I am slowly getting back in the habit of both reading and blogging, so please bear with me…

On the reading front, I’ve been enjoying translated Chinese light novels and am looking forward to a particular Star Wars companion novel.

I am currently reading volume 5 of Chinese author, Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù’s novel series Tian Guan Ci Fu.

Tian Guan Ci Fu (or Heaven Official’s Blessing) is, so far, a sweet story following Xie Lian, a god who has ascended three times and is now adventuring in the mortal realm with friend (and love interest) Hua Cheng.

Their travels have been fun to read about and I can’t wait to see how volume 5 ends… I have a feeling it’s going to be rewarding in a number of ways.

I am a huge fan of the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and can not explain how excited I am to play the sequel.

So, when I found out there was a novel that fits between the two games, I knew I had to get my hands on it!

My sister, a bookseller, was able to get Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars for me and it is currently on my side table, just waiting to be cracked open… I’ll let y’all know what I think of it when I’m through, lol.

Have you read any light novels? If so, share the titles with me so I can add them to my TBR! ;D

I am on the strangest non-fiction kick lately… No real idea why, maybe it’s because I’m back in school and looking to learn lots of new things, but I’m reading TWO non-fiction titles at the same time AND sharing them both with you on this Two Book Tuesday!

Who am I and what have I done with myself?

Thanks to my bookselling sister, I got my hands on a copy of The Parasitic Mind by Gad Saad.

A recurring argument between my brother and I revolves around the question “what the heck happened to common sense?” with me asking “why aren’t people questioning this?” and him basically saying “it’s easier for people to let someone else think for them.”

Which lead me to The Parasitic Mind. I’ve only just begun, but the writing is excellent and well-planned, explaining how bad ideas spread through the masses in a way that is interesting, rather than eye-rollingly boring.

As with Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus and my desire to read just about everything she’s written, I’m very interested in Gad Saad’s other titles as well!

So far, Girl, Wash Your Face is more a biography than inspirational title, though author Rachel Hollis does have some really great nuggets of advice like the following…

“You become who you surround yourself with. You become what you consume. If you find yourself in a slump, or feel as though you’re living in a negative space, take a good, hard look at who or what you see every day.”

Each chapter shares a story from her life and, at the end, wraps everything up into a handful of simple steps for the reader to follow.

At the end of the day, Rachel’s message is that women need to put themselves at the TOP of their priority list. If you aren’t taking care of yourself, how can you take care of anyone or anything else?

What’s the last inspirational book you read?
Did anything specific stay with you afterwards?

I continue to struggle with some writer’s block in regards to blogging, but I have hope that it’ll work it’s way out of my system. It strange but it seems as if the more my brain works, the less ability I have to put thoughts into writing.

I’ve only just begun listening to The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd, but a chapter in and I’m already interested in where the story will go…

I first learned about indigo dye by way of Japanese indigo, or aizome, a number of years ago and found the topic to be absolutely fascinating!

What is really cool about The Indigo Girl is how such a young woman was able to use both her intellect and the resources around her to make an impact on history. Being a “northern girl,” it’s only been in recent years that I’ve taken an interest in biographical material on Southerners other than major historical figures or entities.

From what I’ve learned, what’s left of Eliza Lucas’ writings are a highly detailed look into the life of an elite colonial woman. I would love to get my hands on a reproduction of her letters. ❤

Eliza Lucas’ story is sure to be a good one and I look forward to sharing my thoughts in a full-length review as soon as I’m finished with it, lol.

I swear that I’m going to read Wesley the Owl even if it kills me to do it!

Truly, I’ve been trying to sit down and crack this book open since I added it to my July TBR list and it just keeps slipping away from me.

Owls are one of my favorite birds of prey and I’m really looking forward to reading about Stacey O’Brien’s life with baby barn owl Wesley. Y’all cross your fingers that I can actually read it sometime soon!

I’ve mostly been taking a break from the internet these last few weeks. It’s so disheartening to hear about how bad the world is and I just needed a break. Just taking time to sit and enjoy the quiet peace of a chair in the sun and some knitting.

After I finish studying for my trigonometry class in the evenings I’ve been re-playing the Mass Effect trilogy of games on my PS3. I’m pleased to say that I have successfully completed a hardcore play through of the first game AND got the platinum trophy for game two… just mopping up trophies left and right, lol.

And, I know it’s what you’re here for, so here’s what I’ve been reading…

This comic follows Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker on one of their early missions to find the source of a distress beacon. They crash land on a planet still fighting the civil war that destroyed their civilization and are quickly drawn into the plotting of each side.

It’s an interesting story, you get to see Palpatine’s machinations in both Anakin’s life and the day-to-day happenings of the Jedi temple… and yeah, it’s pretty insidious (no pun intended, lol).

If you like the Star Wars franchise or either of these two main characters, then I would certainly say that this comic is a good one for you to read.

The cover of The Trouble with Hating You immediately caught my eye in the newsletter I’d received. A moment later and my brain caught up with the title and I knew that I would absolutely have to get my hands on this book!

From the description, it sounds like author Sajni Patel has come up with a witty, enemies to lovers, office romance and I can’t wait to read it. 😀

Still dealing with the Covid-19 craziness. Even though I’m blessed to be allowed to continue working during this time, I can feel mental exhaustion creeping in. So, I’ve been diving into various fictional worlds as a means of escape… it’s also a free vacation, in it’s own way.

The Elven King’s Blade is actually a web-based serial title, written by X. Aratare (or RaytheReign).

Ciaran has been fighting an unknown wasting disease his entire life, a disease which took the life of his mother, and has resigned himself to an early death. He decides to travel to a family-owned cabin with his pet fox, Twig, who adopted him when he was a young boy and has never left his side.

What he finds in the small, country town is proof that he didn’t hallucinate the black riders he and his mother fought and that there is more to the world than he ever imagined. After saving Elven King Aethaden’s life and discovering what he really is, Ciaran decides to follow his destiny and go to the elven realm to fight the ‘forces of evil’ there.

If you’re at all interested in web-serials, then I would suggest checking this title out.

This book was suggested to me by a co-worker at the library. She is very well-read and had only just started reading Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.

I am familiar with Bardugo’s young adult works, but hadn’t heard about this venture into adult fiction.

As an urban fantasy title, I am expecting it to be darker than my usual fare, but am excited to hop into the world she’s created. 🙂