Top Ten Tuesday #1 | Books With (occasionally shirtless) Men on the Cover

Hello everyone!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl and the idea is to share our love for books through lists based on various topics that are assigned every week. Check out the link for more information!

L2RA | Rousseau, Graeber & Wengrow and Arendt on Human Nature

This is the new little series that I am initiating to get back into reading. This project is a continuation of my letter. I'll just review random books I have read or thoughts while I am reading. It's a travel journal of sorts. I'll use L2RA as an acronym to make the titles shorter. 

I have been keeping this post for a while now. I read these books for my political theory essay on human nature back in December. On wether we should use the conception of a human nature or whether there are none. I argued that there is no 'human nature' and that there only is a 'human condition'. These books/essays introduce that concept, and without sounding too self-assured, you would probably think the same at the end. This might seem like a mess because I did write a whole essay on these books, I'll try to keep it concise. 

The reason why I am writing this now is because I am starting to tackle my last essays of the year and I need drive. The essay I am starting now is for my politics of changing climate class, on the conception of nature and if it should be commodified. I am going to argue that there is no nature. 

Bridgerton Season 2 Review | Kanthony Soars But at Edwina's Expense

Kanthony rating: 5/5

Overal season rating: 4/5

This review contains spoilers for season 2 of Bridgerton. 

L2RA | Writers and Books (Édouard Louis and Virginia Woolf)

This is the new little series that I am initiating to get back into reading. This project is a continuation of my letter. I'll just review random books I have read or thoughts while I am reading. It's a travel journal of sorts. I'll use L2RA as an acronym to make the titles shorter. 

Ever since I am getting back into reading, I have explored what it means to me to read. In a sense, it was always a part of my identity. Others could see it too. My sister is currently doing an art exhibition on my family, when it came to how to represent me she told me that a book would befit me. I think that is why I am so desperate to read again. To come back to what I truly wish. The books in this post have all made me question how to read books. 

L2RA | The new year (historical romances to journals)

This is the new little series that I am initiating to get back into reading. This project is a continuation of my letter. I'll just review random books I have read or thoughts while I am reading. It's a travel journal of sorts. I'll use L2RA as an acronym to make the titles shorter. 

Long time no see. The last post in this series was posted in August, and for some reason it feels like just yesterday. The year has gone by too fast and lot has changed. Although its already March, I am still in the mindset of the new year and this post comes as an introduction to 2022. 

Review: House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J Maas | A mind-blowing sequel

Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Athalar are trying to get back to normal―they may have saved Crescent City, but with so much upheaval in their lives lately, they mostly want a chance to relax. Slow down. Figure out what the future holds.

The Asteri have kept their word so far, leaving Bryce and Hunt alone. But with the rebels chipping away at the Asteri’s power, the threat the rulers pose is growing. As Bryce, Hunt, and their friends get pulled into the rebels’ plans, the choice becomes clear: stay silent while others are oppressed, or fight for what’s right. And they’ve never been very good at staying silent.

In this sexy, action-packed sequel to the #1 bestseller House of Earth and Blood, Sarah J. Maas weaves a captivating story of a world about to explode―and the people who will do anything to save it.

This review has spoilers! Go check out my review of the first book here if you want a spoiler-free overview of this series.

Rating: 5/5

Can't Wait Wednesday #9 | House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J Maas

Can't Wait Wednesday is hosted by Wishful Endings, click on the link to access their blog! Check out House of Sky and Breath on Goodreads!

Spoiler-free!

The Hating Game | A Delightful Treat

Overall rating: 8/10

Spoiler alert if you haven't read the book!

My review of the book here!

Yomna's Pick #29

Picture taken by Yomna.

"Adieu to disappointment and spleen. What are men to rocks and mountains? Oh! what hours of transport we shall spend! And when we do return, it shall not be like other travellers, without being able to give one accurate idea of any thing. We will know where we have gone -- we will recollect what we have seen. Lakes, mountains, and rivers shall not be jumbled together in our imaginations... Let our first effusions be less insupportable than those of the generality of travellers."

A few weeks ago I visited Cleopatra's Bath in Mersa Matruh, Egypt. On the left in the picture you can see the bath, which is a hollow rock with several natural holes where you can enter and exit, and one in particular through which the rushing waves enter refreshing the water in the bath. In this marvel of nature, where allegedly Cleopatra and Mark Antony used to bathe, a quote vividly came to mind from Pride and Prejudice. I was so captivated by the beautiful view and the fresh air that it was so hard to drag myself away. I really can't wait to go there again when I get the chance. And if you ever visit Egypt's Mediterranean coast, this is a sight you must see. Seriously, it's beyond description with words.

Have you ever seen a view that made you think of a book?

Can't Wait Wednesday #8 | The Legacy by Elle Kennedy

Can't Wait Wednesday is hosted by Wishful Endings, click on the link to access their blog! 

Check out The Legacy on Goodreads!

Rosanna's Pick #28

  

The Male Gaze 

There was this trend on TikTok that highlighted what each person did unknowingly to satisfy the male gaze. At first, I thought it was funny, I related to it. And then I saw this quote which resonated with me. Maybe the comedic trend it appeared to be wasn't what it was. I had missed the whole point the TikToks were illustrating. It served to highlight something much bigger than I realised. 

I had a conversation with my dad about it over breakfast on holiday and was glad I did. To be heard. I also realised that I don't know anything about what being a woman in this society means. I have somewhat of a superficial understanding. I am hugely privileged in my ignorance. 

It is quotes like these that make me realise I need to learn more.

He's All That | I didn't not like it?

Rating: 3/5

This movie may get bad ratings, but people will be watching.

L2RA | Fukuyama to shitty detective novels

This is the new little series that I am initiating to get back into reading. This project is a continuation of my letter. I'll just review random books I have read or thoughts while I am reading. It's a travel journal of sorts. I'll use L2RA as an acronym to make the titles shorter. 

The first one is about all the books I read this year (there are shockingly little, but still huge for me). I have started a lot of books but finishing them is another story. 

A letter...

Hi, 

Yomna and I have recently spoken about how we started the blog, which frankly I had forgotten. Back in middle school, when we both still lived in London and I still went by Srishti (I opted to switch to my middle name), we created a place for us to just share what we were reading. It was a really beautiful project. However, slowly it became something it was never meant to be. A job. Partially because we were so ambitious and partially because we loved it too much. It also became a burden in Yomna and I's relationship, at least that's how I viewed it. 

I always felt guilty for not participating and I never knew how to tell Yomna. So I lied and spoke a lot about my plans for the blog and what I wanted to write. But I never did anything and I hated being that type of person. At the time, I was also dealing with the start of a lot of mental health issues. I was not doing very well and was on the cusp of a depressive episode that would last years. I lost motivation in everything I loved and couldn't recognize myself anymore. With hindsight, I realize that I was going through puberty but what I felt during those years was very muddled and numb. I lost my ability to sit for hours just reading and reading and reading. Something that used to be me. I then moved to Hong Kong in 2017 and left everything behind, including the blog. It became Yomna's blog. Ever since then, it has always been in the back of my mind. 

It's 2021 now and I am preparing to go start my second year of university. I, thankfully, as cliched and dumb as it sounds, am learning to be myself again. However, it's a long process and I learned to be kind to myself and realistic in my goals. And I have a lot of goals, which will never change, but I believe in them now. One of them includes reading more, and hopefully write a little post from time to time. No promises. 

I am learning to read again.

Lots of love, 

Rosanna 

To Srishti and Yomna 

and most importantly to Yomna

Revisiting The Selection series by Kiera Cass after 5 years

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Spoilers ahead for the whole series!