Books about books & setting up a book queue
The Reading Nook #12
Welcome to the 12th edition of The Reading Nook! I’m so excited and proud that this section of the newsletter dedicated to books has been around for an entire year. Thank you so much for being here.
Let’s get into it.
What kind of reading month was it?
It started pretty quick-paced for me. I think that’s because after finishing one book, I had another lined up—thanks to my sisters’ recommendations—so I didn’t spend time thinking, ‘What next?’ and scrolling through my TBR pile, I just dived in.
A while back, I watched a video that said this was a good idea if you were trying to read more books: always have something lined up next because you might spend too much time trying to find the ‘perfect book’ and never end up reading. I realised that if I start something and I don’t like it, I can always drop it. Who will beat me? So having a ‘next up’ for reading, like a book queue, seems like a good idea.
I also read books about books: reading them, selling them, recommending them, and healing through them. As expected, it was a pleasure.
August Reading Journey
Top Books
Ghostroots is a short story collection that takes us on a journey through the lives of vastly different characters. Most of the stories merge realism with speculative fiction in a way that takes commonplace circumstances and feelings and puts an unexpected spin on them. The stories didn’t shy away from digging into uncomfortable situations and thoughts.
In some stories, there are no speculative elements, but the author had a way of drawing me in and making me care about the problems of the characters.
I loved the author’s use of unconventional narrative perspectives like the second person ‘you’ and the collective ‘we’ in a story titled Contributions, which is the first time I’ve seen that.
Aside from the fact that I have a thing for African speculative fiction, this book resonated with me because I saw that the author wasn’t afraid to explore her creativity and see where it led her and that’s inspiring to me. It made me think: that weird idea you think doesn’t make sense, follow it and watch something take form.
As with short story collections, I loved some more than others and here were some of my favourites: Breastmilk, Contributions, things boys do, Girlie, and Imagine me carrying you.
Here are some of my highlights from the book:
Nonsense hardly ever shows itself immediately.
Women suffer enough. Don’t add man problem on top. Keep your shoes beside the door.”
Yeongju, a woman in her thirties, leaves her corporate life behind to follow her childhood dream of owning a bookshop. When she opens the Hyunam-dong bookshop in the peaceful neighbourhood of Hyunam-dong, at first, she’s absorbed in her past mistakes and struggling to heal from the life she left behind.
But it isn’t too long before other people in the neighbourhood start to find refuge and meaning in the bookshop and relationships and communities blossom.
The book is written in a third-person omniscient point of view and doesn’t solely focus on Yeongju. In varying degrees, it also follows Minjun, the bookshop’s café barrister, who also leaves a hectic life behind, Jimi, the coffee supplier who is dissatisfied with her marriage but doesn’t believe she can let go, Mincheol, a weary high-school student, Jungsuh, who quit her job because of unfair policies and now spends her time at the bookshop crocheting, knitting, and meditating, and a few other characters. But it doesn’t get overwhelming at all.
This book is the embodiment of cosiness. It’s slow-paced and nothing dramatic! happens so some people might easily get bored, but if you’re a book lover and you’re interested in the concept of slow living and finding your version of success, regardless of what society dictates, then you might enjoy this one.
I loved how much it talked about books. There are some excerpts of interviews and ‘book chats’ with authors. I also enjoyed reading about the different ideas and programs Yeongju came up with for the bookshop.
A lot of time was spent on the characters’ musings and thought trains—which is why this is tagged as psychological fiction—and I liked being an audience to that. I could relate to or was interested in a lot of what they struggled with: the rat race, sacrificing your life for a career, finding fulfilment, carving your own path, etc.
It also portrayed friendship and community in a heartwarming way. The book left me feeling warm and content.
I highlighted so much in this book, but I’ll share only a few quotes:
A day well spent is a life well lived.
A life without dreams is as dry as a life without tears.
You won’t know until you start. Don’t decide the future before it happens.
Life is too complicated and expansive to be judged solely by the career you have.
there’s meaning in the act of trying (it’s important to ascribe meaning to things!). If the process is enjoyable (albeit difficult!), results shouldn’t be the focus.
Themes & subjects explored: Female friendship, Iranian political unrest and activism, the class divide, war, immigration, feminism.
❁ This book got me angry a lot. It was worth the read.
Themes & subjects explored: Family—it portrayed a lovely uncle-niece relationship that I’ve never seen before—and the healing and unifying power of books.
❁ This book is set in the Kanda Jimbocho district of Tokyo, Japan, the largest book market in the world with around 160 bookshops. I loved the first half when the main character was in the bookshop but felt uninterested in the second half of it.
Themes & subjects explored: Body Image and sibling dynamics.
❁ This book was narrated by multiple characters so it had over five POVs which threw me off a little and the book felt a bit excessive at times. But it occasionally made me laugh and I enjoyed how the author explored body image.
Currently Reading: Evil Eye by Etaf Rum & Jakarta Method by Vincent Bevins
That’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed this edition. I would love to hear from you so talk to me in the comments or by replying to this email:
❁ What kind of reading month was it for you?
❁ Do you like books about books?
❁ Have you checked out any of the books I mentioned?
❁ What are you currently reading or excited to read soon?
May September bring you bliss and peace ✨ Bye <3
I was looking forward to your review of Big Bumbum and it was so short😅 lol I read it a few weeks ago and I liked the multiples POV even though I agree it was unsettling at the beginning. I think it delivered what it promises but I felt something was missing, like she needed to dig deeper on the issues she talked about. the book needed 400 pages in my opinion. but still, it was good. she's good at writing on current societal issues.
I haven't read something besides textbooks or research papers in a whileeeee, but now I'm motivated to :)