JKStar88 Reader’s New Look

Welcome to the new home for JKStar88 Reader, a blog mostly on writing, stories and books. Now that it is spring, it is time to put a little more thought and effort to this site. It is from the love of reading that this blog exists. I plan to dive into more adventures through the written word and help to make sense of them in the strange and eventful world we live in today. I hope you enjoy what is here so far, and will return for future musings, delights, and explorations of human endeavors.

April TBR 2022

It is late on a Sunday. I have just returned from watching a movie on Oscar night. I have to say. I haven’t paid that much attention to the award contenders this year. I have been busy. Mostly because I like reading, and I sleep too much.

After watching the movie, it reminds me that I need to do things to improve my life as well. One of the take-aways from the movie was about valuing the people around you, and taking care of yourself. I definitely need to exercise more, spend more time outdoors instead of being cooped inside reading all day. It means I can change my schedule. I can put more variety into my daily to-do list. Instead of reading first thing in the morning, I can go out for a walk. I can clean and organize. I can spend less time on my own, go downstairs and spend more time in other parts of the house. I can contribute more to the household besides just looking after myself. I can be less selfish and look after other people better. I can learn to care more about people, make friends instead of ignoring everyone. I should have made these resolutions at the start of year, so hopefully it is not too late now that it is soon going to be April.

Here is my To-Be-Read pile for the new month

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish

Friday Reads
April 22

A video is playing and the music sounds magical. Is it enough to sooth after a week that is going by like a flash when life is speeding up and it is time to slow down, take a few breaths, then carry on with the task at hand. When it is time to rest is when it is time to work. I am staying up later than I would like, and the mornings tend to start later than I would like. I have so many reading plans and I am powering through even when life gets messy. Drinking coffee during the day and herbal tea at night, some how this project is finding readers even when it is only friends and family.

This week, I am interested in getting back to reading books for Jennifer Egan. She recently released a new book, The Candy House. While debating whether to get it or not, I am going back to her debut novel, A Visit From The Goon Squad which was published in 2010. That was more than 10 years ago. It captures life in the music business and has a cast of characters. I guess it will be bit of a trip back in time and I feel somehow uneasy about since the industry has definitely touched my life.

Friday Reads
April 15

After a week of gloom and spring snow that gives much needed moisture, I can say I did enjoy going around the city with clumps of the white stuff falling down around me.

I am here again to talk about my Friday Reads. A book I have meant to get to for a very long time is The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. What makes April a good time to read it. We are well into spring, and going into the warmer months. Classes in post-secondary are done, and there are final exams to complete. Although I am not in classes anymore, I still feel a sense of the rhythm that is campus life. It is also the time of year when the annual comic-con is taking place, so a return to that geeky part of my personality is in order. And I don’t think that aspect of myself leaves even when I read what might be considered to be more serious literature.

As the days pass by so quickly it seems these days, I am doing my best to take one step at a time, even when I now have the urge to speed up. For two years, life seemed to be on pause of much of the world. I have cherished the time that it allowed me to think and grow in areas I did not think to without the time to reflect and take stock on the life I have had so far. I reached out for new opportunities to contribute to the community, as well as learn new skills and knowledge. By reaching out to others, I found myself gain confidence as well as drive to keep going on the path I am on. It is a difficult and also rewarding path that I hope I am ready for the challenges and unexpected turns along the way.

When thinking about the adventures that await the heroes in The Lord of the Rings, I just had to bring it back to the life I have right now, and the real adventure I have navigating this strange and complicated world that we really live in. I am sure it will be worth it in the end to have live and be part of the world we live in full of joy, magic, and hope, but also hard work and danger as well.

Friday Reads
April 8

Just one more thing. One more thing before calling it a night.

I don’t think I am being realistic. I am being too ambitious with my Friday Reads this week. This post doesn’t seem like much, but you can check out the video that will be posted on the YouTube channel. All you have to do is to search the channel name. It is JKStar88 Reader. It is the same as the name of this blog. Find the latest posts.

It is a new season, which means tackling new goals in reading. I am building up the excitement and focus needed to get the reading done.

Some many books, and so little time. There are definitely more I have my eye on, but I have to be happy with the books I already have.

This week, I have decided to make effort to reading the books on my April TBR. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is one of them. I know I am late for the boat on this, but I am determined to see what the hype is about now that everyone seems to be looking for the next shiny thing.

I should feel okay going at my own pace. I am working on it. I need to be patience. It doesn’t mean I will be reading new books now. It just means I will have to enjoy reading for myself and not for anyone else.

Harmless Like You by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan – A Review in April 2022

The cover only hints at the world and the dangers it has for a young girl alone in America and her parents gone back to Tokyo. When Yuki is a teenager, the war is happening in Vietnam. She lives her private individual life, but the world touches her as she finds herself thinking about a war and what it means to be Asian in America at that time.

The perspective alternates between Yuki and Jay. Jay is Yuki’s son when he is grown and has a baby of his own.

The story is about ordinary people who are concerned with the world of beauty, expression, and art. What does it mean to create something of value? Who values it and why?

Sometimes what is shown in a photograph or picture is only a fragment of what can be expressed for the world to see. Often people hold back their true selves that can be cruel or indifferent, obsessive, competitive or need to belong as an immigrant or outsider.

By showing the differences between 1975 and 2016 with the technological advances, have people really changed since then, or people still act the same except they are more aware of the private lives and thoughts of individuals through social media. They can get caught up in private drama, and the struggles of daily life, and they can influence decision and policy makers, whether they have the experience, education, or expertise or not.

The idealization that many had expressed for information technology when first introduced to the public has lead to reality of what the democratization of technology really means. The social and political societies that already existed become replicated online, and new participants in the discourse take stage, even as the barriers to the access of political, social, or economic power remains or are reinforced.

Friday Reads

April 1

On another late night, I find that I must change. I was not aware of the need to change, but after a year on this site, I find I cannot remain the same.

In terms of my reading, I am branching out to authors I have not read before. Maybe it will lead to viewpoints and experiences I have not considered before.

For this Friday Reads, I have decided to pick The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish as my main read for the weekend. Who knows where this will go? As a mystery, that is the intriguing part of the story. I have not read anything by this author even though she is well established. I saw her speak at an online author event and have meant to read her work ever since. She has a new book recently published called The Heights, but I have decided to read the one before that one. It is a mystery that takes place on a passenger ship that is part of the commute to and from work. The premise of the novel can make a reader think the mysterious lives other people on a boat or train. Sometimes it is interesting to get into a conversation with a fellow passenger, and many other times it is best to maintain the mystery and distance from others around you.