Not the right time. Will come back to this soon. 

If I only think of the book within 2 seconds and tell what it was like reading this, I could see a strong resemblance or some sort of repetition with Orwell's previous novel, "Animal Farm", in the context. Also, familiarity with how today's world works, even if it is not to the extent in the novel:  such as the role of the "war" between countries, the ideological enforcement through brainwashing by the hierarchical society/government, which as citizens today, we have come to accept and also have been okay with them.  even though the plot is heavily political, as an average fictional story also, anyone can enjoy it; it would put you on the edge of the chair at times.

I was excited for this since it is written in vignettes and the genre is philosophical fiction. Probably because it was hard for me to fully grasp the context in the start. But overall, this was not a bad read either. 

Since Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are two stories, I will give my thoughts on the both separately.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
I love the story. Eventhough I knew the story before (reading simplified versions, movies and TV shows) there were a lot of tiny details and characters that I don't remember, even some funny writings and amazing world building by L. Carroll were actually enjoyable. Some interpret this as a story written about puberty or how mad the real world is. Amidst there are some others who interpret Alice or rather the writer as a person on how hallucinogens (refering to the mushrooms, all the eat me/drink me food, all the weird imagery and characters..etc) and my favourite interpretation is Alice is Wonderland is a children's horror story (Cheshire cat, mad hatter, the queen of hearts wanting to behead everyone..etc) whatever the interpretation is this is an iconic story that everyone should read. 

Through the Looking Glass 
Compared to the Wonderland story, this was a very complicated and weird one. Eventhough both are equally weird in terms of dream story telling, for some reason it was hard for me to understand most parts of this one. I don't think I enjoyed this. 

How can a story be beautiful and sad at the same time. It was very refreshing to read Children literature that could be enjoyed by adults in a different way (I am assuming this would hit a child differently, only I would never know since I never read if as a kid) really easy to read and it was funny and insightful at the same time. One of the best reads of 2023.

When I initially picked it up I was hoping for a story full of mystery and crime. Well, this was a bit different. Written in 1st person POV the crime and the perpetrators were already clear from the start. It was more of a neo noir film about how the fate gets you even if it misses you the first time around. All in and out, it was a fast paced book I read in one sitting and the plot was interesting and dramatic so I kept going. Nothing bad to say it is just what I had hoped for the story to be was completely different. 

Totally Studio Ghibli Vibes
My first audiobook of the year; I wanted to start off with something light and fun. And it was indeed light and fun. The story was interesting and the characters were very well put out. Some characters made me resent them at first and then absolutely love them in the end. Kitiko the cat is also such a fun character. Also, the little story within the main story made me feel like I actually read two complete stories. The narrator did a great job in imitating different voices for each characters' dialogues. Even inclding the Kitiko the cat. Hahha. Very cute. If there is anything I could change it would be the title. It's not bad but could have been something better, attention-catching. 

What a weird story.

I had an idea of what I was getting into before I started the book, but I did not expect that to be this eccentrically weird. 

Usually, in relationships, we see one toxic partner and one normal partner, OR if they are both toxic, the toxicity would not be on the same level. Still, my god, the toxicity of these characters was out of this world.

However, this was a very short, interesting read. Written in the formats of e-mails or text messages, it was really easy to get through, and the book itself is a very short one. Nothing was complex in the language used, but the story kept getting worse (in a good way!)

The ending was predicted initially, but you only realize the answer to "how" around 80% into the book.

Wasn't my favourite of Murakami's novels. I know people think this is the best if not one of the best of his works but the story was quite boring and complexed for me. 

I had no idea I would be starting the year with such a good read. This is definitely one of the best books I have read so far. Written around the color white, Han Kang talks about her sisters premature death through these white elements such as snow, time, salt, moon, ice..etc. The grief, the guilt of being born in the place of her sister, the loss are deeply but very lyrically discussed. If you read this you will feel all these feelings through the elements or the subjects of her small prose-poetry (the format is between the prose and poetry, I do not know which one this should fall under) It's amazing how a colour could speak such emotions out. I am definitely up to a great start this year.