-
Mini Reviews // Progress on My Bookish Backlog
I struggled with lack of motivation to blog for most of last year. Throw in the fact that the internet just kept me overwhelmed with lots of bad news for a while last year, and my “laziness” felt pretty justified. So, I’ve had these reviews sitting in my drafts for a while, and I decided to let them see the light of day. Have you read any of these books? Which books have you enjoyed recently?
-
What’s on my TBR List This Year?
Hello and happy not-so-new year! I was just looking through the books I read in 2020, and I realised that despite my extended absence from the blogosphere, I was able to read over 120 books (I stopped counting at 127). Since I’m on a roll, I decided to share the titles that have made it to my 2021 TBR list so far. The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty “The final chapter in the Daevabad Trilogy, in which a con-woman and an idealistic djinn prince join forces to save a magical kingdom from a devastating civil war…“ I’ve read the first two books in this series, and so far, I’m…
-
21 Random Facts about this Twenty-Something Year Old
I always have trouble talking about myself without “just cause”. Since yesterday was my birthday, the cause couldn’t be more just. Here are 21 completely random things you more than likely did not know about me. 1. I’m 5’1. The world thinks I’m short, but I say my height is perfectly normal. 2. I am a morning person… I’m usually up at 4am. 3. But I think sleep is the most beautiful thing in the world. It really is. 4. My Myers-Briggs type is ISTJ. I think it’s pretty darn accurate. 5. I am a Gryffindor. I’ve never really paid attention to what it entails, but Pottermore, Buzzfeed, and a…
-
Long Time, No Blog
HELLO! I’d wish you a happy new year, but the year is anything but new at this stage. You probably noticed (at least, I hope you did) that towards the end of 2019, I disappeared from the internet. I like to think I’m back from my unannounced hiatus, but I’m now in my last semester of undergrad, so I’m swamped with more projects and research than ever before. Whatever the case, I’ll try not to disappear for more than two weeks at a time. That said, here are my hopes and dreams for this not-so-new year: Publish more “reaction-style” reviews. I’m ashamed to say I have a backlog of book…
-
The Disrespect that is Eurocentrism
I was just going to vent a little on Twitter and forget about this, but what I have to say won’t fit into 140 characters. I like to write. But I’m a busy college student, so I don’t often have time to put my ideas to paper. So, I take creative writing classes at school in order to force myself to make time. This week was workshop week. I’d started a story that I wasn’t too satisfied with but decided to keep working on it because I needed to submit something. Everyone gave good suggestions, and I would have left the workshop feeling fulfilled and armed with new ideas. But…
-
Mixed Feelings // Spin the Dawn Mini Review + Aesthetic
AMAZON — GOODREADS — BARNES & NOBLE — BOOK DEPOSITORY I feel like I should start paying more attention to book descriptions because the first few lines of marketing spiel can be quite deceiving. * “Project Runway meets Mulan in this sweeping YA fantasy about a young girl who poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor …” * That’s the first (and only) thing I saw about this book that prompted me to read it. It’s probably what’s made several other people eager to read this book, because who wouldn’t be drawn in by the promise of a Mulan kind of story? However, I think…
-
I Got a Library Card // Random Rambling
I honestly don’t know why I’m writing about this relatively unremarkable occasion, but until a few weeks ago, a library card was a foreign concept to me. In a way, it still is. I come from a place that does not have a strong (or existing) “library culture”. Unless you attend a private school, you’d be hard pressed to have access to a good library. And because that’s the norm where I’m from, it never occurred to me when I came to the U.S for uni that there’d be working public libraries. And so, I never had any reason to look for one in my area. In case you’re wondering,…
-
A Rollercoaster of Emotions // The Familiars by Stacey Halls
AMAZON — GOODREADS — BARNES & NOBLE — BOOK DEPOSITORY After I saw how much Olivia @ Olivia’s Catastrophe enjoyed this book, I thought I’d give it a go. And I must say, I have no regrets! The Familiars made me feel so many things, including: AWE At the author’s impressive descriptions. Even though things start out quite slowly, and it took me a while to get into the story, the dark atmosphere is set up from the beginning of the story, so that it draws the reader in until the end. SADNESS At Fleetwood’s plight. It’s been a while since I read a story that discusses miscarriages and infertility…
-
Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Tropes
I decided to take part in a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. I may not do this every week, but I quite liked today’s prompt. *** We seem to spend more time criticising poorly done tropes (at least, I do) than we do highlighting the ones we like. So today, it’s time to celebrate the good things (purely subjective, of course). Here goes. FRIENDS TO LOVERS This is probably my favourite romance trope. It feels more genuine when the characters already know each other so well. And when it’s an HEA, I can almost believe it’ll last. “NORMAL” PEOPLE DOING EXTRAORDINARY THINGS. Not Batman, though. I dislike…
-
Becoming an Intentional Reader
Today’s post is in collaboration with the lovely Helen from On Air with Helen, and we’re both talking about how our reading habits have changed because of this thing called life. Check out her blog to find out what she has to say. *** A while ago, someone asked what made me start reading, and it’s been at the back of my mind since then. As far as I know, I’ve always been a reader. There was no aha! moment when I discovered books and embraced the bookworm I was meant to be. And because of this, much of my reading has been “unconscious” or unintentional. What I mean is,…
