A royal memoir, a culinary mystery novel, classics, and more.
Everything I read in June
Hi there,
While a lot of you are reading summery books by the beach right now, on the other side of the world, where I’m in, it’s raining. The wind is cold, the ground is wet, and nobody is out. Coffee though seems even more comforting this time of the year. The rain gives me another reason to stay in and read a book. Here in the Philippines, we only have two seasons, wet and dry. Our summer starts in late March and ends in May. Then June comes in, the start of the rainy season, heralding in the start of the typhoon months. But still, there’s so much to be thankful for the rain. That’s how it’s been in my side of the world for the month of June.
Everything I Read in June
Spare by Prince Harry - I don’t care much about the royal family except for Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth II but I decided to read this memoir out of FOMO. Reviewing someone's memoir is challenging because, well, you did not live the life of the author and who are you to judge. However, I didn’t like this book as much as I wanted to but couldn’t DNF because I used up my Audible credit for this and it seemed such a waste not to finish it. The following are rants about this book and feel free to skip it.
This is a sad book and whatever side you are on, you will feel pity towards both parties. I also understand that Prince Harry wrote this book for people to hear his side of the story, however, I find this book hypocritical. Prince Harry craves privacy yet chooses to gain media attention by writing this book, appearing in several talk shows, and getting deals from Netflix. I mean if he wants privacy, he has the power to just disappear off the grid. He can buy land in a remote area and have the means to be self sufficient. I do understand though that being in public is good for his philanthropic endeavors but publishing a tell-all memoir is the opposite of privacy.
There were also some mean things he talked about some people in the book which for me only meant that these people were only doing their jobs. He says that he’s okay being called a spare but throughout the book he says it like out of spite. Clearly he is not okay being called the spare. okaythatsallthankyouverymuch.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - This is my fourth attempt to read Pride and Prejudice and the most successful one. I DNFed this book the three other times because I couldn’t get past a particular scene where Lizzie and Mr. Darcy debates how men and women should behave. The whole dialogue just seemed ridiculous to me. I persevered because I had nothing else to occupy me at that time. I do understand now that that conversation is part of the prejudice part of the story.
I'm going to skip talking about the plot here but I will tell you what I enjoyed about Pride and Prejudice this time around. When I finally got past that scene, I understood what they meant by this book being witty. The one-liners that pack a punch! The banters that produces a grin in your face! I joined Mr. Bennet's fatherly humor. I felt second hand shame from whatever comes out of Mrs. Bennet's and Lady Catherine's mouth. I rolled my eyes whenever Mr. Collins arrive in a scene. Then, I was surprised when Mr. Darcy finally professed his love for Elizabeth even though I knew it was going to happen because I watched the movie. Like Elizabeth, I was surprised too.
After reading the book, its famous first line just brought a whole meaning for me. Now whenever I think about that line, I picture a hoard of mothers and daughters circling around a man like hungry vultures about to prey on a carcass. One of my favorite Booktubers, Benjamin Mcevoy, said that he also had a hard time getting on Pride and Prejudice but after reading Persuasion he suddenly liked Pride and Prejudice. He said that reading Persuasion first unlocks Pride and Prejudice. And you know what? I guess this is true because it was the same for me. So if you’re like the old me who struggled with P&P, trying reading Persuasion first.
The Beautiful and The Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald - It took me a long time to write anything about this book because the two main characters are the worst, most unlikable people I have ever read. I usually DNF books where I don't like the MCs but Fitzgerald's writing about a person’s downfall is so good that I was able to finish this.
The book revolves around Anthony and Gloria Patch who are both, well, beautiful and damned. Gloria is vain and narcissistic. She values her beauty above anything else and feels she is above everybody else because of that. Anthony Patch is a man of leisure waiting for his grandfather’s inheritance. He thinks of himself as an intellectual even though he doesn’t do anything to be worthy of that title other than he went to a good school. He is lazy and doesn’t have any intention to find a job. Has zero work ethic and just lounging around until his grandfather dies. You'll instantly know that this marriage will go down the drain.
After getting married, our two main characters flit from party to party, drink more and more, and goes out to clubs footing the bill for everyone. They rent a house in the country and entertain friends over the weekend while also maintaining an apartment in the city. Eventually, the couple spends more than they earn. Yet, they don't find ways to reduce their spending or increase their income. Anthony dislikes work and is proud of it. To him, this idleness is the perfect response to his nihilistic views. Anthony's grandfather eventually dies but cuts off Anthony from his inheritance. From there, the two MCs spiral down as Anthony becomes a hard alcoholic, eventually having a mental breakdown, and Gloria became just a shadow of her former beauty.
I really don’t know why I kept reading despite these horrible characters. I keep ranting to my husband every time Anthony or Gloria does something stupid. Both of them lack the sense nor willingness to improve their financial situation. They waste their youth and potential. This will not sit well in an Asian family. But I understand that since this book is set in the Jazz Age, it explores the overindulgences and the lifestyle of New York’s high society.
The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai and translated by Jesse Kirkwood - A cozy, light read. Father and daughter duo Nagare and Koishi run the Kamagowa Food Detective Agency where they can recreate the food of your dreams or any food you dream of eating again. Koishi interviews the customers about the meal they want recreated - where and when they ate it and what it tasted like. Nagare then recreates the dish using the information Koishi has gathered during the interview and presents it to the customer. Through out the encounter, we discover the stories behind the dish - reminding us that food isn't just food. It's memories, it's friendship, it's family, but also heartbreak. A culinary mystery novel wasn’t in my bingo card this year but I’m glad I get to read this book. See my full review here.
The Comeback by Lily Chiu - K-pop fans, I think you will love this book. Ariadne Hui is a hard-working lawyer fixated on becoming partner in her law firm because his father tells her so. She comes home one day to find a man sleeping on her couch. It turns out to be her roommate's cousin who will be crashing the apartment for a few days to get away from a "break-up". The cousin, Jihoon, turns out to be the lead singer for the number #1 K-pop boy band in the world. And of course Ariadne doesn't know who he is because she doesn't have any other life than her job. To make the story short, they fall for each other while navigating a mob of angry fans, the boy band's management company, and other problems that comes with being famous.
The story is predictable but I needed something really light after reading The Beautiful and the Damned and this turned out to be a reliable fun read. I enjoyed reading this but felt that the last quarter of the book was dragging. It could have been shortened. I am not into K-pop but I really learned a thing or two about the industry.
I didn't care much about Ari and Jihoon's problem like the loss of privacy and anonymity when dating a popstar. I was just going with the flow. I liked their getting to know stage though and had a great time reading these two characters blossom into lovers. For me, that is enough.
Anxious People by Frederik Backman - One day I had a random craving for reading Anxious People. Do you get that sometimes? Like how you want to eat a burger right now that you will do everything in your power to get a burger. That's how I felt with Anxious People that day. I can't remember what triggered it but I'm glad I read it. Now, it's one of my best books of 2024. The funny thing is I stayed away from this book for a long time because I thought it’s the same book as Normal People by Sally Rooney. I really don't have a good reading experience with Sally Rooney so my mind was consciously avoiding it I guess. I just realized that it was a different book this year.
Anxious People is a story of a bank robbery gone wrong, turned hostage drama. But it’s also about being an adult in this demanding world, of being a parent, how different generations course through life, and a commentary on social media. The main plot is the bank robbery turned hostage drama but the “drama” is more about the eight characters involved in the book. We see a father and son police duo who are deep in grief with the loss of their matriarch while also dealing with a drug addict sister/daughter. We follow an old couple who are in a disagreement on how to live their retirement life. There's a woman who looks tough on the outside but has a few skeletons in her closet. As the story of the failed bank robbery unfolds, so are the stories of our main characters, and well, their anxieties.
I think I finally found the book that I can recommend to anyone no matter what their reading habits are and without the anxieties of liking a book that you recommended. Just the right amount of plot, just the right amount of character development. Love it.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain - This book made me feel seen. Everything I ever wondered about myself is here. Like why I get overwhelmed than usual by the dire state of things or why does it seem I'm the only person who overthinks a simple task. Quiet tells us that there’s power in being an introvert too. There’s power in listening attentively, thinking deeply, and feeling emotions strongly.
The book starts with the rise of the Extrovert Ideal and how it changed our culture. Then, the book shatters the myth of the charismatic leader and introduces us to powerful introvert leaders who changed their industries like Steve Wozniak. She goes on how these introverts are able to dominate their industry and how they are able to stretch themselves into extrovertedness. She shows that, us too, can be our own true quite self and also impact the world around us. Here are some of my favorite tips:
Love is essential, gregariousness is optional. Cherish your nearest and dearest.
Put yourself in the right lighting. For some it’s a Broadway spotlight; for others, it’s a lamplit desk.
Figure out what you are meant to contribute to the world and make sure you contribute it.
If necessary, create an extroverted persona to get you through the day.
Spend your free time the way you like it, not the way you are supposed to.
Anna Karenina Diaries
Finally reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, the first of my big book project. I am in 50 pages in (out of 800!) and loving it so far. I didn’t know this book is about Russian society as well. I thought it was only about Anna’s forbidden love. Anna hasn’t even come in the scene yet. Will we get more “a bunch of people visiting each other’s houses” like that of British society books? I don’t know. Maybe we will get a lot of Russian balls like Anastasia-es balls. Like your the last Romanov balls. The characters in this book are so vivid that they jump out as a full person in my head. I imagine Levin’s nervousness, Oblonsky’s air of assurance, and Dolly’s despair.
Does anybody else read Russian character names with an accent? Because this is me especially every time I read the name Matvei or Matryosha or Vronsky or Arkadyich. My only problem with reading this is book so far is that it’s so thick I can’t find any good reading position.
I plan to read it in chunks as recommended by Benjamin Mcevoy. Here’s my proposed schedule.
July - Parts I to III
August - Parts IV to VI
September - Parts VII to VIII. And watch the movie
If you know anybody doing an Anna Karenina reading group, please let me know in the comments below. I would love to join one!
I love your writing and your reviews! Fredrik Backman is one of my favorite authors.