2022 Year in Review and 2023 New Year's Resolution

Another year has come and gone.

I read and reviewed a total of 31 books this year. Not very impressive, but that's pretty much my average these days.

Year 2022 @ 31 (-14 YOY)
Year 2021 @ 45 (-5 YOY)
Year 2020 @ 50 (+4 YOY)
Year 2019 @ 46 (-16 YOY)
Year 2018 @ 62 (+10 YOY)
Year 2017 @ 52 (■ YOY)
Year 2016 @ 52 (-22 YOY)
Year 2015 @ 74 (-23 YOY)
Year 2014 @ 97

Review: Before Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #3) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

4 stars for Before Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold book 3) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

This post is an added bonus. I definitely did not expect it. And I surely did not foresee it. Even as I started out reading this book after Christmas Day, I expect to finish reading after New Year's Day. So, I am really happy to end the year with the exact same series that kicked off my reading this year - Before the Coffee Gets Cold. It's a great wrap-up!

Even though I read book 1 Before the Coffee Gets Cold and book 2 Tales from the Cafe in the beginning of this year - twelve months ago - it is not difficult to get into the story again as the author helps to refresh on the story and characters by his storytelling.

Before your Memory Fades is very much similar to the earlier two books, in that it is also about a time-travelling cafe and a heartwarming story on four customers. The only difference is the setting. Instead of Cafe Funiculi Funicular in Tokyo, it is now Cafe Donna Donna in Hakodate, Hokkaido. Initially, I am confused when I read about this second cafe, but soon, I realise the author has it all brilliantly worked out to connect it back to book 1.

This Coffee Gets Cold series is about a strange urban legend attached to a particular seat in the cafe - it allows the person sitting in this seat to time travel, to the past or to the future. There are some strange rules to follow regarding who can pour the time-travelling coffee for the customer who decides to sit in this time-travelling chair.

One important rule while being back to the past is that, you cannot change the present, no matter how hard you try. So, one may ask "What use is the time-travelling if you cannot change the present?" But the thing is, some things change, even if the present reality does not. This book is a good reminder to us on how important the ordinary life that we take for granted is, and how much happiness can be experienced from having someone you care about by your side. Sometimes, things that are put off saying until tomorrow are never said.

Reading this book makes me miss Hokkaido. Not only that, it makes me regret giving Hakodate a miss when I visited Hokkaido back in 2018. If I had visited Hakodate then, being a tourist, I would most likely have paid a visit to this very steep street where Cafe Donna Donna was located and so would have an inkling of how the scenes in this book play out.

If you could go back in time, who would you want to meet?

Review: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

4 stars for A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

It didn't seems possible at first that I will be able to squeeze in one last reading and a book review before the year is out. I started reading A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve and somehow managed to finish the book at the stroke of midnight; Christmas Day! For that, I feel blessed to have made it.

I am pretty sure most, if not all, of you have read or heard or even watched A Christmas Carol. It is after all, a well-known classic novel by Charles Dickens. I am embarrassed to say that this is my first time reading this timeless story though I have watched the show once. But well, as the saying goes "better late than never".

This book is a celebration of human kindness. It is so well-liked that the book has become an important part of a traditional English Christmas. I hope I can start my own tradition of reading this book during the Christmas season every year henceforth.

The story is about an old mean man, Ebenezer Scrooge, who has no place in his heart for others. One freezing cold Christmas Eve, the ghost of an old friend paid him a visit and told him he will be haunted by three spirits. The first is the Ghost of Christmas Past who showed Scrooge shadows of the things that have been. The second is the Ghost of Christmas Present. The third is the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come who showed Scrooge shadows of the things that have not happened, but will happen in the time before him. By visiting his past, present and future, something amazing happens within Scrooge.

This is a most apt book to read on a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. It teaches us to be happy, grateful and to be contented with time.

..And because the book I bought - from The Green Grocer bookstore while on a vacation in Melbourne, Australia - is a Puffin Classics, the adventure isn't over when I reach the final page. I love it that there are still more interesting things to discover about the author and the characters and their worlds as I continue to flip the pages - author file, who's who in A Christmas Carol, some things to think about, a Victorian Christmas and a Dickensian glossary.

Review: The Christmas Invitation by Trisha Ashley

5 stars for The Christmas Invitation by Trisha Ashley.

This is a lovely family Christmas story. It tells of Christmas being a magical time that starts with the Winter Solstice ceremony in late December, followed by community gatherings and family get-togethers.

The story centers around two main characters, Clara and Meg. It starts off with the reminiscing of the writing of a brief autobiographical note by professor-author Clara Mayhem Doome which then evolves into a first-person narrative by Meg, a 36-year-old portrait painter. Meg is down with pneumonia and been away from home for the last two months at the Farm convalescing. She receives a job offer from Clara to paint a portrait commission the moment she reaches home.

The story made an indelible impression on me. Not only is it written with a good dose of humor, but the descriptions are also cleverly put across to help readers in visualizing the scene such that the characters leap out of the pages, wholesome and vibrant. I love reading about the ancient tradition and roots, and the ceremony that takes place on the night of the Winter Solstice that involves participation of old local families and bonfire. It is not just a festive story about traditions, family Christmas and Christmas shopping - choosing a good Christmas tree, putting it up at home and decorating it with antique and vintage glass baubles - it is also a story about art and craft, of portrait painting, pots making, clay mixing, and firing kiln.

At the base of it all, The Christmas Invitation is a story about love lost and found. What I like most about this storytelling is that the author does not harp on the romance portion but spread good cheer on family relationships and traditions, and even throws in a family secret of epic proportion which feels like an added bonus.

It is not easy to find a Christmas-themed story and to enjoy reading it. I am glad to have this heartwarming and delightful story to keep me cozy during this Christmas season.

Crochet: Shawl: Sigrid Shawl (Yellow)

Action speaks louder than words. It goes to show how much I adore this Sigrid Shawl pattern that I crochet a shawl with this pattern again. My first Sigrid Shawl of pink gradient was completed in June 2021. Less than two years later, here I am, with a yellow gradient yarn cake doing pretty much everything all over again. The only exception is the tension; I ease up on the tension, and to my delight, I find it makes a whole lot of difference to how much better the shawl turns out to be.

Actually, I never expect myself to crochet with this pattern again because there are so many variations of shawl patterns available out there for me to try my hands on. But this is a really lovely pattern that is not just pleasing to the eyes but one that goes easy on the fingers and memory too as it employs mainly half double crochet and some double crochet. It took me close to eight weeks to complete this project, having started it on 1st November and completed it just today.

This Sigrid Shawl is a work of art. It is brilliantly created by My Crochetory to provide both familiarity and variety to keep the person working on it relaxed and entertained at the same time. If you are looking to crochet a shawl with a meditative stitch pattern but one that is not so repetitive as to be boring, this is the one for you.

Review: Dead Silence by S. A. Barnes

3 stars for Dead Silence by S. A. Barnes.

I have always been on the lookout for a good science fiction story. I cannot remember where and how I came across this book but it must have been raved about by someone or many someones, such that it captured my attention enough for me to add it to my reading list.

This book is all about space travel, space disaster and space mysteries. A team of five, led by 33-year old Claire Kovalik, detects a ghost signal on an old emergency channel while on an assignment to fix the last of the commweb beacons in sector K127. Well, what happens next is rather predictable as there will be no story to tell if this small commweb maintenance team does not check it out. As it is, bulk of the story is the grisly account of their findings of the Aurora, the famous luxury space cruiser that went missing twenty years ago with five hundred passengers and a hundred and fifty crew on its maiden voyage for a tour of the solar system.

I enjoy reading this first person story even though it is revealed right from the start that there is only one survivor - the narrator. The writing is good, the world building is fascinating and the plot flows fluidly. Above all, there is much mystery surrounding the protagonist and the adventure and unchartered space territory that she is leading her team into. The protagonist, Claire, is not just a survivor in this ill-fated expedition, she is also the only survivor in a previous incident that happened at the Ferris Outpost years ago. This alone shroud the protagonist in darkness and puzzlement as she suffers constantly from terrifying hallucinations with memories and visions all jumbled up.

This novel reminds me of the 1997 science fiction horror film, Event Horizon. Though it's been more than twenty years, I still remember watching this movie in the theatre and loving the storyline much. Event Horizon is about space adventure and exploration. The crew members all take turns to hallucinate in the abandoned aircraft they found. As I read on, I am progressively affected by the uncanny similarites between the movie Event Horzion and this book Dead Silence. There was also a Claire in the movie though I cannot recall if she was a main or side character. Seriously, what's the odds of a movie character having the same name as the protagonist in this book? Perhaps this book is somewhat a tribute to that motion picture? The more I read, the less impressed I am with the story and plot developments. Of course, this could all be a coincidence but somehow, it cast the story in the shadow of the old movie and the book comes across as less original after that.

I have other gripes. One, a character that is terrible and horrible to the extreme. In reality, no one person is completely good or totally bad. Though I understand the need for such a character, one so rotten to the core does not do justice to the entire story. Two, unnecessary repetition. Three, long-winded at times. These are minor gripes, however.

On the whole, Dead Silence is a worthwhile piece of work. It is not exactly what I expected but it is good fun reading this spooky science fiction novel.

Review: The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

2 stars for The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury.

I am never an enthusiast where collection of short stories is concerned. But I make an exception after reading about The Illustrated Man in another book. Though I did not finish that book, I am glad that it leads me to this book and cannot wait to start reading. Why? Because the little introduction about a man completely covered in tattoos, tattoos that come to life when the night falls, totally captivates me.

It starts with a prologue in which a homeless man, a hobo, is sitting in front of his campfire eating his dinner of pork and beans when another man comes by. The hobo narrator thinks it is odd because it is a warm summer night and yet the guy is wearing a long-sleeved wool shirt, buttoned all the way up to his neck and over his wrists. The man asks if he can spend the night by the fire with the narrator, who welcomes him. Getting ready for bed, the man takes off his shirt and reveals that he is covered in tattoos. Beautiful, vibrant, mysterious illustrations.

The man tells the narrator that he got the illustrations, as he calls them, from a woman who turned out to be a time-traveling witch. Right after getting the tats, the guy realizes they are not just simple illustrations. They are enchanted. They move and they change and they tell stories. Of the future. Creepy, scary stories. Each illustration is a little story.

The man also tells the narrator not to look at him during the night, not to watch those illustrations tell their stories. And especially, he is not supposed to look at the one empty spot on the man's back because his own story will materialize there. But, of course, the narrator will look, right? Who wouldn’t? He can’t help himself. Mostly, the book consists of the stories as told by the illustrations that come to life as the narrator looks on. Eighteen illustrations, eighteen stories.

All of the stories have a common theme about conflict between technology and humanity. Considering that this book was written more than seventy years ago, it is amazing that the author is writing stories about the dangers of virtual reality and space travelling. As a reader, I wonder "Who’s the time traveller? That witch or the author?"

As mentioned earlier, I am never really into short stories. But for this book, I find myself looking forward to the next story and the next and the next. As I read on, I realise, there is no continuity on the stories. There is much potential to be had in the stories but the author simply uses it as a platform to tell some totally unrelated short stories. Surprisingly, I am actually fine with the standalone short stories. To me, it does not really matter so long as they are good stories about glimpses into the future. Some are interesting. But some are boring. And some feel dated though this cannot be helped as the book was published in 1951.

My favourite is the first story about the Happylife Home. It has a virtual-reality play room where the children can let their imagination run wild. Unfortunately, this first story leads me to set my expectations high and I feel greatly disappointed when the rest of the stories fail to deliver.

Review: The Lighthouse Witches by C. J. Cooke

5 stars for The Lighthouse Witches by C. J. Cooke.

I have not had much luck with horror novels this year. Seriously, I lost count after the seventh or so book. It is not for lack of trying; I read at least one fifth or even a quarter of the books before throwing in the towel. Those horror stories are not scary at all. Mostly, they read like any other general fiction with one particular book more romance than horror. Gosh!

Most times, it doesn't take long for me to know if a story is written to my taste. Ofttimes, I can tell after a chapter or three if I will enjoy the book. It is usually affirmed at 20% of the story and for this reason, I always try to read at least one fifth of the book before making the final decision to stop or go on. This is the first horror novel after countless many Did Not Finish that I say "YES! This is my cup of coffee" (I don't drink tea).

This book checked all the right boxes for an excellent horror story. It is filled with mystery and suspense. It has supernatural elements as well as historical references which make the story convincing and scary. The author must have put in a lot of hard work researching on Scotland's history, the Scottish witch trials, one of the worst in Europe, to uncover the stories of Scotland's witch hunts.

As the book title dictates, The Lighthouse Witches is a story much related to witches (and women), curses, wildings and beliefs. It is a story as much related to the history of Scotland's witch hunts as it is about connections between past and present. It is scary to read on how the inhabitants of an island can be so affected by the island's violent and tragic history that leads to beliefts rooted deeply in fear and affecting the islanders's actions.

The story kicks off with a mother Olivia Stay (36) and her three daughters, Sapphire (15), Luna (9) and Clover (7) on an island in the dead of the night. The mother is an artist and is commissioned to paint a mural inside a decommissioned lighthouse with a bizarre name of 'The Longing'. The lighthouse was situated on an island, Lòn Haven, off the coast of Scotland. The owner wants to convert the inside of the lighthouse into a writing studio and hires Olivia to prettify it, making it into a writing studio. As the story progresses, readers get to see the world through the perspectives of the mother and two of her daughters.

Much depth is revealed in the portrayal of the characters. And I think, surely, it tells a great deal about the author's own life experiences too, as indicated in the conversation between the mother and her firstborn that span a page or two. In my opinion, it is almost impossible to write as such without drawing on actual events or situations. And yes, it is sad to read such heartbreaking lines because it can be real and it is so real.

Up until two days ago, I thought I will not be able to find and read a good horror novel. I am really happy to have found this book. It makes for a wonderful Halloween reading. Not only that, I am able to read it in time to post my review by tonight. It does not come as a surprise that I am able to finish reading this book over the weekend. Because it is that good a page turner. Once I start reading, it is hard to put the book down.