Sorry this is going up a bit later than usual, it was just hard to find some time to quickly type this up!
I was intending to read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling (as I am already halfway through it), but I had a sudden change in heart and picked up Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia instead. This was a re read and I think it was either on my December or January TBR, but it was also just a book I personally needed to read again. The main character, Eliza, deals with anxiety in this book, specifically social anxiety, and that is something that has been rapidly re-entering my life again. It was something I just needed to read and it definitely made me feel a lot better seeing that represented in YA. Since that book only took me about two days to read, I have started two other books that I am really excited about. The first is #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso which I am halfway through and already love it. It is about Sophia’s journey to kick starting her vintage clothing company, Nasty Gal, and how us #GIRLBOSSES can do it too. The other book I am currently reading is When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandyha Menon and I absolutely adore it! Despite only being 50 or so pages in, I already know that once I let myself just sit down and read it, I won’t want to stop. Hopefully I will be able to finish #GIRLBOSS by the end of today, thus it being my last book of the year, but I really doubt I will be able to finish When Dimple Met Rishi…which is okay because it will be my first read of the new year then! I don’t think I have announced what my 2018 reading is, but it is 75 books and fingers crossed that I can get remotely near that number this coming year. 2017 was not a great reading year at all but if I start 2018 off right, I know it will be successful!
As for writing, I have been planning a story idea I have been working on for about a year. The overall, core idea is roughly the same, but I have been changing plot points, characters, etc over the past year, just trying to get the story right. I think I have gotten it almost right now, and hopefully I can start righting it when February comes around! I don’t want to rush it though, because I have always rushed myself to finish an outline and that has never turned out well.
That is all for my reading/writing update and I hope you guys enjoyed! I hope you have a wonderful rest of 2017, or if it is already 2018 for you then happy new year 🙂
88 Cups of Tea with Yin Chang – This is an amazing writing podcast that comes out every Thursday, and is something I recommend all writers listen to. It gets you motivated and excited to write and you always finish it with new, valuable information. Some episodes I recommend are Victoria or VE Schwab, Jerry Spinelli, Sandhya Menon, Joanna Volpe, and Sarah J Maas! These are some of my favourite episodes, but they are all fantastic and you should listen to them all. 
First Draft with Sarah Enni – This is also a great podcast for writers because just like 88 Cups of Tea, it brings on a diverse cast of amazing authors that have many tips and tricks when it comes to not only writing, but the publishing world. Some episodes I love and recommend are Veronica Roth, Tahereh Mafi, Ransom Riggs, Jenny Han, and Margaret Stohl. Again, these are just some of my personal favourites but all the episodes are great! 
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – Not only is this a book that sucks you in and doesn’t let you leave, it is not very long (two hundred and thirteen pages). The Perks of Being a Wallflower follows a high school freshman, Charlie, who suffers from a difficult past, but with the help of some new friends, they help him turn things around for the better. This can be a heavy book at times because it deals with mental illness, but it is a very fast paced and fantastic read that you will not want to put down!
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen – I read Sarah Dessen books very quickly, but this one I managed to read in one sitting because it was just so fast paced. This book follows a girl named Annabel whose life seems perfect, but is anything but. Her life is full of high expectations and no friends to help her through it, until she meets Ollie, a quiet, music loving boy who sheds some light in her world. A fun, quick contemporary!
Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon – The adaption for this book actually comes out this May, so you better get your hands on it because since it is a quick read, you have time before the movie! Everything Everything is about this girl named Maddie who hasn’t left her house in many, many years because she is allergic to well, everything everything. One day though, a boy named Ollie moves next door and shows her there is more to life than what she knows. This may sound cliché, but trust me, it is not and you will most likely really end up enjoying it!
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes – I read this book so I could watch the adaptation, which is as amazing as the book, and I read it in one night…which is kind of insane considering it is about four hundred pages. Me Before You is about a young woman named Lou who begins working for a quadriplegic man named Will, who has seemed to have lost the will to live. With a shaky beginning, they grow to care for one another as they go on a journey of struggles, laughs and tears. A quick must read!
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling – Once you get into the story, the Harry Potter world is something that completely consumes you until you flip to the last page. If for some reason you didn’t know what Harry Potter was…it is about a young boy who on his eleventh birthday discovers he is a wizard. He is sent to a magical boarding school called Hogwarts where he will be able to learn to control his powers, but not everything is as light and fluffy as it seems, because he is also being hunted down by an evil wizard named Voldemort.
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