Ever since Katie was born, my book reading has been very sporadic. These past couple of years, with two girls and running the house, reading has been on the lower end of my priorities list, so I think I’ve barely finished less than ten books in five years.
I think it was the lockdown that actually made me rekindle my book-reading habits. Even with the distraction of Netflix and the internet, I wanted to carve out some time in my day to read a couple of pages, and I have to say, I’ve finished a lot of books this year.
Although I love the feel of holding a physical book in my hand, I’ve adapted to technology and also read via Kindle and, just last year, started using my phone (Google Play Books). I couldn’t quite get into audiobooks because my brain can’t seem to take listening to narration and doing a chore at the same time.
Anyway, here are some of the books that I read last year. I want to highlight them among the others I’ve read (which I’ll review next time), because they all relate to Korea. That’s right. My obsession with Korean culture has crossed over from K-dramas to books.
Kim Ji Young, Born 1982
This is a best-selling albeit controversial book when it came out in Korea back in 2016. It was also made into a movie that starred my favourite Korean actor (aka, my imaginary boyfriend), Gong Yoo.
It is short, but it gives you an idea of a woman’s place in Korean society. It’s quite frustrating, in my view, that with even if Korea is a technologically advanced country, the culture is still very conservative, to the detriment of women (imagine apologizing to your mother-in-law for bearing a daughter instead of a son!). But in many ways, it’s almost similar to the Philippines.
Watching all those K-dramas, I looked at Korean relationships as dreamy and romantic. But this book opened my eyes to the reality of Korean marriages. This is what happens AFTER the girl gets her “oppa”. It’s not so pretty.
The Tokyo Bicycle Bakery
The story of a young Korean woman who goes to Japan in search of her boyfriend, and instead sets a life for herself in a new country. It’s a slow, easy plot, meant to be read languidly on a nice afternoon. There’s lots of baking in this book, so there were parts where I got hungry. I just wish the author added the recipes for the dishes featured in the book.
Pachinko
This epic read is being made into an AppleTV series starring Lee Min Ho, so I wanted to have a preview of what the show will be about. It starts out in 1930s in Korea, when it was occupied by Japan, then goes through the World War and onwards to several decades till the late 80s. It gives you a clearer picture of how Koreans lived in those days. There were lots of hardships, and ultimately triumphs as well. I can actually see Lee Min Ho in the book, and I have to say it will be a game-changer for him, if he does well in the role.
PS I Love You (Series)
This is a YA series of books that were turned into Netflix movies. I watched the two movies before I read the books, so I wasn’t surprised that some of the details in the movies were different than in the books. It’s a fun, light read targeted to the teenage crowd, so it just brought me back to simpler times when all I had to worry about was where to go to college, and what my outfit for a date should be. So looking forward to the third movie that comes out in 2021.
So those are just a few of the books I read in 2020. I hope to read more this year. What’s your favourite read from last year? I’ve got a small list already, and I’d like to add some more. Let me know and give me more suggestions!
