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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books I Was Assigned to Read in School
I grew up in Malaysia and our schools didn’t have assigned reading so I’m just going to adapt this topic for books that are set in schools. There are a lot of great books set in schools but I suddenly can’t think of them now that I’m trying to make a list out of them!
Top Ten Books Set in Schools
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster – I’m sure I’ve talked so much about this book that everyone is tired of hearing about it, but it’s set in a boarding school so I had to have it on the list.
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman – I love Charlie and Nick and I would die for them! I love how heartwarming the whole series is!
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros – My guilty pleasure! I recognize the tropes and cheese but I still love it.
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han – I loved this one. Lara Jean and her family are so cute and fun to read about.
My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan – Julia Whelan is one of my favorite audiobook narrators but she also writes books and this one is set in an educational institution. This one was so heartwarming and I loved it!
The Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal – I devoured this series as a child and have very fond memories of reading SVH from morning to night during my school holidays!
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins – It took me too long to pick this up because I loved The Hunger Games and wasn’t convinced I needed a story from Snow’s POV. It turned out to be brilliant though!
Matilda by Roald Dahl – I love Matilda! I was Matilda! Minus the magical powers and the over-the-top abuse from her family, and I didn’t have a Miss Honey, and I’m not half as smart as Matilda… I guess I’m not very Matilda except that I love reading. That counts, right?
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson – This one hurts but it’s such a powerful book and I loved it.
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik – I loved the idea of this series, and the first book wasn’t bad, but the books got progressively worse for me and I ended up really disappointed in the end.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
Slow Progress Is Still Progress
I had another busy week last week and didn’t get a lot of reading done; I finished two books and that was it. I’ve been working on a project for a long time and it’s very close to being done, hopefully in the next 2-3 months, so I’m trying to push as much as I can. It has been slow going before due to a lot of unforeseen issues that cropped up, but as long as nothing else unexpected happens, I feel like we’re good and we’ll finish strong!
The Conqueror Challenge
I did pretty good on The Conqueror Challenge last week but I ended up hurting my knee on Thursday in the second km and walked the rest of the way home. I was also going to try walking 8km this morning but I got tired and only did 5.7km.
I’m still ahead of my goal, so there’s that, even though I’m walking some of the time instead of running, and I did get in almost 20km this week. I find myself trying to hit certain milestones in order to get the virtual rewards offered in the app, and they are fun, but I really want that physical medal as the ultimate reward!
There’s still a long way to go but I’m already excited about the prospect of finishing this challenge and getting that medal. And then I’m anticipating the next challenges and the next medals! This thing is seriously addicting and I don’t know yet if that’s a good or bad thing! 😂
All the happy things:
It’s my birthday on Monday and we’re getting my favorite Sichuan food to celebrate!!
I also got myself a one-year subscription to Audible as a birthday present to myself!
And I got it at a discount!
I made some yummy chicken wings in the air-fryer and they were so good!
Feeling very optimistic about finishing my work project soon. 🤞
Really enjoying my online bookclub, not just for the buddy reads and book discussions, but the chats and jokes as well. ❤️
Despite my setback hurting my knee, I’m very happy with The Conqueror Challenge keeping me motivated to walk/run now that the weather is getting cooler.
I’m really enjoying seeing the Halloween decorations popping up bit by bit around my neighborhood. 👻
The Books
Books I read last week:
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler – It was a good book with a good story but it turned out a little preachy and I didn’t like that.
The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth – It wasn’t the best mystery but I really enjoy the way the author writes about familial relationships, and especially something as complicated as the relationship between mother- and daughter-in-law.
Book(s) I’m reading:
Exhalation by Ted Chiang – There are 9 short stories. I finished 6 and have 3 more to go. It’s all been very thought-provoking so far.
The Shining by Stephen King – It’s a reread and a buddy read. I’m at 20% so far and loving it.
Super Powereds: Year 1 by Drew Hayes – I started this audiobook because I listen to audiobooks to fall asleep and I needed something not scary (ie. not The Shining!). It’s actually pretty good so far!
I’m anticipating another busy week (plus it’s my birthday!) so I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to read but I really, really want to get started on Never Whistle At Night if I can!
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Bookish Brags (or Confessions!)
I’m not sure that I have anything book-related worth bragging about, tbh, other than I love reading chonky books. So this week I’m just going to go with a list of chonky books I’ve read. These are the chonkiest books I’ve read and they are 800 pages and above. Some of these are my favorite of favorite books, but there are also many less chonky books I’ve loved more than others listed that are only here because they are chonky. Most of these are worth reading though!
Top Ten Chonky Books
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas – 1276 pages. This is one of my favorite books of all time. I’ve read it many times and loved its chonkiness every time because I never want it to end. It’s so intense and engrossing that I finish it very quickly despite its size, and then I want to reread it again!
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell – 1037 pages. Another favorite I’ve read several times. I haven’t read it in a while though, because while I swooned over the romance as a child, I realize now as an adult that it was such a toxic relationship. I still think it’s a work of art as a historical novel though.
The Stand by Stephen King – 1152 pages. There are so many Stephen King chonkers I’ve read and loved; It, Under The Dome, 11/22/63, and many more, but I thought for the sake of this list I’d stick to one per author, otherwise this whole list would be saturated with Stephen King’s books!
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin – 835 pages. Technically, every book in this series is a chonker, and this one is the smallest one compared to the others, but it’s the first one so it’s the one chosen to represent them all!
Swan Song by Robert McCammon – 956 pages. I don’t remember much about this book except that it was compared to Stephen King’s The Stand, and I rated it 4 stars. I’ve forgotten much about it though, and it’s only here because it’s a chonker I read.
I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb – 897 pages. Another book I don’t remember much of but I’m haunted by this one and another book by the author I’ve read. I remember loving them and having my heart broken, and I rated them both 5 stars but I can’t bring myself to reread them just yet because I’m not sure I want to get my heart broken like that again. I need a little more time to heal! I also really want to read his other books, but same reason for why I haven’t yet.
Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey – 1040 pages. It was hard to get into at first, but it got really good later. Not sure that I like it enough to continue the series though. It’s a relatively recent read so I haven’t decided what I want to do with it.
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens – 882 pages. Another relatively recent read that I loved! Especially because I had just finished Demon Copperhead not long before.
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber – 922 pages. I actually love another book by this author – The Book of Strange New Things – more, but it was only 500 pages. I rated The Book of Strange New Things 5 stars, and this one only 3 stars, but this one is rated higher on Goodreads, so take what you will from that. I would highly recommend The Book of Strange New Things though!
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
Valar Morghulis
Well, this has been a busy week!
One of the biggest highlights of my week is that I signed up for The Conqueror Challenge! It’s a virtual running challenge (or any activity, really) with lots of fun virtual rewards, and a real medal you get in the mail when you complete the challenge, and they had challenges that corresponded to quests and adventures in The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and other real and fictional places!
I hadn’t been doing as well with my running as I would’ve liked in the last few weeks, and as the weather gets colder, I’m afraid that I might lose motivation to go outside and run, so when I came across this challenge I thought that maybe it might help keep me motivated.
I was hesitant at first, but apparently one of my friends has finished two challenges with them and spoke highly of the experience, so that made me excited too and I ended up signing up for the Game of Thrones challenge!
So far it has worked very well, because I’ve walked and ran a total of 23.31km last week, 8.14km of them from just this morning! It makes me excited to get out more and get as many kms in as I can. It pushes me especially when I see how much more I have to go to reach the next checkpoints, but I’m also trying to pace myself because I don’t want to finish the challenge too quickly!
I’m just so delighted about this because it combines my new-found love of running with my existing love for Game of Thrones (and other stories)!
I’m also no longer apprehensive about when real winter comes (Winter is coming!) and probably not feeling like running at all. I have less motivation to run at home on a treadmill, but I think I’d be able to convince myself to get in some kms for the sake of moving forward in my GoT adventures!
Zoo We also went to the zoo last week. It’s been a couple of months since we last went and I’ve missed the animals. It’s also a great place to walk and get in my kms! You bet I counted them for my challenge!
The penguins were the star of the show this time around. One of them kept swimming up to us and checking us out. I wanted to pet it so badly, it was that close, but of course we weren’t supposed to so I didn’t.
Inside Out 2 One more thing I have to talk about; my husband and I finally watched Inside Out 2 last week, and that portrayal of Anxiety made me cry because of how accurate it feels like for me.
I have had many sleepless nights and anxiety attacks and although my husband has always been loving and patient with me even at my worst times, I don’t think he’s ever understood what it felt like, and I love that the show was able to show him in a way that I was never able to articulate.
It’s been so much better for me recently; Anxiety has taken a back seat and Joy is leading the way a lot more, but it was just so cathartic to watch this show and feel so seen and realize I’m not alone. I love the first movie, and I love this one too!
All the happy things:
So very happy about my virtual running challenge!
And about my renewed motivation for running/walking in order to get the kms!
And about the fact that I got in 23km this week!
I even got my fastest pace at 8min/km! I’m usually at about 10min/km. Of course, I was exhausted after, and I don’t think I want to kill myself like that again for a while, but I was still very happy about it.
The zoo visit made me very happy too, especially since we haven’t gone in a while, and we’re not sure when we’ll be going again.
It’s a new month so we got KFC last week! We only get KFC once a month as a treat, and it’s such a happy treat!
I baked a new batch of cookies!
I’m starting a new crochet project with some gorgeous yarn and I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
The Books
Books I read last week:
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer – It didn’t live up to expectations but it wasn’t bad. It’s categorized as adult fiction but it feels like it might be better suited for middle grade.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers – This is a reread and a buddy read. It’s been a while since I read it the first time so I didn’t remember much of the details except that I loved it and I thought it was such a great example of interpersonal connections and acceptance of other cultures and beliefs. Reading it a second time made me love it more!
The Girl from the Other Side Volume 9 by Nagabe – It ended on a cliffhanger that’s making me very anxious to find out what happens next! Most of the other volumes end on cliffhangers too, but this one makes me wonder how it’s going to move forward.
I Fell In Love With Hope by Lancali – DNF. I’d been trying to read this book for weeks and I just couldn’t get into it. I finally realized that it’s just too purple prose-y for me. Too much style and not much substance. The writing is beautiful and it might’ve been good if done in poetry maybe, but as a story it’s a struggle to read.
Book(s) I’m reading:
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler – I am 70% in and I am loving it! It’s my first Octavia Butler book and I’ve heard so much praise for this book but I’ve never known what it’s about. Now I am totally invested!
Last Week on The Blog
I didn’t do very much on the blog last week. I’ve got some book reviews to catch up on!
I gotta get on the book reviews because I don’t want them to pile up on me. I’m also going to try to get a start on Never Whistle at Night, and/or The Glass Chateau.
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books I Read/Avoided Because of the Hype
I don’t usually avoid books because of hype; I am much more likely to get taken in by the hype because I am very easily influenced and I have BIG FOMO. Even if I don’t think I’ll like the book, sometimes I read it just because I need to see for myself, and maybe give it the benefit of the doubt. The ones listed below are just some of the ones I can think of. I didn’t like them all, but I did read them because of the hype.
Top Ten Hyped Up Books I Read
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins – This is the latest one I finished, and I am torn. On the one hand it was very well-written and plotted; on the other hand, I feel like the message at the ending ruined the whole thing for me. In terms of the hype, it’s true that this book is very different and definitely entertaining, but I’m not sure if I can get behind it.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett – Honestly, with or without the hype, I would’ve read this because “Encyclopedia of Faeries” just calls to me. I enjoyed this book very much, but I’m just a tiny bit disappointed it wasn’t an actual encyclopedia of faeries.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt – This wasn’t a bad book but I don’t think it was worth the hype, and I think the octopus’ role in the story is a little misrepresented.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune – I loved this one. It was hyped up but I didn’t know what to expect going in and so I was pleasantly surprised.
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman – I feel like this one isn’t hyped up enough. I’ll be honest and say that I wasn’t very interested in this series at first because it’s about a bunch of teenagers and teenage love and I thought it would be a lot of high school drama. But I was so, very, very wrong. It is about teenagers and teenage love and high school drama, but it’s also about real life issues, and real love, and family and friendship. It’s so wholesome and heartwarming, and it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros – This is a guilty pleasure for me. Do I think it’s the best book ever written? Definitely not, there are so many problems with it. Do I love it anyway? Yes, very much! It’s that very bad, very unhealthy fast food that I love to gobble down!
All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells – It’s not about what happens in the books, it’s about who the book is about. I love Murderbot. I love getting to know it, reading its thought processes, seeing humans through its eyes. It’s just a wonderful character.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree – So worth the hype for me! I love stories about found families and I loved how cozy this book (and Bookshops & Bonedust) was. I love Viv and her friends. I would read a dozen books about her.
Verity by Colleen Hoover – Not worth the hype. I wish I had dnf’d it but I’m just too curious about the hype for my own good sometimes.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – I loved it when I read it, but it was a while ago and I don’t remember much of it now anymore. If I recall correctly though, I read this before it got even more hyped up (because of the movie?) and then it started getting cheesy because everyone was quoting it and getting “Okay” tattoos. Maybe I should reread because the memes have overtaken my actual memories of the book.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
Not Overwhelmed
I looked up the word “whelmed” just to make sure it meant what I thought it meant, and it doesn’t, but that’s fine because I’m actually quite whelmed. Not overwhelmed, but I am whelmed.
I have been tired most of last week and I thought I’d have some time to rest this weekend but today turned out quite eventful too – my irl bookclub had our meetup this morning, and then we went to grab lunch together so I got home hours later than I thought I would. But I had fun and I love hanging out with my bookclub so I’m not complaining!
Trying to keep this post short though, because I’m still whelmed and all I want to do is lie down on the couch and doom-scroll on my phone.
All the happy things:
We had someone new join us for our book club meetup today!
And then we all went for lunch after!
One of my friends treated me to lunch. It was delicious and I’m so appreciative of wonderful people like her.
Went for my regular checkup and the doctor says everything looks great!
I leveled up in my Discord bookclub! It’s a role thing and gets you additional benefits in the server.
I’m also getting points for the buddy reads I signed up for, which gets you additional benefits when you level up as well. It’s a lot of fun!
The Books
Books I read last week:
Perfume by Patrick Süskind – It’s my irl bookclub BOTM and everybody finished it and enjoyed it! Even the newcomer! It’s weird but good, and I really enjoyed listening to it on audiobook.
The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center – I’ve been enjoying Katherine Center’s books very much and I really liked this one too! It got me quite emotional, especially near the end.
Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle – I really like the premise of this book, and Julia Whelan narrates it so of course I was going to read it! The execution wasn’t as good as I hoped, but I still enjoyed reading it.
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster – I just reread this book last month and here I am rereading it again! This time it was for a buddy read that I instigated, so I felt obliged to read it with everyone else, but it’s not like it was difficult for me to love it all over again! 😂
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins – This book is very well-written but I’m not sure how I feel about it. I loved almost everything about it but I’m struggling with the message. If you’ve read the book, I’d love to know what you think.
Book(s) I’m reading:
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer – Currently on page 87 of 278. I like it so far! I’ve heard lots about it and I’ve been curious for a while so I hope it lives up to expectations.
I haven’t read very many books from my buddy reads TBR list last week because I needed some fun and light romance. I’m ready to jump back into them this week!
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books on My Fall 2024 To-Read List
Some of these books have been on my list since the beginning of the year. Heck, some of them have been on my list since last year… and way before. It distresses me that I haven’t read them, the older ones in particular. I’m going to really try to get them done this fall!
Top Ten Books on My Fall 2024 TBR
The Glass Chateau by Stephen P. Kiernan – This is the one I most want to prioritize. I’ve had it on my TBR the moment it was announced, before it was even published, and I was so excited when it was released. I love the author and I have no doubt I’ll love this book, but I just haven’t gotten around to it for some reason.
The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan – Malaysian author, Malaysian setting, Malaysian reader (me!). I must read it!
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson – I have been wanting to read this for a while now. You know it caught my attention with a title like that.
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman – Everyone keeps recommending this as one of the best series you can listen to on audiobook, but I’m hesitating because I listened to a sample and I’m not sure I like the narration, so I’m waffling between getting it on print vs. audiobook. So many people can’t be wrong about the audio, right? But what if they are?!
Never Whistle At Night by various authors – This is relatively new to my TBR but I really want to read it because I wanted to read more diverse books this year, and I love folklore and not whistling at night is also a superstition in my own culture.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot – A much older book that I’ve been wanting to read for a long time. Part of why I also signed up for a nonfiction reading challenge this year.
Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane – I love the author’s works, but I don’t consider them light-hearted romance because they often have heavier themes and not so traditional HEAs, so I do need to be in a certain mindset to read them.
The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin – Another author I love, but much, much heavier stories. I read two of them very close to each other earlier this year, and I needed a break before I jump back into another one.
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer – I don’t even remember how I heard about this book but I was so excited about it, and it’s also a bookish book!
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins – Another bookish book I’ve been wanting to read. The things people say about it make me very curious!
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
I Got Glasses
I got my first prescription glasses last week! I’m so happy and I’ve been wearing them almost non-stop to the point where my husband is scolding me for wearing them while lounging in bed because he doesn’t want me to break them.
To be clear, these aren’t my first glasses, only my first prescription glasses. I had “vanity glasses” as a child because I wanted to look smart and studious and my dream job was to be a librarian. Yes, I wore glasses I didn’t need out of vanity, and I’m only telling y’all here because I feel like if anyone would get me, it’s other bookworms. 😂 Also, I get that the whole librarian wearing glasses thing might be a little stereotypical but I was 10 and I loved reading! 🤷♀️
It’s also nice to be able to see things a little more clearly now!
I also ran 5k three times last week! Woot, progress! Well, sort of. I ran almost every day when it was 3k, and now that it’s 5k, I’m only running three times a week because it exhausts me and I need more recovery time, so there’s a give and take. I’m still slow, but at least I’m running slow a little further!
I’m looking forward to eventually running a marathon, like maybe after 10 more years of training! 🏃♀️➡️
All the happy things:
I love my new glasses!
Really proud about my progress with running even though there’s definitely some growing pains!
My Hobonichi Cousin 2025 arrived! I know it’s still a few months to 2025, but I like knowing it’s there ready for me and I also have some things already scheduled for 2025 that I can now fill in.
We had more soup! Spicy Sichuan soup this time!
I crocheted a bag out of scrap yarn and it’s ugly as heck but I love it! (I haven’t woven in the ends yet.)
The cooler weather means I can crochet more now! It’s no fun crocheting in the heat with all that yarn on my lap, but it’s so cozy when it’s cooler.
The Books
Books I read last week:
Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare – Book 1 of the Wanton Dairymaid Trilogy. I love Tessa Dare but I felt like this one had a little more cheese than her other books I loved. Still fun and enjoyable, and I needed light-hearted books.
Surrender of A Siren by Tessa Dare – Book 2 of the Wanton Dairymaid Trilogy. Also kinda cheesy, but sometimes you need a little cheese.
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig – It was very much a disappointment. The writing was quite messy and unclear. The characters were unlikeable and inconsistent and I couldn’t understand their motivations. The magical concept was interesting though, and I’m still very intrigued by the plot, but the good isn’t good enough to outweigh the flaws, and it was a struggle to get through it. I only did because it was a buddy read.
Cujo by Stephen King – This is a reread but it’s been so long since I first read it that it might as well be a new read. As always, Stephen King is the King of Storytelling. There’s so much more to Cujo than just a scary, rabid dog story, and it’s such an incredibly look into the thoughts and behaviors of flawed human beings.
Book(s) I’m reading:
Perfume by Patrick Süskind – It’s my irl bookclub’s BOTM for September and the meeting is this weekend. I’m about 30% in and it’s just so beautifully written. It’s a reread for me but it’s been a long while.
I Fell In Love With Hope by Lancali – Just started and already I’m scared. It sounds like a sad and heavy read, and I’ve been warned to keep a lot of tissues on hand for the inevitable tears.
Feeling a little burnt out with reading so many sad and heavy books over the last month and we haven’t even gotten to October spooky season yet. I’m going to try to get some more light-hearted reads in between the heavy stuff.
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Ten Characters Authors Surprisingly Redeemed (which characters did you not like at first, but grew to love by the end of the book?)
Topics like this one are difficult because while I’ve definitely got a whole bunch of characters I didn’t like that I ended up liking, I can never think of them when I need them! But I did some digging and went through my books read and managed to come up with ten, whew!
Top Ten Redeemed Characters
Glokta from The Blade Itself (and the whole The First Law Trilogy) – He’s a royally sanctioned torturer and inquisitor and does a lot of bad things. But he’s also a very interesting character and may be my favorite character in the series.
Mary from The Secret Garden – She starts out really spoiled and contrary, which to be fair, isn’t really her fault, but becomes such a lovely person in the end.
Colin from The Secret Garden – Another spoiled and annoying child who becomes a much nicer person.
Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol – He starts out so horrible and stingy that his name has become synonymous with stinginess.
Jaime Lannister from A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire series) – There are several other characters who have redemption stories in this series, but I think Jaime’s arc is one of my favorites.
Naomi from You Deserve Each Other – Naomi and Nicholas, listed below, are the MCs of this book and they are both insufferable at the beginning of the book to the point that you don’t know how you could enjoy the story at all. I was happily surprised to be wrong.
Nicholas from You Deserve Each Other– See above.
Linus from The House in the Cerulean Sea – Linus wasn’t evil or anything, just naive and maybe too much of a rule-follower, but sometimes the people who are “just doing their jobs” can cause a lot of harm. Glad to see things change.
Cardan from The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air series) – He was such an insufferable bully. I hated him. Then I loved him.
Boromir from The Lord of the Rings– Maybe one of the most well-known examples of redeemed characters? Or maybe it’s just because LOTR is one of the most well-known books! Either way.
Have you read any of these books? Did you like any of these characters? Who are your favorite redeemed characters?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
It’s Cool, That’s What I Tell ‘Em
Last week was cooler and we’ve started getting out the sweaters! This week is going to be more of the same. I’m really looking forward to autumn!
On the running front; I only went a couple of times this past week, but in my defense, it was mostly because husband and I went on a hike on Sunday and my muscles were sore for a couple of days! I made up for it by doing extra yoga exercises later in the week though! We’re planning to hike again this weekend if we can.
Other than that, I’ve been mostly just moaning and groaning about my sore muscles while totally exploiting them as the reason I can’t do anything except sit around and read my books! Bonus: school has officially started so I have more time to laze about in secret while husband is at work. 😂
All the happy things:
Now that the weather is cooler, we’ve been enjoying more delicious soups! I made hot and sour soup on Monday, and the husband made bak kut teh on Thursday.
I love my husband very much, but I also really enjoy having the house all to myself more often now while he’s at work!
I’m really happy about that hike, even with the sore muscles. I want to do more!
The book community with all the buddy reads is making me really happy. I’ve been there for about a month now and getting to know the people there better. It’s been really fun and welcoming, and I’m also having such wonderful discussions about the books we read.
The Books
Books I read last week:
The Girl from Rawblood by Catriona Ward – I love the vibes, but I hated the audiobook production! I’ve heard a lot about this author and wanted to try her books, but I think next time I’ll stick to a print copy.
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman – This was an unexpected favorite. It’s very speculative and I both love and hate the uncertainty. I feel it’s a great philosophical exploration though and it’s really giving me lots to think about.
The Girl from the Other Side Volume 8 by Nagabe – Continuing with the series. I think this is one of my favorite volumes out of the ones I’ve read so far!
Born A Crime by Trevor Noah – This was so good! I love Trevor Noah and now I think I love him more. I love the way he tells his stories; they are so eloquent, funny, and emotional all at once!
Book(s) I’m reading:
Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare – I needed something light and romantic for a palate cleanser. I feel like I’ve been reading a lot of heavy books recently. And now that it’s close to Halloween season, there are darker books to come!
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig – Apparently this book has been talked about a lot in social media spaces, but I haven’t heard of it before. I signed up for the buddy read blind and I’ve only just started reading.
I’m almost finished with Goddess of the Hunt, and then I’ll be able to focus on One Dark Window. I’ve got a lot of darker reads in the queue but I might end up reading a few romances in between just to lighten the mood.
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
