Reading Dune atm... Prepping for the movie

The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy

novel about a young man traveling to Communist East Berlin for research. jumps around time a lot and with an unreliable narrator. I liked Levy's prose, and the first half was engaging, but after the twist the story didn't really go anywhere or say anything interesting enough to make this a memorable read

6/10

The monk and the riddle

It good, would read again

Been a minute since I been in here.. mainly because I haven’t finished a book in a while

I’m currently reading The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris with my Mom. It’s been good, almost like a Jordan Peele-esque film. Good workplace drama with a “mysterious” element

But now I have finished a book. Technically two but I’ll just count as one.

Starting my Murakami read through with his first 2 books. They were ehhhhh, both books have nondescript and bland narrators that don’t do much to make for an interesting and engaging story. Literally I was getting mixed up with which main character was which because they were both so similar I couldn’t remember who’s backstory was who.

Either the way, the writing was still fun to read and Pinball, 1973 does actually pick up halfway through but it took way too long to actually get to anything interesting if I’m being honest.

Oh I do like the character known as The Rat who shows up in both novels. He actually interacts with the narrator in Hear The Wind Sing but in Pinball, 1973 we actually see life and understand his thoughts more deeply through third person although he has no interaction with the narrator… interesting

Overall, it’s a cool read. I don’t recommend to anyone who hasn’t read a Murakami book yet because these only really scratch the surface of the stories, characters and worlds he was able to create in his later books. But for the Murakami fan, it’s dope to see all the tropes he establishes that come up again and again in his other books.

What you think?

Dark Tower #1
Gunslinger by Stephen King
First book in the series, I read the revised edition.
6.5/10
It was better than I was led to believe, coz I was told this was the worst of the bunch, but it ha some good stuff in it. Slow pace tho

Already on book 2 and it's already much crazier. Loving that one

Ive been slow with the read so haven't made much progress. So far so good... A bit overwhelming because there's a lot of inworld concepts and words thrown at you from the start, so it's easy to get lost.

The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans

really strong collection of six short stories and a novela. they were engaging and entertaining stories that dealt with big topics like racism, love and lust, grief, etc. all written from the perspective of Black women. Evans' writing was excellent and enjoyable to read. something about her prose that is witty, honest, and descriptive without being dependent on style or flowery language. she's definitely a young writer to keep an eye on, and I'm in on whatever she writes next. would recommend to everybody

9/10

is it me or is 1984 really a slog to go through.
50 pages in and its really slow

A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

Jfc

read this in one sitting. definitely a little more tame than Murata's most recent novel, Earthlings, but still just couldn't put it down.

this been on my list for a while so I finally read it after your post. thought it was good and well written, but the story was underwhelming and not enough happened. definitely captured the Japanese convenience store world tho.

I'm going to check out Earthlings in hopes that it's more entertaining

I feel that. in my opinion Earthlings has a more “proper” story with a pretty climatic ending. The main characters are quite similar tho so depending if you liked that part you may and may not like Earthlings

Also I was watching an interview with her and she actually worked at a convenience store for 18 years (while writing books too)

I did like the main characters, just felt like not enough happened to them. seemed more like a novella that left me wanting more so I'll probably enjoy Earthlings

there is something hypnotic about those convenient stores and their music, not to mention the whole service worker personality Japanese people adopt in jobs like that. 18 years of that is enough to drive anybody crazy lmao

cool how Japanese women are gaining a more prominent voice in Japanese literature nowadays

C.S Lewis years ahead of his time.

definitely felt like novella.

I’ve never been to Japan let alone a Japanese convenience store but I would love to go, from my understanding they have a wide variety of things.

After reading a bunch of Murakami’s very male-centric Japanese novels, I needed a break from that and wanted a female perspective. That’s when I found Murata. Also picked up Breasts and Eggs by Meiko Kawakami who I’ve heard is very good.

look forward to hearing your thoughts on Breasts and Eggs. reviewed it on page 5 and thought it was good, not great. I'd probably put it over Convenience Store Woman in retrospect

Yeah I'm thinking based

F*** nihilists

just finished the two latest Colson Whitehead novels

The Nickel Boys (2019)

novel about a young Black kid in Florida in the sixties caught at the wrong place at the wrong time and sent to a reform school. there he experiences abuse and racism yet also friendship and growth. sad at times but well written with interesting characters and ​a strong ending.

8/10

Harlem Shuffle (came out this month)

novel about a furniture store owner in Harlem in the 60s trying to go straight but drawn into the criminal underworld. marketed as a heist novel, I thought the three "heists" were all pretty uninteresting and inconsequential. the book never really built up to anything and the characters didn't have much depth. Whitehead seemed out of his element on this one

6/10

Whitehead is considered one of the best novelists of this century but I've been pretty underwhelmed with all of his work I've read. each book has potential but something always seems to be missing

Night Train: The Sonny Liston Story by Nick Tosches

3.5/5

Ali might have been the greatest, Tyson was a terror, but Sonny f***ing Liston was the baddest man before both of them. Tosches prose snap across the biography telling Liston's rise from slavery like poverty, to the Mafia that ran the boxing circuit, to Liston's eventual downfall beyond the famous Ali fight.

For fans of boxing, Scorsese/Boardwalk Empire gangsterism, and anyone looking for a biography on one of the most underappreciated champion's of the sport.

5/5

I got this book in 2010 when I was in college. I didn't find the courage to start reading it cause this s*** has 800+ pages.
I read it all in 20 days.
This book is simply amazing and breath-taking. I was really gripped by the story, it has mistery, lots of characters with their own stories but it's pretty straight forward.

Been meaning to get on this for a while

Got a original copy of it from a vintage book store and my dogs tore it to shreds