Celebrating 6 Years of Blogging – Q&A!

This bad boy is going to first grade!

(Bad boy being my blog. I cannot talk normally.)

Clearly, I’ve been absolutely abhorrent at blogging this past year. There many times that I thought that my fifth year of blogging would be my last. But I truly am happy to be saying that I’m going into my sixth year (what a wild number to wrap my head around!), even if this year of blogging will look very different from my past. There are many ways I’ve changed since I started this blog six years ago, both as a blogger and as a person in general, and I think it is so important and wonderful that my blog evolves along with me.

Like I said in my “comeback” post, I feel very grateful and thankful to anyone who’s stuck with reading my silly little blog throughout all its ups and downs. Blogging can be lonely without any interactions with people, and it honestly blows my mind that I’ve been able to connect with so many people through this silly little space on the internet.

All my time away made me see how, yes, I don’t need to post on my blog to find fulfillment in my life, but also how blogging was something that added to my happiness. I missed it, and I can’t wait to see the fun I get up to over this next year of blogging!

BOOKS & OTHER MEDIA

What’s a book you would love to see as a movie/TV series?

The Rise of Kyoshi—I NEED an animated Kyoshi show!!!

Who is one character that you can absolutely relate to (and why) but have never admitted aloud?

This is a very fun question and I unfortunately cannot think of any single character! I don’t think there’s any character I absolutely relate to (and haven’t talked about before).

Top 5 music artists + Ur fav songs by them?

I actually have a hard time picking favorite music artists, because I usually listen to one artist for a long time period and then move on to another one! So the first 2 artists I mention are my top artists because I’ve listened to them consistently for 2-3 years now, and the third is an artist I had a phase with in 2022, and the last 2 are current favorites :]

Ordered by album release date (and by favorite within the album):

• Rina Sawayama: Frankenstein, Imagining, Phantom, Akasaka Sad, XS, Take Me As I Am, 10-20-40, Cherry, Where U Are… (I could keep naming more)
• Cage the Elephant: Social Cues, Black Madonna, Too Late to Say Goodbye, Spiderhead, It’s Just Forever, Come a Little Closer, Always Something
• The Happy Fits: Cold Turkey, No Instructions, Get a Job, She Wants Me (To Be Loved), The Garden, Grow Back, Mary, Heart of a Dancer, Drink
• The Volunteers: Hypocreep, Let me go!, New Plant, Nicer
• Weston Estate: So Good, Stoked, Hold On

What is a book you read that you didn’t expect to become a favorite?

After becoming less and less of a fan of YA contemporary romances, especially straight ones, I didn’t expect too much when I picked up How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe. It made me so happy and I loved the character development that the protagonist went through.

a book you read recently (EXCEPT recently here might be allowed to comprise anywhere from yesterday to 4 years back SO) that you wish your younger self could have had in her life??

A Wish in the Dark! It is a Thai MG fantasy—I loved MG fantasies when I was younger (still do), so it would’ve been the perfect book for my tastes back then. And more importantly, it would have meant the world to me to see Thai characters in my favorite genre!

Fav books you’ve read because of other bloggers’ recs

There are so many! A lot of these are from bloggers who are currently inactive, but I’ve gotten so many recommendations from all of these people that I couldn’t not mention them all.

• The Magic Fish & Witch Hat Atelier – Skye (+ many others from her)
• The Rise of Kyoshi – Rain (+ many others again)
• Foolish Hearts – Emma and Elle (+ many many others, from both)
• Himawari House – Tara
• The Fifth Season – Melanie
• Final Draft – Marie

what are your current favorite music albums and tv shows? 💖

I’m really bad at listening to entire albums, but I’d say right now, The Volunteers by The Volunteers and Hold the Girl by Rina Sawayama (still)!

I am even worse at watching TV shows, so currently… none :( One I watched some episodes of recently and really enjoyed was Extraordinary Attorney Woo, though!

favorite quote from a recent read? Congrats on 6 years!! 🎉

Thank you! I love this question. From the book I’m reading right now, Ma and Me: “Like hunger. Like leaving. My first feeling was flight. Running away became my enduring lesson in surviving.”

Song/s on repeat rn 👀

• Hypocreep & Nicer by The Volunteers
• fallback by nightlife
• joke! by SE SO NEON
• 夜風とハヤブサ (Yokaze to hayabusa) by indigo la End
• สาธุ (Saa-tu) by MILLI, TangBadVoice
• This Is Why by Paramore
• I Hate You So Much by Anarbor

Are the[re] genres or tropes that you used to love but don’t work for you anymore?

Definitely! I used to love YA fantasy, but after reading adult fantasy, I’ve had a hard time going back to YA after seeing all that adult has to offer. (And I think YA fantasy is getting more and more tropey and formulaic.) I also used to like more YA romcom-type contemporaries, particularly queer ones, but now I have absolutely no interest in them.

are you excited or dreading about any college curriculum reads

I am taking a very cool Asian American literature class right now, so I’m very interested in the books I have to read for it! Right now we are reading Severance, and it is just fantastic (and analyzing it in class makes it even better). I’ll be rereading On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous for the class too, which I loved before, and I’m excited about a memoir called Tastes Like War! At the moment, there is nothing I’m dreading reading (aside from the usual long boring textbook chapters). And as much as I hate how time-consuming and dry they are, I really do enjoy reading academic articles!

BLOGGING

what inspires you to keep blogging??

I just love talking about books. That is the reason I started blogging and the reason I keep blogging. I love recommending books, I love discussing books, I love making connections with people through books.

your blogging origin story??

One of my friends on NaNoWriMo forums had a blog, and once I read her posts, I got curious about this whole new corner of the internet. I’d had a lot of fun having conversations with people on those forums, and I wanted to have my own space to post my thoughts and talk to people.

How to make friends in the blogging space?

Talk to people! Comment on posts, reply to comments on yours, reply to their replies… I think social media is an excellent place to take conversations further with people that you meet on blogs, because interactions can be a bit more informal (and you can DM people!). Be genuine, don’t be invasive, and know that if you can’t befriend certain people, there are always many other possible friends out there!

what’s your most favorite thing about blogging?? / What is your absolute favourite thing/event/opportunity you’ve had over your six years, because of your blog?

Aside from simply just having a space to talk about something I love (books), I love the connections I’ve fostered with people through blogging! Whether it’s the friends I’ve made from blogging, or the fact that I can have an impact on a reader or author by merely talking about a certain book in a post, blogging has helped me form some wonderful relationships with people.

Probably one of the biggest highlights for me was getting to meet Christina Soontornvat recently—I’ve always told her how much her books meant to me and it was so amazing to see her in person!

What kind of posts do you enjoying writing the most?

Discussions and recommendation posts! I love discussion posts because I like to pretend that my thoughts are important enough to warrant a long post about them. It’s so nice to be able to talk in length about a specific topic and get to hear other people’s opinions on it, because often my own thoughts will expand as a result of those conversations! And recommendation lists bring me great joy because I always hope that people will find new favorite books from them, and I also just love talking about books I love.

PERSONAL LIFE

How were your IB results?

Very, very good! I think the covid curve helped a lot because there were definitely some exams that I shouldn’t have scored as high on as I did (math, my mortal enemy…). I think my biggest surprise was how well I did on the TOK essay, especially because I did better on it than my EE haha.

What are you studying in university?

The most basic answer I could give as a book lover… English literature! I’m still deciding on what I want to add as a minor (or possible double major).

What would be an amazing goal or wish to be reached/fulfilled this year?

I spent a long time thinking about this question, for some reason. I think the most amazing thing for me would be to get back my creative drive/inspiration/motivation to write again. I’ve felt so fulfilled in other areas of my life except in writing. I just want to prioritize it again, improve my craft, and gain back this form of expression that used to be so vital for me.

how’s college life? :)

I’m really enjoying it! It’s actually so exhausting when I stop and think about it, because I very rarely get an extended amount of time truly alone (essential for an extreme introvert like me), but I think it’s a good push for me to be social. The assignments and deadlines feel endless, but I’m glad I can actually see weeks ahead what is due, since I had deadlines one after the other in high school too but got overwhelmed because I didn’t know very far in advance. The hardest part really is making (close) friends but I’m getting there :]

How long have you been blogging for? What do you love most about blogging? And please tell me who your favorite music artists are!!