Happy Tuesday everyone! Today the prompt for Top Ten Tuesday (check out all the posts here) is ten new authors that are new to you this year. So let me just look at my list and see who those are:
Axie Oh (XOXO)
Clare Vanderpool (Navigating Early)
Christina Lauren (In a Holidaze)
Emily Henry (People We Meet on Vacation)
Sally Hepworth (The Good Sister)
Matt Haig (The Midnight Library)
Justina Ireland (Dread Nation)
Mira Grant (Feed)
Nita Prose (The Maid)
Priscilla Oliveras (Island Affair)
There you go! I really enjoyed them all and here's hoping a read some more of their books this year! (I have Emily Henry's on hold...so she might be the first one up!)
The kpop music world is starting strong with a sweet rock song from Monsta X that I've been listening to a lot this week:
But Fall Out Boy had a "comeback" too! (Do you call it a comeback in the nonkpop world? I don't even know anymore!)
WATCHING:
I still haven't finished my latest kdrama watch because another Korean show took over... called Single Inferno. It's a Bachelor type dating show, that is totally different than the Bachelor (at least what I've seen of it.) I was leery going in, but everyone was right, it grabs and you are invested so freaking fast! I was annoyed that no one liked my favorite boy. Whatever. I hope he ended up finding love somewhere else with some real girl, lol. (The girls felt very fake I must say, except one of them who was so different from all the rest of them!)
Our household has also been watching the Harry and Meghan documentary. I've found it to so very interesting and quite sad and depressing too. The crazy lives some people lead, you know what I mean? hope to get to his book someday to read down the road soon too.
We also watched Super Junior's documentary thanks to Jenni and her Hulu! LOL! It was a quick two hour thing that give us a glimpse of how this, my favorite kpop band, came to be and rose to fame and how they have managed to stay together for these almost 20 years now despite some really really painful and hard moments. They are seriously some of the best humans out there.
READING:
I finished My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You I'm Sorry for book club. That was an awesome book and made for a petty good book club discussion. I will say more about it on my monthly review post.
I started An Ember in the Ashes, which is one of my books from my forever TBR that I'm hoping to get through some of this year. Pretty intense and harsh story so far!
WRITING:
I signed up for the annual Storymakers Conference which takes place in May.
I'm hoping to be brave enough to query my 80's story this year!
And the finishing up of the space opera story is slow slow going. I am so bad at this!
BLOGGING:
I've posted my top ten books of 2022, my top ten dramas of 2022, my goals for 2023, I crunched some numbers from 2022, and caught up on reviews with a couple of mini review posts. I think this will be my formant from now one. Anyway, be sure to scroll through and check them all out!
YOUTUBING:
On the KPOP channel I've uploaded a bunch more year end videos, but here I'll share my favorite title tracks of the year. Great songs, yeah?
Trying to get back into the exercise routine still. Some weeks I manage it and others are quite rough. The struggle is real, for sure. I really need to stop eating stuff again too.
MISC:
Trying to think if there's anything else interesting to report on in life. Lots has been going on but nothing that will be too very interesting to most I would imagine. I hope all is going well for you all! I hope the reading is being fun!
These are the books I read in December! Quite a few more than I normally read because I was really trying to make a push and meet that dang Goodreads goal!
And with this post I might be mostly caught up!
Atomic Habits by James Clear: I finally got to this one that pretty much the whole world has been talking about. And yes, I can see what all the fuss is about. It does lay out a plan for getting into good habits in a way that is very clear (ha clear....get it?) and relatable and that makes sense. I would love to implement something into my life, but I will probably just on about things and forget it all! I gave this one 4 stars on Goodreads.
In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren: This was our for fun Christmas book club read and it was pretty perfect for that directive. Our girl goes on vacation with her family and family friends every year, but this year is different in that it might be the last time they are able to do this. And then something happens, everything starts over, Ground Hog Day style. And she gets a couple of tries to get things right and to help fix the issues that are making everyone so sad. It was heartwarming, romantic and fun. I totally enjoyed it. Three stars on Goodreads.
Secrets of the Looking Glass by J. Scott Savage: This an ARC I got from the publisher and it needed to be read in September when it came out. Gah, ooops! It took me awhile thank you to all of lives distractions and my terrible time getting anything read these days! It's the second in the Lost Wonderland Diaries series, which is a delightful fun sort of retelling (not really, but in that world) of Alice in Wonderland. It's so very clever and funny and full of fun riddles and the like. I feel like kids will enjoy it even more than I did! I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads.
Places We've Never Been by Kasie West: I got this one for Christmas and read it in a couple of sittings, because as you know, I love her stories! Another fun YA romance that takes place on a road trip through very familiar places to me. I love that. Our characters are friends, but time has elapsed and things are now on shaking ground. It's fun to see them rekindle things. "Friends, to enemies, to lovers!" I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.
Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool: Another book I'm reading from my shelves that has been waiting forever. This one takes place shortly after WWII about a 13 year old who has been sent to a boarding school and he befriends a strange and interesting kid named Early, who teaches him all sorts of things about life. Together they go on a quest and navigate growing up. It's very heart warming and sweet. It won the Printz honor award. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.
And that brings us to the end of 2022 reading! I think I might just do a monthly wrap up mini review post this year. And see how that goes. And here's hoping I read a TON more this year than last!
Oh my word, but I am so behind in reviews. They are all one the YouTube channel though! One minute review shorts!! And here I'll do the blogging version of that, mini reviews!
So these are the books rounded out my November reading:
The Maid by Nita Prose: It's about a girl who loves being a maid in a fancy hotel. One day she finds a dead dude, and the mystery that wraps up surrounding this guy and the people involved is really quite interesting. I find it fun and engaging, but not as crazy amazing as everyone seemed to be making it out to be. The ending was... surprising. And strange. And I still don't really know what to think about it all. I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads.
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry: I ended up loving this one! What a great sweet romance. Our main characters have been friends for years, going on a fun crazy trip together every summer. But denying all these years how they feel about each other. We get flashbacks to the previous trips, but spend a lot of time on the current trip where they finally figure things out! I gave this one 4 stars on Goodreads. I look forward to reading more by her! I hear Book Lovers is a must!
The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson: This is a book I've had on my shelf forever, the second in a YA SF series. In the first book we learn what happened to Jenna Fox... in this book, we learn what happened to her friends, and it's CRAZY stuff! I remember loving the first book, this one was fun, but not as compelling as that first one. I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads.
Not Going There by Terri Osburn: Another book by an author friend! This one is book 3 in the "Not" series where we are following the love stories of a group of fun friends. I totally enjoyed this one about our girl who gets fired and ends up running her own bookkeeping business and then her first client is a dude that she is totally turning her nose up at... and then, she finds out he's actually pretty cool. In fact, I myself quite fell in love with him! I gave this one 4 stars on Goodreads for some fun romantic comedy escape.
Stay tuned for a catch up post on books read in December! Here's hoping I can keep up better this new year! Thought I might keep this format... and just do mini reviews from now on... hmm....
* I don't know why I can never make my goal. So frustrating. I'm putting it back up to 50 this coming year because I HAVE to read more!
* I find pretty much nothing interesting about these numbers, lol! So blah and normal!
* I really hope next year's reading is more... noteworthy. You know?
KDRAMA STATS
Total Kdramas consumed: 16
5 hearts: 6 4 hearts: 7 3 hearts: 3
I posted my favorites yesterday. Check it out!
YOUTUBE STATS
Total Videos Uploaded on The Kpop Konverters: 1,225 (up from 1,137 last year) Total Uploaded in 2022: 115 (up from 88) 4.2 million views: 1 Over 100,000 views: 21 (down from 23 and I have no idea how that happens!) 50,000 to 100,000 views: 26 (up from 21 last year)
Subscribers at year end: 37,902 (up from 35,037 last year) View count at year end:16,383,384 (up from 15, 245, 831 last year)
Observations:
* I'll be doing much less on this channel this coming year. At least that's the plan. Maybe one or two videos a month. I'm tired of the the discouragement of no views. But still want the fun of making them, so we'll find a balance. Maybe.
Total Videos Uploaded on Suey's Book Banter from October 3, 2022 to now: 44 (18 Shorts)
Total Views: 30,899
Total Subscribers: 578
Total Watchtime: 2.6 K
Observations:
* It will be fun to compare these stats at the end of 2023 and here's hoping I see some growth!
* I will be concentrating my YouTubing efforts on this channel this year.
* I am surprised it's done as well as it has these first few months, though it has come to a grinding halt. Here's hoping that changes soon!
I didn't watch near as many dramas this past year as I usually do. And I fell into a pretty huge slump toward the end of the year, but still I watched some really awesome ones this year and so my stats and my favorites list!
Total dramas watched in 2022: 16
Aired in 2022: 13 Aired previous to 2022: 3
Five hearts: 6 Four hearts: 7 Three hearts: 3
My Favorites (linked to my review with blurbs from that review)
I love it. Very heartfelt and sweet. And such great music. I've been in a bit of a drama slump since finishing this one. I just kinda want to start all over and watch it again...
And they nailed it. Such great acting, great connection, great chemistry. And what do you know, I'm not the only who thought that. This drama has become a huge hit and everyone who is familiar with the genre is saying it's one of the best ones they've ever watched. I also enjoyed it because it wasn't preachy and "in your face" about things, if you know what I mean. It was just a love story. I don't know how else to explain it. But yeah. It wasn't trying to convince me of anything except the connection between these two characters.
I just... wow. I loved so much about it. It was gripping and "page turning" and despite that first hesitation with that first episode, I was hooked so fast and very invested.
Oh my goodness I loved it so much! This drama took every beloved trope and played them up perfectly! And the characters were all so FREAKING endearing, and the story just so simple and fluffy. It was literally the perfect kdrama!
So, obviously this is technically not a drama. It's a very fun variety show that stars drama actors. I started watching not really knowing what it was all about, but dang.. this has been one of the most fun things I've watched all year! My face seriously got sore for laughing so much!
I loved this one because of the heart it has. SO MUCH HEART! And dang but Park Jihoon totally blew it away with his acting. So bright and happy to a totally tortured soul.
Anyway, that's all to say this drama is fantastic, but highly emotional. So watch at your own risk and when you are in the mood for much crying. But also a lot of wonderful emotions. So very cathartic all around!
This is another one of those dramas that I at first dismissed just from the title and that it sounded silly. But of course, we all know, that is not usually how it really is! What a cute fun romcom this one is!
Some people I know were bothered by the singing (which I find funny because pretty sure everyone knew it's a musical going in) but I thought it was great fun and everyone was really awesome. There's really not a ton of songs either. And of course Ji Changwook is FANTASTIC as he is in everything he does. So so good!
I ended up in a pretty bad drama slump a few months ago and finally got hooked on this one to pull me out. Even though this is not a very happy drama in the end!
This is about our college dude. On the outside he looks happy and fluffy and beautiful and perfect and rich. On the inside he is hurting in the worst way because of the neglect he faces from his so called family. So he suffers a lot from putting on that front for people, and then dealing with things alone.
Then he and our girl get together. She is sweet and nice and perfect for him. And she starts to crack the wall he's put up.
He also decides he needs to be friends with this guy who is the complete opposite of him... sour, sad and grouchy... all the time. And totally struggling financial. He looks at our bright "happy" dude and thinks he has NOTHING to deal with.
And when they let each other into their lives, they both find out that there are so many issues people are dealing with that they never let on about. It's eye opening for both of them, and their friendship ends up being so beautiful and tear inducing!
I loved this one because of the heart it has. SO MUCH HEART! And dang but Park Jihoon totally blew it away with his acting. So bright and happy to a totally tortured soul. Crazy good stuff. I hear he's now in other one that I need to watch. Hopefully it won't take me forever to get to it!
I didn't have very many books the BLEW me away this past year. Hopefully that will change this upcoming year. I have no idea what I'm looking for, but we'll see if I find it!
But here's the list of what I did love from this past year with links to my review and thoughts:
I can NOT believe these last crazy few weeks are over! Wow, but that has been a ride!
Listening:
The two songs that have made a huge buzz in the kpop world this month, and thus ones that I am loving, are these two. One is actually Chinese though! What do you think of them? They are both quite intense and hard hitting with very unique styles.
Watching: I'm finishing up a drama called Love in Contract. Didn't quite make it for the end of the year, but I'll still count it toward my year end list. And I started rewatching an older drama called Love in the Moonlight (or Moonlight Drawn by Clouds) with my daughter. That's been fun so far! I haven't started a new English language show... but maybe I'll watch that documentary everyone's been talking about. Harry and Meghan? Yes?
This is not Harry and Meghan...
Reading: I managed to finish a couple of books during the holiday reading frenzy, but still didn't make my goal. I'll do another post about all that, but anyway. Here's to next year when I bump up my reading in a huge way. BE PEPARED! Anyway, I am extremely behind in reviews on here. I think I'll do a do a catch up mini review thing.
Writing: I really hope to figure out how to add this to my daily routine.
Blogging: I also really hope to do better at keeping up with this in 2023. I just find everything I do here must be so boring. What do you all want to see???
YouTubing:
Over on the Booktube channel I did a post listing all my top ten books from each year over the past 20 years! If that sounds like something you'd find interesting, be sure to check it out!
On the Kpop channel I've been doing year end lists of one thing or another. I still need to do my over all favorite songs of the year, but here's my favorite songs from the dramas from this past year:
Health Watch: At the time I last did a Sunday Post, I was still in the throes of covid. But I have survived that and managed to stay well during all the rest of December. Let's hope that continues! I think I will (once all the treats are gone of course!) start another low carb type diet soon. So depressing. And let's go on getting a workout routine going again! WE CAN DO THIS!
Misc:
* Christmas was fun and we did all the normal family things. Today has been a relax and recoup day, as will tomorrow, and then we'll get back to regular life. Here's hoping that goes well!
What the entrance way looks like at a big family gathering!
