Reading Journal

Just sharing my reading journey

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| ✨REVIEW✨ 🦋Characters: ➡️I admire Patroclus' feminine sensitivity and maternal care, which balanced Achilles' steely internal nature as a demigod, even softened his heart for pride and fame. ➡️Odysseus has always been the wisest king, I admire his manner of persuasion, clever suggestions, and fair mind. ➡️In the film 'Troy', Menalaus was portrayed as a barbaric, childish, greedy king, while in this book, he seemed to be a noble diplomat. He suggested to fight in a civilized manner, instead of a messy war. ➡️If I am to face Thetis, I would tell her how foolish she is in her attitude towards the mortals. She is a nymph and has seen how she was poorly treated by other gods for having much less power. I would expect a little kindness from her and stop her prejudices. Though I felt her vulnerability as a mother in the end. 🦋Story: ➡️It is slow paced in the beginning but gets interesting on the near end. I knew about Achilles and this might bore anyone who does, but I think being told thru the lens of someone who has deeply connected to him, humanized him. In this way, the reader can have a fresh look on to Achilles, and so as well stretch an ancient story to modern readers. ➡️I think the main characters were explored immensely, but I still love Circe more, which was published almost a decade after this book - the improvement on character devt was worth noting. ✨REFLECTIONS ➡️Stories mirror realities, and this retelling of an old story gives window to the old world - the world before it was christianized, the times when homosexuality and homosexual relationships weren't yet demonized by religion. ➡️I'm lucky I live in my time. The women then had no right to live their ways, no right against servitude. By day, they scrub the floors and keep the kitchen, by night, they're prostitutes to soldiers. The culture was just bonkers🥺 ➡️Nothing torn me more than the last few pages of the last chapter: 'the goddess, the mortal, and the boy who was both'. I felt the immeasurable grief, the endless pain of an immortal mother for her child's death, and the depth of longing that robes a lost soul in finding his way to his greatest love.😢 - just right for a Feb novel 💞💕 (at Philippines) https://www.instagram.com/p/CaKZCqrPoSe/?utm_medium=tumblr

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"In an increasingly callous world, we all exist with our own carapaces of scabbed-over sensibilities. Where great passion leaves off and mawkishness begins, I'm not sure. But our tendency to scoff the possibility of the former and to label genuine and profound feelings as maudlin makes it difficult to enter the realm of gentleness required to understand the story of Fancesca Johnson and Robert Kincaid." Robert, a peculiar artist, misplaced in the wrong century, has always felt obsolete, living on the edge of times. There was comfort in this kind of sorrow, stability in the uncertain, until confronted by the unexpected. He met Francesca, an Italian houswife, living in predictable, cemented path. Then, a forbidden journey began. I tear into pieces as I try to conceive the emotional intensity a solitary man can hold. Whether he walks alone or with someone but could not sustain, the inner desolation knifes through the flesh 🥺🥺 Same goes with a woman whose deepest, most hidden side unexplored, went suddenly awakened, the lifelessness shattered, the dry blossomed. The joy itself states the presence of loneliness. 🥺🥺 This is a story of a lifetime lived in moments, a taste of certainty in the spring of ambiguity, and a wild dream awakened beneath a seizing reality. I've always loved this novella, it's simple and profound... Recommended for old fashioned peregrines😶 🥀🥀 #thebridgesofmadisoncounty #robertjameswaller #thebridgesofmadisoncountyquote #bookreview #bookstagramph #romance #romancenovella #bibliophile #bookreader #filipinobookstagrammer #bookblogger #bookworm #bookaddict #booksofinsta #booksofinstagram #booklover #bookbookbook https://www.instagram.com/p/CZevrEsPOyM/?utm_medium=tumblr

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✨👇Review✨ "Tallulah! The Life and Times of a Leading Lady" by Joel Lobenthal 🥀 In Tallulah's wild facade, I feel her pain, the torment of loneliness, the attitude of escapism kept the bandage but never healed the wounds. The physical and emotional suffering was eating her alive and she still managed to pour out a humor, sharp and unparalleled. She was a true artist not only by profession but by heart as well. Original and unpredictable, she took the road of nonconformity, the struggles of a creative theater life over the unartistic routines of rising film business, and the respect for the marginalized groups (black & LGB com) over moral/social conventions and mediocre judgements. But her lonely craving for attention and living for applause sacrificed her artistry. She 'camped' her characters (intent exaggeration for buying giggles in the show) instead of developing them. I bet this was also a shield from connections of pain between her and her characters. 🥺 It was also sad that she did not receive the recognition she deserved - no Oscars because she did not yield to the business rules to make money, plus her allergies from studio disciplines 🤭 🥀 The bigger portion of the book covered Bankhead's theatrical plays and discussed them heavily from production to touring. But I think it did not give the fullest view of the subject. This book can be recommended not only to Tallulah's stans, but to those curious and interested of the plays in the 1920s to early 1960s. It is a heavy read with too much information that they cloud the entirety of the picture. It's like looking into each blade of grass and every flower petal in sketching the whole garden.😳 But if you're a fan (like myself😉) there's no dull spot😎 "She dominated the evening not by stealing the show, but by turning what little show there is into a sizable sideshow. With Tallulah the divine spark is a fire at once flaming and dangerous. The extraordinary endowments which distinguish her also imperil her. She is as much a victim of her talents as she is a product. Her gifts outdistance her taste..." - John Mason Brown, Sunday Review #biography #bookstagramph #bibliophile #ol #tallulahbankhead https://www.instagram.com/p/CZHYiPXvDZn/?utm_medium=tumblr

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✨Secondhand books✨ 🦋Prose and Poems by Nick Joaquin It's a collection of short stories and poems, and includes the play "A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino" 🦋Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer A group of women scientists in expedition to an isolated region called Area X to investigate its nature. 🦋100 Great Operas by Henry W. Simon A collection of the world's best - loved operas ranging from early 17th century masterpieces of Monteverdi to the modern classics of Gian-Carlo Menotti, and also includes an act by act description of every opera. Although I've never been to an opera house nor experienced watching a production, I'm a fan of this art form😭😭😭. It's one of my old fashioned interests- listening to classical music and the classical singers. In the Philippines, not many are into this type of art, and i only heard of Gaetano Donizetti's 'Lucia di Lammermoor' perfomed at the Cultural Centre of the Philippines in February of 2020, just before the pandemic. My favourite opera is 'Der Rosenkavalier' by Richard Strauss - it's a story of the Marschallin, an older woman while facing her aging and married to a noble man, falling in love with Octavian, a 17 yr old boy. Another one is 'Salome' by Richard Strauss. This opera was based on the French play Salome by Oscar Wilde. *i only get to watch these clips by clips on internet, although the filmed production of Der Rosenkavalier sung by soprano Elizabeth Schwarzkopf is on ytb... 🦋The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks I'm curious of the changes they did on the movie adaptation compared to the book. 🦋The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller It's another oldy romance novella of a house wife, Francesca Johnson and a traveler/photographer/artist/lone wolf, Robert Kincaid during his 4 day trip to Madison County in the '50s Some of my tastes on books are coming from other interests outside fiction, like my current read, Tallulah Bankhead's biography, which I'm about to finish in a few days, i will be posting a review of it soon. Happy weekends😁 #tbrpost #bookstack #tobereadlist #proseandpoems #nickjoaquin #bookstagramph #bookstagramphilippines #thebridgesofmadisoncounty #thenotebook #nicholassparks (at Philippines) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZBEkLjL9NA/?utm_medium=tumblr

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Another TBRs for this year: 🦋The Song of Achilles 🦋Where the Crawdads Sing CR: Tallulah, The Life and Times of a Leading Lady by Joel Lobenthal "The word 'Legend' gets tossed around so lightly these days that it's a treat to bite into the life of a real legend, Tallulah Bankhead, a sacred monster and a scandalizer who tore down the curtain between onstage and off... Tallulah! earns its exclamation mark. " - James Wolcott, Vanity Fair columnist Other tbrs I haven't opened yet: ✨The Bridges of Madison County ✨The Graveyard ✨The Notebook ✨The Great Gatsby ✨The Unbearable Lightness of Being ✨Lolita ✨The Great Operas ✨Prose and Poems ... gloomy Saturday here 😑😑 #tbrpost #tbr #bookhaul #bookstagram #bookstagramph #thesongofachilles #wherethecrawdadssing #tallulahbankhead #biography #booksiread #filipinobookstagrammer #nonfiction #bibliophile #bookreader #booknerd #booksofinsta #booksbooksbooks #toberead #tobereadlist #readersofinstagram #readingnook (at Philippines) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYvYZgfLOBT/?utm_medium=tumblr

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A few gems i caught on Booksale... ✨ Tallulah, The Life and Times of a Leading Lady by Joel Lobenthal It's a comprehensive biography of Tallulah Bankhead's private and professional life events. Bankhead is one of my most adored stage and film actress of the early 20th century. She was a rare and unique talent at the time, the first lady of the American theater, but mostly remembered as a fascinating personality coated with outrageous, wild facade. The naughtiest, dirty little chic in old Hollywood, she had lived a hedonistic lifestyle. But despiste her mess, she was non discriminating to the black and LGBT community, an animal lover and helped a jewish friend's family during the Holocaust. I was waiting for my order of her autobiography in book depository but it's been almost 7 months now, i haven't received it yet, good thing i strangled into an unplanned book dig on a thrift book shop last month and then suddenly i saw this😍😍😍 it was a lovely christmas treat.. This is my first read for 2022💋💋 ✨ Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer I don't know what to expect from this one, the film adaptation made me pick this up. I hope it won't disappoint🙂 #bookhaul #tallulahbankhead #biography #bookstagramph #annihilation #bookstagramphilippines #tbr #tbrpost #tbrbooks #bookreader #booknerd #currentread #booksiread #bexreadsies https://www.instagram.com/p/CYWI14SroQq/?utm_medium=tumblr

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"My Year of Rest and Relaxation" by Otessa Moshfegh An unnamed narrator tries to sleep for a year in hopes of being renewed and cured from her past trauma. Though I did enjoy the humor, the subplots were dragging me to sleep for a year as well🤭. Halfway through, there wasn't much going on besides the coffees, the sleeping pills and the interruptions of her sleep. I can personally relate especially to the narrator's negative mind, and her journey of overcoming it. She is supposed to be disliked but I empathise her. The realities of depression were written well and deeply explored. There were 2 dangerous attitudes toward unhappiness presented: one is using pills to sleep and forget, the other is coating fake positivity to cope. But the former did it right in the story since it's the premise🙄. As a character driven novel, im satisfied, but the plot is just 😴. The tone literally sounded its title - drowsy 😒 Like other unsettling, odd fiction, this is an acquired taste. The characters are written to be despised, the story to be slow and sleepy, its negatives are intended. Which i think made the writing effective. This is my first Moshfegh novel and I'm looking forward to her other works☺️ Happy New Year and welcome 2022 🎉🎊 #myyearofrestandrelaxation #otessamoshfegh #literaryfiction #filipinobookstagrammer #bookstagramph #bookstagramphilippines #booknook #bibliophile #bookreader #booknerd #contemporaryfiction #bexreadsies (at Philippines) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYJwD-RvPa5/?utm_medium=tumblr

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"Our hearts are not stones. A stone may never disintegrate. They have no outward form, and whether good or evil, we can always communicate them to one another. All God's children can dance." - Haruki Murakami, After the Quake Currently reading: My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh I've heard positive things about its weird premise, and I've been into weird literature lately so I'm just on the right headspace. It's on my tbr for months, and finally i picked it up. So far, I'm enjoying its dark humor. Its language is easily accessible and relatable. I'm curious of what's gonna happen and how it's gonna end, given that the story is just about The sleep for a year to cure depression. I still don't know what to expect, still on chapter1 of 50 pages... But im in the mood tho 😎😎😎 Happy weekend 💩💩 . . . #bookstagram #myyearofrestandrelaxation #otessamoshfegh #tbrbooks #tbr #tbrpost #bookquotes #bookstagramphilippines #bookstagramerph #filipinobookstagrammer #bookblog #readersofinstagram #readingnook #literaryfiction #contemporaryfiction #awalkinthewoods #billbryson #harukimurakamiquotes https://www.instagram.com/p/CXTwE_FP-Hd/?utm_medium=tumblr

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"You've never broken a bone, so you could feel sympathy for what I was going through, but you couldn't feel empathy for me. I think that would be possible only if you'd experience it yourself" . . . Happy afternoon 🐈 . . . . #quotestoponder #bookstagram #bookstagramph #booknotes #annotations #readingnook #quotesdaily #quotesaboutlife #bookstagramphilippines https://www.instagram.com/bexreadsies/p/CXQZss_Legh/?utm_medium=tumblr

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"An education is not so much about making a living as making a person" This memoir confronts the painful journey of self-discovery, self-making and self-actualization, given the absurd realities of unhealthy family ties bound by obsolete ideologies. Tara Westover, while living with her radical, survivalist Mormon family secluded in the mountains of Idaho, first attended school at seventeen, never learned about the Holocaust, and has been suffocated with their father's insane paranoia against the socialist government, while hoarding food and gas supplies for the End of Days 😳😳😳 The amount of physical and emotional abuse coated with gaslighting is unimaginable. Plagued with manipulative mental illnesses, Tara's father and his delusions are holding them backwards - no hospitalizations, no formal education and no reliance on government benefits. Although she and her 6 siblings were homeschooled, the ignorance to modern life is still incomparable. But it might be unfair to say, im a bit skeptical on how Tara wrote about the abuse, given that she might be ill too. She admitted she used to manipulate her memories and interpretations of whatever pain she endured, as her mechanism to cope. Although i believe she has written the book in good faith along with her 'doctoral degree holder' siblings for the book's accuracy, some things might be twisted, and memories are never as accurate. 🥺🥺 I bow down to her courage and resilience despite everything. If all these happened to a city girl somewhere, it could easily lead to acute depression and suicidal episodes, but Tara has made it, stepped out of it, and created a book written in her own voice shaped by her own reason. #educatedtarawestover #memoir #bookstagramphilippines #bookstagramerph #bookstagramph #filipinobookstagrammer #nonfiction #bookblog #bookreview #booknerd #booksofinsta #booksbooksbooks #readingnook #readersofinstagram #bibliophile #bookreader #booklover #filipinobooklovers #readingjournal #annotating #annotations #quotes https://www.instagram.com/p/CXNIqobPPIV/?utm_medium=tumblr

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"No one is just a victim or a victor. Everyone is somewhere in between. People who go around casting themselves as one or the other are not only kidding themselves, but they're also painfully unoriginal." - Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo "But in a solitary life, there are rare moments when another soul dips near yours, as stars once a year brush the earth. Such constellation was he to me." - Madeline Miller, Circe "To grow wild and deep, belong to no one but the ground beneath her feet, and the sky above, just like Estele. It would be an unconventional life, and perhaps a little lonely, but at least it would be hers. She would belong to no one but herself." - V. E. Schwab, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue Looking forward to other works of these authors: for TJR's interesting contemporary novels, for M Miller's poetic writings, and for Schwab's uniquely fascinating stories. TBRs * The Song of Achilles * Malibu Rising * still dreaming to get a copy of Vicious🐈 📚 #theinvisiblelifeofaddielarue #circe #thesevenhusbandsofevelynhugo #tbrbooks #bookreader #bookstagramph #bookquotes #tbr https://www.instagram.com/p/CXJXleNvv9g/?utm_medium=tumblr

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| The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh 3 young siblings Grace, Lia and Sky lived in a secluded island with their parents. They were raised to fear men, believing men carry toxic air and blood that could cause illnesses to women. So they practice odd therapies and precautions such as drowning game, love therapy (which is actually brutal) and water cure to have themselves protected or cleansed from contaminations. One day, their father disappeared. But they still lived quietly until 2 strange men with a boy landed on their shores. *Grace - the eldest, most brainwashed and traumatized. Grew up in hatred towards King, her father, and the men, which became the biggest cause of her inclination towards their belief system. Lia - 2nd, the most stoic, curious, most mentally strong sibling; the one most prone to psychopathic behaviors, & at ease with physically and emotionally depriving trainings and therapies. Sky - youngest, about 4 or 5, she's pure and compromising, sees things innocently black & white. 🦋The trainings to numb the siblings for survival is unsettling and hard to read, which makes it effective as dystopian psychological novel. 🦋All characters are complex and are supposed to be both hated and empathized - the writing nailed this goal. 🦋I like how some events are not explicitly stated, but are given enough picture of what has probably happened to make sense of the current conditions of the characters, eg. the abuse on Grace. 🦋It's eerie, dark, gripping, uncomfortable, gross, morally challenging, oddly mysterious, haunting with twisted psyche 🦋It's about abuse (obviously), psychopathy, mental resilience over emotional deprivation, sisterhood, family orientation, female insecurity on men, loss, and darker shades of parent-child relationship. Quote: "We understood it would be difficult, hurtful, to recognize that the danger was in ourselves. That the safe place had been contaminated from the start" #bookstagram #annotating #bookstagramph #bookstagramphilippines #annotations #booknotes #thewatercure #sophiemackintosh #readersofinstagram #readingnook #bookblogger https://www.instagram.com/p/CWqDWwRPl_g/?utm_medium=tumblr

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The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab . Addie Larue, a 23 yr old French woman born in 1691, ran away from her wedding to escape from the suffocating ties of family and societal expectations on women of her time. She sold her soul to the darkness in exchange for freedom. Plagued with both the gifts and curses of immortality with a twist - she can't be remembered by anyone she encounters, led a weirdly uncommon life, until she met Henry Stauss, who made a significant change in her exhausting journey. 💩The story talks about time, freedom, grief, self-acceptance, depression, hope and the value of creating purpose to continue, letting go, resilience, the sadness of longing, and the joys and pain of being alive. 💩The first half of the book is slow paced, mostly providing the back story of the main conflict. Changing of timelines isn't that cohesive compared to the later part. 💩In the second half, i became more engaged with the MC's perceptions (as an old woman), choices and her future. The timelines became more coordinated to me, jumping off from past to present and vice versa, is making more sense with respect to the flow of the plot. 💩The whole story is obviously unique, from the main and minor conflicts, to the evolution of the characters, mainly Addie and Henry. Luc, the antagonist, showed a bit of ambiguity on the later portion. Addie's life is creatively portrayed through the lenses of artworks. How Addie is related to these masterpieces is what's keeping me hooked to finish every part. Likes: 🦋How it creatively voiced out realities and consequences of freedom on women. 🥺 🦋Foreshadowing is done effectively, i think😎 🦋The boring and repetitive form of the story parallels right to the premise👌 🦋The writing satisfies 🤓 🦋Nostalgic atmosphere - pinching straight through the bones 🥺 Dislikes : 🦋Some minor characters I wish were explored further, eg. Estele and her sorrows 🦋I usually disliked novels about writing the novel itself (spoiler😜) 🦋541 pages might be too long for the entire story. Quotes: "I don't know how to be with someone. I don't know how to be a normal person" "Art is about ideas and ideas are wilder than memories" https://www.instagram.com/p/CWgTM7LveRX/?utm_medium=tumblr

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¦ soon I will finish my current read and im now thinking what to read next. Probably picking 1 from the 2 novels i have, with unhinged women as main characters, doing weird things: 🦋 My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh. - it's about an unnamed narrator who tried to sleep for a year as her way to battle depression🥴 *I've been egging on reading this long ago because I'm intrigued with the premise, but maybe my mood wasn't in tune, i always end up with books i never plan to read. 🦋 The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh. - A story of 3 sisters who were raised in a desolate place to fear men, while living in cultlike rituals to protect them from the toxicity of the outside world. *it's considered a psychological novel and i haven't read such. But im thinking it could be similar with The lightness by emily temple - teenagers soaked in cult beliefs doing odd stuff. 💩Books in between: the classics: - Pride and Prejudice - The Picture of Dorian Gray - Jane Eyre - Wuthering Heights - Emma *They were books recommended for beginners in reading classics, and i must say it, im intimidated to even hear the titles🙈, but they're my reading goals💪 shoud be my resolution next year😜 💩Books on the side: *on the right - my current read and it's been weeks now! I haven't finished it not because it's a thousand pages👻, i just have lesser and lesser time to read🥺, im on the last part tho. *on the left - The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller she's my new favorite author so far. Im looking forward to this book, Circe has made a good impression on me 👌👌👌 Happy Sunday😉 . . . #bookstack #tobereadlist #tbrbooks #tbr #bookhaul #bookstagram #bookstagramph #bookstagramphilippines #readersofinstagram #readingnook #bookstagramerph https://www.instagram.com/p/CWPSR41P-bD/?utm_medium=tumblr

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"You think it will be easier... Your pain is meaningless. Your life is meaningless. They will crush you, bit by bit. ... And you will beg me to put you from youe misery" - V. E. Schwab #theinvisiblelifeofaddielarue #annotating #bookreader #readersofinstagram #readingnook #annotations #quotes #bookstagram #bookstagramph https://www.instagram.com/p/CWGh7UEvub6/?utm_medium=tumblr

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Been on book ban for 4 months now.. and counting. because I'm trying to keep up with my tbrs, but then, NBS was teasing me😒 at the mall, i tried to look away but...🥴🥴🥴 Well, i ended up with these lovelies... I may not gonna read them anytime yet but im looking forward to classics, they're part of my life goals🤭🤭 . https://www.instagram.com/p/CV2PkdxLkkn/?utm_medium=tumblr

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Currently reading : The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab . . Actually started with Educated after a few pages, I realized I still couldn't jump off to the realities of a memoir. I'm stuck with the slow, boring but enchanting fantasies of Circe. So i picked up Addie Larue's invisible life instead😜 to continue the vibe. . . I'm still only on the first 10% (54/541) of the book, and it's really sloooow paced, as slow as my reading turbines🥴. It's quite thick for me tho. But i don't think i would dnf... I sense some foreshadowing but the curiosity keeps me lit. . . Too early to judge but so far, it's still sailing thru the winds, don't have the motor drive yet. It is mostly from the remains of Circe atmosphere: dark, lonely, curious and shall i say, inviting... . . . Happy Sunday 😊 . . . #theinvisiblelifeofaddielarue #educated #veschwab #tarawestover #bookstagram #bookstagramph #booknotes #bookstagramphilippines #tbr #tbrpost #tbrbooks #bookreader #booknerd #booksofinsta #booksbooksbooks #toberead #tobereadlist #readersofinstagram #readingnook https://www.instagram.com/p/CVZxitALB1V/?utm_medium=tumblr