Fun fact

In Iceland, books are exchanged on Christmas Eve, and you spend the rest of the night reading. People generally take their books to bed along with some chocolate. How cozy and wonderful does that sound? 

(More fun facts: Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country, and new books are typically published only during the Christmas season—the frenzy is called Jólabókaflóð, or the Christmas Book Flood.)

The Goldfinch

This books gets such polarized reviews in Goodreads, which makes it interesting. I like it when a book gets lots of 1 star and plenty of 5 stars; it makes me curious and wonder why people are so divided about it. I don't understand why a lot of people are complaining about the length of this book, which is nothing compared to Murakami. At least Donna Tartt kept it flowing, unlike Murakami who likes repeating stuff that are his gems (moon, classical music, sex, etc). 1Q84 is 1000 pages long... hello???!! So nope, Donna Tartt is not "Dickensian". Whoever labelled her that, they haven't gone through the pain in reading Murakami.

I like this book for a couple of reasons. First, the language. It's so easy to read, yet the author crafted the words beautifully. I wonder how she did it. Second, the story is simple but at the same time it drags you in that it becomes really tense at times. And of course, the New York setting adds on the beauty. I was brought uptown and downtown together with the characters; it felt as if I was really there. Third (and probably the strongest reason on why I like this book), when I read this book I was Theodore Decker. I love having this feeling and only a good author can make it happen. To be able to feel a character's emotional roller-coaster is a bliss. The more vivid, the better the experience is; and The Goldfinch gave me a fabulous ride.

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Page 28 of 771

I was fascinated by strangers, wanted to know what food they ate and what dishes they ate it from, what movies they watched and what music they listened to, wanted to look under their beds and in their secret drawers and night tables and inside pockets of their coats. Often I saw interesting-looking people on the street and thought about them restlessly for days, imagining their lives, making up stories about them on the subway or the crosstown bus. ... For years, I'd turned those strangers over in my mind, wondering who they were and what their lives were like....

The above caught me by surprise as that's who I am exactly. Donna Tartt described this weird side of me as Theodore Decker. If someone could describe this so vividly, I guess I am not that abnormal.

Page 219 of 771
I'm so glad that I found this book. The story glides like butter and I love how beautiful (yet easy to read) the sentences are.

Page 559 of 771
... that my adult life I'd been privately sustained by that great, hidden, savage joy: the conviction that my whole life was balanced atop a secret that might at any moment blow it apart. 

I don't know why but I really like this sentence. I read it again and again, probably more than 10x.

Page 611 of 771
... it was really, really hard. Practice, practice, practice... I'm sure you've heard plenty of it too, that positive-thinking crap that it's so easy for teachers and physical therapists to dole out - "oh, you can do it!" "we believe in you!" - and falling for it and working hard and working harder and hating yourself because you're not working hard enough, thinking it's your fault you're not doing better and working even harder....

I can relate to this, Pippa. It's just how life is.

Page 692 of 771
Worry! What a waste of time. All the holy books were right. Clearly 'worry' was the mark of a primitive and spiritually unevolved person. ... All things fall and are built again. ... Consider lilies of the field. Why did anyone ever worry about anything? Weren't we, as sentient beings, put upon the earth to be happy, in the brief time allotted to us? 

And yet, I worry all the time.

Page 745 of 771
Good doesn't always follow from good deeds, nor bad deeds result from bad. Even the wise and good cannot see the end of all actions. 

Page 770 of 771
We can't choose what we want and don't want and that's the hard lonely truth. Sometimes we want what we want even if we know it's going to kill us. We can't escape who we are. 

I totally agree. We can't escape who we are, and all the good and bad of ourselves. I guess self-acceptance is the key - recognize ourselves first and then we can deal with the world. What others think about us doesn't really matter.

Whatever You Think Think the Opposite

For all the wild horses out there. Need I say more?

Why Does My Dog Do That?

G and I went to Singapore Art Book Fair yesterday and boy, we spent a bomb! I shall say that it's more dangerous for us to be trapped in a bookstore than for me to be trapped in NineWest. I can only wear several pairs of shoes in my lifetime but I must have unlimited number of books. Just because!

We bought 3 B magazines at the entrance. That's pretty much 3 minutes after we passed the reception area. Sigh.... In total we acquired 14 items. I had a lovely chat with the CEO of Epigram Books. Name is Edmund Wee and he reads A LOT!!!! He's read Richard Flanagan's new book and Ian McEwan's latest. I wonder how he gets time to read. He's done with all the new books! When I told him that I am currently reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog, he said "Wow, that's an old book!" Yeah, I read old publications as I am waiting the paperback version of new books (cheaper, lighter!). You know how I have been complaining for not being able to find people with the same reading interest, I think I have found one. I hope he has a bookclub or something so that I can voice out whatever's in my mind. 

Anyway, G found this dog book. I love love love it! I finished this book in less than 2 hours, and I highly recommend this for dog lovers, dog owners, or dog owner wannabes (like me!). Dogs are wild animals and they behave like wild animals. We, the humans, need to train them so that they behave according to our house rules. I still want to have a dog at home but I worry about how we are seldom home and hence lonely, possibly problematic pets. Hmmmmm...... 

How Will You Measure Your Life?

Ronnie recommended this. Alice said it's a "must-read". What's so good about this book, I wonder, that deserves recommendation? I am always skeptical about books that start with "How..." on the title. 

Once I'm done with Chapter 2, I thought that the author hasn't said anything new. This could be the book for those new graduates; it could act as early warning (or reliable theories) to guide them to bright and smooth paths. I had dealt with unhappiness in my career and decided to drop everything for longer-than-expected break. So what's in it for me?

I learned nothing new from this book. I've been there and done that. I took the plunge and am still searching for a nice spot to snuggle on so I'm practically past everything mentioned by the author. Or shall I say, it would've been better if I read this book waaaaaayyyyy before I executed my crazy plan. 

Another disappointment. I don't know why I haven't found a really nice book in the past few months. I hope I get lucky soon. 

The Bell Jar

I decided to read this book because it's supposedly one of the great work out there. So it was a great start to follow Esther Greenwood roaming around New York, and then she got depressed and suicidal and the reading experience became too depressive for me. 

Plath told the story as first person and the whole thing went in circle without any positive solution to her sickness. I am glad that it's not a long story, otherwise I could have been as crazy as she was. 

Note to self: No more depressing novels! This is the second type of story that I rule out from my reading list. After reading My Sister's Keeper and The Fault in Our Stars, I swore that I will never touch stories about cancer patients. 

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle

You can't use logic when reading Murakami, and that's probably why I've never been a fan of his. 

This book started really well but it immediately turned to an endless whirlwind. Even at page 300+ I still had no idea where the story's heading to. It's like the Japanese version of "Inception"!

Anyway, I'm glad that I finished this book. Of course I'm disappointed with the ending. It should have ended with more weights after all the trouble of telling such a long story. 

Welcome to Fox Books

"I sell cheap books, I do. So sue me."

Edited 27 June 2018: After long hiatus, I decided to revive this blog under a new name "Book Hoarders Unite"