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Sesame Salt and Pudding / Goma Shio to Purin

general summary: Haruhi drunkenly marries an older man they try make a deal to live together

rating: 5/5

general review: I love it. Very much. It owns my entire heart, soul and being. I love it so much words can’t even describe it lol. Quite surprised no one really reads this manga and I barely could find people online that read this too. I actually thought I wouldn’t read it because it is a manga and I have a thing against manga since young me thought reading manga and comics doesn’t count as reading and is just looking at pictures😭😭 but yk I got over it.. I gave this manga a try even though there was no anime or anything related to it, cuz I am the type to read manga because I saw the anime or someone I admire likes it then I’ll read it if not then I won’t touch them. Though with this I got addicted to it too fast….. Anyways I love the dynamic, its an age gap type of romance and the relationship was very much healthy and legal which I love so much. I basically enjoyed reading this and would definitely read again.

below contains spoilers from Sesame Salt and Pudding, proceed with caution

IM NOT LYING WHEN I SAY I LOVE IT SM. idk or its just the concept of older men is present….. AHAHAHHA anyways ya older capable people are just superior trope idk I just love this trope sm lolz

things i like:

healthy relationship dynamic; usually in age gap romances, the healthy relationship dynamic is always at question, like sure it is romantic and all but is it healthy? Especially for the younger one in the relationship. So yeah I love how this was portrayed in this manga

art style; i just really love the art style its so cute

older capable men

got my attention right off the bat; i really don’t read manga, manhwa or manhuas if there isn’t an anime or donghua for me to watch first, because i feel its too slow/fast when reading so I never really want to read them. However for this manga I was so into it I finished it in a day

realistic attributes; since it is still fictional, theres gonna be things that aren’t relatable but for this manga i feel like the plot and all was really realistic, the conflicts and all.

what i dont like:

hardly anything really….

pretty short, I felt it could be dragged on a bit longer? but then again i don’t know whether I would genuinely enjoy it that way main thing is i dont want it to end

literal perfection no comment

what i found interesting:

Haruhi’s job, idk its just new to me to see a female construction worker

How haruhi is the breadwinner

for the first bit lol and nagato was the struggling one lol

main themes

healthy age gap relationship

projected parental trauma

sunshine x grumpy pairing

dont come at me T-T there was barely anything to analyze it was a fun read tho would def reread again!

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Pretty sure they bought him fron payless

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The Fault in Our Stars

general summary: Hazel Grace has cancer and because of it her mother is convinced she’s depressed by all the things Hazel is doing. To be fair once you get cancer and become weak and vulnerable I think the life they'll have will be quite miserable till they get better. Hazel is also in a support group for patients that have/had cancer. There she met Augustus Waters, someone who got over cancer and was there to accompany his blind friend Isaac. Hazel and Augustus grew closer. The book is a love story of these two cancer patients, they did many things together and made precious memories together till the end.

rating: 3/5

general review: The Fault in Our Stars was the very first actual novel I’ve read that was an assigned one from school. As my first book, it definitely was a 5/5 but now as a reread and a senior in high school, it was nyeh… it’s not amazing but not boring as well thanks to nostalgia. Again just like my attack on titan review, I watched the movie first before reading and I do believe that played the biggest role lol, I had a thing for Ansel Elgort, Shailene Wood, and Theo James so yk naturally I had to read The Fault in Our Stars. It yk was quite similar to the book but the book was sadder imo, it even made me cry the movie just made my heartache. John Green’s writing style is quite basic and easy to read which I am thankful for but I guess the quality of the writing itself wasn’t up to my taste, now that I’ve read tons of books.

below contains spoilers from The Fault in Our Stars, proceed with caution

Just wanna say it again lol, I use to enjoy watching tfios but thanks to Ansel’s allegations it was kinda hard to enjoy it. Now thinking back it was kinda weird how in the same era Ansel and Shailene would act as lovers in tfios but then act as siblings in the divergent series…... It’s kinda messed up when you think about it lol but then go get your money lol. Now onto the review

things i like:

Physically readable, it’s easy to understand; do I even have to elaborate lol

How it became the blueprint to every other similar romance story about sick people; it is just fascinating how no other book/movie can really beat them to it

Augustus Waters; he is such a boyfriend material and he loves Hazel Grace so much it hurts me to know that I won’t find someone like him

Their date in Amsterdam; it was cute and all and kinda made me obsessed w it for a bit 

The part when Augustus was practicing his death speech or wtv it was so heartwarming and amusing

When they egged Isaac’s gf’s house

what i dont like:

Ansel Elgort cant help it yo I think of him whenever I think of tfios

The scene when they visited Anne Frank’s house, idk I just really didn’t like that part, totally felt it could be erased from the plot and nothing significant will change

When it was just the two of them in the hotel room; idk i didn’t really feel any chemistry there it was just awkward

How poorly written hazel grace is; i know she’s like literally sick and weak but i feel John Green is really pushing it and like she just doesn’t have much of a personality

what i found interesting:

how iconic it was; you can say whatever about the movie but you have to admit it was iconic af like the whole “okay?okay” thing

the 2012-14 stample, no matter how many times you go back to it you just get reminded its from that era, like yk how some books makes it feel like its a recent on but then it came out in like 2012 or smth

the twist ig? I was full on expecting hazel to be the one dying not augustus waters

main themes

tragic love?? 

sickness can bring both blessings and curses

lack of actual support for mental health of the cancer patients

not worth the read now 😭😭

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Attack on Titan

general summary: In a dystopian world where the only humans left in the world reside inside these enormous walls away from man-eating titans, there a little boy named Eren Yeager who wish to see what is beyond the walls. However one day, an abnormal titan was able to break true the walls and enter Eren’s village, having a titan invasion that killed his mom, and from that day on he swore on his life that he would kill all the titans on earth so that his people could be free.

rating: 5/5

general review: I love this show and manga so much, words cannot describe how much I love this series. By far it is one of my favourite and the best works I’ve ever seen. I’ve watched the anime and read the manga and I just love the symbolism and foreshadowing and parallelism we can see from the beginning of the manga and the last chapters. Honestly, I think the presence of the tragic romances within Attack on Titan just makes everything better and adds more depth to the story and pain. Though I do have a love and hate relationship with the mc, eren sdjlkfsad, my fav character is hange 🥰🥰🥰 they own my entire life. No, but seriously you should at least watch the anime if you don’t want to read the manga cuz it is pretty close and they didn’t really skip much of the manga, they’re one of those shows that has a similar quality to the manga. Oh, but one thing I didn’t really like about the manga is the ending, it lowkey felt like it was rushed, everything was happening so fast and all of a sudden it’s already the end of the manga. Also, I was hoping the ending to be a bit more tragic and dark? The entire thing is already so dark and sad why not end it in the same way yk.

below contains spoilers from the attack on titan manga, proceed with caution

I just wanna get this out HANGE ZOE COULDVE SEEN FLYING TITANS IF SHE WAS STILL ALIVE FOR A FEW MORE HOURS like she didn’t even know about their existence and she just deserves to see all the different types of titans on that titan reunion, I would give her my everything. Also I believe in levihan supremacy, they could’ve totally been end game. Ngl ever since hange died I could care less about what happened to rest…. oh but the last few chapters were torture man like we have to wait for a whole month to read the next chapter without knowing whos gonna survive and whos practically dead

things i like

Hange Zoe

Will Tybur’s VA djklfasd im so happy i got to hear Kakashi’s voice again

All of the characters are so fine

The parallelism between the marleyans and eldians 

Eren walking the thin line of being an anti-hero and the protagonist; ngl shit is just so well written you gotta love him and hate him, its like another light yagami situation

How all the characters were written; they all played some kind of role in the plot and they were all well written especially the women… which is very rare. It lowkey felt like I knew all the characters on a personal level

Hajime, dude is a mastermind; i will never forget how it felt when i first watched the anime

Also there was like little to no fan service and i’m so happy and grateful for that because sometimes when shows/books do fan service it kinda goes away from the plot for a bit and it lowkey ruins it both, the characters and the plot 

what i dont like

The fandom lmaooo; ok i know this isn’t about the work but everyone was so worked up by the show like team eren or team smth,,, like wtf yo its like the team edward and team jacob thing we had back then for twilight 

I didn’t really like whatever happens after eren kissed historia’s hand, like yes it is a very important part of the story, it’s the point that changed the entire plot and i love it but some part of me felt it was a bit rushed?? I felt like it could be dragged out more. I think the pacing after this point and before was kinda different so it was a bit odd at first.

How no one is in the wrong…. like bro i want and need someone to blame all the problems to like all the deaths onto someone but you just can’t cause you know their background and how they think and understand why they would do such a thing and i hate it bro

It was a bit too political especially at the beginning of season 4,, nothing i watched/read was processed in my head lmao

what i found interesting

That it was a tragic romance manga at the end AHAHAHAHA

How all of the titan shifters have different appearances as its based of their personality

How well written the twist is.. its started from finding titans to wanting to wanting to kill whoever make titans to  trample the rest of the world

That damn creepy ass glitch at the ending credits of season 3, cause honestly what the fuck

main themes

tragic love?? None of the pairing came through… one of them died, it always like that :( ok the only one that survived is like armin and annie

Racism; marleyans vs. eldians.. do i even have to explain

Difference in social class; same thing just like racism we even see the kids literally fight for their lives just to be treated decently by marleyans

War; putting kids in war and making them fight for it to have a life its kind of fucked up when you think about it, the eldians in marley were brainwashed and got their childhood robbed.

Freedom; that all eren talks about

you absolutely must watch/read attack on titan or else you’re missing out

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currently reading the invisible life of addie larue and addie is so relatable... simping on her own drawings aidakdjksdfa

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The Song of Achilles

warnings: not proof read, to be edited

general summary: The Song of Achilles is a retelling of Greek mythology going over the relationship of two boys, Patroclus and Achilles. Patroclus, an exiled prince and Achilles the superhuman, the greatest warrior of his generation both go on a journey to train and fight in hopes of defeating their designated fate in the prophecy.

rating: 4/5

general review: As for someone who has little to no knowledge of Greek mythology, this novel was quite easy to read, it wasn’t as intimidating or confusing as I expected it to be. Miller was able to make the Gods, Goddesses and mortals in greek mythology their own character to a sense that it wasn’t confusing whenever a new character is introduced. It was kind of slow-paced in the beginning especially the first four chapters, it felt like forever going through it but from the middle until the end the pace quickened and the story got more interesting. Though I find it surprising that Miller didn’t bring up the iconic  Achilles’ heel since that is the only thing I knew about Achilles. Overall, it left me heartbroken to the point I can’t cry about it but I suppose the soft moments within Patroclus and Achilles’ relationship made up for it. I love this book and I see myself rereading this book in the future.

my book stats:

starting date - 20 June 2021

end date - 30 June 2021

total reading time - 9 hours yeah i only read an hour a day

below contains spoilers from the song of achilles, proceed with caution

Keep reading

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fav scenes + quotes

Scenes:

Honestly any soft and fluffy moment between Patroclus and Achilles,, it was the only thing that kept me going.

ok fr now, when Patroclus is helping Achilles in juggling and their palms touches

when Achilles was telling Patroclus all the parts of his body has changed and what he loves

Achilles calling Patroclus the most beloved

Achilles wants his and Patroclus’ ashes to be mingled and buried together

Thetis writing Patroclus’ name on the grave

Achilles calling Patroclus his husband

Quotes:

“And perhaps it is the greater grief after all to be left on earth when another is gone.”

“We were like gods at the dawning of the world, and our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.” 

“I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breath came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.”

“Achilles was looking at me. ‘Your hair never quite lies flat here.’ He touched my head, just behind my ear. “I don't think I've ever told you this how I like it.”

“I did not plan to live after he was gone.”

“He is a weapon, a killer. Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will never change its nature.”

“He is half of my soul, as the poet says.” 

“ ‘Have you no more memories?’

I am made of memories.”

  “Go… He waits for you.”

“In the darkness two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the Sun.”

my book review

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nO cuz i was rereading tsoa to compile me fav quotes and this. THIS is the exact desc of achilles sdahflksd

No body:

Pat everytime he has to describe Achilles:

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The song of achilles/iliad in a nutshell:

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The Song of Achilles

warnings: not proof read

general summary: The Song of Achilles is a retelling of Greek mythology going over the relationship of two boys, Patroclus and Achilles. Patroclus, an exiled prince and Achilles the superhuman, the greatest warrior of his generation both go on a journey to train and fight in hopes of defeating their designated fate in the prophecy.

rating: 4/5

general review: As for someone who has little to no knowledge of Greek mythology, this novel was quite easy to read, it wasn’t as intimidating or confusing as I expected it to be. Miller was able to make the Gods, Goddesses and mortals in greek mythology their own character to a sense that it wasn’t confusing whenever a new character is introduced. It was kind of slow-paced in the beginning especially the first four chapters, it felt like forever going through it but from the middle until the end the pace quickened and the story got more interesting. Though I find it surprising that Miller didn’t bring up the iconic  Achilles’ heel since that is the only thing I knew about Achilles. Overall, it left me heartbroken to the point I can’t cry about it but I suppose the soft moments within Patroclus and Achilles’ relationship made up for it. I love this book and I see myself rereading this book in the future.

my book stats:

starting date - 20 June 2021

end date - 30 June 2021

total reading time - 9 hours yeah i only read an hour a day

below contains spoilers from the song of achilles, proceed with caution

things i like:

Madeline Miller’s writing style; i love it so much!! The way she describes emotion is immaculate and i never found it cliche. Also how she portrays their relationship from friends to lovers, i honestly never really like this trope though there were a few exceptions just like this one. Their relationship didn’t feel rushed at all and it was so natural i enjoyed reading their growth.

Flustered!Patroclus; especially in the beginning of the book,, my boy got flustered at any kind gesture from Achilles it makes me melt. I guess this comes from Patroclus’ lack of affection from his childhood,,, his parents never really paid attention to him so whenever someone is being kind to him it was taboo to him at first??

Easy to read; like i’ve mentioned before, as someone who has no knowledge whatsoever of Greek mythology, the story was easy to read and understand. Miller allows people who aren’t a fan of Greek mythology to enjoy the story as well.

what i dont like:

Pyrrhus; mf gonna catch these hands, he got some nerve to not acknowledge Patroclus as someone his father cared for,, like boy stay in your mf lane and he’s also a rapist?? I mean ig its was common in that era?? but still,,, serves him right to be killed thank you to whoever killed him you’re doing God’s work.

Slow pacing; i feel the pacing was really slow compared to other books, i got really bored 4 chapters in and felt the need to drop it because nothing interesting was happening.

The foreshadowing on Hector; like the foreshadowing is amazing and i love it but was it necessary to hurt me like this Miller? No it was not jk ily for hurting me Miller this should be in parts of the things i like but nah “What has Hector ever done to me?”

what i found interesting:

Achilles’ heel; there was no mention of Achilles dying by his heel at all, though there was a brief mention about it between Apollo and the archer but Apollo dismissed the idea saying that Achilles is human and will die if the archers shoots at him

The story still goes on even though Patroclus is dead; well the only reason Patroclus was able to continue telling the story was that nobody other than Achilles bothered to acknowledge his death. i somehow feel like it is telling us that when Patroclus was exiled by his father, that would mean no one will acknowledge him for anything noble that he has done even if a demi-god has acknowledged him, once he’s a nobody he’ll stay a nobody.

main themes

Forbidden love?? I think this can be one of the main theme of this book as two weren’t supposed to be together,, and Patroclus has to die because he is hindering Achilles in becoming a God. This theme is constantly brought up by Thetis and Patroclus’ fear of getting killed by her, especially in the scene in which Patroclus and Achilles have talked over whether they should be ashamed of themselves or not.

Friendship is one for sure. How an exiled prince and a demi-god has become friends? It is quite the pairing. In the first couple of chapters, we get to see Achilles and Patroclus cover each other’s back, how much they care about each other and how they would do anything to prevent one’s death.

Love is of course one of the main themes in this book, we get to see how their friendship has bloomed into a relationship that runs deeper. Like how we get to see how they would cover each other’s back in the first couple of chapters, we got to see the desperation to be together in the last couple of chapters.

symbolism

Patroclus’ mother’s lyre; i think that his mother’s lyre is sort of a reminder that they are a couple of boys playing around. Whenever the lyre comes on the scene, it represents their childhood and immaturity or that they’re in a place of comfort.

Achilles’ armor; it represents the inhuman part of Achilles, i feel whenever he uses it the inhumane part of him comes out, the part of him that is the strongest soldier and the one to kill Hector, not the Achilles who rescued a bunch of girls from being a bed slave or the Achilles that puts Patroclus first before anything regardless of the situation.

foreshadowing

happy ending where the two meet; “i could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breath came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death and at the end of the world.” this entire line just foreshadows the happy ending, even though the two were separated for a moment and were miserable, they finally got to be together in death. They loved each other so much they recognized each other in death at the end of the world and waited for one another.

hector; what has hector ever done to me? I can’t help but notice that this line was repeated several times before the reveal of what Hector has done, kill Patroclus. It was already revealed that only the strongest could take down Hector, but if Hector dies then it’s Achilles cue to die as well. Though when Achilles found out Hector killed Patroclus, he no longer cared whether he lives or die, he has to avenge Patroclus and kill Hector. I just think it was funny and cute that after they spent 10 yearsish in avoiding Hector’s death so that the two could be together but since one of them has passed the other joined.

being a happy hero; this was foreshadowed early on in the iconic scene where Achilles asked Patroclus if he could name a happy hero, which he could not. Achilles then swears he was going to be the first happy hero… spoiler alert he was not happy nor a “hero”... though what it meant to be a hero is quite debatable, I go by the definition of a hero as someone who saved someone or community from evil doings. Achilles technically never defeated the people of Troy, so he was never a hero,, his son was the one that led the Greeks to victory. However, Achilles got the fame, as someone who is uninterested in greek mythology I do know who Achilles is. So it is quite debatable as the book description of a happy hero is someone who is happy and had fame. Achilles had fame but was miserable towards the end due to Patroclus’ death, he was mourning and coping by getting into fights, losing his humanity which killed him too.

fav quotes

in short: go read it!! might bore you a bit but those soft moments def make up for it :DD - m

[readsbym]

reading list 👀

current read:

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V. E. Schwab

book I have lying in my shelf:

Wedding Night - Sophie Kinsella

The Queen of the Tearling - Erika Johansen

books I haven’t purchased:

The Cruel Prince - Holly Black

Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

They Both Die at the End - Adam Silvera

The Inheritance Games - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

We Hunt the Flames - Hafsah Faizal

Daughter of the Pirate King - Tricia Levenseller

From Blood and Ash - Jennifer L. Armentrout

Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas

can someone recommend me more books 🧍🏻‍♀️

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about me

☆ i go by m

☆ she/her

☆ 17 y/o

☆ personality: intp-t

☆ sign: aries

☆ currently taking the ib program rip

☆ languages: english, bahasa indonesia and very minimal mandarin

☆ likes: reading, marvel (a loki stan), 5sos, write, star wars, mcr, mitski, charlie lim, kdrama, kpop, anime, anything disney and plushies

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-purpose of this blog

Hello fellow reader!! So I started this blog for one of my CAS experience. If you don’t know what a CAS experience is, essentially, it’s one of the requirements I need to do so that I can get my IB diploma certificate. I need to spend over 18 months for CAS and this blog is just of the many. Anyways, the main purpose of this blog is to share my thought or interpretation of the book I’m reading on the internet. Also to practice my analysis skills as I’m an English A student as well. I thought that Tumblr would be a nice place to do this because there is no word limitations and I can put pictures too in the same post. 

anyways enjoy your stay here, love