Like The Tomato
Nothing here but my musings about daily life, books, anime, and food.
- Title: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
- Author: John Carreyrou
- Genre: True Crime, Nonfiction
- Pages: 352
- Publisher: Knopf
- Published: 2018
I’m pretty sure everyone is familiar with Elizabeth Holmes and her fall from grace because of some unethical and questionable practices. I had a phase where I was consuming a lot of true crime content, fraud included. I consumed pretty much all the documentaries about Theranos available to me on all the streaming services and I almost finished the Hulu series, The Dropout. So it was really just a matter of time before I would also consume this book. And consumed I did.
The book read like fiction and I was enamored from the beginning. This was very compellingly written and I found myself glued to my seat or found myself saying “one more chapter” while reading in bed. This book definitely chronicles the ins and outs of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes. From being the darling of Silicon Valley to her downfall. The book exposed how the CEO ignored the many issues the employees raised and focused on her branding and legacy.
“We can change people in and out. The company is all that matters.” I don’t know what shit this girl was smoking back in the day, but I don’t know why she did not realize that the people in the company – the people who were actually working – made the company run. From engineers to lab personnel. These people that she considered replaceable were the talents. The company was also working on a diagnostic technology. However, these talents were not allowed to collaborate with each other. This huge project required heavy collaboration in order to see that the flow was working. Again, what was the CEO smoking?
I am not a stranger to toxic work environments, but Theranos brought it to a whole new level. The employees were micromanaged and overworked. For what? A catered dinner? Give me a break, this reminded me too much about pizza parties. If you appreciated my work, let me see it on my paycheck and we’ll call it even. Also, Elizabeth did not like being said no to. Employees who disagreed with her or voiced a differing opinion got fired or got forced to quit or got demoted. Theranos definitely fostered fear in their employees. I was annoyed reading these parts for sure. Being a people leader, I was aggravated and disgusted by this.
No one on the board has a medical background whatsoever. Let’s just say that they were out of their depths on this one. I won’t touch the white woman blue-eyed charmer and the older white men who basically put her on the pedestal. Regardless, Elizabeth was able to get these men on board in itself was talent in marketing and sales. I mean, Elizabeth was charming and that in itself was a skill. They got sold on a dream, an impossible one at that. And that stupid FOMO (fear of missing out) mentality from these commercial places that Theranos had a contract with was sickening. The leaders in charge of these places were so blinded by this new technology that they were so scared their competitors would pick it up before they did which lead to them ignoring the red flags.
The biggest sin was the fact that this lady stretched the truth about the capability of Theranos’ technology. This resulted in having said service available to the public – to actual patients! Thus endangering them by providing wrong results that could lead to incorrect diagnoses that heavily affect patient treatments. Who in their right mind would do this? Well, I guess someone could. Someone could blatantly ignore patient welfare just for the brand and legacy and oh, to fulfill a dream of being a billionaire.
Honestly though, despite the aggravation I felt reading this book, I was glad that I read it. The author was able to convey a clear picture of what happened in this fiasco of a company. The downfall was the most satisfying part. I mean, that was deserved. Granted it took a while, but I was glad that there were people brave enough to be whistleblowers for this company. This was a good page-turner that kept me engaged starting from the beginning till the end.
- Title: Darling Girl
- Author: Liz Michalski
- Genre: Fantasy
- Pages: 352
- Publisher: Dutton
- Published: 2022
I would like to assume that everyone has heard of Peter Pan. Or at least familiar with it. I never watched the Disney movie, Peter Pan. I have not read the book. However, the Peter Pan I knew was from an anime adaptation of the novel by JM Barrie. I enjoyed this anime while growing up in the Philippines. So for this purpose, let’s just say that I am familiar with Peter Pan. This book followed Holly, the granddaughter of Wendy Darling – yes that Wendy from the fairy tale. Holly had to take on the infamous Peter Pan to save her daughter’s life.
What made me pick this up? When this book showed up on Book of the Month, I had to get it. The premise itself was interesting. I mean, you cannot go wrong with a dark Peter Pan. And I enjoyed that aspect of the book. It was nice to see Peter Pan not being the golden boy. Let’s just say that this book would definitely give you a different idea of the boy himself. I loved it. And honestly, it made me continue reading the book. Heads up though, trigger warning for the depiction of sexual assault.
However, regardless of the premise, I had issues with Holly. The protagonist. She was not likeable whatsoever. There were decisions she made that I questioned and hated her for. I was livid for the most part when I was reading. And that made me struggle a lot since the book was following her. There were some questions about morals and ethics for sure. All I could think of was “What the fuck is wrong with you”.
What really made my skin crawl? Holly’s tryst with Peter. Sure, it might not be a prolonged affair. But she was doing sexual things with this boy. The excuse? He looked older than what was described in the fairy tale. But how old? One thing that stood out to me was the concept that Peter Pan gets old, he just does not grow up. So you’re saying this man-child has a handicap? And then what annoyed me more, just to justify the actual sexual act in this book, it was put in as a sexual assault. Peter assaulted Holly and that resulted in her getting pregnant.
There was also a private investigator in this book that made me smile when he was on the pages. The way he was introduced made me swoon, and from then, I was just swooning.
The book was good, I found the premise really interesting. However, I did not enjoy the book as much as I thought I would. And that was because the MC was just so darn unlikeable. I really do not like her. It was so hard to read because I found her decisions and rationales so infuriating. The ending was fine. I just wished I saw the big showdown between Peter and the investigator. And I somehow felt cheated because Holly was not in the final showdown so I missed the whole climax of it. Would I reread this? Probably not. But hey, I would keep this on my bookshelf regardless.
- Anime Title: given
- Episodes: 11 episodes, 1 movie, 1 special episode
- Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
- Publisher: Fuji Creative Corporation
- Title: given
- Author: Natsuki Kizu
- Genre: BL, Drama
- Volumes: 8
- Run: April 30, 2013 to March 30, 2023
I found this anime by accident. I do not remember what I was doing at the time. I could be studying, which was a high possibility. But I found this one night and stayed up for hours to actually finish the anime. And I have rewatched this anime many times since then.
The anime has two major arcs – Ritsuka and Mafuyu arc, and Akihiko and Haruki arc. The manga has three arcs – the first two being the same as the anime and the third being the Hiiragi and Shizusumi arc.
The first arc focused on the Ritsuka and Mafuyu relationship. From the moment they met on the stairs of the gym to their first live performance. Ritsuka was the genius lead guitarist, and Mafuyu was the shy musical genius vocalist. I enjoyed seeing Ritsuka’s journey in coming to terms with his feelings for Mafuyu and his music. It was young love and I was there for it. There was also the journey of the band itself and how it grew. A watcher could leave it as that. Enjoy the ride of young love and great music. But this was also a story about grief and moving on. About opening your heart to new love. It was amazing. All the things that needed to be said to a past lover all wrapped into one song. Did it pull at my heartstrings? Yes. And I cried every single time that song played.
The second arc focused on the relationship between Akihiko and Haruki. Akihiko was the playboy drummer, and Haruki was the leader of the band and bassist. Now, this was a story of unrequited love. It was so relatable that it was difficult to watch. It was too real. We have all been there. Admiring someone from afar. Deeping those feelings for someone as time goes on. Being heartbroken because for some reason or another, that other person just does not see you the same way. It was hard. Seeing these characters in pain because they were hurting each other or just the pain in the situation they were in, let’s just say that my heart broke for the people in this arc.
The third arc focused on Hiiragi and Shizusumi’s relationship. These two were Mafuyu’s childhood friends and also Yuki’s bandmates. Another young love. But more focused on Hiiragi coming to terms with his feelings for Shizusumi and Shizusumi’s unrequited love for Hiiragi. It was a whole misunderstanding trope and all that. This was pretty good as well. Shizusumi stayed by Hiiragi’s side this whole time while watching Hiiragi put Yuki on such a pedestal. Hiiragi trying to make Shizusumi understand that he was never in love with Yuki, to begin with. Ugh. Such angst.
So the first arc for anime was a serialized anime with 11 episodes. The second arc was a one-hour movie. And the third arc was manga only. The manga has 8 volumes although volume 8 is not available in English yet, which I am patiently waiting for. (Per Amazon, the title will be released on Oct 10, 2023.)
I say give it a try. My hun did. He liked it enough. I loved it. I think I said before that this was not a 5-star for me. But you know what, after rewatching the anime this week, I don’t understand why I even said that it wasn’t. I mean sure I can find faults in it if I really try, but honestly, I don’t want to. That’s how much I love this story. And the soundtrack? I would even rewatch this anime just for the music alone. It’s that good.
- Title: Howl’s Moving Castle
- Author: Diana Wynne Jones
- Genre: Children’s Fantasy
- Pages: 448
- Publisher: Greenwillow Books
- Published: 2008
I remember buying this book when I went to visit Japantown in San Francisco. That was years ago. And it has been sitting on my shelf for that long. So what made me decide to pick this up last year? I rewatched the movie and fell in love with it all over again. Then all of a sudden, I was in the mood to pick it up – so I did.
I am definitely not the target audience of the novel. Just the print alone on my copy suggests that – large font, double-spaced. However, I found that reading this book was the refresher that I needed. Nothing says palate cleanser more than picking up a YA fantasy in the middle of me being surrounded by true crime, mysteries, and thrillers.
Just a disclaimer, if you are picking this book up because you enjoyed the movie so much – be warned that there will be a lot of differences between the mediums. Do not compare the two and it will suck the enjoyment out of this book. Appreciate it for what it is. Movie adaptations tend to practice creative liberties. However, the book is enjoyable nonetheless.
This story is about Sophie Hatter and her journey to try to reverse a spell placed on her by the Wicked Witch of the Waste. A spell that turns someone old. In this journey, she meets a bunch of colorful and interesting characters who make her realize who she really is and what she is actually capable of.
This book is marketed toward young readers. It has a touch of whimsy for sure, with such colorful characters. But this has some dark themes, that’s why when I was reading it, I could not believe that this is considered a children’s book. There’s a social construct in this story that adults can relate to. Reading this as an adult, it hits differently. It is more visceral. I enjoyed it and I’m planning on picking up the next book soon.
How was my reading in 2022? I guess it’s time for a quick recap.
Let me, I read a total of 41 items. This total is a combination of novels, manga, and webtoons. Yes, I am counting webtoons. And honestly, if I ever get my hand on fanfiction this year, I will count it. Why? The answer is simple – I took the time to read it. So those will be counted. I read a total of 6,149 pages for 2022. This page count did not take into account webtoons. The medium does not have page counts – yes, I know, I need to track webtoons better.
The months where I read the most were October, November, and December. I discovered webtoons and manhwas in October. And I had weeks and days that those were the only things that consumed. No shame though. I enjoyed them immensely. I only put the completed webtoons and manhwas on my tracker. I need to make sure that I capture the ones that are still work in progress for this year. How am I going to do that? I have no idea. But I shall figure that out.
49% of what I read were webtoons/manhwa, followed by novels. And a lot of the stories I read in that format were Boys Love – so this genre was my most read at 49%. This genre was followed by Yaoi at 15%. I know, why not just combine them – I tend to associate Yaoi with Japanese manga. I don’t know, I’m debating if I should just merge them for 2023. Most likely.
I am not one to set a number of books to read in a year kind of person, 2023 is no different. I do not need added pressure to read more. I just want to enjoy whatever I read. I do want to read a bit more nonfiction and some classics as well. One thing is for sure though, I want to make sure to pick up 1984 and The Count of Monte Cristo this year.
Well, today was definitely lazy. I’ve just been sitting in front of my computer and reading some webtoons. Yeah, I’ve been pretty open with what I read manga or manhwa or webtoon-wise. I prefer BLs, but no surprise there, I am a fujoshi after all.
I still don’t get why we cannot just be a 4-day work week kind of company. Seriously why not. I feel like everything can be done in 4 days. Sure, the shift might be a bit longer, 10 hrs, but at least we have a 3-day weekend. It still does not make sense to me. And if we still need to be working from Monday to Friday, then some people will work M-Th and some will work T-F. But yeah. That would be nice right?
I’ve also been playing Seven Deadly Sins in the background. I’ve watched all the seasons aside from season 5. My love and I are currently not in the mood to watch it, to be honest. So we are holding off. There’s no rush anyway, it’s a Netflix series so it will be available for a bit. Anyway, my favorite character is still Gowther, his psychological magic abilities are pretty scary. It really does show how fragile the human psyche is.
Anyway, I have not read any pages of Darling Girl. Since I have been stuck reading webtoons. And yes I actually found a site/app that lets me do an unlimited subscription compared to me buying one chapter at a time, I will spend more money that way. No bueno. I found Manta and their collection is pretty decent. So I cannot complain. I’ve consumed a few already. And some of the ones that I read are still ongoing and I would have to wait for the weekly release but at least I don’t have to pay for it. I do wish that I’m able to count this in my reading log. And technically I can if I want to. I just don’t know how to log it. Since it does not have pages. It’s just a continuous scroll.
Anyway, tomorrow is Monday and I’m already hating this coming week. Work will be busy. We have bosses coming onsite. People from Finland visiting. Yeah, I cannot deal. This week will be a nightmare.