Wrapping up Summer
Dear Readers,
My summers have always been on the busier side, and this one was one of the busiest in a long time. In addition to exciting developments at work, I also spent a great deal of time exploring places. It's strange, a place I've lived in all my life, yet I'm only truly opening my eyes up to all these hidden gems I was not privy to before. Part of it is because when I was in school, I would always go for a summer semester, and there's not much time to explore when coursework calls. Another part of it is because I didn't grow up with parents who had much knowledge about the arts and culture sphere. Our family outings would always be to the same couple of places, and I disliked most of them - amusement parks being the worst offenders on the list. I also had a keen understanding that the stuff I wanted to see - museums, galleries, bookstores - my parents had not the slightest interest in. Now I've mentioned that my parents would regularly take me to the library as a kid, and that is one of the greatest gifts they could have ever given me. However when it came to paying for things, I think they ranked anything pertaining to arts and culture as an unnecessary expense. Now that I work in a field that I'm interested in, I'm able to see all kinds of things we didn't always have the budget for. I know what places to go on what days to get a discount, I learn from folks about true hidden gems and low cost and free offerings - there is so much the city has to offer, and I've spent so much of the summer playing catch-up.
I've also learned that I love doing things on my own. It's a big gamechanger, especially if you're disabled. Being able to step out and find open air spaces to eat, knowing you can rush to a bathroom and not have the stress worsened by the fact that someone is waiting for you, it's all quite liberating. All of this is to say that because I've been out and about so much, I've not read much! Let us revisit my summer reading list and see how much I actually read, and then I'll talk a bit about some other things I've read since my last entry.
But first, an exciting update - I finally have a guestbook! You can access it through the Home tab. I'm still working on the colour scheme and layout, but come on over and say hi!
From my ambitious summer reading list, I finished a grand total of 5 books. Some titles from the list I decided I wasn't interested in reading anymore - especially American War. Though El-Akkad is good at what he does, I really don't care to read a book where American foreign policy is turned inwards - especially not now. I think I've had enough of America to last me a lifetime. I do plan on picking up some other titles later down the line whenever they find me. Without further ado, here is what I've read.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery - my local library had this as their book club pick for August. I'm not always the best at finishing book club picks, but I'm glad I was able to this month because I quite enjoyed the experience. We had a very fun discussion, and some of the older women showed us their vintage copies of the novel. How beautiful it is to have a book handed down to you by a loved one and to keep it with you as a memory of that person. Look at me, waxing poetic like Anne! On my reread (I think I've read the first book three times now), I was struck at how much I loved Marilla, how much I found myself relating to her. I love Matthew for being the first person to open his heart to Anne, but Marilla, oh Marilla, her journey to loving Anne is one that always makes me teary. It strikes me how timeless this novel is, and I want to revisit the first annually if and see how I grow alongside the book. I will read the rest of the books and L.M Montgomery's journals eventually, but nothing beats the first book for me.
T.J Powar Has Something to Prove - Jesmeen Kaur Deo. I started TJ Powar back when I made first made the list, and then totally forgot I had started it. Will carry her over into the autumn as a lighter read in what is sure to be a gothic autumn.
Kokoro by Natsume Soseki - I can't help but feel a little let down by this novel. Part of it is my fault - I was expecting something from it that was never promised, but I also found the ending to be quite frustrating. I wish that our main character and Sensei's paths converged again at the end, but I didn't get that, and I felt quite robbed by Sensei's cowardice. Though when I think about it, I suppose that cowardice is true to his nature, so I should've expected that of him...
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Not only did I finish The Adventures, I'm making slow, but steady progress through The Memoirs. I wasn't exactly wowed by The Stockbroker's Clerk, but hopefully The Gloria Scott turns things around - Sherlock's first case! My favourite case from The Adventures was The Copper Beeches, and I watched the Granada Holmes episode for it. Jeremy Brett I will give you my kidney you really did bring Holmes to life! An in-depth Sherlock post will come - probably when I finish working my way through the canon, but the summer of Sherlock finishes strong!
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins. While I did not finish the trilogy, I did reread the first book. Despite having read this several times, I'm always amazed at how a new thing can strike me every time. Since the Sunrise on the Reaping movie is coming out in the fall, I may try and time my Catching Fire reread around the release date.
People We Meet on Vacation - Emily Henry. Oh I finished this book alright. Though I didn't like it, I'm glad that I reread it because it helped me understand myself a little more. I don't know if I'll ever read an Emily Henry book ever again (or reach for contemporary romance in general), but I think that the mainstream romance genre is such an interesting study in bizarre heterosexual mating rituals. You can read more of my PWMOV thoughts in my previous post.
Now that's out of the way, I can talk about some of the other titles I've read.
The Final Descent - Rick Yancey. Rarely do I reread the final instalment in The Monstrumologist series, and so my memory of it was very shaky going in. I did recall two major plot points, but largely forgot what led up to either of them. I love the first three books with all my heart, I love them so dearly that I cannot even think of them without tears springing to my eyes. The finale feels like such a betrayal of everything built in the previous books, and it reignited my visceral disdain for it. Pellinore Warthrop and Will Henry's relationship is the beating heart of these books, and Yancey tears it out with no regard for either of them (or me)! I don't want to spend too much time talking about what I didn't like or else we'd be here forever, so I'll touch upon some things I liked. I quite liked the concept of Will Henry and Warthrop's final day together being stretched out over the course of several chapters, and I really liked seeing an adult William grapple with the ghost of his younger self. There's also a scene very early on where Will Henry and Warthrop are working in tandem over a character's corpse, and when I read that, I remember thinking this is what we could have had. I actually do like something that happens at the end, but I the buildup to it was nonexistent, turning it into something I disliked. It would've been better (and easier) if I just hated this start to finish, but alas... Even when they're behaving like two-bit Warthrop and Will Henry impersonators, they still are Warthrop and Will Henry to some degree, and I cannot turn my back on them entirely. For all my dislike of the finale, I can never recommend the first three books enough, and I'm making slow progress in rereading the first.
March Comes in Like a Lion Volume 4 by Chica Umino - Not much I can say about this without spoiling the contents of the first three, but this has a very soft spot in my heart. This volume focuses on Shimada, and I love him. I can't say that I quite grasp the intricacies of shogi, but I like the author's attempt to explain what these clashing titans are up to to those of us who may come to the manga with no prior knowledge of the game.
Hirayasumi Volume 8 - keigo shinzo. I've really liked Hirayasumi in the past, but I am not a fan of some developments. Natsumi is grappling with the feeling that she's behind her peers, that she's more childish than them, and wonders what it is that makes her feel that way. She then meets a student in her program, and some sparks fly, but they are not in a committed relationship as of yet (and I hope they never are). I do trust this author to try something different, but I will be so crushed if Natsumi's "maturity" and "growth" arises from her finding a boyfriend.
Yotsuba&! Volume 16 by Kiyohiko Azuma - I don't believe Azuma is on a weekly or monthly publishing schedule, and so a great deal of time passes between volumes. I can't seem to find when I read volume 15, but it released in 2021. Yet, opening up these pages made it feel like no time had passed at all. I love Yotsuba, she's such a great kid, and she made me laugh out loud at several points in the volume. I must confess I've been nursing a crush on Yotsuba's dad for years, so much so to the point that he became an inspiration behind how I envision another fictional favourite. What I found really amusing this volume was the use of modern cellphones. Now my memory isn't the best, but since this is a long-running series, I'm pretty sure they had landlines and flip phones earlier on in the manga. Highly recommend Yotsuba&! for anyone looking for something to lift their spirits.
Alice in Borderland Volume 9 by Haro Aso - Deeply corny ending. My sister and cousin watched and really enjoyed the J-drama adaptation, so perhaps that's a better alternative.
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto - This came highly recommended by an author I like, and I'm certain that had I not been so distracted while reading it, I could've appreciated it more. Kitchen contains two stories, both connected by shared themes. I actually do want to revisit this again because there were some beautiful passages pertaining to grief. This was written in the 80s, so the depiction of trans women is representative of its time. However, I did not feel that the author was malicious in how they wrote them.
Currently reading:
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Medalist Volume 10 by TSURUMAIKADA
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
Bodies of Art, Bodies of Labour by Kate Beaton - I may switch over to watching this, because it's the transcription of a lecture by the same name that Beaton delivered a couple of years ago.
The Other A in LGBTQIA+: An Introduction to the Aromantic Community, in Our Own Words - edited by The Aromantic Spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy
I kind of want to do an ambitious autumn reading list, but we shall see. Until next time, take care.
-memoria