I like to keep my eye out. I like exploring places I haven’t been, checking out what’s around the corner, going back a different way then I came. For me, it makes for a more interesting life. There’s always something new to discover, and I want to see as much of it as I can.
Today, I’m sitting in the cafe of a beautiful bookstore. I see these book stores often–they’re a chain around China, or at least Shenzhen, but this one was hiding in plain sight.
How we Got Here
A few weeks ago, I went into the McDonald’s near my school. Please don’t shame me for the McDonald’s. When I’m trying to save money but still want to leave the office during my two hour lunch, sometimes it’s the best option. This time around, as I was walking towards it (coming from the opposite direction because I initially wanted to go to a coffee shop I love then I said “No, Briana, save money”), I saw a sign above that said Yoyu books. “Hmm,” I thought, “I’ve never seen that before. I need to go one day.” Fast forward a month, and I still hadn’t been, almost forgot about it. I passed by again and saw a sign that said something about a cafe. I thought “I need to go.”
Finally, today rolls around, and I’m making my plans. I was thinking about going to Starbucks because it’s my usual Monday or Tuesday thing, but I don’t feel like going to Starbucks; I also don’t feel like paying for Starbucks. I remembered the book store I need to visit, and the cafe. So here I am. Typing this post and also recording myself typing because I’m supposed to be vlogging more.
This place is cute and way bigger that I thought. There’s a stationery section (which I’m pleased with myself for avoiding). There’s rows and rows of books, and there’s the cafe. It’s actually getting a little late and I need to pack up my stuff so I can walk back to school but I’ll try and get some footage before I leave.
Books Books Books
I could’ve stopped there, but I am back at school, and I wanted to share my raeding. I’ve been a reading fiend lately, even worse than usual. Last week, I spent a significant amount of time on Goodreads community threads just writing about the books I was gonna read for the Read Harder Challenge. I spent a good 4-5 hours and enjoyed every minute, ugh!
I also spent time and made an April TBR, mostly because I was behind on reading and had a lot of reading to get through for book clubs.
My April TBR
- Big Magic (finish reading)
- Gone Girl (finish reading before starting book club book)
- To Swoon and To Spar (finish reading, pub date April 11th)
- Parable of the Sower (Book Club 4/15)
- The Gilded Ones (Book Club 4/15 ~~or 4/22~~)
- Siddhartha (Book Club 4/22)
- The Duchess Deal/Night Song (can start after To Swoon and To Spar)
- A Man called Ove (can start after above)
- If I Survive You (start after Siddhartha)
- This is Where You Belong (can read after book club books)
I’ve already read the books in bold, but as you can see I don’t listen to myself. I also read my first book by Mimi Grace (Make A Scene) which isn’t even on the list. I’m currently reading the second book in that series, What a Match, which is, you guessed it, not even on that list. I don’t want to be reading a ton of books at once anymore, so hopefully after these book club books, I can go back to one fiction and one nonfiction with a romance thrown in as needed.
Okay, that’s all for today!
Briana