I wish I could spend the rest of my day reading, but I have a crazy amount of math homework to get done. I'm also still sick 😷. Hopefully I'll feel better by tomorrow; I have so many peeps that I need to eat!
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I also just started Killers of the Flower Moon. Only a few pages in so it's hard to give it a verdict. I was going to read yesterday but I wanted to finish up 13 Reasons Why. I only have two episodes left, but they will have to wait, too

The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
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"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens."
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5/5: For anyone that has followed me for a while, you would know that this isn't the first time I've read this book. In fact I read The Fellowship of the Ring only a few months ago. However, I felt like taking a second trip through the Lord of the Rings series. I have definitely gleaned more in this read...(continued on Instagram)

Pachinko - Min Jin Lee
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"Living everyday in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage."
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5/5: This book was unlike any book I've ever read. I've always been a fan of historical fiction because I feel like it offers the opportunity to see the world through a new lens. This book was no exception. Though I had taken AP world history in high school, the suffering of Korean immigrants...(cont. on Instagram)

Came back from SF to find that my #bookofthemonthclub had arrived 😊.
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The two books I selected this month are definitely not what I would describe as uplifting...but they sparked my interest when I read the reviews
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An American War by Omar El Akkad - A dystopian novel set in 2074 where our current environmental and military policies have brought the world to ruin. Readers consider what future we are creating and... (continued on Instagram)

3.5/5 Magical

Hit my 10k! Thanks to everyone for liking my constant Alice in Wonderland pics 🍄☕️

Enjoying my day in

3.5/5: Overall I thought it was an engaging piece about magic and mysterious family. This is the first work I've read by Flynn and I can say that I was impressed and did enjoy it. My only complaint was the main character—or at least how she was introduced. She comes off as 'edgy' initially, which is a little off-putting, but she definitely develops throughout the story. On the whole, it was a good read and I enjoyed unraveling the mystery.

5/5: Absolutely adored this book

Raining pretty heavy so kitty has to stay inside 😿

Free for the weekend!

I got my Book of the Month Club box! #bookofthemonthclub

Started the morning with a run in hopes of it making me more productive.

How has everyone decided to spend their Sunday? Reading? Doing hobbies? Chores? I'm hoping to finish up most of my English homework so I don't have to do anything for the holiday tomorrow. With whatever time remains, maybe I can read. Has anyone else read anything by Lewis Carroll? 🐰🍄☕️

As much as I have been enjoying Kafka, reading about how bureaucracy is designed to prevent us from being free is a bit too real for me right now. Joining an absurdist tea party is exactly what I need right now.

They're not the same??!? So I've been in the process of collecting Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot collection. When these showed up they were different than the ones I have. So the 30+ book series will not look consistent. Twenty minutes of crisis later, I thought the books looked pretty cool and vintage. Coming to terms with my anxiety about books not looking the same was a small success ✊🏽.

Hey! So I don't know how many people have heard of Duolingo, but it is a COMPLETELY FREE language learning website/app. Some of the most popular languages are available at the tip of your fingers. I wanted to make a club for anyone interested in motivating each other to practice. Just use the add code DRGNUE #languagelearning

4/5: Attention Harry Potter fans: this book will break your heart. It was initially difficult to get into it because of how hard it was for me to endure my favorite characters suffering. That being said, that reflects more on the quality of the writing than my ability to handle emotions (I hope). Though I was skeptical of how an addition to the HP storyline would affect my feeling towards the franchise as a whole, I was pleasantly surprised.

4.5/5: I absolutely adored Illuminae, and believe me when I say Kaufman and Kristoff outdid themselves with this one. The characters were endearing and I worried about my favorites through the entirety of the book. This is a great example of a book that executes "show not tell" wonderfully, and unfortunately that a hard thing to find in books these days. I raced through this book and enjoyed it from start to finish. Would definitely recommend this

Entonces, año pasado yo decidió que mejorar mi Español. Específicamente, quería terminar un libro en español. Yo vi un post en Litsy acerca leyendo una página al día en un otro idioma. Así que, pienso que yo voy a intentarlo ✌?.
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So, last year I wanted to improve my Spanish. Specifically, I wanted to finish a book in Spanish. I saw a post on Litsy about reading a page a day in another language. So, I think I will try it ✌?.

My dad took Gemina to LA today, meaning I won't be able to take the pictures I wanted to take 😔 So enjoy this for now while I wait for it to return to me. In other news I've felt nauseated for like 3 days straight at this point. The stresses of life are finally getting to me. At least I can take my sick day as an opportunity to kick start my reading 😷✌🏼

January TBR ? A pretty conservative to be read stack, but I'm taking an English class this month and I'm betting that I'll be reading a lot of assigned texts. Since I don't have those with me, consider these "recreational reading." I'm planning on collecting more books in the Hercule Poirot series this year—despite the fact that there are 29+ books in the series. Fingers crossed ??

Here's my my 2016 #2016topnine 🎉 It was pretty hard to narrow it down, but these are my favorite books/pictures this year. Even looking at this collage I can see how I've grown as a reader and photographer. Happy New Years y'all ✌🏼🎊

4.5/5: Christie's mastery of the mystery genre resulted in me finishing this in a matter of hours. This is the first book of the Hercule Poirot series, and I can tell how she has developed her writing since. Her ability to build suspense and leave interpretation to the reader only improved with time. By all definitions, this is a five star book, but this specific edition had a handful of typographical errors that was hard for me to get past.

Another day of outside reading. Already started Gemina and I'm digging it. Glad to know the story continues with two different characters because I think I finished Illuminae in the spring. I have two photos I need to take of books that I finished and I have a feeling that after today I will have three. So many books so little time ✌🏼. Special thanks to Tajin for making my pineapple awesome.

Has anyone read this specific edition? I have found a few things that look like grammatical errors but I'm not sure if it's just the way English was used in the 1920s. Don't want to jump to conclusions but a lot seems off

The weather stopped being so cold and blistery, so I got to enjoy some outside reading. But of course these are the complaints of a Californian, so take that with a grain of salt. It was good to have a few days off of picture taking. I want to mix up the angles and scenery of my shots next year to avoid being creatively drained. Now, back to the queen of mystery 🔍🔪

Oh Bookmas tree, oh Bookmas tree! Thy pages so unchanging. The #12DaysofBookmas has come to a close. I've had fun mixing up my pictures for the holidays, but I'm definitely ready for an extended nap. I'm going to be enjoying my much needed break with books and sugar. I hope everyone has been enjoying the holidays 🎄. So happy with all the books I got this year. I'm looking forward to next year's readings.

On the eleventh day of the #12DaysofBookmas we go blue to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah. I didn't necessarily have anything Hanukkah themed but I was able to improvise (despite the weather giving me as much trouble as it did). Today is also Christmas Eve for those celebrating Christmas (at least in my time zone). As tradition I get to open one present tonight, and I have my eye on a book-shaped present. 💙❄️

The tenth day of the #12DaysofBookmas is all about sugar. Every year my family makes English toffee and thankfully we made it just in time for this picture. I also made cupcakes for Christmas Eve. But I went for a run this morning so I don't have to worry about all the sugar, right? This book challenge thing is exhausting. I'm looking forward to some time off of Instagram after this. But we are T-minus 2 days from Christmas. 🎄🔔

The ninth day of the #12DaysofBookmas is dedicated to Christmas decorations. It's raining here so I totally didn't go to Pier 1 Imports to take advantage of their decorations and great lighting. Not at all... I've been hoping to read this soon since I've only seen the movie. But it definitely paired well with the tree.

The eighth day of the #12DaysofBookmas is dedicated to trees and wreaths. The flocked holly wreath I have seemed perfect for this. It's also pretty coincidental that the book had red berries (cherries) as well.

The seventh day of the #12DaysofBookmas is dedicated to all things red and white and pepperminty. I have been planning thing photo for weeks because the cover would be perfect for this theme. It's not that I specifically made this day to set up this picture, but I'm a fan of red and white (and the Tchaikovsky reference was too good to go to waste). Anyone else a fan of peppermint during the holidays?

4/5: This book explores major events during the Second World War through the eyes of the residents of the Hôtel Ritz. The majority of these influencers were artists, movie stars, and writers, who you wouldn't expect to have such an impact on a war. If you're interested in learning about how espionage was committed with bar napkins or Coco Channel's involvement with Nazism, this is the book for you.

Starting a new read

On the sixth day of the #12DaysofBookmas we're sharing our favorite book to read during the holidays. I own all the Olivia books and paraphernalia (even an autograph from the author). And as I am named Olivia I think a lot of people could see this coming 🐷🎄. I even got to use this photo as an excuse to make English shortbreads.

2.5/5: I really really wanted to like this. I loved the movie and I hoped I would love the book just as much. I found the writing boring and historically inaccurate (in regards to writing style). His commentary came off as distracting, and personally I didn't find any of the interjections relevant. There were a few parts I found interesting, and it wasn't bad enough for me to consider it bad as a whole, but I ended it a "meh" feeling.

Fourth day of the #12DaysofBookmas is GOLDEN. Grabbed everything in my house that was gold, and thankfully gold is a popular theme in my house. Even my acrylics are gold and glitter right now ⚜️🔔🎄. My boyfriend bought this for me about a year ago and I have yet to read it because of time and how fragile it is. I have too many books I can't read for that reason. Hopefully I'll be able to read it next year.

Fourth day of the #12DaysofBookmas involves working with lights. I thought I'd make more use of the fake snow I got and make it glow a little. I haven't much started this one yet because it takes a lot of time for me to read Spanish. I've been reviewing everything on Duolingo to keep my skills up.

Third day of the #12DaysofBookmas is enjoying your favorite holiday drink. Cocoa is a seasonal staple. I love making it from scratch with half the amount of sugar it says in the recipe (not too much of a sweet tooth). Actually, I'm going to level with you, my cocoa tastes about as sweet as an 83% chocolate bar. Imagine that black hole of bitterness and you have roughly the flavor of my cocoa ☕️. What's your favorite holiday drink?

Second day of the #12DaysofBookmas and we're talking about what's on our wishlist. My family gives me shit for my Amazon wishlist being 112% books, but this year there are non-book items. And by non-book items I mean an 8lb bag of cereal marshmallows. What are you guys hoping to get this year?

Kicking of the #12DaysofBookmas with a fresh layer of snow. I read this a while back, but I thought it was pretty interesting. I will admit that Gladwell's postulations sometimes bothered me because it seemed like most of the conclusions he made came from correlations. That being said, it is a compelling read. Don't forget that Bookmas is happening on Instagram and Litsy 🎄

Tomorrow is the first day of the #12DaysofBookmas so mark your bookish calendars. If you haven't started a photo challenge this season, this one is quick and easy. I can't wait to see everyone's photos 🎄❄️

Entirely different than the movie. It contains very little action and CGI, but instead follows the evolution of robots through the eyes of the world's most renowned robopsychologist. The story incorporated the logical reasoning and psychoanalysis that lead robotechnology to evolve to what it is today (well the today of the future, rather). It leaves you reflecting on man's relationship with the machines and how we will become to depend on them.