Drama-Lovers Book Club

 The Butterfly:

I’ve been struggling to finish the book I’m on now not because it’s boring but during this Christmas season I’ve been too busy to finish it.  It’s The Magi, a historical study of the magoi of Persia and other ancient kingdoms and their presence in Matthew. 

I have a stack of novels for the new year when hopefully I can block out more reading time. When I start fiction books I tend to read them voraciously and I don’t have time right now. Even my Dramaland viewing has been short films when I can squeeze one in. XD

I've bought a few books I found interesting and I hope, during spring semester -which is less busy for me- to find the time to read them!
Then I'll have something to share/post here :)

Wow what a month of books for me. I finished Lost You Forever by Tong Hua (also the writer of Scarlet Heart). I also reread Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao to prepare for its sequel Heavenly Tyrant (which I am currently reading!). And I finished another book by Nghi Vo from her Singing Hills Cycle novella series. 

	What a story. I know this is not a book for everyone, Tong Hua's stories usually aren't. This is one of those "you either hate it or you love it," and luckily for me I loved it. Honestly, the differences between the drama and the book were also interesting in and of themselves. And revisiting scenes I loved in the drama in the prose was satisfying. One of my favorite scenes was better depicted in the drama, but I don't really mind. They two manifestations of the story had their own strengths and weaknesses, and in the end, I liked them both :) While people seem to be divided on how they feel about Xiaoyao, I really loved this multifaceted character who really feels life. She's fierce, willful, silly, afraid of pain, and genuinely wants to be loved. This was a fun book to read on the feeds as I ended up sharing quotes in MyBooks.
Rereading Iron Widow felt kind of amazing. I'd forgotten what it was like to be so engrossed in a story that I'd be compelled to binge it. Obviously I had a great time rereading it. All of this was for the purpose of being able to seamlessly transition into Heavenly Tyrant. The book was a long time in the making and I'd forgotten details and characters over the years that I waited for the sequel. Very glad I reread Iron Widow as its made enjoying Heavenly Tyrant that much better.
	While I didn't like this as much as the previous book I read by Nghi Vo, this novella was still very much up my alley. A political drama with intriguing worldbuilding, all beneath layers of archiving. An interesting alternative vehicle for storytelling.