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Happy pride! 🌈💖

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My top 22 books of 2022. Of all the books I've read last year (huhu, bye 2022), here are the books that left a lasting mark on me until the year ended; both the good and the bad mixed in 😉.

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Days late but still Happy New Year! 🤗

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P.S. A late post but still really wanted to have something here to wrap-up last year's reads ☺️. First time I set a goal for my reading (52 books) and glad to have surpassed it by a little bit. Anticipating a busier year ahead but hoping I'll get to read even just the same amount of quality ✨ books as I read last year 🤞.

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by Ray Bilcliff

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First Person Singular (FPS) pt. 1 - Of chance encounters and memories 🍦🐞

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Another three-part painting series for H. Murakami's collection of short stories but now from First Person Singular. The story with The Beatles is probably one of my favorite stories in this book mainly because of a particular scene from which the above painting is based on ☺️.

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"These were both nothing more than a pair of minor incidents that happened in my trivial little life. Short side trips along the way. Even if they hadn’t happened, I doubt my life would have wound up much different from what it is now. But still, these memories return to me sometimes, traveling down a very long passageway to arrive. And when they do, their unexpected power shakes me to the core." ----> the power of memories 😌

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For me, this short story collection of his is much more straight forward than his previous short stories. As I finish this book, I honestly missed his old ones, and the second guessing I did as I read them. Nevertheless, FPS is still up there in the top collection of short stories I've read so far.

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South of the Border, West of the Sun - Of unbreakable connections, what-ifs and reality 👫

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For me, H. Murakami's most emotional book so far and one that will always have a special place in my heart; the nostalgia, the feeling of wanting to relive moments, the great what-ifs that would always remain as such, if only one could turn back time.

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Truly one of his best books 🍂.

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"We were, the two of us, still fragmentary beings just beginning to sense the presence of an unexpected to-be-acquired reality that would fill us and make us whole..."

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(c) painting based on a picture in Pinterest by 📸 marinaweishaupt

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Of willows, airplanes and memories 🚏

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"...Not even I knew the answer to that. For some reason, things that grabbed me were always things that I didn't understand." - Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami translated by Philip Gabriel and Jay Rubin

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*just a super quick mini painting in between reading

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more secondhand books 🥰

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Of willows, airplanes and memories 🚏

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"For a few seconds I stood there in a strange, dim place. Where the things I could see didn't exist. Where the invisible did. Finally, though, the real number 28 bus stopped in front of me, it's entirely real door opening. I clambered aboard, heading off to some other place. - Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami translated by Philip Gabriel and Jay Rubin

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📸 used a picture from Pinterest as reference

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Of willows, airplanes and memories 🛩️

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"Time flowed on in silence, and the trains passed over the rails. He and she were thinking about the very same thing: an airplane." - Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (BWSW) by Haruki Murakami translated by Philip Gabriel and Jay Rubin

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BWSW is probably my second favorite collection of short stories from H. Murakami after "After the Quake". The random train of thoughts of the characters are unexplainably relatable and the flow of the stories, despite their ambiguity, really strikes a chord in me. The quote above is just one example ☺️. Truly enjoyed the short stories in this one.

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📸 reference picture from Pinterest

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Of phone calls, remote islands and Sputnik🛰️ ✨

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- artwork based on a picture in Pinterest by 📸 Rob-Shanghai -

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"I closed my eyes and listened carefully for the descendants of Sputnik, even now circling the earth, gravity their only tie to the planet. Lonely metal souls in the unimpeded darkness of space, they meet, pass each other, and part, never to meet again. No words passing between them. No promises to keep." - Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami translated by Philip Gabriel

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One of the best books to read on a quiet night; the melancholic feelings in all the unspoken words, realizations plus the little mysteries imbedded every now and then are more than enough to keep you hanging on to the story on every turn of page. Scanned the book for the part where I felt the most just for this post (sadly I wasn't using book tabs back then); see last slide for the exerpt. I may sound like a broken record but would gladly reread this book early next year. And no surprise! This is also one of my favorite H. Murakami books as well. Love that title and its origin too, "Sputnik Sweetheart" 😌💚.

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Of city lights, midnight walks and endless sleeps 🌃

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- artwork inspired by After Dark; used a picture taken by Liam Wong from Pinterest as reference -

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A breath of fresh air from my favorite author. So far, this is his most unique story for me. I felt like the cameraman all throughout reading this book ☺️.

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Read this a while back yet the feel of walking with the characters at the wee hours as they navigate their way around the city still lingers; reminds me of walks I take on my way back to the dorm after overtimes from work. The silence of the city, the lights and conversations shared, he captured the ambiance and flow of it all so beautifully. There's really something special in H. Murakami's world and words 😌💚.

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"The new day is almost here, but the old one is still dragging its heavy skirts. Just as ocean water and river water struggle against each other at a river mouth, the old time and the new time clash and blend. Takahashi is unable to tell for sure which side - which world - contains his center of gravity." - After Dark by Haruki Murakami translated by Jay Rubin

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Of pierced lizards, relationships and reflections 🦎

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Loved this book more than I thought I would. I thought a book about a lizard-nailed-to-a-pillar as a central concept would be made comical at first but loved how seriously the author and characters tackled that unfortunate incident and the reflections they made out of it.

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It's been a while.

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just a quick cover of Your Name's Katawaredoki OST (it's a bit rough but I tried ☺️😅) in between reading

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🫰💜🫶

few blurry screenshots from the live(?) streaming 🤗

•••. 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 .•••

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....third to the last bookmail 📨💌, hopefully huhu

cheers to reused, eco-friendly packaging by seller 👏👏

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••••••••••••->📨 favorite bookmail by far 😍 ••••••••••

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second to the last bookmail for the year, hope I won't be tempted to buy more huhu; adding these books to my immediate "to be read" pile ☺️

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Kapit lang

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Kulay Rosas ang Bukas

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"Mas radikal ang magmahal." More than a tagline, I now see it as one of my personal mottos. I love how in time, this phrase makes more sense and poses a deeper meaning and relevance (not just in politics ☺️).

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Remember, remember the 7th of October 😉

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A year ago we were given great hope for a better government by Ma'am Leni Robredo. Thank you Ma'am Leni. The better government would have to wait a while but the hope you've kindled in us is still here. Ang mga mulat ay hindi na muling pipikit 🌷.

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Thank you so much for the continued hardwork and efforts to help madame. Thank you for starting Angat Buhay 🤗💕.

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(c) @ronnbulahan for the Ma'am Leni artwork above