Drama-Lovers Book Club

Hi drama- book lovers fam!!

I'm not a huge book person... So I just randomly picked some books from my sisters collection...

I finished this book in August... The ending was quite unexpected... but I kind of didn't like the ending... (6/10)

This one I selected for September...

hello friends. 

I'm glad that August is over because it was one hell of a crazy month for me. I got the general drainage system renovation, a lot of work (as usual), my Mother in law's wedding and unexpected business trip, so I totally couldn't get into Knut Hamsun's Charade because I felt like everything I've read flew over my head right away. However, I finished Ogawa Yoko's Kamoku na shigai, Midara na tomurai ( also knowns as Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales, but I personally prefer Polish translation Deathly silence, funeral turmoil). It's a story within a story (or nested story, as we called that type of prose in Uni) about death, solitude, mourning jealousy and longing. It's haunting, beautifully morbid and quite depressing. Perfect book for autumn, haha.

I still don't know what I'm going to read in September. Maybe I'll try again with Hamsun, maybe I'll finally sit down and read Humility by Szczepan Twardoch (I love his writing, but kinda got tired of the repetitive motifs in his books). We'll see.

After not finishing even one book for three months, I come in September hoping I could finish this book: 

I hope it's good enough to pull me in.

Hi, guys. I hope the month has been kind to you all.

Republicanism, Communism, Islam: Cosmopolitan Origins of Revolution in Southeast Asia is exactly as it says. Focusing on three SEA countries--the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam--the book looks at how global currents, be it in the form of ideology, interpersonal network, or contemporary events, influenced the revolutionary and/or independence movement(s) in those three countries. A very valuable read and one that I wholeheartedly recommend if you have any interest in the region.

I think I've read a couple of Marsh's short stories years ago, but it's my first time reading her novel. It's okay, I guess, just standard detective/mystery novel. What made it somewhat more interesting was the banter between the main character, Inspector Roderick Alleyn, and his colleagues. (I think they share some puns too.) I might check out her other novels later on, but not anytime soon.

Hello friends! Fall season is here, happy October! 

September - October Update: The Frangipani Tree Mystery, by Ovidia Yu

I'm half-way through the novel which I'll continue on into the new month.  My focus was distracted by a couple of interesting dramas which took away some of my reading time, along with real life commitments in September.

So far the book is interesting enough as a mystery, with dark comedic undertones.  Let's see how the story sticks its landing on this one XD

Happy reading, all!  :)

My September Updates:

Daughter of the pirate king

Daughter of the siren queen

To kill a kingdom

The Unhoneymooners

The Shadows between us

Fifty shades of Grey

I had a great time spending with books although most of those were pdf offline reads. I started the month with the Pirate King duology by Tricia Levenseller. the first installment- Daughter of the pirate king had more fun twists than its sequel- Daughter of the siren queen but both were equally enjoyable for me. it's about a daughter of a pirate (not just a pirate, the king of pirates) who allows herself to get caught by an enemy pirate to accomplish a mission to prove herself worthy of her future queen title. my ratings: 10/10.

tbh I was really disappointed with To Kill a Kingdom. I barely remember anything from the story although it has been less than a fortnight since I finished reading. it's about a siren-turned-human who goes off on a hunt to kill the prince to get the acknowledgement of fellow sirens as their queen. maybe because I had read a similar-and-better story with the pirate king duology, this was a total bore for me. my ratings: 2/10.

I really enjoyed The Unhoneymooners!! it was witty and probably the only non-fantasy rom com I read this month. the dialogues and the story buildup was really unique. I made a mental note to check out other novels by the authors. it was about two people who hate each other who were forced to go on a pre-paid honeymoon cuz the newly weds (aka their respective siblings) and the rest of the guests had a really bad food poisioning. I felt the enemies to lovers and close proximity trope were done right. my ratings: 10/10.

I just finished The Shadows between us. it was good but slow burn felt draggy ngl. I felt the writer built up tension all right but after that she just left it at that. it was like /\/\/\ throughout and the mystery was so badly done with overused tropes. a girl wants to kill the king but tries to find out the murderer of his family all the while hiding the fact she's a murderess. my rating: 6/10.

I'll finish off with Fifty Shades of Grey, being the only book I dropped this month (this whole year). Hated it. I thought I could handle some toxic relationship but apparently I can't and I'm totally done with this girl pushing the guy away and wanting him. I'm never reading a toxic relationship trope again. my rating: -10/10.

have a good read guys ;)

 ManUtiavN:

In September, I finished Wild Fruit by Keyi Sheng and Les arcanes du Chaos by Maxime Chattam.

The first one is a recommendation from my mother, it's an author I particularly like bcshe has this faculty to make us ask questions about who we are and to question each of our certainties. And this book is no exception, the more you scratch the surface, the more you understand why some families decide to polish the outer veneer,. Who would want the whole world to know that misfortune is at their door?

Maxime Chattam is a master of the French thriller but this time I wasn't carried away in this puzzle he was proposing to us on a conspiracy background.

I also started reading Bégonias d'hiver to be able to compare it with the drama.

You know, my sister met Sheng Keyi in Paris two years ago, she found her very friendly and she gave me the book "Paradise". I will try to read it in October ;)