Happy New Year my friends! If you’ve tried to access this blog for the last few days, you’d have noticed that the blog was done. Not because I wanted it to be inaccessible, but because I’ve somehow exceeded my bandwidth limit. Given that 99% of websites use less than 5GB of bandwidth a month, and… Read More Back for 2023!
I really like quirky books, and so something that’s described as “a circular stroll through the hidden connections of the English Language” is definitely going to appeal to me. But first, let’s talk about what the book is not: What this book is: an exploration of the origin of words and how two seemingly unrelated… Read More Book Review: The Etymologicon by Mark Forsyth
Let’s celebrate the Christmas season with a book review! I generally really enjoy Christie, so I jumped at the chance to borrow this Christmas-themed collection from her! The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding consists of 6 short stories, 5 about Poirot and 1 about Miss Marple. Since there aren’t that many stories, I’ll just give… Read More Book Review: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie
I was in Seoul recently, and since I had some free time, my boyfriend and I decided to visit the Beautiful Tea Museum! I saw “we decided” but really, I am the tea addict here and he was happy to accompany me there. I heard about Teastory Beautiful Tea Museum from a friend on Instagram!… Read More Visiting Teastory Beautiful Tea Museum in Seoul
Even before I read this book, I knew that I am someone who’s the prime target for a gamified life. After all, I spent months trying and failing to get the motivation to re-start exercising regularly. But after I bought a second-hand Apple Watch and downloaded the Lumi app, I started going to the gym.… Read More Book Review: You’ve Been Played by Adrian Hon
After reading Reflections – On the Magic of Writing, I told myself and everyone who reads this (and my IG) that I want to read more Diana Wynne Jones (DWJ). Well, someone told me they loved the Chrestomanci series and since Witch Week, the third book in the series is on my TBR list, I… Read More Book Review: Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
I’m currently on vacation but I needed to get back here to bring you this post before it’s too late – a quick review of the Spiced Christmas Tea by Marks & Spencer. I’m normally not a fan of spiced teas, but I’ll make an exception for Christmas. This tea is pretty straightforward – it’s… Read More The Fes-TEA-ve Season: Spiced Christmas Tea from Marks and Spencer
After reading Two Years in the Forbidden City, I thought it was time to read about the woman who wrote the book, “Princess” Der Ling. Der Ling, who was also known as Elisabeth Antoinette White, was a fascinating woman. She claimed to be part of the Manchu ruling class, that she was fluent in multiple… Read More Book Review: Imperial Masquerade by Grant Hayter Menzies
I first heard about Der Ling when a friend mentioned that there was a Manchu “princess” who spoke English, Chinese/Manchu, and French. She was given the title “Princess” when she served as Lady-in-Waiting to Empress Dowager Cixi, and she also lived overseas for a significant period of time before and after entering the palace. Her… Read More Book Review: Two Years in the Forbidden Palace by Der Ling
To be very honest, this review is more for me than it is for anyone else, because Kyoto in Autumn was a time-limited afternoon tea and I went on the second last day so it’s pretty much over by now. But, I do love anything Japan-themed and after the disappointing afternoon tea from Pan Pacific,… Read More Afternoon Tea Review: Kyoto in Autumn @ Four Seasons
