The Melodramatic Bookworm

2022 Goals | Is This What They Call Change?

At the beginning of the year, I wanted so much for myself that it became difficult to contain in one post. But I also wanted to ease my own pressure on myself. So, I put off writing the post and decided to take the year as it comes. And I’m glad I did because 4 months down the line, I’m looking at goals that I didn’t think I would be going after when the year started. This is because I feel like I’ve become someone so different yet so similar to that woman, that it’s hard to put a finger on what exactly has changed.

Yet, I still have a few goals that I want to achieve in this year that were part of last year’s goals. I won’t categorize them or slot them because I’ve started feeling that one or more of these will eventually bleed into the others.

Macabre Expedition (Frank Carter 2) by Yashesh Rathod | Book Review

Very often, book sequels tend to suffer from Second Book Syndrome, where the author’s second book doesn’t turn out to be as good as the first one. But when they defy this, the series becomes even more enjoyable. Yashesh Rathod’s Frank Carter series is one such that defies.

The first book of this historical fantasy series, Something Strange Over the Yellow Lotus, is a book I read and reviewed last year, and though I found it to be lacking in the language used and writing style, the plot is promising and despite the shortfalls, makes for an entertaining read.

If you’d like to watch my review of the first book, here’s where you can: Watch on YouTube.

Yet Another Coffeeshop Courtesy Story!

It feels like I write a lot of these stories on my blog, but in my defense, these are stories that happen to me and affect me. In my earlier rants, it was more of a “courtesy is dead” sort of thing. But today’s story, one that happened to me a few years ago, is one in which the guy I talk about lacks common sense, behaved like an absolute spoilt brat (which I think he is in actuality), and was a tad bit sexist, if I think about it in hindsight.

I even went on a rant on a Twitter thread at the time. Here’s the thread if you just want to read it: Common Sense is Rare – a thread.

Recent Reads – April 2022 Edition!

Ever since I started my BookTube channel, I’ve been pretty consistent with posting wrap up videos. But due to what’s been going on in my life this year, I missed out on posting wrap up videos and blog posts for the first three months. To make up for it, in today’s Recent Reads blog post, I will be talking (in short) about the books I read in the month of January, February, and March 2022 – a consolidated wrap up post of sorts.

The Travel Tag – Travel Tuesday Shenanigans!

COVID-19, as we all know, has put everything on hold. One thing that under this bracket is travel. With the pandemic making it difficult to interact with people, it’s a given that travel on any level and is still discouraged to a certain extent. So while the world is getting back on its feet from this debilitating pandemic, I decided to start posting travel content again. Perhaps a little list or two now and again about places I want to visit or those I’ve visited or things I’ve learnt while traveling. What say? 😉

Reading & Life Update – April 2022

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I haven’t been active on social media over the past couple of months. Even life as a whole has been pretty meh, and that’s putting it lightly. It’s been a weird time, having come to so many realizations, especially of what’s important and what’s not. Perhaps nihilism isn’t a great place to start when having a crisis of sorts, but then again, maybe it doesn’t matter because everything is pointless. 😛

Tamarind: Sweet and Sour Poems on Love, Loss, Longing, and Life by Akhila Mohan CG | Book Review

When I was about 10 years old, I decided to try my hand at writing poetry. What did a poem need to be anyway? Alternate, consecutive, or all lines that rhymed? I could write anything about anything, then. At least that’s what I thought. But as I grew up, I discovered more and more about the power that poetry holds. It’s not just rhyming words. It brings out a person’s emotions in ways that we never thought it could. I grew, I understood, I learnt that in limited words and short verses, poetry can tell a person’s history, a person’s feelings, their pain, their hopes and dreams, their deepest, darkest secrets, as well as everything they live for.

Tamarind: Sweet and Sour Poems About Love, Loss, Longing, and Life, a 68-page poetry collection by Akhila Mohan CG, is one such. In this, the poet bares her soul while also baring the world’s hypocrisies, truths, fears, and conditioning in a series of poems that are also extremely personal to her. Before I get into the review, let me just give you a quick gist of this collection: if you’re looking for simple but impactful poetry, Tamarind is one you should definitely pick up.

The Chocolate Book Tag | Let’s Do Something Cheesy!

I don’t usually subscribe to all the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, but I did the Chocolate Book tag on YouTube last year on a whim on Chocolate Day 2021. I’m repackaging and updating it for the blog here for Chocolate Day 2022 because whatever happens, whatever the times, chocolate is eternal and books are eternal and the combination, even more so. 😉

This yum tag was originally created by the channel A Daydreamer’s Ramblings. 🙂

If you’d like to support me by buying me a coffee or a book, here’s where you can: buymeacoffee.com/bookwormdrama. Thank you in advance. ❤

All the Books on My TBR – 2022 Edition | More Than 520 Books!

I did a post like this last year where I listed out all the 470+ books that I had on my TBR. I had hoped that by the time 2021 ended, I would have brought the number down to 400. Instead, it’s exploded to more than 520 books and I’m looking at the list, aghast and surprised, as if I had no hand in adding these books to my TBR. But I’m glad I have these books because some of them, I’m really excited to read, and some others’, I got at amazing deals. So either way, let me tell you, I’m the winner, hah! 😛