Apparently I watched 88 movies in 2021. They’re listed in my movie log.
This year I finished 52 books, about a book a week on average. That’s less than previous years, but there were some REALLY long ones: Les Miserables, not one but two translations of The Tale of Genji… and a fat amateurish non-fiction book about the experiences of Singapore educators that felt even longer than it was.
I might finish Atlas Shrugged, another really long one… Still a few hours left! XD
This year, 60% of the books I read were non-fiction. All my favorites were non-fiction (in bold below). Classic fiction titles were mostly chosen by the leader of the local book club I’m in in Singapore, The Hungry Hundred Book Club.
I’ve posted about the foreign classics on my other website, We Love Translations: World Literature in English.
Many books (both fiction and non-fiction) were about Singapore and/or written by Singapore authors; some were not Singaporean but were Southeast-Asian or Asian.
Why?
Well, my reading is following the book group selections and also the “last in, first out” rule that whatever I buy, I have to read it next, not ‘eventually’. I thought of this rule several years ago as a strategy for reining in book purchases, and I’m finally starting to follow it. There’s still a huge backlog, but the backlog has stopped growing. Yay.
See below for a sorted list of the books I read in 2021.
I researched the different translations of Les Miserables and posted on my other website, We Love Translations. That was, however, after I had already bought the two-volume Wordsworth Classics paperback edition of the Wilbour translation.
You know, the one with Zombie Cosette on the cover. = \
Anyway… Wordsworth is what I had, so Wordsworth is what I read!
Item description / significance
This is a winged dragon carved from wood, made in Indonesia. Her name is Karen. She has some damage; a couple of teeth, one of her long whiskers, and some of her short whiskers are broken, but her wings and body are intact.
Bought where
in Singapore on Carousell, a second-hand marketplace app
Age and origin
age unknown, made in Bali, Indonesia
What I like about it
It’s a dragon! With wings! The detail is good.
Other notes
I already had a dragon like this. I bought this one to give to my brother. He and Karen are still on opposite sides of the planet, though. =\
See below for a few photos.
Les Miserables is reeeeeallllly long. I remember enjoying The Hunchback of Notre Dame, including the philosophical passages (“this will kill that,” i.e., the printing press will kill architecture), and in general I believe in reading unabridged books, but I understand why people might be drawn to an abridged version of Les Miserables. The pacing is stop-and-go, since Hugo frequently alternates between telling his story and telling history.
» Learn about the translations of Les Miserables
See below for some thoughts on the novel in general and the Wordsworth Classics edition of the Charles E. Wilbour translation in particular.
Continue reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, translated by Charles E. Wilbour
I might have read it in high school, but if I did it was probably an abridged version. Time to attack the real thing! My copy is the Wordsworth Classics two-volume edition, translated by Charles E. Wilbour.
Genre: French literature
Date started / date finished: 27-Sep-21 to 19-Oct-21
Length: 494 pages
ISBN: 9781853260858
Originally published in: 1862/1994/2002
Amazon link: Les Miserables (Vol 1)
Item description / significance
This is a winged dragon carved from wood, made in Indonesia. Size: 32cm (H) x 11cm (W) x 25cm (D). No damage. Seems to be dancing! His name is Dave, thus he is Dave the dancing Indonesian dragon (because I like cheesy alliteration).
Bought where
in Singapore on Carousell, a second-hand marketplace app
Original listing is still online!
Age and origin
age unknown, made in Bali, Indonesia
What I like about it
It’s a dragon! With wings! The detail is good.
Other notes
I think the first time I saw one of these was in Chinatown in Singapore, in a shop that had a lot of wood carvings from Indonesia. They had several sizes (all way too expensive).
I searched on Carousell and found one. It’s still there; the seller never responded.
I kept looking. As soon as another Indonesian dragon turned up, I messaged the seller offering to pay the asking price, and arranged to pick it up the same day. I never bought anything so fast! I took the MRT one stop from my house and met the seller, handed over the cash, and turned around and got back on the train. Never even went out of the station gantry. It was surreal. I am super pleased!
See below for photos of Dave.
Item description / significance
This is an inside-painted (inner-painted, reverse painted) glass ball depicting an adaptation of the Song dynasty handscroll painting “Along the River During the Qingming Festival.”
Bought where
in Singapore, at Peter’s house of bric-a-brac
Age and origin
Painted in 1992, according to the inscription, probably in Hengshui, Hebei Province, in northern China
What I like about it
I bought it mainly because I recognized the famous source painting. I’d stared at an animated version of it on display at, I think, Tokyo Haneda Airport when I got re-routed through there in 2017. The level of detail is impressive.
See below for information on the inscription, background on the original handscroll painting, and more photos of this ball.
Continue reading Qingming Festival Chinese inside-painted glass ball
The book was originally published in 1947 under the French title La Peste. There are three English translations:
I know some French—but not, like, a lot—and I haven’t read both the existing English translations. Still, you asked, so here’s my answer.
I recommend the Buss / Penguin translation of The Plague:
It’s got a nice afterword by Tony Judt. See below for other reasons.
Continue reading Which translation of The Plague by Camus should I read?
Many thousands of copies of this book have sold because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It makes sense to me that people are staying home and reading more, but I don’t quite understand why people are devouring novels about epidemics. Personally, I’d rather read to take my mind off the virus—something with dragons, perhaps. Reading epidemic fiction seems like a short, straight path to hypochondria. But maybe people are reading for reassurance.
What kind of book is The Plague? Hopeful? Relatable? Witty? Philosophical?
Continue reading The Plague by Albert Camus, translated by Robin Buss
Rachel of the Hungry Hundred Book Club chose this book for April 2021.
Genre: Modern French Literature
Date started / date finished: 19-Apr-21 to 26-Apr-21
Length: 272 pages
ISBN: 9780141185132
Originally published in: 1947/2002
Amazon link: The Plague
If you have never read The Tale of Genji, my advice is, DON’T START WITH TYLER. That’s what I did: I started with Tyler. That was a mistake.
Continue reading Which translation of the Tale of Genji should I read?
