machadamia's reviews
314 reviews

People From My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.

Wanted a chill slice of life but got magic realism and it’s a bit odd. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad book by any means, I just have no interest to continue because I’m not in the right mood 

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

An unexpectedly cozy book about dragons. 

Going into it, I have to admit that I was expecting some world ending things to happen but when I realised that it is a more intimate story

about the relationship between the dragon and Laurence, I was all the more happy for it.

Cozy books are really my jam. 

Laurence has always shown to be a

kind and caring man with good capabilities as a leader and a navy man. I love that they established that at the start so that later on, we would have basis for why he chooses to bond with Temeraire against what he wishes to do. Temeraire is so incredibly smart and curious. He starts out sort of like a baby to be fed and accompanied then becomes a peer to Laurence and the change in dynamics is so apparent.

I think it's interesting that Novik decided to write that "imprinting" on a dragon is

bad at first,

because that is so different from what we are used to reading. And then later, we see that

dragon riders actually love it because of the bond. Of course there are bad sorts but then mostly they are good. And I do love that most of the cast members are good people who we love. My favourite bits are definitely when he goes in and changes things, they grumbled at first but nothing bad happens and they start to adopt his habits because the dragons genuinely loves it. It's like they really want the best for the dragons. It's like a very cute parent child relationship depiction but also a very endearing peer to peer relationship.

I also love that she is using actual historical events (the Napoleonic wars) to be the background of the story. It is both familiar and yet foreign enough with the dragons' involvement to pique the readers' interest and keep us reading. 

I would 100% read this again and probably have a go at the next few books which I hope is as good as this one! 

Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver

emotional inspiring reflective relaxing slow-paced

4.5

This is the first book of Mary Oliver's that I have ever read and I am CONVINCED that her work is just right for me. I loved this collection of essays so much. And I would argue that this is probably the book I would recommend for anyone to get into her work. It says so much about who she is as a person and what she believes in. She is unabashedly certain about what she wants to say and says it so well here. She truly loved nature and nature loved her back. 

My favourite ones are the stories about spiders in the house and the dog that would chew through leashes with the stuck up policeman. I have always had a love for these little life that I cannot possibly go through. I think that humans are so smart and yet we spend so much of our time on things that don't matter and seeing these little things go through life reminds me of what really matters. Reading this makes me think that life isn't so hard after all, taking a walk and appreciating everything makes it all better. 

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee

hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

I listened to this on audiobook and I don’t know if I can read this without that. It does feel like a story to be narrated to but I feel that Mukherjee did an excellent job in weaving it.

He really did weave it, many many threads - patients’ experiences, his own experiences, history of cancer and treatment - came together in such a well balanced way to tell a tale of this illness that plagues so many. I learnt so much of what cancer is and enjoyed the journey of the scientific discoveries and trials made back then. The stories of patients were stirring and I found myself rooting for some of them. Even the author’s own telling of his emotions during certain times made me feel more empathetic towards him and his difficult job as an oncologist. 

Excellent all around and highly recommend 

Cooling-Off Day by Alfian Sa'at

challenging funny informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Feeling a bit of a mixed bag here. It's a great play to read during election season to sort of get a good grasp of what Singaporeans generally feel but since it should be one that is timely, it doesn't age well. I think it was a good snapshot of the time and I found it interesting that it was formed based on interviews with real life people. 

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No

4.5

This is a story about women finding their voice and place in this world. 

Writing about a punjabi community based in diasporic society is not easy. There’s loads to balance, the essence of the culture and the outside influences. And I think this book did it very well. I live in diaspora and it felt very authentic though I am not from London. In a way, I understood why these people had the want to hold on to certain values so tightly no matter how backward it may seem. And I love that we start out with Mindi wanting an arranged marriage (not a spoiler as it is the literal first sentence) because it sets the tone for the rest of the book. We’re confronted with these patriarchal ideals that we the reader and the characters have to wonder if they’re worth keeping. 

We have a main character who is a true modern girl. Who basically abandons all traditions or so it seems, and decides that she will live life on her own terms and not her family’s. It’s hard to do that when your culture is so tight knit and also really quite judgemental, not to mention, great gossipers. 

Living alone doesn’t seem all that and she is struggling in life, and then she stumbles upon an ad to instruct a writing class which isn’t what she thought it would be. But then turns out to be exactly what she needs to find herself again. I loved the ending message for Nikki’s storyline - one does not need to be alone to find oneself. One just needs to be honest and vulnerable. 

But don’t forget that we have another character worth thinking about - Kulwinder. She is your typical asian tiger mum, strong headed and ruthless with her words but she holds a secret. I really appreciated her presence because it gave us a different perspective. If it was just Nikki, we would get a rather negative look at the traditions but with Kulwinder, we understand why they are this way even if we may not agree. I also liked her arc. Because she is very similar to Nikki in a sense that she is breaking away from the traditional female role in punjabi families. I loved her journey in learning to let go. 

Finally, the other widows and found family. I cannot understate how much I love the found family trope. It is so heartwarming to have absolute strangers that would embrace you for who you are. And to understand what that means for Nikki makes it all the more meaningful. All the widows also carried the humour of the book, they are so funny and the stories they spin are amazing. 

My only gripe is that some exposition points in the book that felt a bit forced, particularly Sam’s. And the story more than makes up for it. 

I walked into this book thinking it’ll be a funny and good read, also a little spicy given the title. But I found much, much more. Highly recommend. 

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

funny lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A very beautiful childlike innocence in the pages. 

It really is just about a pilot encountering a child, the little prince, when his airplane crashed and then the prince told him so many funny stories about where he came from, the people and things he met and then he left the main character with the wisdom and the fact that he would always be among the stars. 

This book is literally raved about throughout my life and only recently did I decide to pick it up. So many good quotes and the best takeaway for me is that care is something you can always give and that makes the thing you're caring for so much more precious even if there are hundreds like it. You are also responsible for the things you've built a relationship with, because much like you have done so, they have also done the same. Handle everything with care and kindness. 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A book that started out with a funeral seems like it would be dark but it's Neil Gaiman so of course it's going to be magic. 

I am not going to lie, the first page did not pull me in. It was a lot of sadness, and this book is indeed rather sad and dark in general. I am not in a place in life where I can handle such books well. But I persevered with this one because well, Neil Gaiman. Okay I really put a lot of credit to this author but honestly he has a great track record. 

It does get a lot better but is so reminiscent of Road Dahl books I read as a kid. Sinister and all, but still mythical and light enough to read on without feeling too down. It's a lovely story about a child who experienced something that he forgot and then recalled as he went down memory lane. It's about a pond which is an ocean and a world where only children who are sharp and who know the right people can see. 

I really liked how he basically took us into this world where its insinuated that adults cannot see, and then at the end

tells us that it might even be just a dream

.  I think Gaiman really wanted to tell us that you may forget it but you were really loved and it doesn't matter if you forget it when you get older, it'll always have happened. Not much takeaway from me aside from a book that takes me away from reality for just a bit. 

A Very Long Way From Anywhere Else by Ursula K. Le Guin

informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I didn't expect much out of a 96 page novel but of course I should have, it's Ursula Le Guin! 

On the surface, of course, this is just a novel told in the perspective of a boy, Owen, who is so annoyed with where he is at in life. And usually I would be very irritated with characters like that because I am in the camp of you need to do something about your misery and he totally does not until he meets Natalie. Mind you, this book was written in like 1976, life then is quite different from life now but so much of it is still relatable today and that's why this book is basically a classic. 

His mother, a stay at home mom, has a set expectation of where she thinks Owen will end up, and his dad has an idea of what an American boy is supposed to be and hopes that Owen will be like so. As a teenager, he still doesn't know so much of the world and he still relies a lot on his parents to kind of show him.  .

And so he tries hard to fit into those limited boxes and is rather unhappy as a result. In comes Natalie who is everything Owen is not. As a girl who signifies everything he wants to be, naturally he falls in love.

 

I am honestly not a huge fan of first person perspective in YA novels but this one really works. Le Guin really captures the voice of a male teenager so well that I can see him in my minds eye, moping around. The scenarios she set up for the progression of this story is simple and that is exactly what is needed for something like this. 

Later on, when

Natalie rejects Owen

, it wasn't spelled out in words and I much enjoyed the way their actions are described.

He tries his best to avoid her, she tries to look for him but gives up. And then it is hinted that he attempted suicide.

  All these really shows how each of them truly feel about it without necessarily spelling it out for the audience. A truly great example of show, don't tell. And it's a beautiful way of achieving it in such a short book. 

Not to mention all the important themes covered in this book, all super relevant to how a teenager feels then and today: self identity, fitting in, first love, friendship, sex. Probably a lot more that I didn't include.

At the end, we are

treated with the fact that they each do the things that the audience is rooting for them to do. Well, they get together and then he braces himself and reveals his true wants to his parents.

  It is not a happily ever after but a happily for this period of time only kind of ending which I really like. If I were to read this as a teenager, it would make me so much more brave to pursue the things I wanted to pursue instead of following the opinions of others.

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This one is a toughie because I like the art but not really the story. Maybe because it is YA, I expected it to be a bit lighter but it really stirred up some emotions in me. 

The storyline is rather simple, the main character spends a summer in a beach house her parents own and underneath all the happy exterior, there is actually something rather dark. At the heart of the problems is

her mother's pregnancy and then miscarriage. I found that part to be rather frustrating, and I am frustrated at all the characters at the center of this problem: mother, daughter and father. Frustrated at the mother because it seems like everyone is trying to cheer her and themselves up but she clearly isn't cooperating. At one point, dad's brother came along and tried to get her to swim but then she is not ready to do so and basically shouts at them for making her do it. While I agree that they should have just let her be, I also understand that it is hard watching their loved ones be so miserable. Throughout the entire time, I don't see her try to do anything to help herself so I was really annoyed at that.

 

And then for daughter, she is just trying to deal with all of this and says some really immature things. However, she has every right to feel this way as a teenager. I think it really is typical behaviour as someone who is growing up. And that's why I am annoyed at both her parents because their communication is so bad. Which really brings me to dad. He tries many things and thinks that he has tried everything to help his wife (to be fair she is very frustratingly not wanting to be helped). And then decides to just leave. I get that you don't like the vibes but you have a whole daughter here who neesd you!

All of this really makes me so annoyed at all of the characters, aside from her best friend in this town. 

Throughout the entire time, they meet some boys at the shop which turns into a sort of obsession for the main character in terms of finding out their story and kind of forming a small crush on one of them. I thought the juxtaposition of having someone who is pregnant and sort of a turbulent time because of it and then another who is having a miserable time because she isn't pregnant is quite well done. 

The parts where the main character and her best friend is just

watching horror films all the time though they weren't supposed to just cracks me up. And the fact that she is watching it with a straight face. I mean I get that they were trying to show that she is masking her pain but it was quite funny how she was later known as someone who is hard core in that store.

 

I didn't really enjoy the read, though I have to say that the author did a good job in writing a story with layers and characters who feel deeply. I don't necessarily mind the fact that it was not as lighthearted as I wished, but I just wished all the characters were a bit more likeable in their actions and character. And the central issue being

pregnancy

is not for me.