January reading wrap-up 📚
speculative fiction, a gothic horror, and many more
Hi there,
How’s 2025 treating you so far?
Last week I visited an independent physical bookstore in my city. It’s kind of a big deal because the only bookstores in my city are national chains. Lost Books was cozy. Their space is really narrow because it used to be an old ATM vestibule and the space beside them used to be an old bank. They have brand new and used books and they also specialize in Cebuano literature. I ended up buying two used books.
Everything I read in January
I've read 7 books this month which is a lot considering my average book per month is 4. I can attribute it to the holidays in January and a lot of doctor's appointment waiting time. I'm having a great start to my reading year even though I have already DNFed two books. I am looking forward for the next few months.
Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
I first read about Carmilla from Books on GIF. He said in his newsletter that it precedes Dracula by 25 years. It was interesting to me because Dracula is the ultimate vampire novel and it's also one of my favorite books.
Laura is a lonely girl living with her father in an isolated castle deep in the Austrian forest. One day a horse-drawn carriage crashes near their home, carrying with it the beautiful Carmilla. Inside the carriage as well is Carmilla's mother who asks Laura's father if she can let Carmilla recover from the incident and stay in their house for three months. She says she is on a hurry to go somewhere else and so she cannot be delayed further and therefore cannot bring Carmilla with her. Desperate for companionship, Laura urges her father to let Carmilla stay.
Laura and Carmilla grow to be very close but Laura is perplexed by Carmilla's strange habits. She sleeps most of the day and doesn't come down until late in the afternoon. Carmilla also makes romantic advantages towards Laura in which Laura feels very confused. Laura tries to get to know Carmilla by asking her personal questions but Carmilla refuses to talk about herself. Meanwhile, young women in the nearby towns have begun dying due to an unknown sickness. Like all vampire stories, we eventually learn what's causing this sickness and who Carmilla truly is.
Apparently, this is not the first time Carmilla has tricked other families into taking her in. I keep thinking, "How long does Carmilla think she can keep up her scam? Were there many lonely girls living in castles in Europe? How long can she keep her sick girl act before everyone starts talking?" Also, how crazy is it to ask a random stranger to leave your child in their house for three months and how crazier it is for somebody to accept an unequally random stranger?
What I liked about Carmilla is that it abolishes the idea that women are only prey in vampire stories. As opposed to other male vampires, Carmilla is emotionally involved with her victims and also seems to thrive on it other than sucking their blood. I also love novels that are heavy on lore. We read more about Carmilla and her vampire background towards the end.
It's scary. It's spicy. It's a story of seduction and horror. I think this is the first time I read a Victorian novel that's very sensual. You don't get that too often I think. What did all those Victorian mothers think when they read this book?
The Restaurant of Lost Recipes by Hisashi Kashiwai and translated by Jesse Kirkwood
This is the second book of The Kamogawa Food Detectives which I talked about here. It follows the same template to the first book where a customer asks the father-daughter duo to recreate a long-lost recipe or food. Koishi, the daughter, interviews the customers about the meal they want recreated - where and when they ate it and what it tasted like. Nagare, the father and a retired police officer, then goes to do some detective work in order to recreate the dish. They ask the customer to come back in two weeks time to try out the dish and judge if they've been successful in recreating it. Just like the first book, each chapter's story structure is the same. A customer describes their requested dish, Nagare then "solves" the case, he goes on how he was able to get the exact taste the customer is looking for, then we get the reason why this customer wants to eat the said dish again.
The stories behind the dish are heartwarming but I think I've grown tired reading about these back stories because at some point they have become the same. This book may become repetitive for some people, right down to what the characters usually tend to do. That's why I didn't binge this one and read only a chapter a day. But what I will never get tired of is reading all the food descriptions. I will never get tired of Nagare presenting the feast that he prepares for his customers. I will never get tired of how the author weaves into conversations of how food is more than just food. There was this scene where Nagare was saying that the hard work that goes into preparing a meal is one of it's special ingredients. That's how love gets in. This scene reminded me of a conversation I had with a cousin just over the holidays where we were talking about the labor-intensive snacks our grandmother used to make. I was very fond of those snacks.
The last chapter of this book talks about ten-don. It's a Japanese term wherein tempura is put over a bowl of rice. Not the connecting tissue lol. One of the best meals I had in Japan when we were over there in November was this tempura from a random restaurant. We didn't even catch the name of the restaurant. We were looking for somewhere to eat and went in the first restaurant we saw. For context, I never eat tempura because tempura to me is just overpriced seafood as somebody who grew up in a fishing town where seafood is affordable. All that changed when I ate tempura in a random restaurant along the streets of Akhibara. The spontaneity of dining as
coined it in her recent Substack post.Only Dull People Are Brilliant At Breakfast by Oscar Wilde
I bought this book thinking it was a novella but it's just a bunch of quotes by Oscar Wilde. I DNFed The Portrait of Dorian Gray countless times already and so I thought a novella might be an easier entry point to Wilde. Turns out, this Penguin Little Black Classic book is just a compilation of quotes. The quotes are witty but I didn’t care much about him after reading the book. The title is a quote from Wilde although I'm not sure what the context was of that quote but I imagine it was a very interesting conversation.
Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Klara is an Artificial Friend, a solar-powered android, designed to accompany children. She has outstanding observational qualities that makes her smarter than even the newest AF model. In this dystopian world, certain technological advances limits chidlren’s opportunities for socialization. Thus, upper middle class parents often buy their children these androids to combat loneliness. Josie, Klara's owner, is dying, and as part of Klara's programming, she must do everything in her power for Josie to live.
A major them of this book is loneliness and how us humans will do anything in our power to prevent loneliness.
At the same time, what was becoming clear to me was the extent to which humans, in their wish to escape loneliness, made maneuvers that were very complex and hard to fathom.
The sentence above is evident in Josie's mother, a woman drowning in her grief over her other daughter who died prior to this story. Grief makes us mad. Grief makes us unreasonable.
There's also a kind of mystery/thriller going on in this book as nothing is really explained about the dystopian world this story inhabits. You do not come into this book for the plot. The premise gives a sci-fi vibe but it's really more of lit fic. Similar to Never Let Me Go, this book is either a hit or miss because of that reason. I love how Ishiguro unfolds, or rather, gives us a peek but never really explains, the setting. Then we get this really dark plot twist that left me upset for days. The book is also about the dangers of unchecked technological advances. It is set in is a world I don't want to live in. And the scary things is that this world is not an impossible future.
Ishiguro is one of the most unique writers and I daresay one of the best living writers. I wrote on my marginalia on page 24 that his writing here is "cleverly observed, wonderfully articulated". Ishiguro's choice of narrator is always unique and often times, unreliable. I talk about here why I love The Remains of the Day. In this book, our narrator is Klara. How often do you read a book where the narrator is a robot? Her voice and her being a robot makes you notice things you don't usually do. Like how the rays of the sun touches pavements and leave patterns. Klara worships the sun and prays to it like it's her god. It was weird at the same time so heart-warming to read about the sun from Klara's perspective when I feel that the sun has just always been there.
Klara is our narrator but she's clearly just an observer of human interactions. Her voice reminds me of Piranesi. So pure and innocent. So singular in her good intention to cure Josie, while still maintaining that of a robot. My favorite part during the last pages of the book was Klara's internal monologue where we get a glimpse of how more human Klara is than the other characters.
There's also this thing whenever Klara encounters a situation unfamiliar to her. Her vision changes form one single big screen to several different boxes with different scenes in each box. Much like cubism. I’ll leave it to you to interpret it as your own but I’ll say that it’s a very ingenious tool Ishiguro uses to represent complex very-human interactions.
The ending was so sad and yet I couldn't think of any other perfect ending to this story. I finished Klara and The Sun on a Sunday. The Sun's day. A perfect day to end this story. Needless to say I spend my Sunday night sobbing over a robot.
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Phoebe Stone is depressed and reeling from a recent divorce. She's a Professor specializing in Victorian literature but can't stand being on campus because of his professor ex-husband and her new girlfriend. She arrives at the Cornwall Inn with nothing but the clothes she's wearing to kill herself. Upon arriving, she finds herself in the middle of a wedding week and unexpectedly confides to the bride that she's about to kill herself. Lila, the bridezilla, spoiled and self-centered, pleads with her to reconsider her suicide as it will definitely destroy Lila's dream wedding.
I love this book. It's so fun and entertaining! Sure it's a romcom but there are so many life lessons to pick up here. Sure, some of the character's problems are shallow but Phoebe's problems, being suicidal and depressed, are not. And the author tackles this with grace. I find Phoebe relatable even though she is older than me. I love that Phoebe gets her realizations from women in Victorian novels. I love that she turns to literature for advice. I can’t help but think of
from Fictional Therapy who gives us advice straight up from a most reliable source - literature.The side characters are also wonderful and has great character development. Nat and Suz, at first glance, may seem as the typical side kicks to the bride, but they become real persons that some can relate. Marla, the evil sister in law, is really just a woman showing her authentic self. My favorite character of all is Pauline, front desk and manager, that's always in the background but provides perfect comedic timing. The author is so real for writing the friendship between Nat, Suz, and Lila. Of growing apart and not knowing each other anymore and just holding on to what you once had.
It's a great book that I hope will stand the test of time.
The Membranes by Chi Ta-Wei and translated by Ari Larissa Heinrich
My Taiwan entry to my Let’s Read Asia challenge.
The Membranes is a queer speculative fiction set in a near future in what is present day Taiwan. In the story, our ozone layer has thoroughly been destroyed and people are now living underwater. The world is currently dominated by media and tech corporations and cyborg labor abuse is prevalent.
We follow Momo, an in demand “beauty care derm technician” in T City. In this world, everyone is obsessed with skincare so Momo's job is very prestigious. Momo mostly keeps to herself and prefers to live alone. Her inner turmoil starts when her estranged mother decided to contact her on her 30th birthday.
It's funny to read speculative fiction written in 1995 and have some of it come true today. This book has quite a lot of correct predictions, while some, well, let's just say that the author's imagination was limited to the technology at that time.
In this world, reading is cool again. Consumer interest in reading has sky-rocketed. A reader with beautiful skin is the epitome of society.
A great body paired with refined reading habits was the height of beauty.
Familiar anyone? IYKYK. Here's an article from Ochuko Akpovbovbo on aesthetic intellectualism for the uninitiated. But don’t get me wrong. I’m not against this. I’m all for reading as long as your intentions are true. It’s just so strange to read this topic from a book written in 1995.
In the story, the only downside though is that all reading materials is controlled by big media companies. And everything else? Controlled by big tech companies. These big corporations. They're always playing us. So be careful where you spend your money on. Oh what a pretty relevant book this is especially today.
Unlike Klara and the Sun, the world here is all fleshed out. It's impressive for a book with less than 200 pages. When you think you have the plot figured out, the author drops another twisted one. Everything I believed in the first few chapters were flipped over 360 degrees. It's a gripping read with an intense plot. Perfect for when you've been reading many lit fic successively. The questions posed in this book will surely haunt me for a long time. That's speculative fiction for you.
The Accidental Further Adventures of the Hundred-Year-Old Man Jonas Jonasson and translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles
This is a sequel to The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared which I read in 2023. Allan Karlsson will turn 101 years old in a few days and is feeling bored with his idle lifestyle in a luxury resort in Indonesia. However, the world is not done with Allan yet. As the title suggests, Allan goes on to many accidental adventures with his 70 year old best friend, Julius. It starts with a balloon ride going awry and the next thing they know they were being picked up by a North Korean submarine. Soon, Julius and Allan are in the middle of a diplomatic crisis including Trump, Putin, Kim Jung-on, and Merkel. It's a comedic retelling of recent world events. It was nice reading Trump being poked fun around. You could say it's a nice introduction to world politics.
While this book was fun to read, nothing surprised me anymore. It was a tried and tested model that lost its novelty. The first book was great though!
What I Want to Read in February
I’ve started slow reading Don Quixote which I will do so until March. I am enjoying it so much but I don’t want to binge read it in one sitting. I’ve also started Djinn City and I am loving it. It’s a fantasy adventure based on Arabian mythology. Ali and Nino is my Azerbaijan entry to my Let’s Read Asia challenge. Emezi is an author I want to read more of so I ordered her book with the prettiest title - You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty. Emma because I wanted to read more of Jane Austen.
Questions for you
Have you read any of this books? How did you find it?
For anyone who has read Klara and The Sun, what are your theories about the world they inhabit?
What is your favorite read for January?
In case you missed this..
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I love the variety here! I also really enjoyed Wedding People, and your post has me intrigued about Klara and the Sun (I loved Remains of the Day by this author). Thank you for sharing!
i absolutely loved the membranes! at no point did i have any idea what was happening, but in a great way!!