2024 Year in Review and 2025 New Year's Resolution

Another year has come and gone.

In the blink of an eye, it has been ten years since I started recording the number of books read and sharing a year-in-review post.

I read and reviewed a total of 7 books this year. It should have been only 3 books. But somehow, I managed to read 4 more Chinese novels before the year is out, to make it to my favourite number 7. For that, I am grateful and happy. :)

Year 2024 @ 7 (-10 YOY)
Year 2023 @ 17 (-14 YOY)
Year 2022 @ 31 (-14 YOY)
Year 2021 @ 45 (-5 YOY)
Year 2020 @ 50 (+4 YOY)
Year 2019 @ 46 (-16 YOY)
Year 2018 @ 62 (+10 YOY)
Year 2017 @ 52 (■ YOY)
Year 2016 @ 52 (-22 YOY)
Year 2015 @ 74 (-23 YOY)
Year 2014 @ 97



2024 is a year of drama. Oh.. don't get me wrong. I don't mean it figuratively - not in the dramatic sense - but literally. 字面上的意思。I learn this Chinese term from watching the Chinese drama "The Spirealm" |《致命游戏》as well as reading the related original Chinese novel "Kaleidoscope of Death" |《死亡万花筒》.

Indeed, 2024 is a year of drama. One year of drama where I spend little time reading, and most of my free time watching... yes, drama. Yet, never did I expect that watching drama can still lead to reading. Well, I guess the booklover in me never totally goes away, no matter what.

For my easy reference, I am listing down all the Chinese dramas I have watched to date since Year 2023. They will be listed with the following sequence: Chinese drama name, English known name, Year of airing, Number of stars (this is my own rating which I give out of 10). I have also inserted a K-drama or two, but I want to say, I am not a great fan of Korean drama. Also included are three short Chinese drama. You may be curious - What does short drama mean? Well, short drama here does not mean a drama with less episodes, but rather, short airing time such as twenty minutes or less, usually ten minutes or so.

Year 2024
星汉灿烂 月升沧海 Love like the Galaxy (2022)(7.0)
君心难逑 Extremely Perilous Love (short drama)(2023)(6.5)
执笔 Fortune Writer (short drama)(2024)(4.0)
奔向所有时空的你 Present, is Present (2024)(9.0)
以家人之名 Go Ahead (2020)(9.0)
对我而言危险的他 My Lethal Man (2023)(DNF)
婚事 Dear Liar (short drama)(2023)(6.0)
当我飞奔向你 When I Fly towards You (2023)(8.0)
我的人间烟火 Fireworks of My Heart (2023)(8.0)
你比星光美丽 As Beautiful as You (2024)(7.0)
致命游戏 The Spirealm (2024)(9.5)
甜蜜家园 Sweet Home S1 (Kdrama)(2020)(5.0)
京城怪物 Gyeongseong Creature S1 (Kdrama)(2023)(DNF)
九重紫 Blossom (2024)(6.0)

Year 2023
苍兰决 Love between Fairy and Devil 2022 (8.5)
半是蜜糖半是伤 Love is Sweet 2020 (8.5)
长月烬明 Till the End of the Moon 2023 (6.5)
传闻中的陈芊芊 Romance of Tiger and Rose 2020 (8.5)

With so few books read this year, I am glad to say that I have zero "Did-Not-Finish" books. None at all. Zilch.

In any case, what's done is done. The past - books that have been read - is what it is. There is no changing it. I may not have managed to read all the books on my reading list nor reviewed all the books I have chosen to read. But in my immediate past, I know pretty much why I choose to read a certain book or genre, and what I will have done, or not done differently. Ultimately, what matters most, I feel, is to enjoy the reading process, engage myself in the story and be transported out of my world into another. Equipped with various ways of spending my time, be it reading, crocheting, drama watching, piano practicing or whatnots, I guess there will always be the internal battle of which one to choose from. As of now, I just follow where my heart is.

As a matter of course, my 2025 New Year's resolution is to read books, enjoy the stories, write short reviews, and to crochet to my heart's content when I am not reading or drama chasing.

Finally, to all booklovers out there, may the Year 2025 bring along good books, better reads and best of all, discoveries of all things bookish.

Happy New Year
&
Happy Reading