HOW YOU LIKE THEM APPLES? I DON'T

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns
(Rise of the Empress #1)
by Julie C. Dao
Speak | September 11, 2018 (paperback)
Source: won from a giveaway

     An East Asian fantasy reimagining of The Evil Queen legend about one peasant girl's quest to become Empress--and the darkness she must unleash to achieve her destiny.
     Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her. Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng's majestic future. But is the price of the throne too high?
     Because in order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and exploit the callous magic that runs through her veins--sorcery fueled by eating the hearts of the recently killed. For the god who has sent her on this journey will not be satisfied until his power is absolute.

NARCISSISM | REFLECTING ON WRITING

I used to bemoan my writing. What is this ghastly writing? It does not have a point, it's superfluous, and it's incredibly juvenile! I had enough of my whinging, and I'm sure others did too. I deleted the most offensive posts, ones that were not up to par, and took steps to improve my writing.

2018 WRAP-UP

I had low expectations going into 2018, "it's/was my junior year, I won't have time to read." I sought out to read 12 books, one a month. I surpassed that goal and read 45 books, and counting. Most of those "books" are manga: if you want to conquer your reading challenge, read manga! Overall, 2018 was an uneventful year-no major standouts-unlike in 2017.