My TBR for Blackathon & F/F February

Hello readers!

February is such an interesting month, a full month of the new year has just gone by and the readathons start rolling in – I especially like to take part on F/F February and this year also on Blackathon. I don’t normally join multiple readathons simultaneously, especially as February is a rather short month, but I separated 6 books to read that I think make up a very cool TBR that I can manage in 28 days!

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You can see more about F/F February 2021 in this post at Beyond a Bookshelf! I will not be doing the Bingo, but just low-key participating this year. For this challenge I’ll be reading:

• Bestiary by K-Ming Chang
• It is Wood, it is Stone by Gabriella Burnham
• The Unbroken by C. L. Clark

Blackathon round 3 will be hosted by Bookish Realm, The Novel Lush and Bowties and Books on Youtube! You should follow them, they’re amazing. For this challenge I’ll be reading:

• The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
• The Unbroken by C. L. Clark (aha!)
• The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
• Ain’t I a Woman by bell hooks

I really look forward to reading these books and hope I’m not aiming too high, considering I’m already reading a billion books at the same time (oops). Are you joining any of these readathons? Tell me in the comments what you’re reading!

Weekly Wrap Up / 19-25 January 2021

Hello readers!

One more week and we’re in February. I don’t have much to say about this week, I was mostly busy with work and making some progress on my reading. The cat is not happy about work taking up so much of our time (mine and my husband’s) and no longer being able to sleep on humans all day. Yes, cat, we all are sad about it.

This week I bought:

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Categories: Classic, Translated Fiction

First Publication Date: 1877

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Synopsis: Acclaimed by many as the world’s greatest novel, Anna Karenina provides a vast panorama of contemporary life in Russia and of humanity in general. In it Tolstoy uses his intense imaginative insight to create some of the most memorable characters in literature. Anna is a sophisticated woman who abandons her empty existence as the wife of Karenin and turns to Count Vronsky to fulfil her passionate nature – with tragic consequences. Levin is a reflection of Tolstoy himself, often expressing the author’s own views and convictions.

Throughout, Tolstoy points no moral, merely inviting us not to judge but to watch. As Rosemary Edmonds comments, ‘He leaves the shifting patterns of the kaleidoscope to bring home the meaning of the brooding words following the title, ‘Vengeance is mine, and I will repay.

My Christmas and Birthday Book Haul

Hello readers!

I don’t normally post hauls, but I received such great books this year – with the pandemic my wishlist was more book-heavy than ever (what else is there to do?), so I ended up getting 14 books, which I think is such a nice amount for my birthday and Christmas together. I’m hoping this does not come off brag-y, I just think the selection of books was interesting and I’m excited to read them!

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Weekly Wrap Up 12 – 18 January 2021 // I finished Anna Karenina YAY

Hello readers!

I’m back at work this week and we had so much snow! It was really beautiful. Reading-wise I was quite productive, although I am sure this will change very soon – I had a relatively easy week but at work from next week on things get more hectic. We’ll see! While we are in lockdown there is little do to but stay home and read.

Lovely walk during my lunch break! pic.twitter.com/PfVEhpLpHk

— Naty 📚 (@natysbookshelf) January 15, 2021

This week I received from Netgalley:

Review: The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida by Clarissa Goenawan

The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida by Clarissa Goenawan

Categories: Mystery, Magical Realism

First Publication Date: March 10, 2020

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I received an advance copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Synopsis: University sophomore Miwako Sumida has hanged herself, leaving those closest to her reeling. In the months before her suicide, she was hiding away in a remote mountainside village, but what, or whom, was she running from?

Ryusei, a fellow student at Waseda who harbored unrequited feelings for Miwako, begs her best friend Chie to bring him to the remote village where she spent her final days. While they are away, his older sister, Fumi, who took Miwako on as an apprentice in her art studio, receives an unexpected guest at her apartment in Tokyo, distracting her from her fear that Miwako’s death may ruin what is left of her brother’s life.

Weekly Wrap Up / 4 – 11 January 2021

Hello readers!

It’s nearly mid-January, my gosh. I was on vacation until yesterday, so I got lots of reading done this year already – with 6 books finished, 1 DNF-ed and two bricks started. I made good progress on Anna Karenina and I’m confident I can finish it this month still, even though I’m back to work. I’ve been on a fantasy mood and ended up reading 4 fantasy books (including the one I’m still not done with), 1 poetry and 1 historical YA. I’ve also had fun reading a couple middle grade books, which I NEVER do but this vacation they were calling my name.

This week I received from Netgalley:

Very excited for Sandhya Menon’s first adult novel – I think I’ll be on the mood for a romance sometime soon, and I loved When Dimple Met Rishi.

Review: A Crime in the Neighborhood by Suzanne Berne

A Crime in the Neighborhood by Suzanne Berne

Categories: Literary Fiction, Mystery

First Publication Date: December 1st 1991

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Synopsis: An auspicious debut novel by a young writer who will remind readers of Anne Lamott and Anne Tyler” A Crime in the Neighborhood” centers on a headline event — the molestation and murder of a twelve-year-old boy in a Washington, D.C., suburb. At the time of the murder, 1973, Marsha was nine years old and as an adult she still remembers that summer as a time when murder and her own family’s upheaval were intertwined. Everyone, it seemed to Marsha at the time, was committing crimes. Her father deserted his family to take up with her mother’s younger sister. Her teenage brother and sister were smoking and shoplifting, and her mother was “flirting” with Mr. Green, the new next-door neighbor. Even the president of the United States seemed to be a crook. But it is Marsha’s own suspicions about who committed this crime that has the town up in arms and reveals what happens when fear runs wild.

Backlisted Books I Want to Read in 2021

Hello readers!

Together with one’s most anticipated releases, we bloggers normally have a bunch of backlisted books we’d like to get to ASAP. In order to not let my backlisted books wait too long on my shelves, I like to have a short list of books I for sure want to read this year – a top 3 or top 5, normally, so that the list is realistic, achievable and focused. Obviously I’d like to read everything I own, but that is not realistic as of now, so I like to prioritize. My list for 2021 includes:

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