Books of Mee

I intended to join the 2008 Nanowrimo, I have even read the book by the founder: No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days by Chris Baty. Alas, I have to cancel my plan. There’s just no way I can fit everything in the month of November, what with the wedding plan, the Japanese exam, and all. So a great literature by me won’t be born this month. Perhaps next year.

Sad for the postponing of novelist transformation, I turned my love to 2008 Nanoremo. Read here for why Matt started the National Novel Reading Month. Fortunately this year Lolita was chosen.

I started Lolita about a year or 2 ago. Then I gave up after about 100 pages or so because I felt the language was just too high and I missed out a lot of the jokes. But I still wanted to finish it, someday. 2008 Nanoremo was a perfect chance for me to start again.

Now you think after 2 years reading many other books, your English could turn a little bit better. But not really. The book still contains a lot of words that might’ve been taken out of this world. I only believe they’re English after I see them in dictionary.com. How Nabokov did this with English as his third language, I cannot comprehend. This time though, I thought, screw it, I’m just gonna keep going til the end and see where Lolita will take me. (I’ve watched the movie with Jeremy Irons in it, so at least I know the general plot)

Lolita also closes up the Wind-Up Book Chronicle challenge that I started a while ago that’s supposed to end 15 Nov 2008. Embarrassingly I hadn’t been able to finish any of the books in the list. But now with Lolita going, at least I will have one book crossed off the list. (Time goes really fast! What’s with all these uncompleted challenges?!)

Reading-wise, apart from Lolita, I also started Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto and a non-fiction: Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks. Reading several books at a time? That’s not a good sign. Kafka on the Shore made me do that. I love Murakami, but this time I don’t care much for the characters. And he just keeps throwing random weird stuffs. I can just imagine him going, “Mmh, what happens if I throw a Johnnie Walker wannabe? (as in the whisky Johnnie) Oh and fish dropping from sky! And a gay he-female on the side would be nice. Ghost too!” I won’t be surprised if there are aliens in the end. I’m going to continue that book, just because I’m curious a Murakami cease to impress me. Has he stopped being (almost) God?

A weird story about three sisters (that are not incestuous). The youngest one falls in love with a man, while the oldest is wickedly jealous. The middle one has her own problems in her little world (which I didn’t really get) and she can communicate with the baby in her sister’s womb. It continues further to man with half-baked wings. Weird.

The Three Incestuous Sisters is a coffee book table type, heavy, big, with whole page illustration for every page with a little text on the other side of the page.

Niffenegger called the book visual novel, to separate it with graphic novel, which I fail to see the difference. I found it at the fiction side of the library though, not comics or graphic novels (they are put together). She used Aquatints to create the images, which process I also fail to understand. I just know it’s hard and needs a lot of work (doh).

It’s interesting that a 14 years of work can be savored in under 14 minutes. The fans of the art style may want to keep the book for keepsake, to be enjoyed again occasionally, to decorate your coffee table. For myself, I’m happy enough to just read it in the library.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Offbeat Bride: Taffeta-free Alternatives for Independent Brides

Can the hint be any clearer than this? Yup, I’m getting married! Of course, I’m not the type of girl who dreams of her perfect wedding since she was 5. If I could, I possibly would opt to skip the entire wedding ordeal and go straight to marriage. But after several thoughts and encouragements, I thought I wanted a party after all. Yay!

First thing first, a handbook for offbeat bride! If I am to have a wedding, there’s no way I’d want it to be traditional. Get off the beaten aisle I say! So this book is perfect. Reading all the chapters, from the super exaggerated diamond ring to wedsite (wedding site), from invitations to decor to honeymoon to ceremony. Basically all traditional aspects that you could possibly think to change or break away from.

The author, Ariel, is working at Microsoft (the geek in me likes this :). Check out the Offbeat Bride website for more stories on offbeat weddings. The photos from Ariel’s wedding here. I had always wanted an outdoor wedding, but know that in tropical country it’s probably not possible, so that’s out of the way pretty soon.

Anyway, reading all the book, I’m relieved that we’re definitely not the only ones who’d like to have an offbeat wedding (although offbeat in every country might mean differently). I should know. There are a lot of weird people in the world.

Pages: 219
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

First line
For me, the scariest part of getting engaged was feeling as if I were suddenly buying into an identity that wasn’t my own.

Last line
Wherever your aisle takes you next, here’s hoping that it kicks ass.

Quote

“This is the point in the ceremony when I usually talk about the wedding bands being a perfect circle, having no beginning and no end. But we all know that these rings do have a beginning. Rock is dug up from the earth. Metal is liquefied in a furnace at a thousand degrees. Hot metal is poured into a mold, cooled, and then painstakingly polished. Something beautiful is made from raw elements.

“Love is like that. It’s hot, dirty work. It comes from humble beginnings, made by imperfect beings. It’s the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all.”

About 6 months ago in April, I made a personal challenge and asked people if they want to do it with me. The initial post here. The rule is to pick 1 book out of every group of 10 books. For this challenge, we’re doing number 1 to 100 in the 1001 Books list.

So here we are 6 months later. Apparently time goes faster than I thought, so I didn’t manage to really complete the challenge. I had to read 6 books and managed to read only 3.

[01-10] #1 Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro read 12/05/08 (review)
[11-20] #19 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon read 01/07/08 (review)
[21-30] #28 Kafka on the Shore – Haruki Murakami (still reading, review to come)
[31-40] #40 Platform – Michael Houellebecq
[41-50] skipped - I’ve read #42 Atonement and #49 Life of Pi
[51-60] #51 An Obedient Father – Akhil Sharma
[61-70] either #63 The Blind Assassin or #64 After the Quake
[71-80] skipped - I’ve read #78 Sputnik Sweetheart. Might read #80 Intimacy.
[81-90] skipped - I’ve read #90 Veronika Decides to Die. Might read #85 Tipping the Velvet.
[91-100] skipped - I’ve read #93 Memoirs of a Geisha. Might read #92 The God of Small Things or #95 Enduring Love.

I’m still quite happy with the attempt nevertheless and will continue the challenge to the second set of 100 books, which is number 101 to 200. Meanwhile I could still continue to clear up the first set of 100 books. Congratulations for those of you who finished the challenge and those who attempted to :). Hope you can join me again for the next challenge. I’m thinking 1 February 2009, since I’ll be super busy at the end of year (and probably everyone else too).

The participants
Lena (Reading Obsession)
Wendy (caribousmom)
Sharon (Ex Libris)
3M (1morechapter)
Joanna (Lost in a good story) (wrap-up)
Kim H (My Literary Travels)
Alessandra (Out of the Blue)
Tammy (Tammy’s Book Nook)
Jan (Jottings from Jan)

Let me know if I missed anyone! Thanks everyone for joining!

Dewey from the Hidden Side of Leaf is hosting Martel-Harper Challenge, which I cannot resist, despite my effort to not join any more challenge. But this only requires you to read 2 books in 3 months, so I’d think that’s feasible.

Rules: Read 2 books (you sign up quarterly) from the list of books that Yann Martel (the author of Life of Pi) sent to Canada’s PM Stephen Harper (read full story here). Every book goes with a letter about the reason why it is chosen.

Duration: This time it goes from October to December. So it should end 31 December 2008.

My list
1) Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi [Martel's letter] [my review]
2) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee [Martel's letter]

I never heard of the story until Dewey mentioned it. It’s so interesting. If you were to send your country’s Prime Minister or President a book every 2 weeks, which books would you choose? Tough choice. That’s why I’d like to follow the list, and probably pick up a few books here and there.

Other reviews
October reviews

I LOVE this book! I’ve watched Persepolis movie twice and thought that the graphic novel would be just like the movie (good, but similar). But it’s not! It’s BETTER!

The book discusses more sensitive topics around religion and the government in Iran. More social classes issues, more demonstrations, more cruelties. Satrapi is truly one of the lucky ones. Her family is rich and she could get proper education even during war time. Her parents are kindhearted and alive. Still her point of view is really interesting. As a child, she’s critical, rebellious, and simply funny.

The book is divided into many connecting short stories. So the topics are clearer. The movie only took a few selected topics/scenes and worked on those. So there are more told in the book. It covers Satrapi’s childhood, up until she leaves Iran for Austria. The end is oh so sad. There are many sad moments throughout.

I love the art style. It’s simple, yet neat and sweet. I can’t wait to get my hands on the second Persepolis. Hope I could find it soon in my library. I’m actually thinking to buy both books for personal collection since I love the first one so much. *sigh*

Pages: 153
Rating: 5 out of 5 (I just had to :)

Also reviewed by
Rebecca Reads | Dewey

Like I said last week, I was going to read Forever by Judy Blume in celebration of Banned Book Week.

Forever is a teenager love story between Katherine and Michael, who grow to love each other, and once they’ve decided their love is forever, they make love. If you remember how it feels to be 17 and in love, it’s funny how various remarks sound so familiar. “It’s serious between us!” “Why do I have to think about how it would end?” “This is the real stuff!”

I can imagine how parents could get so edgy about the book, since it contains sexual discussions, issues, and scenes among teenagers. But hey, if you close your eyes, it doesn’t mean things are not happening right? As long as it’s done safely, responsibly, and with all consequences known. But who am I to say. I haven’t got any kids :)

**spoilers ahead**

I’m somehow a bit disappointed about how easy it is for Katherine to forget Michael. I guess when you’re that age, forever is really too long. It’s probably what happens to most teenagers, although it didn’t happen that way for me.

The top cover is the one I read, but I quite like this second cover on the side.

Pages: 155
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

First line
Sybil Davison has a genius I.Q. and has been laid by at least six different guys.

Last line
‘Theo called.’

Also reviewed by
Lost in a good story

ps: Okay, something weird happened. I just checked that the links to banned book week and ALA banned book site are no longer accessible. Is it from Singapore only? *puzzled* It says: You are not authorized to view this page. and Forbidden. You don’t have permission to access / on this server. What the hell?

I was looking for Persepolis for ages, but it’s always checked out at my library. A few days ago, not only did I find Persepolis (first, but not the second one), but also another graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, called Embroideries.

Embroideries is entertaining reading about the sex lives of Iranian women. After the afternoon lunch, while the men go to have a nap, the women gather around for cups of Samovar (tea). And that way begin a session of “ventilation of the heart”: share of secrets and regrets about virginity, arranged marriage, plastic surgery, and men.

The art style is simpler than Persepolis in a glance, but it’s entertaining indeed. Sweet, short, and funny. Love it :)

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

ps: This is probably my first graphic novel.

I haven’t posted Sunday Salon for ages, I know. And it’s even Monday morning my time right now, but I’m sure it’s still Sunday at the other parts of the world :)

Sep 27 to Oct 4 2008 is the Banned Book Week. So to participate, I’ll read Forever by Judy Blume, one of The Top 100 Most Frequently Challenged Book of 1990-2000 by ALA. Also because I just found it for $1 SGD at my fave secondhand bookshop and it’s super thin.

On the other hand, I’m also reading Kafka on the Shore. I wasn’t so sure about the beginning. A boy running away from home. I don’t really fancy coming of age stories. But then he goes to a really cool library. An old Japanese library with grand architecture and rare books. And I’m hoping there will be more stories in the library. So, so far so good.

This book is a memoir of Ishmael Beah, an ex child soldier during wartime in Sierra Leone. His journey started when the rebels arrived at his village. He was chased from village to village by the war that spread further and further. The places he visited destroyed and his family and brothers killed. Until he met the government side who they called the army, and recruited as a soldier. The youngest of those child soldiers were 7 and 11 years old. They learnt how to shoot when they were not even strong enough to carry the guns.

About half of the book talks about Ishmael’s rehabilitation time. It is so sad that after all the effort and time to humanize the children, the war reached the cities nevertheless and a lot of them needed to go back to their old life. At the end Ishmael ran out of the country to Guinea, the neighbouring country of Sierra Leone. Here I felt that the book stopped almost abruptly, since I thought he was gonna go on until he’s safe in US. (Later on he ran to US with the help of his contacts he met when he went to US for UN conferences)

The story is told fluidly. I never felt it slow down. It’s a good read from beginning til the end. An eye opener for situations that we normally would never think about. And they do happen in some parts of the world. This is why I read memoirs and biographies.

Pages: 229
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

First line
My high school friends have begun to suspect I haven’t told them the full story of my life.

Last line
I concluded to myself that if I were the hunter, I would shoot the monkey so that it would no longer have the chance to put other hunters in the same predicament.

Also reviewed by

Ramya’s bookshelf | Trish’s Reading Nook