Review: Rogue Protocol (Murderbot Diaries #3) by Martha Wells

3 stars for Rogue Protocol (Murderbot Diaries book 3) by Martha Wells.

When I borrowed Murderbot Diaries book 2 Artificial Condition and book 3 Rogue Protocol - on top of a few other books - from the library three weeks ago, I wasn't sure if I will have the time to read them all. But being overzealous with books that I rarely managed to secure, I decided to risk hauling the books home against my better judgement. Looking back, I cannot be more glad to have done just that. This post is proof that my weight-bearing risk has been worth it.

Once again, I have a great time with the rogue Murderbot, a heartless killing machine that is not so cold-blooded actually. It is in fact one of the most humane version of a nonhuman; it finds itself in moral dilemmas more often than not.

Rogue Protocol is about the investigation of the failed terraforming attempt at Milu and the possibility of dealing with alien remnants. The story is exciting and absorbing as much as it is funny and entertaining. But I do have one slight grievance against the storytelling, and that is, it gets too technical at some point, bad enough that I have issues visualizing the scenes in my mind's eyes. Well, I try solving it by reading the same passage or sentence a few times, and it works to some extent.

Regardless of the difficulties in transforming words into images, I am looking forward to my next library trip. Hopefully I will have good luck with procuring book 4 Exit Strategy.

Review: Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter

3 stars for Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter.

It feels good to be reading a classic children's fiction. I feel as if time has turned back; I am a little girl once again, sitting by myself and enjoying those magical moments created scene after scene from my own imagination as I devour the pages of my hardcover book.

This book is about eleven-year-old Pollyanna Whittier who comes to stay with her strict aunt (mother's sister) in New England. She is a girl who constantly finds things to be glad about. According to Pollyanna, when we are searching for the glad things, we sort of forget the other kind, such as the things we really want, and after a while, it comes naturally, to be glad for things. And mostly, there is always something about everything that we can be glad about, if we keep hunting long enough to find it.

Besides playing the 'just being glad' game, Pollyanna also teaches her aunt (and us, the readers) the meaning of living. To quote "You breathe all the time you're asleep, but you aren't living. I mean living - doing the things you want to do: playing outdoors, reading, climbing hills, talking to Mr Tom in the garden, and Nancy, and finding out all about the houses and the people and everything everywhere all through the perfectly lovely streets I came through yesterday. That's what I call living, Aunt Polly. Just breathing isn't living!"

Put simply, Pollyanna is a 'being glad for' story. It teaches us to always look on the bright side of things and be glad for things in life. Its positivity is felt throughout the story. It is a book suitable for children of all ages as it teaches the meaning to living and being grateful for things. My only grouse is the wordings applied which I am not used to. To name a few for example, the use of ter instead of to, and yer instead of your, and ye instead of you. To quote "I'm afraid you'll have ter have bread and milk in the kitchen with me. Yer aunt didn't like it - because you didn't come down ter supper, ye know." Though I'm reading Pollyanna, it's hard to be one. Because the wordings do make reading tiresome after a while. But understandably, I let it go due to the age of the book. It is, after all, a 1913 novel.

Review: Artificial Condition (Murderbot Diaries #2) by Martha Wells

4 stars for Artificial Condition (Murderbot Diaries book 2) by Martha Wells.

I like this book 2 of the Murderbot Diaries, but not as much as book 1 All Systems Red. Part of the reason I reckon is that one third of the book is spent on a certain research transport vessel that the Murderbot protagonist aptly named ART (A**hole Research Transport). I do not much like this ART, not at all, but I do recognise the reason for its presence as a necessary foundation for the story to develop further subsequently. So, I just have to bear with it and read on to get it over with.

I cannot be more glad when the Murderbot protagonist finally reaches its destination and leaves the transport vessel to begin a different set of adventure. Once again, I have a good time going on an action-packed adventure with this Murderbot whose governor module is hacked and is now acting as a free agent and interestingly, a free agent with a conscience.

Review: Life with Pop: Lessons on Caring for an Aging Parent by Janis Abrahms Spring and Michael Spring

5 stars for Life with Pop: Lessons on Caring for an Aging Parent by Janis Abrahms Spring and Michael Spring.

Three weeks ago, I was searching for a particular book on the library shelf. The library system showed that the book was available but I just could not find it. Undeterred, I scanned the whole shelf three times, slowly and carefully. How hard could it be, to find a book that was supposed to be where it was? And yet, it was not. Three times I tried, and three times I came across Life with Pop. Not wanting to leave the library empty-handed, I decided there and then that I might as well try the Pop book. Little did I know that, once again, a great book has found its way to me.

Life with Pop is a deeply moving book about being a caregiver to an aging parent and the invaluable lessons gained. It talks about what it means to do the right thing by our parents, to care for them when their mind and body have been greatly diminished by illness and old age, to cope with their needs, demands, mistrust and even anger at times, and to make healthcare and end-of-life decisions. Presented in diary entry style, the writer, a psychologist and daughter of an aging parent shares her personal experience of taking over the role from her mother - after her mother passed away - for being the main caregiver to her eighty-year-old father.

In the book, the author makes mention of some points which while thought-provoking are also chillingly revealing, about our own selves. The day may come and most surely it will, when the child is certain that her parent cannot manage to live alone anymore, and then, what is to be done? The process of deciding where to place our parents, be it independent-living facility or assisted-living facility, forces us the children to see deep within ourselves and discover who we are. It is no comfortable experience because no matter the decision, we confront not only our father or our mother, we confront ourselves, our deepest values. And in a world where each of us craves for our own personal space and believes our quality of life matters, how does one be there for an aging parent without being consumed by the parent? How does one show love for the parent in caregiving without abandoning oneself? How does one do away with the crippling sense of guilt and self-blame for putting a parent in a home?

The bottom line is that caring for an aging parent is no simple task. It is physically exhausting for the child as much as it is an emotional and mental turmoil. To quote "You invest time and patience only to see them regress and become more helpless and disabled. Your release is paid for with their lives. There is no next chapter." And then, there is the constant struggle to balance between freedom and duty, and loss and guilt. To quote "If Dad dies in the next five years, I don't know how I'll stand it. If he lives for another five years, I don't know how I'll stand it." It is an experience where no one who has not gone through what the other is going through can ever begin to understand.

All in all, this book makes an excellent guide for people who feel overwhelmed by the needs of an elderly parent. It may help to inspire and give the caregiver the much needed spiritual support. Also, the book serves to prepare readers for their own old age and help them become the type of person who will bring out the best in those who care for them.

Finally, I will like to say this book drives home the very fact that "人的一生，就是生老病死的过程". Translated, it means "Life is a cycle of birth, aging, illness and death". There is no escape. Also, being alive and living are not the same. Because the quality of life matters. Ultimately, human kindness, compassion, and listening without passing judgement may help alleviate the pain of suffering from the loss of health and the loss of freedom of movement that comes with old age.

Review: Quiet Girl in a Noisy World: An Introvert's Story by Debbie Tung

5 stars for Quiet Girl in a Noisy World: An Introvert's Story by Debbie Tung.

This graphic novel is sweet, enchanting and quietly touching. It captures the gist of being an introvert in the simple everyday life moments and a love for books and reading.

The black and white illustrations with chat bubbles mostly resonate with me. As I flip the pages and digest each of the sketches, I am like "Wow! This is me. This is so me."

I enjoy the book so much that I devour it all in one sitting.

To illustrate my point, I quote below a comic strip from this book, one of my favourites. It is short on words but the meaning it brings across is priceless.

Review: Fangs by Sarah Andersen

3 stars for Fangs by Sarah Andersen.

Fangs is a love story between a vampire and a werewolf. It tells us what happens when a bloodsucker and a wolfman start having a relationship.

Overall, this is an entertaining and relaxing graphic novel that is relatively short and easy to read. While some scenes are cute and funny, they are not meant for teens due to the adult language and intimate moments.

To give a glimpse of the funny moments, below are two of the first few comic strips that enticed me to continue reading.

Review: All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells

5 stars for All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries book 1) by Martha Wells.

One, two, three... seven. Seven pages. I have read a mere seven pages when my hunch tells me that I am going to like this science fiction novel. As it is, my intuition proves itself right. Again.

All Systems Red is exciting, mysterious and captivating. There is no lack of imagination involving science and fiction with Imitative Human Bot Unit, combat SecUnit, drone, habitat, dataport, transport pod, visual feed, audio feed, security feed, field camera feed, system feed, HubSystem command feed, emergency beacon, combat override module, augmented human, scientists, researchers, etc.

There are so many things to like about this novel. It is in first person narrative. It is not a thick and heavy read. The storyline is good. There is mystery to be solved. It is packed with action. There is light-hearted humor. Most of all, it is not some story masquerading as a science fiction fantasy. For those who love a good story on spacefaring future and planetary missions, you know what I mean.

The protagonist is a robot. A murderbot. One made up of organic components and non-organic parts. Monitored and controlled by HubSystem, the existence of this android is to keep things from attacking its clients when on contracted jobs and to discourage the clients themselves from attacking one another. Then, this murderbot hacks itself and becomes a free agent, meaning it is free to do as it pleases. Doesn't it sound scary and intimidating? But this is where things get interesting. Because the word rogue takes on a new meaning.

Having read book 1 All Systems Red, I can see why book 5 Network Effect comes in third place under the science fiction category in Goodreads Choice Awards 2020. I may be late to join the party in this Murderbot Diaries series but I am definitely not planning to miss out on any of the subsequent instalments. Hurray for more good reads to come.

Review: The World I Fell Out Of by Melanie Reid

5 stars for The World I Fell Out Of by Melanie Reid.

This is a beautifully written memoir, honest, soul-baring and deeply moving.

Disability is a sensitive subject. It is a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, activities, or senses. It is something that people generally avoid talking about, much less dwell on. In this sense, I feel that the author is very brave. She pens them down and publishes her experiences together with her innermost thoughts in a book for all to see. Her memoir provides invaluable insights on surviving after a life-changing event.

Author Melanie Reid - a British journalist for The Times' magazine - broke her neck and lower back in April 2010 while horse riding, and is now a tetraplegic. This book is about her life after the fateful day. She tells us what it is like when one faces sudden, extreme disability as an adult, the sense of disconnect and disbelief, the feeling of being helpless and powerless to do anything except to watch and listen, and where the only safe place to survive is inside her head. Author Reid reveals the terrors and challenges of rebuilding life, the day-to-day frustration and humiliations of disabled life, and the bouts of depression that plagues her from time to time. She also talks about the impact of neuropathic pain and why she chooses to endure the discomfort as lifelong companion over replying on some of the drugs for relief. All in all, she shares the journey on how she picks up the pieces and learn baby steps by baby steps to move forward and, slowly but surely, to rediscover joy.

I salute author Melanie Reid. She has my admiration for all that she has faced and endured and admitted in her book. There is much courage in revealing what she has gone through, details of her injury, her vulnerabilities, her difficulties, and that of a lucid mind trapped within a motionless body trying to find a new meaning to self-worth. Reading her book makes me very conscious of all the movement I can make, the mobility I am blessed with, the daily walking and running I do with my legs on muscle memory. It makes me grateful for all that I have - a healthy working body.

The World I Fell Out of is not a miracle story. It literally means that. From in the world to out of the world, from the upper world to the lower world, from active to passive, from doer to observer, from able-bodied to disabled. Author Reid sends the message that not everyone with a spinal injury, with enough hard work, will recover some function. Some will not. That is a reality. And so, it is comforting to know that towards the end of her book, she makes mention of being more at peace physically.

Though not a miracle story, this book will still make the reader laugh and cry all the same. Indeed, it is a sad story with the topic leaning heavily on coming to terms with reality. But the delivery of the subject on spinal cord injury is a real eye-opener, and the courage, determination and will to live makes for an exceptionally inspiring true story. I hope there will come a day when this memoir gets translated to other languages including Chinese. It will be a great book for my mother, to see how blessed her life is, how fortunate she has been; a reminder for her to appreciate what she has while she still has it, and be clued up on what really matters in life.