Went through some old pics and realized that I never posted about these books I bought back in September 2023! I don't know how I overlooked them! So here's a post almost 2 years later lol.
Solo Leveling vol. 1-6 by Dubu & Chugong
I started off the month reading some long webnovels and then ended up reading a lot of short stories towards the end of the month. That was because we were about to head off to our honeymoon during the week of Thanksgiving, and I had no attention span to focus on anything long-term lol.
I read:
I watched:
Shen QingShu, 22, died in an accident. His biggest regret before his death was that he’d been single all his life. He obviously wasn’t a monk, but he’d never eaten meat.
Then, when he opened his eyes, he saw a handsome, self-assured man standing before him. The handsome man parted his thin lips slightly and asked, “Wanna have a one-night stand?”
Shen QingShu didn’t hesitate at all. “Let’s do it! Twice!”
The next morning, Shen QingShu woke up aching all over. Only then did he discover he’d transmigrated into a book. The handsome guy beside him who’d gone two rounds with him was the protagonist gong, Han Cheng, the second son of the Han Group.
And the original owner of this body was just a disliked, death-seeking cannon fodder.
Shen QingShu: …Well, this is f*cking awkward.
But Shen QingShu didn’t panic. Anyway, he was just a cannon fodder. He figured they’d part in a few days
He knew he was a tool man, a character who only existed to develop the plot.
-Half a year later-
Shen QingShu looked at the man next to him and wondered: It’s been more than six months. Why hasn’t he left already?
Until the day he saw the protagonist shou and Han Cheng meet by accident.
Tool man Shen QingShu immediately felt the call of duty. Eyes shining, he prepared to push the plot forward.
“Don’t come looking for me in the future.” Shen QingShu was extremely self-aware.
Han Cheng was shocked. “Why? Do you have feelings for someone else? Who is it?”
Shen QingShu: … Darling, this reaction isn’t quite right.
“I don’t accept this,” Han Cheng said, furious. “One day as husband and wife means a hundred days of grace. Can you even calculate how much grace we have?”
Shen QingShu: … No, wait, what are you talking about? It’s not like I’m your wife. I’m just a tool man, and it’s time for me to go offline!
However, Shen QingShu found that not only did the protagonist gong refuse to let him go offline, he was going to make him his bride!
Shen QingShu: I’m crying.
4 STARS - I REALLY LIKED IT
MY REVIEW:
The comedy was top tier! I laughed so hard whenever Shen QingShu, Han Cheng, or their family and friends became Oscar level actors deep in the act just to piss people off! All of their enemies vomited buckets of blood with every interaction lol.
While I loved how fleshed out and lovable Shen QingShu and Han Cheng were (the best couple ever, the greenest flags I've read to date), I also loved how the author wrote her villains so detestably. In a lot of novels, you have 2D villains who are just meant to push the love interests along; their reasons for revenge are generically shallow. You're meant to hate them just because they're the villain and have plans to hurt the protagonist or their love interest.
Here, we have villains who are so self-absorbed, so delusional, so VICTIMIZED that they constantly think they deserve the best with no regards of how this would hurt others because they're the only ones that matter. That's why it is SO REFRESHING when Shen QingShu and gang stage these dogblood skits just to put them in their place and reflect how delusional they are!
Also didn't expect to tear up a few times. How dare you cut onions near me when I'm having a good time reading about Shen QingShu and Han Cheng's super oblivious love for each other! Their hilarious teasing and care for each other in the name of being car friends was so cute and funny. Shen QingShu was so clear headed and strong and was always willing to do what he thought would make Han Cheng happiest. He was so soft but so strong at his core. And Han Cheng was always distressed for him because of this reason. Instead, he was even more gentle towards Shen QingShu. Once they got together for real, it was dog food every day because they were so obviously smitten with each other, which was so fluffy and hilarious.
The parallelism and satire throughout the book was also great. I loved all of the family interactions with Hang Cheng's family. They were great and hilarious together. Finally, an example of healthy family dynamics, especially for a rich family with two potential heirs. Compared to Shen QingShu's family when he transmigrated over, what a breath of fresh air.
Overall, this was a great, hilarious novel. I just wished that the comedy was a little stronger during the second half of the book like how the first half was.
Last fall's anime overall were pretty good! Alec and I watched five of them and liked most of them. Unfortunately, I'll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History was kind of meh. You don't need watch it unless you really like the villainess genre.
Didn't end up watching any of the movies though. Honestly, I haven't been to the movies in almost a year now and haven't been in the mood to try any of the movies on Netflix for a while. Maybe we could turn it into a date night idea since Alec has been experimenting with popcorn seasonings lol.
Anime:
Movies:
Oops! Didn't mean to go on another unexplained hiatus! By the time I realized that I had already published all of my scheduled posts, I was in New York or recovering from another sickness. It seems like we're busy almost every weekend, and I have no motivation to blog after work, so it's hard trying to find time to blog anymore.
Also, I have a feeling that the more behind that I am with my posts, the more pressure mental pressure I give myself to catch up, which makes me dread actually posting anything... It's a self-defeating circle. I really need to do better. I am working on it!
After talking to my manager, I realized that when I do creative work (like scrapbooking) outside of my actual work, I have a lot more energy and ideas when it comes to my projects! Like, we both realized that we need creative outlets to get our creative juices flowing for work when we're stuck.
I think because I stopped posting and scrapbooking as much since moving and getting married that I've been in a mental creative rut, which has affected not just work but my daily life as well. So I'm going to try to be more intentional about getting back into my crafts and hobbies! I definitely plan on reading as well, but it might not be as much as before. Stay tuned~
In the meantime, here are the books I plan to read this month:
