Hi! Happy New Year!
It's been a while since I blogged. Let's say I've been enjoying my holiday break and tried to have a life (not really). I know it's kind of too late to reminisce about 2014 now, but I am going to do it anyway. Last year was actually a very pleasant. It may have not been that eventful, but most of the memories for I have for 2014 were full of bliss. I reached my second year, I turned 20, I got brand new pets, I discovered cosmetics, I learned many things, and I started this blog to share many of the things I learned...and cherish. So yeah, it was a good year.
So for this post, I would like to talk about all the books I managed to read for 2014. I saw Rick Riordan do something similar to this and I thought why not share my reading list. I may have not read thirty books like he did, but I still think it is worth sharing.
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At the beginning of the year, I sort of made a resolution that I would read a book that's beyond my comfort zone; meaning I would read a completely different author, since I was so used to Riordan, Clare, Rowling, and all those amazing authors. Then one fateful school day, I encounter this in a secondhand book sale. It's a simple story about a frustrated artist who recently lost her mother and then meets this male medical student with a tortured past. Sounds like a pretty generic love story to most people but as I started reading it, it wasn't. Yoshimoto had a different way of writing it. The situations were pretty simple, but each word was heavy with the sorrows and whatever feelings the characters were having. Whilst reading this I could mentally hear dramatic violin and piano music playing. The story was that dramatic. It would be cliche for me to say that this isn't a typical love story. In its own way, it is like every love story ever told but I've never seen a relationship between two characters that is filled with so much sincerity. Most love stories I've read are bursting with passion, but the love these characters had was so sincere, simple, sad, but absolutely beautiful. Reading this was a refreshing experience and a good way to start the year.
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Believe it or not, this was my first Neil Gaiman book. And before reading this over the summer, I have always wanted to try one of his works. In this very odd tale, we have a boy named Nobody Owens, who grew up in a graveyard. In this coming-of-age story, I was so overwhelmed with how the main character was raised. And I was immediately drawn by the plot the moment I read the first chapter. The beginning had an eerie aura to it, which I enjoyed. I almost forgot what it was like to read something strange but interesting. But in the end, it gave me a glimpse of what it's really like to grow up and live. Now that I'm two decades old, I fully grasped what Gaiman meant at the end of the story. If that's really the message he wanted to evoke here...
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Okay, I honestly do not know how to explain the plot of this book. All I can tell you is that it is the very last book of The Heroes of Olympus series, which is the sequel series to Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Basically the entire series revolves around Greek and Roman mythology, with young Greek and Roman demigods as the main characters of the story. Riordan has never failed to impress me with not only his witty writing skills, but also how he has managed to make something modern out of something that is absolutely ancient, which are the elements of Greek and Roman mythology. I love how he builds the suspense (campers, let's give him a hand for this, even if we suffered every year. If you know what I mean), and the character developments in these books are well written, especially in the last book. The Blood of Olympus gave me a chance to appreciate other characters, which did not have much appearances in the other books. And to be honest, I was emotionally preparing myself to cry every time I turned to the next page. The suspense that he has been building up for years has finally led to the pages of final book, and Rick can be very good with surprises.
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The first thing I said to myself when I first saw this book was, "Wow. This is my book" Why? Well, this story is about Cath, a fangirl who writes fanfiction about her ultimate fandom. Just like the main character, I'm a fangirl who has a hard time of letting go of a fandom. The only difference between her and I is that I have multiple fandoms. She only has one. Plus, I do not write authentic slash fanfiction that can reach the parts of Japan. I do not know if you consider this as a Chick Literature, but if it is then it is the best one I've ever read. Perhaps the reason behind this is because I could relate to everything Cath went through. I know what it's like to write fanfiction, I know what it's like to really love a fandom and become very attached to it, and I know the feeling when your talents are being put into question. Cath's life was almost similar to my life. But what I really love most about this book was that Cath did not easily say that she was awkward in every situation, she demonstrated it. She fully expanded how she felt in every chapter and I was able to grasp it. I just love how Rainbow showed the life of an Otaku (introverted people who stay in their room and spend most of their time, being passionate towards their interests or hobbies), and I just love how she showed how human we Otakus actually are. She showed that we Otakus, do not just selfishly love our fandoms. We bleed for friendship, we bleed for accomplishments, we bleed for a life, we bleed for love. Being an Otaku is not that easy, you guys.
I know what you guys are saying... Tama? You call this a reading list? What happened? Haha, I apologize. I am actually disappointed with myself because this is all that I've read for the year. I would usually read more than this. I guess this is what happens when you have a smartphone and 24/7 WiFi. This year, I would like to try more books. I don't know if I should consider this as a New Year's resolution, because they usually do not end well. But I will try to read more this year. And currently, I am starting with this:
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Just like the Blood of Olympus, this is the final installment to the Mortal Instruments series (gah, I can't believe my favorite series ended this year!). How am I holding up with this book? Not so well, since my feels are just overflowing my house at the moment. But it's getting good, so far. Good job at breaking my heart, Clare.
Any books you would like to recommend to me?
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