Been inactive but I am still here, lol

The Imperial Handbook to Raising Mushrooms The Imperial Handbook to Raising Mushrooms ≪ 帝王養蘑菇的注意事項 ≫ by 丹青落 ✤ 31 chapters ✤ danmei, historical, xuanhuan My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My Short Review: Back to reading novels, starting with my book...

The Imperial Handbook to Raising Mushrooms
≪ 帝王養蘑菇的注意事項 ≫ by 丹青落
✤ 31 chapters
✤ danmei, historical, xuanhuan

A light, heartwarming, and humorous read. 🥰

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My Review: xantareads.tumblr.com/post/7768325...

#booksky #danmeisky #xantareads

Been reading a lot of manhwa more than novels this month. Although it’s only the second week of Feb. 🙈

And I feel bad for all those leftover food!!!

I’ll probably get burned for writing this. But I can’t really feel the chemistry between them. It seems like every simple thing is being romanticized, even though there’s nothing extraordinary in their actions. I guess LA emphasized it more than the novel.

Finally watching The On1y One when the hype has died down. The pace is so excruciatingly slow. Haha. 😂

「以前沒有現在，過去才顯得重要。但當我一路走來才發現，有了現在，過去其實已經不那麼重要了。所以，我選擇活在現在。」

Lowly Creature Lowly Creature ≪ 低等動物 ≫ by 卡比丘 ✤ 16 chapters ✤ danmei, sci-fi, futuristic, short My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My Short Review: In Lowly Creature, we’re introduced to an intriguing pairing, a human gong and his...

➜ Lowly Creature
≪ 低等動物 ≫ by 卡比丘
✤ 16 ch
✤ danmei sci-fi, futuristic, short

A human gong and his robot shou 🤖 Rated this four-stars because I could see myself rereading it for the laughs.😆

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My Review: xantareads.tumblr.com/post/7742003...

#booksky #danmeisky #xantareads

Red Bean Ice Red Bean Ice ≪ 紅豆牛奶冰 ≫ by 一個米餅 ✤ 20 chapters + 2 extras ✤ danmei, modern, slice of life, comedy, entertainment, short My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ My Short Review: Red Bean Ice is one of the January read...

➜ Red Bean Ice
≪ 紅豆牛奶冰 ≫ by 一個米餅
✤ 20 ch + 2 ex
✤ danmei, modern, slice of life, comedy, entertainment, short

Cute, sweet like the title and no drama 🤭

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
My Review: xantareads.tumblr.com/post/7735561...

#booksky #danmeisky #xantareads

Been reading a lot of short novels lately, and even a oneshot just recently. The bookclub I joined aimed for shorter ones for the month of January. And since they are all short, decided to read all the nominee before the month ends. 🤭

The Embarrassing Days of Accidentally Wearing the Same Clothes as the Campus Prince The Embarrassing Days of Accidentally Wearing the Same Clothes as the Campus Prince ≪ 和校草撞衫的日子 ≫ by 遲小爺 ✤ danmei, slice of life, oneshot My Rating: ⭐️⭐️ My Short Review: I decided to check out one of...

➜ The Embarrassing Days of Accidentally Wearing the Same Clothes as the Campus Prince
≪ 和校草撞衫的日子 ≫ by 遲小爺
✤ danmei, slice of life, oneshot

It was okay, but definitely lacked substance…

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️
My Review: xantareads.tumblr.com/post/7731898...

#booksky #danmeisky #xantareads

My schedule is actually pretty hectic, I realized. Weekdays, I’m on working mom mode. Weekends, I do wake up late but I spend my Saturdays with my friends and Sundays with my family, of course with my little one tagging along. I wonder if I can squeeze out a day of just doing nothing. 🥲

Hope you’re doing fine and all is well with your health now. Life has been quite busy for me. I actually got less time to read as compared to before but still reading nevertheless. I got a full time job now on top of being a mother and wife. From sahm to working mom.

Python Starter Guide Python Starter Guide ≪ Python入門指南 ≫ by 許半仙 ✤ 15 chapters ✤ danmei, modern, short, comedy My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My Short Review: Set in the same universe as Your Husband’s Leg is Broken, this...

➜ Python Starter Guide
≪ Python入門指南 ≫ by 許半仙
✤ 15 chapters
✤ danmei, modern, short, comedy

Same universe as “Your Husband’s Leg is Broken.” 許半仙 works are not a wow, but truly entertaining

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My Review: xantareads.tumblr.com/post/7731106...

#booksky #danmeisky #xantareads

Your Husband’s Leg is Broken Your Husband’s Leg is Broken ≪ 你老公的腿斷了 ≫ by 許半仙 ✤ 21 chapters + 3 extras ✤ Genre: Danmei, Modern, Short, Comedy My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ My Short Review: If you’re in the mood for a short and fluffy read,....

➜ Your Husband’s Leg is Broken
≪ 你老公的腿斷了 ≫ by 許半仙
✤ 21 ch + 3 extras
✤ danmei, modern, short, comedy

Cute & fluffy short novel with a comedic undertone. 😆

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
My Review: xantareads.tumblr.com/post/7729175...

#booksky #danmeisky #xantareads

Same to you! How are you? :)

Yassss, prepare your heart 🔪

Hello there!! Long time no see (online) 😂♥️

Funeral Funeral ≪葬禮≫ by 銜南枝 ✤ 23 Chapters + 3 Extras ✤ Genre: Danmei, Slice of Life, Tragedy My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My Short Review: TW: Suicide, Bullying My first BE danmei novel of 2025, and also my first...

➜ Funeral
≪ 葬禮 ≫ by 銜南枝
✤ 23 ch + 3 extras
✤ danmei, slice of life, tragedy

First BE read and my 1st 5 stars rating for 2025. Short yet powerful enough to crush one’s will.

TW: Suicide, Bullying

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My Review: xantareads.tumblr.com/post/7726604...

#booksky #danmeisky #xantareads

Sleeping Bunny Sleeping Bunny ≪ Nemuru Usagi ≫ by Konohara Narise ✤ 5 chapters ✤ JP Yaoi | School | Slice of Life | Short My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My Short Review: Recently, I’ve been exploring Japanese light novels,...

➜ Sleeping Bunny
≪ Nemuru Usagi ≫ by Konohara Narise
✤ 5 chapters
✤ jp yaoi, school, slice of life, short

Aside from danmei, I got hooked in reading JP LN as well. Chose a short one from 2002

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My Review: xantareads.tumblr.com/post/7722822...

#booksky #danmeisky #xantareads

Spent 6 hours tweaking my Notion and I’m still not done. I almost ruined the whole page I did yesterday. 🫠

過年後工作超忙. 早上七點到下午四點連結一直在幹活都沒空休息. 🫠

過年前九個小時內我真正做事只有大概五個小時，還能邊工作邊跟朋友約下午茶. 現在連放鬆的時間都沒了.

人生啊～

Cover for the JJWXC version of To Embers We Return

Extract from Chapter 7 of the English translation of To Embers We Return: But there was one thing Shen Ni could be absolutely sure of: Bian Jin would never betray the empire. Even if invaders were at the gates of Chang’an itself, even if Li Ruoyuan had made a run for it with her whole household in tow, Bian Jin would still be there in the capital, defending it to her last breath. If Bian Jin had not been utterly loyal to the empire, if the desire to protect its people not outweighed everything else in her mind, she could never have brought herself to leave Shuangji Hall that second time, dragging her weary, battered body back to the battlefields of the north. Especially knowing that it would be a campaign of many years, with no guarantee that she would return from it alive. Back then, Shen Ni had believed that the next time she saw Bian Jin again, it would be as a corpse. Though she was also confident that she would be able to recognise her shijie instantly, even if Bian Jin were no more than a nameless pile of bones. When she thought about it, having Bian Jin returned to her side battered and broken, but still alive, was far from the worst outcome.

Chapter 7 of Ning Yuan's historical cyberpunk baihe To Embers We Return Now up!

(we finally learn the empire's name, which is absolutely as amazing as you might have imagined)

🔗 read here: douqi.blog/2025/01/06/t...

宋玉章 (Song Yuzhang) by 冻感超人; GENRE(S): Minguo era, Multiple MLs with one endgame ML; Written in 2022, and it’s the novel that made me have hope for the danmei community again, because if you told me this was an old danmei classic written in 2013, i would’ve believed you; If you enjoy extremely strong characterisation and doesn’t have specific squicks that most current danmei audience have nowadays, I recommend this strongly; First completed read in 2024, and I already knew it was going to be my Read of the Year. I was right; Essentially a character journey of a single character. Everything else about the story, including the other MLs are used to further his journey; You can see that through how the novel is named AFTER him, and like his name, his story takes you on a wonderful, beautiful journey in a true minguo style/aesthetic; If you love insanely well characterised characters, this is the novel for you; The author didn’t give a shit whether this will irk the overly sensitive and puritan readers nowadays and just created the story she wanted to create, and you can genuinely see that from how she handled the other characters, the plot development, the decisions she had the characters make etc; Manages to make Song Yuzhang such a frustrating character who makes choices you don’t agree with, all the while managing to make him so insanely charming and captivating it’s no wonder all the MLs fell for him; Song Yuzhang is a scammer who speaks lies as easily as he breathes, and you will get both infuriated and charmed by him

桥头楼上 (End of the Bridge, Top of the Tower) by priest; GENRE(S): Contemporary, mystery, suspense, no romance; Me before this novel: actually, I do have novels I like from priest, but I’m not crazy about priest as an author? Me after this novel: HOLY SHIT PRIEST; For mystery lovers who don’t want to read danmei and are interested in a story by priest that is about connections between girls (not baihe, but it is baihe in my heart <3); A story of webnovel readers who slowly piece together the truth behind this new serialising short story by an author who seemed to be trying to communicate something through this story? If I have to describe this novel with a short phrase, I would say it’s a novel that is essentially “a love letter to girls”; I think this is the most technically taxing story priest has ever written; Priest makes effective use of the story medium as a “webnovel” to almost break the fourth wall and therefore drive in the messages of the story even further; Everything, including grammar errors and spellings, are intentional; It may be just 30+ chapters, but in my opinion, it requires more work to be translated well; I need a good English translation for this novel so bad so that English audiences can read this, I’m so serious

秋燥 (Autumn Fever) by 巫哲; GENRE(S): Contemporary, SOL, comedy, found family; The main CP is a vers couple! And both adults as well. Has the funniest scene I’ve read all year. I’ll never forget the scene of this father-son kneeling in front of each other in public and earning strange looks;Wuzhe outdid themselves in the “my characters can be so poor they sleep in weird places” again with this novel. Now, we have a character who has slept in a coffin because he has nowhere else; …What can I say. Wuzhe has done it again (who is surprised???); A story of someone who is sent to a backwater town to manage a guesthouse; Many of Wuzhe’s stories feature the MC and ML both finding solace in each other and “saving” each other. Here, it’s not just the MC and ML, it’s ALL guesthouse employees. This is what I mean when I say FOUND FAMILY!!!!; There is technically no angst in this, but this didn’t stop me from wiping tears away at heartwarming scenes This is proof that you don’t NEED knives and angst to write a compelling story that will still make you cry (or maybe it’s just me, because I also cried in Sanfu); Also the funniest Wuzhe novel to date, IMO; IMO, a must-read if you like Wuzhe’s style

追尾 (Rear-end Collision) by 潭石; GENRE(S): Showbiz, comedy (?);If you ask me, “Is Eye of the Storm or Rear-end Collision better?” I would say Eye of the Storm. But if you ask me, “Which are you more emotionally attached to?” I would say Rear-end Collision.; Same universe as Eye of the Storm (TFY), but please treat them as separate universes due to the various inconsistencies, especially in relation to LSZ and CY’s characterisation; A no-name actor, who upon after a rear-end collision, meets a rich CEO, and they later evolve into having a seemingly sugar baby-daddy relationship; The setup is extremely cliche, and I went in expecting nothing, but left with a gripping story of a determined actor whose talent was buried maliciously but still insisted on walking the path to achieve his dreams Flawed characters whom I found to be surprisingly realistic, and MC has meaningful relationships with characters who are not the love interest! Found the relationship between MC and his BFF/ex-crush, as well as his relationship to his platonic soulmate to be really compelling, despite the limited screentime; Would love more focus on the ML though, but I forgive this novel since I’m already so pleasantly surprised (ML is very cute and sweet to MC once this dumbass figured his feelings out too, even if he keeps saying R18 things out of nowhere)

来了来了！！Here's my Four Recs of 2024 in low-effort PPTs!

(as usual, I didn't proofread. If you spot mistakes, ignore them)

Tailhook Christmas 2024 Weibo Extra An Account of the Tailhook Gang's Christmas Tailhook Christmas 2024 Weibo Extra (2024-12-25) Translator: @hanlinacademic, latest edit 2024-12-27 Raws: 《属于尾钩组的圣诞一日记录》https://m.weibo.cn/status/511598080...

Here's a quick translation of #Tailhook Christmas 2024 Extra that #larivegauche posted on Weibo. Happy Holidays everyone! 🎅

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

#左岸 #尾钩 #TheApproach #从万米高空降临

It's peakness day. My Happy Marriage returns 💜💜😭😭 I missed these two so much.
#anime
#myhappymarriage

Cannot pull an all-nighter tonight. Slept for only two hours last night, and work was hell today because the holidays are over. It’s only Monday. I need to conserve my energy. Goodnight! 💤

Salad Days Salad Days ≪ 經久 ≫ by 靜水邊 ✤ 2 volumes: 12 ch + 7 extras ✤ Danmei | Slice of Life | Dancing | Boxing | Sports My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My Review: Salad Days is a heartwarming and grounded story that...

➜ Salad Days
≪ 經久 ≫ by 靜水邊
✤ 2 vols: 12 ch + 7 extras
✤ danmei, slice of life, dancing, boxing, sports

I have put this off far too long so it was time for me to give it a read. 😌

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My Review: xantareads.tumblr.com/post/7719421...

#booksky #danmeisky #xantareads

Watching “Our Youth” JP live-action now, and will later on read the KR manhwa of the same title as well. So far so good. And the gong is handsome af. 🤭