Books: Same Topic As Always (but August update)

The window to Scribd's major library opens again (probably for 2 weeks, like usual). So I'm starting up the Scribd marathon again. The last time I listened to any good books was around 2 weeks ago (apparently, it is even less than that, around 10 days). But then I also managed to score 2 audiobooks from Kindle audible trials so that's what I've been listening to when I walk to pick up Sofi in early Aug (when I was deprived of good audiobooks, boo). 

On Kindle: I'm slowly listening to Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life - and it is not an easy book. So I hardly listen to it. 

Physical Book: I finished Sally Rooney's Conversation with Friends yesterday! I've been reading it for the past 2 weeks. This book reminded me of my past. Not the affair, or the sexual activities that keep on popping up in all of Sally Rooney's fiction - just the emotions in general. Af bought the book for me from Carousell *not knowing how soft-porny Sally Rooney books can be. It is like reading a depressive romance if you know what I mean. If you want to feel frustrated with relationships, go ahead and read Sally Rooney. 

During the short opening, I finished :

• Getting Lost by Annie Ernaux - audiobook
• A Migrating Bird by Elif Shafak - short story ebook
• Conversation with Friends by Sally Rooney - physical book
• How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division by Elif Shafak - short story ebook
• Washes, Pray by Noor Naga - physical book
• Novelist as Vocation by Haruki Murakami - audiobook

This week is one of the rare weeks that I managed to finish a lot of books because I actually dedicated the time to sit and finish up these long-kept books.

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This part was written early this week when the Scribd listing was just made available again:

It's audiobook week, baby!

Okay, we only have 2 weeks window, so I need a good enough strategy. I'm planning on listening to fiction that I want to read, basically, I want female writers of, different ethnicity, and different countries lived/living in, with different backgrounds. 

• Babel by RF Kuang - the hardcover costs around RM 100 at this moment, which is a bit too much. It is difficult to bring to places because it is big and thick, and you might only want to read it once. So it is only pretty for a collection on your shelves. This book will take 21 hours to finish at average speed, half that if you put on double speed. RF Kuang was born in China and lived in the US since she was young (an Asian-American), I listened to Yellowface last month.  (done)
• Temper by Phoebe Walker. A fiction about being an anxious woman in her own bubble seems like a relatable topic, would give this one a chance. She is originally from Northumberland and she lived in London and the Netherlands. 
• The Polyglot Lovers by Lina Wolff. The writer was born in Sweden and lived in Spain & Italy, which might be a good mix.
• 28 Questions by Indyana Schneider is an Australian writer + soprano. She grew up in Sydney and later moved to the UK. 
• Getting Lost by Annie Ernaux. I hope you know her, she is the French writer that won the Nobel Prize in Literature last year. I listened to several of her books throughout the year, and I want to read this one next. (done)
• Reproduction by Louisa Hall, an American writer. A book on pregnancy, pain, women's anxiety, and Frankenstein. (done)
• A Migrating Bird is a short story by Elif Shafak (not an audiobook, but a 24-page short story - that can finish in one sitting). An award-winning Turkish-British writer - I love her works. (done)
• Novelist as Vocation by Haruki Murakami - Originally published in 2015, but translated into English and published last year. You can only get the hardcover in bookstores and I'm still waiting for the paperback. So I'm going to listen to this for sure because it has been a while. (done)

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Among all books:

• My favorite book this year is probably Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux because of her honest heart-breaking documentation, despite being a scandalous topic - I wrote about it here. But I love her other book that I listened to last year more; I Remain in Darkness (this one makes me cry). 
• There are also some new writers that I found, which I enjoyed reading; Noor Naga's If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English and YiYun Li's works. 
• I also love love love my research on Hermann Hesse's books this year, I read 5 of his books this year and I'm hoping to continue more before the year ends - I have 2 more of his books waiting on my Kindle. 
• Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley is not among my favorites, but it did make me cry because it hit the right sadness spot. 
• Books I didn't like this year: The Professor by Faisal Tehrani (a bit too obnoxious), The Secret History by Donna Tartt (I was not invested until the end and I wasted my time), and Adultery by Paulo Coelho (too preachy, I don't think he should write in woman's pov - he should have just written from his pov as a man). 

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It's good that whenever I feel like I don't want to write anything, I can still write about books. Is this my distraction? Is this what's keeping me from being stuck in my feelings? Sheesh. I think I need a run.