January Wrap Up & February TBR (2021) // New year, new activities!

Wow. January. What a month! 😄

January was certainly a busy, exhausting, but extremely rewarding month. I tried and learned so many new things and met new people. As the result, I barely have time to read anything but I’m not complaining tbh. It felt really nice to just go out and do things!

1. BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD by Toshikazu Kawaguchi // 🌟🌟🌟🌟
2. THE BRIGHT AND THE PALE by Jessica Rubinkowski // 🌟🌟🌟🌟
3. REVENGE OF THE SLUTS by Natalie Walton (Currently reading)

Seeing how busy I was in January, I didn’t have many books I want to read in February other than DOWN COMES THE NIGHT by Allison Saft. If I could find more time to read than I would love to tackle some contemporary from my TBR but as of now, I think I better not put pressure on myself and just plan for one book.

• Noura @ The Perks of Being Noura reviewed the Star Trek Movies
• Simone @ Simone and Her Books shared her updated rating system with us
• Marianna @ Marianna’s Corner wrapped up 2020 by sharing her k-drama wrap up
• Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane talked about 10 backlist books she wants to read in 2021
• Kat @ Novels and Waffles reviewed Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean, which is one of my anticipated release this year.
• Looking for a beginner’s guide to webtoon? Rain @ Bookdragonism‘s Webtoon 101 and LaRonda @ Flying Paperbacks‘s Webtoon series to start/catch up on are the perfect post for you to read!
• Trang @ Bookidote reviewed The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampire by Grady Hendrix
• Vanessa @ The Wolf and The Books listed the top 5 YA boarding schools and dark academia releases for 2021
• Veronika @ Wordy and Whimsical read and reviewed Sabrina’s favorite books and this post really shows how strong their friendship is! 💖
• Noura @ The Perks of being Noura read and watched the 2005 Pride and Prejudice’s adaptation and her review made me so happy!
• Sofii @ A Book A Thought talked about her top 10 2021 latinx book releases
• Lauren @ Love Yo Shelf reviewed A Wish In the Dark by Christina Soontornvat
• Zaheerah @ As Told by Zaheerah reviewed Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
• Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricanes shared and discussed her blogging insecurities
• Veronika @ Wordy and Whimsical talked about her comfort characters
• Vanessa @ The Wolf and The Books wrote a really informative post on editors and their role in book publishing
• Lauren @ Love Yo Shelf reviewed A Pho Love Story by Loan Le
• Mishma @ Chasing Faerytales recommended 9 historical romance books to check out

While the rest of the world seems to be in a hopeful mood with the arrival of COVID vaccine and Biden’s inauguration, I would be lying if I say that I’m feeling the same mood.

2021 just didn’t start the right way for my country. In case you didn’t know, we had a fatal airplane crash which killed everyone on board, two successive earthquakes in Sulawesi, 2 devastating floods in Borneo and Manado, a volcanic eruption and a tornado in Java. All in the first 3 weeks of January. It’s been raining a lot too and while I’m enjoying the weather, I can’t help but worry on the possibility of flooding and how it will further damages the country.

On a more positive note, I started my first job ever this January! It has been a steep learning curve so far and after a year of inactivity, I’m still not used with the busyness and the workload, but I believe I’ll get the hang of it eventually! I’m really grateful that my company is such a nice place to work on: everyone is super helpful and friendly, and they’re also super strict about mask, crowds, and wfh/wfo balance. It takes some of the worries away. The only downside is that I’ve moved out again to be closer to the office but the internet at my current place sucks, so I have to go somewhere during my wfh schedule to access the internet/have a decent meetings 😒 It’s very counterproductive against the intention of wfh in the first place, so I’m looking for a new place right now.

It’s been really busy so I haven’t been in the mood for reading books, instead I find my joys on youtube and AO3! The k-pop binge is still going strong so I’ve been binging a lot of contents on youtube, especially NCT and Stray Kids. They do released waay to many contents, we’re really spoiled as a fandom 😭 As for AO3, as usual, I’m just reading waay to many ATLA and The Untamed fics haha.

Speaking of k-pop, my baby ahgase heart is crying over the news of GOT7 not renewing. The announcement week was such a rollercoaster: crying from sadness, and then crying from happiness over the fact that yes, they’re not renewing, but they’re not disbanding either. In fact, they’re leaving with the trademark GOT7 meaning that they are still GOT7, they’re owning the GOT7 brand! 😭💖 it’s just insane because I don’t think any other act ever pulled this??? I mean Beast had to change their name, but GOT7 walked away with everything (hopefully including Jus2 and JJP trademark). Of course there are worries on how things will go moving forward and I did cried*, but I’m super excited with the directions each members are taking and trusting their bond to take care of the rest 🥰

*who am I kidding? I still cried everytime I’m watching their videos and content lol

The songs of the month are JJProject’s Tomorrow, Today and Bad Bunny’s Dakiti. The latter is mainly for the beat, but Tomorrow, Today‘s lyrics really hit the feels for me and it’s something that will hit hard for everyone who’s facing difficult decisions at the moment.

Why must I decide about tomorrow, today?

How should I know what tomorrow will bring?

My path and my dreams are fading

If I could turn back time and see my future

I would know which way to go

I would know where my path is 

Why are you telling me to choose

When I only have my eyes half-open?

Somebody let me know, tell me which way to go

Cuz I don’t, don’t, don’t know

• Dead Voices by Katherine Arden // Don’t read this book in cold weather! 🙈
• December Wrap Up & January TBR // Exciting things for 2021!
• Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon
• Screen Rambles: Best of 2020 🎬
• Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

How was January for you?