A look at last week
and more on this newsletter...
Hello and welcome to the very first issue of this newsletter!
I’ve always wanted to start a newsletter and seeing Rebecca’s gave me the push I needed plus Substack seemed interactive and easy to use!
I hope to talk about life and books in detail here which I usually reserve for posts on Instagram. Though lately, I haven’t had the same enthusiasm for posting or even interacting on Instagram so this is where I’ll shift the more personal conversations as well as any in depth reviews and stuff I would like to talk about.
Here is what you can expect from this newsletter:
A look into what my week has been like. I used to post this in form of #WhatThisWeek posts on Instagram and it was always fun for me so I hope y’all enjoy it too.
Some occasional reviews (both ARCs and others)
Monthly wrap ups for all the media I end up consuming
Anything else I feel like sharing which might end up including talks about my WIP which is still in thinking stages but I’m hoping to start soon so that’s very exciting!!!
The last week was fairly laidback at work which usually would mean me taking full advantage and listening to audiobooks throughout the day but my ears and I both weren’t in the mood so audiobooks have ended up taking a decided backseat as I go back to other formats.
Winters are here which means soaking up the sun and sitting in the park that’s beside my office premises, mostly with a book. I’ve been reading Origin by Dan Brown for the last *counts* 3 (THREE) weeks which is far longer than I normally take to read a book and believe me, it wasn’t because I was “savouring” the book. I wasn’t but I also didn’t have the time or opportunity to pick it up outside of work breaks and so…3 weeks it took. I think it was because one of my colleagues constantly saying “She has finished about 4 different books in such a short time!!!” to anyone who would hear but I digress. (Nazar, evil eye, superstitions and all, anyone?)
Here’s a photo of a few birds wandering around a pothole full of water in the park. One of them was taking a bath in the pothole and the water splashing around because of the ruffling of its wings was truly a sight to behold but alas, it stopped as soon as I took out my phone to record. I did manage to record a parrot dipping into it though. Ping me if you would like to take a look ;)
I read quite a lot of books this week, some I enjoyed, some I didn’t…much. Here’s what I read:
Origin by Dan Brown (📖 3 ⭐️): I don’t know what is it about a book that has clearly surpassed the time limit by which it should’ve been read that niggles at you like a thousand pinpricks. Especially when it is a physical copy. It isn’t quite the feeling of it being a competition but instead a feeling of a pending task which you should’ve managed to complete ages ago and yet, you haven’t and the physicality of it lying right in front of your eyes is enough to make you feel as if you’ve failed miserably at something. And you internally scream IT’S JUST A BOOK!! while your brain calmly replies, yes, but you failed nonetheless. Can anyone else relate? Or is it an “original” experience?
So yes, I used all my weekend on this book just so I could finally be done with it. And it wasn’t even all that thrilling or interesting. The casual sexism, the constant need to label every woman “beautiful” “soft” or other adjectives and have the MC mansplain stuff to them is something that definitely dampens the reading experience. But anyway, I’m glad to be done with it and to look forward to never picking up a Dan Brown again. Thank you, next.
Tears in the Water by Margherita Scialla (📱 4 ⭐️): I was overjoyed to have received an eARC of this book. I came across the ARC request post on my explore and instantly felt the need to read it. Even though it didn’t quite meet my expectations, I still enjoyed the book a lot and it has a lot of important representation. It features a pan & gender-questioning MC, trans-binary & demi LI, lesbian and aroace SCs.
The Gentleman’s Book of Vices by Jess Everlee (🎧 Undecided): I don’t quite know what to make of this book. There is this one scene in the first 10-15% of the book which is then also alluded to quite frequently AND lightheartedly. It had such a nice premise and the execution was…okay sort of but I just wish that scene wasn’t there.
See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon (🎧 3.5 ⭐️): I like and enjoy Rachel’s writing style quite a lot. It is whip smart as well as full of good humor. But unfortunately, that wasn’t quite enough. The premise was interesting what with the MC and the LI both stuck in a time loop and trying to figure out ways to get out and it was also well executed to a certain extent but in my humble opinion, its length should’ve been a lot less than what it is. It is always tricky to get me to like books set in such settings because I think a lot of people miss the mark of “repetitive but still enjoyable” and end up with “repetitive AND frustrating”, which always ends up making me feel like the book was too lengthy and should’ve ended a lot earlier.
The Wicked Remain by Laura Pohl (🎧 4 ⭐️): This is a sequel to The Grimrose Girls, set at a boarding school, it features four main queer characters who are trying to figure out the mysterious death (s) at their school. Yuki is aroace, Nani and Rory are lesbians and Ella is bi. This duology is great to read if you like fairytales and are fairly invested in them. I didn’t enjoy the first book all that much because I found it predictable but this one certainly had a lot more twists and turns. I still wasn’t invested in the whole fairytale aspect of it so that dampened my enjoyment but other than that, I really enjoyed this one!
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride (📱 4.5 ⭐️): This was also somewhat predictable plotwise but Roshani Chokshi writes like a dream. The prose is so beautiful and atmospheric that you can’t help but be captivated by the story. As I already said, I’m not much for fairytales so when I say this is probably the best fairytale I’ve read so far or I’ll ever read, I truly do mean it. The prose is so lush, the haunting nature of the tale and the mystery utterly spellbinding that you’re bound to emerge out of this wide-eyed and impossibly impressed.
If you know me well, you know I prefer to read in my free time and I’m the literal embodiment of the phrase “I would rather be reading” because believe me, if I find enough free time, I WILL be. ;)
So predictably, I consume other forms of media very less, if at all. I do watch TV shows when I just don’t have the energy to read after a tiring day but I almost never watch movies. The only show (except for some Friends and The Big Bang Theory reruns) I watched this week is:
Harlem: This amazing show features four black women going about their lives. One of them is queer and another one starts questioning by the last episode. I loved this show so much and I’m eagerly awaiting the second season now. I really hope there is one *checks* THERE IS! And it releases 3rd Feb, AHHH I CANNOT WAIT. No, seriously, y’all need to watch this amazing show. Not only it features an amazing found family but also different forms of love, great cinematography, gorgeous black women and very captivating storylines!
I am predicting a busy week at work ahead so wish me luck and lots of rest. I really need it. :’(
Hope y’all have had a great weekend and will have a lovely week ahead <3
See y’all next weekend! <333333
Lots of love and hugs,
Niharika :D