sure. wait. what?

I KNOW it is well past mid-year but, truth is, I cannot think of anything to write about tonight. I absolutely want to finish this one book on Libby before the loan expires in two hours, but I also have yet to write a blog post due right about now. (It’s a self-imposed deadline that nobody cares about but, still). 

So, I figured, because my brain is torn between wanting to read and wanting to write anyway, why not write about books by answering bookish prompts? Heh.  

Best book you’ve read so far?

Maria Reva’s Endling. I love the ingenuity of the novel’s form, plus it also asks questions that are way too close to home: What does it mean to bear witness to a war when you are not in the blast zone but are still implicated? How do you avoid aestheticizing suffering while still insisting it be seen? The story begins with a Ukrainian scientist who’s devoted to preserving rare species of snails, and two sisters who are searching for their missing activist mother. Together, the trio concocts a plan: kidnap a group of foreign bachelors and find a mate for Lefty, the last of a dying breed of snail. This satirical premise is upended when Russia invades Ukraine, and what follows is a metafictional reflection on the ethics of storytelling in war, on distance vs. complicity, on endings and survival. I still think about the characters to this day. What a great read.

Best sequel you’ve read so far?

I haven’t read one this year.

New release you haven’t read yet but want to?

Sunil Amrith’s The Burning Earth. It’s a non-fiction book about climate change, which is arguably one of the most grotesque subjects to consume these days.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

I loved Elaine Castillo’s How to Read Now, so I am so pumped for her latest novel Moderation. The queue is a bit long on Libby, so I’m not sure if I will be able to read it this year. I also don’t know much about the book other than the female protagonist being a content moderator who filters all the disturbing stuff out of social media. It doesn’t sound particularly enticing — not for me, at least — but I love Castillo’s bossy Virgo snark so, yes.

Biggest disappointment?

None, really. 

Biggest surprise?

I’d say it’s Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I read it this year, a couple of years past its popularity’s peak, and I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. I am nowhere near close to being a gamer, and yet this book got me in a chokehold. Beauty!

New favorite author?

I don’t think I have one, tbh. 

A book that made you cry?

Amy Lin’s Here After. It’s a book about grief so I think crying is an expected reaction, or at least one of the expected reactions.

A book that made you happy?

Hmm, let’s see. I think books in general make me happy. Not necessarily happy as in fun-happy or joyful-happy. It’s more like…happy-to-be-alive-happy.

Anyway, I would say that Sarah Harman’s All the Other Mothers Hate Me was a blast to read, and Rufi Thorpe’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles cheered me up. Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West was also lovely, especially the lyricism of the language and the world-building in the first act.

Most beautiful book you’ve bought/received?

Beautiful in terms of content? Or beautiful in terms of book design? Hmm.

In terms of content, clearly I loved Endling a lot and think it’s a beautiful piece of literature. In terms of book design — I’m not sure. I don’t buy a lot of books, and almost all the books I bought this year are not particularly “beautiful” in my opinion, but I’m not a book designer either so my judgment is definitely skewed. The closest to a beautiful cover I can think of is that of R.F. Kuang’s Babel, and I can’t even explain why. I also haven’t read it yet. I just bought it because I wanted to diversify my reading list by dabbling in some genre-specific fiction.

What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

I don’t need to read anything because I am no longer in school, and I can read what I want, when I want. That said, some books that are currently on my TBR, which I may or may not end up reading this year, are Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko, Alexandra Tanner’s Worry, and Mieko Kawakami’s All the Lovers in the Night.