Published by Random House on 06 Aug 2019
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Trick Mirror is an enlightening, unforgettable trip through the river of self-delusion that surges just beneath the surface of our lives. This is a book about the incentives that shape us, and about how hard it is to see ourselves clearly in a culture that revolves around the self. In each essay, Jia writes about the cultural prisms that have shaped her: the rise of the nightmare social internet; the American scammer as millennial hero; the literary heroine’s journey from brave to blank to bitter; the mandate that everything, including our bodies, should always be getting more efficient and beautiful until we die.

– I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. –

To be published by Thomas Dunne Books on 10 Dec 2019
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Selina Lennox is a Bright Young Thing. Her life is a whirl of parties and drinking, pursued by the press and staying on just the right side of scandal, all while running from the life her parents would choose for her.

Lawrence Weston is a penniless painter who stumbles into Selina’s orbit one night and can never let her go even while knowing someone of her stature could never end up with someone of his. Except Selina falls hard for Lawrence, envisioning a life of true happiness. But when tragedy strikes, Selina finds herself choosing what’s safe over what’s right.

8 books. 2819 pages. 6 fiction, 2 nonfiction. 3 fantasy, 1 historical romance, 1 suburban drama, 1 classic, 1 essay collection, 1 psychology. 6 women. 1 person of colour.

Counting books read, it looks like I did alright this month; less read than the last few months, but still a pretty good amount. At the beginning of the month I was hoping to take more time with my reads–to be more present and immersed in my reads–and thus read less books overall anyway.

But looking at my ratings this month, the month has been a bit of a bust. I rated most 3s–the 3s ranging from some-great-moments-and-some-boring-moments-that-evened-out to entirely-neutral to not-my-taste-but-could-be-for-others. (What a range to be encapsulated in a 3 star rating haha. I’d love to hear about your rating system! Mine probably needs some adjusting.) There were a few times I enjoyed a book well enough but didn’t have an urge to pick it back up after I set it down (though I always did pick it back up because my habit of reading is pretty solidified by now), and there were many times I dozed off while reading a book.

In December, I’m going to make an effort to choose books I’m really excited about it, be more realistic about my commitments to buddy reads, and pace myself through e/ARCs. Gotta end the year strong!

And speaking of the end of the year… Every year since 2015, I’ve compiled one long post of every book I read that year (my record being 58 books in 2017), but already at 96 books at the end of November 2019, I don’t think that’d be a great strategy for this year’s recap, even if I do organise the post by genre! I’m thinking of just recapping the books I truly enjoyed plus popular titles (that I may or may not have enjoyed), and including fun stats like books read, books bought, money saved via the library, etc. Let me know if there’s any specific bookish content you’d like to see to wrap up the year!

12 books. 4320 pages. 9 fiction, 3 non-fiction. 3 fantasy, 3 thriller/mystery, 1 contemporary romance, 1 historical fiction, 1 classic, 2 memoir, 1 essay collection. 8 women. 2 people of colour.

Averaging three books a week, I think I might be getting whiplash from the amount of books I’m speeding through! I’m a slow reader too, so this is really a lot for me. There are just too many books I want to read, buddy reads I’ve committed to, and ARCs to read and review! This coming month I’d love to read less books, at a more comfortable pace, and give each book the presence it deserves, instead of worrying too much about getting on with my next obligated read.

Although Halloween has now passed, I plan on getting more spooky fantasy and thrillers in before Christmas. October wasn’t long enough to squeeze them all in! Autumn really is the best season for reading.

– I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. –

To be published by Gallery Books on 22 Oct 2019
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Sam Brandis was Tate Jones’s first: Her first love. Her first everything. Including her first heartbreak.

During a whirlwind two-week vacation abroad, Sam and Tate fell for each other in only the way that first loves do: sharing all of their hopes, dreams, and deepest secrets along the way. Sam was the first, and only, person that Tate—the long-lost daughter of one of the world’s biggest film stars—ever revealed her identity to. So when it became clear her trust was misplaced, her world shattered for good.

Fourteen years later, Tate, now an up-and-coming actress, only thinks about her first love every once in a blue moon. When she steps onto the set of her first big break, he’s the last person she expects to see. Yet here Sam is, the same charming, confident man she knew, but even more alluring than she remembered. Forced to confront the man who betrayed her, Tate must ask herself if it’s possible to do the wrong thing for the right reason… and whether “once in a lifetime” can come around twice.

Sometimes I feel like I have no life to write about anymore. I’ve been at a loss for words and have been seeking them out in books. So that’s pretty much my life right now… just books. This has manifested itself in starting a separate book blog and joining bookstagram.

I kept my bookish content separate because I thought the sudden onslaught of it would be too overwhelming here. I thought the intensity of my reading was just a phase, so maybe I shouldn’t subject you to this manic phase of my life. So I kept it apart. I thought, I’m just going through a phase—lost for words, lost for inspiration, lost in life—but I’ll figure it out and then it’ll be back to the regularly scheduled programme.

But no, this “phase” isn’t a detour from who I am. This “phase” is who I am right now and will shape is shaping who I will be. To reject it would leave me… as empty as this blog has become lately. So I’ve decided to retire my book blog and reunite that part of myself here. (My bookstagram will still be going strong though!)

In an effort to balance the bookish content and lifestyle content here, I plan to share my reads in monthly round-ups instead of publishing individual book reviews for every book I read (like I did on my book blog) and instead of lumping them in with my monthly recaps (like I used to do here).

So here are my September reads: 11 books, 4402 pages. 9 fiction, 2 non-fiction. 4 fantasy, 1 literary fiction, 1 contemporary fiction, 1 horror, 1 YA romance, 1 classic. 7 women. 1 person of colour.