Books - Reading Slump and Random Stuffs Stuck in my Mind

 

I've been stuck in a reading slump. After 'A Little Life', I haven't been able to enjoy reading. Sure, I finished 'The City of Mist' by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and 'After the Quake' by Haruki Murakami soon after, but I didn't enjoyed it. I'm also trying to continue my current books : 'Less' by Andrew Sean Greer and 'Love from A to Z' by S. K. Ali. But I can't seem to enjoy them.

I hate reading slump.

This usually happens after a great book. I feel like there is nothing else worth my time.

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Random - 

• It's raining heavily since 4 pm (right now it's almost 10 pm)
• I'm tired every day due to the fasting month. I don't do well with less food intake. I'm exhausted, I'm tired, and I'm cranky. My blood pressure is low, and I feel like blacking out every time I stand up. Sure, I didn't lose that much weight, maybe just 1-2 kg. But if I lose more weight than that then I'll be underweight and I'm trying to avoid that.  
• But my skin is clear, and there is almost no acne. Actually, it was since February. Since I decided to change my skincare to Aiken Prebiotic, everything went smoothly. I stopped having random acne, and I'm happy. I don't really wear make-up so having clear skin is my dream (or maybe I'm just older now so I suddenly stopped having adult acne?). 
• I've been watching the 'This Is Us' new season on Hotstar+. It is so amazing. I always tell Af that I want to write stories about normal life and normal people, and this is the exact representation of what I imagined it should be. Complicated stories and daily dramas of normal people. I can't really share with anyone that I know about the series because I don't really know anyone that watches this. But man, I really love the series. The story and character developments are just amazing. 
• And yes, I enjoyed Bridgerton Season 2 for the pure love of love-tension between those two. I enjoyed it so much too. I giggled like a school girl, I can't remember when was the last time I felt so excited about romance series (I bet it was in my school years). It's been a while and I'm happy that I felt so entertained by Shonda Rhimes' creation again. 
• I think I had 5 interviews and 2 design tests this month. I hate trying to prove that I can work, I hate selling, and I hate having to explain. I'm not sure whether I should start working full-time again. I seriously don't want to prove anything to anyone. 
• Well, it's 10 pm now. I'm sleepy and I am so tired. I'm glad we had this random chat. Good night.

Books - Slow Reading Month in March

I think this blog soon to be a blog dedicated to my reading habit :F 

I have nothing else new in my life except for these books.

1. Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke (letter collection)
2. Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michealeen Doucleff (parenting, non-fiction)
3. The Hard Tomorrow by Eleanor Davis (graphic novel)
4. The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrick Backman (novella)
5. Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman (novel #1/4)
6. The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman (novel)

Image by Mikolaj

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Journey with 'A Little Life' :

When I first started to write this post, I just entered the second chapter (The Postman) of A Little Life, roughly just finished the first 10% of the thick book. I realized that I might not be able to finish the book this month because reading physical book while taking care of Sofi is a challenge. But I promised that this month would be my slow month, so I'll try to enjoy the process. 

Here is the only paragraph that I underlined in the first chapter :

But these were days of self-fulfillment, where settling for something that was not quite your first choice of a like seemed weak-willed and ignoble. Somewhere, surrendering to what seemed to be your fate had changed from being dignified to being a sign of your own cowardice. There were times when the pressure to achieve happiness felt almost oppressive, as if happiness were something that everyone should and could attain, and that any sort of compromise in its pursuit was somehow your fault. (page 41)

It is so beautiful !  This is the reason I wanted the physical copy and bought a preloved one, I wanted to underline, make marks, write notes and make the story mine.

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Update on Journey with 'A Little Life' (in early April): 

Like I've predicted, I will need more time to finish this book. I've been slow reading this almost every day now. Imagine me sitting on my bed, usually I read for 1-2 hours. This is the life. This is what I missed the most from my younger years, the time when I stayed on bed reading. 

Anyway, I'm already on chapter 4, almost halfway through the book. I haven't cried yet, but I felt the pain. I wish I can beg the writer to stop hurting the character. The past 3 chapters felt like a slow introduction to Jude and his friendships with Willem, Malcolm and JB, to get readers invested in them. I can imagine the back story, but I don't know how painful or complicated it is yet. 

I've been recording progress video since April, where I share my progress, updates and just reading scenes. I'll edit it once I finish the book, which is taking longer now since the night to read is much shorter during Ramadhan and I've been too distracted in the day.

Books - I Finished 12 books in Feb (month of novella, essays & personal memoirs)

 Books I consumed in February :

1. The Guest List by Lucy Foley 
2. This is the Story of Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett (Essay/Personal Memoir)
3. On Writing by Stephen King (non-fiction)
4. What Now ? by Ann Patchett (Essay/Personal Memoir)
5. The Enchanter by Vladimir Nobokov (Novella)
6. Aftermath : On Marriage and Separation by Rachel Cusk (Essay/Personal Memoir)
7. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (Novella)
8. I Came All This Way to Meet You by Jami Attenberg (Essay/Personal Memoir)
9. Survival Lessons by Alice Hoffman (Essay/Personal Memoir)
10. Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett
11. The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura (novella)
12. Marriage Story by Richard Russo (Essay/Personal Memoir)

My fav book in Feb : Personal memoirs and essays by Ann Patchett.

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Personal memoirs/essays are a new favorite genre of mine. This is the month I found : Ann Patchett, Rachel Cusk, Alice Hoffman, and Jami Attenberg. The books are honest, heart-breaking, loud, soft, witty, warm, and every human emotion mingled into one. I've never felt like I've been surrounded by female writer friends until I found them in their books this month. It has been a joyful ride. These books are written for someone like me, a woman, in my mid 30s, searching for the meaning of life, relationship, love and beyond all these. 

Detailed reviews of each book can be read here on my Notion.

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Random updates about books :

• Feb felt really short and quick. I'm glad I decided to only pick : novella, essays and personal memoirs. My aim for this month was to at least finish 10 books, but on the last few days I manage to finish up the 'currently-reading' books in my list simultaneously and finished 12 instead.
• I bought The Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara from @sukhabuku, I'm planning to read it in March. Am I ready to go on a whirlwind of emotional ride ? 
• March is supposed to be a slow-reading month so I might turn-off Scribd for a month as well.
• Ohh, my books from BookDepository arrived in a month. I got my copy of the last book by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (that I'm reading slowly before sleep at night) and also some of the Penguin Classics :

Books - I Finished 12 books in Jan and my Fav One So Far is..

I love to start a new year with consuming as many books as I can muster. This year I want to read more fiction, in hope of finding more good stories. Last year I ended 2021 with the best fiction I read in that year : The People of the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara, and then I reread Siddhartha by Herman Hesse because that's one of my fav simple philosophical fiction to wrap up the year. 

Books I consumed in January :

1. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E.Schwab
2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
3. Three O'Clock in the Morning by Gianrico Carofiglio
4. The Upstairs House by Julia Fine
5. Anthem by Ayn Rand
6. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
7. A Cold Trail by Robert Dugoni
8. How to Make Disease Disappear by Dr Rangan Chatterjee
9. The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
10. These Precious Days by Ann Patchett
11. The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
12. The Unseen Body by Jonathan Reisman, MD

9 fictions, 2 health-related non-fic, 1 essay compilation. 

9 audio books, 2 physical books, 1 digital book.

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My favorite fiction is The Invisible Life of Addie Larue. I also loved both the health-related non-fictions because I am indeed a very curious person. The essay compilation by Ann Patchett was also very enjoyable. 

Detailed reviews can be read here on my Notion. 

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Random updates about my life as a book nerd :

• A borrowed a bunch of books from my ex-English teacher, Miss Chin early this month. So I have physical books to read during the first quarter of 2022. 
• I read all books I borrowed from @sukhabuku and considering to ask her whether she wants to sell her The Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara so that I can own it and treat it like my own because I think I'm ready to read the beast. 
• I'm still waiting for Haruki Murakami's paperback - First Singular Person that will come out in April 2022 and I just ordered Carlos Ruiz Zafon's last book - The City of Mist online from Bookdepository.

Here are the books I borrowed from Miss Chin. 

I already finished The Girl on the Train and currently reading The Guest List :

Little Story 242 : A Broken Toe

I slipped on a wet tiles when I wanted to close the window. It was raining heavily and I didn't noticed the puddle of water. So I slipped and my right foot hit straight to the wall, I didn't fell down, saved by the wall but I heard the 'pop' and the intense pain from my pinky toe crawled fast to my calf and thigh right after. I don't usually curse, but that pain is the kind of pain that make you curse over and over again.

My pinky toe was red, and it looked a bit farther than it normally located.

"I think I dislocated my toe".

The pain was unbearable, so I decided to go to a clinic to get it checked but it was after 5pm and so the x-ray station (at the nearest clinic we could find) was closed for the day.

The next day, I went to the same clinic and got an xray :

"You broke your pinky toe, and there's nothing on my part that I can do. So I'll write a referral letter and you can go to the hospital for further process". The doctor did a simple splint on my toe.

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Here's the long process in summary :

• I went to Hospital Serdang, and the orthopaedic clinic was closed for Thaipusam
• I went again on the next day. The orthopaedic clinic sent me to ER
• At the ER, I was x-rayed again. The doctor that checked me sent me to the ortho again with a referral letter, and some pain-killers. 
• I went to the ortho clinic and only got a date for a checkup, 10 days later. On that day alone, I walked 3 km in total with a broken toe.
• The next day, my stepmom brought me to Az-Zahrah Hospital in Bangi. The doctor was only available for a consultation because it was almost the Friday prayer time. 
• During the consultation, he said that if I want to proceed with him, I can come in the next Monday to get it casted. He told me the price (around RM 350 per cast), then told be about 3 months MC, about recast every 10 days or so, explained that my fracture was clean and simple, only need to immobilize my foot to let the broken toe heal.
• The consultation was a bit packed and messy (maybe because I came in the wrong time).
• But even though I have insurance to cover the process, I decided to just proceed with Hospital Serdang because I didn't quite like the doctor and my family suggested me to just go to Hospital Serdang instead.
• On the 9th day, I went to get my Covid booster shot.
• I survived a broken toe with a simple splint made by the doctor from the first clinic.
• On the 10th day, I went to Hospital Serdang. I waited around 4 hours, to get a consult, only to be told to get my pinky toe 'buddy-splinted' and let it heal itself over time.

Sure the whole process at Hospital Serdang only costed RM 1, but I wasted at least 3 days walking to and fro, walked a lot alone, super slowly in pain (I can ask for a wheel chair but it was really awkward to handle the wheelchair myself so I just walked). Then I had to wait for 10 days, 4 hours of waiting just to get a 'buddy-splint' and a 5 mins consult. 

Why couldn't they just do so on the first day I meet the doctor? I just don't understand.  

The left one is when the doctor put a splint beneath my foot, did a simple buddy-splint and wrapped it. The right one is after I got a proper buddy-splint toes :

After I got my toe buddy-splinted, I was in more pain than before. So I had to make an adjustment. I  put a hard long board beneath the toe so that it won't bend, and wrapped the broken to next to my 4th four as a double splint. Then I wore my hardest flat sandal so that my foot won't bend at all when I walk. 

The 'buddy-splint' alone wasn't enough, because I still need to walk at home. I was taking care of Sofi and need to do the cooking. I think a recovery walking boot will help my foot tremendously because it will immobilize my whole foot and so a proper healing can happen faster. But I don't want to buy something that I will only use for a month :F 

So at this moment, I'm just hoping it will still heal somewhat faster. Honestly 6 weeks is a bit too much and I really need my morning walks. But I really want it to heal properly to avoid osteoarthritis due to improper healing. We all know how my body isn't really in good shape lately, I don't want any more physical pain to add in the future and I really want to do a walking pilgrimage one day.  

Remember I posted a post on IG asking for a pain-free 2022 ? 

Well, I started the year with a broken toe. 

Little Thing 251 : My Ergonomic Setup

In Oct, after 4 sessions with a chiropractor and physical pain coming repeatedly every so often in the past 3 months, I decided to improve my working space *also by my chiropractor's recommendation*. He said that my working habit is possibly my main reason for the repeating problem, plus perhaps my sedentary lifestyle.

Maybe my posture while working is bad, or when I work, I work non-stop for several hours, or everything while I'm working is wrong because the pain gets worst especially when I work. Although I studied the principle of ergonomic while I was a student and I remember those rules, I never really put that much thought on it because things were fine. Of course it is fine, until it is not. 

10 years after my bad working habit, I now started having obvious outcome from it. The infamous neck strain, shoulder pain and lower back pain. 

Anyway, I had to do something. 

This huge buying decision came from my condition after several months in pain and the Samsung project's balance payment that came early in September. If it is not from these 2 reasons, I might still be working in my original working desk and old worn-off working chair. I would like to mention this, because I don't really like unnecessary buying and I hope everyone would consider twice before purchasing something :)

1. The Anew Smart Desk - I preordered this early in Oct and waited almost 3 months for it to arrive. By preordering this, I get it for a promotional price + premium desk mat + anti-fatigue mat. 

I think I needed a smart desk because my back pain get worst when I sit, so standing up while doing some of other works like packing or admin works might help taking the load off my back.

Note : I paid using Atome - split the payment into 3 payments without interest.

Here's how my new working space :

2. Sunon x Apex ergonomic chair - it got adjustable armrest + head rest, 3 locking back function with lumbar support and also height adjustment. Supposedly everything a good ergonomical chair would be. I also added a 100% latex lumbar back pillow to support my back because I am generally a small person in a medium-sized chair and the space between my back and the chair isn't good for my back :F

Note : My chiropractor reminded me about having a good back support - I thought good sitting posture is enough, but no, he said it is important to have a good posture and support because having no support means your body is still working hard to maintain the good posture. 

3. iPad wooden stand - I am having second thought about using this wooden stand as my iPad stand while drawing. It is uncomfortable, but it is helpful because I don't have to bend so much while working on my ipad. It is supposed to reduce the pressure on my neck but maybe I need to do some adjustment to it.

I haven't decided on recommending this yet. 

4. Monitor Stand by Fine Grit Studio - I bought it on their Shopee with 20% discount. It is solid rubber wood, love the natural finishing, visually appealing and it is very sturdy. This helped me reduce my neck pain and made my table now look so organized :

5. Wireless keyboard by Logitech and extended Monitor by Armageddon - I needed wireless keyboard because I'm using extended monitor. I totally forgot about Af's Apple keyboard when I made this purchase.

The extended monitor were bought early in 2021 when I was working with the startup in Singapore. The original monitor was white, but it was faulty last Dec so I returned it to them and received a totally new monitor 2 weeks after I returned it. I am finally using the extended monitor for its original use (thank God for the 1 year warranty).

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Little Story 241 : Surviving Sofi's first Flu

Sofi had her first viral flu - her first cold and cough. The last time she had fever was more than a year ago. We aren't fully equipped in managing Sofi while she's sick because she hardly fall sick (Alhamdulillah), so it is expected for me to deal with this with anxiousness and worries. She's 2.5 years old and we are so glad that it took this long for it to happen (I've been anxiously waiting for the time). She needed her body to react and create antibodies for the future :F

She was weak at times and active when the medicine kicked in. She was fussy, clingy and very picky when it came to her food intake, but she still drank her milk. We fed medicine through her milk and yogurt - it was not ideal but at least she won't throw up.

There were nights when we hardly sleep and I was in alert mode, catering to her needs and uncomfortableness. The night when her nose was stuffy and she can't breathe. When we can hear her fighting over her phlegm and fever. 

On day 4 of her fever, we went to the doctor, got her blood and covid test, got cleared from dengue, covid or bacterial infection. So the doctor said it was most probably a viral infection.

What helps other than her medicine :

• Kool fever baby (refreshing mint) - to help her breathe and reduce the heat
• Nasal spray (Sterimar Baby) - to unclog her nose
• Nose aspirator - haven't used it yet, at this moment the nasal spray helps a lot
• Essential Oil (Eucalyptus, peppermint, lemon, tea tree) - to diffuse throughout the day
• Vicks Baby Balsam (the pink one) - also to help her breathe
• Small napkins (a lot of them) - to use for snot and what not, wash daily

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It took 6 days for the on-off fever to go away and today is day 11 of her cold and cough. 

She is still on medication (twice daily), I'm still using the nasal spray twice daily to help her unclog her nose and I gave her honey when she cough too bad. 

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Our go-to children clinic is Klinik As-Salam in Bangi (24 hours).

First visit : RM 164 - Consultation, medication, blood and Covid test.

Second visit : RM 96 - Sofi's fever spiked to 38.9 °C at 3 am , so we went straight to the clinic, doctor inserted suppository (anal paracetamol). I also bought the nasal spray and aspirator there.

There is no clinic more friendly, more welcoming than Klinik As-Salam, in handling worried parents after midnight. I went here twice after midnight and I'm always thankful for their hospitality. 

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She hates to cough so much because it made her puke and so she always restrains herself from coughing by clenching her teeth. It is odd and uncomfortable to see her so determine to not cough, we can hear her breathing through her phlegm. So I always tell her that it is okay to cough it out, and it is okay to puke. We are still using the nasal spray to help dissolve thick mucus. She only refused to get her nose sprayed during the first 2 days, then later she seems like she enjoyed it (like a game).

Here are all the random toys I bought to bribe or calm her when we had to go to the clinic, or asked her to try the medicine, or when she puked all over. 

Little Things 250 : Let's Embrace Our Nerdiness - My Book Club

> My Book club <

Here I share my thoughts on books that I consume (sometimes with spoilers so read at your own risk). This year I'm trying to make a habit of taking some time to write my thoughts on the books that I read or listen, to practice honing and expressing my personal views. 

For years I stopped thinking critically about people's creation in respecting 'the work of written art' but I realized that in doing so, I stop thinking critically all together. So I would like to change that. I got this idea from : Jordan Peterson's - The Best Way To Learn Critical Thinking. What he said was in order to teach yourself to think critically, you need to write. Writing helps you to think. We need to learn to be articulate, so we can express our thoughts better and improve our thinking.

I will edit these posts from time to time, depending on whether I have something to say after thinking about it more, or finding errors or change in opinion.

I'm using Notion for this book club, I'm not sure how it works when it is shared on web yet, but I made it possible for you to write comment as well. So if you have some thoughts on these books, please do share. I want us to be nerds together. 

Here is the link again : My Book club. This year I will read more fiction.

Note : These are all personal views, I usually think my personal views don't matter to the internet. But in this sharing session, I would like to just pour my personal thoughts out to try to be a better thinker. That's it. It is okay to agree to disagree and all the writings are not final. 

Little Things 249 : End of the Year 2021

Here's a 2021 compilation :

1. Summary on my mental + physical condition :

It took 6 weeks, 4 physiotherapy + 1 chirotherapy session, countless Brandt-Daroff exercises and Epley maneuvers for me to recover from the vertigo. Even now, I can't promise that I won't wake up one day with the world spinning in my eyes. 

I can already feel the pressure builds up along my neck and shoulder just days after I got back from 3 weeks stay at my mom's last weekend. I try to scrape it off every day but it is still there. My standing table just arrived yesterday and we took an hour to install it. My laptop is already as high as my eye level so I don't have to put pressure on my neck anymore. I got myself a totally new 24 inch monitor because it was still under warranty (bought a monitor early this year). It isn't white as I originally bought but it is 3 inches bigger. Here is my current standing desk setup :

I don't know what else can I do to avoid this repeating pain to come. We are still having our morning walks (which is my most favorite part of my day). We found so many new hidden paths for us in Putrajaya and it is the most rewarding thing in 2021 :

2021 is the year I found myself in a lot of mental and physical challenges. I was diagnosed with anxiety early this year and that took around 6 months of my life, and then I had chronic pain due to either my back, or my neck and shoulder, the migraine and yes, the latest one is vertigo. These are all connected, when I'm anxious, my muscle tense up and it leads to more injuries on my physical body. Surprisingly, even if I don't really feel anxious, I'm still prone to high-stress (not really sure why) and those stress also leads to more physical pain. This is a brutal cycle for me :F

I would really love to train for a long walk and yoga back again, and I hope 2022 is more welcoming. 

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2. On books :

Honestly I've been trying to spend more time finishing up books. I'm still a little bit obsessive about the amount of books that I consume every year, and this year I manage to finish around 55 books. 

• Most memorable fiction is : People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara
• Most memorable non-fiction is : Mark Manson's The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and Everything is F*cked (because it is relatable when I was dealing with anxiety)
• Most memorable writer is Thich Nhat Hanh

I also bought a kindle so that I will have an access to any books that I want - I don't have to solely rely on preloved or borrowed books. I have a lot of books that I want to read but harder to get (because they are new or rare, and I don't want any physical books to keep anymore except for some that I still collect : Haruki Murakami or Carlos Ruiz Zafon's).

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3. On finance :

On lighter mode : I finished paying off my student loan :D

But at the same time I've been using up my epf saving twice during the pandemic because I've been sick a lot and it's harder to work when I'm sick. 

Everything is possible when you have the time and energy. I learned that rezeki comes in many ways; a good health, a strong body, an unrelentless mind, time, peace, not just money. I always thought that I can work as long as I want and money will come along eventually but then this year I was sick a lot. When I can't work, nothing seems possible. I've been creating this person that I am today surrounded with the possibilities to work in many ways, I was a workaholic for 10 years. Then 2021 happened.

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4. On career :

Still a full-time freelancer :D The fifth-year so far.

This year I worked with Mylaksa, IPC Shopping Center, and NOKO Malaysia. I also ended the contract with Samsung and refused to extend the new contract for 2021 because of an 'issue'. 

2021 social media collaboration : Sudio Sweden, Uniqlo Malaysia, Cadbury ZIP and Gaston Luga.

Me as an illustrator, I just compiled a long 2021 post on my Behance here. 

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5. On Sofi :

Sofi is currently 2 years and 5 months old and she is speech-delayed. She's healthy, she's very physical, smart and needy. She loves transportation, her current favorite is an excavator. She knows how to differentiate between her toy bus, train, taxi, police car, van and fire-truck (this was from our recent first visit to Family Mart with her, she refused to let go of the toy set and we had to buy it for her =.=). 

Her current favorite channel is Blippi (which I don't understand the hype at all, Blippy is so 'silly').

Words she can say (not including animal sounds): 

• yaya : Ayah
• dok : Dog
• ka : Cat
• kak (with a sign) : Buka
• no : No
• buh : Blue
• bo : Ball
• pak : Park
• chuchu : Train
• yeay : Yes
• bok : Book

She wouldn't talk when prompted, she never really imitate as well, and she never called me "mommy" even once, yet. She's at the age that is supposed to be able to say around 50-100 words, we will send her to be checked next year. 

She's healthy and hardly ever get sick, so I'm really grateful for this. 

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I'll officially be reaching mid 30s next week. 

Still processing how 10 years passed in a blink of an eye :F I do feel like I aged a lot these past few years (maybe due to the pandemic and parenting). 

Hopeful New Year 2022 ★

Little Story 240 : Kindle 10th gen

I bought myself an early birthday present. I've been wanting an e-book reader for awhile, probably along the time when I stopped buying physical books. 

I loooove books and I read a lot. But buying physical books means I have more things in my home but I don't want to collect things. I am also a bit sad to see my unread books on shelves getting older. No one else in my family reads, so I don't really want to keep more books than I intended to. 

The saddest part of "not wanting to keep more physical books" is I can't buy books. I missed a lot of 'new releases' since then.

Here's my ereader :

If I don't buy books, how did I manage to still read ?

1) Since I decided to stop collecting books, I started subscribing to Scribd. For $8.99 per month, I have an unlimited access to their digital and audio books. That's when I started consuming so many books per year, because I can listen to it whenever I want. I consume more books by listening but less book by reading. I don't read on my iPad.

2) I buy preloved books. This is a challenge. I always use Carousell for this. It is very challenging to find books that "I want" during that time instead of books that people no longer want. There are also so many people that sell reprinted books or what I call "pirated books", and I don't support that. I rather buy old books than reprinted books because I don't really want to support the book-piracy industry.

3) I borrow from people. Unfortunately, I don't have that many friends who read (or worse, I don't really have that many friends). I always ask in my IG stories when I want to borrow certain books, but I hardly receive replies. 

4) I wish to find more local libraries (but probably after Covid)

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I finally decided to just buy the kindle when I was stuck at my mom's in Nilai last week (after I finished People in the Trees) and I had nothing new to read, so I decided to go to Aeon Nilai to check-out their 'Popular' bookstore and found only 1 row of English books and only 1 of it was fiction. Imagine that. I was disappointed. I was so happy for finishing a good fiction and I wanted the same energy to boost my next read but I found none. So I went back home, spent 2 days reasoning with myself, asked Af and Aja, then I finally ordered it from Kindle Malaysia and got it in less than 3 days. 

I've been admiring my small library for awhile. I can now travel with more books than 3. Yes, it doesn't feel as good as a physical book, it doesn't have a certain 'smell', it can't keep memories (you know, how we can create a visual memory of each book that we read - who bought it for you, what happened when you read it, where did it travel with you, etc. But it is good enough.

• Small and light
• Built-in dictionary
• Use less battery
• Built-in book store 
• Bring a library anywhere
• No glare

The link to Kindle.Malaysia's shopee.

I haven't bought my first ebook yet. Still haven't decided on which ebook to mark my first starting on a journey :F

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So my birthday is coming very soon, I'm turning 35 !

Here's a link to Amazon eGift Card and here's my email : azreen0301@gmail.com :D This is your call to be a book elf this new year and sprinkle some book dust magic to me so that I can buy more books in 2022, yeay!

My sister was worried about the review of the egift card so I made my first trial purchase and it worked just fine. Bought the egift card, received an email, got a link, added it into my acc balance on Amazon :

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Note : Quite excited for this purchase, been having book-fasting purchase for years :F Now I can still read from my old-time favorite writers: Mitch Albom, Jodi Picoult, Elif Shafak, etc without having to keep the physical copies. I don't have to worry about who is going to manage my home library when I'm gone.