2022 Midyear Book Haul

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Hi,

I just wanted to make a separate post for all the books I purchased/received so far. Just sharing and briefly talking about them. Had to have them on a separate post from my midyear update since this haul has gotten out of hand since it's been six months but I've also done a little self restraint from time to time. lol. I didnt get a book the entire April which really surprised me.

As always, I like the contrasts of my books. It's always a mixed bag for me. I got the usual fiction and I'm also starting to get more non-fiction. Reading The Bronx Zoom a couple of weeks back, tells me that I actually enjoy reading nonfiction. There aren't much dialogue and mostly a narration of events I already know with a few insider interviews. The mixture of true crimes and thriller and crime fiction to all those light/fun and sometimes partly serious chicklit romcom to break the seriousness of my reads to the somewhat hard reads like You'd Be Home by Now and Heroine. Looking at these also kind of reminded me that I don't read much SFF. I'm into scifi but surprisingly, I haven't bought any recently because whenever I'm in the bookstore, I'd gravitate towards the chicklit romance section (altho I am reading a scifi book right now).

NOW on to the books!

Hello!! Here's an Update and Maybe I'm Back

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Hi,

I just wanted to post an update. again. We're halfway thru the year.

I also kind of want to get back to blogging slowly :) Even though I've been reading slower than usual, I usually think about how I'll be reviewing books once I finish them. So one of these days, I want to sit down and actually try and write my thoughts on books I recently read.

Little life update, I got a new laptop because my last one finally broke down after eight years. I went back to the office three months ago and went to a work travel in between that as well (see my personal instagram if you're interested 😊). I'm still on a terrible reading slump which is kind of a carryover from last year which I also mentioned on my post early this year. We're halfway through the year and somehow I don't want to panic over not reading enough books but, yes, I'm also kind of panicking. lol. I'll just like to see how my mood will get better and get back to reading like before.

On another life update, as much as I'd like to keep up with my usual photos, we're in between moving houses and trying to build a new one. So I can't take photos like before but I'd really like to see how I can get around this and create new style of photos. Also, if you haven't done so, feel free to follow me on my bookstragam account @czai_ which I'm slowly getting back into posting on (even though it's mostly just old photos I took, lol).

I just want this to be a post for my bookish updates then I'll see where this takes me. I have a separate book haul posts because it's been six months and I'm clearly buying more than I'm reading. Reading-wise, I've only finished seven books so far this year. lol. But let's still talk about that!

DECEMBER WRAP UP (aka the month of trying to catch up)

Hi,

I wanna try and keep up with the updates here.

So 2022 started on an unfortunate note for me. Got sick on the first week (or less). It most likely was COVID but I opted not to leave my room and it was an absolutely lonely time. It did allow me to finish my book journal set up (and it's my first time trying this out) but I still haven't read much. Haven't finished a book but I don't want to panic this early in the year. Rough start reading-wise but it's okay, it's probably just a bit of continuation from last year. There's still 11 and a half months of 2022.

SO, sad things aside, I ordered Roxy early this year as a mini gift for myself since all I've been purchasing are ebooks. So I got one of my most anticipated books from 2021. I don't really know much about this book. I'm really just here to read all of Neal Shusterman's books.

I'm currently in the middle of A Crown of Wishes which I started late December and hoped to finish before 2022 but alas, here I am still struggling with it. I'll probably sell or give this book away along with its companion book Star-Touched Queen when I finish this. I need to unhaul soon especially since we'll be moving to a smaller house soon.

Now for series, I recently finished/watched!
- Mindhunters - just finished this and it was good. It was interesting although admittedly there were a few slow times. There were also times when I won't care for certain characters. There was a point that Holden's personal life just got boring and probably non-existent, Bill's got me curious and sad, and Wendy, fairly indifferent until the final couple of episodes.
- Narcos S3 + Narcos: Mexico - S3 was absolutely amazing. I liked following the Cali Cartel over Pablo Escobar just because they feel smarter and more calculating while Escobar was... chaotic. For Mexico, I was a bit hesitant at first because it'll be a whole new cast. It definitely started intriguing and after a couple of episodes, I was hooked and always excited for it.
- Ozark - I wanted a dark show involving another organized crime thing and some people said that if you like Breaking Bad, this is a good show and is comparable to it and idk if it's just me or those people were joking around but it's NOTHING like Breaking Bad vibes. I mean I get it, the guy's in an unfortunate situation but every episode is just... boring (?). Please tell me it gets exciting.
- Big Bang Theory - it's an endless rewatch for me, I guess. 
- on a side note, we also watched Encanto and damn that was sooooo good! I still have the OST on repeat on Spotify.

NOW ON TO THE BOOKS! 👇👇👇

SEPT-OCT-NOV WRAP UP (aka the life update)

thought i got the books in order of when i finished them. lol.

Hi,

Three months went by.

Mentally, I'm all over the place. I'm just doing work, trying to read, watching a couple of stuff on Netflix, and doing home chores. Nothing special and it really feels like a dead end sometimes. I still write on my journal on a somewhat daily basis to keep myself on track and talk to friends just to get stuff out of my head. I'm trying to bounce back on life. Not exactly on blogging though. I still don't know if I'll get back to this like before but right now, I just want an update here.

I'm still on a reading slump. Over those three months, I only finished five books. In November, I completely threw out the idea of making a tbr since I'm not really doing much in terms of reading in general. lol. Currently, I'm in the middle of Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness and Simmer Down by Sarah Smith which I just started and hopefully I can speed through it.

Since I haven't been reading much, I got myself into watching stuff (aside from wasting my time playing Honkai Impact 3rd). The last couple of months, I watched,
- You S3 - I enjoyed it even though it really deviates from the book.
- Good Girls - enjoyed it. It was exciting. I love the drama but the series finale was 'meh.' It had a good point and a lot of unfinished business and a couple of points I absolutely didn't like.
- Narcos S1 & S2 - just finished the first two seasons and it's quite interesting. After watching Breaking Bad (early this year?? or late last year, I think?) I'm somewhat inclined to just watch series related to drugtrafficking and stuff (?). idk. lol.
- the entire Hunger Games movie series - my sister said it's my comfort movie and maybe it is since I'm not really a big movie rewatcher kind of person. I still absolutely loved all of them! Would definitely rewatch it (and reread it!) again.
- Mindhunters - I like this but I'm watching it with my best friend so I can't binge it so I'm still not done. But it is really intriguing.
- the entire Fear Street movie series - first movie was meh. I complained so much (?). second movie was quite exciting. third movie kinda wrapped stuff up nicely. But overall, I didn't like the main girls. That's just it.

NOW ON TO THE BOOKS! 👇👇👇

[REVIEW] Gyo

title: Gyo

author: Junji Ito, Yuji Oniki (Translator)  
genre: manga, horror
published: April 21st 2015 by VIZ Media LLC (first published 2002)
my copy: hardcover, 397 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

Something is rotten in Okinawa...

The floating smell of death hangs over the island. What is it? A strange, legged fish appears on the scene... So begins Tadashi and Kaori's spiral into the horror and stench of the sea. Here is the creepiest masterpiece of horror manga ever from the creator of Uzumaki, Junji Ito. Hold your breath until all is revealed.

Junji Ito never disappoints!

I read Uzumaki by Junji Ito years and years ago. It was such an old (and maybe even classic already) horror manga and it was haunting. Gyo is honestly on the same boat. It's got that creepy story and haunting atmosphere.

[REVIEW] Nice Girls

title: Nice Girls
author: Catherine Dang  
genre: adult, mystery, thriller
published: September 7th 2021 by William Morrow
my copy: eGalley, 320 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3 / 5 stars
goodreads

A pulse-pounding and deviously dark debut, written with the psychological acuity and emotional punch of Luckiest Girl Alive and All the Missing Girls, that explores the hungry, angry, dark side of girlhood and dares to ask what is most dangerous to a woman: showing the world what it wants to see, or who she really is? 

What did you do? 

Growing up in Liberty Lake, Minnesota, Mary was chubby, awkward, and smart. Earning a scholarship to an Ivy League school was her ticket out; she was going to do great things and never look back. Three years later, “Ivy League Mary” is back—a thinner, cynical, and restless failure. Kicked out of Cornell at the beginning of senior year, she won’t tell anyone why. Working at the local grocery store, she sees familiar faces from high school and tries to make sense of the past and her life. 

When beautiful, magnetic Olivia Willand, a rising social media star, goes missing, Mary—like the rest of Liberty Lake—becomes obsessed. Best friends in childhood, Mary and Olivia haven’t spoken in years. Everyone admired Olivia, but Mary knows better than anyone that behind the Instagram persona hid a willful, manipulative girl with sharp edges. As the world worries for perfect, lovely Olivia, Mary can’t help but hate her. She also believes that her disappearance is tied to another missing person—a nineteen-year-old girl named DeMaria Jackson whose disappearance has gone under the radar.   

Who was the true Olivia Willand, and where did she go? What happened to DeMaria? As Mary delves deeper into the lives of the two missing girls, old wounds bleed fresh and painful secrets threaten to destroy everything. 

Maybe no one is really a nice girl, after all.

started strong, tried to do more.

I'm definitely the type to try out every mystery/thriller because why not. They may all feel the same but who knows, maybe there's some aspect I'll like. Sometimes I do wonder what I really, really look for in a mystery/thriller that I just pick up most that I can get my hands on. Nice Girls has a very typical-ish plot when you read that synopsis. and somehow, yeah... it is..

[WEEKEND READS] where I try to stop an on coming slump

Hi,

I'm sorry that I've still been away. There's work and there's my mood and there's a ugly weather that worries me all the time.

I decided not to get 1984 get into me so much so I picked up Ramona Blue. I don't need another slump at this time of the year especially since the last one got my head start on my goal all wiped out. lmao. I'm trying to make up for readings lost by reading YAs and short books that I have quite high hopes aka Severance.

On other things, I've been watching The I.T. Crowd on Netflix. I know it's trash but I just want something quick and something I don't need to care about. My head is not ready for heavy shows right now I guess. I've also been spending so much time (probably in the last month or so already) watching Sims Let's Play videos on Youtube. Just fun chill stuff. Lastly, I'm so glad that the Yankees finally won a game. At this point, I doubt they'll make the playoffs but I'm still hoping, as a fan.

[REVIEW] Everything You Want Me to Be

title: Everything You Want Me to Be

author: Mindy Mejia  
genre: adult, mystery, thriller
published: January 3rd 2017 by Atria Books
my copy: paperback, 352 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

Full of twists and turns, "Everything You Want Me to Be" reconstructs a year in the life of a dangerously mesmerizing young woman, during which a small town s darkest secrets come to the forefront...and she inches closer and closer to her death.

High school senior Hattie Hoffman has spent her whole life playing many parts: the good student, the good daughter, the good citizen. When she s found brutally stabbed to death on the opening night of her high school play, the tragedy rips through the fabric of her small town community. Local sheriff Del Goodman, a family friend of the Hoffmans, vows to find her killer, but trying to solve her murder yields more questions than answers. It seems that Hattie s acting talents ran far beyond the stage. Told from three points of view Del, Hattie, and the new English teacher whose marriage is crumbling "Everything You Want Me to Be" weaves the story of Hattie s last school year and the events that drew her ever closer to her death.

Evocative and razor-sharp, "Everything You Want Me to Be "challenges you to test the lines between innocence and culpability, identity and deception. Does love lead to self-discovery or destruction?"

Intriguing. Unputdownable.

I've been eyeing this book for so long just because it's one of those psychological thrillers I'm so keen on reading. Multiple POVs? Non-linear storytelling? Death of a beloved and perfect girl? YES PLEASE!

10 MIBF Hauls I Kept on my TBR Shelf the Longest

Hi,

This is the second year that the Manila International Book Fair isn't happening becaue of COVID-19! hecc you, covid!!!

I just miss the good old times (aka 2019-ish times) where I get to go to the book fair and buy all the books I want for 20% less. The fun of seeing a lot of books in a single place is so fun and going there with friends makes it even better. I usually go two times a year, a day for myself and a day with a friend. In 2018, I went with my best friend and we just went out check out each other's stacks. In all the other years, I went with my college friend and it was like our hang out day away from out busy work schedule.

But yeah, it's that couple of days of the year where I buys lots of books which I don't normally do. lmao. And yeah, I don't even buy physical books right now. If this COVID stays for another 2yrs, I'll probably clear out my TBR shelf. lmao. 

NOW ON TO THE BOOKS!!! 👇👇👇

[REVIEW] The Haunting of Sunshine Girl

title: The Haunting of Sunshine Girl (The Haunting of Sunshine Girl #1)

author: Paige McKenzie, Alyssa B. Sheinmel 
genre: young adult, paranormal
published: March 24th 2015 by Hachette Books

my copy: eGalley, 411 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 2 / 5 stars
goodreads

Something freaky's going on with Sunshine's new house... there's the chill that wraps itself around her bones, the giggling she can hear in the dead of night, and then the strange shadows that lurk in her photographs. But the more weird stuff that happens, the less her mom believes her. Sunshine's always had a quirky affiliation with the past, but this time, history is getting much too close for comfort...

If there is something, or someone, haunting her house, what do they want? And what will they do if Sunshine can't help them?

As things become more frightening and dangerous, and the giggles she hears turn to sobs and screams, Sunshine has no choice but to accept what she is, face the test before her and save her mother from a fate worse than death.

The first in a frighteningly good new series based on the popular YouTube sensation The Haunting of Sunshine Girl Network, created by Paige McKenzie.

could be an interesting series.

I have ZERO expectations when I downloaded this book YEARS! Somehow, I don't even know why I downloaded this since I'm not even a fan of paranormal stuff in books. lmao.

[WEEKEND READS] where I try to get things back on track here

Hi,

I'm still trying to get the hang of things again. Will do my best to blog hop tonight or tomorrow 😅😅😅

Work has been pretty good for me this past week. Guess I'm just enjoying the things I'm doing recently and I'm just glad to be part of the new project the company is trying to do. I'm also trying to get back to blogging again which I think I mentioned on my wrap up post (?). 

On other things, I started watching Narcos and I'm liking it (my head is still probably riding the Breaking Bad x Better Call Saul interest). Sometimes I wish I can speed through it but I also can't because half of the show is probably in Spanish and I had to read so much subtitles that I can't even watch it on the sides while I work. lmao. 

[REVIEW] The Kind Worth Killing

title: The Kind Worth Killing
author: Peter Swanson 
genre: adult, mystery, suspense
published: September 3rd 2015 by Faber & Faber

my copy: paperback, 411 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4.5 / 5 stars
goodreads

'Hello there.' 

I looked at the pale, freckled hand on the back of the empty bar seat next to me in the business class lounge of Heathrow airport, then up into the stranger's face. 

'Do I know you?' 

Delayed in London, Ted Severson meets a woman at the airport bar. Over cocktails they tell each other rather more than they should, and a dark plan is hatched - but are either of them being serious, could they actually go through with it and, if they did, what would be their chances of getting away with it? 

Back in Boston, Ted's wife Miranda is busy site managing the construction of their dream home, a beautiful house out on the Maine coastline. But what secrets is she carrying and to what lengths might she go to protect the vision she has of her deserved future? 

A sublimely plotted novel of trust and betrayal, The Kind Worth Killing will keep you gripped and guessing late into the night.

absolutely UNPUTDOWNABLE!

This has been on my TBR for the longest time!! Because I've seen Peter Swanson's name so much and one of his recent books, Eight Perfect Murders, kind of intrigued me. So here we are..

JULY-AUGUST WRAPUP (aka the months of being completely off blogging)

Hi,

Two months flew by and somehow I still don't know how to do this blogging again. lmao.

I'm doing another update generally because I didn't want a three-month wrapup. Also, I got a bit motivated to be productive (?) after stumbling upon a productivity video on Youtube. I'm trying to make a more effective to-do list stuff to manage myself well and keeping in mind a few things I picked up else where like stopping myself from endless social media scrolling (because sometimes it's a waste of time) and I also downloaded a focus app on my phone so I can stop myself from randomly picking it up and browse social media. I hope this works!!

On blogging and reading stuff, I do plan to get back on blogging. Hopefully. I found a few reviews I wrote a couple of years back (probably 3-4 years ago, tbh. but I'll roll with it. lmao). I'll schedule those alongside reviews I'm writing right now. I'm trying to get through a few ARCs I got and hopefully get back on track of things. I'm pushing myself to read more with my buddy read book, my usual TBR challenge picks and my ebook read.  My TBR for September will be up soon, similar to last year, it's a stack of my MIBF book haul. I picked my oldest MIBF haul (which also somewhat crossed over my oldest unread books tbr).

On other things, I FINALLY finished Kingdom from Netflix. I'm eyeing another zombie series, Black Summer, I think (?). Saw someone mentioned it, I think. But my best friend also told me to watch The Serpent first. SO we'll see I guess. I'm a lazy watcher anyway. I ended up rewatching Big Bang Theory again but I'll probably pick up a serious show soon.

NOW ON TO THE BOOKS! 👇👇👇

[24HR READATHON] August 2021 Dewey's 24-Hour Reverse Readathon Day!!

Hi,

It's that time of the year!

Last April, I did a massive amount of sleeping so I barely read. AND this time, I barely read generally because chores and it took me forever to get through Wuthering Heights because I'm taking notes and highlighting things. BUT, in general, I think that this readathon went well for me. I may be a very slow reader but I did get through more pages than I expected from myself which I'm really happy about.

10 Books I'm Too Scared To Read But Should Really Get to RIGHT NOW

Hi,

It's only been two-ish weeks since I posted my TBR (lmao) and I read one book from that stack and got through two more books (which I'll be talking about on my wrap up soon). SO here we are with another monthly TBR which I honestly picked at random and feels and mood (?). idk.

Basically these are just books I thought I've been holding off for whatever reasons. SO I guess I've been too scared to pick them up and this is the time I push myself to finally get around some of these (hopefully half of these). ALSO, I'm joining #reveresereadathon tomorrow-ish depending on where you live or when you see this. It's a readathon hosted by the Dewey's Readathon team. I'll post a recap of that on Sunday I guess (which I hope is a success for me unlike my personal 24hr readathons. lmao).

JUNE WRAP UP (aka the month of getting stuck)

new hair!! so here's my face again. lmao.

Hi,

It's almost the end of July and I have zero clue what went on in June. lmao. was going to have this up a couple of days ago but a massive storm happened, our house was flooded, wifi was down for a day, we had to clean the entire ground floor of the house. SO yeah, fun stuff. lmao.

But generally, in June I think I tried to bounce back but got stuck with writing reviews and focused on reading and work. Sometimes, I open blogger and think, (1) How do I do these reviews again?, (2) How do I write down my thoughts on this book?, and the worst one (3) What went on in this book again? (lmao). I struggle writing sometimes that I just let things fall down for a while and even thought about dropping this blog. But then, I also remembered that I like having this just for the sake of seeing my progress. So here we are 😅

On another note, this is not a June thing, it's an early July thing, but I finally got a hair cut after probably 2 years or 1 and a half years now (?) In some of my photos, you can probably see my hair poking around and without my ponytail, I'd say it's below my bust then and it was probably the longest it's been if I remember that correctly. But yeah. YAY to new hair!

10 Books on my TBR Shelf the Longest (aka books I should be reading this month)

Hi,

It's been a while. And I was a bit hesitant to do this post basically because: (1) it's almost the end of the month, and (2) I haven't really finished any of these. And I think 1984 got me into some kind of slump so I'm picking up books from previous TBRs that I think will help me get my motivation back in reading.

In another note, I decided to still post this TBR because I plan to do a wild 100-pages-a-day reading for me just for the hecc of it. My slow ass reading self will probably be exhausted but idk. We'll see I guess. I haven't finished any of these so all of these are still in the mix for the next week and a half of my reading (?). And I still want to get through my usual four to five books a month. BUT I am quite close to finishing my current read and somewhat halfway through the ebook I'm reading.

ICYMI, this is the same tbr prompt I have this month last year and I generally have half of these books in last year's TBR. lmao. I only read five books from last year's but in my defense, one of those books is the last book in a series which I had to reread the first three books before finally getting to it.

* I'll try to have my June Wrap Up and 2nd Quarter Reading Stats soon (i think). I'm not sure about reviews/book thoughts but somehow I'm still in no mood to write them.

BOOKS FROM THE BACKLOG #31

Hi,

Books from the Backlog is a weekly feature hosted by Carole @ Carole's Random Life in Books.

[WEEKEND READS] where I reorganized my room and got too tired for everything else

Hi,

It was a busy weekend for me. I had a massive list house chores (aka mostly laundry) and doing a general cleaning and rearrangement of my room. I moved my bed, shelf, and table which took a massive work on moving books from and back to the shelf and where ever they came from. I am in desperate need of another shelf but I don't really have space so every other books I have (aka the books I've read) stays stacked on my floor and on the side of my shelf and on parts of my table. So there's that. lol.

I was exhausted so I ended up not opening my laptop for the weekend. Aside from chores, I did read Mosquitoland finally finishing it!! Love the wrap up chapters and I'll definitely read David Arnold's other books.

APRIL-MAY WRAP UP (aka the months of calm and chaos. lol.)

Lonely Hearts Hotel is NOT included in this wrap up. It was, however, on last month's. lol.

Hi,

It's been a while and I really, really considered posting even a wrap up last month but I ended up putting it off until it came to the end of May and told myself, I'll just do a combine wrap up and leave it at that. So here we are. lol.

April was normal, I guess. It's not exactly eventful. I started doing my weekly "reading plans" just to spice up my reading and push myself to read more (spoiler alert: nothing happened much. I'm still at the same pace. lol. but we'll get there. I hope). I also participated in Dewey's 24-hr readathon but I somehow failed, I think. I mean reading-wise, I didn't read as much as I wanted to. But I'm still continuing my personal monthly readathon (which also did not happen in May. ugh!). So all is good.

May, however, is the high stress month for me. Let me count the ways it brought me down (lol):