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<aside class="desaturate squish">
<img src="/media/content/read/murakami_miso.jpg" class="size-s">
<img src="/media/content/read/mann_venedig.jpg" class="size-s">
<img src="/media/content/read/smith_shore.jpg" class="size-s">
<img src="/media/content/read/cronin_passage.jpg" class="size-s">
<img src="/media/content/read/broad_japan.jpg" class="size-s">
<img src="/media/content/read/bradbury_martian.jpg" class="size-s">
<img src="/media/content/read/elgin_tongue.jpg" class="size-s">
<img src="/media/content/read/kawakami_night.jpg" class="size-s">
</aside>
<details>
<summary>2025</summary>
<section>
<h2 id="dec25">december</h2>
<ul>
<li>In the Miso Soup, Ryu Murakami</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="nov25">november</h2>
<ul>
<li>Tod in Venedig, Thomas Mann
<blockquote>
at the start the style of writing was preventing me from getting into
the story fully, as i was reading i got used to it and by the end found
myself quite enjoying it. apart from the style i find nothing
particularly special about it. the conclusion is quite unexpected
though. i found the epilog by terence james reed contextualised the
writing of the book in thomas manns life really useful.
</blockquote></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="oct25">october</h2>
<ul>
<li>The Burning Shore, Wilbur Smith
<blockquote>
while it kept me awake until 3am for 3 days i really disliked the
tonal shift between the second and third acts. how can he portray the
lifestyle of the san the way he does and then have centaine tear up
their sacred place of ancestor worship for diamonds. then the in-world
justification, that it will provide "good water" for her son. to me is
just blatant sugarcoating of an act that clearly violates the memory
and principles of the people she has her life to thank for. though she
had already all but forgotten them, when it was time for the story to
move on from including o'wa and h'ani.
<br>
another gripe with the writing i've had is the way the female lead is
written. it is so obvious, that the author is a man of the last
century... centaine in both instances immediately falls for the male,
that is so clearly set up to be her love-interest.
<br>
The book
<i>is</i>
from 1985, that might put some of this into perspective.
</blockquote></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sep25">september</h2>
<ul>
<li>The Passage, Justin Cronin
<blockquote>
i can't quite remember where i even found this book. specifically the
part after the timeskip pulled me in and i just needed to know what
happens next. the book sets up a series and i am quite curious what
else they are going to do with the characters - i am personally happy
with what they did and wouldn't
<i>need</i>
more.
<br>
one small detail from the epilog i like is that apparently he co-wrote
the concept for the book together with his daughter.
</blockquote></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="aug25">august</h2>
<ul>
<li>Abroad in Japan, Chris Broad
<blockquote>
after reading the first half, i would already recommend this
book. even without any context on the author or japan, this has
some really funny stories. i also like how i can almost hear
chris' voice in the writing.
</blockquote></li>
<li>The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury
<blockquote>
this one took a while. started reading pretty much right after
Native Tongue at the end of march. the book works well for piece
meal reading, since it's a collection of stories set in a
shared world. my favorites were the one where 'and the moon be
still as bright' and 'the million year picnic'.
overall i think i prefer this over fahrenheit if i had to
recommend one. this one executes the almost educational tone
better while telling actually great scifi stories, which often
left me thinking about them later.
</blockquote></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="mar25">march</h2>
<ul>
<li>Native Tongue, Suzette Haden Elgin
<blockquote>
read most of this in two long sessions while we were in
turkey. after a bit of a slow start i liked the spin on
"dystopian future-not-future society"; the world building
is reminiscent of handmaid's tale, but i felt like there
was more exploration of the inner workings of
<i>why</i>
society is that way; the feminist context shines through
especially towards the end, when the plot only works because the
men are all arrogant assholes, which was satisfying but a
bit one-dimensional.
</blockquote></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="feb25">february</h2>
<p class="notice">
started reading a weekly newspaper which had quite the
impact on my reading time. i have a test subscription for
10 weeks, let's see if i can figure out how to balance my
reading out...
</p>
<h2 id="jan25">january</h2>
<ul>
<li>Record of a Night too brief, Hiromi Kawakami
<blockquote>
the first half consists of surreal dreamlike short stories
that only refer to their protagonists as 'me' and 'the
girl'. second half is two longer stories. i enjoyed
interpreting what everything might mean, but wasn't
particularly drawn to the book because of the episodic
nature at the start. read the second half in one afternoon.
</blockquote></li>
</ul>
</section>
</details>
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