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Tylaa

Australian • Dreaming of cozy coastal cabins full of comfy reading nooks with big windows • A mixed bag of reading at a slow pace

3789 points

0% overlap
Winter 2026 Readalong
Fall 2025 Readalong
British & Irish Classic Literature
My Taste
The Bluffs
The Nightingale
Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth, #1)
The Stationary Shop
Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds
Reading...
One by One
8%
The Trials of Life: A Natural History of Animal Behaviour
5%
Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #1)
0%
Looking for Alaska
18%
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)
63%
Finding Promised Blessings on the Covenant Path
30%
Sacred Struggle: Seeking Christ on the Path of Most Resistance
0%
Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds
57%

Tylaa wrote a review...

3d
  • Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
    Tylaa
    Mar 29, 2026
    3.5
    Enjoyment: 3.0Quality: 3.5Characters: 3.5Plot: 3.0
    🌱

    An interesting read. As an Australian it was interesting to learn more about the relationship and history of Native Americans and their land. It did seem a bit long but when listening I did like breaking it down into short stories/segments. I would recommend it as it makes you check your ways of thinking and your daily habits. How connected are we to the land we live on?

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  • Tylaa commented on EmmaIsReadingThings's review of A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea

    3d
  • A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
    Oct 18, 2025
    3.0
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:
    𝙼𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚓𝚒 𝙸𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚔𝚊𝚠𝚊 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟽. 𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝙺𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝙹𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚗. 𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝙹𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚎. 𝙸𝚗 𝟷𝟿𝟼𝟶, 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚕𝚍, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 "𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍" 𝚘𝚏 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝙺𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚊. 𝙸𝚗 𝟷𝟿𝟿𝟼, 𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚊 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚗 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑.
        
    Prior to this memoir the only things I’ve read on North Korea have been journalistic/more academic political articles, so I definitely gained a more vivid picture of what life is like for the rural poor trapped in the regime. That said, none of it was a surprise as I’m well aware of what went on in the Stalinist period / China etc, from who the Kim dynasty took all the worse ideas. The biggest insights, and the biggest emotional gut punches don’t come until the very end - the supposed happy ending - when the reality outside of North Korea shows the limits of its compassion, and accountability. There might be worse things than starving to death with your family. 
       
    I’d recommend this to anyone who like me knows little about the isolated country. Do note though that the writing style isn’t great, it is dry and detached, and it is not a self reflective memoir - understandably so in my eyes -  but given this is still the appalling reality for (most likely) millions it’s worth looking past. 
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  • Tylaa commented on Lojaa's review of A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea

    3d
  • A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
    Lojaa
    Feb 07, 2026
    3.0
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

    are we allowed to dislike someone who has been through this much in life?

    interesting book. did not like the man although will not judge his choices in life.

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    Cherry Blossom Festival 2026

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    The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop

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  • The Let Them Theory
    Thoughts from 40%

    You know, I’ve been saying this did not have as much usable information for me as I’d like and while that is still true I found myself incorporating this theory tonight without even thinking about it. It’s not the “let them” that I struggle with. It’s the “let me” part. I didn’t even realize it until now.

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  • Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)
    Thoughts from 8%

    was i supposed to read the shadow and bone trilogy before this, i feel like i might have started in the wrong order 🫩🫩

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  • The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop
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