Birthday Reading

Talking about my reading plans.

Sundaze Book Café is the home of everyday magic, joyful living and conversations likely to be had over a hot drink with a friend in your favourite café, capturing the syrup-slow feel and glow of a Sunday. I’m Michelle, and I’ll be your host this Sunday.

After a successful reading month in January and getting through some of my most anticipated books in February, I spent a little time surmising what I wanted March to feel like. March is my birthday month and I decided I wanted to devote these four weeks to picking up old favourites, either for rereads or to further my author studies. As I gratefully grow older, I’m struck by every small thing that has shaped me into who I am today. So, as I tip-toe into 34(!!), here’s what I hope to read, and why.

My first mini project is to dial back time and revisit Lian Hearn’s Tales of the Otori series and world. I have vivid memories of ticking this in the perfectly crinkly Scholastic Book Fair catalogue as a primary school kid, eagerly justifying it to Mum by noting there was ‘somebody who looks Asian’ on the cover, recognising some Kanji/traditional Chinese characters on the design, and saying that my brother and I promised to read it. I still have the exact copy of Across the Nightingale Floor on my shelves now, yet I can’t find the sequels anywhere. Since I have such specific memories of these books, I think I’m going to invest in new copies of the sequels and reread them in March to see what 11-year-old Michelle enjoyed. (I’m going to hazard a guess and say it totally tracks that I’m into fantasy and historical fiction, including Shōgun, as an adult!)

Next, I want to read a cosy translated fiction. I took a short break from this mini genre, as I was getting a bit burned out of these minimal plot books. But I can’t deny my love of them, and The Rainfall Market has been patiently waiting on my Kindle since the start of the year! Plus, my boyfriend and I are now in the thick of planning our big trip to South Korea (and Japan!), so it feels apt.

In terms of my big books reading resolution, I’m going to take March off from the huge tomes. I’ve read some chunky books in recent weeks and think that my birthday month is as good a time as any to take my foot off the pedal a touch. Instead, I’m going to pick up A Magical Girl Retires from my physical TBR – another one that feels divinely attached to my childhood. The artwork reminds me of Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon: essential components to any East Asian girl growing up in the diaspora. Again, I sort of feel like this is a read that’ll connect the dots of my past to my present.

I’m sure I’ll be back again in a handful of weeks to share my findings from this sentimental little reading project. Catch you next Sunday.