My Reading Journey
This term, I have been reading several books of my choice and I have successfully ticked off several of the checklist boxes and have read just over half of the books required as I have so far read 17 books. Those books vary in many different ways and my most memorable book that I read was Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan. The book was expertly written as it dove into the lives of Crazy Rich Asians and their lives as well as their interactions with Rachel Chu, Nicholas Young’s girlfriend.
The Crazy Rich Asians trilogy of Crazy Rich Asians, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems creates an interesting dynamic as the story isn’t just concentrated on the problems of Nick and Rachel, but has various other subplots with other characters’ problems such as Kitty Pong and Oliver T’sien. These books tick off the categories of a book set in Asia, Africa and a book based entirely off its cover. The trilogy is not just the glamorous lives of the rich and wealthy. Its follows their rather dysfunctional lives of people getting disowned for marrying someone their parents didn’t want or the various affairs and mistresses. Sometimes rich people can be stingy. They may buy a 14 million Chanel bracelet one second, but suddenly don’t want to spend 27EUR on fried rice. They are a mixed bag and it revolves around the richest family in Asia, the Shang-Young-T’sien clan, and at the centrepoint of it is Nick’s grandmother, Shang Su Yi, who lives in one of the largest homes in the world, Tyersall Park. Su Yi is a person who lives lavishly with her unmarried daughter Victoria Young in Tyersall Park. Su Yi doesn’t approve of Nick marrying Rachel as she is an illegitimate child as she doesn’t have a known father. Later it is found out that Rachel is the daughter of Chinese billionaire Bao Gaoliang and Su Yi approves of her on her death bed. In the final book, Rich People Problems, Su Yi suffers a heart attack that scars her heart immensely and leaves her on her deathbed where everyone from the extended family come back to Tyersall Park for a final look at Su Yi, as well as hoping to get into the will for a chance to get Tyersall Park. In the end, Su Yi never changed her will, leaving as it is from 2009. This book was a fun and enjoyable read, and it introduced me to the world of fashion such as Alexander McQueen and Hermes. The quote that captivated me the most was “Nowhere in the world are there to be found people richer than the Chinese.”— Ibn Battuta. This is true as China has become one of the leading powerhouses of the world and one of the largest economies, but as the rich become richer in China, the poor become poorer.
Another book I’ve been reading is “The Economics of just about everything”, its a non-fiction book that covers just about every section of life, such as from love to work to leisure. It examines the economics of just about everything, even going into topic such as the chance of divorce depending on the time you marry. Its a really interesting book and is one of the most in depth non-fiction books I’ve read. It includes some personal anecdotes from the author and overall makes the book very enjoyable to read. It falls under the “a non-fiction book about something to do with science”
I also read another of books by Jhumpi Lahari, notably The Lowland and the Namesake. They both fall under the Man Booker prize category as one of they were all nominated for the prize. The books were rather interesting to say at first. The Lowland explores an Indian immigrant, Udayan, moving from Calcutta to the North East Coast of America to study at Rhode island. It explores his brother’s letters to him as well as his life. His brother is a part of the Naxalite Movement where people are spreading communism inspired by Mao Zedong. They initiate uprisings and cause chaos in Calcutta. His brother, Subhash, is then arrested and killed by the police for initiating one of the uprisings and also in possession of a bomb. Otherwise I didn’t really enjoy the books and found it rather boring and tedious.
I plan to read a little less books this term, because of the upcoming exams I will be busier. I plan to read maybe 10 books this term, and maybe 3–4 during the holidays, then finish the year with reading 8 books. I wish to tick off a few more categories, but lately I’ve been reading some non-fiction books on rideshare and economics, which come off and pretty interesting to me. I find them interesting and I love learning new things.
Overall, my first semester of reading has been really well as I have read over half of the books required for the checklist. Now I just need to check off the ones that are slightly harder to procure and read. Some categories I’m not looking so much to as I absolutely have zero interest in reading those as in my opinion, reading poetry is boring, but studying poetry is fun as many poems are cryptic and have hidden meanings behind them. Finding a banned books may be hard to find in the library, especially if all 28 people in our class have to read it and some people will take longer than others…..I’m hoping the library has a book that is published in 2019 by August as I have put that off for as long as possible in order to wait for the books to publish. I like to read before bed to make me fall asleep, do you?
Extra Bit from Me
I find some libraries really uncomfortable, whilst some others are really nice, such as The Library at the Dock at Victoria Harbour. Its large use of wood in its architecture, coupled with the habour view of Docklands is extremely soothing for an afternoon reading your book or studying. I recommend anyone to go there and study, and its quieter than the overcrowded City Library on Flinders Lane or the State Library. Its accessible by tram and is in the free tram zone. I rate the library a 9/10 due to its slightly confusing stair layout.
