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@bookishonshelf

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“without love, we are nothing.”
goodreads/fable: popcayla 🤍🦢
bangkok based.

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“I believe I am writing about my mother because it is my turn to bring her into the world.” (Annie Ernaux – A Woman’s Story, first published in 1988)

This book is a deeply personal and unflinchingly honest memoir that Annie wrote after her mother’s death from Alzheimer’s. She reflects on and tries to understand her mother as a woman, apart from the role of motherhood.

Annie traces her mother’s life, from a poor rural upbringing to becoming an independent woman who placed great value on social mobility and hard work. She offers sharp perspectives on themes of class, identity, the mother–daughter relationship, aging, and loss.

I felt it was truly personal. I could almost absorb how quietly loud Annie mourned for her mama, and how writing became her way of moving through grief. We see how strong her mother was, growing and pushing herself up from poverty and social judgment. It’s powerful and moving to read as a woman. It’s also touching how she yearned for her daughter to have the best, trying to give everything she possibly could even when she could barely afford it. The childhood she never had was what shaped our Annie.

The part where Annie shows the shift, when the daughter becomes the caretaker, is striking. That is when you realize how everything changes, and your mother is only aging downward. It reveals how a woman feels when age takes over, especially when her mother began to lose her identity and sense of value. The dishwasher scene gave me a wow moment. It’s one of those small details you would never think of, but it lingers.

That’s it. You can tell I just loved it!!!

(Finished this one on Mar 16, 2025) by @bookishonshelf

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a month ago

Choosing silence, neutrality, and the protection of your own comfort helps sustain the conditions in which this violence continues.

“I’m apolitical” means I don’t care. I don’t spare a thought for those who are less privileged than me.

And a shoutout to places that barely receive media visibility, such as Sudan, Congo, and Myanmar, as well.
The genocide still exists.

Keep being informed, with love
#freepalesti̇ne #freesudan #freecongo #freemyanmar #edsheeren by @bookishonshelf

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a month ago

When I say I love water glittering, I really do🤍 by @bookishonshelf

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a month ago

It’s time for a fun post, I guess 🦔🤍 taken in Bangkok, Thailand by @bookishonshelf

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a month ago

The Outsider by Albert Camus (also known as The Stranger) is a short philosophical novel about alienation, absurdity, and society’s expectations of how people are supposed to feel and behave. The story follows Meursault, who lives in Algiers. He is emotionally detached and doesn’t exactly act the way society expects him to. Firstly, it begins with his mother’s death. Instead of showing grief, he just doesn’t seem to care, and more interested in observing what is actually happening around him. Later, he commits a crime, gets arrested, and is put on trial. Weirdly enough, people focus more on his personality and his lack of emotions than on the actual crime itself. Finally, his sentence ends in tragedy, and he just accepts his fate.

I would say it’s a completely new experience reading a book like this for the first time, and experiencing Albert Camus’ writing too. His writing style is appealingly beautiful. I could not put it down and just kept reading. The main character is just confusing and such an unexpected kind of character. Like, I cannot really tell what he is thinking or actually wants. But that kind of makes sense with the alienation Albert tries to convey. Short and sharp, kind of book that makes you need to stare at an empty wall for a sec. Will read more of him for sure. by @bookishonshelf

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a month ago

Slices of life🤍⏳💌🪩 taken in Bangkok, Thailand by @bookishonshelf

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a month ago

It’s been a while & here is my bookhaul🤍💌 taken in Bangkok, Thailand by @bookishonshelf

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2 months ago

here & there taken in Bangkok, Thailand by @bookishonshelf

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2 months ago

Summer reading top picks for you🪩☀️ by @bookishonshelf

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5 months ago

if i need to describe my perfect day🫧🪩 taken in Bangkok, Thailand by @bookishonshelf

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5 months ago

I will be reading for Hans and Elisabeth then🫧🌫️
#oldbooks #bookthrifting by @bookishonshelf

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5 months ago

Slanting Towards the Sea by Lidija Hilje is a complex love story set in Croatia. Ivona meets the love of her life, Vlaho, early on when she is still a student. She falls in love instantly, the kind of young love where everything seems possible. Later, life gets hard and goes out of plan, she has to give up and walk away without knowing the price she would have to pay for it.

It is a vulnerable book that touches on how love alone is not enough. They are so madly in love but don’t know how to be present and show up for each other, nor how to communicate openly. In the end, the resentment has been buried for too long, and they need to part ways for their own good. To be honest, I really understand Ivona and why she chooses to remove herself. She desires to be loved in her own way but doesn’t want to beg for it. But how could Vlaho give that to her when he didn’t even know how to choose himself back then? By the time they want to mend things, it is too late, far too late. Their lives have gone too far to go back and change anything. It was painful to read about them all along. I was like, guys, just talk!!!

Also, Lidija really knows how to put words together. Her writing is calming and beautiful. The backdrops of the Croatian towns are just dreamy, giving full summer vibes. She makes everything feel deeply emotional. However, I still feel like something is missing, though I can’t quite tell what it is. It just feels like one small piece is not there. by @bookishonshelf

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