April 3, 2017

MARCH ROUNDUP (aka the stressful and no-sleep month)

these covers ๐Ÿ˜
Hello,

Lengthy post ahead because of: (1) my month's recap of stressful events, (2) being thankful to all you for keeping up with me and YAY for new readers, and (3) usual books read, reviewed, hauled, and to-read. 

If you're reading this, I'm sure you know that March was harsh and toxic for me. I told you guys that I'll be gone because I'll be working on my undergraduate thesis. You guys wished me luck and that meant so much to me. A week later, I gave an update that it's been a great mess and me and my friends are struggling with sleep. I barely slept for the next two weeks after that. You guys told me to take care of myself that I should sleep and hoped that I take control over my stress.

A couple of weeks ago, I told you guys that I'm back to reading and blogging. But come on now! Let's be real! That week, we hustled more and finalized our messed up research paper. HOWEVER THOUGH, the Saturday after that post, we defended our research. I was crazy nervous since I'm an introvert who'd rather read than socialize. Fortunately though, it went well for me in terms of presentation and defending our research. We had few revisions (which is done now, thank the stars!) and I'm so proud of our team despite all the mishaps and annoyance and misunderstandings. It was tough but we did well.

Finally, I'd like to thank each and everyone of you guys who religiously commented on some of my update posts. I was busy and barely reading but I kept you updated with my reading and life. So many thanks to Carole @ Carole's Random Life for supporting our project. I'll follow through with my promise and follow you in any way I haven't and comment on your posts :) I was also very happy to see an increase on followers despite my break (maybe i should take breaks more often?). Welcome to my new readers! If you're reading this, just leave a comment and I'll make sure to drop by your blog asap! I'll be bloghopping this week since I'm quite free now. YAY FOR THAT!! I'll go through everyone that left a comment since this March :)

ALSO, I just finished Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans and you guys MUST watch it (only if you like GREAT anime, of course). It's VERY difficult to really pour my thoughts on this one but here're some without revealing spoilers or hints (UGH! #difficult). If you've never seen any of the Gundam anime, there's nothing to worry about because this is set in an entirely different universe (meaning, this has nothing to do with them). QUICK THOUGHTS HERE: (1) mecha (cuz duh! GUNDAM); (2) this series is big on drama (ohgosh, i cried A LOT. MASSIVELY! especially throughout the second half. your fault, Mari Okada & Nagai Tatsuyuki! these two means this series is made for drama. you gotta believe me in that.); (3) involves slavery, child labor, dystopian world; (4) really complex characters I ended up loving so much; (5) deaths (cuz drama?; cuz why not?; cuz Okada and Tatsuyuki wants to break viewers?); (6) great combination of well-written plot, memorable characters, comedy and drama and battle with great animation and framing; and (i almost forgot) (7) painful romance (does this sound spoiler-ish? i still love you people though and would love it if you watch this). -- i watched this on Daisuki.net so now go there and feel the pain.

Now let's get into this roundup!

books read
I started several books this month and only finished two. I started The Seven Dials Mystery in February and only had a few pages left when March came (so #shame on me). Rose Petal Graves was a quick read and I had to finish it for a blog tour. With the stressful month, I think I fell into another reading slump (which is already the 2nd one this year. 2017 has a disappointing reading year for me so far but I'll be graduating from uni soon so more reading time!). 

books reviewed
Last February I reviewed a great amount of books and not left for March #bigmistake. I was only able to review these two books which I both enjoyed which is great. The Nightingale is automatically on my fave 2017 reads and Rose Petals Graves was unexpectedly good. I can't wait for the sequel!

book haul
Hidden Figures (Young Readers' Edition) by Margot Lee Shetterly | The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde | Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1) by Neal Shusterman | The Shadow of the Wind (the Cemetery of Forgotten Books #1) by Carlos Ruiz Zafรณn | King's Cage (Red Queen #3) by Victoria Aveyard | The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike #1) by Robert Galbraith | A Crown of Wishes (the Star-Touched Queen #2) by Roshani Chokshi

I got King's Cage in late February which I mentioned on my roundup post for February. SO GLAD I GOT IT!! OMG! I'm also reading it right now. I will most likely read Scythe next or maybe continue my #bookclub read (which I held off because #stressedout) -- will talk about this book club on another post #excited. I was also so glad I got the Sphere edition of The Cuckoo's Calling because now, at least, its size matches my copy of The Silkworm and Career of Evil (i only have a massmarket paperback before, i'll probably give it off soon).

I also downloaded several eGalleys from NetGalley and Kindle Freebies this past month. It was bad, I tell you. My tbr just increased so much this March. UGH.

to-be-read
Nothing here is definite, that's for sure. Since Waking Gods is coming out this month, I thought I should get back to Sleeping Giants. Bombay Blood was an author-review-request book and it's a medical thriller. The Saturday Evening Girls Club is a historical fiction that involves the struggle of immigrant women. Scythe and A Crown of Wishes are YA books I'm soooo excited to read. 


HOW ABOUT YOU GUYS, 
How was your March? Anything you want to share? New hobby, projects, travel, books, school life? 
How was your month in reading? Anything you added to your faves? Anything you recommend to me?

let's connect!

16 comments:

  1. Congratulations on finishing your thesis! It looks like you have some great reads coming up, glad you'll have some time to devote to less-stressful things. Happy reading!

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    1. Thank you, Angela! I'm really excited for a better reading month this April!

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  2. I hope your stress is much better and April is a good month for you.

    You have listed so many books I have yet to get to yet! I need all the books. LOL Have fun reading!

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    1. It is under control. I've had a great sleep these past few days and nothing big to really worry about. Thanks, Melissa!

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  3. Yay for finishing your thesis! That's awesome. Hopefully things get better from here. I'm glad you liked Rose Petal Graves. I've been hearing mixed things about it, but it looks so good I want to give it a try.

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    1. Thanks! Just one more month 'til my graduation! :D I noticed the mixed things about it. I actually gave it a 3.5-stars. It was good and I'd love to read the next book but it's not exactly something I highly recommend. I'd love to know what you think of it when you get a chance to read it :)

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  4. I'm glad you're able to breathe a little sigh of relief. I hope you'll enjoy your summer at least. :)

    P.S.

    Would you be interested in doing a Shelf Envy post on my blog? I'll email you in a bit.

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    1. I'm off to graduation, actually. I'm excited for that! :D

      A Shelf Envy post sounds fantastic! I'm definitely up for it though my shelf actually isn't that much. Thanks, Joy!

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  5. You're done! I wrote a thesis and became borderline insane. I slept very little and would stay up late writing stuff that seemed brilliant but when I looked at it in the light of day, it made no sense. And then I got so paranoid that my computer would melt down that I put it all on a flash drive and wore it around my neck. Yeah... good times!
    Hope you enjoyed all your books as a reward for that hard work!

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    1. I totally know what you mean. Writing day and night and making sure everything is backed up was crazy! But finishing it felt really great and I'm so proud of it. Thanks, Jen!

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  6. Hey girl! glad to see you finally have free time! Congrats on finishing the thesis! Looking forward to seeing you around the blog more! Enjoyed your really creative posts like dystopian author's panel! :) Get your well deserved rest and have fun reading all those amazing books :)

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    1. Thanks, Uma! I'm really really excited to get back blogging full time again! I can't wait to read all of my new books!! :D

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  7. Hi Czai! I'm glad March finally ended - you were so stressed! March also meant my TBR increased a lot :O I have to get reading, because it only becomes larger! I really want to read The Nightingale, and King's Cage has been sitting on my shelf since it came out, but I can't find the time to read it...

    Listen, I tagged you for the Mystery Blogger Award here http://wonderfulliterature.blogspot.com/2017/04/mystery-blogger-award.html Feel free to ignore it if you're not interested! ;) always nice hearing from you!

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    1. Same, here! I really need to start reading my books because my TBR pile is officially out of control. lol. I really encourage you to read The Nightingale. It's a really wonderful but heart wrenching, and important story. I'm still currently reading King's Cage and it's an okay thing for me. I'm kind of not sure I like where it's heading though. But I'm sure I'll still read the finale either way.

      Thanks for the tag, Cova! I'll definitely do it (still not sure when though)! :)

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  8. Congrats on finishing your thesis!! My TBR has grown a lot too since I took a break from reading last month ๐Ÿ™ƒ! I'm so behind on my arcs and reviews! I really need to get a wriggle on and read ๐Ÿ˜‚! I'm glad you've got a bit more free time now though!

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    1. Thanks, Kirsty! Taking a break from reading and blogging feels refreshing but kind of alarming when you get back and realize the amount of books you need to get through. But it's still fun though. It's also great to see you back on blogging :)

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