Quick Review: The Great Gatsby

 

Not my picture

Note: This is a spoiler-free post!

It’s really looking like I’m turning into a Classics junkie. While lots of people busy themselves chasing after the next new thing, here I am busy unearthing past treasures. And though this process involves torturing myself by parsing difficult sentences and themes, I don’t seem to be deterred.

My most recent treasure hunt led me to The Great Gatsby. I had previously read Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and Damned and thought it was quite good, so I was wondering what The Great Gatsby might be like. It’s considered Fitzgerald’s best work, after all. It even has a movie adaptation from which came that famous Leonardo diCaprio champagne-toast scene. And now, I see the reasons behind all the acclaim.

Quick Review: The Beautiful and Damned

Not my picture, but this edition is the one I own.

Note: This is a spoiler-free post!

The Beautiful and Damned is a book I bought years ago but never got around to read. I’m sorry, Mr. Fitzgerald. But at last, in the year of 2026, I decided to finally give the yellowing book a try. Surprisingly, I think I rather like this book.

Quick Review: Lonely Castle in the Mirror

Not my picture, as usual

Note: This is a spoiler-free post!

This book had been sitting on my to-be-read list for quite a long time. It all began with an Instagram post that said: If you loved Before the Coffee Gets Cold, then you are going to love Mizuki Tsujimura’s Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon. After some Google-aided research, I decided to begin my acquaintance with Mizuki Tsujimura through Lonely Castle in The Mirror instead. (partly because it’s cheaper, oops). If it’s to my taste, then I’ll give her other books a shot.

I finally bought Lonely Castle in the Mirror nearing the end of last year, but decided to postpone reading because I wanted to make this my first 2026 read (hehe). And when I did start reading, I told myself I was going to take it slow. I was going to soak up every nook and cranny of the story. But like most New Year resolutions…it remained a mere resolution. I was done reading in roughly three days. I can’t help it!

Tracking T&T: By The Pricking of My Thumbs

(As usual, not my picture,
but it's the version that I own.)

Note: This is a spoiler-free post!

I know that I started this T&T review series by writing about the first book in the series. Logically, I should proceed with the second, then the third, and so on. But you’ll have to forgive me since I’ve decided to jump to the fourth book in the series - By The Pricking of My Thumbs. I did reread the second and third books, but somehow I feel more excited to write about this fourth one. So here we are!

Quick Review: The Devotion of Suspect X

(Not my picture!)

Note: This is a spoiler-free post!

Different mysteries stand out in their own different ways. Some, like Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, are celebrated for its shocking reveal of the culprit. On the other hand, I remember being so haunted by Five Little Pigs - another of Christie’s works - for a completely different reason. Solving a 20-year-old cold case isn’t all that exciting, in complete honesty, but I was struck by how tragic the story was.

The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino is a mix of both. It’s a shocker - but not because of a shocking culprit! - that sends you on a rollercoaster of emotions.

Quick Review: What You Are Looking For Is in the Library

(Not my picture!)

Note: This is a spoiler-free post!

Somewhere during my Japanese-book fever last year, I decided to read What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama. Judging from the title, I expected this book to single-mindedly revolve around, well, books and libraries - perhaps something like Sosuke Natsukawa’s The Cat Who Saved Books. But apparently I was in for a pleasant surprise. Little did I know that this book was going to become one of my favorite books!

Tracking T&T: Revisiting The Secret Adversary

The 1967 Bantam edition is the copy I managed to acquire. 
(the picture above isn't mine, though.)

Note: This is a spoiler-free post!

The Secret Adversary was my first encounter with Agatha Christie.

Well…not exactly.

The translated version of The Secret Adversary was my first encounter with Agatha Christie. I was fond of mysteries - I grew up reading stories like Enid Blyton’s Famous Five and Secret Seven, and Gosho Aoyama’s Detective Conan (whose ending, to this day, is still nowhere in sight). I guess it was just a matter of time before I encountered the Queen of Crime herself. And though not everything may be believable, The Secret Adversary successfully sold me on the Agatha Christie's mysteries through its hilarity and - of course - plot twist. Down the rabbit hole I went, devouring any Christie books I could get my hands on.