No matter how much I wanted to write, this past month hasn’t allowed me to, be it due to my physical or mental health. But I figured enough was enough and thought of coming on here to share with you some of my favorite short story collections of all time. There are so many to choose from but I decided on these ten after a long decision process. I believe that these are the best that I have read so far and I cannot wait to find more of these gems as I progress in my reading life.
Tag Archives: Favorite Books
Funny Story by Emily Henry | Book Review
“It’s easy to be loved by the ones who’ve never seen you f up. The ones you’ve never had to apologize to, and who still think all your quirks are charming. It’s easy to be around people who don’t know you. But as soon as someone starts to figure you out – as soon asContinueContinue reading “Funny Story by Emily Henry | Book Review”
Reviewing My Favorite Books in One Sentence Each | 100+ Book Recommendations
The month of July was a bit hectic for us because we were travelling to India and there was so much work to be done. So I was in an absolute rush to do a lot of things, including film my YouTube videos in advance so that I could schedule them for when we were gone. One of these videos was me reviewing my favorite books in one sentence each, a book recommendations project that I’d been planning for months before its time came.
Reviewing my favorite books in just one sentence each was going to be difficult, I knew when I decided to make it. But I hoped that by the end, I could convince the viewer to pick at least some of these up. And now, since I have the material, I thought why not put this up here on the blog as well!
We Are the Quarry, Fate is the Hunter by Prasad & Shubhada Godbole | Book Review
We Are the Quarry, Fate is the Hunter is written by ex-sailor couple Prasad and Shubhada Godbole in one of the most heartwarming, funny, witty, lovely way possible. As soon as I finished this book, I went on Instagram to gush about it and days later, I still feel the same way. The very thought of it puts a smile on my face and I know that if I were in India, I would get a paperback copy for myself to highlight and tab and annotate. It’s THAT good!
Favorite and Least Favorite Books of 2023 | 2023 Reading Wrap Up Series
The end of a year and the start of a new year is always scramble time for me, because I’ve got to do my end-of-year wrap ups and start-of-year plans. I started off 2024 with full energy, posting my 2024 goals, a book review (Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri), and one in my 2023 reading wrap up series (Books I DNFed in 2023). But after that, things got weirdly lethargic health-wise and I somehow lost steam for a bit, trying to post on all platforms but only succeeding on one or two at any given time. That was the impetus that pushed me and I forced myself to revisit my goals for the year. It reminded me of what I want for my brand in 2024 and how I want to succeed.
And that success isn’t going to come about if I flail around like a headless chicken. So here I am, trying to get my to-do list set according to priority and trying to check them off one by one.
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto | Book Review
Books with quirky titles like Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers have always caught my eye. They always have me rooting for them because come on! Who wouldn’t want someone quirky to win the day? I have had some success with this in the past, with books with quirky titles turning out to be some of the best I’ve ever read. And when a book starts with: “Vera Wong Zhuzhu, age sixty, is a pig, but she really should have been born a rooster,” take it from me it’s a sign of ensuing hilarity that remains unparalleled.
Love That Story: Observations from a Gorgeously Queer Life by Jonathan Van Ness | Book Gush
Because of how truly fabulous this book is – not just because of Queer Eye or because of my love for JVN – I thought I should come here and tell you/gush about it. A rare 5-star for me this year.
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Book Review
Sometimes there comes along a book, like Carrie Soto is Back, that addresses such a specific set of issues and questions, that it makes you wonder why you’d never thought of it in detail before. Questions like: Why is it okay for a man in the public eye to be aggressive but not for a woman? Why is it okay for a man to be unsmiling and intense but when a woman does it, she’s labeled a b*tch? Why is it that an ambitious man is seen as just that but an ambitious woman becomes callous and unfeeling in the eyes of the public? And this sexism is turned around and slapped back onto the woman’s shoulders, calling it her overreaction, that she can’t take a joke.
Carrie Soto is Back is a smack in all these faces. Taylor Jenkins Reid, through Carrie Soto’s story, takes us through the unfairness that the world pulls out every time a woman takes center stage. And it is proof, yet again, that even though things have gotten a lot better, we still have a long way to go.
Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai | Blog Tour Stop
Hello and welcome to my blog tour stop for Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s newest book, Dust Child! I was supposed to write a post about the progress I’ve been making on this story. Instead, here I am, writing a full review because of how invested I was in it. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai does it again with this book, infusing it with a gentle understanding and compassion that makes me such a huge fan of her writing. I read Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s debut novel The Mountains Sing in December 2022 and it marched its way onto my favorites of the year list. That (and more) made the author an instant favorite, propelling Dust Child into my most anticipated book releases of 2023 list.
The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai | Book Review
Historical fiction is a difficult genre to write in, especially because the times are so far back in the past that you have to be extremely careful with your research. You can’t disrespect the past while you write your story, and you have to get things exactly right. But when authors do get it right, they manage to blow you away in more ways than one and in ways you’ll often not see coming. Among this population of authors is Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, who, after seven years of research, published the book The Mountains Sing, a story set before and during the Việt Nam war. I became an instant fan of her when I finally read it in December 2022. And not just because of the book.
The Melodramatic Bookworm 