, this was a nice change of pace to my other reads. It was short with a predictable twist but not badly written. I
found this recommendation on Instagram and now I know this is not to be my taste. This was fine.

Oct 13-14, 2024.

More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, Eric Ozawa (Translator)

The first book did not need a sequel and some people probably felt this was unecessary. I like the characters and the writing. There is a gentle and emotional tone. This second book was heavier as it dealt with grief. I appreciated the journey with the characters and got to know them better. I recommend the first book if you enjoy translated Japanese literature. This second book is a nice add on if you want a heavier yet hopeful conclusion.

October 16-17, 2024.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, Barbara Caruso (Narrator)

1.3x. My first Joan Didion. While I had this hardcover, I listened to it all on audiobook. The narrator did a great job. This collection of essays was known one of the best grief books in the last 20 years. Written in 2004 after her husband’s sudden death, Didion reflected on death and grief amidst a busy year. The essays shifted between memories of her husband, her present life with her sick daughter, and reflections and research about death. Didion wrote from an unemotonal tone which I found fascinating and also relatable at times from my own experience with sudden grief. I liked these essays and would read more from Didion.

October 14-17, 2024.

Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 1 Volume 4 and 5 by Suzuka (Artist), Miya Kazuki (Original Story), Quof (Translator)

I read these during the week as well. Not much to say other than I am still enjoying this manga!

A Witch’s Guide to Burning by Aminder Dhaliwal

A very good graphic novel about a young headstrong witch who was burned at the stake by her village. This graphic novel was very well illustrated but it felt more like a traditional novel than most of other graphic novels. There is a lot more text and in depth character and relationship work. I liked the themes of healing, time, and friendships.

October 7, 2024.

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

Narrated by the author. This is a book of feminist essays. It is specifically written about how mainstream white feminism overlooks the struggles of many women of colour. I was not the audience for this book. It’s written more to educate white feminists and even though I am not BIPOC, I was already more familiar with the topics covered. The essays were written from an anecdotal point of view rather than more research based.

1.5-1.75x. Oct 7-10, 2024.

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoughue, Tara Flynn (narrator)

Listened to a lot of this audiobook in tandem with the ebook. I adored the narration. Great job by the narrator.

This has been on my list since last year as it was buzzy even from Holly Gramazio who wrote The Husbands, the other contemporary novel which I adored earlier this year. After Colm Toibin’s Long Island and now this one, I should probably add “Irish people having messy relationships” to my wheelhouse. I really liked this book from the beginning and the ending was very satisfying that it shot up to being a novel that I adored. The book was set in 2009-2010 Ireland during the Great Recession. While I have different personality and background to the characters, I was the same age and a lot of this book resonated with me. The novel reminded me deeply about that era. That terrible time where I had an expensive education and could not get a consistent job. The author did a great job with the time setting especially the emotional upheaval of having a broken heart in your early 20s while also not having any work. This book had a wry and funny Irish tone which is why I loved the audiobook. I did have to stop listening to it in tandem right before the climactic scenes. The book builds up a tangled extramarital affair. As in Long Island, I knew it would end in a lot of drama. It made me tenser here though. I realize that the journey to these peaks was great because the character work is so well done.

I really enjoyed the characters and the writing for personal reasons. I am really glad I read such an interesting reflective contemporary novel. It often feels like a lot of the books that I read are removed from my own life and experiences. It’s been a long time since I’ve related so much to a novel. It felt the closest to my own life experiences even though I am different to the characters except maybe not really. I even knew the road that Rachel first lived in London. I lived one road over. I do not remember reading a novel that echoed my own memories and feelings of a time so well.

1.5-2.0x. October 7-11, 2024 on Kobo Mini and Kobo Libra 2.

A Last Goodbye by Elin Kelsey, Soyeon Kim (Illustrator)

A well done children’s book about death using animals.

October 1, 2024.

The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas

This was a prequel collection of connected novellas. I am reading the series in the recommended order with this being the third book. I continue to feel a tad underwhelmed. I like the protagonist and some of the characters, but I struggle through everything else including the length of these novels. I am not a big plot reader. There is this strange thing with SJM novels where I feel that a lot of happens but as the same time, not a lot of happens due to the length of the novels. The pacing is off. In the down moments, I get bored but then the plot thickens and it’s fine since they finish well. While I did not love ACOTAR, I think I preferred the world building in that series. I wish there was a bit more magic in this one. It feels like the series keeps building up to something big which is why I keep reading. I hope I won’t be disappointed if I continue. The books are dialogue heavy and easy to read overall though. I am considering listening to some of the next book in audiobook to see if it’s easier. I wish there was a full Graphic Audio for this series. I read mostly Kindle Keyboard and Kobo Libra 2 even though I had the book from the library.

Read on Kindle Keyboard and Kobo Libra 2. September 21-October 2024.

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes with Louis Slobodkin (Illustrator)

Newberry winner from 1944 about bullying. Nice but illustrations were lacking. I hope they can redo the art for future editions.

October 3, 2024.

Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Francesc Miralles and Héctor García Puigcerver, Walter Dixon (Narrator)

I had this hardcover from a Little Library. It’s cute and small. The book does not offer anything I do not know about aging, but it offered a chance to reflect. I have been contemplating the meaning of life these days. I’ve never really had a calling for anything and to this day, work for me is a means for me to make money. There is other work though which includes non renumeration and working on one’s self. Even though I love a lot of things like reading and being with my friends, I do not necessarily know if this is sufficient to define my “ikigai”. I read a great quote the other day:

“The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.” – Alan Watts

I wouldn’t necessarily say I’ve been trying to rush for a bigger goal. I do want to live my life mindfully and spiritually. I am really a simple person and have a very small family. I will continue to try and push my boundaries a bit more through meeting new people, volunteering, and taking care of my mental health. I do like my current work. I love my family and friends. I also love to read, be fit, etc. I will try not to worry too much about what the meaning of my life. This was a nice little book which was not essential reading but allowed me to examine life a little bit.

1.35x. October 3-6, 2024.

Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 1 Volume 2 and 3 by Suzuka, Miya Kazuki with quof (Translator)

Two volumes in a row. I am doing these in bulk because I am really getting into the story now. Volume 2 started off slow and I found Myne the protagonist a bit annoying as she was squeamish about butchering and whined a few times. Then again she is a 20 year old woman stuck in the body of a 5 year old. I thought Volume 3 picked up the pace a lot more with new characters, conflicts, and actual fantasy elements. There is a lot of crafting in these books and it notably shows the protagonist struggling in a way that’s realistic or as a realistic as it can be in an portal fantasy. I’ll likely try to binge read this before starting another manga series I want to start. As someone who grew up with anime, I did not read any manga except Sailor Moon for a long time. Now in my thirties, I am finally finding ones that I truly like.

October 6, 2024.

My reading fixation took a pause the last week of September as I watched the Shogun (2024) adaptation and became a bit obsessed with it.

How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell, Rebecca Gibel (Narrator)

The core anti-capitalist message of this book is good but the delivery was severely lacking. The author prefaced the book saying that her upbringing and residency in California drove the book. It lacked alternative, every man perspectives. She spent a lot of the book reviewing and extracting from other philosophers, writers, and artists. There isn’t any action plan or tips which tell you how to actually resist the attention economy. While these aren’t needed, the content of the of this book does not help its title. It’s a bunch of privileged, liberal essays. I did not like the narration either. It was too rote and cold.

1.25-2.00x. Sept 18-22, 2024.

Dracula by Bram Stoker, narrated by a full cast including Alan Cumming and Tim Curry

Started reading this via email from Dracula Daily in May. I sometimes listened to the re: Dracula podcast as well. I knew I’d get impatient. I am the kind of reader who reads books in a couple of sessions. In mid September, I found the full cast audiobook which was great so I would listen to that by itself or in tandem with the Standard Ebooks epub. It’s hard to determine how much I listened to on audio and how much was ebook or email.

I enjoyed this book and I do not like horror. Stoker created a very engaging scary story. It was spooky and featured an interesting cast. I wish there had been more Mina and even poor Lucy. I liked the Dracula Daily format but I still prefer to read novels in a shorter amount of time. Good pacing and I am glad I finally read this classic.

1.25-2x. Read on Kobo Libra 2. May 3-Sept 27, 2024.

Love Is My Favorite Color by Nina Laden, Melissa Castrillón (Illustrator)

Recommended by book club friend J. Very lovely illustrations from Castrillon.

Sept 29, 2024.

I feel like I am reading too many books.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, Eric Ozawa (Translator), Catherine Ho (narrator)

Audiobook for about 15%. This was nice after I had some mixed feelings over the last few Japanese novels. I liked a quiet and shorter novel about characters who find themselves living at the Morisaki Bookshop. I really liked the relationship between the protagonist and her uncle which is not something you see often. I am looking forward to the next book.

1.25x. Read on Kobo Mini. September 13-14, 2024.

The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey

This was recommended to me by a book club friend who likes Golden Age mysteries like I do. Aside from a likeable protagonist Robert Blair, I was indifferent to most of the other characters. The plot was a bit odd. It’s quite dated with its views about the Irish. There is sexism that’s a bit different than the usual type because it was written by a woman. I think some of it was suppose to be tongue in cheek but some of it was probably played straight. There were a couple of darkly funny lines and social commentary was good too. I do not think I’ll read another Tey novel anytime soon, but it wasn’t bad.

Sept 14, 2024.

Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey, Júlia Sardà (Illustrator)

The story is about the talented Mary Shelley. I really like Júlia Sardà’s illustrations after The Liszts. This was wonderfully illustrated.

Sept 16, 2024.

Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 1 Volume 1 by Suzuka (Artist), Miya Kazuki (Original Story), Quof (Translator)

I found this recommendation for cozy manga awhile ago. I didn’t know or forgot that it was an isekai. I like isekai (portal fantasy). This was based on a light novel which I think I can track down on the internet. I’ll probably stick with the manga since my library seems to have most of the 18 volumes that’s been released. It’s cute and fun so I’m looking forward to using it between all my other reads.

Sept 17, 2024.

Cold Clay by Juneau Black, Cassandra Campbell (Narrator)

While I have this series on ebook, I found a couple of the audiobooks on Libby. It’s a nice fantasy cozy mystery series. I liked the narration except for Orville the bear. The plot and the twists are predictable, but I do like most of the characters. I like Vera’s style as an investigate journalist and detective. I did find the miscommunication trope in the romance annoying as I usually do with most modern romances. Other than that, I will continue with this nice series.

1.25x. Sept 14-18, 2024.

Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jason Reynolds, narrated by an ensemble including the author

Audiobook for the last 40%. Read this to complete the 2024 Storygraph genre challenge: Read a short story collection by a black author. Jason Reynolds is a great middle grade and children’s author. He really captured the feelings of kids especially those who are going through things. In this short story collection, a lot of the kids were dealing with bullying, chronic illness, or parental health issues. Some of them were dealing with regular kids stuff such as liking a girl. As with most short story collections, I didn’t love every one of them and my attention wavered. Around the 60% mark, I found and checked out the audiobook. I should have listened to this from the beginning. Each short story was narrated by a different narrator and it was more engaging than reading. Good writing.

1.25-2x. Digital reading with Kobo Mini. Sept 18-19, 2024.

Weslandia by Paul Fleischman, Kevin Hawkes (Illustrator)

About a boy who spends his summer founding his own civilization in his own backyard starting with gardening. It was quite empowering and imaginative. I liked the late 1990s style art in this and it felt nostalgic for me.

September 20, 2024.