Switching things up from digital to analogue (well, unless you have an ebook reader), here, our latest column titled The Regular Read which can range from sentimental to existential. Creative storyteller and poet Sara Patricia Kelly shares her curation of best-before-bed books.
Here, a short introduction to Sara’s list:
“Reading is a habit. I always go to bed with a good book — ever since high school (pre-smartphone apocalypse). This is my time to relax and imagine before succumbing to sleep. The following are my favourite ‘before bed’ reads. They are entertaining, some are sexy, and all are thought-provoking in a kind of light-hearted way that seeps softly into your dreams and then takes you by surprise a day or two later.”
Convenience Store Woman, Sayaka Murata
In Asia, the shiny white convenience store is our desert oasis offering sub-zero air conditioning and reprieve from the heat in exchange for overpriced water. But have you wondered about the person working at the till?
Keiko Furukura has worked at ‘Smile Mart’ in Tokyo for eighteen years. She finds peace and purpose in the precise rules and predictable operations of the store. So why is everyone pressuring her to find a husband and start a proper career?
This book will make you giggle and squirm at a completely different life perspective.
The Dream Keeper’s Daughter, Emily Colin
An unusual tale with serious plot issues that are overcome by awesome dialogue and steamy sex scenes.
Isabel Griffin is one foxy lady – think Lara Croft – an archaeologist with a zeal for martial arts workouts. She’s been a single mother since the sudden disappearance of Max, her affluent boyfriend. Eight years later, she’s moved on. Life is good until Max starts sending messages from wherever the hell he’s been hiding.
Emily Colin specialises in romance novels with a supernatural twist. This book is a real page-turner. Just don’t expect everything to make sense.
Me Before You, Jojo Moyes
You may recognise this title. Me Before You was recently made into a Hollywood movie starring Emilia Clarke. Trust me – the book is way better.
Will Traynor was a successful banker until a freak accident left him wheelchair-bound. Lou, a former waitress with a penchant for zany clothing, is hired to care for him. They are like chalk and cheese; he’s depressed and philosophical, and she’s bubbly yet aimless. How will they get along?
This novel is deep. It looks at life as a quadriplegic and takes part in the euthanasia debate. Written with such warmth and simplicity, you might shed a tear, but you will also smile.
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, Yuval Noah Harari
I’m obsessed with Harari. I think he is the smartest person on the planet.
Homo Deus is his darkest and wisest book. Although it was published in 2016 and a lot has happened since (Brexit, Trump, Covid-19), the topics remain relevant – desperately so. Harari examines what makes Sapiens tick, how society works, and the impact of modern technology (particularly AI) on our future existence. His comparison of the human mind to an algorithm is fascinating.
You could read this and fall into despair (there is a lot of doom and gloom). More likely, this book will make you sit up, question liberalism, and pay attention to scientific developments.
The Orphan Master’s Son, Adam Johnson
North Korea, the hermit kingdom, inspires disgust and curiosity. We laugh at memes of a fat Kim Jong-un and read, in horror, of another missile launched. And, we all want to know what the hell is going on there.
In this fiction, Jun Do lives from hand to mouth in rural North Korea. Fit and healthy, he is recruited as a kidnapper and finds himself traversing the Japanese coast for easy targets. But, in a lapse of judgement, Jun Do makes a mistake and is thrown into a labour camp.
The Orphan Master’s Son is fantastical in places. Based on extensive historical research, it’s an informative and darkly entertaining read.
The Heartsick Diaspora and Other Stories, Elaine Chiew
The rich and complex flavours of the Malay Peninsula feature strongly in this compilation of short stories that explore what it means to be Asian for Asians born or living abroad.
The stories are like a diverse concoction of spices in broth. From the hardships of Min Fong, a samsui woman in 1930s Singapore, to the cut-throat gig of running a successful New York restaurant.
The book shows that eating is a universal experience in times of triumph as well as hardship. My favourite passage is, ‘he slurped the noodles in gulps, his distress dripping into the soup. The noodles were hard and chewy, the broth bland and thin. Still, it was the most delicious thing he’d eaten in a year.’
Sweetbitter, Stephanie Danler
A sensuous, food-obsessed page-turner about working in a fine dining restaurant. Can you tell I like eating? This is essential reading for gourmets!
Sweetbitter is a modern coming-of-age story. Tess has arrived in New York and is looking for a job. When she lands a gig at a celebrated restaurant, she gets a crash course in champagne, fine foods, cocaine, and lust.
I wrote a long list of wines to ‘try before I die’ while reading this book. I also had to pause and gag at the incredible writing many times. I’m not one for flowery literature but Danler writes like poetry without the pomp. Delicious!
Sara Patricia Kelly’s work is featured in SAMPAN, the first anthology of writing published by LASALLE’s MA Creative Writing programme.
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