We’re officially past the half way mark of the year. Six months are gone and the world has changed in so many unimaginable ways. So much has happened and even though some of the stuff happened in a way I never imagined it would, I still think that it’s good to reflect back on the big moments.
The pandemic uprooted the end of my university life.
The last six months have been…crazy to say the least. I started off the year as an emotional wreck and super stressed because my time at university was coming to an end. I needed to find a job, do well in my classes, and spend the next few months making the most out of living in a city that has been quickly become my home.
I know my time at university was meant to be for getting education but it quickly became so much more than that. The city where my university is located is nothing short of lively. It’s big, it’s busy, and it’s full of places to visit and people to meet. I loved how I can go from hanging out in a strip of restaurants with friends and then the next day, go on a drive in the early morning sunshine through curvy, winding roads surrounded by red, yellow, and pink trees.
It’s this comforting sense of familiar that I’ve had the privilege of experiencing for four years.
I was prepared with the knowledge that the time was coming when I’d have to say goodbye to my life there and move onto something new and scary.
Unfortunately, when the lockdowns occurred, my life at my apartment and university came to an abrupt end. It was disheartening to say the least. It felt like in a matter of seconds, I had lost something very dear and close to me. I didn’t have time to say goodbye to anyone or to even grab what I wanted from my apartment, I just had to leave.
I am thankful though that my last semester went really well academic wise. I passed all my classes and graduated! It was a bit sad having to see your four years of literal blood, sweat, and tears culminate on the living room couch, watching your name pop on a PowerPoint during a “virtual” graduation. It wasn’t the experience I was working forward to when I first enrolled into university.
I’m a first generation kid of immigrants. I am the first to graduate from an American University and while walking across the stage may not mean much for everyone, it meant a lot for me. I was looking forward to hearing my name being horribly mispronounced and having to walk up those stairs and onto the stage.
It’s not the experience I had hoped for but I know that I’m very privileged that I was able to attend university and even have the chance of being disappointed over how I graduated.
All that being said, I’m really happy that I graduated because it’s time to move on to the next chapter of my life, whether I’m ready for it or not.
One thing that the Coronavirus had introduced me to are long walks and runs. Since I can’t go to the gym anymore, I’ve been utilizing the outside to get my body moving. I’ve been walking so much that I’ve literally rubbed holes into the soles of my shoes…and then my socks.
My reading goal for this year is 50 books. One day, just one day, I’ll reach a 100 but this year is going to be super busy for me so getting to 50 will be amazing. I didn’t read much in June and it made me realize how unpredictable my reading is going to be when I start work.
Some of my favorite books this year include a nice mix from new adult fantasy/romance to adult romance and historical fiction. Here are three books that are definitely going to be on my favorites of the year list.
The Bromance Book Club is such a fun read about this man who’s trying to win back his wife who wants to divorce him. This secret society (did that grab your attention?), okay more like a secret book club consisting of big name men who read romance books, rescue our blind eyed main character. They teach him the way of romance and how to treat a woman right and it’s just so sweet, funny, and will leave you with a smile.
If there’s one book that I can say is so underrated and needs more attention, it’s The Bridge Kingdom. The politics in this book, the slow burn, the atmospheric writing is just so well done that it’s honestly sad that more people don’t know about it. So here’s my PSA for you, if you’re going to pick up one of these three books, pick up this one because it’s short, action packed, and will leave you itching for the second book.
The Song of Achilles. This book is like an expensive painting that you bought from an exhibition. It just grows on you over time. At first, it started off slow but the writing, the WRITING, was so beautiful. Watching Achilles and Patroclus’ story unfold can be described to be something more than just wholesome. It makes my heart all warm and cozy and at the same time, it shatters my heart into a million pieces. It’s a wonderful feeling, I highly recommend.
I will never stop talking about how Brigid Kemmerer writes the BEST sequels/companion books. Her second books are always stellar and they often follow side characters from her first book. “A Curse so Dark and Lonely”, for me wasn’t a personal favorite. I enjoyed but I didn’t love it, it fell a bit flat for me. One of the main problems I had with the first book was the romance. I personally didn’t feel it an attachment to it. My favorite aspect of “A Curse so Dark and Lonely” was Grey.
So this book, which focuses mainly around Grey and another side character, delivered everything I wanted and more. I loved learning more about him and how everyone’s so morally gray. I started to become more intrigued in Rhen’s character in this book and that ending honestly just destroyed me. The tension in this series basically quadrupled and there are so many different subplots and elements to this story. I have no idea what Kemmerer’s going to do.
This book isn’t for everyone. It has a very different formatting but I wasn’t too bothered by it. I genuinely love how Leon and Tiffy came together. It was the best kind of friends and lover relationship. I love a good relationship where the two characters are supportive of each other, it just makes the book more wholesome. This book also explores more serious topics such as abusive relationships, the justice system, and more. The one reason this book isn’t an a 5 star favorite is because I wish I got a little bit more from it. I wanted there to be a little bit more resolution with Leon’s storyline.
This is my first Celeste Ng book and I am SOLD. I loved her writing style so much. This book follows an interracial family dealing with the daughter of their daughter.
We follow the parents and siblings retrace their time with the daughter and go even far back as their pasts before having the daughter. After we hear from the family, we come full circle and read from the POV of the dead daughter as she walks as through her life and how it came to an end. Every character in this book was broken in their own special way and flawed.
There’s just something so artistic and powerful about coming full circle and hearing the POV of all the characters involved in this girl’s life. I deeply connected to this story and found that there was something there in every character that stood out to me. There’s something about deeply flawed characters that really have me turning the pages.
This book was not the book for me. I have a review up for it so check it out here. The main problem I had with this book was the writing style. Yoon wrote the book with a very particular comedic tone that made the book come off for an audience that was not me. It may suit a younger audience or someone who deeply likes the comedic YA contemporary novels. There was also this one problematic scene that wasn’t handled well. In my opinion, the resolution of the problematic element was very callous and rushed.
the song of achilles is one of my all time favourites, i’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I’m glad to haha! It’s such a GOOD book.
do you hear that? That’s me screaming cause The Flatshare is mentioned here!! Also, I too have been going on walks nowadays and it’s truly the source of my daily serotonin