Reading List

“The White Album” by Joan Didion

“We tell ourselves stories in order to live,” writes Joan Didion in The White Album. It’s human nature for us to create narratives around events that happen in our lives. It’s how we make sense of the world, and stay sane. But the ’60s forced Joan to question the very fabric of her own narratives. After all, is it truly possible to make sense of a decade so harried with social upheaval, death, and drugs? Buckle up for a wild yet dispassionate ride through the 60s with Joan Didion in this iconic collection of essays.

 

 

“Life of a Klansman” by Edward Ball

We have a tendency to trivialize the past. We like to imagine the people in history as caricatures inferior to ourselves, morally and intellectually. But we’re wrong. The past is very real, and is very similar to our times in more ways than we like to think. In this book, the author, who is a descendant of a Klansman, reflects on his struggles in coming to terms with his family’s dark history, as well as the intergenerational traumas that inflict the African American society today. Not least of all, he laments on how our penchant for violence and supremacism hasn’t changed. 

 

 

“Sang Kancil” by James Chai

Most Malaysians grow up with folk tales of Sang Kancil, a small yet sly mouse-deer who bravely outsmarts its enemies. Author James Chai embraces Sang Kancil as the underdog symbol of Malaysia. It is a symbol of Malaysia’s greatness, despite being a humble and overlooked Southeast Asian country. With that, James shares stories of ordinary Malaysians who have changed the nation, and even the world, by choosing to think differently and standing up to injustice. As a Malaysian myself, I really enjoyed this read. As many of the figures in this book are ones that I never knew about, reading about them was like finding hidden treasures in my own home. It made me proud, and it filled me with hope that I too could contribute to the world in similar ways.

 

 

“Uzumaki” by Junji Ito

Uzumaki, meaning “spiral” in Japanese, is a story about a town ravaged by a mysterious curse. As the story goes, the townsfolk suddenly become obsessed with spiral patterns, which turn them insane, bring them gruesome deaths, and affect the environment and social fabric in surreal ways. It’s disturbingly terrifying in a way that could only be pulled from the dark recesses of Junji Ito’s imagination. While this is definitely worth the read, it is considerably long. So, if you’re looking to start on Junji Ito’s work, I highly recommend that you first pick up Shiver, which is a collection of his best short-stories. 

 

 

“Good Omens” by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Good Omens is a comedy about an angel and a demon who have grown to love life on Earth, so they work together to prevent the Apocalypse. I was quite hesitant to read this one because of my previous experience with American Gods. While I loved Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comics and Norse Mythology, I found American Gods to be too damned dull and long-winded. Anyway, I found Good Omens at a second-hand store, so I thought I didn’t have much to lose. I can’t say I love the story, but I thought it was at least entertaining enough that I bothered to finish it this time.