November 27th-December 3rd, 2022

 The Sunday Post

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly or for a monthly wrap up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

#9 Another Boring Week

The cough still hadn't gone away, so yes, no Nutcracker for me and my mother. To be honest, I feel ambivalent about it, thus not sad nor happy. I guess its kind of a relief because first of all Nutcracker would have reminded me of my true love (namely that my true love's birthday was on December 24th, 1979, and he loved christmas stuff. Me, on the other hand, its foreign to me.) and I still wear mask, and I wear glasses, so if I were to wear mask, I couldn't wear glasses, and no I don't wear contacts, so yes, blurry dancing. I am also dreading the upcoming Monday thanks to my dear six year old son who seems to be having anxiety about going back to school. (I promised to be school visitor on Monday if he goes to school peacefully. Let's see if that will work...he also hadn't been to school in about two weeks.) Few days back I went out on a day, but I think its more of a wait and see or FWB than something real. Only time will tell. 

Last Week On The Blog

Notorious sorcerer by davinia evans

the monsters we defy by leslye penelope

This Week On The Blog: The Autodidacts By Thomas Kendall, The Bronze Drum By Phong Nguyen,margot by wendell steavenson

New Arrivals At Svetlana's reads and views: 

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 

(From The Book Date)

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn here at The Book Date.

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels or anything in those genres – join them.

So I'm done with Margot by Wendell Steavenson (Finishing up my first 2023 novel!) and have begun reading Empire of Exiles and am still continuing The Oleander Sword. I also decided to see if I can read some books without reading previous books in the series. I know its, well, sacrilege, but I figure I might return later to future books. 

Read:

 

175/480                                  23/378

Planned: 

 

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

How it works:

I assign each Tuesday a topic and then post my top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join me and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

You’ll find the schedule of upcoming TTT topics below so you can plan ahead. I’ll post a Linky here on the blog each week so you can link up your post (if you want). If you don’t have a blog, post your picks in the comment section below! Have tons of fun talking books and getting to know your fellow bloggers!

NOTE: If a weekly topic is listed as a “freebie”, you are invited to come up with your own topic. Sometimes I will give your topic a theme, such as “love”, a season, or an upcoming holiday. That just means that you can come up with any topic you want that fits under that umbrella.

You’re more than welcome to use the Top Ten Tuesday image I designed above (or any of my older/seasonal ones), or make your own that fits your site’s theme.

November 29: Cozy Reads (Share books that give off a cozy vibe, whether through atmosphere, setting, or some other factor. Please tell us why they’re cozy for you, too!)

1. Evelina by Fanny Burney: Its definitely odd that I would immediately think of this book, but I think mainly its because a relic from a happy time of my life, and book itself takes place in 1770s about coming of age and society in England. Supposedly Jane Austen used it for inspiration. 

2. Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa Yee: This is another comfort  read because there is this irresistible optimism that perhaps there are friends for everyone, not just select few. 

3. Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time by Lisa Yee: I think I loved seeing how realistic boys are drawn because its not often boys are written as boys. I also loved Stanford's feelings towards Emily as well as his banter with Millicent. 

4. So Totally Emily Ebers by Lisa Yee: This kind of served as counterpoint to Stanford and Millicent diaries and its from Emily's point of view. Probably because Emily plays such a huge role in their lives that particular summer, Its cool to see her thoughts and struggles. I often end up with a goofy smile when reading the Milly Trilly Trilogy. 

5. Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before by David Yoo: So definitely romance is a pretty big draw for me, especially when heroine is a brunette with brown eyes like me. The romance and emotions are definitely sweet and I also enjoy the sweet romance as well as the ambiguous ending. The time I bought it, I think it might have been in mid 2010s. 

6. Hungry Tigress by Jade Lee: I think this is one of the books that gave me a lot of hope about my possible romantic prospects and I also loved that heroine is brunette who happens to be observant and intelligent. 

7 Burning Tigress by Jade Lee: This is definitely a book where I imagined what if, but it was written before I could do it. I loved the forbidden aspect in so many ways and like few other Tigress series, this book has given me hope as well. 

8. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: First time I read it was in eighth grade, because I started school late, I was about fourteen or so? Since then I would read it once in a while, so perhaps because it imprinted itself on me at that age and of how well I could see some truths (namely with war and time, not racism) I found it highly relatable to my view of history in general.

 

9.The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu: First time I read it was in mid 2000s, at least I read some certain chapters in Norton World Anthology. In particular I read The Broom Tree chapter which has Genji and his friends describe the ideal women for wives, and I've been drawn into the story a lot. There is something comforting about returning to Genji's world, to go through his life and romances and to understand the deep truths. Also, I heavily used the Edward Sedentsticker version. 

10. Tempted Tigress by Jade Lee: More than anything, this is another book that gave me hope because the heroine is best described as broken down and doesn't see herself in a good light thus. I also recall one time I had this book when I was with my true love and he told me about spraying perfume on sampler and putting it between book pages to make the book smell good lol. 

Shelf Control

Welcome to Shelf Control — an original feature created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies.

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out my introductory post, here.

Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. See the guidelines at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!

Title:  The Chinese in America 

Author: Iris Chang 

Published: 2003

Length: 403

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads): 

In an epic story that spans 150 years and continues to the present day, Iris Chang tells of a people’s search for a better life—the determination of the Chinese to forge an identity and a destiny in a strange land and, often against great obstacles, to find success. She chronicles the many accomplishments in America of Chinese immigrants and their descendents: building the infrastructure of their adopted country, fighting racist and exclusionary laws, walking the racial tightrope between black and white, contributing to major scientific and technological advances, expanding the literary canon, and influencing the way we think about racial and ethnic groups. Interweaving political, social, economic, and cultural history, as well as the stories of individuals, Chang offers a bracing view not only of what it means to be Chinese American, but also of what it is to be American.

How and when I got it: I am pretty sure I bought it at a local library sale and I was interested in the fact it was slightly updated from Ronald Takaki's book. I got it on August 1st, 2013. (Oddly enough, when my son will grow up a lot more, this is one of the books I will want him to read it because he is half Chinese.) 

Why I want to read it: I think to see more of Chinese history than just bare minimum. 

What do you think? Would you read this book? And if you’ve read it, do you recommend it?

Please share your thoughts!

Books from Backlog

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks.

If you would like to join in, please feel free to enter your link, link back to this post, and then spend some time visiting some of the other posts.

This week’s neglected book 

Book Title: Beneath a Scarlet Sky 

Publisher: Lake Union

Genres: Historical fiction, adventure, WW2, Italy, rescue 

Pages: 509

Format: Print

Source: I got it from publisher, but so far haven't had a chance to read and review it for my blog. I reecived it on September 6th, 2017. 

Summary:

Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man’s incredible courage and resilience during one of history’s darkest hours.

Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He’s a normal Italian teenager—obsessed with music, food, and girls—but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior.

In an attempt to protect him, Pino’s parents force him to enlist as a German soldier—a move they think will keep him out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he is recruited at the tender age of eighteen to become the personal driver for Adolf Hitler’s left hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers, one of the Third Reich’s most mysterious and powerful commanders.

Now, with the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share.

Fans of All the Light We Cannot See, The Nightingale, and Unbroken will enjoy this riveting saga of history, suspense, and love.

Why did I add Beneath the Sky to my bookshelf? I was supposed to read and review it for my blog, but yes years have passed since. I love historical fiction and the story sounded pretty fascinating. 

What are your thoughts? Have you read this book?  Would you recommend it?

Let's Talk Bookish 

December 2: Can You Predict Someone’s Genre of Choice? (Fives @ Down the Rabbit Hole)

Prompts: What is your favorite genre and why? 

I have a lot of genres I enjoy, primarily historical fiction, literary fiction and quite recently I have fallen in love with fantasy again. I think I enjoy historical fiction a lot is because of my current life situation, where basically women had little to no choice in living their lives and were controlled by men in their lives. Literary fiction because it challenges my mind or else gives me new insights I hadn't thought of before. Fantasy because different worlds and again, new perspectives. 

Is there a reason why those particular genres speak to you or capture your interest?

I think mainly because they reflect my life or help me feel less alone in my life. Or else its cool to be with women who made a difference in their lives despite their constraints. 

 What is your least favorite genre and why? 

So I'm pretty much open to a lot of genres, but there are some that I don't want to give chance to: religious/christian genres, especially preachy ones that encourage love to jesus, mainly because of certain followers I suffer from PTSD when it comes christianity. (Unless you are seeking one star to zero star reviews, then hit me up, pay me money to review religious/christian fiction and I can provide them. I did try reading the genre in the past, but yes, one to zero stars.) I also can't stand science fiction genre, at least I should clear up and say hard core science fiction. This one can be blamed primarily on my former class which I thought and hoped wold be more fantasy than science fiction, and being frightened by science fiction technology. (My teacher in science fiction class also looked down on books by authors that were about aliens and the short stories we had to read was like reading a foreign language...if anyone wants to know more about him, do let me know and I will share some anecdotes.) My dad, who doesn't see me as a human being also loves science fiction, so yeah. 

Is the genre the biggest determination of whether you look for and choose a book, or is it something else? 

I think the summary and the availability of the book are the biggest draws for me. Could I get it somehow without breaking the poor piggy bank? Is the story interesting and do I already have it? 

Do you find that you are able to predict what kind of genres people like based on their personalities?

To be honest I don't have a lot of experience so I have to say I don't think so. I need to work on that. 

 Do you notice patterns in which kinds of people like certain genres?

Not just yet and not really. 

Stacking the Shelves 

Book Titles I got this week: (if available)

Planned Reviews: (If available. Use pictures)