Drama-Lovers Book Club

October

Just one for October.  Been watching a lot of his films and decided to read a little about Ozu.  

Book Update for October:

Little late for this month's update, but better late than never, since October is one of the busiest months of the year for me due to my heavy work-schedule.

I've almost finished reading  "Everything I never Told You" by Celeste Ng, a mystery novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s, which I started last month.

Not promising anything about any new titles for this month either, as it seems to be as busy as September...

Have a great reading month, dear Book Club family!
Looking forward to your reading updates and recommendations :)

Hey guys! Here to share 'em with you all the novels i read this month .

Normal people by Sally Rooney

I liked it. I found both of the main characters interesting both individually and together yet I still felt something was missing on it. It was less emotional than it should've been ? like i don't how to to describe, it's a book about two humans feelings are not quite 'normal' but it looks inside their mind kind of objectively ? It's not that it didn't made me feel anything it's just it didn't made me feel how much I expected for it to make me feel lol also i didn't quite like the ending. I mean till the end , we got no closer to how they learnt to navigate a healthier relationship and healthier lifestyle. From the beginning, these two people desperately needed therapy, both individually and couple therapy and we are just told at the end that because they are together now they feel much better and I'm like huh ? I just wanted a bit more closure on how they became healthier or 'normalier' version of themselves. The book was just about how they were not normal people. I wanted to see them gradually overcome that.


I did shipped them together tho don't get me wrong. Just i don't think this relationship will still remain non-toxic soon...

My rating 3.5/5

The catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

This was just a story about Teen angst. I'm a teenager and despite not relating with him ( It'd be concerning if I did tbh ) I really enjoyed this. It was just a fun, enjoyable read. Nothing major happens yet it was written so well that it entertaining.

My rating - 4/5

Almond by Sohn won pyung

I just loved this so much. It had everything i love. It discuses human relationships so well. I honestly don't have words to describe it. I finished it in 2 days. It's a short, breezy and emotional read. I've always wanted to know more about  Alexithymia. I loved how the novel is written. The words used are brilliant. I highlighted so much in this book, i thought my highlighter would run out. And honestly I wanted to highlight so much more , every word and line of this was highlight material to be honest .

I mean look at the opening paragraph :

"I have almonds inside me. So do you. So do those you love and those you hate. No one can feel them. You just know they are there. This story is, in short, about a monster meeting another monster. One of the monsters is me. I won’t tell you whether it has a happy ending or a tragic ending. Because, first of all, every story becomes boring once the ending is spoiled. Second of all, not telling you will make you more engaged in this one. Lastly, and I know it sounds like an excuse, but neither you nor I nor anyone can ever really know whether a story is happy or tragic."



If that doesn't grip you, i don't know what will.


I loved all the characters and how weird they were. I think the author has skill if she makes you feel for people who have been through thing you haven't. I don't have Alexithymia like the protagonist yet i feel for him. I've not been raised in the streets like Gon yet i still feel for him. I don't like running like Dori yet i still feel for her. Yeah i feel for them all and love them. This book is definitely one of my favourites. I cried with the protagonist when he cried. I just felt so much emotions...


My rating -5/5


4'o clock flower by Ashtika

Ofc how can we move without mentioning a danmei.

This is a slice-of-life romance between two  pretty old adult men ; a hair stylist (29) × university professor (35).

One thing I loved about it is how realistic it is. Loved the portrayal of homophobia cuz it is usually like that. I loved how they slowly fell in love. The novel has such beautiful writing and words. I really fell in love with how healthy their relationship was. A lot of actions they took actually felt like thing mature, responsible adults would do and it's so refreshing seeing mature decisions being made in a romance story haha

Although i really loved how the author has written the story so beautifully, I did find myself 

uncomfortable during some moments like how they kept referring to the ML as a straight guy...pretty sure you aren't straight when you date a guy. And there were some other moments and just feelings which I felt weren't right but overall i still liked it. 

My rating = 3.3/5

Didn't really read much this month. Loved Bloodmarked so much, it put me in a reading slump lol. Happy December, everyone <3

★★★★☆ ⁴・⁵

★★★☆☆ ³

★★★★★ ⁵

 MichaKu:

@Ashu: Thanks for the Almond recommendation, sounds very interesting. I put it in my basket for Christmas holiday reads :-)  It's kinda funny that Amazon recommends it as a -quote- "A BTS fan favorite!" May be they linked CD and book sales, haha. Next level marketing :-) 

Your welcome! Hope you enjoy reading! Haha yes it's indeed good marketing 

Just one book this month.  This is one of those books I ordered after it was mentioned in a book I was reading though I have no idea which one.   

An interesting memoir of a woman raised on a sheep farm in Australia with a complicated relationship with her mother who went on to become the first female president of Smith College in the USA.  Conway also became a visiting scholar and professor at M. I. T.  She was a historian who specialized in the experience of women in America. This book covered her childhood and education.  An interesting look at Australia in in the 1940's-1950's including thoughts on classism, racism, and sexism.

It's been a few months since I wrote in the Book Club, unfortunately I kept little time for reading. But I was still able to reread the "Iliad" (Ιλιάδα ) and discover Homer's "Odyssey" (Ὀδύσσεια ).

The Iliad retraces an episode of the Trojan War with the virtuous Achilles as its main hero; and the Odyssey tells of the return of the cunning Odysseus to his homeland after the Trojan War.

I have always wanted to read these stories that are considered masterpieces of literature and I think the Iliad was my most beautiful reading of the year. It made me want to discover more classical Greek literature, if I find the time; and maybe even try to read Joyce's Ulysses, which is so long ...

 Paloma_Josse:

I just finished reading Almond by Sohn Won Puyng and I'm such an emotional mess!! Thanks to @Ashu for the recommendation!

Read it in one sitting, I just couldn't stop. It's one of those books that grip you right from the first page and don't let go! It's a coming of age story about a boy who has Alexithymia, illness which makes it hard to experience any emotions. It's a fast-paced immersive quick read with amazing bromance as a bonus. My only complaint is that it's so short, I was left wanting more.

Finishing this post with a quote from this book which perfectly summarizes how I feel about books in general:

“Books took me to places I could never go otherwise. They shared the confessions of people I'd never met and lives I'd never witnessed. The emotions I could never feel, and the events I hadn't experienced could all be found in those volumes.”

Haha told you it's a one sitting read! I'm glad you enjoyed! The protagonist's love for books is truly a highlight!