May 31st, 2020 || MAY READING WRAP-UP📚 . Here are all the books I read in May. The majority of my reads were written by Asian authors due to the Asian readathon. I have post mini-reviews here for some of them and also on my instagram if you fancy having a look. Some of the books I read were ebooks and since my e-reader died on me and I'm too lazy to charge it, they are not pictured. . 🌿The Complete Chi's Sweet Home, Part 1 by Konami Kanata (8/10). 🌿All Among the Barley by Melissa Harrison (8/10). 🌿The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi (6.5/10). 🌿The Map of Salt & Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar (DNF). 🌿The Magical Language of Others by E.J. Koh (8.5/10). 🌿Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (7/10). 🌿Emma by Jane Austen (a reread - 8/10). 🌿Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong (9/10). 🌿On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (5.5/10). 🌿A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (9.5/10). 🌿How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C.Pam Zhang (7/10). . Of the ebooks, I have purchased a physical copy for All Among the Barley, The Magical Language of Others and Minor Feelings after reading them because they were that good. How was your reading this month? • • • #readingwrapup #mayreads #asianreadathon #graphicnovels #literaryfiction #thecompletechissweethome #allamongthebarley #thebeastplayer #intothinair #emma #janeausten #englishliterature #onearthwerebrieflygorgeous #afinebalance #themapofsaltandstars #themagicallanguageofothers #minorfeelings #howmuchofthesehillsisgold #stackofbooks #recentlyread #adayinbooklandreviews #pileofbooks #unitedbookstagram #fortheloveofreading #bookloversunite https://www.instagram.com/p/CA2gRY7q9sc/?igshid=if5bfhoteq3j

“Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor!” 🌬 . The Air Nomads were probably the most difficult to find books for! In the end, I settled on The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi because a central theme to the book is loving nature while respecting the boundaries between us and it. The main character Elin is from an ethnic minority who are known as great tamers of animals, and the symbiotic relationship they have with them is similar to how the Air Nomads coexisted amongst the nature fauna of the temples they lived in. #bookstagram #books #bookrecommendations #atla #avatar #airbender #thebeastplayer https://www.instagram.com/p/CBv50S0nnRD/?igshid=c7pon344hzfk

Co-host Wendy recently spotted these MG/YA #Asianlit books at Kinokuniya in Shinjuku, Tokyo!✨ • #AThousandBeginningsandEndings, edited by @elloecho @elsiechapman • #LalanioftheDistantSea by @erinentrada • #SouloftheSword by @juliekagawaauthor • #TheBeastPlayer by #NahokoUehashi • #KiraKira by #CynthiaKadohata • #PieintheSky by @rrremylai #ownvoices #diversity #weneeddiversebooks https://www.instagram.com/p/B8VyBCWA-c_/?igshid=169itw97mcbja

May 13th, 2020 || #asianreadathon update! 📚 . i have finished these two so far. both by Japanese authors: 🌿 The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi. i'm not really sure how to rate this (in terms of my own numerical system). do i think it was worth my time? yes. did i enjoy it as a whole? also yes. would i pick up the sequel? probably. but i also had some issues. i liked the translation which at any point felt out of place, and the language was fluid and felt natural to me. in terms of the story per se i think i prefer the first half to the second half - where i felt the main character became very passive and behaved in circles. for a character that appeared to be very smart, i found myself a few times frustrated by her (lack of) action: she remained silent when it was necessary for her to speak up and she endangered herself when it wasn't necessary. the highlight for me was how she cared for animals. . 🌿The Complete Chi’s Sweet Home. Part 1 by Konami Kanata. this was adorable; the story of a cat who gets lost and is found by a family who can’t keep animales in their apartment. the story is just the daily adventures of Chi, the cat, but she is just too cute and I adored the artwork (8/10). . hope you are all having a good week! what are you currently reading? • • • • #recentreads #mayreads #recentlyread #adayinbooklandreviews #chissweethome #thebeastplayer #graphicnovels #fantasynovel #asianauthors #japaneseliterature #readingupdate #unitedbookstagram #bookreviewers #bookloversunite https://www.instagram.com/p/CAIK40iqy6t/?igshid=18vb5b95oanw1

May 5th, 2020|| today i bring you my asian readathon stack! i know there are some prompts to follow but i pretty much believe these books fill them perfectly - the only prompt i won’t be doing is reading Little Fires Everywhere because i have already read it and it’s not one i’m interested in rereading. . here is the list: 🌿A Fine Balance. 🌿The Beast Player. 🌿The God of Small Things. 🌿On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. 🌿The Map of Salt and Stars. 🌿The Joy Luck Club. 🌿How Much of These Hills Is Gold (this one i actually started it but decided to put down because i wasn’t feeling it - will give it another chance later on). . apart from these, i have some other titles as ebooks that will be my backup just in case i manage to finish the physical ones (not gonna happen most likely). here they are: 🌿The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing. 🌿Anna K. 🌿Territory of Light. 🌿Your House Will Pay. 🌿The Immortals of Tehran. 🌿The Mountains Sing. 🌿The Beauty of Your Face. . are you taking part in any readathon this month? if you are participating in asian readathon, what are you picking up? • • • #asianreadathon #afinebalance #thebeastplayer #thegoodofsmallthings #onearthwerebrieflygorgeous #themapofsaltandstars #thejoyluckclub #asianauthors #bookpile #stackofbooks #tbrpile #mayreads #ilovereadingbooks #unitedbookstagram #diversereads https://www.instagram.com/p/B_zj14RKMW5/?igshid=y3gu1q11ukdu

May 9th, 2020 || 📚currently reading📚 . how things have changed since april.... from reading everything to now, reading very slowly and not for a long period of time 😖 we love that readathon burnout 😅 . anyways, this is what i’m currently reading: . 🌿Emma by Jane Austen. A reread for me; taking my time with it. . 🌿All Among the Barley by Melissa Harrison. picked this up on a whim and i cannot believe i haven’t got to it sooner. i had the impression that it would be a difficult read, don’t know why, but so far, it’s absolutely fantastic and the writing is superb. . 🌿The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi. i’m reading this for the asian readathon; a Japanese fantasy novel. halfway through it and right now it’s really interesting because it feels more like a critique piece about the way we domesticate wild animals and the abuse we put them through. . hope you are having a nice day! any good current reads? • • • #allamongthebarley #emmajaneausten #thebeastplayer #literaryfiction #contemporaryfiction #englishlit #classics #yaliterature #currentlyreading #readingpile #bookflatlay #unitedbookstagram #mayreads https://www.instagram.com/p/B_922R4qiV_/?igshid=1dw2bf947baxl

👩🏻👩🏼👩🏽👩🏾👩🏿 HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY!!! 💪🏿💪🏾💪🏽💪🏼💪🏻 in order to celebrate I’m sharing some books on my tbr written by women 💜 . What books written by women have you recently read or acquired? • • • #internationalwomensday #8m #bookstacks #femaleauthors #thepoppywar #itsnotabouttheburqa #thefamiliars #alwaysanothercountry #aftertheeclipse #thebeastplayer #bookloversday #fortheloveofbooks #unitedbookstagram https://www.instagram.com/adayinbookland/p/BuvxpieHWqz/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ojd0f20m4aq2

Which of these are you most excited to read? . Happy Friday! So glad this week is almost done. 🙂 I'm most excited to get some reading done and catch up on shows while packing some boxes. 😉 . Stacks of books just make us so happy! Here are our July and August books - we just want to read them all! What about you? . #thebooklingscrate #booksubscriptionbox #bookboxindia #startupindia #delhi #mumbai #pune #bangalore #readersofinstagram #booksubscriptionboxindia #indiastartup #igreads #lovebooks #ireadya #fictionreads #thebeastplayer #thesurfacebreaks #theperfectmother #themarsroom #thegirlwhosmiledbeads #thepisces #thereadymadethief #theensemble #thebookofessie #invitationtoabonfire #therethere #thebookofm #floridalaurengroff #thelastwatchmanofoldcairo

Which of these books are on your TBR? . Good morning and happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend. . Here's a lovely stack of the July Tales With A Twist books and one of our favorite bookmarks by @thecraftpanda that was part of the May Once Upon A Dream boxes. 😍 . #thebooklingscrate #booksubscriptionbox #bookboxindia #startupindia #delhi #mumbai #pune #bangalore #readersofinstagram #booksubscriptionboxindia #indiastartup #igreads #lovebooks #ireadya #fictionreads #fantasy #thebeastplayer #thesurfacebreaks #fairytaleretelling #japanese #theperfectmother #themarsroom #thegirlwhosmiledbeads #thepisces #thereadymadethief #thriller #literaryfiction

What is your favorite type of bookish merch/goodies? . Hey guys! Here's another full unboxing pic of the July Tales With A Twist box. We are loving your DMs about how much you love this box and we can't wait to surprise you with the next one. 😉 . So last night, I realized none of my usual shows are releasing any new episodes till late in October, so I went on YouTube to find more interesting shows that released this year but every single one that I liked, was also listed as "upcoming" with no release date specified. 🤷 So I got some reading done instead. 😜 . #thebooklingscrate #booksubscriptionbox #bookboxindia #startupindia #delhi #mumbai #pune #bangalore #readersofinstagram #booksubscriptionboxindia #indiastartup #igreads #lovebooks #ireadya #fictionread #bookmarks #candy #thebeastplayer #thesurfacebreaks #julybox #taleswithatwist

Here's a lovely full unboxing pic by @story_enchanted of the July Tales With A Twist Premium box - so glad you loved the box! ☺️ . What was in the box: - Theme Card - Books of her choice: The Beast Player and The Surface Breaks - Glow in the Dark Bookmarks - A Rapunzel bookmark - Hansel & Gretel inspired candy - Little Red Riding Hood pin badge by @thecraftpanda - Mermaid inspired Patchouli and Rose foot soak - A bonus item: bookish tea-light holder and a scented tea-light . We are so happy you all are loving the books and the items in the box - please do remember to tag us in your photos so we can see them, it makes our day! 😍 . #thebooklingscrate #booksubscriptionbox #bookboxindia #startupindia #delhi #mumbai #pune #bangalore #readersofinstagram #booksubscriptionboxindia #indiastartup #igreads #lovebooks #ireadya #fictionread #bookmarks #candy #thebeastplayer #thesurfacebreaks #julybox #taleswithatwist

Happy Lazy Sunday! 😆 Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the laziest of them all? - People who are about to miss our September Wild And Wicked box, that's who....😲😱 😄 Just kidding! 😄 . Okay okay, no need to be worried! There's still time to book your box - we just like a little jolt to really wake us up in the mornings - coffee or scary news like books/boxes going becoming unavailable soon. 😜 . Look at all these beautiful books! Lovely, colorful and such wonderful stories inside - how many of these books have you read? 🤓 . #thebooklingscrate #booksubscriptionbox #bookboxindia #startupindia #delhi #mumbai #pune #bangalore #readersofinstagram #booksubscriptionboxindia #indiastartup #igreads #lovebooks #ireadya #fictionread #thebookofm #renegades #thecityofbrass #thebeastplayer #circe #theoutsider #thesurfacebreaks #fantasy #fairytaleretellings #dystopian #mythology #thriller #supernatural

A very good morning to you! Here's another book from our July Lineup - isn't the cover gorgeous?! 😍 . The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi is the first book in a Japanese fantasy series, translated by Cathy Hirano. . It follows a girl, Elin, whose family is in charge of taking care of the Toda, fearsome water serpents that form the core of their Lord's army. When some of them die suddenly, mysteriously, her mother is convicted and sentenced to death. Before she dies, her mother uses an ancient, forbidden power to send Elin to safety. Soon after, Elin realizes she can talk to both, the terrifying Toda and the majestic Royal beasts that protect the Supreme Queen of her realm. This knowledge gives her power but is also about to put her in grave danger. 🙈 . This just sounds like an amazing fantasy read, set in Japan and we're so excited about this book! 😍 . Today is going to be busy, busy, busy for us but we'll have the giveaway winner announced by evening. 😊 . We are so overwhelmed by your love and excitement for the Limited Edition Wizarding World of Harry Potter Box! 😍Being avid fans of the series ourselves, we are very excited to curate this box with all the specially designed items just for you Potterheads! 😄 . Regrann from @thebookaneers -- #regrann . #thebooklingscrate #booksubscriptionbox #bookboxindia #startupindia #delhi #mumbai #pune #bangalore #readersofinstagram #booksubscriptionboxindia #indiastartup #igreads #fiction #lovebooks #ireadya #fictionreads #thebeastplayer #japanesefantasy #youngadult https://ift.tt/2J1a6Ms