Dotonbori: An Overture to Osaka

"It's not as crowded as I originally thought it would be," I thought to myself as I stepped through the famous "Doutonbori Street" sign, and unto the cobbled dimly lit street one cold Thursday evening in April. It was half past ten. Some shops were already closed. Their roller shutters lowered down, but their dazzling neon lights shone persistently, inviting late night tourists like us to draw close and admire their impressive signs. A bicycle is casually parked in the middle of the street, leaning on a street light post. No evidence of its owner around, and yet no one is giving it a second look. A few steps within the district, a few more unattended bikes lined a railing. Borgy and I went further down the street, intent on  taking in as much of the place as we can.

Dotonbori Street

Review: And Then There Were None

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review is also found on my Goodreads profile here. :)

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This novel is perfection. Nail-biting in every sense of the word. I have a confession, I read it on my Kobo and upon checking if my copy was complete, I went to the last page trying to check the existence of the Acknowledgement page. (It would suck really hard if upon tapping towards the last page on the e-book, I would find out my copy is truncated). And so I saw a name. :( And I automatically assumed that the name is the mystery in this novel. I was right! So if you are new to this novel, DO NOT in under any circumstances flip to the last page! I assure you though, it did not diminish the effect of this story on me.

Review: Zero K

Zero K by Don DeLillo
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Review can also be read on my Goodreads profile here.

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This book...is weird. I did not find it creepy, but I did find it disturbing (and not in a good way). I found it very strange and incomprehensible. I did not understand what was happening half the time. All the characters keep spouting random thoughts in rote monotone and always off on tangents that it kept me wondering whether they were high, heavily medicated, or just...crazy.

Review: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am astounded. I started this book not knowing what to expect; all I knew was it had an interesting premise: Harry August, a kalachakra, one who gets reborn after dying, receives a message that the end of the world is fast approaching, and it is up to him to stop it.

I was so very pleasantly surprised. The first half of the book was good. By the second half, I couldn't put it down.

Review: Seven Eves

Seven Eves by Neal Stephenson
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

DNF. I tried. I really did. :(


Made it until the beginning of Part Two. But it got to the point where all structural description became so hard to follow that my mind began to wander and I got completely lost. Remember on my first update that I said that I see it so fascinating, so I kept on repeating paragraphs over and over again because I did not want to miss out on anything? Well, it got harder as the book progressed. Having characters that are so hard to sympathize with, despite their leeeengthy (tedious) backgrounds spelled out for you, made it even harder to push through.


In my humble opinion, I would've enjoyed this book if accompanied with lots and lots of pictures. Given the premise and the outstanding reviews, I still don't want to give up on this book permanently. That's why I'm not rating it yet. Shelving this book to "will try it for another time." Maybe if I can get my hands on an illustrated version, I'd be happier. ;)


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