Jas' 2026 Reads

Jan

IRON
FLAME

Fantasy
Dragons, wars, revolution
★★★★★

The first book of the Empyrian series, Fourth Wing, ends with a hook which drew me to Iron Flame immediately, the second book of the series.

This one is still epic... When I knew it was an 800-page book, I was intimidated, but then I finished it in around a week 😩

Wait no more. You have to experience it yourself.

Psychological Thriller
★★★★☆

My friend just told me that there's a movie coming in 2026! How lucky am I??

I love the plot twist and how it gave me chills. Even before the twist, I was already feeling a bit scared because of the mystery :D

I remember being terrified at midnight when I realized that the cover was a woman’s face.....

The Silent Patient

The Teacher

Psychological Thriller
★★★★★

This was the second book from the same author I read after The Housemaid. It didn't disappoint me again!!!

Despite the fact that it's hard to relate to teenagers' POV as an adult, I could never have guessed the ending and my jaw dropped.......

It's the kind of book you need to replay the details of after you finish it.

Careless People
Non-fiction
Insider stories about Facebook
★★★☆

If you think you'll never be interested in the interactions between politics and technology, this could be an interesting read. (Basically I was talking about me :D)

The author was a previous Facebook executive addressing politics, and it's like hearing your big auntie narrating her experiences.

I got lost in the last 20% with the personal anecdotes when my hunger for learning about politics had already been fed.

The Alchemist
Fiction
Fable story
★★★☆

This is a re-read. I didn't find this book special on my first attempt years ago. I thought it might have been a problem with the translation.

Did I find it more relatable and inspiring on my second read?

It's definitely a bit more interesting (I even found that the ending was different from my memory), but I still don't get why it's a bestseller. (My unpopular but honest opinion 🥺)

The Dream Job
Psychological Thriller
A mystery about...a dream job
★★★

I don't like this book 😭 I felt so empty and even a bit angry (?) after I finished it.

It's not that the ending was bad, it's that the whole mystery was about the job and it took too long to find out. The suspense and the drama were too weak to keep me patient, and it's hard to relate to the anxiety that the characters felt in the book.

Thankfully it's a quick read (in terms of the number of pages).

Feb

The Artist's Way

Self-help
A 12-week program to unlock creativity
★★★★★

I'm not sure if putting this book in Feb is fair, as I just started and it's a 12-week course that is supposed to be finished around May. But I guess it still deserves a place in Feb, as even if I have only done the assignments for a week, I have already experienced its benefits. I can't wait to see how much I'll discover in my creativity after I finish it.


Core assignments:
> An artist date: I designed an app to help me come up with ideas for dates :)
Check the "What is an Artist Date" page in the app if you are interested. I was so amazed by the first date I chose for myself!!! Mind-blown kind of inspired.

> Morning pages:
Write 3 pages every morning even if you have nothing to say. I've already had a habit of journaling but never made it consistent. I now spend 40 mins writing 3 pages every morning using the notebook the author designed. It was so big! I doubted if I had that much to say initially, but YES I DO! My hand gets sore after 40 mins of non-stop writing, but as the author says, it's like writing meditation. My mind gets quite clear and I get new ideas through writing.

(BTW, I replaced my 1-hour morning breathing session with this writing exercise. Maybe one day when I can get up 3 hours earlier than my usual wake-up time, I could do both. But for now I'll only do one of them :D)

Never Lie
Psychological Thriller
A mystery about a mansion
★★☆

I was very disappointed in this book :D This might be the first book from Freida I read that I don't like.

(I'll just say you wouldn't miss much if you miss this book.)

Your Mind, Your Universe
Quantum Theory
A practical book about how time works
★★★★★

I thought this was yet another spiritual book until I read the reviews — “it’s practical,” which I found true after reading it. Surprisingly, it addressed my most interesting topic — time.

> "Einstein proves that speed can stretch time. Time bends according to perception. Can consciousness?"

> "The world is an energy field. Vibration shapes physical reality."

> There's a famous experiment showing how particles change their path when they are observed. Before that, it's a wave that shows infinite possibilities. THIS EXPERIMENT CHANGED HOW I SEE THE WORLD NOW!

(There are many more notes I want to share!)

The God of the Woods
Mystery
Two girls missing in a summer camp
★★☆

I'm so proud that I finished this book! The jumping timelines are quite impressive, but I don't like that it describes the story in a third-party narrative perspective instead of using massive dialogue and conversations. It's hard for me to feel the characters' struggles and emotions since the description is quite gentle. It's like watching a silent movie.

It's not a typical book I'd read, but it's highly rated, so I guess it really depends on personal preference.

Yellowface
Literary fiction / Satire
A chaotic life of an author and her friendship
★★☆

I had high expectations for this book since it's a bestseller and has been displayed in bookstores for so long, but it’s really not my type 🥲

It's like a shit show that you finish on Netflix and then wonder why you even started in the first place. 🤯

(But I thank my friend Peggy for recommending me this book!!! so that I got to read this famous author's work :D)

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind
Abundance Mindset
A book to reprogram the relationship with money
★★★★★

I found it's a re-read. I first read it while I was in my first tech job around 2020. After all these years of mindful practices, I finally understand how this book talks about the same thing as spirituality or quantum physics — everything is about energy.

My key takeaways

> For every giver to be a good giver, there has to be an equally good receiver on the other end. If you are not good at receiving, the energy flow is blocked. The resources will not be gone, but will flow to others who are open to receiving. Hence, you either choose to be a good receiver, or let the opportunities go to other people.

> You cannot become someone who you resent. If you resent rich people, then there's no way you are going to be rich.

> Rich people can be kind and spiritual. In fact, the more money you have, the more power and freedom you have to allocate resources to help those in need.

> You being successful shows other people that they are allowed to shine too.

> In a restaurant, do you always look on the right side of the menu to determine what you are going to eat, or the other way around? Do you believe that you deserve good things?

Mar

2025 Library

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