2022 ONTD Reading Challenge discussion

Use this topic to discuss whether you enjoyed your January picks, and whether you'd recommend it to your fellow readers! Did you find it easy/difficult to complete this task?

Please tag all spoilers in this post!

I read The Vegetarian for this month. I had been wanting to read it for the longest time but I thought it was going to be really highbrow and difficult to understand. So I was surprised to find that it wasn't the case. I thought it was easy to follow - what makes it a challenging read is the disturbing content, but I was so involved in the story and outraged at the events that I couldn't put it down. Read it in two days. It is so rich with subtext, it's amazing how a short book like that can pack so much meaning.

Would I recommend it? Yes. I think it's a really good book. But readers should be aware of the disturbing content, I don't think it's a book that "everyone should read" (no book is, in my opinion). If you can't handle reading about sexual violence, domestic violence, abuse, animal harm, eating disorders, mental illness, then it's probably best not to pick it up. However, I would like to point out that none of the disturbing content felt like it was protrayed gratuitously, for the shock value, or as some kind of "porn".

I read it in English (Deborah Smith's translation) and I wanted to reread it in Portuguese. There is a really faithful Portuguese translation with lots of notes that I think would be interesting to compare, but it's been sold out for ages. There is a new translation in bookstores which is nowhere near as good (a man did it and sanitized the book).

I read Grass by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim. It's a graphic novel and the "true story of a Korean comfort woman documents how the atrocity of war devastates women’s lives."

Amazing- 5 stars.


Absolutely beautiful and haunting storytelling. I admit to knowing very little about the situation of "comfort women" and even Koreans under Japanese control in the mid-2oth century in general. Much of the story is shocking and appalling but Granny is a wonderful protagonist and Keum Suk Gendry-Kim both writes and illustrated the story perfectly. I hope more people learn the truth about this and remember the plight of these women.

Did you get the physical graphic novel, Jamie? I wanted to read this and thought about getting the e-book, but I don't know how it would be reading it on an ipad.

I read The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly and holy fuck, it was depressing. I feel that whoever recommended this book on the ONTD post lied to me ;-;

I read The Hole and was absolutely blown away. An unsettling, terrifying 5-star read for me.

Lea wrote: "Did you get the physical graphic novel, Jamie? I wanted to read this and thought about getting the e-book, but I don't know how it would be reading it on an ipad."

I read the e-book on my laptop using the Libby app and it worked for me.

I just finished Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982. Amazing! Simple but powerful. Powerful because it's simple. Will def read more from this author.

Finished City of Ash and Red. Liked it a lot better than The Hole, but I had the same issue as I had with that one in that the ending just didn't work for me.

The novel's portrayal of public reaction to a pandemic was fucking spot-on though.

I read the Silence of Bones by June Hur. I loved it. I couldn't put it down. It was really interesting to read about the culture and history. The story was a great murder mystery that kept me up until 1 am because I wanted to know what happens next.

I read Pachinko: The New York Times Bestseller. It was an entertaining read, I can definitely see what all the fuss is about, but just not my cup of tea.

My pick was You-Jeong Jeong's The Good Son, but it was a bit of a struggle.

It's a slow-burn jumble of a book, jumping wildly between past and present and definitely lacking mystery - but it makes up for that with unsettling insights into the twisted mind of the protagonist. My interest waned about halfway through, struggling to find even a little bit of good about Yu-jin.

Hi! I just finished The Vegetarian by Han Kang. What a strange eerie powerful little book!

At first I thought it would be some sort of dark satire like Under the Skin’s vegetarian like manifesto. But it was way different and so much more than that. It was soft and bizarre at the same time. Although the timing of reading it was a TRIP- literally just emerging from an Arnie Hammer thread 🤢 to open the book and read lines like, “I want to swallow you, have you melt into me and flow through my veins. (119) it was a strange parallel to say the least!

I really liked the image of the painted floral bodies moving together. I wasn’t expecting extreme ED stuff is so I would definitely be prepared for that, it could be so triggering for some.

I love first time novelists; I find their themes are often so concentrated and pure, more from the realm of poetry.

Would I recommend this book? Only very carefully to a few people.

I read Pachinko. It was a good read. I did not quite connect with the ending, but I would recommend it.

I read The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly and I really loved it. It's definitely NOT feel good because it was quite sad but it had a lot of beautiful and bittersweet moments. But I loved Sprout so much I couldn't stop reading it.

I re-read The Vegetarian for this month's challenge. I had already read it in 2016 but hardly remembered anything – just that I read the whole thing in a rush. This time felt like a completely different reading experience for me: It was brutal, dark and eerie. I also did not notice that there were so many similarities between The Metamorphosis and this one, like a modern-day adaption of it.

I also listened to the audio book of The White Book because it was available at my Spotify. Normally I find audio books really easy to follow but it did not feel right for this kind of book. I think it would have been a better experience if I had read it as a book because it is a loose collection of essays on the colour white. To be honest, for me it felt just what it is: Something a writer would produce while staying at an artist's residency, far away from home.

I also bought Please Look After Mom but haven't started reading yet. Will keep you updated on this one.

I read the Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982. It was a short read and enjoyed it very much. It's a feminist novel that received a lot of criticisms for telling the truth! I have been consuming a lot of Korean media the past few years and this novel was a nice diversion from the ones I am used to. Will see if I can also watch the film.

I am reading The Vegetarian right now and it’s such a hard read! Not the writing but the topics. The writing is beautiful.

So far i have read The Hole. it was much more of a subtle horror than i was expecting, but it will linger with me, i think. the idea of asking for help and having everyone misinterpret you and inadvertently make things worse is totally relevant and also terrifying.

I read the Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly. Not really my cup of tea, everything just seemed really depressing.

I finished If I Had Your Face a few days ago and I really really liked it!!

I read The Interpreter by Suki Kim, which was set in the US but spoke of a Korean immigrant who works as an interpreter. She also embarked on a quest to solve her parents' murders on the side, based on things she heard during her interpreter role.

Very intriguing. The author also wrote another book about her time as an embedded undercover journalist in North Korea.

Wendy wrote: "I read The Interpreter by Suki Kim, which was set in the US but spoke of a Korean immigrant who works as an interpreter. She also embarked on a quest to solve her parents' murders on the side, base..."

I've read her North Korea book a while ago and it was really great, I definitely recommend it to anyone interested in that country, she had a totally unique vantage point. Haven't read her fiction yet but it's on my list!

I read The Hole and Grass. I really enjoyed both, but Grass was my favorite. Such a devastating story and the striking illustrations were beautiful.

I read Diary of a Murderer: And Other Stories and I thought the title story was really good. The other stories I could take or leave, but they kept my attention!

I read The Hole. I had no idea beforehand what it'd be about, but I expected more horror and I think it's more suspense and mind fuckery, with a side of body horror. It was good, subtle, the plot sneaks up on you and delivered a punch.

MILFORDACADEMY (and team) - I just want to say it here (because I'm a lurker on ONTD and don't have an account) thank you so much for all the effort you put into the reading challenge posts. I love that you take the time to put some historical background in and curate an amazing selection of books. I read Pachinko this month and am just finishing up The Vegetarian.

Really looking forward to 'travelling' to Argentina, thank you!

I read City of Ash and Red. It was a quick read, and I liked it, but the narrator is extremely fucked up so I would probably have to know a person to rec it to them!

I agree with Cecilia that the portrayal of the public reaction to a pandemic was spot-on, if not underselling it lol.

Sawakapo wrote: "MILFORDACADEMY (and team) - I just want to say it here (because that I'm a lurker on ONTD and don't have an account) thank you so much for all the effort you put into the reading challenge posts. I..."

Sawakapo, that is so kind of you!! It really means a lot to me to know that the care I put into the posts is appreciated. Thank you! <3

i just finished The Good Son and although it took me a little bit to get into it, i really enjoyed it. the last 50 or so pages had me on the edge of my seat.

Managed to finish a second book for Jan. The Silence of Bones is not bad but not the best either. The setting is interesting and the mystery ok. A solid read but not one that will stay in my mind long after.

I finished Pachinko and really enjoyed it! I was surprised how quickly it went. I also found myself doing some research on the places and events while I was reading since I went into this book without much knowledge of the history of South Korea. I’ve already picked some nonfiction books so I can continue my learning!

I decided to continue the challenge in 2022 and just finished Please Look After Mom. I have to admit: I did not really like it. Maybe it was due to the German translation but the whole thing was written in such a whiny tone that I had to force myself to get through the whole book.