It’s that time of the year again, guys! No, no, not Christmas or Halloween or what have you. It’s time to remind myself of all the books lying in wait so that I may not purchase some more in the near future. There are just so many exemplars in my TBR pile! Since the pandemic has gotten gradually better, I’d had the chance to borrow books from friends again. And you know when I do, I prefer to borrow in abundance—which should explain the growing pile on my table. Let’s also remember that the books from previous posts may not all have been read either (lol).
Before we dive into the titles, I’d like to have a little recap of what my reading year has been like so far. Up until this post is written, I have officially finished 17 books—which, according to Goodreads, is 1 book ahead of schedule in reaching 30 books as per my 2022 goal. The books I have chosen thus far has been comprised by 85% nonfiction—which, I believe, is a new record for me and I couldn’t be prouder. What can I say? I’ve been on a nonfiction kick lately. Is this the sign of getting older? Well, anyway, without further ado, here’s to more books for 2022.
Currently Reading
It’s that time of the year again, guys! No, no, not Christmas or Halloween or what have you. It’s time to remind myself of all the books lying in wait so that I may not purchase some more in the near future. There are just so many exemplars in my TBR pile! Since the pandemic has gotten gradually better, I’d had the chance to borrow books from friends again. And you know when I do, I prefer to borrow in abundance—which should explain the growing pile on my table. Let’s also remember that the books from previous posts may not all have been read either (lol).
Before we dive into the titles, I’d like to have a little recap of what my reading year has been like so far. Up until this post is written, I have officially finished 17 books—which, according to Goodreads, is 1 book ahead of schedule in reaching 30 books as per my 2022 goal. The books I have chosen thus far has been comprised by 85% nonfiction—which, I believe, is a new record for me and I couldn’t be prouder. What can I say? I’ve been on a nonfiction kick lately. Is this the sign of getting older? Well, anyway, without further ado, here’s to more books for 2022.
Currently Reading
Hood Feminism
by Mikki Kendall
Feminism has always been a conflicting concept for me, because I’ve always believed that mainstream feminism isn’t fighting for my cause. Apparently, I’m not the only one who feels like that. This book, although it is written by a Black author and has a Black-sounding title, actually explores all the ways white feminists often people who slip through the cracks—marginalised women and communities who fight daily to have their fundamental rights fulfilled and basic needs met. It cleverly addresses the nuance that exists within feminism across cultures, where socio-economic background plays a huge role—creating overlaps between gender issues and class issues that has been inherent throughout history. This book, by the way, was borrowed from my dear friend Maya and I’m so glad to finally be able to read it.
Hood Feminism
by Mikki Kendall
Feminism has always been a conflicting concept for me, because I’ve always believed that mainstream feminism isn’t fighting for my cause. Apparently, I’m not the only one who feels like that. This book, although it is written by a Black author and has a Black-sounding title, actually explores all the ways white feminists often people who slip through the cracks—marginalised women and communities who fight daily to have their fundamental rights fulfilled and basic needs met. It cleverly addresses the nuance that exists within feminism across cultures, where socio-economic background plays a huge role—creating overlaps between gender issues and class issues that has been inherent throughout history. This book, by the way, was borrowed from my dear friend Maya and I’m so glad to finally be able to read it.
Next on the List
The Latte Factor
by David Bach & John David Mann
Another book lent to me by Maya. She actually recommended this one too—since I’d never heard of the book before at all. She said this book changed how she looks at her personal finances and I’ve since heard it lauded by another friend from work. In short, this book opens up our eyes on how the little things that we buy create the biggest impact on our spending as a whole. It is something that, I believe, millennials and Gen Z alike could very well relate to. It is called ‘The Latte Factor’ to refer to the small cups of latte we tend to buy for ourselves regularly, which may seem minuscule or even harmless on its own, but will eventually snowball into a much larger sum that ends up taking a huge chunk of our money.
While I do know the initial premise of the book, I am still curious on the concrete data surrounding this topic as well as whether there will be guide on what we can do to change the way we treat our money. If we’re being nitpicky, I honestly rarely ever buy latte. However, I also recognise that ‘latte’ is merely a stand-in for whatever little spending I would dole out regularly. So I am ready to be enlightened and changed.
Next on the List
The Latte Factor
by David Bach & John David Mann
Another book lent to me by Maya. She actually recommended this one too—since I’d never heard of the book before at all. She said this book changed how she looks at her personal finances and I’ve since heard it lauded by another friend from work. In short, this book opens up our eyes on how the little things that we buy create the biggest impact on our spending as a whole. It is something that, I believe, millennials and Gen Z alike could very well relate to. It is called ‘The Latte Factor’ to refer to the small cups of latte we tend to buy for ourselves regularly, which may seem minuscule or even harmless on its own, but will eventually snowball into a much larger sum that ends up taking a huge chunk of our money.
While I do know the initial premise of the book, I am still curious on the concrete data surrounding this topic as well as whether there will be guide on what we can do to change the way we treat our money. If we’re being nitpicky, I honestly rarely ever buy latte. However, I also recognise that ‘latte’ is merely a stand-in for whatever little spending I would dole out regularly. So I am ready to be enlightened and changed.
Pachinko
by Lee Min-jin
Okay, everybody shut up! I know this book has recently been turned into a major motion picture—or a series? I’m not entirely sure–but I have actually kept this book in my TBR for years. Finally, I have the chance to read this number by borrowing Maya’s exemplar. Nobody give me spoilers, let me read it in peace!
Truth be told, I know next to nothing about what this book is about. There’s a chance I might have read the synopsis somewhere at one time, but I no longer remember it. For me, the appeal of this book comes in twofold. One, the gorgeous cover, of course—which is this one. Two, that it somehow feels reminiscent of The Joyluck Club of Asian American popculture history from the 20th century. Those two are reason enough.
Pachinko
by Lee Min-jin
Okay, everybody shut up! I know this book has recently been turned into a major motion picture—or a series? I’m not entirely sure–but I have actually kept this book in my TBR for years. Finally, I have the chance to read this number by borrowing Maya’s exemplar. Nobody give me spoilers, let me read it in peace!
Truth be told, I know next to nothing about what this book is about. There’s a chance I might have read the synopsis somewhere at one time, but I no longer remember it. For me, the appeal of this book comes in twofold. One, the gorgeous cover, of course—which is this one. Two, that it somehow feels reminiscent of The Joyluck Club of Asian American popculture history from the 20th century. Those two are reason enough.
Histories of Nations
Edited by Peter Furtado
Earlier this year I borrowed a book from my work friend called Prisoners of Geography. That book amazed me so much that I ended up going on a long streak of nonfiction reads—including a whole period of reading about Islamic history. It got me really curious about the world and intrigued me to read more about nations and their relationship with their people as well as geography. Then Maya introduced me to this book.
As far as I can tell, this book reveals the histories of how the nations of the world are formed. I used to think that for a country to be established, it needs to assert its independence one way or another. Apparently, that is not always how it happens for most nations of the world. This is what I’m trying to learn about through this book, so we shall see.
Histories of Nations
Edited by Peter Furtado
Earlier this year I borrowed a book from my work friend called Prisoners of Geography. That book amazed me so much that I ended up going on a long streak of nonfiction reads—including a whole period of reading about Islamic history. It got me really curious about the world and intrigued me to read more about nations and their relationship with their people as well as geography. Then Maya introduced me to this book.
As far as I can tell, this book reveals the histories of how the nations of the world are formed. I used to think that for a country to be established, it needs to assert its independence one way or another. Apparently, that is not always how it happens for most nations of the world. This is what I’m trying to learn about through this book, so we shall see.
The Courage to be Disliked
by Ichiro Kishimi
Here is one of those books that got so hyped up by people all over the internet—and beyond. I think I first heard about this book from my friend Ervina a while ago. The title alone feels incredibly powerful to me and it got me hooked. But then a lot of other people started talking about it too and my intrigue grew—even Ali Abdal sang its praises a while back. Thanks to Maya, today I can finally get to reading this book. Can’t wait to dig right in!
To me, this book may bear some resemblance to The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, which I also borrowed from Maya a few years ago. That book, for me, is inspiring but also quite obvious—maybe because I’m already not giving fucks anyway, so the contents may not be applicable to me. However, I feel like this book will be a little different and probably very important to be read by just absolutely anyone—especially women. These days everything feels like a popularity contest—remember when social media was about connecting with people? Yeah, me neither—so we are always so desperate to be liked. But what if we are brave enough to accept that we may not be likeable? I’d like to find out.
The Courage to be Disliked
by Ichiro Kishimi
Here is one of those books that got so hyped up by people all over the internet—and beyond. I think I first heard about this book from my friend Ervina a while ago. The title alone feels incredibly powerful to me and it got me hooked. But then a lot of other people started talking about it too and my intrigue grew—even Ali Abdal sang its praises a while back. Thanks to Maya, today I can finally get to reading this book. Can’t wait to dig right in!
To me, this book may bear some resemblance to The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, which I also borrowed from Maya a few years ago. That book, for me, is inspiring but also quite obvious—maybe because I’m already not giving fucks anyway, so the contents may not be applicable to me. However, I feel like this book will be a little different and probably very important to be read by just absolutely anyone—especially women. These days everything feels like a popularity contest—remember when social media was about connecting with people? Yeah, me neither—so we are always so desperate to be liked. But what if we are brave enough to accept that we may not be likeable? I’d like to find out.
Bermula dari Cerita Abah
by Muhammad Iqbal
You may remember the book event at Pos Bloc that I went to last month? Well, this is one of the books that I bought from there. As usual, I saw the cover, read the title and a little bit of the synopsis—and I was instantly hooked. I’ve got no prior knowledge of this book, but I quickly grabbed it and took it home.
From what I can gather, this is a nonfiction book about the development of Islam—not only as a religious belief, but also as a political standpoint and cultural tradition—in Indonesia. After learning about Islamic history as a whole—and understanding that Islam is actually the only mainstream faith that incorporates societal structures and guides to community living in its scriptures—I was curious to learn about it on a more local level, especially since we’re the largest Muslim population on earth.
Bermula dari Cerita Abah
by Muhammad Iqbal
You may remember the book event at Pos Bloc that I went to last month? Well, this is one of the books that I bought from there. As usual, I saw the cover, read the title and a little bit of the synopsis—and I was instantly hooked. I’ve got no prior knowledge of this book, but I quickly grabbed it and took it home.
From what I can gather, this is a nonfiction book about the development of Islam—not only as a religious belief, but also as a political standpoint and cultural tradition—in Indonesia. After learning about Islamic history as a whole—and understanding that Islam is actually the only mainstream faith that incorporates societal structures and guides to community living in its scriptures—I was curious to learn about it on a more local level, especially since we’re the largest Muslim population on earth.
Cerita-Cerita Jakarta
Edited by Maesy Ang & Teddy W. Kusuma
Another book that I bought from that same Pos Bloc event. This one was actually published by POST a couple years ago—I follow the published on Instagram, so I’ve been coveting it for a while. As far as I know, the book contains a compilation of short stories set in Jakarta written by various authors. From the looks of it, not all the authors are of Indonesian nationality too, which should be rather interesting.
I don’t know what to expect from the stories, honestly, but my hope is that it will bring out the essence of living in this capital. To me, this place has a very unique appeal that can at times feel glamorous, luxurious and exclusive, but also in tangent with the edgy, ghetto and raw elements to reflect the multitude facets of people in this city.
Cerita-Cerita Jakarta
Edited by Maesy Ang & Teddy W. Kusuma
Another book that I bought from that same Pos Bloc event. This one was actually published by POST a couple years ago—I follow the published on Instagram, so I’ve been coveting it for a while. As far as I know, the book contains a compilation of short stories set in Jakarta written by various authors. From the looks of it, not all the authors are of Indonesian nationality too, which should be rather interesting.
I don’t know what to expect from the stories, honestly, but my hope is that it will bring out the essence of living in this capital. To me, this place has a very unique appeal that can at times feel glamorous, luxurious and exclusive, but also in tangent with the edgy, ghetto and raw elements to reflect the multitude facets of people in this city.
Perempuan Patah Hati yang Kembali Menemukan
Cinta Melalui Mimpi
by Eka Kurniawan
Earlier this year one of my favourite authors published a new book. Without hesitation, I quickly pre-ordered the new title and lo and behold. If you don’t know, Eka Kurniawan is the brilliant mind behind my all-time favourite Indonesian book, Cantik Itu Luka—despite having recently discovered it—and Seperti Dendam, Rindu Harus Dibayar Tuntas, which I’ve only ever savoured on the big screen. The way he writes stories has always thread the border between what is and isn’t acceptable by the general public. He knows how to take a sexual aspect and spin a story around it without being distasteful.
For this new title, I have nothing but greatness to expect. From the title alone, I suppose we could already gather what the story will be about, but I am always ready to be surprised—when it comes to Kurniawan’s work, nothing is ever as it seems. It seems to be a lot thinner than the previous two I’ve enjoyed before, so I don’t know how epic it could be, but I cannot wait to flip through the pages.
Perempuan Patah Hati yang Kembali Menemukan
Cinta Melalui Mimpi
by Eka Kurniawan
Earlier this year one of my favourite authors published a new book. Without hesitation, I quickly pre-ordered the new title and lo and behold. If you don’t know, Eka Kurniawan is the brilliant mind behind my all-time favourite Indonesian book, Cantik Itu Luka—despite having recently discovered it—and Seperti Dendam, Rindu Harus Dibayar Tuntas, which I’ve only ever savoured on the big screen. The way he writes stories has always thread the border between what is and isn’t acceptable by the general public. He knows how to take a sexual aspect and spin a story around it without being distasteful.
For this new title, I have nothing but greatness to expect. From the title alone, I suppose we could already gather what the story will be about, but I am always ready to be surprised—when it comes to Kurniawan’s work, nothing is ever as it seems. It seems to be a lot thinner than the previous two I’ve enjoyed before, so I don’t know how epic it could be, but I cannot wait to flip through the pages.
Herr Lehmann
by Sven Regener
Last month, as I’ve mentioned, I borrowed a couple books from Goethe Institute Jakarta. Even though I only finished one of them, it got me on this mood for reading German books. My initial plan was to borrow more books from the library, but a colleague of mine—who also used to study in Germany—was kind enough to let me borrow on of his German books.
As with most books on this list—and the list before and after this one—I do not have much expectation for this title either. As far as I can tell, it seems to be set sometime during the DDR and BRD period—or, for you non-Germans, the time of East and West Germany—in which we follow the life of Herr Lehmann. Whether or not it will be interesting is yet to be seen. From what I’ve seen so far, though, it could be promising.
Herr Lehmann
by Sven Regener
Last month, as I’ve mentioned, I borrowed a couple books from Goethe Institute Jakarta. Even though I only finished one of them, it got me on this mood for reading German books. My initial plan was to borrow more books from the library, but a colleague of mine—who also used to study in Germany—was kind enough to let me borrow on of his German books.
As with most books on this list—and the list before and after this one—I do not have much expectation for this title either. As far as I can tell, it seems to be set sometime during the DDR and BRD period—or, for you non-Germans, the time of East and West Germany—in which we follow the life of Herr Lehmann. Whether or not it will be interesting is yet to be seen. From what I’ve seen so far, though, it could be promising.
The Next Fifty Years
Edited by John Brockman
A while ago, I was on a scientific-read kick—which wasn’t limited to strictly books, but also included research papers and websites. The peak of it was when I found and read Doughnut Economics. Around that time, I saw one of my favourite used bookstore selling this book. Despite never having heard of the title before, I was quickly intrigued and bought the book with very little thought. Needless to say, it has been sitting idle on my table ever since.
Honestly, what got me hooked to this book—at least from the title alone—is thinking that it may talk about the environment in parts of what it chooses to discuss. Only as an afterthought did I realise that it may very well contain nothing about the climate crisis or the technology to make things right. Oh well.
The Next Fifty Years
Edited by John Brockman
A while ago, I was on a scientific-read kick—which wasn’t limited to strictly books, but also included research papers and websites. The peak of it was when I found and read Doughnut Economics. Around that time, I saw one of my favourite used bookstore selling this book. Despite never having heard of the title before, I was quickly intrigued and bought the book with very little thought. Needless to say, it has been sitting idle on my table ever since.
Honestly, what got me hooked to this book—at least from the title alone—is thinking that it may talk about the environment in parts of what it chooses to discuss. Only as an afterthought did I realise that it may very well contain nothing about the climate crisis or the technology to make things right. Oh well.
How to Change Everything
by Naomi Klein
Last but not least, here’s the humdinger! Ever since I read the Shock Doctrine, I’ve been low-key obsessing over Naomi Klein. She is such a tremendous author who dares to go off the beaten track to unveil a lot of the nasty things behind what we may perceive as a normal way of life. In her aforementioned book, she opened my eyes to how capitalism managed to spread worldwide—an orchestrated doctrine, as opposed to an accidental popculture phenomenon—and what kind of evil it ended up bringing upon the earth, whether socioeconomically, environmentally or culturally.
In this book, she supposedly goes hard on the climate crisis. I have heard, read or seen zero review and recommendation on this book, so it might well be a flop. However, I believe in the tremendous ability of Klein’s to be very detailed in all the topics she explores. Again, I don’t exactly know what to expect but I’m so ready—although I know I’ll probably never be ready—to be blown away once again.
What are you excited to read for the remainder of the year?
Share your most anticipated titles in the comment!
How to Change Everything
by Naomi Klein
Last but not least, here’s the humdinger! Ever since I read the Shock Doctrine, I’ve been low-key obsessing over Naomi Klein. She is such a tremendous author who dares to go off the beaten track to unveil a lot of the nasty things behind what we may perceive as a normal way of life. In her aforementioned book, she opened my eyes to how capitalism managed to spread worldwide—an orchestrated doctrine, as opposed to an accidental popculture phenomenon—and what kind of evil it ended up bringing upon the earth, whether socioeconomically, environmentally or culturally.
In this book, she supposedly goes hard on the climate crisis. I have heard, read or seen zero review and recommendation on this book, so it might well be a flop. However, I believe in the tremendous ability of Klein’s to be very detailed in all the topics she explores. Again, I don’t exactly know what to expect but I’m so ready—although I know I’ll probably never be ready—to be blown away once again.
What are you excited to read for the remainder of the year?
Share your most anticipated titles in the comment!