#pulsey

Num 19: Mr. Brightside

" Jealousy, turning saints into the sea,

Swimming through sick lullabies

Choking on your alibis

But it's just the price I pay

Destiny is calling me

Open up my eager eyes

'Cause I'm Mr. Brightside "

AHHH MY FIRST ASK! THANK YOU AHHH.

15. Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year (Booker, Women’s Prize, National Book Award, Pulitzer, Hugo, etc.)? What did you think of them?

from that specific list i read the bandit queens by parini shroff which was on the women's prize longlist but apart from that i read white teeth by zadie smith, tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow by gabrielle zevin, and lessons in chemistry by bonnie garmus, all of which were nominated for/won several awards (and were great reads which i highly recommend!

24. Did you DNF anything? Why?

all the light we cannot see by anthony doerr, for like the fourth time and of no fault of its own! i've wanted to read this book since 2014 but for some reason i only ever pick it up when i have an exam coming up, so i get through two pages and then put it down out of guilt and go back to studying. i hate being responsible 😭 but it paid off because i passed the exam i dnf-ed the book for!

From this post! Thank you so much for askinggg <3

1. How many books did you read this year?

I've read 46 so far! I've been cramming in books in December to reach 50 lol

3. What were your top 5 books of the year?

This is so difficult 😭 I've been trying to rank all the books I've read, and it's like ranking my babies. But this is what I have so far:

Babel - R. F. Kuang

The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt

시선으로부터, - 정세랑

지구 끝의 온실 - 김초엽

Demian - Hermann Hesse

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

I'm the type of person who researches every aspect of the book before starting to maximize the chances of enjoying it, so getting blind recommendations from my roommate was so fun!

She re-introduced me to Korean literature, which I hadn't read since elementary school. I was genuinely shocked at how differently they narrate emotions?? They're so beautiful and raw 😭

It's a shame most Korean books I read aren't translated into English... Guys read Shoko's Smile by Choi Eun-young pleaseeeee you won't regret it!! Especially if you like Sally Rooney! It's literary fiction and a collection of short stories, and the author is so good at creating characters fjdklsfjs I CRIEDDD

20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

I don't think I read any books released in 2023..? I'm a bit behind in times lol

I think the most recently released book is Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (2022). It was so goodddd ;-;

it's about two friends at university - Sam and Sadie - in the early 2000s making games together! The writing style was beautiful fdjsklfs