joyietalksbooks

[joyietalksbooks]

Not everything in every book we read have to be relatable to us. That’s also part of the fun. To experience the thoughts of others, thoughts we’ll never explore on our own. And as we do, one thing becomes very clear: different as our thoughts might be, human emotions are still pretty universal.

[joyietalksbooks]

The truth is always implausible, did you know that? To make the truth more plausible, it's absolutely necessary to mix a bit of falsehood with it. People have always done so.

(Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Demons)

[joyietalksbooks]

Hi, I'm Joyie and I'm here to talk about books.

I generally prefer classic literature although I do read some modern literature and I also love reading mangas (Japanese graphic novels).

My top three favorite books are:

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Stranger by Albert Camus

For more of my bookish ramblings

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[joyietalksbooks]

It is odd how, when you have a secret belief of your own which you do not wish to acknowledge, the voicing of it by someone else will rouse you to a fury of denial.

(Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd)

[joyietalksbooks]

What difference could they make to me, the deaths of others, or a mother's love, or his God; or the way a man decides to live, the fate he thinks he chooses, since one and the same fate was bound to 'choose' not only me but thousands of millions of privileged people who, like him, called themselves my brothers. Surely, surely he must see that? Every man alive was privileged; there was only one class of men, the privileged class. All alike would be condemned to die one day; his turn, too, would come like the others.

(Albert Camus, The Stranger)

I started a quotes journal. I used to have a quotes journal when I was like fifteen. There I'd write down quotes that I found inspiring. I'd search quotes online, I'd get some from Facebook, some from the books I was reading etc. But then, when I grew older, I thought it was so uncool so I threw it away. I wish now that I hadn't because those quotes were a reflection of the person I was at that time, my concerns and my thoughts.

So now, I'm starting again. I'm going to write down whatever resonates with me, I think the idea is kind of similar to a commonplace book but less serious.

[joyietalksbooks]

When I tell you not to marry without love, I do not advise you to marry for love alone - there are many, many other things to be considered.

(Anne Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall)

[joyietalksbooks]

I did not bow down to you, I bowed down to all the suffering of humanity.

(Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment)

[joyietalksbooks]

I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.

(Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre)

[joyietalksbooks]

I bought a book last week! Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky.

I no longer buy many books, because I'm on a budget and also I don't have a lot of space and also, I noticed buying books didn't really mean I'd read them. Since I mostly read classics, most of them are in the public domain and can be found online for free, and I like reading on my laptop because I can make the font as large as I want. I also enjoy listening to stories on Spotify (once again, for free). So I don't buy books anymore. Except for special occasions. But when I really really really love a book, I want to get a physical copy. I feel like physical copies allow me to form a kind of bond with the book, it's just different. So, after much consideration, I decided to get a copy of Crime and Punishment, which is likely my second favorite book ever. I actually wanted the Constance Garnett translation because that's the one I've read and I really liked it, but in the end penguin classics won. So, here I am. Looking forward to reading this masterpiece again.

[joyietalksbooks]

All we can know is that we know nothing. And that's the height of human wisdom.

(Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace)

[joyietalksbooks]

So, I'm exactly halfway through War and Peace and I'm absolutely loving it. I think my favorite character has changed from Andrei to Natasha and I'm also starting to like Pierre but I still wish he'd be a little more active.

[joyietalksbooks]

Today I wanted to talk about my favorite book ever, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.

It's a little strange because this book is absolutely insane, absolutely unpleasant, every single character is despicable. So why?

Honestly, even I am not entirely sure. But I think it's because no other book has ever made me feel so much. The feelings aren't nice, but they're still feelings.

At the core of this book is a suffering person who got mistreated and discriminated against by everyone around him and lashed out. And as scary as it is to witness him lashing out, it's also important to remember where he's coming from. Heathcliff never broke free from the trauma of his childhood, never really grew up. He got several chances where he could make a better choice and move on, but every time he vehemently refused that choice. As a result we have a tale that's absolutely horrifying but also very human.

[joyietalksbooks]

O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night As a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear — Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear.

(William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet)

[joyietalksbooks]

I finally found the courage to put ink on my books.

Since I was young, my parents taught me to take good care of my books and not to ruin them. A very good lesson no doubt but I took it to an extreme where I wouldn't write anything on a book. Even when gifting books to others, I won't write anything on them.

Then I came across bookstagram and saw people annotating their books. I wanted to do it too but I didn't want to ruin my books. So I grabbed a pencil and my copy of Wuthering Heights (my favorite book) and started underlining the parts I liked.

Then I watched a video on YouTube about book journaling and marginalia and the guy in that video talked about how it's a way of interacting with the books you love. It gave me the final push and I grabbed a pen and once again my penguin classics copy of Wuthering Heights and just wrote on the margin and underlined this part. It felt so liberating and so great! Suddenly the book as if came alive.

I still don't feel entirely comfortable with it but I can see how it changed the way I interact with the book and I think I'm going to continue writing on my books from now on.

[joyietalksbooks]

But dreams come through stone walls, light up dark rooms, or darken light ones, and their persons make their exits and their entrances as they please, and laugh at locksmiths.

(J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Carmilla)

[joyietalksbooks]

“Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.”

— Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet

[joyietalksbooks]

At that time, I often thought that if I had had to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but look up at the sky flowing overhead, little by little I would have gotten used to it.

(Albert Camus, The Stranger)