Hi friends,
I didn’t have much to update for February, so decided to wait and then combine the last 2 months of reading into one.
It’s odd looking back because I felt like I wasn’t reading much but in reality, I somehow read 7 books in that period. This translates to about 1 book a week, which is, by all counts, pretty good!
My expectations of reading might be a tad too high 🤔
The Good Guys by Darren Chen
This book was on my TBR list for a while because it was a Singaporean novel about superheroes. The cover is also VERY attractive. I enjoyed the premise of a superhero rehabilitation/recovery facility hiding under Singapore General Hospital, but honestly? That’s all the Singaporean-ness there was in the book: the location. As a Singaporean, that sucked. It would have been nicer if one of the characters highlighted was local, but even if they were, there was nothing to indicate it.
Besides that, though, the story was engaging and very enjoyable to read. The action sequences were written really well! There was an overload of therapy-speak1, though, so be prepared for long chunks about recovering from trauma.
The Murder Game by Tom Hindle
I’ve never heard of this author, but the title and the cover got me. It’s a murder mystery set in a seaside town, which is perfectly up my alley.
One of my special skills is being able to predict storylines and stuff well; I’ve always thought I would make a good sleuth if it wasn’t for all the talking and walking😂 So I wasn’t surprised by the ending so much. I did enjoy the journey there, though. The characters, in particular, felt very real to me, which was a feat because there were so many pertinent ones.
I can tell that my enjoyment of the book was helped immensely by the setting, though, because I turned to my husband right after and told him I wanted to move to a seaside town 😂
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
This was on my TBR list since 2022, when it was published, but of course the urgency increased when the Friends actor passed away last year.
It’s not an easy read; it’s pretty much a man who has a lot of demons to deal with, and is struggling a lot of the time. He’s an incredible storyteller; I loved how he makes each person come alive and he seems to have so much kindness for everyone else except himself. However, this is primarily a book about addiction, and the way the book is structured is a bit haphazard, making it tough to know when something happened. I would say that it’s an important read for anyone who wants to learn about addiction; I could see how it might be useful for those who are close to addicts or former addicts as well. However, it was just really (necessarily) depressing, especially in light of his recent death.
Marigold and Rose by Louise Glück
I read this on a train in Hong Kong; it’s a really short novel about twins. This is another one where the cover got me, too, since it’s so minimal (and sorta ugly?), yet combined with a low page count, yet written by a Nobel Prize in Literature winner??
However, if you tend to be in your head a lot (like me), I would really recommend it. I think if you’re a parent, it might hit more, but I felt like the two characters really tugged at my heartstrings, helping me connect with my inner child more.
Shades of Grey and Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde
Twofer! Although the first was a reread, as I’ve mentioned in one of my Weekly Things.
Jasper Fforde is one of my favourite Sci-Fi writers. He manages to write the most complex numerical shit into stories and make it a backdrop. It hence makes it a little hard to get into, because for a large chunk you’re just confused about what’s going on, but it all comes together in the end in a way where it’s lifechanging. I dream to be able to create a world this incredible.
Shades of Grey is my brother’s favourite of his books, so when the sequel, Red Side Story finally came out (after 15 years!), I decided to reread the original and then the new one together. Whew. It was worth it. This is a world based on colour - most people can only see a certain amount of a certain shade, and how much you can see determines your place in society. It blew my mind over and over again, especially because this is a series that cannot be depicted on-screen at all2. This is an internal “movie projection through reading” situation, which I love!
Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood by Maureen Ryan
This book is about Hollywood post the Me Too movement; has it changed, will it change, etc. I went in expecting quite a lot because the title was aggressive and suggested action.
The reality, as shared by the writer, is much more complex. It was sad but also illuminating to read about the different drama in writers’ rooms in the first half of the book. Even though the writer spends the second half of the book coming up with a solid solution, it’s clear that it’s a long way away and not easy to implement. As the writer is herself a media journalist, I did like the self-awareness she incorporated where she acknowledges her part in the situation. It was also great that she attempted to get multiple points of view throughout the book.
Also: for more on this, read Reel Inequality by Nancy Yuen!
My husband studied psychology, so he hates pop psychology and has made me very sensitive to it as well. The writer, from what I can tell, doesn’t have a background in psychology.
each scene, depending on the character, would have to be coloured differently. It will absolutely be too distracting and confusing to shoot.