Life Digest 2026 Weeks 7-8
9-22 February 2026
My reads this past couple of weeks made me think about what makes a classic and what makes a slop. I read at least 2 certified classics (The Death of Ivan Ilych and Lelaki Harimau) and one ARC that very obviously wouldn't have passed a Writing 101 class (Aicha). I managed to find some obvious points that answer the question, but perhaps it's more than the sum of the books' parts.
One critical point was that in a classic, the character's condition or outlook was written with acute precision, to the point that their feelings were also felt by the reader, even though the reader had nothing in common with said character. The author must be able to appeal to a sliver of shared, universal humanity present in everyone. In the case of Tolstoy, this point has been proven: the sliver he appealed to is still present after all these years.
A second point would be that the author should be able to cleverly convey a lot of information with as few words as possible, including implicit information, so that the reader could grasp the context as completely as possible without the process feeling like a waste of words. It's a skill that comes with practice (and rounds of good editing), I believe.
Books Read
A Study in Charlotte - Brittany Cavallaro (2016)
The writing and pace were decent; it was very entertaining if you can get over the CW-teen-drama-fication of the descendants characters.
The Death of Ivan Ilych - Leo Tolstoy (1886)
Aicha - Soraya Bouazzaoui (2026; ARC)
I could already tell by the first couple of paragraphs of Chapter 1 that I probably would end up DNF-ing this book. But I kept reading until the 25% mark for the sake of a more informed review. All I could say is, description of scenes and lore dumps do not necessarily equal storytelling. The lack of story (up until the point I stopped reading) was very noticeable, and some trivial information were even mentioned repeatedly in the narrative, as if the author was already running out of things to describe. On top of that, there were many descriptions of details that bear no consequence on the story or actions of the character(s). Terribly disappointing, and especially insulting for the marketing to say that this book was “perfect for fans of The Priory of the Orange Tree and She Who Became the Sun.”
Lelaki Harimau - Eka Kurniawan (2004)
I think what truly drew me into this story was its narrative format; it was told not chronologically, but repeatedly, layer by layer, in a seemingly random order. Starting from the surface and slowly getting into the heart of things.
Ways of Seeing - John Berger (1972)
Yet another non-fiction book that rewired my brain that I’ve read this year. A gentle reminder that images are always intentionally made so, and that sometimes we are conditioned to miss a part of their meaning.
Kimi ni Todoke Volumes 1 & 2
It’s just okay. There are some side characters whose arcs I’m curious about, but if you think I will read 30 volumes of people not talking to each other you are very much mistaken.
Current Reads
Sword Catcher - Cassandra Clare (2023)
It's been a while since I read a thick book (600+ pages) and I am happy that I immediately find reading Sword Catcher to be an immersive experience. I'm about 60% in now. Usually a first book that focused on setting up conflict pisses me off (I need a story not a setup) but this book was really good at weaving the worldbuilding into the narrative and leaving crumbs of the big conflict to come. I still don't have the full picture of what's going on but I am invested. This is how you hook a reader. It's also set in a queernormative world and it's just a personal favorite in a setting. One minor thing I'm complaining about is that the map was atrocious: it attempts to be stylish but just fails miserably.
Added to TBR
- The Society of Spectacle - Guy Debord (1967)
- Winterveil - Ava Reid (2026)
Crochet projects
Star lace bandana (finished)
🧶 Onitsuga bali big ply yarn (100% cotton, size 4)
🪡 4 mm hook
