#1KBE A Thousand Beginnings and Endings Reading Challenge [Book Tag]

So this is OBVIOUSLY not a Book Tag, but I don’t have an appropriate category SO THIS WILL HAVE TO DO.

From the 10th of June till the 1st of July I am going to take part in the #1KBE reading challenge by Aentee at Read At Midnight! Everyone who signs up for this challenge is eligible to win a hardback copy of the anthology, A Thousand Beginnings and Endings edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman.

I have been SALIVATING for this anthology since I heard about it in December last year as it features retellings of myths and legends from East, South and South East Asia!

If you know me you know that I am a born and bred Ang Moh-Singaporean, which means I am just as wary of Pontianak as I am of Sirens… What I’m saying is diversity is the spice of life and South East Asia is the best spice. FIGHT ME.

[img src: unknown] Yes I know that is kimchi and not sambal or rojak lol…

ANYWAY I’m also, as of writing this post, very deep in a horrible, terribad reading slump and this feels like the perfect thing to kick my ass as I can read short stories AND articles as well as books if I want!

This post shall serve as an entry for the challenge and a reminder to myself of my bingo choices!

[img src: read at midnight]

I’ve marked my bingo line with the little stacked books emoji, and listed the books/articles for each choice here:

📚 RENEE AHDIEH – The Wrath and the Dawn

📚 PREETI CHHIBBER – How to Kill Off Characters / Asian Representation in Hollywood / Brown Bodies in White Spaces: On Meeting Riz Ahmed

📚 ALYSSA WONG – Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers (The New Voices of Fantasy)

📚 ROSHANI CHOKSHI – Aru Shah and the End of Time

And since I am attempting to restart my reading mojo, I might as well try to knock a few books off of my to-read list as well! So If I have the time, before the end of the challenge, I’ll try and tackle these too:

📚 RAHUL KANAKIA – Excess Light (Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling)

📚 CINDY PON – Beautiful Venom/Without the Evil in the World, How Do We See the Good? (Because You Love to Hate Me)

📚 ALIETTE DE BODARD – The Tea Master and the Detective

📚 E.C. MYERS – The Observer Effect (Where the Stars Rise: Asian Science Fiction and Fantasy)

AND SO IT BEGINS………..

[img src: unknown]

Sickly Kid Buys+Rents Too Much [Book Haul]

The last month or so has not been good for me health wise. I was hospitalized for a night after a small procedure to get rid of a not so fun build up thanks to my Crohn’s. WHICH by the way, is confirmed to be the bowel disease that I have, and not Ulcerative Colitis as was previously thought. My mental health has also taken a fun dip in the negative pool, but luckily things are on the mend now. I’ve even started a new medication for my Crohn’s which should kick in soon…?!?

That’s why I decided to 🙋‍♀️TREAT MY SELF💁‍♀️ and buy some books (as well as check some more out from the library). Also because my new Crohn’s medicine is given by IV infusion that will take at least half an hour + observation time afterwards, it makes sense to go nuts with new reading material… Anyway, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking with it.

[img src: unknown]

Late Jan/Early Feb Haul [Book Haul]

Well this is quite the belated post… But I thought I’d do it all the same.

I keep buying books here and there EVEN when I said I wouldn’t and would stick to the library since I still have SOOOO many books at home yet to read…. siGh…

Guess I am that b*tch.

[img src: unknown]

Monthly Roundup ↪ Feb/March💤

Decided to combine my roundup for February with March as I didn’t read much in the second month and it seemed a bit silly to make a small post for it…!

[img src: unknown]

Monthly Roundup ↪ Jan🌧️

IT IS 2018…. TIME HAS GONE BY 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS 4 ME……….

[img src: unknown]

2018 Reading Goals [Thinky Talky Thoughts]

WELL DAMN. IT’S 2018 ALREADY……

[img src: unknown]

Every year I make ‘goals’ rather than resolutions, and the same applies to my reading!! So here are my reading goals for the year, which are more than what I usually do as I want to get through a few things this year. Reading wise anyway…

Monthly Roundup ↪ Dec🍾

I tried SO HARD to reach my goal of 50 books in 2017, especially because I wanted the shiny plaque on GoodReads… BUT ALAS… it was not meant to be…

[img src: unknown]

Better Shorts Than ‘Cat Person’ [Literary Lists]

If you were away from the internet recently, let me fill you in. Everyone lost their minds over a semi decent short story in the New Yorker about a 20 something college girl having a questionable but short lived relationship.

[img src: unknown]

Long story short, people got upset, people had opinions, and honestly, there are SO MANY better short stories out there that you can read instead of this one. Here are my recommendations of short story anthologies that you can read instead of bothering with that one. 👍👍👍

Monthly Roundup ↪ Nov🏖

I really put the pedal to the metal this month to read as much as POSSIBLE so I could reach my yearly reading goal. I also went to Phuket in Thailand for a week with my parents, where I ATTEMPTED to read more, but ended up doing more lounging around than reading… OOPS.

[img src: unknown]

Animal Crossing Pocket Camp [Literary Lists]

I would say SEND HELP! I’M OBSESSED!! But I don’t want help. I enjoy fetching bugs and fruits and fish for these anthropomorphic ‘friends’ that hang around various camp sites, who won’t visit me after we become friends unless I buy specific furniture for them…

[img src: unknown]

Anyway, I decided it might be fun to make a book list of some of my favourite anthropomorphic tales in honour of this bizarre and addictive game.