baihe_media | Judge My Upcoming Baihe TBR!

New year, new list of reading choices to be judged! The candidates this time are:

The Flame Tree (凤凰花, pinyin: fenghuang hua) by Jue Ge (绝歌). Jue Ge has been writing on JJWXC since 2008, and is still actively publishing. Her yanqing novels seem to be somewhat better known, but she's written a lot more baihe than yanqing. I've been meaning to read something by her for a while. To continue my education in old-school baihe (and also because this novel is a reasonable length), I've decided to start with her 2009 CEO romance The Flame Tree.
An Incantation for Subduing a Dragon (降龙诀, pinyin: xiang long jue) by Shi Wei Yue Shang (时微月上). Protagonist Luo Qingci transmigrates into a xianxia novel and into the body of (draconic) female lead Ruan Li's evil, conniving shizun. After being put off by the length for years, I decided to take the plunge.
Time (时光, pinyin: shiguang) by Ning Yuan (宁远). Supposedly her realist tragic masterpiece. Looking forward to having my heart ripped out.
Calming the Wind and Waves (定风波, pinyin: ding feng bo) by Yu Huan (于欢). Yu Huan has a pretty good, though niche, reputation as an author of fairly serious historical novels with political themes. Again, I've been meaning to read her for a while and been again put off by the sheer length of her better-known novels. I've picked this title (which clocks in at a more manageable 543K words) to give me a taste of her work and see if I want to invest my precious reading time in something longer. Plus point: this is set in the Tang Dynasty, during Wu Zetian's reign.
365 Ways of Surviving at a High Difficulty Level (三百六十五种高难度活法, pinyin: sanbai liushiwu zhong gao nandu huo fa) by Mo Ran Piao (莫然漂). Thriller that seemingly begins with one of the leads in a psychiatric institution. Holdover from the last iteration of the TBR pile as I simply couldn't find the energy to read something that was 712K words long. Second time lucky, hopefully!
Song of the Peach Blossom (桃花曲, pinyin: taohua qu) by Ruo Hua Ci Shu (若花辞树), a historical romance between a raised-as-a-boy prince and her consort. I pre-ordered the Taiwanese print edition of this and it has just shipped, so I'm keen to read it. And also to confirm a Theory I have about the author's very specific kink (well not that specific as I'm sure quite a lot of people have the same kink, but still.

But honestly why are all the interesting-sounding novels so. Long.