#dcjktrialsseries

[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

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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 🤞.

[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

portrait 👨

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"Everybody has something they speculate and wonder about, no matter how blessed their circumstances. I raised my wineglass a couple of inches, a secret gesture of solidarity to this person across the valley." - Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami (translated by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen)

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encountered the word "portrait" a lot in Sir Haruki Murakami's book, so naturally 😅, tried to make a portrait of his based on his picture we all know too well as the author's picture appearing at the back cover of his books (original picture shot by Elena Seibert ☺️)

[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

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.

[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

Calcifer 🔥

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Something more cartoonish but still based on a book I've read. I usually always like the book more than the movie but I thought this wouldn't be the case for Howl's Moving Castle since I really liked the movie; but as it turns out, it's still true. I still found the book funnier, spookier and more chaotic than the movie which I really enjoyed.

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Also, wanted to make Calcifer like how he's described in the book but somehow drawn to paint him like in the movie since I can't imagine him any other way anymore 😅. I only retained a few details similar to the book which are his purple eyes and pointed teeth.

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"Go and catch a falling star,

Get with child a mandrake root,

Tell me where all past years are,

Or who cleft the devil's foot,

Teach me to hear mermaids singing,

Or to keep off envy's stinging,

And find,

What wind,

Serves to advance an honest mind.

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If thou be'st born to strange sights,

Things invisible to see,

Ride ten thousand days and nights,

Till age snow white hairs on thee,

Thou, when thou return'st, wilt tell me,

All strange wonders that befell thee..."

- Song by John Donne or as I initially came upon it, the curse in Howl's Moving Castle

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[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

paths ↔️

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"People are drawn deeper into tragedy not by their defects but by their virtues.” - Oshima, Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami 😺📚

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Just another quick mini painting; didn't turn out the way I planned it but 🤷‍♀️, still posting anyway. Might do little retouches or recreate using acrylic when I'm motivated.

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P.S. Did a little editing after taking a pic to make the colors pop. The painting actually looks duller in person.

[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

skintones, hands and quick portraits 🌈

[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

Robin's Nest 🍱

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"For a long time, she held a special place in my heart. I kept this special place just for her, like a "Reserved" sign on a quiet corner table in a restaurant. Despite the fact that I was sure I'd never see her again." - South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami

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Based on how I imagine one of the bars owned by Hajime looks like or maybe the bar described in "Kino"? Haha I think it's from "Kino" 😅 (but the name of the bar is from South of the Border, West of the Sun). Sorry. Been reading a lot of Sir Murakami's book that similar aspects of his stories are already merging in my imagination. Anyways, adding South of the Border, West of the Sun to my top 1 favorite books of Sir Murakami; the longing felt by the main character is just so contagious and overwhelming; a very well-written book by Sir Murakami and his most emotional book for me so far 😌.

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P.S. I don't really know how to write Japanese characters so forgive me if the name of the bar does not correctly translate to Robin's Nest. If anyone knows how it should be written correctly, do let me know. Thank you in advance! 🤗

[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

abstract 🎨

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"But I had no idea where to begin, or how to get started. There was only a void, and how are you supposed to give form to something that does not exist?..." - Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami (translated by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen)

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just a quick break from reading the book, already at the edge of my seat and it's only chapter 5? haha somehow Sir Murakami's book gives that effect early on in his stories. Truly such a gem. Best author I've read so far 💚; a bit selfish but I truly hope he'll write more books 🙏.

[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

fictional beast 🦄

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"For that one instant, all is still, save their golden hair which stirs in the evening breeze. What plays through their heads at this moment? At what do they gaze?..." - Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami (translated by Alfred Birnbaum)

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Sir Haruki Murakami's imagination and simple yet poetic words are just unparalleled 💚. Surely one of his best books worth a reread.

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(c) google for the carabao picture used as reference

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P.S. This is just based on Sir Haruki Murakami's "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World", I don't know why but this is how I imagined the beast described in his book 😅, not the usual unicorn

[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

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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[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

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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

[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

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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[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

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

[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

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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[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

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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[grateful-hopeful-dragonfly]

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.