Best Read of 2020s!
As we all know, this year is full of change of pace. I barely go out anymore this year, but this year allowed me to some more reading time. To be honest, put lesser books in my goodreads goal and it seems to work quite well! I did read 28 books by far, and around 5 or more books unfinished but I'll read it slowly.
In summary, here's my book in review 2020 (via Goodreads)
Both of these books have proven to be very influential to me this year. I will explain why maybe later. But I love both of these books and I am proud to encourage reading both of them, Sergius Mencari Bacchus by Norman Erikson Pasaribu and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Muramaki.
So in a nutshell for average here it is:
Quite improving from 2019 which was 206.
I'm reading real books and not much filler books this year. It's a big improvement. So without further ado, here are my top books of 2020.
1. Lelaki Harimau by Eka Kurniawan
It opened with a bang, something that will make the reader question 'why' and stayed. I love how the story slowly unfolds, the beautiful description of each mundane moment. I was looking for a book to help me with my Indonesian writing and this book is quite good. I haven't read a lot of Indonesian authors and this is!! very good. I love the way he describes things, scenes that for me are hard to write tbh with a little touch of surrealism. Anyway, a little disclaimer, this is an adult... book? It has adult graphic description of violence and sex, but beautifully written.
2. Circe by Madeline Miller
A beautifully written, retelling, of Circe's mythology. I talked with my friends about how raw the emotions she wrote and how much we can only wish to write as good as her. I think I like how as the story progress you kinda see how much she grew up, it started with a girl with dreams, falling in love to becoming a mother who's willing to do anything for her son, which might only complicate thing. Her relationship with Odysseus, and later Telemachus, too. This is a good good read! So full of emotions, I love it.
Also on my reading list right now is Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller too, oh boy I've read around 100 pages and it is... a lot of emotions.
3. Normal People by Sally Rooney
I'm into slice of life romance nowadays. I really wasn't expecting anything. The way it was written was kind of hard to follow at first, but then it's really mundane yet somehow compelling. A mix of gesture and conversation, the way Marianne and Cornell keep on pushing-and-pulling each other along the way. Kudos to the author to make this works. How she published this kind of story. It's nice. People complained about the ending, but I'm okay with it, maybe because after reading it, I kinda expect something like this.
Really nice to keep me company when I couldn't sleep at night. Finished this in two nights—it's a good sign, the faster I finish, the more compelling the book is.
4. Frankly In Love by David Yoon
I read the Indonesian version via gramedia digital, recommended by Kak Priska. Overall, it was really compelling at the beginning since I feel like I can relate to the story about being asian diaspora, and how sometimes the older generation managed to be racist, even though they are the minority itself. I like how much the translator makes things work with different terms. I don't really dig the plot and the ending, but it is a good portrayal of Asian diaspora which I haven't seen a lot. It is also a young adult book so it's a really light read.
[spoiler alert, skip if you don't want read] about how Frank left Brit just like that for Joy. I think Brit deserves better and it's kinda sudden? But idk. Well.
5. Singapore Love Stories by Various Authors
I accidentally came across this book at Book Xcess in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. My last trip before the crazy thing happened this year. This year I wanted to read more Asian Literature! So when I saw this I just followed my gut feeling to buy this. Since book excess is the same company as big bad wolf booksale, it's very cheap there! In Bukit Bintang it's located at Fahrenheit88, but I saw bigger stores in other places which unfortunately I don't have time to go there.
Ok, anyway! I enjoyed reading this one story, one night. It's mixed of a lot of genres, some of them were a bit futuristic, some of them are around everyday themes, love, family, and grief. My favorite short story has to be Things We Hide by Clarissa N. Goenawan, The Ruby Case by Wan Phing Lim (God i love both of these), and ATM Agony Aunt by Melanie Lee (It is written in a fresh new format which is fun!). Some of the stories are... involving grief in the best possible way and how much this book reminds me of little details about Singapore! This is the best random buy I bought this year. I don't think it is mass-produced anymore.
6. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami
I was feeling a little ambitious this year. This is one of Haruki Murakami top-rated book but it is very thick af. So yeah I think after I made up my mind reading it was quite interesting. This is my... third? fourth? Murakami book so I know what to expect, a little touch of surrealism here and there. I enjoyed it thoroughly, maybe the part where it was quite hard for me to read is the war part. But other than that? I found the character Creta Kano so captivating. I enjoy reading about the visual appearance of Kano sisters. And how Murakami books are always so.. visual, (I use it to look up about nice visual writing) and filled with good songs! I was obsessed with Rossini's The Thieving Magpie for a while. It is filled with lingering mysteries... But the way it parallels to Toru's imagination/real life in the last sequence is really... gripping. And it sorta had a closure between Toru and Noburo.
I was kept all night reading this, given the unusual circumstances when I read this book. This book will be forever remembered as one of the most memorable books I've read. However, I don't know if I recommend this book to anyone? It might be a little hard to read if you're not familiar with his works? I would recommend his other books, for example Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and Norwegian Wood to begin!
7. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
The unique perspective of the story is really the highlight of this book.
I kept thinking about how Keiko saw herself differently and she's really confused about society's expectation of her. Feels like a dot connected to her job as a convenience store worker. An enjoyable read, very light, been wanting to read another Asian literature and this is a good one! (I know, convenience store culture is really closely tied to Asian, I mean, at least Asian countries have the best convenience store lol)
8. Sergius Mencari Bacchus by Norman Erikson Pasaribu
Disclaimer I don't read a lot of poetry. Some friends recommended it to me, and it is good. It is a different perspective from an Indonesian author. It is about a topic I didn't even dare to talk to the general audience: Queer Christianity. I like how even some of the poetry have some sci-fi elements. This is a really good book and I wish to read more from Norman Erikson Pasaribu (YET HIS BOOKS IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE IN GRAMEDIA DIGITAL w h y.)
9. The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho
A book everyone probably has read. If you haven't, you should. It is about the hardship of following your dream.
“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
That is probably the most popular quote from the book. This is a re-read. Sometimes I feel like the Crystal Merchant and you'll understand the context if you read the book. I don't need to talk a lot about this book, right?
10. Jakarta Sebelum Pagi by Ziggy Z.
I think it was quite popular back in 2016, but I just read it this year. The book is written in such a quirky way, with other underlying themes. I like how random and quirky is the mind of the main character (Emina) as she talks about pig without any context the whole book, her reference to doctor who!
It's a romance novel yet it is not... cringey, and the transition to romance is very smooth. Overall I like this!
I still have my reading list yet to be finished: Lake Like a Mirror by Ho Sok Fong, The Secret History by Donna Tartt (re-read), Dune by Frank Herbert, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and plenty more.
I keep my reading progress on Goodreads. So if you want to catch up with what I am reading we can be friends here!