The Good Die Young - Various Authors

a good primer on the global footprint of arguably the most deeply evil yet fitting symbol of america's foreign policy. lots of interesting stuff on kissenger's philosophy too. glad i had some cursory knowledge of him- it assumes you know a good bit going in

Perdido Street Station - China Mieville

what a chonker of a book in so many ways. the pedestrian-level worldbuilding and beautiful prose paints such a full picture of the setting. even if i had character issues in the back half, the ending knocked me flat- it'll be stuck in my head for a while

for a more comprehensive nonfiction book- I just started Verso Press' Gwanju Uprising; I haven't gotten far at all but it seems like this is a very well-respected source on gwanju for general readers

Human Acts - Han Kang

devoured this in just a couple sittings. easily my favorite read of the year. kang perfectly captures the lingering scars of the gwangju uprising, and how the wound of one person can splinter and web, both entangled and connecting those left in its wake

Read a lot of good books this year, but Human Acts is on a whole other level so far

Frankenstein: The 1818 Text - Mary Shelly

yeah it's still one of the greats. the prose is moody and brooding in all the ways you want from gothic horror. glad I read up on the luddites beforehand, their influence can be felt greatly in the monster's plight. its critiques are all too relevant now

been reading frankenstein and can we go back to writing male friendships like this?

love it when guys get emotional for their bros