Sputnik Sweetheart

John Green once said in one of his vlogs, "maybe our favorite quotations say more about us than about the stories and people we're quoting." A simple thought which I believe is right, as it portrays displacement, somehow.

Maybe that's why I like these quotations so much. Murakami is not my favorite author, but boy, that man really knows how to write poignantly.

Sputnik (Source)

"Do you know what ‘Sputnik’ means in Russian? ‘Travelling companion’. I looked it up in a dictionary not long ago. Kind of a strange coincidence if you think about it. I wonder why the Russians gave their satellite that strange name. It’s just a poor little lump of metal, spinning around the Earth. 

"And it came to me then. That we were wonderful traveling companions but in the end no more than lonely lumps of metal in their own separate orbits. From far off they look like beautiful shooting stars, but in reality they're nothing more than prisons, where each of us is locked up alone, going nowhere. When the orbits of these two satellites of ours happened to cross paths, we could be together. Maybe even open our hearts to each other. But that was only for the briefest moment. In the next instant we'd be in absolute solitude. Until we burned up and became nothing."

- Haruki Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart

There was a bitter smile upon my face after coming across those sentences. Because maybe that explains what we are. Sputnik.

A Second Chance

I am currently on a mission to spend more time reading. TV series, movies, and all the gadgets I have make it so hard to get lost in a book, no matter how good it is. I read less than 10 books last year, and I think less than 5 a year beforehand. I have promised myself to read, and got even more enthusiastic after reading this article.

So I decided to give reading a second chance. I want to feel the same way about books like I did ten years ago. Now I have read more than 15 books this year, and even though it's not that much, I am proud of myself because I show progress.

If you also do want to be an avid reader again, the first thing that you need to do to start reading is deciding what genre would be most suitable for you. Just think about the kind of movie you'd usually go to, or the topic that intrigues you. Mine would be fiction (the adult one), parenting, religion, and psychology. You should also decide what are you reading for: Is it solely for amusement? Or do you also want to deepen your understanding about something?

The next step that should be done is signing up for a Goodreads account. If you want to start reading again, you have to make sure that you are not going to spend hours reading a book that's not even worth your time. I started by looking at books from Goodreads Choice Awards. I know that everybody have a different taste and you might not like the book that another hundred thousands of people do, but reading a best-seller is a safe bet. Also, listing the book that you have read and want to read is a good idea to make you focused and feel more excited. The community is also important, as you'll find thousands of people who are profoundly passionate about reading.

You want to see book recommendations in a video form because that's just something that you enjoy? Then the so-called BookTube is the right place. Just search a book's title in YouTube, and watch the review. The only BookTube-r I subscribe is Booksandquills, just because she can make a book sounds very interesting and make me want to read it (even though I might not really like the book after all). I'm still looking for one that suit my reading preference the most, though.

Besides Goodreads and YouTube, of course you can ask your friends for recommendations, although it's not easy to find someone who reads lately - especially someone who reads the kind of book that you like to read. So whenever a close friend of mine posted a book on Path, I try to read the review on Goodreads to decide if the book is worth reading, and start enjoying it if it is.

If you're starting to get comfortable with a particular genre (and that includes bestseller), get out of your comfort zone and start reading a different book. I put some classics into my to-read lists, because I know there must be a reason why those book are still relished after all these years.

If there is a movie or TV series based on a bestseller book, which one would you prefer? I do enjoy watching it (especially if it's an action or sci-fi) as it would help visualise the book and make me got into it better with all the sound effect, but I learned lately that the latter would give you so much more.

First and foremost, reading a book will give you perspective. It gives you a chance to really understand what's going on in the character's minds. It will be easier to walk in their shoes if we do know what they feel about something. And it will feel more personal and emotional, I think.

Reading can also give you more chance to imagine. The characters could be anyone you want to picture. The setting could even look more personal. You choose. It's your own adventure.

Besides, I think reading is better for your brain. It will help you develop a good sense of language and give you exposures of new, fancy vocabularies. Most friends I know who reads has a more unique way to put up sentences. It's also good to improve our memory and concentration, I reckon, as those are essential to keep up with the story.

So if you loved reading growing up, but got so busy or lazy due to the technology, gave it another chance. Go to a bookstore or get yourself an e-reader, and start over. It has been a great experience for me so far and now I can't wait to tick every book that's on my to-read list.

Too much to read! (Source)

And be easy on yourself. You don't have to like a book that everybody else does. You don't have a to read a book that sounds smart. Well, in a book store at York, I saw a sign that said, "Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it", so at least find a book that won't make you look terribly embarrassing. Just start with something you are fascinated about, then explore new things.

Happy reading!

The Abundance of John Green

I used to be a keen reader. I read the fifth book of Harry Potter (I still remember that the translated version I read was exactly 1200 pages) in less than 3 days when I was 10 years old! But now I can't even finish a 200-pages book in a day.

So I listed "read more books" as one of last year's resolutions and bought myself a pink Kobo Glo because I like reading e-books, even though I do miss the smell of a new book, sometimes. And so I started to read again, even though I realized I didn't feel as excited as I was back then. I also began to read non-fiction books, after I ensure that it will still be a light read.

A good book, for me, is the one that can relate to anyone who reads it. If it's a fiction, it will make me feel that at least one character from the book is me. The plot and the story could be very un-relatable, it's the thought and that matters.

That's probably why I like John Green. I have read Will Grayson, Will Grayson and The Fault in Our Stars, just finished The Abundance of Katherines, and currently on Paper Towns.

And of course, Looking for Alaska is on my to-read list.

His novels are quite typical. Young adult novels with a geeky main character who has only one or two best friends, which is embellished with fancy words and deep, quotable sentences. When the characters fall in love, John will make sure that the readers fall in love as well. So he will use sentences like "the smile could end wars and cure cancer" or "if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was hurricane."

I don't really like young adult stories because it's just too young, but John Green's are exceptions. or me, plots are not as important as words and sentences. So yes, even though plenty of Goodreads user thought The Abundance of Katherines is a boring book, I still relish it because it was vastly relatable and thought-provoking as well.

(Source: Pinterest)

I do wonder if a person could really love someone just the way they are. I worry a lot, and I ponder a lot. Like Colin Singleton, I often have negative thoughts about myself, and I repeatedly imagine the worst possibilities of how another person would think of me. I do have questions about myself that I can't answer nor ask to anyone else. I do also push myself to be able to do something remarkable, because being in the middle of a bell shape is not fulfilling enough. But unlike a fictional character, there is no happy ending that is going to happen in just a few more pages. So just hang in there.

Well said, Colin. (Source: Weheartit)

Anyway, I don't only adore his novels, actually, but also the thoughts, passion, and broad knowledge of John Green and his brother Hank; as seen in their vlogs and Crash Course videos. How brilliant are the Green Brothers!

About Don And Rosie

I rarely read fiction books because most of the times I end up turning the page back and forth, trying to find out which one is whom. I'm not good at remembering names, that's why. I prefer to read non-fiction books, and watch movies and tv series instead.

But a few days ago, an article on my Feedly showed 6 books that Bill Gates recommended to read this summer. Five of them are business/science-related books, except for this one, a novel. He also mentioned that he doesn't usually like novels because he found it hard to remember the character's names. What are the odds! I then got curious and decided to read the book. I've never seen it in any bookstores, so I decided to download one (yes, guilty as charged, sorry). Will definitely buy a copy as soon as it's available, though.

The book is about Don Tillman, a genetic professor with Asperger's syndrome, even though it's never really told in the novel and it seems like he didn't even know that he has Asperger's. One of the reason behind my enjoyment in reading the book is because the readers are welcomed to see things from his perspective, and I get it. I know Simsion overgeneralized a person with ASD (from this book, Don is very similar with Sheldon Cooper), but I can imagine one or two of my students (with mild autism or Asperger's) doing or saying things that Don does. He is socially inept, blunt, has difficulty in understanding social cues and to see things from other people's perspective, has brilliant memory, doesn't fancy physical touch, and always complies to the rules. Too cliché, but I suppose it's still tolerable, considering that this is a fiction work that needs to be enjoyable by the readers.

As a person with Asperger's who is looking for a wife, Don obviously has a list. A long list, to be exact. He wants his wife to be intelligent, not smoking nor drink (but he then change this criterion because apparently it's hard to find someone who doesn't drink in Australia), punctual, not a vegetarian, and a lot more. He even made a questionnaire to make his "wife project" more efficient. Sounds foolish? Not for me. I feel like I'm Don, or the mild, normal version of Don. I set the bar too high, or too picky, as some friend told me. I even decided to create a questionnaire myself (an open-ended and two-way one, unlike Don's, to make sure that we want the same thing). That's why the book gets even more interesting.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of women didn't meet his standard. He met a perfect candidate named Bianca, but the feeling was not reciprocal, as she wanted someone who can dance. He also met Rosie, an attractive young barmaid (who was later explained to be a PhD student in psychology as well) who lies far below the benchmark. Don crossed her name off his "Wife Project" list after their first date, but they remained friends and did a "father project" together. Using Don's expertise, they both tried to find out who Rosie's biological father is by testing abundance of people's DNAs. 

We all know how it turned out in the end: They fell in love. Don and Rosie think that he is incapable of love, but I do think that he is. Not in a neurotypical-person kind of way, perhaps, but his willingness to change and to spend the rest of his life with her against all odds, that's love.

“I asked you here tonight because when you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible" - Don to Rosie

A love story about an intelligent professor and an outgoing psychology PhD student - what's not to like? This book is also light enough to be read anywhere, anytime. It's also witty and heart-warming. I smiled a lot when I read it.

At the end, Don chose to be with Rosie even though she is far from what he expected at first. 

“I haven’t changed my mind. That’s the point! I want to spend my life with you even though it’s totally irrational. And you have short earlobes. Socially and genetically there’s no reason for me to be attracted to you. The only logical conclusion is that I must be in love with you.”

And here is the most interesting part: They both didn't want their partners to change. They didn't yearn for those, but they accepted each other as he/she was. Nevertheless, Don realized that Rosie and The Rosie Project had changed him in several ways.

“If you really love someone, you have to be prepared to accept them as they are. Maybe you hope that one day they get a wake-up call and make the changes for their own reasons.” - Claudia (a friend) to Don

It's only a fiction work who (almost) always ends happily. It sure gets me all dreamy, but I guess it's just a normal neurotypical person's reaction to a cute, sweet love story.

At the end, we never know who will we end up with. It could be a person that we have been praying for years, or someone who we would never imagine to spend our lives with. Just believe that whomever that is, he/she is someone who Allah thinks will suit us best. Because I don't think that Don will work with Bianca. In order to live, Don needs Rosie.

The Happiest Countries

Happiness might be overrated, but apparently it is one of the few things I value in life. To live a content life is a part of my daily prayers that I say every day. Maybe that's why I found reading about it fascinating. 

During my days in college, I always found bliss in reading journals about happiness. I love to find its correlation with faith, family, career, and anything else. After I graduated, I became too lazy to read scientific papers, so I started to read a lot of self-help books and psychology-today article about happiness. It became one of my guilty pleasure, because I realized how shallow it is yet it still feels fascinating. I no longer fancy fiction books. I'd rather read the self-help one instead. I read a lot of books about happiness, from the scientific-based one to the very shallow one - the one written with quotes and supposedly inspirational stories to inspire the readers. 

Then I found a book about happiness that's written in a different way. The author,  Eric Weiner, is a journalist who loves reading self-help books and is inquisitive about the concept of happiness. He wants to know what do happy people do, and what makes a country happy. He visited Ruut Veenhoven, a researcher specialized in subjective well-being, the fancy name for happiness. Veenhoven's method is quite arguable, I think, because he measures happiness by only asking "how happy you are?" to each participants.

"You can have a disease and not know it. But you can't be happy and not know it. By definition, if you are happy, you know it." - Ruut Veenhoven (on why he measures happiness that way)

Weiner then traveled to a lot of countries based on a list he got from Veenhoven: Switzerland, Qatar, Bhutan, Iceland, United Kingdom, India, and a lot more. He depicted each places in detailed descriptions, and embellished his story with his own witty, blunt thoughts. I can really feel what's different in each country, and what makes each of them special.

This is not a qualitative research about happy places in the world. This is just a story of a journalist who likes to travel and feels skeptical about felicity. He visited a few countries and interviewed a few locals. It only explains a couple of people who live in the country - not the whole country - so what he wrote probably is not entirely happen in each people living in the particular country. But still, it's compelling.

Every country has its own story, its own culture, and its own definition of bliss. And Weiner successfully made me feel blissful just by reading a book about bliss. I read books about happiness quite often, but I suppose this is the first book that made me feel actually happy.

"Maybe happiness is this: not feeling that you should be elsewhere, doing something else, being someone else."

- Eric Weiner