What I’ve been up to in May 🌸 Gloomy Weather & Lots of Work

Hello fellow bookworms 🌸 Another month has gone by faster than anticipated – it feels like I just wrote the last wrapup, yet here we are again 😱 I spent most of May trying to juggle University with blogging and my other hobbies, and tbh nothing too remarkable happened. However, I think I have found a posting frequency that I’m happy with and that works with my increased workload. I try to alternate between posting once and twice a week, so I can adjust my schedule according to how busy my week is 😄 I somewhat managed to keep up with blog hopping and answering comments this month & I hope you’re all doing well 💕

Important Resources

• https://globalissuesawareness.carrd.co/
• https://dotherightthing.carrd.co/
• Anti-Asian Violence Resources Carrd
• BLM 2020 Resources Spreadsheet
• Help India during its COVID crisis
• HelpPalestine Carrd, Learn about Palestinian history Help Palestine with a Click & Resources Masterlist

🔄 = Reread 💌 = Library Books 🌈 = #QueerBookFun2021

 😊 = Readalong/Buddy Read 📚 = #TackleYourTBR2021 ⌛ = Digital Arc

I read 9 books in May and I’m really happy with my reading this month ❤ I wasn’t sure how it would go with my other commitments but a healthy mix of audiobooks, graphic novels and shorter/fast to read books boosted my reading! Once again audiobooks were absolute lifesavers and kept me motivated to read. Despite not joining in with any Readathon, I  managed to read 5 books for Asian Heritage Month (I’m still currently reading The Downstairs Girl), which was great and my favorite book by an Asian Author that I read this month has to be Other Words for Home and Almost American Girl 🥰 In general I found many great books to enjoy, though my reading slowed towards the end of the month when I was getting more stressed. I’m still catching up with the St. Vladimir’s Readalong, as I’m one book behind and hope to read May’s book of the month (Spirit Bound) right at the beginning of next month 🙏 I am also so behind on reviews (that aren’t Arcs or 5-star books)  😅

I read 3 books out of my comfort zone this month and I at least liked all of them!! Highlights were definitely Almost American Girl (a YA memoir graphic novel about a Korean Girl’s experience moving to American) and I Am Still Alive (a YA survival story about a girl stranded in the wilderness)! I didn’t end up loving The Roommate quite as much as everyone else, but it was still an enjoyable book and I’m happy to check out the companion book that was published recently.

Almost American Girl (Robin Ha) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 💌

I Am Still Alive (Kate Alice Marshall) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 💌 🎧

The Roommate (Rosie Danan) ⭐⭐⭐ 💌 🎧

 

1. Blood Promise (Richelle Mead) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔄😊

2. Other Words for Home (Jasmine Warga) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 💌 🎧 ➽ Review

3. Almost American Girl (Robin Ha) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 💌 ➽ Review

 

4. I Am Still Alive (Kate Alice Marshall) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 💌 🎧 ➽ Review

5. Please Don’t Hug Me (Katy Kerr) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 💌 ➽ Review

6. You’ve Reached Sam (Dustin Thao) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⌛ ➽ Review

7. The Roommate (Rosie Danan) ⭐⭐⭐ 💌 🎧 ➽ Review

8. Yes No Maybe So (Albertalli & Saeed) ⭐⭐⭐ 📚 🎧 ➽ Review

9. Monstress Vol 1. (Marjorie M. Liu) ⭐⭐.5 💌 ➽ Review

Favorite Book 💕

What I’ve been up to in April 🌷 The start of a new semester & My Birthday ~ Adult Romance Books I’m Excited to Read 💕 

Arc Review: Cheer Up by Crystal Frasier ✨ Cheerleading & Finding Support ~ 8 Asian Books on my TBR for Every Reading Mood 💕  

8 Books About Mental Health 🌸 #mentalhealthawarenessmonth ~ Review: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune in BUZZWORDS 💙 ~ The New Releases Book Tag 💌 Talking about #2021 releases

For this section of my wrapup I’m linking up with the Favorite Blog Posts of the Month Meme that has been created by Kristin @ kristinkravesbooks to showcase our favorite blogs of the month! 💗

• Books to Read for AAPI Heritage Month (Aarushi @ aarushireads)
• 2021 New Young Adult Releases For Your Towering TBR Pile!! [Ft May to August] (Cait @ paperfury)
• The New Releases Book Tag ↠ Allonsy Original Tag 💕 (Ellyn @ allonsythornraxx)
• How Video Games Help Calm Anxiety During Book Slumps ft. Game Recommendations & 28 New Books Hitting the Shelves in June 2021 | Anticipated Reads (Kal @ readervoracious)
• What I’ve Been (Binge-)Watching #59 & What I’ve Been (Binge-)Watching #60 (Kat @ lifeandotherdisasters)
• The 57 Best YA Books About Food that Will Make You Hungry Immediately (Kat @ novelsandwaffles)
• A-Z to ya contemporaries! (Lais @ thebookishskies)
• 30+ anticipated book releases in May-August 2021 (Margaret @ weirdzeal)
• 26 Summer-Themed YA Books To Read This Summer & Book Bloggers Talk #2: Why Book Blogs Are An Asset Today & How To Self Host Your Book Blog: Sharing My Exciting (and Stressful) Experience (Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks)
• My June TBR for Pride Month! (May @ foreverandeverly)
• Reading It Queer tbr & Recommending books by Asian authors (Morgan @ morganisreadingagain)
• Everything I read in April with Mini-reviews (Pauliina @ thebookaholicdreamer)
• Book Recommendations | Books with Weird & Unusual Plots 🌘 (Sofii @ abookathought)
• What I’ve Been Reading (Sophie @ sophiexli)
• My 13 Favourite Slow Paced Books & The Best Books With the Found Family Trope & Recommending My Favorite Audiobooks Pt. 3 & Books That Became Instant Favorites & 12 Book Covers That Made Me Pick Up The Book (Sabrina & Veronika @ wordyandwhimsical)

I was pretty busy juggling University work and life. I kind of expected this, but for some reason the workload feels heavier than last semester. I think it’s because my seminars are more time intensive with lots of assignments and deadlines to meet. Even though I’m used to Online Classes, it was a bit tough on my Mental Health at times, especially Mid-May. The number of cases were super high for most of the month and vaccine rollout is a mess here (though I know how fortunate I am that I still have good access to the vaccine) so there wasn’t much opportunity to do anything and it left me feeling down. I was also just really missing the casual social aspect of university and was feeling a bit hopeless about the future 😅 Luckily I could at least meet up with some classmates and phone my family ❤

Things that made me happy 😊

➽ Shows I Watched in May ❤ In terms of TV Content May was good! I finished Shadow and Bone (and it was amazing)! I also watched the first season of Ragnarok with a friend (which made me want to move to Scandinavia) and we finally checked out The Queen’s Gambit, which was such a fantastic show – definitely one of my favorites of the year already! I never thought Chess could be so interesting and now I finally get all the hype about the show 🥰 I also watched more of Season 2 of Hilda, but I’m still not finished yet 😄

➽ The Magnus Archives saving my Mental Health 💕 My listening sadly slowed down a bit, as I was getting busier but the podcast still was such a comfort to me and I spend some time reading fanfics 🥰 I’m very close to the end now and definitely nervous to see how this is all going to wrap up, I’m hoping for an ending that is a good conclusion to the podcast 🙏

➽ Getting invited to read two eArcs!! 😱 This has never happened before, so that’s why I’m excited! I was send the NetGalley widget (which gives you access to the book without having to request it first) for Of Princes and Princes and What We Devour, as I had reviewed other books by the authors on my blog!! I usually don’t talk about getting Arc’s here, but it’s just really nice to be validated and seen as a blogger 🥺

June is already here??? ⛅ To be honest, I’m not ready for the first half of the year to be over 😅 As much as I like the colder weather, some sunshine in June would be nice though! University will continue to keep me busy but as it’s not quite exam season yet, I hope to enjoy some of the warmer weather and also take time to do fun things for myself 🥰 In June it’s also Pride Month, so I will be reading as many books with LGBTQ representation as possible, with a more detailed post coming up next week! I have quite a few amazing books on my TBR ❤ 🌈 Apart from that I’m very excited to share the anticipated releases for the rest of the year and the Mid Year Book Freakout Tag with you, which is always one of the most fun Tags for me to do every year 😄

Coming to you next Saturday 🥰

Priority Books for June ⛅

• Spirit Bound (Richelle Mead) 🔄 St. Vladimir’s Readalong 
• The Dead and the Dark (Courtney Gould) 🌈 eArc
• What We Devour (Linsey Miller) 🌈 eArc

What were you up to in May? What was your favorite book? I hope you’re staying safe! ❤

 

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