A summer cold

Since last week Monday, I've been down with a nasty cold that lingered until now - almost one and a half weeks total. Between the cold and the crazy heat from summer, I not only feel quite out of it mentally, but also feel very lethargic and achey, despite my best efforts to go walking for a few hours since I've been getting better. It's not a very nice feeling at all, both physically and mentally, the recognition that not only has my ability to do things been hampered, but so has my enjoyment.

On another note, for the last week, I finished 3 books: The Waking Land by Callie Bates (7/10), The Relic Master by Christopher Buckley (8.5/10 - I really enjoyed all the historical medieval bits, which I could easily liken to all the historical coursework I've done), and The Magicians by Lev Grossman (7.5/10). I always like to try and read books regularly, to try and counteract the rate at which I acquire them. As it is, my bookshelf is overflowing. Sometimes I deliberately try and start books that I know will have no permanent place in my bookshelf, just so I can make space. The end result however, is that the books that I think I will really enjoy and find meaty are left unread, in favour of fodder that I know I will donate after I've finished reading them.

I've really got to stop buying books - but goodness knows that's my number one weakness.

Beasts of Burden

I've been a longtime fan of comics ever since I discovered Archie comics at a young age, thanks to my Uncle KL. This love has since evolved into a love of graphic novels and other types of more 'mature' comics, and one of my favourite stops in NYC is the Forbidden Planet store by Union Square to browse through the comic titles available there.

Last Saturday after a sashimi/chirashi dinner with Jon at Kotobuki, we ended up at Forbidden Planet on our meandering walk home, and I picked up Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson. Yesterday I finished the entire comic during the course of the afternoon, and I am now lamenting that I finished the volume and don't have any more of it to read. The book married two of my favourite things: animals, and weird things occurring. The art too is also on point (at least in my opinion - even though I might really like the concept of a comic, the art can kill my enjoyment).

Tomorrow I need to sit for the Educating All Students test, as part of my teaching certification for NY State (officially the long acronym of NYSTCE, something I've mangled multiple times in my memory). I am definitely not prepared at all, mainly because I've been procrastinating and also spoiled by other classmates who say that the test isn't really studiable, because everything is so subjective. This of course gives my kiasu Singaporean ass a type of anxiety, but one that has been tempered by the fact that I seem to have acquired a 'head cold' (as the Americans say), and am feeling at 75% of my usual functioning. I hope I feel better at least during the test tomorrow.

Books on the Subway

Whenever I see someone reading a book in the subway, I always like to take a little glance at the cover to see if I recognise it. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who does this, and so on Friday when Jon and I were on the 6 and headed up to Pelham Bay Park station around rush hour and I saw a middle aged man crane his neck to glance at the book I was reading, I paused my reading and flipped the book upwards to show him the cover. We then had a brief conversation - he had initially thought the book I was reading, May We Be Forgiven by A. M. Holmes, was a non-fiction book about forgiveness, and remarked that it was a rather heavy topic. I told him that it was a fiction book, and that I hadn't yet reached the 'forgiveness' part of the story. I also handed the book over to him for him to browse through. He got off a stop later at 51st St, so the interaction couldn't have actually lasted more than a few minutes, but it was more than memorable for its substance.

Anyway I finally finished the book last night. Clocking in at 496 pages, it is a really fat volume, but worth enough the 496 pages. May We Be Forgiven reminded me of a more manic and bizarro version of The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, and one that ended on a far more optimistic note. It was an enjoyable read, though I'm not sure how memorable it'll be in the long run; I give it a 4/5. 

Barnes and Noble

When I was younger I used to write blog posts about all the books that I'd buy whenever I went on a book shopping spree. As I got older and had less time, I started writing much less, and posting about  books much less too. I've also started consuming books that are far less literary, books that require less mental input. As of a few years ago I really got into the whole new female driven crime thrillers genre, ala Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train - females who are unreliable narrators and not professional investigators - real page turner fluffs that I can plow through in a few days. In contrast, I spent about two weeks reading A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, and found it utterly overwrought and unrealistic. At the end, I wished I had spent the two weeks reading enjoyable nonsense instead. Recently, I've also really started getting into fantasy novels, particularly those with female protagonists. Also enjoyable fluff that has larger ideas, if you feel inclined to use your brain.

Anyway yesterday I was babysitting, and Rudo's Dad came home early, so I unexpectedly had an 'extra' two hours to my day. Instead of dutifully going home and working on things for my horrid Summer Class (very badly taught and run), I went to Barnes and Noble at Union Square instead, since I'd have had to change from the 5 train at Union Square anyway. Happily, the Union Square market was in operation, and as I walked through to get to B&N I stopped to buy chocolate chip cookies and apples for $1.60 a pound.

At B&N I headed straight for my usual section - the discounted books on the 3rd Floor - and after browsing around I picked up a few nonsense novels and one slim looking literary book that had "10 Best Books - The New York Times Book Review 2014" on its front cover. I then went to the 4th Floor to look at the Sci Fi and Fantasy section, but couldn't really find anything new that I wanted to sink my teeth into. I ended up picking up a nonsense book from an overflow cart that someone had left by the Sci Fi and Fantasy section, and decided to get it since it was a mass market paperback at $9.99.

So this is my book haul from yesterday:
Family Life - Akhil Sharma
Last Train to Babylon - Charlee Fam
The Silent Wife - A. S. A. Harrison
The Other Widow - Susan Crawford
And an Archie Giant comics book, for bathroom reading.

In addition last night, I also purchased Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi on my kindle. I had heard about it for a while but felt reluctant to purchase a YA book. Last night I decided to bite the bullet and finally get it, as I think the inclusion of African folklore in a fantasy background would make it worth my while.

Very much a change from the books I would have purchased 10 years ago.