December 2023 & End of Year Thoughts

the (unseen) reader, 2023

01 - For the beginning of December, I had the brilliant idea of walking the Brooklyn Bridge on a weekday after 10am and it was hell. More people than anyone can handle plus street vendors took half the bridge so that made it even more crowded. Then there were these photo booths where you stand on a pedal that spins and a camera twirls around you and take shots - I don't know who thought that up but it's like the silliest thing I ever saw. And forget biking, there's no room but below the bridge there is a specific bike lane which I guess it's why there were no cyclist on the bridge. I was exhausted by the crowd and only made it pass one of the arches and turned back. It used to be more pleasant and yeah, there was a crowd but there was only people, not this circus mall. I don't think I'll walk it again anytime soon.

The 2023 Book Awards

I like to list some of my best and worst reads this year but I have forgotten every book I read. But upon looking at my blog archives, I can sort of remember them and noted that I didn't read much this year. So instead of best and worst reads, here is a very short list of awards for books I read in 2023.

01 - A book with the most disappointing ending:
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien  > link
Some bits were boring but mostly an okay read but I'm disappointed by the ending. If the readers are to follow these people, then why aren't these people doing the one important thing that the story was leading toward? I don't get it. But now I can said I have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings but I'm still not a fan of either one. I don't think I want to see the movie which seems to be in three parts - how can they make a short book into a 6 hour movie anyway?

02 - The book with the most exasperating love interest:
Scent of Fear (Scent Series Book 1) by NJ Litz  > link
This male love interest (also the male lead) left such a bad impression on me that I hope he was the killer. (I don't recall his name and that's how much I couldn't stand the guy.) We get to be in his head, which is not a good thing, and he gives off an impression of being a womanizer and a terrible father. Instead of talking to his daughter or spending time with her and trying to understand her, he just leaves her with his mother or with the female lead or with anyone. He is a fellow who likes to 'keep his women's heart racing' (that's the wording in the book) which I'm guessing means he wants them to be excited to be in his presence or... something. For a cop with experience, he didn't think criminals would be smart enough to have backup escape plans nor going into an operation, did he bother to check to see if there are escape routes criminals can get out. And for a cop, heck, for a man who had seen a lot, I would think he would be more open-minded and hold judgement on a person and not judge them by their relation to another. If the author had simply not let us into his head, we might have a better impression of him through the female lead. (The female lead is not much better because she wants to find the killer to impress the male lead/win his heart which I laughed at when she had that thought.)

03 - The most hype book that somehow bored me:
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman > link
This is the book I waited almost a year to read from the library which I can't say is worth the wait. The first chapter was good, which reads like a prologue, and then it became meh. The humor was not funny to me. The main characters sounded like children who pretended to be adults but not even in a funny way. The mystery was bland. The book was mostly thoughts, lots of dumb thoughts and also, lots of talk of death, dying and final days. The good thing about this book is that I didn't pay 13 dollars to read it.

How was your 2023 reading year? Did you read much?

Slightly Odd Questions About Not Reading

I'm on a reading pause so maybe it's why these questions came to me. Here are some unnecessary and maybe odd questions about not reading. Answer at your own peril.

01 - What book or books you're currently not reading?

02 - Do you use books you're not reading for other things? (ie, using a hardcover as a temporary table or using your ebook reader as a light source)

03 - Are the books you're not reading square, rectangle, curvy or shaped like some extinct, oddly-shaped, cartoon character you have seen on television when you were a child?

04 - Do unread books fly when you throw them out the window?

05 - When you look at the pile (or at the list) of the unread (or unfinished) books, do you, (a) feel embarrassed but then ignore the pile, (b) sort through the books to maybe remove some from the pile, (c) ask yourself why you're not a faster reader or (d) shrug and pretend you haven't seen anything and move on to something else?

06 - When not reading, do you think about not reading?

07 - How long can you go without reading a book?

08 - Do you go to the bookstores and pretend to pick out books but you're really people watching?

09 - Do you sometimes sell/give away/return to the library your unread books so you don't have to read them?

10 - Do you buy more books just so you don't have to read the books you're not reading?

Fiction: Frightened by gnocchi & ghosts (B)

~ Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 A ~

Fiction: Frightened by Gnocchi & Ghosts (Part 4 B)

Sitting by the window sill where the rain couldn't reach, Black waited with Seventeen sitting beside him. The rain was pounding down above them. He glanced down at his wrist watch. It was nearly 3:30. He should have been in bed or at least, somewhere with real windows. "Did you know several men died in this house?" he said.
    "You're lying. You're trying to scare me." Seventeen tittered. The guy didn't just say men had died in the house. No, he didn't.
    "Eleven men died right here under mysterious circumstances. Some died upstairs and some in the basement and some in the attic." Black glanced at her sideways.
    "Where did you get your information from? Are you sure they are correct?" She didn't believe a word of it and yet, those ghosts had injuries that were certainly not made by natural occurrences.
    Black snickered. "It came straight from the murderer's lips."
    "You spoke to a murderer ghost?"

Fiction: Frightened by gnocchi & ghosts (A)

This month's Words for Wednesday prompts are provided by Wisewebwoman and are posted at Elephant's Child's blog over here. This week's prompts are: gnocchi, dynamite, chariot, bucket, periwinkle and/or noticeboard, blunt, bockety, fifty, shortbread. I used the first half of the words only.

~ Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 ~

Fiction: Frightened by Gnocchi & Ghosts (Part 4 A)

By the door, Black picked up the broom and held it out to Seventeen. "Take this and hit anything that moves."
    "Does that include you?" She grinned. The broom's handle was in good shape but the bristles had mostly fallen out.
    Black lifted the corner of his mouth. "I would appreciate it if you don't hit me, Miss Seventeen. Let's go."
    Through the door, the footprints led Black and Seventeen toward what might had been the living room. Large bins with bonfires lit most of the place aside from the darkest corners. Their steps crunched under the newspapers scattered on the floor.  Rotten gnocchi were scattered in various areas. Most of the walls had been half torn down.
     Seventeen sniffled. The scent of something putrid was in the air. She was certain it wasn't the gnocchi. Black wrinkled his nose. Not the nicest scent in the world but at least the wind from the paneless windows swept in now and then to ease some of the smell. "Miss Seventeen, I'll tell you why you're here. My brother wants you as my partner and I am willing to try it out. If you agree, you'll get a monthly salary and you get to live in a very nice house. Shared with me and of course, a few ghosts and maybe a dragon.You will pretty much be doing what you're doing now which is dealing with ghosts which I believe is the exact thing you're trying to avoid but cannot."
    "You're telling me this now because..."

Books I'm not reading but still sort of want to

I thought I list the books on my kindle that I am sort of not reading even though I started on them already. These are books that I still want to finish but somehow couldn't yet. It's just so easy to purchase/download a free book and think you'll read it later.
    The problem with unfinished books is that, when you try to continue to read them, the excitement, the interest, the joy, for the book is kind of lost. And then you have to try to recapture that which may require a bit of re-reading. I think if you get immersed in a book, any book might become a great read but I guess moody readers like me don't always get immersed in books all that easily. 
    Here are the unread books on my kindle that I started but never finished but kind of still want to read them.

01 - Never Die: A standalone Mortal Techniques novel (The Mortal Techniques) by Rob J. Hayes > link
Read at: 9%
Note: The prologue was what make me wanted to read this. But after I started reading, I just didn't finish. I'm still interested in reading it but I just don't know when I'll continue.
Chance of actually finishing it: 50% out of 100%

Drama, Please! Fun translations from youtube videos

I have watched a lot of mini Chinese tv dramas, sometimes call shorts as they are short shows that are a few minutes long for each episode but they are combined into long movies. Some of these does fall into the trap of 'no logic dramas' but still kind of entertaining. But these shows have atrocious English subtitles which I believe are auto-translated or machine translated according to the sounds of the actors' voices. This means there were a lot of awkward, amusing, inaccurate use of the English language. Here are some amusing translated titles, character names and dialogues.

Some amusing titles:
(Most of these shows have no titles but they have synopsis for a title.)

01 - For the sake of mother, marry a vegetable

02 - The genius Cinderella and the strangely ill CEO kissed and fell in love in the toilet

03 - After my rebirth, I married my ex-third uncle!

04 - Five babies fell from the sky, CEO daddy, we found you!

05 - My husband is too dangerous! The cold-faced general begs for stickers every day after marriage

06 - Madam, the president is pretending to be lame again!

07 - Divorced the president and green tea made things difficult for me...

08 - A billionaire live streaming expert returns to his hometown, but is called a young lady?

09 - Contractual flash marriage, please queue when the president chases his wife

10 - The boy who secretly loves himself is the CEO

11 - The amnesiac tyrant's powerful strategy for innocent female stars

Fiction: Being sarcastic with ghosts

This month's Words for Wednesday prompts are provided by Wisewebwoman and is hosted at Elephant's Child's blog over here. This weeks prompts are: oysters, herringbone, puffin, needle, broom and/or hummus, crochet, locket, sprocket, market. I didn't use the second half of the words.

~ Part 1, Part 2 ~

Fiction: Being sarcastic with ghosts (Part 3)

"Charles! Grab her before she hit her head again!" Sawyer's voice was vivid in the sudden silence. Black reached out and wrapped a hand around Seventeen's waist and held on. They rotated along with the turn of the van. A loud crushing sound and the van stopped on its side with the doors swaying opened. He lowered the girl down on the floor. The unconscious woman strapped to the gurney was still breathing. The professor and the kid ghost were wisely outside. Black crawled toward the front of the van. At the wheel, Jackson was unconsciousness but still breathing.
    "He's fine. It's Seventeen you have to worry about. The first hit on her head probably didn't do her any good." Sawyer leaned over the girl.
    Black picked up the walky-talky receiver and relayed a message for an ambulance and the location.
    "Uh-oh! Charles!" Sawyer pointed at the girl who was running out of the opened doors of the van. "Catch her! She's possessed!"

Fiction: Living with ghosts

This month's Words for Wednesday prompts are provided by Alex J. Cavanaugh which is hosted at Elephant's Child's blog over here. This weeks prompts are: cobwebs, tiger, japan, black, cobblestones, hurt and/or atlantis, pyromania, guacamole, energetic, slither and slice. I didn't use tiger, japan, atlantis, slither, slice.

First part over here.

Fiction: Living with ghosts
"You again!"
    The ghost pushed up his black-rimmed eyeglasses with a bended finger. "This is an emergency! My wife is dying! Quick! You have to go save her!"
    "No. I don't." Seventeen kept walking. It was after ten at night. If she didn't need to pick up her pills at the hospital, she wouldn't be out at all. A few people were about. If anyone noticed she was talking to the air, they didn't give any indications.
    "My wife is in trouble. Someone is trying to kill her." The pyromaniac danced around her.
    "Then call the police." The freezing wind struck her like slaps on her face but she just sank her head lower into the collar of her black coat and kept walking.
    "Look, I know I was... sort of rude yesterday but this is really an emergency!" The ghost stepped in front of her.
    She paused. "Stop bothering me." She walked around him and ran toward the bus stop.

November 2023 - A few brief thoughts

wings & sunshine (revised 2023)

01 - I read a book! No, I didn't, I'm lying. The last book I read was in September but a two month 'no reading' gap is not a terrible thing, right? I only touched my kindle ereader to charge it because for some odd reason, it turned itself on and ran the battery down (there is no off button or option to shut down but you can supposedly turn off the screen which can sort of conserve battery life). It might have been updating itself which it does if you keep the wifi on and when it does that, it doesn't turn the screen off. I actually think not having an off button is quite stupid but apparently no device maker wants you turn off their devices because there is no off button on any devices.

02 - November was an unforgettable month. How can one forget when a cockroach jumped on your head and freaked you out? I'm a total scaredy cat so when that happened, I was in a horrible mood (also slightly weary and angry) for days. Of course in my fright, I squashed the bastard - what else are you to do in such situation? Do you try to kick it out of your home? Make friends with it? Coincidently I was writing a story with the word cockroach in it when it happened or was it not a coincident but a reminder not to write such things?

03 - I don't know why I bother posting these monthly updates/briefs. When I started them, I had wanted to talk about the books I have read and the little things that happened to me but I live such a mundane life that #2 is really the most interesting thing that happened to me in November - that, and buying bed sheets. It's like the most mundane and yet frustrating thing to do since you have to decide on thread counts, types of material such as cotton or flannel cotton, the sizes such as full, twin, queen, the type of sheets such as fitted or flat, the pricing etc., etc, real exciting stuff to share with my fellow bloggers...

04 - I have created a page with links of all the fiction stories I have posted on this blog. Making this list reminds me of how many stories I have not completed. I don't know why but I keep starting on new stories and forget to finish the previous ones. Is it a bad habit or just how I write? (The link is below the header under 'writing'. Or go here if you're too lazy to click above.)

How was your November? I hope December is being good to you.