Short Story Review: The Oracle of the Dog by G.K. Chesterton

As one of my reading resolutions of 2019, I wanted to read more short stories (two a month at least), because I find so often I only end up reading longer books. And since I haven't ever reviewed a short story on my blog, I though I'd reviewed this one. I am a massive fan …

Reading Challenges I’m Competing in 2019

I know, today's post was supposed to be about foreign films, but I wasn't quite sure where to put this post, so it's going up today. As one of my reading goals for 2019, I said I was hoping to compete in more Reading Challenges. My problem is that I'm incredibly bad at reading challenges, …

Winter Themed Book Tag

I haven't done a book tag in so long (as it turns out, since the beginning of December), so I thought I'd do a fun Winter-themed book tag, since currently (as I write this) it is -10ºF (-23.33℃). So, yes, it's a bit cold. Anyway, I came across this tag on a blog called Marissa …

To the Moon and Back

“Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Throwback Book Series Review: The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker

I have been burned so many times by fairytale retellings, but this series is one that keeps me hoping that the next retelling I read may actually be good. I discovered this series around 2007 (at the time, only five of the books were released, which is also how many I've read), and fell in …

Chinese Movie Reviews: Detective Dee

Since finishing the book Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, translated by Robert Van Gulik, I was anxious to watch movies based on his character. If you're curious to read my book review and haven't, here's a link. As it turns out, there are quite a few adaptations centering around this famous magistrate during the Tang …

Books I Hate: ABC Edition

If you missed last week's post, I've already done the opposite of this, Books I Love: ABC Edition. Just so you don't think I'm always negative. Like the last post, I'm picking books I haven't really mentioned before on my blog. For the record, this blog title may be a bit dramatic. Many of these …

Photography Friday: A Chilled Lifeguard

“The muses are ghosts, and sometimes they come uninvited.” ― Stephen King

Book Review: The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, translated by Robert Van Gulik

Before I actually review this book, I feel it warrants some explanation of three different times which attributed to this book. During the Tang Dynasty in China, a man named Dee Gong An (630-700 AD) was a renowned magistrate (whose job encompassed detective, police, jury, and judge) and later state politician in China. During the …

A Concerning Trend in Japanese Dramas

I've been trying to get back into watching more Japanese dramas recently. When I first became interested in Asian dramas, it was through Japanese dramas (around 2009). Think of shows like Bloody Monday, Gokusan, Hana Yori Dango, etc. These were what got me interested in Asian dramas in general. But over the years, I haven't …