While putting together my various monthly and annual wrap-ups, I realised that many of my favourite moments of 2019 also translated into my favourite posts of 2019, so this year I decided to combine those wrap-ups in this one post.
I’ve been living the easy life with family this month. Taking it slow. Holding onto that December energy even though it’s already January. Feeling very zen about it. Not concerned by thoughts of catching up, getting back in the grind, or making big plans. Completely unbothered.
9 books. 2470 pages. 6 fiction, 3 nonfiction. 2 fantasy, 1 thriller, 1 contemporary romance, 2 classics, 3 memoirs. 6 women. 2 people of colour.
I wrapped up 2019 reading 9 books this last month, 3 of them making it to my preliminary list of most memorable reads of 2019 (still working on it, so behind, aiya). I’d say it was a good month.
Little Women was the last book I read of the year, and I didn’t read any books the last half week of the year because I got addicted to a game called Fight List. I’m slowly catching up on putting together my month-in-review posts and my year-in-review posts, enjoying life while I’m at it.
I have way more but this was catchier ;P
I was very intentional about the books I chose to read in December since November was such a bust, and it worked out GREAT—I can’t wait to share my December reading recap, and my 2019 reading recap for that matter—so to carry the momentum, I decided to put together a preliminary TBR to guide me into 2020 with intention.
I’ve experimented with sharing TBRs in the past. On one hand, TBRs aren’t that useful since I often end up disregarding them and reach for whatever else I happen to be in the mood for instead. Additionally, my own TBR probably isn’t that useful to anyone else because we all have the books on our own never-ending TBRs to contend with. On the other hand, TBRs can be a great way to find reading buddies. So if any of these books are on your TBR as well, let me know! I’m always down for a buddy read!
Published by Random House on 06 Aug 2019
Goodreads | Buy it
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.
[Not a review of the Malcolm Gladwell book haha.] I arrive at the cafe right at opening time to claim the coveted seat by the window. I place my order at the bar, snap some interior photos with my phone and disposable camera, then settle back into my corner, staring out the window and thinking about what tablescapes to shoot once I get my food and drink. I need to use my film wisely and snap my photos quickly, before more customers arrive, before the milk foam turns from smooth froth to lumpy bubbles; there’s a lot to contemplate.