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The White Book by Han Kang

A short and recommended read for lovers of Kang's work and a welcome piece on death and grieving. #bookreview #hangkang #thewhitebook #koreanliterature #booksintranslation #eightsentencereview

4/5 stars.Read from October 18, 2021 to October 20, 2021.Hardcover, 160 pages. An 8 Sentence Review: Following my love of The Vegetarian and Human Acts, The White Book is more of a poem than a novel. The entirety of the book revolves around the colour white as the narrator reflects on the death of a sister she never got to meet. “…a face as white as a crescent-moon rice cake.” Each chapter of…

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Life in the City of Dirty Water by Clayton Thomas-Muller

The first book voted off in this year's Canada Reads debates. #lifeinacityofdirtywater #bookreviews #canadareads #canadareads2022 #cbccanadareads #claytonthomasmuller

3/5 stars.ebook, 331 pages.Read from April 3, 2022 to April 4, 2022. An 8 Sentence Review: This book was the first to go during this year’s Canada Reads 2022 debates. This memoir reveals a moving story of trauma that has afflicted generations of First Nation Canadians but it missed the mark in meeting this year’s debate theme. Clayton is a First Nation Canadian who writes on the traumas he…

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Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowski

Geralt and Ciri's story come to a close. #witcher #theladyofthelake #Andrzej Sapkowski #bookreview #8sentencereview

4/5 stars.ebook, 352 pages.Read from October 4, 2021 to October 17, 2021. An 8 Sentence Review: If you’ve played the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, this book fills in some interesting pieces of that game that aren’t mentioned or discussed, however, the plot differs in terms of the main antagonist. Continuing from where The Tower of Swallows left off, Ciri finds herself in an unknown realm on her own.…

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What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad

While it didn't make the top three in the #CanadaReads2022 debates, this story is well worth reading. #bookreview #refugeecrisis #OmarElAkkad #whatstrangeparadise

4/5 stars.ebook, 236 pages.Read from March 20, 2022 to March 24, 2022. “The West you talk about doesn’t exist. It’s a fairytale, a fantasy you sell yourself because the alternative is to admit that you are the least important character in your own story. You invent an entire world because your conscience demands it, you invent good people and bad people and you draw a neat line between them…

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The Tower of Swallows by Andrzej Sapkowski

“No one wants to suffer. But that is the fate of each. And some suffer more. Not necessarily of their own volition. It's not about to enduring the suffering. It's about how you endure it.” #bookreview #geralt #thewitcher #towerofswallows #ciri

4/5 stars.ebook, 352 pages.Read from September 19, 2021 to October 3, 2021. An 8 Sentence Review: It’s been a pleasure to read this book while also playing and being completely engrossed by the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt video game. There are so many characters and story references that are alluded to in the video game that come from the book series that would make no sense to anyone who has not had…

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Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

The runner up of this year's #CanadaReads2022 debates. #washingtonblack #bookreview #eightsentencereview #historicalfiction #blackhistory #cbccanadareads #cbcbooks #canadian

4/5 stars.ebook, 432 pages.Read from February 25, 2022 to March 6, 2022. An 8 Sentence Review: The runner up of this year’s Canada Reads 2022 debate, this is not the author’s first stint in the annual debates. Washington Black is an accessible and unique story that paints a picture of slavery and racism while taking readers on a unique journey with varying plot points that include aeronautics,…

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Monstress 5: Warchild by Marjorie M. Liu

This series just keeps getting better and better... #monstress #warchild #eightsentencereview #bookreview #marjoriemliu #sanatakeda

4/5 stars.ebook, 174 pages.Read September 20, 2021. An 8 sentence review:I won’t pretend that I always know everything that’s going on within each of the Montress volumes but with every single one I read, my body of knowledge of the world that Maika Halfwolf inhabits expands and I’m drawn further in. Further, with each one I read, I continue to be blown away by the artwork of Sana Takeda.…

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Five Little Indians by Michelle Good

The Canada Reads 2022 winner. #bookreview #eightsentencebookreview #michellegood #canadareads #fivelittleindians

4/5 stars.ebook, 330 pages.Read from February 6, 2022 to February 18, 2022. An 8-sentence review: This is the 2022 Canada Reads winner and my favourite book of the five discussed. These two often don’t go hand in hand. This is a phenomenal story of five different Native Americans whose lives were traumatised and brought together by their time at residential schools. The dynamic depiction of the…

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8 Sentence Reviews

Time to make it through the back log... #bookreviews #bookbanter #eightsentencereviews

In an effort to get caught up on my backlog of reviews, I’m going to try a new format. I’ll dub them eight sentence reviews. They’ll be concise and to the point but will be no more than eight sentences. Why eight? I don’t know seemed like a reasonable amount to get the point across and perhaps bring some entertainment value. For books that I feel deserve more or that I want to write more on, I…

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Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld

If someone can make me read a book about political figures and love it, they must have some serious talent. #rodham #curtissittenfeld #bookreview #hilaryclinton #billclinton

5/5 stars.ebook, 432 pages.Read from September 13, 2021 to September 17, 2021. Okay crew, I am officially 20 books behind on my reviews and have some serious catching up to do. It’s been a shit show over here in Hong Kong the last two months and my schedule has been turned upside, yet again, for what feels like the millionth time. I’ve got some time so I am going to try my best to get through my…

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Canada Reads 2022 Contenders

Canada Reads 2022 Contenders

Gosh, I am behind on literally everything! Talk about serious pandemic fatigue, Hong Kong is nuts right now. Anyways, we have Canada Reads to look forward to! The theme this year is, what is the one book all of Canada should read? Here are this year’s contenders. Ojibway author and Vogue fashion writer Christian Allaire champions Five Ojibway author and Vogue fashion writer Christian Allaire…

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Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes

One of the most intimate collections of poetry I've ever read. #tedhughes #sylviaplath #bookreview #poetry #suicide #death

3/5 stars.Paperback, 198 pages.Read from August 31, 2021 to September 12, 2021. If you’re not aware of the Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath saga please read a quick rundown before embarking on this book as it’s extremely important in understanding this selection of poetry. Birthday Letters was published 35 years after Plath’s suicide and was written over a 25 year period. It was published in March…

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After the Quake by Haruki Murakami

A solid choice for Murakami fans who have not read this book yet and a good introductory to a tragic piece of Japanese history. #bookreview #murakami #shortstories #fiction

4/5 stars.Paperback, 132 pages.Read from August 12, 2021 – August 19, 2021. On January 17 1995, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake rocked Hyōgo Prefecture in Japan. This earthquake was the first-ever recorded earthquake to top the charts of the Japan Meteorological Agency. Nearly 6500 people lost their lives that day, around 4600 of them from the city of Kobe. Around 200,000 buildings collapsed that…

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My Favourite Reads of 2021

Happy New Year? At least we have books. Here's are my favourite reads of 2021.

I think we’re all a little hesitant about what 2022 could possibly bring considering how the last few years have gone. We’re all approaching it with cautious optimism and concern. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t made a resolution since 2019 and I’m not mad about it. Regardless of what 2022 will bring and the shit show that was 2021 (and 2020, and 2019…) at least we have books. I struggled…

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Longing and Other Stories by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki

A collection of short stories from one of Japan's most prominent authors. #bookreview #Tanizaki #booksintranslation #netgalley #arc

A big thanks to Netgalley for the ARC copy this book and for continuing to expand my reading repertoire. Considering my love for Japanese writing, it’s weird that this was my first time reading something by this author. I intend to add a few more of his works to my TBR pile. Jun’ichirō Tanizaki is one of Japan’s most prominent modern writers in the early 20th century. He passed away in 1965 and…

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Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

A bit late to this party, anyone else underwhelmed by this book? #outliers #malcolmgladwell #businessbooks #bookreview #nonfiction

2/5 stars.ebook, 309 pages.DNF 50%: July 13, 2021 – August 1, 2021 I’m going to keep this review brief because I was severely underwhelmed and bored by this book. I did give it a good go though as I made it about halfway through before throwing in the towel. Part of the reason for my feelings on this book is that all of the content in it already feels familiar. I know that when this book was…

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When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

It's not very often that a book can marry literature, science, and philosophy together and it's even rarer when it's a memoir. #whenbreathbecomesair #bookreview #paulkalanithi #f*ckcancer

5/5 stars.Hardcover, 229 pages.Read from July 8, 2021 to July 13, 2021. It’s not very often that a book can marry literature, science, and philosophy together and it’s even rarer when it’s a memoir. Then again, the author of this book also seemed to be a rare human being. One that was taken from this world far too soon. Losing someone you love to cancer is an inclusive club that nobody wants to…