This month I read Dictatorship: It's Easier than You Think
It was an interesting book, but it felt like it left out a lot of context for the sake of its message, which was a little disappointing. I have recommended it to one person, but I don't think it's something I would generally recommend to most people. I find the snarky sarcasm kind of entertaining, and it was a pretty informative read. There were some ways of looking at dictatorships I wasn't accustomed to, but they were fairly interesting. Also it was missing some dictators that I was hoping to see mentioned :(
I'm reading a few other books at the same time too, but haven't had a lot of time to sit down with them as I became too obsessed with a drama and actually had a busy social life this month. Hopefully I'll finish one of my other books next month.
MansiRam:
3 books for the month of August :
I embarked on "Our share of night" ("Nuestra parte de noche"), after reading several good reviews about the author Mariana Enriquez. This rather dark and gothic novel evokes occult societies and the evil that has plagued Argentina in recent decades but also partly in England. The story is long, dark but very gripping, and we are very attached to the fate of the rather ambiguous characters. What I also liked is that the story is not disconnected, there are many references to the history of Argentina, a country I want to discover more. I want to read her little stories " the dangers of smoking in bed".
I still read some Polish literature as I have a Polish friend with whom we sometimes discuss books and whom she had met Olga Tokarczuk. So I read "Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead" ("Prowadź swój pług przez kości umarłych") . It is a detective novel, where mysterious crimes occur in a small hamlet in Poland and we follow the investigation through the eyes of our heroine, Janina Doucheyko, a resident of the hamlet, animal lover. I didn't really hook, maybe because I found it was very talkative and the characters weren't very nuanced. I read it quickly and didn't think about it too much.
Then I read "mother of milk and honey" ("Madre de leche y miel") by Najat El Hachmi, a Spanish author of Moroccan origin. The time of the story alternates between Fatima's childhood in a small village in the Rif in Morocco, and later Fatima tells of her departure with her daughter for Spain, and describes her Catalan life. It is really a very beautiful novel with strong characters that evokes several types of domination that Fatima will face (patriarchal society, racism, poverty). And it is a novel that speaks so beautifully of Fatima's maternal love for her daughter but also of the great love that binds Fatima to her mother, it is the first time I have seen it so well told. Moreover, the author dedicated the book to her mother.
For August i read two books:
1. Angel of the Dark by Syndey Sheldon and Tilly Bagshawe
I read my very first Sydney Sheldon. I don't usually read books with these syponsis but this was the only book on my friend's bookshelf that was in good condition. Poor book. But before i knew it, i was hooked. It was mindblowing and I understand why he is so famous and is always a New York Times bestseller. The ending is what caught me off guard. It broke down whether I thought I knew and still holds me captivated on how can write as such. I am going to read the other two books written by them.
2. Verity by Collen Hoover (Collector's Edition)
I read Verity a long time ago and would never recommend it to anyone but apparently, a Collector's Version was made with a bonus chapter. As a curious sucker, I wanted to read the bonus chapter but forgot the story which I knew was messed up but still proceeded against the warnings I cast upon myself. Now that I have re-read it, I am never going to forget it and I am never going to read this fudged-up story ever. That wasn't a good read.
3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
I dropped this book years ago but then again I was really young so I picked it up again. I am impressed but not so much. Maybe cause I am not American and the thoughts in the book were really confusing for me to personally understand at a mindset level. But I was duly stunned by Jay Gatsby's obsession with Daisy and how he stuck to his version of Daisy till the end. Wow.
Good-bye September, Hello October!
This month I read a dense non-fiction political book and a religious devotional book. The one fiction book I read was a collection of stories by Hilma Wolitzer. There were stories she wrote for magazines going back to the 1960's and as recent as the pandemic. Bit of a mixed bag. I will admit to buying it for the title.
Finally I got to read again, this time a bestseller from Japan from Michiko Aoyama called "Frau Komachi empfiehlt ein Buch" or in English would be "What you are looking for is in the library"
The book covers 5 slice of life stories of people who are a bit lost or want a change of direction in their life, somehow end up in a public library and then would always get an extra book from the librarian after they talked to her and basically that book begins to change everything. Fabulous stories about life and the power of books, highly recommended !!! 5 out of 5 !
Micha's book ties in very well with the book I'm reading at the moment: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop.
Back blurb:
From the beginning of summer to early spring, I lived at the Morisaki Bookshop. I spent that period of my life in the spare room on the second floor of the store, trying to bury myself in books. The cramped room barely got any light, and everything felt damp. It smelled constantly of musty old books. But I will always remember the days I spent there. Because that's where my real life began. And I know, without a doubt, that if not for those days the rest of my life would have been bland, monotonous, and lonely. The Morisaki Bookshop is precious to me. It's a place I know I'll never forget.
I only started it yesterday and haven't got very far yet, but it seems a quiet introspective book. Very atmospheric though.
MichaKu:
Finally I got to read again, this time a bestseller from Japan from Michiko Aoyama called "Frau Komachi empfiehlt ein Buch" or in English would be "What you are looking for is in the library"
The book covers 5 slice of life stories of people who are a bit lost or want a change of direction in their life, somehow end up in a public library and then would always get an extra book from the librarian after they talked to her and basically that book begins to change everything. Fabulous stories about life and the power of books, highly recommended !!! 5 out of 5 !
Oh this sounds interesting! Putting in my book wishlist!
