As an Asian identifying woman, the recent Asian hate events have hit pretty close to home. While I’ll say that I’m privileged or perhaps lucky that I haven’t had to face much discrimination, micro-aggressions are something you simply have to learn to live with (especially in a country like Australia where racism is generally subtle and indirect. So today, like many other people online, I’ll be advocating for Asian representation by telling you guys some of my favourite books by Asian authors! I’ve tried to get one in every genre that I typically read and there are plenty more books by Asian authors that I hope to read in the…
Sustainable Reading Tips (that aren’t just ‘read more e-books’)
As I’ve gotten older and become more educated on climate change and the impact that humans are having on the environment, I’ve become a lot more aware of how I spend and utilise my resources and how they can affect the earth. First I got myself into minimalism, then most recently, I’ve been doing more research on ways to be more sustainable in my reading hobbies as well. In most posts out there, the number one tip tends to be: get a kindle or any kind of e-reader and save the planet by not buying physical books. While that’s great and all; despite not having any aversions to reading on…
Books I’m Itching To Re-Read In 2021
One of the reasons why I want to get through my TBR so badly is that I don’t tend to reread much. It makes me feel like I’m missing out on the unread books I’ve yet to touch and I end up not re-reading books, pretty much ever. This year, since my TBR is still a staggering 70 books, I probably won’t be rereading much but it doesn’t mean I don’t think about doing so often. So today, I’m gonna chat a bit about the books I really want to reread! Strange The Dreamer & Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor This book is what I call my absolute favourite…
The 5 Stages Of A Reading Slump
It has come to my attention that I am indeed now…in a slump. So I thought I’d process this in a different way and try to recognise each stage that led me to this. Most people have suffered through reading slumps and it’s okay. As book bloggers, we need to be more transparent about the culture of reading books all the time that isn’t super accurate for everyone. FYI This isn’t supposed to be super serious – if you need a proper diagnosis, please see your GP. Stage 1: The Catalyst No matter what, there always tends to be a catalyst. Something that sets you into the reading slump. In…
Growing As A Reader: YA Books, Book Ratings & Genre Shifts
Mid-year this year, it will have been 4 years since I started blogging – and that alone feels surreal. But what’s most interesting and what I’ve been reflecting on a lot recently is how I’ve changed and grown as a reader. When I first started this blog, I was still at university, a bright 18-year-old that published this blog a week after her 19th birthday. My life has changed considerably since then. Not only am I getting old at 23 this year, but I’ve found that I’ve started to enjoy different things when it comes to my reading. So, today I thought I’d talk a bit about how much my…
I Must Confess [but I still believe] | My Book Blogger Confessions
I know it’s been a hot minute since I blogged so I thought I’d come back stronger than ever by roasting none other than myself! When it gets to this time of year, I think it’s always good to reflect and today – I’m airing out my own dirty laundry and owning up to my blogger confessions. I’m not proud but let this be more appropriate than the viral YouTuber apology videos. I’m the Worst Book Club Member I know. It’s shameful but I find it super hard to commit to a book club. For a lot of them, I’ll read the first book and then ditch it because I…
Avoiding Burnout, Life Update & What I’m Currently Reading
November has been a crazy month! The strict lockdown in Melbourne ended and we celebrating almost a month of no new COVID cases which is amazing. With lockdown easing, I’ve been able to go out and do things with my SO and we haven’t been at home as often (naturally). Unfortunately, because of being able to go out – y’know, have a somewhat sort of social life, and my favourite; being able to go shopping for things and just browsing (a small hobby of mine), I have been exhausted. My body and my mind are still getting used to not being cooped up in an apartment for months on end…
My Library Reservations | BIPOC, Asian & LGBTQ+ Picks
A couple of weeks ago, my local state government decided that from June 1st, that libraries could open again (Hurray!) to let people pick up reserved books. Since I had moved house, I quickly signed up online to my new local library and made a bunch of reservations for books I’ve been wanting to get my hands on for ages. Generally, these were books I’d been recommended from BookTube, close friends, Goodreads or just sequels to books I’d previously read. Truth be told, I wasn’t intending to specifically reserve library books with certain authors and representations ~ I was just reserving books I was genuinely interested in because I don’t…
The Need for Speed // Why Does Reading Speed Affect Us?
I guess you could say it’s natural and part of the society’s competitive nature that one could assume that if you’re good at something or that you at least enjoy it a lot, that you would do a lot of it. I think most of us may have felt it – that nagging guilty feeling that we could be reading more or that we’re not reading and/or finishing books fast enough. However, reading shouldn’t be a race but instead something to be enjoyed. It occurred to a week ago when I managed to get a friend to get a library card and borrow a book (bringing more people into the…
The Science Behind: Impulse Book Buying (We Have ALL Been There)
The Science Behind: Impulse Book Buying (We Have ALL Been There) I committed this crime last week. Book buying spontaneously after a hard day when I wasn’t feeling the best and I’m sure you’ve committed this awful crime too before. Whether it was in person at the bookshop smiling prettily at you or online when you saw something so beautiful or that had such a great bargain, you couldn’t resist. “Eh, I’ll save money next week.” “I totally deserve this. I did homework today” “The cover looks so pretty.” “What if my store runs out of stock?!” “This pre-order has so many goodies in it!” “THE DISCOUNT THO.” — trufflebooks…