Favorite Things: March 2022

Hello friends, happy Spring! In the past, Spring has not been a favorite season of mine, especially since it is the beginning of the sweltering heat here in the desert. I’ve cranked up the A/C, I’ve retired the many layers of blankets on my bed, and I’m reluctantly preparing for another super-hot several many  months. March was a pretty good month though, and I will cherish the somewhat nice weather before it goes completely bonkers. Here is a collection of the bits-and-bobs that brought me some joy last month!

I read ten books in March. Quite a few duds, *cough* Devil House *cough* Blood & Honey , but also some new favorites too!

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice:This post-apocalyptic thriller was a bit of a stressful read, as most post-apocalyptic stories are, but I loved it. It tells the story an Anishinaabe reservation in Northern Ontario as they cope with the state of their world when all the electricity on the planet goes out. The narrative focuses on the resiliency of the characters, the pressures of outsiders that never seem to cease to influence the lives of First Nations people, and so much more. It didn’t include as much detail as I would have liked, and skipped through time a bit, but it was a solid read.

Lean Your Loneliness Slowly Against Mine by Klara Hveberg , Alison McCullough (Translation): This is one of those books that I can’t really explain. I suppose that any book I read with lyrical prose that deals with the subject of loneliness and isolation will probably end up on my list of favorite reads of the year every single time. This book is all about love (or giving into what seems like love because of loneliness), infidelity, shame, and the impact of chronic illness, all told in an interesting format- with fractals. I won’t explain too much, but the layering of history, fiction, and the life of the author was fascinating.

There are so many quotes I wrote down, but here are just a few that I loved.

“Tell me what you read, and I’ll tell you who you are, she thinks.”

“Because if there’s one more person in the world she can have feelings for, then it would be easier to believe that there might be others too.”

“I seem to interpret everything as love.” 

I watched the entirety of Bridgerton in one day and what a ride that was. I wrote a post about it, which is coming soon, but it was fun and I will probably end up skip-watching my favorite parts again soon. 

Love Ft. Marriage & Divorce is my and my mom’s favorite K-drama. The third season is currently being released on Netflix and even though some of our favorite actors were replaced with new ones, thus breaking my and my mother’s hearts, it’s still so good. Every episode is super dramatic, slightly to extremely ridiculous, and reminds me of Spanish-language novellas with their wild storylines. Currently looking for more scandalous K-dramas to watch asap.

Another beautiful Vegas sunset…sometimes this city can be alright.

I’ve been enjoying the relative calm of my life lately. I realized that things are pretty simple for me right now, which is something I am immensely grateful for given the state of the world. I’m just going to revel in it for now as it will for sure not be like this forever.

I also recently got invited last-minute to see BTS in concert since I am the person my friends know as always being up for any and every concert. My friend will be coming to my city to see them and so I am tagging along as a tour guide and concert buddy…even though I’ve never really listened to BTS at all. I understand the gravity of this situation (especially since getting tickets to BTS is like winning the lottery) and so my homework for the next week will be to: 1) Memorize as many songs as possible. 2) Memorize the fan chants…or at least some. 3) Pick my bias. I am super excited to experience a BTS concert as I’ve never been to a K-pop concert ever before. Wish me luck!

That’s all from me for now! What was your favorite read of March? What are you currently reading? Thoughts on BTS?

Hope you have a lovely month!

 

Favorite Reads of October & November

Hello again! It’s been two months since my last post and even though I haven’t been updating this blog as much as usual, I’ve definitely missed reading everyone’s posts and adding endlessly more books to my TBR. I had quite a busy month of October with work and November went by in a flash, so finally here I am in December with some bookish updates. I hope you, dear reader, had a lovely couple of months.

I read several books in October and November, but there are only a few that I actually enjoyed enough to talk about. Dune, was one of them. After several years of saying to myself that I probably wouldn’t get around to reading it because I didn’t think I would like it, I was finally sucked in by the nagging feeling that I just had to read before watching the film. I am glad that I did because I enjoyed it immensely. Since it was quite a long book, I did start hitting a bit of a slump halfway through and switched to the audiobook, which helped me get through it relatively quickly.

I enjoyed the political intrigue and commentary on religion and environmentalism, along with the intricate world that was created. I still can’t stop thinking about it a month later. However, I completely understand why it is such a polarizing book. The movie did a great job explaining everything, so it isn’t completely necessary to read if you can’t bring yourself to even deal with such a hefty book (which is 100% understandable).

XOXO by Axie Oh was another favorite from October. It was super cute, a lot of fun, and just what I needed to get through a busy month. Books like XOXO are what I call ‘books like candy’. Easy reads that don’t require ton of energy, but are perfect for when I need something happy and sweet. The friendships, the music, the romance! Perfect. I need more books like this in my life (let me know if you have any recommendations)!

Gordo by Jaime Cortez is a short story collection about families living in a migrant workers camp in 1970s California. It was a bit all over the place with various perspectives, but I enjoyed how Cortez examined the characters, without shying away from their flaws. Although I did not identify with everything in this collection, reading stories written by a fellow Chicano made me feel at home in a very particular way. It also encouraged me to ask my mom questions about my own family and their time working on farms in California, which was a nice bonus.

I want to take this moment to address the one absolutely horrible novel that I read in October. To The Exorcist, I want to give a big WTF…because really…was ANY of that necessary? Was it? No. The answer is no and I don’t understand why this was ever given the moniker of “Most Terrifying Novel Every Written”. No. Absolutely not. I don’t think exorcism-related horror is for me.

Thanks so much to all those that have left comments that I have yet to answer as of writing this post and who have mentioned me in any tags etc while I’ve been gone! It is so very very appreciated. I set out to create this blog as a record for myself and ended up talking about a mutual love of books with so many wonderful people all over the world. So thanks, thanks, thanks if you are reading this!

♡ Alsooooo, thanks to Morgan at Morgan is Reading Again for being all around amazing. I love they’re blog and am looking forward to catching up on all the posts she has written that I’ve missed!

♡ Thanks to Cherelle at A Bolt out of the Book for always being so supportive and spreading the book blog love. Happy one year blogiversary!!

♡ Thank you Maria at The Character Study for the shout out, I truly enjoy your blog and seeing the many different books that you are reading and creative posts you write!

Thanks for coming back and reading! I am looking forward to getting new recommendation lists and TBRs up to the blog soon. For now, I’m reading Northanger Abbey and trying to get to my goal of 100 books read in 2021. Six more to go, I think I can do it…what are you reading or looking forward to reading before the new year?

September Wrap-Up

Hello there, here I am again with another wrap-up. In September I inadvertently read mostly all horror once again. One of my reading goals of 2021 was to read more from the genre since I had only read a couple and it looks like I’ve definitely checked that off my list. So, let’s get into it!

The Shining by Stephen King ★★★★★ : Full review here. I really loved this book for some reason. I may read some more Stephen King now, but I’m still on the fence on that one.

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware ★★★★☆ : I randomly decided to read this book and ended up finishing it in one night. A standard thriller, but I enjoyed it immensely. Maybe it’s because I haven’t read a thriller in a while and don’t have much to compare it to, but I loved how atmospheric and somewhat predictable it was.

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones ★★★☆☆ : ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. It took SO much of my brainpower to get through this one. Full review here.

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark ★★★★☆ : Solid horror novella. The important question: will there be some sort of sequel???

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle ★★★☆☆ : The attempt to subvert the conventions of Lovecraft fell a bit flat with the lack of depth to many characters. Although I liked this story, I wanted more from it.

Goddess of Filth by V. Castro ★☆☆☆☆ : This was just so bad. I rarely say that about a book, but I truly didn’t like anything about it.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz ★★★★☆ : Ok…I was so surprised at how this one *didn’t hit* the same way as when I first read it. If I read it for the first time ever at this current stage in my life I would probably give it a 3.5 versus the five stars plus endless tears I gave it when I first read it. I still love these characters and what they did for me when I first read it, but the writing style wasn’t as impactful to me this time around. I’m still excited to read the new sequel finally coming out this month though so we can see where Aristotle and Dante are in their future!

Two of my favorite TV shows ever are The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor. Midnight Mass was written and created by the same person, which meant I absolutely had to watch it. It was eerie and disturbing in all my favorite ways, with a hint of hopefulness peeking through. It didn’t reach the level of love I have for the other two shows, but it was still a good time. It also freaked me out as a former Catholic school student still afraid of lots of things that were ingrained in me as a kid…yeah.

So it seems that my blog has temporarily become something of a horror blog, which I’m fine with for now. I have a few other books on my shelf that I am hoping to get to in October, including some non-horror books. XOXO,The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina, The Death of Jane Lawrence, and The Exorcist (the last of which I am scared, but curious to read). I’m still working on finishing Dune, which I’ve been sloooowly reading for about three weeks, but I’m liking it so far. What are you reading/looking forward to reading this month? Hope you are having a lovely start to October!

August 2021 Wrap-Up || Lots of Comics, Lots of Horror

Hello again! I took a bit of a break in July from a lot of things. Which may or may not be linked to me downloading TikTok. Because of that, I only ended up reading one book in July, which was The Bell Jar. I have to say, that might not have been the best decision I’ve ever made considering it was my birthday month and summer- my least favorite season. But that’s all done, and I’m finally back with some more bookish content. So here is all the stuff that I read in the month of August!

In the Miso Soup by Ryū Murakami, Ralph McCarthy (Translator) ★★★☆☆ : I 100% do not recommend this book for people not already into horror novels or movies. Ever since getting interested in the world of Japanese horror last year, I have been wanting to pick up a book by  Ryū Murakami . It definitely did live up to the claim that it was shocking and generally vile. Loneliness and isolation permeates every crevice of this novel and the mood of it all made me feel very weird (and perhaps a bit queasy) for the couple of nights I read it. I did “enjoy” reading it and slowly discovering what was happening, but beyond shocking, especially with a certain scene (major warning for gore), it felt like there was something missing.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson ★★★★★ : This was my favorite read of August and was a story that lingered in my mind throughout the month. While I don’t think Shirley Jackson is for everyone, her brand of meandering, quiet horror is one that I absolutely love. The line, “Journeys end in lovers meeting,” continues to echo in my mind along with all the possible meanings that it could have in the context of this story. The loneliness that the main character, Eleanor, experiences was so viscerally identifiable in myself…I just want to read it again as soon as possible and visit those creaking halls of Hill House once again.

Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia ★★★☆☆ : ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley.  Goodreads Review

Lobizona by Romina Garber ★★1/2☆☆ : Unfortunately, I really didn’t enjoy this one. There were so many plotholes, too many on-page sports games, unbelievable insta-love. The beginning chapters were intruiging and I liked where it was going, but didn’t love where it ended up.

Hunger by Roxane Gay &  I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown: Memoirs are hard to review, but these were solid and offered a valuable perspective different from my own. I’m glad I finally read these memoirs and would highly recommend the audiobooks of them!

Lovesickness by Junji Ito, Jocelyne Allen (Translator)  ★★★★☆ | Uzumaki by Junji Ito, Yuji Oniki (Translator) ★★★★☆ : These were solid, freaky horror stories by the infamous Junji Ito. There are some images from his mangas that will probably live in my head forever and most of them are from Uzumaki. Yikes.

The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys by Gerard Way , Shaun Simon , Becky Cloonan (Illustrator) ★★★☆☆ : I got deep into reigniting my tween fascination with Gerard Way last month, which of course included reading/watching a bunch of stuff he created (as well as breaking out my Gash Urban Decay eyeshadow that he used during the Black Parade tour). Anyway, this is a graphic novel featuring the world created for My Chemical Romance’s concept album, Danger Days. It was honestly a bit of a letdown. There was a lot going on here…I’m still not sure how I feel about it because it was so all over the place. I still love you, Gerard.

Blue is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh ★★★☆☆ : This was alright. It was a quick read, but I wish we would have been given more. I feel like that’s the case with a lot of graphic novels, so maybe the problem is just me needing to alter my expectations when reading them.

August was quite odd and I’m glad to finally be living in the month of September. It’s basically Halloween. I’m hoping to carve out some time to focus a bit more on this blog and check out other blogs for some reading inspiration, so let me know what your favorite read was last month or what you are reading right now. Thanks for reading! ♡

 

June 2021 Wrap-Up

I’ve tried writing this post about three times and feel less and less motivated each time since June wasn’t the most exciting reading month for me. There were lots of non-book related changes life last month and I couldn’t sit down and concentrate on a book for too long…which isn’t a bad thing.

I’m slowing down on reading a bit in general (in a good way). After three years of reading a lot of books every month, I think that the pressure I placed on myself to stuff as many stories into my mind as possible is waning. I’ll still be reading, but I think I’m finally getting out of book escapism as a form of dealing with loneliness and all that. I’ll still be reading as much as my brain can concentrate on, which may be 2 books or 10 books, but the self-induced pressure has slackened a bit. I’m also turning 25 tomorrow, so that also might be why I’m feeling like I want to Change My Life™. Maybe I’ll be back to normal in a few days, who knows. ANYWAY…

Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann, Illustrated by Kerascoët

This graphic novel was so wild that I had to call my mom and explain to her everything that was happening as I read it. It was disturbing and weird and I really loved it. If you haven’t heard of this one, here’s my pitch: Cute little creatures emerge from the dead body of a young girl and must survive the wilderness and one another. If you aren’t into blood and gore and generally morbid things, maybe steer clear of this one.

Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Bridgertons, #4) by Julia Quinn

And my award for one of my most disappointing reads of 2021 goes to this installment of the Bridgerton series! I was super excited to read more about Penelope, as she is my favorite character from the series. But alas, I ended up extremely bored by her and her entire relationship with Colin. Oh, Colin! He had so much potential as a character and a love interest, and it was all completely squandered. What a dull couple…what a boring story. What a drag. I’m still going to continue the series, but it continues to disappoint me in new and infuriating ways.

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

I was having a fun time reading the first third of this book, but as the story got more and more convoluted, I became less and less invested. I wish we would have been given a lot more information about many of the characters, including the main character, Jess. They didn’t seem as real as they could have been and there were so many little threads left hanging and unresolved by the end of the story. I’m glad I read it, but it was a somewhat disappointing.

The Overnight (Fear Street #3) by R.L. Stine

Not much to say about this one. Ridiculous, campy, trashy, amazing. All the things I like in a short slasher kinda book.

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

I absolutely loved loved loved the first story in this collection, Tower of Babylon, but the rest didn’t do much for me. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood.

All the time I spent not reading, I was listening to music while doing nothing in particular. Here are some of the songs I had on repeat last month.

This song is Ryan Gosling…Ryan. Gosling. That man. Unmatched.

I watched one of my favorite movies, Me Without You, this month once again (because I required cinematic guidance) and this song was stuck in my head for many days after.

I’ve been listening to this album nonstop. Always a sucker for some melancholy, ghostly music about doomed love!

That’s about it for now! I’m currently gearing up for whatever my actual quarter life crisis has in store for me…we’ll see but I think it’s going to be a good year.

 

May 2021 Wrap-Up || A Bunch of Books & a Dash of Romance

May was quite a busy month for me, but I was also able to read quite a few books from a bunch of different genres. While I didn’t post last month, I did read a lot. The trade-off was worth it, because I was able to read many books I’ve been wanting to read for ages like I’ll Be The One and Blood Promise (which was truly a wild ride from start to finish)!

• Eat the Mouth That Feeds You by Carribean Fragoza  ★★★★☆ || Really weird. I loved it.
• I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee ★★★☆☆ || Loved the message and tone of the book, but the writing style was not my favorite. Too simplistic/unrealistic of a book for me, but that’s just me. I’m not the target audience here!
• Islands of Decolonial Love: Stories and Songs by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson  ★★★★☆ || I don’t think I was able to digest it completely, but will revisit it in the future.
• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid  ★★☆☆☆ || Yikes. Review here.
• Once Upon an Eid edited by S.K. Ali and Aisha Saeed ★★★★☆ || This was so cute and made my little heart glow.

• Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo  ★★★★☆ || I couldn’t stop thinking about it once I finished.
• Blood Promise (Vampire Academy, #4) ★★1/2☆☆ || What even was this book…
• The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal  ★★★☆☆
• Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century edited by Alice Wong 
• More to the Story by Hena Khan  ★★★★☆ || So heartwarming, I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it.
• Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1) ★★★☆☆ Reread

I had so much fun reading historical romances this month despite the rollercoaster of ratings. I’m slowly working my way though the Bridgertons series…it’s wild and weird and not at all my favorite historical romance series, but I can’t stop. This genre of books are basically the literary form of novellas (as in soap operas) with all the tropes and wild drama and I live for them.

• Scandal in Spring (Wallflowers, #4) by Lisa Kleypas  ★★★★★ || I don’t know why, but I loved this book.
• Cold-Hearted Rake (The Ravenels, #1) by Lisa Kleypas ★★☆☆☆ || The heroine of the story was not it for me.
• The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn (Bridgertons, #2)  ★★★★☆ || My favorite Bridgerton book so far despite how annoying Anthony was.
• An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn (Bridgertons #3) ★★★☆☆ || Kinda cute but kinda boring.

I discovered two artists new to me this month that I am just a little obsessed with. Måneskin and Olivia Rodrigo’s albums have been on repeat since May. Can’t. Stop. Listening.

I’m basically in love with every member of Måneskin, but I also want to be them all/own their entire wardrobes. I mean…look at them. This is one of my favorite songs of theirs. Some songs from Olivia Rodrigo’s album, Sour, also reminded me so much of pop punk from my middle school days. Specifically “good 4 you”. Major “Misery Business” vibes!

Hope you are having a good start to June. I personally can’t wait for summer to be over even though it hasn’t even officially started. I impatiently await the fall…where are you pumpkins and weather below 100 degrees fahrenheit?! Nevada weather is killin’ me!!

March 2021 Wrap-Up

Hello again! So here I am, a month after my previous wrap-up… The slump that I talked about last post continued to exist in March and resulted in only three books read. That’s the least amount of books I have read in a month in two years! I think that my brain just needed a break.

It’s been a whole year since the start of the pandemic and I am extremely lucky to be finally getting my first vaccine today. I’m grateful that there is some kind of end in sight. I spent this month talking to new people in my city on Bumble BFF (a rendition of Bumble that’s just for making friends…I am desperate for friends), cleaned up my Animal Crossing island a bit, and spent lots of time with family and virtual time with friends. The book and accidental blog hiatus therefore, didn’t end up being a total bust. Anyways, let’s jump into quick reviews of the books that I did get to in March.

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare | ★★★★☆

I reread Chain of Iron in preparation for the release of its sequel (which I put aside temporarily due to previously mentioned reading slump) and ended up liking it a little less than I previously did. It was still fun and quintessentially Cassandra Clare angsty, but I couldn’t rate it the five stars I gave it last year considering how repetitive she is with her characters. Don’t get me wrong, I want everything she writes, but she needs to shake it up a little.

Dominicana by Angie Cruz | ★★1/2☆☆

My cousin and I have our own little book club and this was last month’s book. We both listened to it on audio and we both didn’t really like it. There were a lot of things that missed the mark here for me. I think someone who has not read many immigrant stories might like this more, but as someone who has read and heard quite a few, it was pretty basic. Things that could have been examined and discussed more just were not and left me wanting more. *Cough* The fact that she is FIFTEEN and going through all of these horrible things and is basically being preyed upon by two grown men!

Not all immigrant stories are the same, but this had to be one of the most surface-level ones that I have read so far. If I don’t think about it too much, it was an alright book, but I feel like it could have been so much better. (This review was kind of mean I’m so sorry. Also check out the content warnings, but here are a few: rape, domestic violence, alcoholism.)

Fantastic Tales by Iginio Ugo Tarchetti | ★★★★☆

I randomly picked this one up because the blurb intrigued me. Translated Italian gothic short stories from the 1800s? Sign me up! I really enjoyed a few of these stories, it served me just what I wanted at the time. It was also interesting reading about the author and reasons why he may not be as well known in literature, as well as the translation work that he did which sometimes meandered into straight up plagiarism. A surprising read that made me thing about life and death quite a bit…I am glad I picked it up.

Here is my April monthly spread. I’m really feeling the possibility of Spring this year and I’ve been very into the idea of Cottagecore things – hence this random collection of things. Currently longing for a long dress and a flower field to roam.

I am going back to my mood reading basics and picking books from my shelf that I want to read when I want to read them. This month though, I will definitely be finishing these three books.

Islands of Decolonial Love is my and my cousin’s family book club pick for April and one that has been on my TBR since I saw Thunderbird Woman Reads, one of my favorite booktubers, talking about it. The Final Revival of Opal and Nev was one of my most anticipated books of 2021 and so far I’m really enjoying it. I highly recommend it for readers who like Taylor Jenkins Reid! I am also continuing my read-through of the Lisa Kleypas Wallflowers series with Scandal in Spring. I’ve been reading each book during the season that they are titled and this is finally my last installment. It’s been almost a year since my entrance into the wonderful world of historical romance with the first book in the series and oh what a time it’s been!

It feels good to be back here writing, I am going to try to get back to weekly posting this month! *Fingers crossed* Thanks for coming back to read my blog after this month of unannounced hiatus. Follow me on Instagram to keep in touch. I don’t use it much, but I’m hoping to work on it more this month. Cheers to a wonderful April!

February Wrap-Up || In a Bit of a Slump

So, I have finally sat down to finish up my February wrap-up! These past couple weeks I have not been able to concentrate on much of anything related to books. (Shoutout to audiobooks for being the main reason I’ve read anything!) The dreaded slump has indeed induced itself upon my brain. I’m really trying to get over it and focus, but with March marking an entire year of this worldwide pandemic, I’m not really counting on it anytime soon. I’m trying to give myself a bit of a break. We’ll see how that works out! For now, here are the books I read last month plus some other little tidbits.

Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto Moore: This is not a book for everyone considering how truly bizarre it is. I randomly picked up this short sci-fi novella from the library stacks and devoured it in one night. Subversive and weird and completely amazing! It reminded of the obsession and fanaticism that can come with loving music and the wild, sometimes even violet passion of crowds at concerts I’ve been to. It made me miss live music in a really weird way.

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers: I. Love. This. Book. Check out my full review here.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn (Legendborn #1): I buddy-read this book with Liza at The Inharmonious Heroine and I’m super glad we chose this book. The depth of this story, the commentary on class and race woven into the systems of magic…mindblowing to be honest. My one main gripe was the romance, but please ignore me and read this book because it is truly amazing.

Concrete Rose (The Hate U Give #0) : I don’t want to spoil anything about this, but it was very refreshing and I enjoyed reading a book from the perspective of Starr’s dad.

Familiar Things by Hwang Sok-yong, translated by Sora Kim-Russell: Another random pickup from the library that turned out to pleasantly surprise me. This short book follows a young boy and his mom as they adjust to moving and working at Flower Island, Seoul’s vast landfill. I was enthralled reading this story and may or may not have shed some tears for these characters. A truly thought-provoking read.

Gray Hair Don’t Care by Karen Booth (Never Too Late #1): A light, fluffy read that may or may not have been enhanced by me casting Keanu Reeves as the love interest in my mind. I mean look at that cover! It is so him.

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade: I have never actually read fanfiction, but this book made me want to. I enjoyed it, even if I couldn’t exactly buy that anyone other than another celebrity would be totally cool as a cucumber dating an actor on the hottest show on television. The thing I most enjoyed about this romance was the deeper discussion of parental relationships and accepting oneself when maybe a parent doesn’t.

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado: Hmmmm this was a tough one for me to rate because while I really enjoyed it at the start, I felt like several aspects of the story could have been developed more. I also didn’t know this was a romance-heavy book, so that’s my fault.

Breathless by Beverly Jenkins (Old West #2): (3.5) I liked this, just not as much as the first in the series. I’m excited to see how I feel about the next book, though!

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo: I read this for the show, but it seemed pretty basic to me and I was bored… I’m not sure if I’ll continue the series or just watch the show on it’s own for the SoC crew.

No Ratings

The Magical Language of Others by E. J. Koh and Floating in a Most Peculiar Way by Louis Chude-Sokei: I didn’t rate these books as they are both memoirs. They were quite impactful though, with some tough subjects so beautifully written. I would really recommend listening to short memoir audiobooks, they are a great way to quickly learn about different cultures and people outside of your own experiences.

Here’s my journal spread for the month of March! My investment in a mini ruler has really upped my calendar game! I’m trying to put to use all of my stickers and stationary. Everything pictured is from Daiso, Kinokuniya Books, and Violette Stickers. I will never not be grateful to have so many stationary options easily available where I’m from.

Yes, I finally jumped onto the Julie and the Phantoms train and I am nothing short of obsessed. Where’s the merch? Where’s the Julie and the Phantoms glitter t-shirts and canvas pencil cases?! I want Camp Rock level merchandise to satiate my need to endlessly represent my love of this show and all of its characters. Just kidding…kind of. But really, when will this show be renewed?! When?!?!?

I am late to the Downton Abbey train as well, but oh how I’m glad that I can just watch every season one after the other. I used to think this was just another English period piece, but I have come to the conclusion that I am, in fact, a glutton for any and all period pieces. I don’t know what I’ll do once I’ve finished it, it’s just so so good! Perhaps just find another period drama to become obsessed with.

Right now I am desperately trying to read more than one chapter of Chain of Iron a day, which is annoying considering how much I have anticipated it’s release. Hopefully this slump leaves me soon. Sitting down and actually writing this post is seeming to help restart my brain a little! What book are you currently reading? Do you have any other period drama suggestions for when I finish Downton Abbey? How are you doing in general? Let me know, I’d love to hear!

 

 

January 2021 Wrap-Up || Lots of books, my journal, & more

I can’t be bothered to write a proper introduction to this post. January was a long month, but a pretty chill start to 2021 for me. I hope you had a good one and if not, I hope next month is better. Let’s just jump in, shall we?

A Mind Spread Out on the Ground by Alicia Elliott : Wow. This was a phenomenal, gut-wrenching collection of essays from a Haudenosaunee author. A must-read.

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers  : Honey Girl healed me, renewed me, clasped me in its warm embrace. I have a full review coming soon, but please read this when it comes out on February 23rd!

The Office of Historical Corrections: A Novella and Stories by Danielle Evans: This collection will grab you by the shoulders and shake you. I was absolutely enthralled and will be thinking about these stories for a long time. There were some pretty shocking scenes, so look up detailed content warnings if you are interested.

The Murders of Molly Southbourne (Molly Southbourne, #1) by Tade Thompson: Lots of weirdness, some body horror, and a dash of violence. I really dig weird books like this.

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed: Stories by Mariana Enríquez: Super disturbing, but worked? // Goodreads Review

The Thirteen Problems (Miss Marple, #2) by Agatha Christie: I loved this and I’m ready for more Agatha Christie mysteries. // Review

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allend : My most surprising read of the month, a historical fiction taking place in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. I learned so much and would highly recommend the audiobook. // Goodreads Review

Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour: What a wild ride of a book. If you like movies like Sorry to Bother You or The Wolf of Wall Street, this here book is for you. // Review

Shiver: Selected Stories by Junji Ito: I don’t know what to say about these horror mangas. They are odd, gross, violent, gory…and I couldn’t look away. I’m glad I finally read them instead of watching/listening to narrations of the stories, which I’ve been doing for years.

Tomie by Junji ito: I liked this collection less than Shiver (above) because it was super repetitive. Glad I finally read it though.

Devil in Winter (Wallflowers #3) by Lisa Kleypas: I liked this historical romance at the start despite it’s questionable premise, but it got progressively boring. The first book in this series is the only one I really liked at this point.

The Dark Forest (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #2) by Cixin Liu: UGH. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!! The first book in this series, The Three Body Problem, is one of my favorites, but this sequel flopped for me. // Review

The Foxhole Court (All for the Game #1) by Nora Sakavic: This was ridiculous, but kind of worked? Maybe? Not really. But kind of. // Review

A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers #1) by Brigid Kemmerer: I think YA fantasy is just not for me (with a few exceptions).

Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy, #2) by Deborah Harkness: The wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff made ZERO sense. I can’t get back the time I spent reading this book and yet I still want to know what happens in the third book. // Review

The Raven King (All for the Game, #2) by Nora Sakavic: No comment. I am a glutton for punishment. My curiosity is stronger than my will.

The King’s Men (All for the Game, #3) by Nora Sakavic: Ok but one comment. I can see how the source material is the basis for a fandom that has grown beyond it. I see how time away from it can give the characters a Vaseline lense glow. I just…I couldn’t get past SO MANY THINGS. I am obsessed with how obsessed people are about this series.

Stats

Library Audiobooks: 7 || Library Physical: 1 || Library e-Book: 5 || Owned: 3 || ARCs: 1

I wanted to watch a K-Drama and somehow accidentally ended up picking one about books and people who work at a publishing house. I am in love with every single character in this drama except for the main ones. They can go.

 

My best friend and I watched this together online in one night. ONE. NIGHT. Who knew a show about super rich Asians would take us on a wild, emotional ride. I need a second season ASAP.

Not much has been happening in my life other than work. I’ve been reading, hanging out with my cat, trying to exercise somewhat regularly, and enjoying the sunsets from my window. I’m trying to cherish the little things.

I figured that I would start posting my monthly journal spreads since some of you enjoyed seeing my journal setup this month. Maybe it will give you a little inspiration! Stickers are from this company (their Etsy has free US shipping, though).

I just wanted to thank everyone who has read (or skimmed) any post of mine, given me shout-out, or followed me this month. Every single like, comment, and mention has made me feel more connected to others during such a weird time and I appreciate it so much. Cheers to a pretty good first month of January and an even better February!

December 2020 Wrap-Up

Cheers to finally getting through 2020! I was a bit absent this past month because I was trying to get to my goal of 150 books read in the year. Luckily, I finished my 150th book right on time, a few hours before the new year. Here are all of the books that I read in December as I raced to my finish line!

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: What a weird book to read while in the midst of an actual real-life pandemic. Don’t read this if you don’t want to add to any anxiety you may have surrounding the current pandemic. Do read this if you want a thrilling, page-flipping, beautiful book about human connection, survival, and hope. I am going to be reading up on how to survive in the wilderness asap…definitely a fitting favorite book of 2020.

To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer: This is now one of my favorite middle grade reads and one I would highly recommend to listen to on audiobook. It was so adorable and I loved how everything that happens pieces itself together by the end to create a beautiful story of found family and friendship.

Us Against You (Beartown #2) by Fredrik Backman: Fredrik Backman is the master of character development. I liked this book even more than Beartown, which I read last year and rated 4 stars. I cried, I gasped, I laughed. His characters are so vibrant, it’s as if they are real people.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux: This is the first book in a long time that I couldn’t put down and read into the wee hours of the morning. Admittedly, the first half was quite slow. The second half, however, blew me out of the water. It was such an intricately woven mystery in which everything had a purpose and every character had their role. If you are looking to read classics, but are put off by difficult language and plots, maybe try this one out.

A Dead Djinn in Cairo (Fatma el-Sha’arawi, #1) by P. Djèlí Clark: A solid fantasy novella. I liked reading a fantasy that is concise rather than endlessly meandering like many fantasies tend to be. I’ll definitely be continuing this series to see where it goes.

Mangos and Mistletoe by Adriana Herrera: I read this novella because I was seeing it everywhere. The cozy baking show vibes were perfect for the holidays, I really enjoyed this one.

All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1) by Martha Wells: I finally jumped onto the Murderbot train and I’m glad I did. I too, now am a Murderbot stan.

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan: This was one of my favorite books as a child and it was still just as beautiful as I remember.

Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown: Wow. This book hits hard. I would recommend looking up trigger warnings before reading if you aren’t sure about it. I don’t even know how to talk about this story. Unlike anything I’ve read and so, so beautiful.

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur: Cute, cute! I enjoyed the astrology angle of this book and the lovely characters.

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro: I couldn’t decide whether to rate this a 3 or a 4. I didn’t enjoy reading it at all really, but the themes of the story came together to weave a beautiful message. I feel like given that, it is more of a 3.5 or 4. Just not the most entertaining read.

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno Garcia: Another book I wasn’t sure to rate a 3 or a 4. Mexican vampires, action, gore, and a vaguely cyberpunk world. I enjoyed this book up until one very particular point. *Spoiler alert* Sometimes a book doesn’t need to have romance in it. The romance ruined the story for me. Can’t we have more friendships in books that don’t lead to romance?! Please?!

Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier: The cover and the fact that this book takes place in my home of Los Angeles are what made me pick up this book, but the story was completely not my thing. I didn’t like or care about any of the one-dimensional characters. The subject of alcoholism was also used as a plot device in a pretty poor manner in my opinion. The entire story could have done with more development and editing. 

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn: I wanted to read this book before watching the Netflix show to compare the two, despite horrible reviews. I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into due to other reviews I read, but yeah…it was bad. It was an okay romance until that part. The show handled the situation in a much different way that was not nearly as horrible as what happened in the last few chapters of the book. Check out content warnings for details.

Books I didn’t rate because I couldn’t gather my thoughts into a coherent review:

A Promised Land by Barack Obama: Glad I read it, but it took me ages. Lots and lots of facts and information. I prefer Michelle’s book/style of writing.

Eartheater by Dolores Reyes: I really don’t know what to say about this one.

The Mueller Report Illustrated: The Obstruction Investigation by The Washington Post: An interesting, concise representation of what the Mueller Report was all about.

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman: Ugh. I definitely shed a tear or two reading this.Overall, I had a pretty great reading month. Four books I rated five stars, which just might be a record for 2020. Overall, I feel like 2020 was the year I expanded my reading horizons while also honing in on my tastes to choose books that I know (for the most part) I will enjoy.

I’m excited for all the reading I’ll be doing in 2021 and already have my TBR for January going. I’m currently reading Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas, a historical romance, and will soon be starting The Last Wish, the first book in The Witcher series. What are the first books you will be reading this year? Let me know in the comments!