book review

book review: but mostly i think of you

/ livingseri / Leave a comment
But Mostly I Think Of You

But Mostly I Think Of You by Candice Lim

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Read it in one setting. I loved the short stories! it’s a book i will pick up now and then just to get out of a reading slum. deep in emotions and feelings. especially loved Goddess and Banana Boy & Bonsai Girl because of the depiction of true love and waiting in, i assumed, agony. the stories created images of my own in my mind, trying to find a time when i felt the same way. despite the fantasy characters, it is deeply relatable. the illustrations are fantastic too.



View all my reviews

book review: a spark of light

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


i wanted to like it but i couldn’t. i appreciated the issues touched in this story, but i felt there were too many characters for me to remember, their thoughts, their flashbacks and it doesn’t help that the storyline moves backwards. it’s like i already reached the peak of the story (at the start) and then i had to be thrown back through the memories of the day. it’s a bit hard for me to follow.

throughout the hours backwards, felt like wren was lost somewhere, hugh’s lines seems repetitious, and the rest became a blur, beth’s seemed like a sideline and doesn’t seem to be on the same ‘hours’.

i probably could understand the flow of the story and would have feel the characters’ emotions and fear better if it had follow the normal sequence of the day instead of ‘turning back’ time. it really felt like the longest day that doesn’t seem to end while reading it.

it was quite disappointing because i had been looking forward to Picoult’s new novel since Small Great Things, which i had enjoyed and couldn’t seem to stop reading.



View all my reviews

book review: the idiot

/ livingseri / Leave a comment
The Idiot

The Idiot by Elif Batuman

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I wanted to love this book.
I think i pretty much enjoyed the first few pages and having the same eagerness of finding life in campus. but then i find it a bit too tedious to carry on.
and what make it worst…i turned to the last page…and the last paragraph really hit me.

“….They had let me down. I hadn’t learned what I had wanted to about how language worked. I hadn’t learned anything at all.”

and with that, i see no point in continuing…at the moment.. perhaps i will take it up again and indulge in it.

the idiot has sparked no joy for me. #konmari

View all my reviews

book review: eleanor oliphant is completely fine

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I was quite skeptical at first but the moment i read from the first page, it took me in. i find myself curious to learn of who this eleanor oliphant is, her routine, her life, her history, and what awaits her.
she is such a unique character, straightforward, has true common sense, independent but at the same time vulnerable and would appreciate a friendship and human contact because it’s not a luxury for her.

when she met raymond, i was curious to know how the friendship will unfold and what other experiences she had along the way. at the same time, she was having a crush to a local musician, i wanted to know what happened then, will she meet her love of her life?

there’s enough humour, wit, emotions to play about and although the ending was a bit unexpected, i find it completely made sense. if it’s soon to be a major picture, I’m looking forward to it!

it’s about being simply human, being alone or lonely, of having a pain or sadness you could not let go and having to live with it…thus how it shaped your life and perception towards others. it’s about independence and the human nature to interact. about asking for help and not endure any pain alone. about having true friendship and allowing yourself to be a social creature, even when you think you don’t need it.

it’s a book anyone could relate to, even if you are not eleanor oliphant. but everyone could have a bit of eleanor in us.



View all my reviews

book review: sweet bean paste

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

Sweet Bean PasteSweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A nice read.

of a man’s struggle to live by after going back to society after imprisonment. of an elderly woman who suffered leprosy, sickly but wise and strong in her own way. how they bonded over sweet adzuki beans paste.

it gives you that good feeling that every one has a chance at living. that no matter who we are or in what circumstances we find ourselves in, we all have a purpose in this world.

“we were born in order to see and listen to the world” i like the concept of listening to the world. to the trees and every living things. as humans, we often forget that. to stop and listen to the world. it could just give us some answers.

View all my reviews

if you like uplifting reads, a bit of confectionary making, and get teary a bit at the end of the story, this could be a good read. especially if you’re into japanese authors

when to jump

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

When to Jump: If the Job You Have Isn't the Life You WantWhen to Jump: If the Job You Have Isn’t the Life You Want by Mike Lewis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Love the stories. I am at a crossroads myself, trying to decide on whether i can pursue and persevere in my current job or to do something else. To quit has always been at the back of my mind but i can never made the decision. always felt that i have no reason to jump. perhaps i didnt know what to do or how to do it.

stumbling upon this book at such a critical period for me feels like a blessing in disguise. like a sign from above. i will take it all in and make my next move.

Thank you to the author for making the jump to write this collection of stories.

View all my reviews

born a crime

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African ChildhoodBorn a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

i felt somehow grateful and sure i made a good choice to start the yeear reading Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime. it was such a good book.

in what feels like light reading, it was serious enough to talk about apartheid from a boy who experienced it all, the hardships and the ‘almost like going through math problems’ calculated choices he made just because of the skin he has.

i appreciated how he starts a chapter with an educated article on the history and the basis of why things happened the way they are, before going to share a real life experience that reflects the message he wanted to share about earlier on. it is such an honest autobiography.

i also grow to love his mother too. i admire that grit and strong determination she had throughout her life,is beyond words. a rebel but towards positivity, because she wanted to make a better life. a strict mother out of pure love. and God is with her through that shooting ordeal. it was one word. miracle.

it is already in the list of books i dont mind rereading if all else fails.

View all my reviews

book review: the story of the lost child

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

The Story of the Lost Child (The Neapolitan Novels, #4)The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book took me longer to finish than i anticipated.

perhaps somewhere it gets a bit draggy. perhaps this adult life the ladies are facing were, as it was, draggy…and just leaving life, facing whatever challenges, trying to survive in a hard world.

elena’s life turned out fine at the end, and sadly lila’s, not so much, i guess.

such turnaround. how the ladies’ cycle of life is like the opposites of each other. like when lila’s was having a much better life with a booming computer business, elena’s seem to go in a turmoil with a divorce leaving her and her daughters trying to lead a life back home, and a fling with and old crush. and then it moves the other way round. the only time they were parallel in their lives were when they were both pregnant with baby girls a month’s apart.

the peak of the story seems to be the loss of lila’s daughter without a trace, which i find it frustrating more than sad. because why would this happen? where is the logic of this story going? how is it possible that the child disappeared without a trace. it was like a jigsaw puzzle that doesnt seem to fit in anywhere in this whole story. more than anything, i just wanted the child to be found and alive and i wanted a happy ending for both lenu and lila!

you know what, the author needs to have a #5 for this series and tell me that they found lila and tina! please!

View all my reviews