A part of me still finds it hard to believe that June is already over because it means that it’s almost been one month since I’ve come to India! Since I’ve been here, there have been some really great moments but also challenging ones. It’s been so lovely to see one of my closest friends after years of not seeing each other—she has built a successful business for herself and it’s so awesome to see her thrive and be an absolute boss babe. I’ve really pushed myself out of my comfort zone and it’s been fun and nice to have someone to talk to face-to-face to reminisce and to talk about the future!
IT’S JUNE!? That’s what has been constantly repeating in my head since yesterday. Wild. Anyway, what was May? May was my birthday month and it was one of the best ones I’ve had in a while because I had online and offline friends that made me appreciate it more. I’m so thankful for all the friends I’ve made on here and I wanted to say that I appreciate you all so so much! 💜
Did April pass by in a blink and a blur for you too or was that just me? 😂 I travelled to Bali at the start of the month and I gotta be honest with you, nothing really stands out to me in April! I can’t recall doing much of anything this month except work, read, sitting by the pool and catching up with one of my besties every now and then. My insomnia hasn’t gotten better and I can count on one hand the number of times I fell asleep before 4AM but I can’t say I’m not used to it by now!
How has another month already come and gone?! March was… something. Half the month passed by too quickly and the other half could’ve passed faster. A good chunk of the month saw me drowning in work stress + insomnia but there were some good times to counter the not-so-fun moments!
I got exciting book mail from Goldsboro and Illumicrate!
My parents had their wedding anniversary on the 21st and it was dad’s birthday on the 30th!
It was a pretty great foodie-licious month with ramen, biryani and decadent melt-in-your-mouth cookies!
Another month has come and gone and honestly, good riddance to February!🙊
Hmm… I think it’s safe to say that February was kind of a shite month?Personally, things are much better now than they were mid-month. Globally, things definitely turned to shite towards the end of the month and my heart feels so heavy, especially with regards to what’s happening in Ukraine. Every day more and more people show their disrespecting asses with their whole gd chest on that freaking bird app and this month it has just been more tiring than usual. 😮💨
But on a more positive note… Here are a few good things that happened this month:
Well, now that the first month of 2022 is over, I wonder just how quickly the rest of the year will pass by? If it’s anything like 2021, it’ll be a blink! 😂 This was a pretty quiet month on the life front.
I very quickly got a consultancy gig from Jan-May. It’s twice a week and not a lot but at least I have a little something!
We had one major trip this month and that was coming back to Jakarta from Bali. I love our Bali house (I miss our pool!) but ah, it feels so good to be back with my fur babies and my books! 😍
I’m still obsessed with T.Swift and if I continue to obsessively listen to her music throughout the year, I’m pretty sure she’ll take top spot on my Spotify wrap up (again).
(SUGGESTED BY JILLIAN @ JILLIAN THE BOOKISH BUTTERFLY) Prompts: The book community is full of consumerism. People want to not just read their favourite books, but own them as well. Sometimes this can get…a little out of hand. How do you control your spending/buying books you don’t have time to read? Does setting a book buying ban work for you? How long do you usually ban yourself for?
Hello, friends! It’s been a while since I did a Let’s Talk Bookish post but I thought what better time to dive back into these posts than at the start of a new year, right?!
I can’t believe that it’s already the last day of December as I write this. How quickly time does fly! I’ve spent my month in Bali reunited with the parents in our newly renovated home. My sister has been with me and my brother recently joined us and for the first time in a very long time, it’s the five of us under one roof again. It’s been a little… overwhelming at times (lol) but it’s also been nice! 😊 We’ve been really lucky that the sun has been shining more than it has been raining which gives us time to soak up some vitamin D after a year stuck indoors.
This month was also my last month of work and… It was a bittersweet moment. Five years of my life with this organisation and its been tough a lot of the time but I know I’ve been lucky to have a well-paying job that allowed me to indulge in my pretty expensive love of books (especially pretty special edition ones)! 😂 Let’s hope 2022 brings something good my way on the employment front.
I ended up reading 26 books in December and all of them were romances. I’m not usually as a seasonal reader but apparently holiday romances have been my thing this month and I’m not mad about it at all! For the most part, I enjoyed most of the ones I read but there were a few duds that weren’t my jam or ended up being a let down (for me). I think this might be the most I’ve read out of any month this year and what a great way to end 2021, especially considering how weird my reading mood has been all year!
In terms of favourites, this month saw me reading two of my favourites for the year: The Love Hypothesis and Battle Royal! I loved these books so much and both book couples are some of my new favourites. There are so many feel good and swoontastic moments in these books and I can’t stop gushing about them! 😍
Wow, why does it feel like I just wrote my September wrap up… Yesterday? Anyone else or is it just me? 😂
I don’t know what happened in November. I feel like it was a pretty weird month as I fell into a bit of a funkier mood and lost motivation when it came to work, which eventually bled into pretty much all other aspects of my life. How dramatic! 🙈 But I honestly didn’t do much and nothing of note happened. I baked a bit, I ate at a restaurant for the first time since the second wave hit Indonesia in mid-2021, got obsessed with playing Zelda BOTW, and of course, obsessed over Taylor’s Version of Red. Better Man is my current favourite track from the vault, mostly cos the lyrics hit so close to home in maybe not the best ways, but as much as I’m an emotional reader, I’m also an emotional listener and this has me wrapped up in my feels!
I think I read 20 books in November! I feel like maybe I read a romance or two and didn’t note them and uh, forgot? 😂 Brain fog was kinda my November… I thought I got a little bit of my reading mojo back at one point but no, my reading mood has still been a little erratic and slump-ish even though I stopped gaming for a week+ thinking it would help (don’t think it did).
Surprisingly though I had THREE 5-star reads with a new favourite fantasy and a new favourite small-town romance series to add to my faves list! I think if I had to pick my favourite of the three, it’d be The Hand of the Sun King by J.T. Greathouse, which is an amazing fantasy debut. That said, Brighton Walsh had me wanting to set up in Havenbrook asap, please! 😂 So, I guess I really can’t choose between my 5-star reads? LOL!
My name is Wen Alder. My name is Foolish Cur.
All my life, I have been torn between two legacies: that of my father, whose roots trace back to the right hand of the Emperor. That of my mother’s family, who reject the oppressive Empire and embrace the resistance.
I can choose between them – between protecting my family, or protecting my people – or I can search out a better path . . . a magical path, filled with secrets, unbound by Empire or resistance, which could shake my world to its very foundation.
But my search for freedom will entangle me in a war between the gods themselves…
Also, a quick update on my #NetgalleyNovember BINGO reading: I read 6 out of 9 titles, which is a little sad but also, ngl, I’m pretty chuffed to have managed those six books! 😂 As my super funky reading mood continues I was pretty worried I’d struggle to finish even two books, so this is a win for me!
dinipandareads 