It's been a while. I had a draft for my 2024 wrap-up, but I never checked in on this blog since August...
I have already reached my 2025 reading challenge. My goal was 50 books. As usual, my challenge isn't composed of actual books. My 2024 challenge had a better ratio of novels to manga, but this year was terrible because I want to surpass my goal last year to get the Goodreads achievement. Pathetic!
The first book of the year was Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum, translated by Shanna Tan. The story follows Yeongju, a burnt-out divorcee, who opens a bookstore. From the vague Goodreads review I left, I gave it 4 stars; it's closer to 3.5. I enjoyed the emotional healing it gave me the most. I resonated with the characters who are trying to find their footing in their world and discover what they're passionate about. The sense of community was something I found desirable. Most of the chapters, passages, really, are short. This would be a great book to read on your commute or before you go to bed. There isn't a complicated plot/the story is more character-driven than plot-driven. You can pick the book up after abandoning it for weeks, possibly even after months, and you wouldn't be missing anything when you pick it up again. Although it's emotionally healing and I enjoyed the sense of community, that can only satiate my attention span for so long. The themes began to feel repetitive, and since it's so character-centric, the quotidian becomes boring. I want to see people succeed. Having them stay in the same funk as me took me out. I'm trying to escape reality, not face it!
Next was The New Seoul Park Jelly Massacre by Cho Yeeun, translated by Yewon Jung. One of my least favorite reads. Not all of the perspectives were enjoyable to read because they didn't add much to the plot (the couple). My ongoing critique of the horror media I consume is that it isn't horrific enough. Part of the plot was people posting on dark-web forums, which felt comedic and pathetic: conspiracy-spouting, occult-worshipping, neck beard incels.
The best book, which served as a much-needed palate cleanser, is The Membranes by Chi Ta-wei, translated by Ari Larissa Heinrich. I went in without knowing anything, so I will honor that tradition with y'all. Just know this Sci-Fi Dystopian is so rich and transportive. (This could simply be a novice's reaction to Sci-Fi after reading realistic fiction for so long.) It touches on identity, climate change, race, religion, politics, history, AI, militarization, etc. There is so much to enjoy within the few pages—the paperback is less than 200 pages. I didn't see that ending coming, and I had a hard time wrapping my head around it because I found it a bit abrupt and rushed. Despite some of my gripes, this book is the most worthy book from my 2025 challenge to put on your TBR.
It all went downhill. Harlequin Butterfly by Toh Enjoe... the premise is so promising:
Successful entrepreneur A.A. Abrams is pursuing the enigmatic writer Tomoyuki Tomoyuki, who appears to have the ability to write expertly in the language of any place they go. Abrams sinks endless resources into finding the writer, but Tomoyuki Tomoyuki always manages to stay one step ahead, taking off moments before being pinned down.
This book was crushed by its concept. I didn't think the author did a good job of executing because I was confused.
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica was able to repulse me (violence against women always repulses me, and its metaphorical and literal depiction of animal cruelty), so I will give it that.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata coasted by.
Quickly escaped from Rabbit Island by Elvira Navarro.
Normal People by Sally Rooney made me realize I was an Abnormal Person, i.e., in the minority of people who didn't enjoy this book. I didn't feel invested in the two's romance.
Another quick escape from She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan. Why read this when you can read The Poppy War? I hate to pit these books and authors against each other, but The Poppy War is stronger in terms of writing, history, action, entertainment, plot, characterization, and PACING.
There were a lot of terrible and boring books, but Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano takes the cake. My takeaway was that I wasted my time reading this.
Cher: The Memoir, Part One was able to crest in the nadir of bad books.
It's always the darkest before the dawn.
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Call me a basic bitch. I enjoyed this book. The drugs, the drama, the artistry. It was indulgent and fun.
The high began to wear down, but it's still high with Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree and its coziness!
Then, I remembered how much I loved the movie Labyrinth, and decided to read Labyrinth: A Novel Based on the Jim Henson Film by A.C.H. Smith... Whoever lied to me and said we would get more Jareth lore in this book needs to be dealt with. If I'm going to read a play-by-play of the movie, I'd rather read the screenplay, so I could learn how to write one, or rewatch the movie.
The Vet's Daughter by Barbara Comyns makes me sad. To be unloved by your father, tossed away, and brought back to be a freak attraction. Depressingly eccentric.
Then, things got horny with Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood. Cu-ute.
Listened to Stolen by Lucy Christopher in Japan. Sad and horny (from the previous book!).
To overpower the horny, needed to overload on the sad and reread a book that resonates with mother-daughter trauma, Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman. Not as sad and powerful as I remembered. I guess my mother-daughter trauma is more severe?! Horny has been vanquished, and sad had been lessened.
Now I'm in my self-help/reflection era.
I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokpokki by Baek Se-hee. I was enjoying it and trying to emulate some of the lessons, until I read a review stating that the psychiatrist was incompetent, which changed how I approached this novel.
The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing bamboozled me. I discovered this book from Eleanor Oliphant's beautiful epigraph about loneliness. I mistakenly assumed it was a self-help book or memoir, but it's an analysis of loneliness in art and artists.
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova... I didn't understand why the story was told from different perspectives. It's a peculiar coming-of-age story that explores family dynamics, nature versus nurture, and identity. There is an abundance of queer characters. It wasn't my favorite audiobook.
Abigail by Magda Szabó was slow-paced, but moving, which is typical for all WWII novels. Children can be cruel. Gina's loneliness and growth were emotional to read.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid was another high. It goes toe-to-toe with The Membranes for my favorite book of 2025. It satisfies my parasocial tendencies. To read about a celebrity's candor and to be privy to everything is so satisfying for my gossip-loving self. Is the journalistic writing style typical of Reid? Of the two novels I read by her, they are stylistically identical. She caught lightning in a bottle twice, but if this is her signature, it'll be overdone soon.
I decided to give poetry another go, which was a big mistake. One of my ongoing reads is The Works of Pablo Neruda, which I started 2 years ago. None of the poems resonates with me. I do not understand the metaphors. The flow, which I blame on translation, doesn't feel smooth. There are all these images being pulled, but I can't appreciate the beauty because it looks and feels haphazard.
I hated Unsex Me Here by Aurora Mattia. It has a psychedelic, erudite prose that is nauseating. It feels pretentious.
I made the mistake of reading Time Is a Mother before On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. If you're considering reading these two, definitely read the latter before the former for the sake of chronology, to better understand the author, and to actually understand what the poems are about. Once again, poetry isn't for me. Lyricism, beauty, aesthetics, and metaphors are lost to a simpleton like me...
Almond by Sohn Won-Pyung was another odd little audiobook that I don't know what to make of. I didn't particularly like or dislike it. The chapters are short. The main character is apathetic.
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa makes Haruki Murakami's sexual content look tame. Women out-pervert-ing men; I love to see it! Jokes aside, I rarely come across novels written by authors with disabilities or characters with disabilities. It was eye-opening to see how characters and the author live with their disability and to see how I take little things like holding a book for granted. The book also touches on disability rights advocacy in Japan and how differently able individuals are also sexual beings. The ending confused me.
I read The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams to fulfill one of the Goodreads challenges.
Then we have the abundance of Manga and Light Novels:
I watched the first season of Apothecary Diaries and became fervent. I've been binge-watching the series, which is abundant in political intrigue. The first earlier installments were playing checkers, the later installments are playing 5D Chess—yeah, that's right; it's more complex than regular chess! I'll be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of political intrigue because the subterfuge on top of subterfuge hurts my head trying to follow. The story is complex, and I often dream of the good old days when Maomao was a poison taster.
Since I don't want to do reviews that are too in-depth for the mangas, I'll be ranking them from best to worst.
- Fullmetal Alchemist: Of course, this best-selling manga series is number one. Love the plot. The pacing never felt boring to me. The art, specifically during action sequences, is incredibly readable and easy to grasp, unlike JJK and another series that I'll be ranking. I appreciate the use of negative space and the judicious use of cross-hatching.
- InuYasha: I never watched this series, so I picked this up on a whim. Inuyasha is an adorable tsundere. Kagome is so sweet. It's an enjoyable story, period.
- Cardcaptor Sakura (the OG series): I grew up watching the show, so I had to read the manga because many nuances (the LGBTQ) of the show went over my head. Reading the manga cemented my love for Tomoyo Daidouji and Toya Kinomoto. This was pure nostalgia injected into my veins. Through the reread, I learned that the anime created 30 extra cards (the manga only has 19), Li Meiling only appears in the anime, etc.
- Neighborhood Story: I love Ai Yazawa's works, especially how she writes interpersonal relationships and how stylish all the characters are. Of her series, this one hurt me the least and acts as a surrogate for my poor babies in Paradise Kiss and Nana: you can achieve your artistic dreams, be in a healthy relationship that encourages you to grow into a better person with someone you love, and maintain meaningful friendships.
- D. Gray-Man: I know this series is on hiatus, yet I still chose to hurt myself like this. I've been aware of this series since I was in elementary school, as I would see it scheduled on the Funimation TV channel (anyone else remember when it was a TV channel?). This series is dark, but not as messed up as Berserk; I don't think anything will be more messed up than that series... A common complaint that I will reiterate is that some of the action sequences are difficult to follow. There is a lot of motion and lines to convey that motion, which muddles the readability of the panels. Allen is going through the ringer. I feel bad for him because of his heavy burden. In my humble opinion, as much as I love Lavi and Yu (Tyki the most, but that's a different story), they don't have the same gravity because Allen is too big of a special snowflake who's slated to save everyone.
- Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Arc: Also nostalgic and sweet, but extra.
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