My reading wrap up the past few months hasn’t been as good as I had set out for the year. It’s been a very slow start. For good reason, as I had a few intense teaching periods. What I did manage to read was excellent. I am intent on plowing through a significant TBR (To Be Read). I’m making the effort to read even more this year. Let’s see how it goes.
“Her father always said there were things you couldn’t train into a fighter—spirit, courage, the ability to be something bigger than oneself.”
I just finished the highly recommended, The Sword of Kaigen, by M.L. Wang. A genre that I am trying out this year, being an adult fantasy read that is extremely well written. I have to say, having a badass female heroine made it all that more compelling as well as refreshing. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
Misaki, the main character, is a complex woman, that holds so much within her. She is not to be underestimated as she tries to workout her past as she lives into the present. Though the magic system and the fantasy world she lives in can be more challenging to identify with, her inner world is something many can understand.
“Most strong things are rigid. If you are water, you can shift to fit any mold and freeze yourself strong. You can be strong in any shape. You can be anything.”
Before delving into the fantasy world of The Sword of Kaigen, I finished Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee, which was also a fantastic read. I really appreciated the dimensions of this multi-generational story through the lens of a Korean family making it’s way through uncertain times. Again, there is a strong female lead that left an impression on me in light of difficulty. I didn’t realize the complexity in terms of the relationship between Koreans and the Japanese during wartime, which gave a perspective I was unaware. This is what makes stories such as this so interesting. It is often through books such as this where you catch a glimpse of what life must have been like, and how humans persevere in the face of adversity.
“But a God that did everything we thought was right and good wouldn’t be the creator of the universe. He would be our puppet. He wouldn’t be God. There’s more to everything than we can know.”
After these two books, I am heavily in my fiction era. Beforehand, I was reading more nonfiction, but now I’m craving story and interesting plot lines. However, I will continue to share some of my top books that have left an impact, pulling from various genres.
Of course, I do tend to lean into spirituality and consciousness when it comes to nonfiction books, but there are a few others to add as I am a very curious person by nature. Sometimes I have to reel that curiosity in as I find more value in going deep into a few topics at a time, instead of skimming the surface of many interests.
If you are a book lover too, welcome!
If you have book recommendations, please share.
Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee
Contemporary Fiction, Asian Literature
| 512 pages |
The Sword of Kaigen, by M.L. Wang
Epic Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
| 651 pages |
The sword of Kaigen is my first read of the year. What a wonderful book to pull me out of my year long slump (besides that one book I finished last year). Although, I haven’t finished the book yet, I am truly in awe of Wang’s writing, immersive world building and scene setting that feels so natural. I feel like a spirit in the world of Kaigen, watching and listening; conversing with Wang through every chapter. I had to look it up on here to share my awe.
I am an avid reader myself, if there is one book and one author that I would recommend is The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, by the wonderful Philip Dick. I read all his books. In his sci-fi books spirituality is always the underlining topic. I am sure you would love it, even if other titles are more famous than this one, this is absolutely stunning.