Confabulations by John Berger
✨ my rating: 3 of 5 stars✨
Berger writes very lyrical and poignant prose, to the point that even when I don’t exactly agree or his arguments are unsubstantiated, I find myself being swept along by the lovely quality of his words. However, while some of the stories were hits, others are misses, leading to nowhere. Even so, I enjoyed the book – he’s very thoughtful and a great storyteller.
🌹date read: 16 may 2019 🌹
view all my goodreads reviews
Looking at Pictures by Susan Woodford
✨ my rating: 2 of 5 stars✨
It raised some good points but it’s a bit… forgettable. I wished it went more into the technical aspects instead of being so example-based.
🌹date read: 11 may 2019 🌹
view all my goodreads reviews
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
✨ my rating: 4 of 5 stars ✨
I related so much to this book, it felt like Murakami could read my mind because his musings on writing and life align so much with mine! It’s interesting to take a peek into his life, especially since he’s quite an elusive character. I don’t agree 100% with all his views on life of course, but I do find myself quite similar, and even as a memoir, his prose is always so gentle and just lulls you along; I really enjoyed it 🙂
🌹date read: 5 may 2019 🌹
view all my goodreads reviews
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
✨ my rating: 3 of 5 stars ✨
It’s a very quirky and different book, extremely metaphorical and lyrical. It’s a book about art and people – but to be honest, I much much preferred Noah’s chapters compared to Jude’s (I didn’t like Jude’s character very much) and wished it was written completely from his point of view. I like it for how different it is, but despite everyone’s raving review, I wouldn’t say it electrified me as much as I expected it to.
🌹date read: 1 may 2019 🌹
view all my goodreads reviews
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
✨ my rating: 4 of 5 stars ✨
This was such a lovely read :’) The characters are so soft and gentle and innocent, and their discovery of their own identities is a process that I, as a reader, found myself following like their friend. It touches on many themes all relating to the struggle of identity – in terms of race, sexuality, and family – and I really enjoyed reading it 🙂
🌹date read: 29 apr 2019 🌹
view all my goodreads reviews
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
✨ my rating: 5 of 5 stars ✨
I just love this book – it’s so lush and evocative, and the trajectory of Dorian’s downfall is at once sad and fascinating, you see how he changes over time and how vanity overtakes a person, and Wilde really manages to capture and pull the reader into the world he creates.
🌹date read: 1 jan 2019 🌹
view all my goodreads reviews
Forty-four Winning Plays from the TheatreWorks 24-Hour Playwriting Competition Volume Three by Ng Yi Sheng
✨ my rating: 2 of 5 stars ✨
I’m really glad Singapore is having more original content! Some of the plays were good, and the ones in the junior category were especially impressive to me. However, a lot were very repetitive – the same themes regurgitated in different stories, and often too explicitly political to the point that it became trite and cliched. There were also some that seemed to try too hard to use colloquial Singlish, and it felt slightly forced.
🌹date read: 12 feb 2019 🌹
view all my goodreads reviews
Worth a watch. The documentary managed to get archival footage and many people’s views – though some of them did seem like they were trying to push the blame, and others seemed morbidly unremorseful about what they did. It also shows the effect of social media and the pervasive celebrity culture that we live in today.
However, I’m aware that the show’s executive producer is Jerry Media, which was also behind the marketing for Fyre Festival. So… I don’t know, it seems quite shady and one-sided to me. Like how they were all pinning the blame on the one guy, Billy, making him seem like the ultimate devious scammer, when there were many of the others who knew what a scam it was and still went along with it. I’m doubtful that this is a documentary that we can trust. Nevertheless, it did raise questions and prompts one to think more about its implications and lack of morality in the circles of the rich and famous.
(Also! I sincerely hope that the workers in the Bahamas get their money given that they literally worked day and night for over a month and didn’t get a cent.)
🌹date watched: 9 feb 2019 🌹
Public Library and Other Stories by Ali Smith
✨ my rating: 2 of 5 stars ✨
The idea of a book dedicated to celebrating libraries and the items within it sounded good and I was excited to read it, but unfortunately most of the stories were very…mediocre to me, and uninspired. The one I enjoyed most was probably the first one, called “The Last”. Other than that, the rest were mundane and rambly, very stream of consciousness at times, but not very compelling.
🌹date read: 8 feb 2019 🌹
view all my goodreads reviews
🌸 it be me (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) 🌸 