Pages of January 2022: Studying and more studying

I refuse to believe that the first month of 2022 is already over

I’ve been pretty busy with school and have been basically studying all the time in January. There was a huge spike in covid cases in the country, but our school decided to ignore it and not close down and switch to online, so me being petty, I didn’t go either! I just stayed home and did my own thing and honestly, I enjoyed it very much.

This month felt so short but I did manage to get a lot of stuff done. I posted pretty consistently, read a book per week and of course, listen to music 25/8. Here’s everything in detail~

Reading

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• Iron Widow Xiran Jay Zhao // I had such high expectations for Iron Widow because it was basically everywhere and almost everyone had nothing but praise for this. During the first half of the book, I was over the moon in love but as the story moved forward, everything shattered. Wu Zetian was supposed to be this “badass unhinged MC” but after a while, there was nothing about her that remained realistic. Not only that, but there wasn’t much character development going on and as someone who prefers character-driven stories to plot-driven ones, I was getting bored because there were no characters that had depth to root for. Overall, my first read of this year was very disappointing. [★★☆☆☆]

• Portrait of a Thief Grace D. Li // Another dazzling title I hoped too much from. I really wanted to love this one but I had the same problem again, the characters were too flat. The plot was so promising, Chinese-American students going on a heist to bring back art stolen from their country by colonizers and commentary on imperialism, but the lack of character development and oddly-paced plot ruined the whole experience for me. [★★★☆☆]

• The Jasmine Throne Tasha Suri // Finally a book which gave what it was supposed to give. The Jasmine Throne is a book that will leave you breathless. The lush backdrop of ancient India and two morally-gray lesbians who join forces to overthrow an empire, are sure to make this book one of your all time favourites. [★★★★★]

• The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea Axie Oh // This was such a beautiful novel! I enjoyed the way Oh blended mythology and history with fiction to create this stunning story. I’ll be posting a full review on my blog soon so, keep an eye out for that! [★★★★☆]

Blogging

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MY POSTS

I posted five times this month and really enjoyed writing each and every one as them, especially my interview with the lovely June Hur!

FAV POSTS FROM FRIENDS

• Gauri @ A Book Chai interviewed June Hur on her latest release, The Red Palace. Her questions were so thoughtful and I really enjoyed reading this post!
• Krisha @ BOOKATHON gushed over The Red Palace by June Hur with an intricate review. I had so much fun reading her review because she conveyed the beauty of this book perfectly!
• Nina @ Tender Curiosity listed some webtoons to start with for beginners! I really want to get into webtoons this year so this post was very helpful for me!
• Gabriele @ QueerBookdom listed some 2022 queer debuts to be on the look out for! There are so many dazzling titles releasing this year so be sure to check out Gabriele’s post!
• Kashvi @ Misty Realms interviewed Aamna Qureshi on her novel The Lady and The Lion. Kashvi, being the icon that they are, has convinced me to read The Lady and The Lion and after this amazing interview, I’m even more excited!
• Lia @ An Ode To Fiction interviews C.L Clark on her novel The Unbroken. I really enjoyed The Unbroken last year so it was very insightful to read this interview!

Life

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• I spent the New Year’s Day in Hyderabad with my family and had so much fun! I stayed in a hotel after almost two years which felt so odd because I was so accustomed to my house in the past years.
• As I mentioned in the intro, my school refused to close down even with almost 10,000 cases in the state alone so I was at home self-studying and I actually enjoyed it??
• I finally got vaccinated and had basically no side-effects which is good.
• On one random night, I had a Bollywood listening party with my friends and I cannot stress on how much serotonin that gave me. >2016 Bollywood is the best thing ever. [here’s my playlist with all my childhood favs!]
• I also re-watched 3 Idiots and sobbed and laughed like never before. If you haven’t watched the movie, I’d highly recommend it, especially if you’re a student!

• On the flip side, my finals are fast approaching. I cannot believe that I’ll be done with 10th grade and will have to move away from the place I’ve lived in ever since I was five. I’m excited and devastated at the same time because this is basically like a new chapter in my life. New place, new people and new experiences.

Expectations from February

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I don’t really know what this month will have in store apart from all-nighters, lack of sleep and an abundance of stress. I’m going into the month with two promising books- Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie and Forest of the Stolen Girls by June Hur so there’s something that’ll give me a tiny bit of joy. Blogging wise, I have some stuff planned which I hope to post if time permits!

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How did 2022 start off for you? Did you find a new favourite book already? What are your plans for February? Let me know in the comments!