January 2019 TBR List

… Never too late to post a TBR for the month, I hope?

Hi all, I hope you are having an awesome day today. I’m writing from one of my favorite cafes in the city, just trying to keep warm from the cold – hot cocoa, anyone? Before I get to my January TBR List, I just want to share a few updates regarding my blog…

So I finally got busy in the kitchen yesterday and did some cooking for the blog. Before starting this blog, I had the impression that food blogging wouldn’t be so complex. I mean – it’s just a matter of learning how to cook while snapping a few photos, right?

I was wrong. Of course, I was. I made Mudburgers from Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach (from the Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recipes book), and I struggled taking photos with my smartphone while I had dirty hands. Not to worry though, my phone is clean as I somehow managed to cook with just one hand. (Note to self: consider buying a tripod)

Once I’ve finished writing that blog and editing the photos, I promise to upload it as soon as possible. But for now, allow me to tell you a little bit of this month’s TBR. I’ll be posting reviews for these books this month as well.

January 2019 TBR List

Note: It’s currently the 20th of January. This post was meant to be published earlier this month so chances are I’ve already started on/finished reading some of these books when this post gets published.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

I love fairy tales so it’s not a surprise that this book made its way to my TBR list. Apart from all the good things I’ve heard about The Bear and the Nightingale, I also wanted to read a book that fits the winter season. And this book sounds like exactly the kind of stuff I am looking for.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstein

I’ve been MIA on this blog for quite some time now. I’ve been busy with work and – cue in drum roll here, I’ve been busy planning for a novel.

The Night Circus is a part of my research from which I hope to get a lot of inspiration from. I might have given it away but yes, my story has a circus involved. I’ve been told that The Night Circus is a great story but, to be honest, I’m not sure what to expect. I didn’t even read the synopsis of this one – I’m just going to let the pages lead the way.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

This book was on my list for the 2019 Back to the Classics Challenge. I’ve watched the movie version a hundred times before and I remember enjoying it then. If I’m not mistaken, Dumbledore – Richard Harris was in that film as well. I might rewatch it after reading this novel. I know it’s a thick one so I’m almost sure that I won’t be finishing it this month.

The Second Wife by Sheryl Browne

This is my first ever free book from NetGalley and I’m so excited to review this among all the others on this list. The cover is just intriguing and I think it has a lot of potentials – well, I tend to think that way until the end of the book anyway. As of today, I just have a few chapters left so expect a review coming very soon.

And that’s about it for my life updates. I’m actually thinking of including my writing process on this blog but I’m afraid that it’s a bit too off-topic for a book blog. I don’t know. Thoughts, anyone?

If you’re currently writing a novel, I would love to discuss writing tips and all that with you – just so that I don’t bore everyone with my progress on this blog. Anyway, I’m looking forward to chatting with you guys. Until next update, Kim signing off!

Top 5 Wednesday: Books You Didn’t Get To In 2018

Hello, friends! It’s me again. I hope everyone had a great Christmas! The New Year is now upon us and I can’t wait to start the year with this blog. But for now, I’m back for this week’s Top 5 Wednesday and yet again, I am late. The holiday celebrations kept me away from blogging.

This week’s T5W is Books You Didn’t Get To In 2018. If you’ve read my previous blog posts, you’d know that this year wasn’t the best for me. Thinking about that, this list should be huge. But this is Top 5 Wednesday which means I had to choose only 5 out of probably 50 books. Here we go…

T5W: Books You Didn’t Get To In 2018

Title: Skyward

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Publishing Date: November 6, 2018

Goodreads Rating; 4.51 stars

Goodreads Synopsis

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I started reading the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson this year and I absolutely loved it. Sanderson is easily one of my top fave writers and I would read anything he writes.

That said, I should have read/be reading Skyward by now. The book was released last month but I still do not have a copy. This year is such a terrible reading year for me, I can’t believe I’m missing out on this book. I mean, why am I not reading this already?


Title: The Decagon House Murders

Author: Ayatsuji Yukito

Publishing Date: September 5, 1987

Goodreads Rating: 3.67 stars

Goodreads Synopsis

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The Decagon House Murders is one of Japan’s most loved mystery novel and it’s been on the top list of the mystery genre for years. I have a physical copy of the Japanese version and the English version on my Kindle. And yet, I haven’t read even a single page of it yet.

This book is said to be similar to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. In fact, the book was referenced in this story a couple of times. I’m a big fan of Agatha Christie and this book doesn’t seem too long to read. But again, did not pick this up.


Title: The Name of the Wind

Author: Patrick Rothfuss

Publishing Date: March 27, 2007

Goodreads Rating: 4.55 stars

Goodreads Synopsis

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If I remember correctly, Daniel Greene recommended this book on his YouTube channel. I really wanted to read a lot of fantasy books this year and this one has been at the top of my list.

The size of most fantasy novels scare me sometimes – this one has about 700 pages. And again, because I haven’t been very productive with my reading this year, there was no way I would be able to pick up a book that’s more than 300 pages. Definitely moving this up on my TBR List.


Ttitle: The Bear Whispers To Me

Author: Chang Ying Tai

Publishing Date: October 1, 2010

Goodreads Rating: 4.33 stars

Goodreads Synopsis

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I went to Taiwan for our summer vacation this year. My husband and I visited Alishan and Taichung within 5 days. It was amazing.

Can I just say how much I love Taiwan? I would go back there every year if I could. I would drown myself in all the milk tea and have all the peppered fried chicken in the night markets.

I missed Taiwan sorely so I thought maybe a book by a Taiwanese author could help me recover. The Bear Whispers To Me by Chang Ying Tai is apparently one of the must-read books written by Taiwanese authors. Not sure what to expect really but I’m hoping it will be good.


Title: The Good Daughter

Author: Karin Slaughter

Publishing Date: August 8, 2017

Goodreads Rating: 4.14 stars

Goodreads Synopsis

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Last on the list is a Karin Slaughter book. I wanted to read one of her books this year mainly because I’ve heard a lot of good things about them. The Good Daughter sounds like the kind of stuff that might put me out of my reading slump. But I remember how things got so busy for me at work when I got a hold of this book so no – I didn’t get to read it in the end.