What I Was Up To
Apparently, quarantine and reading don’t go well together in my case. I’m one of the lucky (or unlucky, depending on which angle you take) people who can continue to work pretty normally, so I don’t have more time for reading. And the time I have, I don’t spend reading. I just can’t concentrate on much else than videos, so I spent a lot of time watching YouTube, Netflix, and DVDs. Especially Bollywood movies, to be exact.
I watched a couple of them when I was a teen and loved them. They have music and dance (perfect for a musical fan) and are overly dramatic and often absolutely heartbreaking. Just how I like my stories! So what made me rediscover my love for them? Well, I started reading When Dimple Met Rishi because I wanted a fluffy contemporary read. It’s a miracle I finished the book considering I got that sidetracked. I watched quite a few and bought a ton of them! Somehow, they turned into my lifeline.
It’s certainly not the way to keep on track of my reading goal of 30,000 pages this year. But I’m not too sad about falling behind. At least I now have Kajol in my life. I adore her!
SuBsalabim
While I didn’t read a single one of the books I was supposed to read this month, at least I read one from my 2018 choices, which is the aforementioned
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When Dimple Met Rishi (Dimple and Rishi #1) by Sandhya Menon • 5/5
Utterly delightful! Truly the book I needed. Under normal circumstances, I’d probably rate this four stars since I had some (minor) issues, but it rekindled my love for Bollywood movies, which kept me sane these past couple of weeks. It was such a fun fluffy read. I really liked the characters and their (love) story. It was also funny comparing the characters and plot to typical Bollywood movies. There are quite a few tropes. I’m looking forward to continuing the series and watch the upcoming Netflix series.
What I’ve Also Read
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Book Love by Debbie Tung • 4/5
A collection of comic strips about all things bookish! Had fun reading and discovering myself between the pages!
What I’ve Read for Work
Making my way through the autumn 20 programme. I’m really super late at that. Usually, I’ve read most books prior to Leipzig Book Fair in March. Since that was cancelled, I’m taking my damn time with these.
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SOS – Mission Blütenstaub by Esther Kuhn
[SOS – Mission Flower Dust]
At first, I wasn’t sure whether it’s my kind of book but I ended up really enjoying it. The characters are so sweet and I loved how much they achieved. Plus: there is a lot of information about bees and tips and tricks for everyone to help them interwoven in the story.
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Hamster undercover (Extrem gefährlich!, #2)
by Mario Fesler & Eva Schöffmann-Davidov (Ill.)
[Hamster Undercover (Extremely Dangerous!, #2)]
As always: a treat! Hilarious, exciting, with great characters, unusual ideas, and unexpected twists and turns. I’m already looking forward to reading the third one!
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Das Schildkröten-Orakel (Mari: Mädchen aus dem Meer, #1)
by Christiane Rittershausen & Nina Dulleck (Ill.)
[The Turtle Oracle (Mari – Girl from the Sea, #1)]
A fun underwater adventure that reminded me a teensy tiny bit of Ocean Girl (I mean, I only have very few memories of watching that series when I was little, but it gave me similar vibes). Oh, and throw in a pinch of Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid series (not the movies!), give it a good shake and voilà: a very entertaining book.
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Wunschalarm im Klassenzimmer (Wunschbüro Edda, #4)
by Suza Kolb & Daniela Kunkel (Ill.)
[Wish Alarm in the Class Room (Wish Agency Edda, #4)]
I really like the concept of this series (fulfilling wishes for others in the hopes that you can build up a wish budget so that one day your own big wish is going to be fulfilled). This one got all magicked up.
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Der verhexte Blubberblitz-Besuch (Kuschelflosse, #6) by Nina Müller
[The Jinxed Bubble-Bolt Visit (Cuddlefin, #6)]
Another series I really enjoy. It’s a fun underwater adventure on the surface but down below there’s always much more. This one took on fake news and had a character that vaguely resembles a certain president.
Stats
Working from home has given me more time in some cases (no commute, and I can take full lunch breaks more often), but I’m still working a lot and all the COVID stuff is an extra stress, so I’m not always the most focused on reading!
It’s cool that reading When Dimple Met Rishi rekindled your love of Bollywood shows though! I’d definitely like to try some at some point, although I’m not sure the music/dance aspect will be for me. But I love the sound of drama and heartbreak
I was quite the opposite: in the beginning, I forgot to take my breaks and it took me some time to get to a point where I consciously made time for them. The stress, however, is still very present. We’re constantly having to come up with new stuff for the things that are currently not possible (book fairs first and foremost).
It is quite something. I always loved musicals, but it can be pretty weird. The weirdest I’ve seen so far is Baazigar. Not only is the combination of thriller and musical mindboggling, it’s also so over the top, one really can’t take it seriously. Very entertaining, though.
What I struggle with is actually stopping work in the evenings, haha. I mean, yes, there is a lot to do, but it’s also very easy to just keep working because I know I don’t have to commute back home…
Having to come up with new ideas to work around COVID does sound exhausting. :/
Ah, sometimes all I want is something entertaining, even if it’s a bit weird!