penel:

Your support is much stronger than mine! I haven't been able to finish any interesting books for months:(

I’ve been struggling to finish the book I’m on now not because it’s boring but during this Christmas season I’ve been too busy to finish it.  It’s The Magi, a historical study of the magoi of Persia and other ancient kingdoms and their presence in Matthew. 

I have a stack of novels for the new year when hopefully I can block out more reading time. When I start fiction books I tend to read them voraciously and I don’t have time right now. Even my Dramaland viewing has been short films when I can squeeze one in. XD

 The Butterfly:

I’ve been struggling to finish the book I’m on now not because it’s boring but during this Christmas season I’ve been too busy to finish it.  It’s The Magi, a historical study of the magoi of Persia and other ancient kingdoms and their presence in Matthew. 

I have a stack of novels for the new year when hopefully I can block out more reading time. When I start fiction books I tend to read them voraciously and I don’t have time right now. Even my Dramaland viewing has been short films when I can squeeze one in. XD

I've bought a few books I found interesting and I hope, during spring semester -which is less busy for me- to find the time to read them!
Then I'll have something to share/post here :)

2024 - Best books each month: It was a pretty good reading year overall. Some of these are re-reads that made me fall in love with the books more than I once was as well. I feel as if I won't read  as often next year because it's time for me to take a break and I think I'll be busy. But who knows.

Wow what a month of books for me. I finished Lost You Forever by Tong Hua (also the writer of Scarlet Heart). I also reread Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao to prepare for its sequel Heavenly Tyrant (which I am currently reading!). And I finished another book by Nghi Vo from her Singing Hills Cycle novella series. 

What a story. I know this is not a book for everyone, Tong Hua's stories usually aren't. This is one of those "you either hate it or you love it," and luckily for me I loved it. Honestly, the differences between the drama and the book were also interesting in and of themselves. And revisiting scenes I loved in the drama in the prose was satisfying. One of my favorite scenes was better depicted in the drama, but I don't really mind. They two manifestations of the story had their own strengths and weaknesses, and in the end, I liked them both :) While people seem to be divided on how they feel about Xiaoyao, I really loved this multifaceted character who really feels life. She's fierce, willful, silly, afraid of pain, and genuinely wants to be loved. This was a fun book to read on the feeds as I ended up sharing quotes in MyBooks. 
Rereading Iron Widow felt kind of amazing. I'd forgotten what it was like to be so engrossed in a story that I'd be compelled to binge it. Obviously I had a great time rereading it. All of this was for the purpose of being able to seamlessly transition into Heavenly Tyrant. The book was a long time in the making and I'd forgotten details and characters over the years that I waited for the sequel. Very glad I reread Iron Widow as its made enjoying Heavenly Tyrant that much better. 
While I didn't like this as much as the previous book I read by Nghi Vo, this novella was still very much up my alley. A political drama with intriguing worldbuilding, all beneath layers of archiving. An interesting alternative vehicle for storytelling. 

Finally a book I could finish in a while and what the hell of a book. Easily a 5 of 5. Some might just call it an angry feminist book, but all the angryness is very justified in my opinion and who I am to judge anyway, it's time to listen ! Me as a male I can see my self being caught in some of the ways of thinking about what she's addressing in society and what's so wrong with it. It really made me reflect on myself. Even if it's from 2006, so much is still very relevant. It's basically a shame that since the 1970's not enough has changed in all the aspects she's talking about. If you read the book also, would be fun to share your thoughts about it!   

These were my January reads! I tried to read Left of Bang as well, but I struggle with non-fiction to begin with, and the manual/list format just didn't do it for me. Fight Right has been informative, but my favorite book this month was Cinder.  It's my second Marissa Meyer book. I love her world-building!

I struggled to reach my reading goals last year, so I am starting strong (for me) this year! It's tough finding time to read when I work full-time, have 2 young kids, and am also obsessed with dramas. 🤪

A Subtle Murder was just OK. I read it because I'm fascinated by murder mysteries and the 1920s. I don't know that I'll read more from the series, but it was all right. A Death in Vienna was the superior mystery book out of the two I read.


Interesting scholarly look at this element of the Nativity


This whodunit started out slow, but picked up speed as it went along, especially once a romance was revealed.  Was definitely a more inclusive story than I expected from an 1895 Oxford setting.  But  a pleasant surprise.

 The Butterfly:

Interesting scholarly look at this element of the Nativity


This whodunit started out slow, but picked up speed as it went along, especially once a romance was revealed.  Was definitely a more inclusive story than I expected from an 1895 Oxford setting.  But  a pleasant surprise.

If I ever find it, I'm definitely reading "Death it the Spires"!

 penel:

If I ever find it, I'm definitely reading "Death it the Spires"!

I don’t read a lot of mystery novels so I’m not sure how it stacks up.  It was written by a romance writer so it focuses on the friends’ relationships and estrangements as much as the mystery.  4.35 on Goodreads. 

Hello hello. I almost didn't make it in time to have a January book but I got it done! 

This month I read the last of Tomi Adeyemi's trilogy, Children of Anguish and Anarchy. I really liked the first book, liked most of the second book, and did not enjoy the third. Really unfortunate, but something about the characters and relationship dynamics just didn't feel fleshed out. Idk  I was really confused about how book 1 and 3 could be so different from each other in terms of feeling shallow or not. Maybe it was just too many war/battle scenes? Hoping for better works for February. I've got a lot on my PTR list so something has got to stick! Lol

Heyy everyonee!!

I really haven't had a lot of time to read because of school , assignments and tests and everything but recently I finished reading 'The housemaid' which is soon to be adapted into a series I think...I absolutely loved reading it and when I tell I was hookedd. The twist at the end was something I for one could never have imagined. Freida's book was so well-paced and interesting that I read it in just one sitting..If anyone has not read it, I would definitely recommend it..It also doesn't contain full on smut and for me it's just so perfectt<333

Easily one of the best reads ever and while I don't have a lot of time, I do have a lot on my TBR list..Some of the books I'm actually really looking forward to reading are:


I'm just so obsessed with Ann Liang's literary world..Though I haven't read her books, from what Ihave heard her books are like c-dramas on paper and that just had me hooked..I wish I had the time and money to read her books..And the covers are just soo prettyyy<333

 The Butterfly:

I don’t read a lot of mystery novels so I’m not sure how it stacks up.  It was written by a romance writer so it focuses on the friends’ relationships and estrangements as much as the mystery.  4.35 on Goodreads. 

That's a promising rating!

Finally got through the book I started in December - Handling Sin by Michael Malone.  (In my defense, it's a pretty long book!)  It took me about half of this (long) book to really get into it, but eventually I was on board.  Not sure the author meant for me to pretty much hate every single character for a good chunk of the novel, but that's what happened.  Once things were really set in motion plot-wise, and things started making a tiny bit more sense, the characters also became more bearable.  Ultimately I did end up enjoying this book quite a bit (thank goodness, because it took me a month to get through it).   This is one where patience is a virtue, both to get to know the characters and to let the very convoluted and zany plot unfold.

This is my third Michael Malone novel (I think) - the first one I ever read, years ago (Foolscap) got me wanting more, but none of his other books that I've read so far have reached that level for me.  I've got at least one more sitting unread on my shelf, though, so I am sure I'll try again :) I'd give this a 3.5/5.

In January I also finished A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro.

This is my fourth (?) Ishiguro novel, and I only found out after I read it that it's his first.  Well, there are definitely themes here that he revisited in later novels.  It's a short book, super quick read, and I am left a bit underwhelmed even though the twist was pretty shocking.  Later novels of his I would say are more subtle in that regard, I guess, lol.  This one felt like a cheap shot.  Still, it left me with lots of thoughts rattling around in my head, so it was definitely worth reading. 3/5

While strolling through bookstore this book got my attention. And I bought it without thinking too much. 

It attracted my attention due to mention of BTS. And the quote "Don't let your life get hurt by passerby."

 leafless7:

While strolling through bookstore this book got my attention. And I bought it without thinking too much. 

It attracted my attention due to mention of BTS. And the quote "Don't let your life get hurt by passerby."

I probably need to read this book 👀