Keeping Everyday

Archive Book List

[keepingeveryday]

Daring Greatly

The theme for this month's book club meeting was Brene Brown. This book was my choice.

I will be honest: I didn't hear about Brene Brown before we chose this theme in the book club. I'm happy with my choice of this book. Even though it could have been shorter, it seemed to contain all of her messages from previous books and kind of summarize them together. She definitely does a good job to write down her important message in simple sentences and examples to make it approachable. It was about vulnerability, shame and guilt. About the importance of worthiness and how to work it out. It all seems to be so logical and easy at some point. But she shows her own mistakes and vulnerability so the readers understand that one needs to work on oneself constantly to be a better person.

I normally don't like this kind of books and non-fiction. But this book has definitely moved me in such a way that I feel like I need to change myself in order to be a better version of myself. Even though this book has (hopefully) changed me in a positive way, I would have hoped this book to be shorter anyway. It felt like it  got repetitive at some points.

[keepingeveryday]

Weil der Mensch erbärmlich ist

Ich gebe zu: ich habe nach dem Buch gegriffen, weil der Titel mich direkt angesprochen hat.

Das Buch wird von einem alten Mann erzählt, der seine Erinnerungen vom 2. Weltkrieg preisgibt und dabei mit sich selbst kämpft. Dabei erzählt er auch von seinen weniger schönen Taten und Erinnerungen; die Nazis waren schlecht, aber was ist mit denen, die nicht geholfen haben? Was passiert mit denen, die Mitläufer waren? Die eigenen Dämonen zu bekämpfen und die Gedanken zu sortieren um mit sich im Reinen zu sein, können die schwierigsten Dinge auf der Welt sein.

Ja, weil der Mensch erbärmlich ist.

Deswegen sollten wir die Vergangenheit nicht vergessen.

Und jeden Tag nutzen um aus uns einen besseren Menschen zu machen.

[keepingeveryday]

The Silent Patient

This was definitely a fast and very entertaining read. I could not see what was coming and I was surprised up to the end. First, I thought this was going to be just one of the generic thrillers but it proved me wrong. I won't say that it's a literature masterpiece but it was still very much fun to read.

[keepingeveryday]

Der Sympathisant

Das Buch stand schon länger auf meiner Liste von Büchern, die ich unbedingt lesen wollte.

Das Buch wird von einem Mann erzählt, dessen Leben geprägt ist von doppelten Persönlichkeiten, der konstant zwischen Kulturen und Welten gespalten ist, und der immer mehr von allen Seiten zerquetscht wird.

Man lernt und liest viel vom Vietnam-Krieg, aber bei mir wurde es nie als wichtiges Thema in der Schule besprochen, sodass es für mich so fern war. Das Buch macht einen guten Job die menschliche und furchtbare Seite dieses Kriegs anhand von verschiedenen Charakteren und Schicksalen darzustellen. Der Protagonist, der im Grund genommen nur versucht sein Leben zu überleben, spricht im Plauderton von seinem eigentlich unangenehmen Leben. Ganz beiläufig streut er dabei Pointen von der mehrschichtigen amerikanischen Gesellschaft und den vietnamesischen Immigranten, die rassistisch, verletzend und zutiefst traumatisiert sind. Es ist nicht immer der Rassismus zwischen Amerikanern und Vietnamesen, sondern auch die Ungleichheit zwischen den Vietnamesen selbst, was man vor allem sah, als es darum ging, während des Kriegs das Land zu verlassen.

Das Buch fing so einfach und harmlos an, aber ohne die Schicksale zu vergessen oder gar zu verharmlosen. Es war nicht nur Spaß und Unterhaltung dieses Buch zu lesen. Gewisse Szenen sind immer noch im Kopf so stark eingebrannt, sodass man beim Schmunzeln über abstruse Situation wieder diese Bilder vom Krieg im Kopf hat.

[keepingeveryday]

인어가 잠든 집

Ich bin ein unglaublicher Fan von Keigo Higashino und freue mich über jedes Buch, was ich von ihm lesen kann.

Das Buch handelt von einer Familie, wo die Tochter in jungen Jahren durch einen Unfall nicht mehr aufwacht. Die Mutter gibt die Tochter nicht auf und unternimmt alles um die Tochter so lange wie möglich am Leben zu erhalten. Alle unterstützen ihr Vorhaben bis man Zweifel hegt, ob man das Leben an Maschinen überhaupt als Leben bezeichnen kann.

Für jemand, der nicht direkt betroffen ist, sprich nicht diese Erfahrung machen musste, ein enges Familienmitglied fast tot zu erleben, wo man nicht weiß, ob diese Person jemals wieder die Augen öffnen und jemals kommunizieren wird. Ist es für diese Person nicht vielleicht viel einfacher zu sagen, dass man die Maschinen nach einer Zeit einfach ausschaltet, einfach aufgibt, wenn es finanziell und emotional nicht mehr unterstützbar ist, jemand am Leben zu erhalten, wenn diese Person vielleicht seelisch nicht mehr da ist. Aber wer entscheidet, ob jemand noch lebt oder nicht? Wenn jemand zwar nicht ansprechbar ist, aber noch atmet, lebt man? Wenn die Mutter die Tochter innig liebt und man noch das Herz der Tochter schlagen hört, wäre es nicht gefühllos die Mutter dazu zu zwingen die lebenserhaltenden Maschinen auszuschalten?

Wenn es hier aufhören würde, wäre es vielleicht ein gewöhnliches Buch mit einem Thema, was schon mal behandelt wurde. Aber Keigo Higashino schafft es dieses Thema in der japanischen heutigen Gesellschaft aufzufangen und mit weiteren Aspekten zu verknüpfen. Wenn ein Körper noch funktioniert, ohne ein Anzeichen einer Seele, was kann man noch tun? Wie ist es mit Organspenden von Kindern an Kindern? Gesetzlich, moralisch und gesellschaftlich? Es ist eine Verflechtung von grundlegender Liebe zwischen Eltern und Kind, und zwischen Mensch und Mensch. In einer sehr schwierigen Situation, wo so viele Leben abhängig sind, wie kann man über sich wachsen um durch Größe etwas noch Größeres zu erreichen? Kann ich mein Kind aufgeben damit ein anderes Kind die Chance auf ein gesundes Leben hat? Ein wirkliches Leben, wo es lachen, toben und glücklich sein kann, ohne die Gewissheit zu haben, ob mein eigenes Kind noch lebt oder vielleicht bereits gestorben ist?

[keepingeveryday]

내게 무해한 사람

굳이 비교하자면 "오직 두 사람"과의 비슷하듯 다른 단편집이라고 할까. 개인적으로 "오직 두 사람"의 스타일이 더 내 취향이지만 이 책도 나쁘지 않았다.

조금더 깊게 친한 사람끼리의 개인적인 비밀 이야기를 공유하듯 속삭임과 부끄러움안에서 조금씩 후회를 털어내며 인생을 사는 여인들의 이야기들이었다. 여성이기에, 여성을 위한, 여성이니까의 단편들. 사랑은 삶의 이유가 될만큼 중요하지만 삶의 다양한 요소와 압박 속에 포기하게 되는 인생. 뭔가 행복한 여운이 부족하지만 포장을 열어 그만큼 달콤하면서 끝맛이 씁쓸한 캔디를 먹는 기분이었다. 오히려 현실적이어서 마음에 들었다. 특히나 마지막 이야기인 외국인의 입장에서 보는 어느 한국 간호사의 이민 이야기가 제일 인상 깊었는데 외국에 살고 있어서 더 감명깊게 읽었던것 같다. 주인공인 외국인의 캐릭터가 한국 서브 캐릭터에 비해 덜 개발된 캐릭터 같아 아쉬웠지만 끝 마무리까지 좋은 단편이었다. 이 책을 읽고 쇼코의 스마일도 읽고 싶다는 생각이 든다.

[keepingeveryday]

Krokodilwächter

My go-to-genre has always been suspense/thriller. When I saw this hardcover edition I totally loved the whole design and the short summary on the back, that I immediately bought it.

What I liked most about this book were the characters. I loved Esther and Jeppe so much, and they felt so genuine and human throughout the whole story. I'm hoping to read more about Jeppe and his cases soon.

[keepingeveryday]

Milkman

To be honest, I chose this book without knowing anything and only because I liked the design of the cover.

Her life, her love, her family and the Milkman are constantly circling around her head and her mind making her uncomfortable, sad and angry. The presence of the Milkman is giving her a new turn in her life where being not normal is the worst thing you can do. But how can she protect herself when she is young and just a female? Being different and seeing things differently is hard enough for a male and yet this girl keeps pushing the limits. The uneasy and depressing feeling won't really go away until the end but there are some small signs that it gets better in this community and this girl's life.

The book definitely didn't make me feel happy but it gave a lot food for thought. A happy ending or even just a breakthrough of the main character doesn't really happen. But you can feel the slight changes and how the people just adjust to the mood of the community page by page. I feel like I need to read the book once more to give a proper review and to think about it again.

There was just one thing which I disagree with critics: I didn't feel that it was funny or hilarious. Joyous, yes, but not really hilarious.

Then, landing on the pavement in the direction of the parks & reservoirs, I exhaled this light and for a moment, just a moment, I almost nearly laughed.

[keepingeveryday]

The Sellout

Das ist mal wieder eins der Bücher, die ich lieber auf Englisch hätte lesen sollen.

Der Auftakt des Buches war stark, so wahnsinnig und doch mutig. Der Protagonist, der schwarz ist, plädiert für ein bisschen Rassentrennung und Rassismus, wo sollte auch das Problem sein? Ein bisschen Sklaverei hier und da hat niemandem geschadet. Er erzählt so mühelos und ehrlich mit direkten Worten über den Alltag eines Schwarzen, der in einer gemischten amerikanischen Gesellschaft einen eigenen Platz finden will. Auch wenn die Worte ungezügelt sind, lacht man eher mit ihm über die Lächerlichkeiten des Rassismus im Alltag, als dass man wirklich für die Rassentrennung und Sklaverei wäre.

Er spricht tatsächlich das aus, was vielleicht viele denken und mitkriegen und verzerrt es soweit, dass es urkomisch wird. An manchen Stellen war es allerdings aber zu viel und es erdrückte mich dann so sehr, dass ich das Gefühl hatte, dass ich den Worten nicht hinterher komme. Aber dann wiederum, zeigt es nicht die aufschäumenden Emotionen der unbewusst (und bewusst) Unterdrückten? Wie oben erwähnt, hätte ich das Buch doch auf Englisch lesen sollen.

Man ist entweder Bürger oder Sklave, ob im alten Rom oder im heutigen Amerika. Löwe oder Jude. Schuldig oder unschuldig. Hat es sich entweder gemütlich eingerichtet oder nicht.

[keepingeveryday]

Pieces of Her

It's been such a long time since I have read a book written by Karin Slaughter. This title has been on my must-read-list for a long time.

The story starts with the daughter who is also the main character talking about her life and relationship with her mother. Her life seems to be depressive and hard enough when suddenly her life gets disrupted by the sudden murders and brutal incidents about her mother and her. After all, her mother was never the person she thought who she was and in the end, she tries to find out on her own who she is.

It was a very entertaining read and I was satisfied with what I got. I liked the suspense and the story telling on how the relationship between 2 people can differ so much. There is the abusive relationship between the biological dad and her mother. Then there is the absolute caring and helicopter-mom like love between her mother and her. There were so many different sides of love inside the whole book that I was surprised to read such a deep connection between the characters because I've just been expecting a fun, entertaining, fast read. Anyway, I really enjoyed it a lot!

[keepingeveryday]

we were liars

I can't remember why I chose to buy this book but the story was not what I have expected.

From reading the back side and the short summary about this book, I was totally expecting something different. The main character, Cadence, is a heiress of an old and rich family in the USA until an unforeseen tragedy overcomes her and her family which changes her life and mind completely.

It was a nice, short and easy read, and even though I could guess what really happened to Cadence, it was still a good book to keep on reading until the end without any pause. It was darker and more brutal than I have imagined for a young adult book but it dealt with the amount of love, drama and the tragedies of life. I also liked the ending and was surprised that it was not the usual happy ending I read in young adult books. And what surprised me even more is that I even liked the stylistic line breaks and short sentences throughout the book.

I do not suffer fools.

I endure.

[keepingeveryday]

How to Stop Time

Yes, how do we stop time indeed? I guess everyone has thought now and then what it would be like if we could live forever. And when I discussed it with friends, I answered that I want good health and eternal youth with a long life as well. What I didn't really think of was the possibility of being alone during a very long time. Only by reading this book, I really got a glimpse of what kind of miserable life it could be to live forever.

It is about a man with an extremely long life who just doesn't know what to do with himself. A human who was actually not built and not meant to have this long life and who regrets being the way he is all the time. Even though he was meant to be a grumpy old man in the beginning, he was just a troubled, sad and furious man who just didn't find himself yet. He was so human and sympathetic and foolish that I cared for him in the end. Also, even when it is about the aspects of long lives, it also shows the importance of companionship, love and family which I liked a lot.

The book could have been written shorter at several passages and could have been more on point for my taste. And the end was kind of predictable. But I still enjoyed the book very much since it have me new food for thoughts. And I started being grateful for the normal life I got (even though I got jealous about all the experience the main character could collect).

[keepingeveryday]

Acht Berge

I liked the book more than I have expected.

The story about the friendship and lives of two same but different males. There are already plenty of books about friendship, lives and males. I don't know what makes this book special or better, I seriously couldn't explain. Then on the other hand, I don't read many books of this kind so I wouldn't have any kind of comparison to be honest. Still, I liked the book and enjoyed reading it.

While the protagonist keeps living his life across the whole world trying to find his own spot where he could feel comfortable and at home, his best friend stays in the mountains in his village to survive his life. During their childhood they keep seeing each other frequently and when they grow up their paths split up so they only get to see whenever some major even happens such as death of a family member. Even though they don't speak or connect to each other regularly, they always feel connected and care for each other.

The book tells the story in a more neutral way like describing the trees growing, snow melting and the weather changing. It feels so natural to read about the friendship and the ways of life that it makes me calm and comfortable. I wished the end would have been a different one but I do understand how these characters developed and why it ended as it did. Overall, it was a beautiful read.

Er hat alles verloren, schrieb sie mir. Er ist jetzt ganz allein. Kannst du nicht irgendetwas tun?

[keepingeveryday]

Beloved

I like a good challenge but this book was more than a challenge and more than what I could deal. To be honest, if it would have been read in class in school connecting to some history lessons, I could have understood it better. I'm more sensible to stories about European history and this was the first one I read about American slavery. I really had a hard time to process the whole story.

First of all, English is obviously not my mother tongue so I had to get used to the style of the author which I found difficult to understand in the beginning. I struggled through the first half of the book until I could connect to the story and characters. The first pages were just a lot of confusion and question marks in my head so it took some time until I got the red thread.

It is indeed greatly written, loaded with so much emotion, especially sorrow and sadness which overfilled every page from everywhere. Every sentence contains a metaphor or can be interpreted in so many ways that my brain got overloaded at some times. But it was a fascinating experience to read through the book and experience all the grief and chaos. And in the end, one will not to find the releasing salvation.

The protagonist, a black woman, is struggling with her life as an African woman, as a daughter in law, as a mother and a wife. Her life as a slave and in freedom are both very hard and everything seems to be so lost. There is no one who can rescue her except for herself but what should she do if she never learned how to act free? Maybe the book is not meant to make someone happy or relieved. Maybe we should keep thinking about the horrible history of exploitation of African people. And how this messes with people. It says to never forget the past but not to be overshadowed by the past. How should someone even survive all these horrible things and remain sane? How can we possibly expect from those who suffered so much to behave the same like those who are privileged?

I AM BELOVED and she is mine.

[keepingeveryday]

Alchemist (연금술사)

I had read "Alchemist" already when it had been on all bestseller lists and being highly praised on every review site. Few days ago I took this book again and re-read it years later.

I won't go into any details regarding the story since I guess most people know it anyway. I have read it in German the first time and now in Korean. It felt different not only because of the language but also because I got older. What I noticed most is that I missed some aspects or didn't understand them in the past. And now I could reflect on it in a different way.

What I liked most about the book is still the encouraging and warm words in regards of life and each person's motivation. God will lead and show the way to find their own happiness and life's goal. If we don't follow them, one may end up being unhappy the whole life. But then you also see the life of the crystal glass seller who chooses consciously how to live (or not to live) his dream. Anyway, one could talk and discuss about almost every page of this book.

The book made me feel comfortable and strengthening in the way we are. I hope that many people read this book to find their own peace with their struggle to reach the dream.

자네가 무언가를 간절히 원할 때, 온 우주는 자네의 소망이 실현되도록 도와준다네.

[keepingeveryday]

They Both Die at the End

The title already reveals the outcome of the whole book so I got curious how the author would choose to tell this story.

The story is set in a near future where death is predictable and everyone will be notified on their death day. The story starts where two total strangers get this notification. A rather introvert teenager meets another outsider who spend their last day together, and find out what they have been missing in their lives. They compliment each other and spend their most wonderful time together before they die in the end.

In total, it was a nice, heartwarming story about two outsiders having a last beautiful day with all the dramatic feels you can imagine. The target group is to younger people I assume so it was nice enough. It got some interesting thoughts and outputs like not to give up on your life even everything seems to be lost. Or that death can always happen at any time so one needs to live every moment and not wait for anything just to happen. Nevertheless, I'm not sure if it's a good book for teenagers in general. Yes, the book is speaking for life as something beautiful but both still die in the end and the death somehow seems to provide a solution to a seemingly pointless life. Yes, you can read that both regret their previous lives and they don't want to die. But without any kind of discussion or discourse, one may be lead to a wrong path.

[keepingeveryday]

Die Hauptstadt

Die Hauptstadt von Robert Menasse stand schon länger auf meiner Liste der Bücher, die ich unbedingt lesen wollte. Ich kenne den Autor nicht, mal abgesehen von dem Skandal, wo er in den Medien hoch und runter gespielt wurde, und hatte auch keine großen Hintergrundwissen zum Buch selbst.

Ich lasse mich gerne bei Büchern einfach "hineinfallen" ohne dass ich mich vorab informiere oder großartig recherchiere. Zum Glück (?) gibt es in meinem Bekanntenkreis sehr wenige Personen, die deutsche Bücher lesen, sodass ich auch gar nicht in die Gefahr komme überraschend über ein Buch gespoilert zu werden.

Der Start mit dem Schwein im Prolog, der alle Schauspieler des Buches mühelos miteinander verbindet, war charmant. Alle Charaktere spielten eine wichtige Rolle, die am Ende zu einem gesamten Bild zusammengeführt wurden. Um das Gute vorweg zu nehmen: sie wurden nicht nach Hollywood-Manier zusammengeschmissen. Aber an manchen Stellen fühlte es sich an als würde man 3-4 Geschichten parallel lesen, die überhaupt nicht zueinander fanden. Ich persönlich hätte gerne mehr über ein paar Protagonisten erfahren um eine größere Bindung herzustellen, z. B. Professor Erhard und Frau Xenopoulou, die so menschlich verzweifelt in diesem europäischen Wirrwarr ihr Weg finden wollen. Insgesamt hat es mir sehr viel Spaß gemacht das Buch zu lesen und dass Brüssel so detailverliebt dargestellt wurde, hat mir auch sehr gefallen und geholfen mich in die Geschichte hineinzuversetzen.

In diesem Buch werden nicht nur die persönlichen Geschichten offengelegt, sondern auch die der Europäischen Union und warum diese so wichtig ist (oder auch nicht). Aus meiner Sicht kommt aus dem Buch nicht eindeutig hervor, ob die Europäische Union notwendig ist und seinen Job gut macht. Aber auf der anderen Seite ist es auch nicht gegen die EU, denn schließlich kann man gut nachvollziehen und auch fühlen, warum diese gemeinsame Aufgabe der europäischen Länder eine so immens wichtige Rolle für die Gesellschaft spielt.