2022 Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag & Reading Stats!

I’m finally on time for everyone’s favorite tag!

Usually I am horribly late (aka a week past mid year after everyone’s already done posting) when it comes to posting my mid-year book freak out tag. But for once, I am on time—and actually, perfectly on time since it’s the last day of June for me, and that’s as close to mid-year as you could get! Though my reading has been unprecedentedly slow this year, I can’t be sad since I’ve read so many amazing books!

Reading a Poem a Day: Sharing My Favorite Poems & Favorite Lines!

It’s the latest edition of me nerding out over literature (more than usual)…

Something I started doing last year in November was challenge myself to read a poem a day. I recorded the date, title, and author in a journal. I also decided to write down a quote that stuck out in order to help me remember the poem was about, since I’ve read a lot of poems over my lifetime but have had trouble recalling them.

So today, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite poems and lines that I’ve read doing this daily challenge! I’m honestly surprised I was able to keep up with this pretty regularly for over half a year (even though it’s morphed into “every other day” instead of “every day”), but it’s made me really happy and has become such a gentle and calming moment in each of my days. Poetry is so beautiful, and being able to make it a part of my daily routine makes me happy.

This is very different from what I usually post on here—even with what I typically read (novels), I’m terrible at recording and remembering quotes that jump out at me—but I hope it’s enjoyable for you all! I know poetry isn’t for everyone, but I think the beauty of poetry comes from how so much of what poets write about can be relatable to everyone. So hopefully you can find something that resonates with you in this post and keep it with you!

(I also wanted to do this because it’s an “easy” post to write, which is what I needed since I’m currently in Thailand!)

My 2022 Pride Month TBR!!

Kicking off my summer by reading the best books: the gay ones!

As I do every year, I’m reading only queer books for the entirety of June to celebrate Pride month. I always feel like I’m not reading a lot of queer books even though I do, so it’s always nice to dedicate a whole month to them. And of course, with my whole trying-different-genres thing, I’m especially excited to explore all types of them!

As I’ve noticed all my TBRs have become, this is less a strict TBR and more a list of options for me to pick and choose from, based on my mood! My reading has been very slow in the past few months, and I’ll be busy doing fun things in Thailand anyway, so I’m simply hoping to read at least 5 books (half of these books).

May’s Moments of the Month: April // Studying Took Over Everything

I disappeared yet again… what a surprise! 

I can’t say I didn’t expect this to happen, especially since at the beginning of the year I was like, “There are going to be lots of big upcoming life events this year that will make me less active.” But after I planned out my posts months ahead, I was really hopeful that I would be able to maintain some activity throughout the busier parts!

Clearly, that didn’t happen. I would say I’m sorry, but I’m trying not to apologize for doing things that I needed to do. I disappeared because of exams that I had to study for, and doing that sucked up all my energy and I barely did anything substantial throughout the month.

My 2022 Asian Heritage Month TBR!

It’s my favorite time of year!

Asian Heritage Month in May is quickly approaching, and as I do every year, I’m reading only books by Asian authors to celebrate it! I always love compiling a list of all-Asian authors/books to dedicate my time to—though I pretty much do that all year anyway—and this year, I’m extra excited to have a wide range of books.

Unfortunately, one thing will be a bit different this year. I’m taking exams for the first three weeks of May (which is why I’ve been absent this whole month), then leaving for Thailand at the end of the month. As a result, my TBR this year is not a list of books that I 100% plan to read, and more of a list of options for me to pick from! I’m hoping to read at least 5, but it all depends on the state of my brain during/after exams, and I’m not very hopeful… since it already feels like it’s melting…

Regardless, any number of books is great, especially because all of my picks look so GOOD!!!

*Note: This month is usually called Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, but I say Asian Heritage Month because 1) I don’t want to exclude non-Americans, 2) Pacific Islanders are vastly different from Asians and some have voiced concerns over being grouped with Asians, and because my list of authors is focused on Asians, it would be disingenuous to falsely say that this is a TBR of Asians & PI authors.