Hello! Greetings! Was I Missed?

To all you readers (yes, all 2 of you) I am SO SORRY for being MIA. 

My final semester of medical school (let that sink in: Final. Semester. Medical. School.) is well on its way, and I started with the most difficult posting which is Internal Medicine- only second to being as busy as Obstetrics & Gynaecology, but with 500 times the reading material. It's been a blast with new group mates, and I am way more enthused about the posting than last semester so hurrah! 

I also met a very nice gentleman in his golden years last week, who writes poetry. I was in charge of his bed, and he's such a darling. He's writing a poem about me (and he says it's encouraging)! While I am unbound by medicolegal issues as a mere student, I am pretty excited about fostering good relationships with my patients. Some of my friends told me not to get too attached to patients, but that's not how I work. Probably will be, once I get too busy to listen to patients' life stories, but now not so much.

Probably the reason why I don't want to specialize in fields with higher mortality *cough* Onco! *cough*

Anyway, he's inspired me to write again. And by that I mean in the blog.

I HAVE been reading. In the month of March, I finished 14 books. For April, I have so far finished 7 books, all of which do not exceed 400 pages and some of which are graphic novels. My aim in the coming months until two weeks before my final exams is to continue reading, but only lighter material that does not require days of reading for immersion (i.e. books with 400+ pages), if I can help it.

And I'm glad to say my favourite book so far this year has got to be:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline!

This is one of the books and part of my birthday package from my boyfriend, And it is AMAZING. I can't wait for Armada by Ernest Cline, his next standalone book coming out later this year!

I love this book to pieces! I am so elated to have it in hardcover; it's such a beautiful book, filled with nerdy goodness.

As for reviews, I'm sorry I have been way delayed with them. I do not dare to promise any set amount of reviews in the coming months but I will try to make more time after this, at least for mini reviews. It's about consistency after all. ;)

I wish all of you great times ahead no matter what you do, and until then, keep on reading!

Review: Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1) by Laini Taylor

Title: Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1)
Author: Laini Taylor
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Pages: 418 pages

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out. (More from Goodreads)

First Impression

It's easy to get lost in this book. I have heard so many good things about it, and I was afraid I would be disappointed with the first few chapters. Everything overwhelmed me, but not necessarily in a bad way; no, I was assaulted by the visions of a setting entirely new to me because I wasn't brought up in art school in the middle of one of the most historical cities in Europe. 

But more than that, the characters that opened the books did so with gusto. 

They weren't slowly introduced to the reader by means of tedious monologues; rather, witty banter and daily happenings abound, and just like that you are easily introduced to Karou and her seemingly odd world, with its quirky occupants and musings.

Review: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Title: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Abacus
Pages: 243

A. J. Fikry's life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over -- and see everything anew. (More from Goodreads)

I may have been spoiled by my short and limited life span within Contemporary territory, because I seem to think that the lot I've met are all dapper creatures. More likely, this is the result of some very heavy nit-picking and more than the usual amount of cajoling required for me to even consider purchasing a contemporary novel. This book came highly recommended by a booktuber (apparently that's what you call youtubers who mainly do videos and the usual assortment of youtube stuff on books) with whom I share the most similar selections of books in, and I was not wrong to trust her judgment.