I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki

I really fell out of reading lately and this was the first book of the year to sort of revive myself back into the literary world. This was an extremely short book (part of the reason why I started off the year with it) and it was very laid back while being incredibly insightful. One of the things I really took away from the book was how we should never compare ourselves to others but rather compare our current selves with our past selves. I think I used to compare myself with others a lot more when I was younger, but of course, I am still human and do that from time to time. Even if I don't realize it, I feel like that motion in thought is inevitable. I love how raw the author was in her own vanity and questioned it quite often throughout the book. I resonated with her being of Asian descent and having incredibly high standards. It's a little funny because I find myself more drawn to Asian media when I am feeling down or wanting comfort and this book was just the cozy read I needed. This book revealed the complexity of human existence in a more minimalistic approach. The constant doubting and evaluation most people go through was validated by the therapist making me feel more like my own though patterns were completely normal. I'm not sure if I would consider this book to be "self-help" but I think it gave me a unique perspective while solidifying my already present mindset. Something I am trying to embrace this year is being true and authentic to myself. This book gave me even more courage to do that this year, and I am really glad that I found it!

Strange Pictures

Wow, this book was so good. There were so many plot developments and interconnections throughout the entirety of it, that it made me keep wanting to read. I have been having a really hard time getting back into reading and this was one of the first books that I needed to finish when I got to a certain point. I am actually at my friend's house in AZ right now (if you are reading this Nile, hi!) and I finished the rest of the book outside while it was storming outside. Ok spoilers from now on...Naomi?? Jeeeeez, now that is a complex character. I had to draw out a whole diagram this morning just to lay out all the characters and visually see how they are all involved with each other. Naomi killed four people throughout the whole book. The first being her mother when she was a young girl. Then she killed her daughter-in-law aka the girl who had a crush on her husband. Then she killed Iwata the reporter who was catching on to everything and finally Taka..omg I forgot his name. I will call him T. This lady was so busy. She almost killed the other reporter too! She sort of did cause the death of her own son in a way as well. I love how the book starts out and the timeline of how everything was presented. It was super clever, and I haven't read a book with so many picture references in a long time! It wasn't quite a picture book, however, there are more pictures than I thought there would be when I first picked it up. I believe this was one of the books I grabbed on my Powell's Books haul while I was in Portland. Uketsu is such an interesting character, and I watched a few of his videos on YouTube. The dude definitely has a personality!   

You've Lost A Lot of Blood

Not as good as the other Eric Larocca book, but it was a decent read. The most unique thing about this novella (it was pretty short) is that it is a novella inside of a novella. The main character is named Martyr Black who has written a novella called "You've Lost A Lot of Blood". The book has two separate stories that are interwoven together. We have Martyr's real-life transcripts with his lover Ambrose and then we have the story that Martyr wrote. That story has two main characters called Tamsen and Presley. Tamsen has been summoned to a remote mansion to work on a sinister video game as a developer. Her younger brother Presley tags along because he is young and Tamsen is like a mother figure to him. Not gonna lie, the story gets confusing and I'm not sure how the two stories are supposed to tie in together. They could just be completely different stories with no connection other than the author. Martyr's story is very surreal and a bit hard to digest. The premise is basically these two are involved in this game called "You've Lost A Lot of Blood" and there seems to be a real stake of dying. Presley goes into a pod where his real version doesn't seem to revive from. Tamsen finds that many people in the mansion are actually dead and their robot versions (idk how else to describe it) are actually inhabiting the mansion. There are also a number of poems included in the novel and they are all dark, apathetic pieces. I really enjoyed them. The book ends with Ambrose telling Martyr that he has lost a lot of blood (a reoccurring theme) and has a neck injury. The bleeding seems to stop, and I believe Martyr and Ambrose go missing. This book is definitely not for everyone and takes time to understand, but overall, I enjoyed the book. 

Ten Birds That Changed The World

I mean I know I was going to like this book because I love birds and I love that this book was broken down into ten different chapters about each bird, however, I enjoyed it more than I thought! I'm finding that I like science books that mix in other subjects like history or even people's personal life. This book had a good balance of history and science. I especially liked (although so very sad) the chapter on pigeons and how messenger pigeons literally saved people's lives. I can't believe they got little medals of honor...then there was the bald eagle chapter that really was more "woke" than I thought it would be. The fact that the author pointed out how Trump's eagle faces towards the war side and then continuing to point out how the eagle has been a symbol of tyranny. A lot of these chapters focused on how these birds either became extinct, currently face a threat to be extinct, or almost became extinct and was able to be brought back in healthy numbers. The fact that the sparrow was considered one of the four pests in China and were actively killed by the thousands was so heartbreaking. The best parts about these chapters was seeing the consequences of these birds being gone. For instance, in China, where the banged pots and pans all night so these birds would die of exhaustion, the crops would still suffer because the insects they had been keeping in population control had free reign to eat up! Then there are birds like the snowy egret that became sought after for their feathers. They were hunted and their population definitely suffered but then the first conservation groups were formed to protect these birds and animals experiencing the same fate. This book showed how these dark times eventually brought some good (even if much later on). Unfortunately, for the birds like the dodo some consequences are irreversible. This wasn't a very long read and was broken down into very digestible fragments. One of my favorite animal books now! 

Great Adaptations

I saw this book at Powell's during my last Portland, OR trip and had to get it. I will say that I usually listen to books as I read them and the narrator had such a nerdy, slow sounding voice it was a bit hard to get through. Anyways, I still got through the book and enjoyed learning about these unique animal species. Some of the animals that were spotlighted in the book were the star-nosed moles, electric eels, tentacled snakes, shrews, and emerald jewel wasps. I had no idea that star-nosed moles are among the fastest eaters in the animal kingdom. They actually were awarded the fastest eaters among mammals (I think) from the Guiness World Book of Records. I also found it so interesting how worm grunting actually mimics the scurrying of the star-nosed mole. It was originally thought that the grunting mimics rain and that the worms surfaced to avoid drowning. Oh! The tentacled snake bit was pretty interesting too. It's amazing how animals have adapted based on the reactions of their prey. The fact that the snake produces a feint in its neck region to cause the fish to naturally project the opposite way (towards the mouth) is amazing. If anything could convert me to Christianity, it would be animal science. The different evolutionary paths that various life forms take is truly magnificent. I've actually worked with electric eels in the past (one is particular named Shrek) and I had flashback to how bad it hurt to get shocked by one. They really do sort of leap out of the water to get their body on you to deliver that shock. I remember almost falling off the ladder when I was shocked and putting on rubber boots to get in the tank. As for the emerald jewel wasp, I was kind of surprised that there are a number of predatory wasp species. My mind immediately thought of the tarantula hawk wasp found in AZ. I caught and pinned one for my entomology class back in collage and they also zombify other creatures for the sake of their young. I won't go into all the mechanics of it but the chemical reactions that occur in the prey's body after the toxin is delivered is really wild. It's also only the females that deliver this toxin and the only ones that have "stinging" capabilities! I'm really glad I picked up this book and it is neat that there are QR codes that go to YouTube videos correlating certain content. It was a surprisingly interactive read! 

Hollow Kingdom

It was pretty cool to read this book as a Seattle resident who lives pretty close to the downtown area. So many spots in this book are spots I walk past or have been to which made the book fun to read. Not gonna lie, I fell into reading dry spell and it took me a really long time to read this book. In fact, I set it down for a while and picked it back up. What really helped was just reading for short increments everyday instead of getting overwhelmed by "needing" to finish the book. This book was hilarious and definitely a refresher from all the horror books I read. I mean, come one, the main character is a crow named Shit Turd who refers to humans as MoFos and even considers himself a Mofo. The cute little relationship with him and the bloodhound Dennis and his previous relationship with his owner (when he was alive) and comical, but actually kind of sentimental. I've heard this book described as a mix between The Walking Dead and Zootopia and they are not wrong! Humans are literally dying out in this book due to their obsession with technology. As the humans die out, more apex predators can overrule the animal kingdom and take over. This book did a great job with all the social classes that the animals belonged to. There were the domestics vs. the wild animals and them banding together to save all the trapped animals that the humans had left behind. They even got the Woodland Park Zoo animals and the Seattle Aquarium animals! This book was so cleverly written and I'm so glad to add this to my little collection of books. I know this is just one book out of the trilogy so after I read some other books, I'll be revisiting the series!

How Far the Light Reaches

I really resonated with this author. This author is not only BIPOC, but she lived (still lives?) in Seattle and is fascinated with ocean life. I loved this book because it not only was an autobiography about her experiences, but it also tied into different aquatic organisms and how they experience life. Not to mention, the author is queer and made me not feel so alone. I'm fortunate enough to live in a city where the gay agenda is very well accepted, but this current administration has brought on some dark times at a rapid pace. This book was perfect for someone like me who often reads fiction and non-fiction at the same time. Not that her life was non-fiction lol but it broke up just getting facts from a book. The best way to learn is by somehow relating what you are learning to your own life. Humans are quite self-involved. I wanted this book to be my first post because it was really one of the most memorable non-fic books I've read in a long time. I really understood some of the things the author struggled with growing up as someone who didn't feel white or Asian enough or had a hard time navigating through the queer community. I only have one other friend who has delt with be two races and getting judged for that. I think back to when my step-mom used to tell me I should only be proud of my white side. I remember exactly where we were in her laundry room where I was made to shed my clothes after visitation with my Filipino mother. I didn't realize the level of racism I had experienced until I moved out of Plainfield, IL. Finding this author and relating to her kind of filled that void of no one understanding what that was like. Of course, I also enjoyed all the animal facts as someone who worked with exotic animals for 10 years in zoos and aquariums.