justanotherrey:
I read a lot this month. I was in a drama slump this month, so all that time was put into books. Overall, a pleasant reading month, have found a couple of favorites that would like to revisit and reread.

This actually sounds a lot like what ended up happening to me! Also, you have fantastic reading taste, wow. I remember adoring People We Meet on Vacation and I also read The Housekeeper and the Professor this month and gave it 4/5! 

Poison for Breakfast by Lemoney Snicket. -  Short, sweet, makes you really think towards the end, and just an overall great way to start the reading year. ( 3.5/5 )

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. - A quiet, beautiful story that kind of just sneaks up on you. ( 4/5 )

Beartown by Fredrik Backman. - A new favorite! Gosh Backman just can't disappoint. I read his book Anxious People last year and picked this up on a whim and just ... wow. It is so deceptively quiet, especially at first, and then it packs this punch and leaves you reeling. I cried. Also my book is now full of little post it tabs + underlines + annotations. The writing is just beautiful, I can't believe this is a translation. ( 5/5 )

Our Souls At Night by Kent Haruf - I just didn't like this. I think this is partially an "it's not you it's me" sort of situation since everyone I follow on Goodreads loves this book but it left me hating life and feeling really sad and empty, and not in the contemplative deep way I sometimes appreciate/welcome. I literally picked up the cheesiest kdrama I could after this just as a palette cleanser and to get me to stop thinking about this book. This was a book I had on my physical bookshelves and it's already been donated because no thanks I'm good. ( 2/5 )

The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente. - Y'all this was such a brilliant idea and it's so short but perfectly executed! We've heard of characters being "refrigeratored" aka killed off for manpain or to push another character (usually a male) storyline. Yeah, this is the refrigeratored characters's stories. It's the same stories you're probably familiar with, just her side. Even though they have different names, they're all inspired by characters you might already know (The first one being Gwen Stacy, one of them being Harley Quinn, etc.). Absolutely engaging from the first sentence. ( 4.5/5 )

 justanotherrey:
The Housekeeper and the Professor - Yōko Ogawa

An utterly beautiful novel about the mundane experience of creating bonds with the people you never expect to.
There's a lot of maths and the application of it towards nature and everyday life.

Glad you liked it too!

 sarabelles:
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. - A quiet, beautiful story that kind of just sneaks up on you.

I'm really happy about how much love this book gets!

 sarabelles:
I remember adoring People We Meet on Vacation and I also read The Housekeeper and the Professor this month and gave it 4/5!

These were 2 of my favs out of this month! Glad that you liked it too!


 sarabelles:
Beartown by Fredrik Backman. - A new favorite! Gosh Backman just can't disappoint.

I've been meaning to read both Anxious People and Beartown for a while! Will be picking it up soon. I have a good feeling about Fredrik Backman. 

 penel:
Glad you liked it too!

I gotta watch the movie adaptation too! How was it?

Hi there, fellow readers!

Taking this opportunity to wish everyone a happy lunar new year which starts tomorrow! :)

As for my reading update...

January 2022 - Completed: Diary of a Former Covidiot: Tales of Panic Buying, Surviving and Finding Humour during the Coronavirus Pandemic

I started this book in December last year as a source of light-hearted reading as it was quite a hectic month in terms of the festivities and also a number of fascinating dramas were on air.

It's an easygoing book that most folks could relate to, especially in my part of the world, about dealing with the pandemic and surviving the challenging lockdowns that were imposed, with a touch of humour in the storytelling.

February 2022: The Betel Nut Tree Mystery

For the coming month, I'll be continuing with book 2 of the Crown Colony series by Ovidia Yu, after completing the first book some time last year. It's back to the detective investigation genre again :)

Have a great month ahead and happy reading! XD

In January I read the two books I gave to my niece (11) and nephew (14) for the end of the year. As usual it's mainly in French.

The Adventure of Prince Atman by Sabrina Bezzah
We follow Atman, son of the king of El Ricaba. He's an arrogant and hateful character in many ways. He's sent in exile for seven years as a result of a spell cast on him. Throughout his journey, he discovers the real world, outside the royal cocoon, and steps back from his former privileges and behaviour. We see him being tested, growing and evolving in a world surrounded by secrets and magic.

The language was a bit formel, specially for my niece, but that's also the magic of books, they enrich our vocabulary (thanks to Mr. dictionary).

Vive le CM2 ! by Ségolène Valente
This is a funny and at the same time moving book which describes quite well the adventures that a 10-11 year old girl can have before becoming a teenager. It evokes the first feelings for boys, friendship. The story focuses on Camille and her friends but as my nephew read it he found similarities with what he experienced before starting middle school.
 justanotherrey:

I gotta watch the movie adaptation too! How was it?

Personally, I loved it! Beautiful cinematography and music, great cast and reserved, poetic story telling, close to the book's atmosphere.

 WandereR:
Hi there, fellow readers!

Taking this opportunity to wish everyone a happy lunar new year which starts tomorrow! :)

Happy lunar year, dear friend! Wishing for a year full of health, love and prosperity for you and your loved ones :)

 WandereR:
Taking this opportunity to wish everyone a happy lunar new year which starts tomorrow! :)

Happy New Year  dear fellow readers!!

Hey everyone! So I've still not been able to finish 1984 lol but i did started Night circus by Erin Morgenstern  on the side and I've not even finished reading chapter 1( hey ! I'm on hiatus which means i barely get time to read anything so i am slow ok ?)  but I'm loving it already ! This month i was able to finish only The love hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood which I've talked about before. Hopefully, i will finish Nigh circus or 1984 in next month. I was actually getting pretty invested in 1984 after i went back to it with low expectations. It's a good read if you stop expecting anything to happen lmao 

Hi there ! Being male I often read female books on purpose to get that side of perspective, especially korean or japanese authors. Recently I read the following:

Kim Jiyoung - Born 1982

I guess as it's a bestseller novel and got into a movie already, most will know it already...it kind of really opens your eyes on the problems not only Korean women/mothers go through in a society and how important it is to address and speak about all the issues that some would think have been overcome already...not the case...no wonder Korean birth rates are at an all time low...

Emi Yagi - Diary of a Void 

 ...set in Japan. A women telling her colleagues that she's pregnant (while she's not)...and all out of a sudden everybody becomes more nice...when I went to Japan for university you can really sense those annoying issues still stuck in some mens brain. Despite the serious topic also a fun read. I read in German, the title is even more funny: "Frau Shibatas geniale Idee" - "Frau Shibatas brilliant idea" :-)

Mieko Kawakmi - Heaven

A story of two bullied teenagers in Japan. Really depressive what those two undergoo everyday, yet they find some hope by writing each other letters, just those bullies won't stop...such a good manifest against bullying packed in a superb philosophical writing style.

Hope you gained some interest in those, arelady read them, share your opinion or can point me to other nice female authors' books from the region.


Jan 22 wrap up:
4.5/52/51/54/5

Happy Lunar Year everyone!! hope y'all stay safe and healthy this year <3

AFTER: i didn't know where the plot was moving the entire time. the cliffhanger ending saved the whole book for me and honestly, the cliffhangers of the series prevents me from dropping it altogether.

THE REVERSAL: i picked it from my school library becuz i couldn't find anything interesting (sucks to have a library smaller than my classroom). idk what i was expecting but it was boring but smh entertained me during boring classes.

AFTER WE COLLIDED: i have no idea what the author was thinking. I'm so frustrated by this book i have no words. WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS BOOK?! i have no idea. 

ACOTAR: hoping on to the hype train, i read ACOTAR. it took some time to get invested but then WOW. i started loving it from almost the last 200 pages or smth. worth the hype!!

as always, have a good read <3

Hello, I haven't been able to read much due to school but I recently read US THREE by Ruth jones

So the story is about three friends who have been together since they were 8 years old and sworn best friends till they're in college, later some things happened that break apart the trio, regardless of fallen friendship they accustomed to meet the question is will they be able to go back to being friends and that's the storyy in the latter half 

  It was a fine book, not the greatest but interesting enough to keep me going, Some of the characters and the events in this book are really unlikable and unfavorable but since it was a book I was about to look past it and sympathize with them i feel like if it was a drama with unlikable characters I wouldn't be hesitant to drop it just a thought that crossed my mind when i was rooting for the unlikeable characters.

spoilers about my  final thought  

i honestly think they shouldn't be friends they should have been kept apart they're not the greatest people for each other