Tag: ReadingUpdate

Reading Update + November TBR

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Hello! Long-time no blog, but as always, I’m back to share a reading update and my November TBR.

I am back full-time in school and working part-time, but finally, I am figuring out how to manage my time in order to get back into the swing of blogging.

Before I get into the reading update, I have been fairly active on my NEW blog where I chat about travel tips, share travel guides, etc. If that’s something you’re interested in, make sure you check it out: Travel and Tea Blog. (Right now, with everything going on, I’m focused on West Coast local travel.)

Reading Update

August was a great reading month for me. I did the bulk of my reading for the year that month (I’ve only read 12 books this year…) thanks to my amazing Kindle and the amazing thrillers I was picking up, such as One of Us Is Lying, Ace of Spades, and The Box in the Woods.

On the other hand, September was a super hectic month, but I did get one book read at least! That is, my millionth re-read of Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I was in the mood for an easy and light read, and hadn’t visited this book and characters in a while. As expected, I flew through it in a matter of days.

Now it’s already October, which is crazy! But so far, it’s been pretty good reading-wise. I’m currently making my way through two books right now: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune and As Good as Dead by Holly Jackson. Since it’s spooky season, I’m focusing on As Good as Dead, since it is the third book in a thriller/murder-mystery series, but I am already over halfway through The House in the Cerulean Sea. (And loving it!)

The House in the Cerulean Sea: Klune, TJ: 9781250217288: Books - Amazon.ca

I was skeptical about As Good as Dead, but I am enjoying it just as much as the first two in the series. The plotline is vastly different and completely took me by surprise, which I can’t say happens too often. So, I have been flying through it, to say the least, which is why I am already 85% through… I’ll definitely be able to finish before the end of the month.

As Good as Dead: The Finale to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder eBook : Jackson, Holly: Amazon.ca: Books

Looking forward into November though, I don’t have a rigid TBR, but there are a couple books I would like to get to. November will be insanely busy with school, but hopefully, by reading on my Kindle, I’ll be able to get through at least one or two. (Who else reads insanely fast on their Kindle?)

November TBR

Harry Potter by JK Rowling

I don’t know which Harry Potter book I will read, but come November, I would like to read some atmospheric books since winter is approaching. I’ll see which one I am feeling closer to the time, but I have a feeling it will be one of the first three since they are the shortest…

The Wicked King by Holly Black

Before diving into this sequel, I will need to watch or read a recap of the first book since it has been a hot minute since I read it. I’ve been meaning to read this book for a long time now and what better time than during chilly November? Fairy books always give me winter vibes and I have heard nothing but good things about this sequel.

There it is! My reading update and November TBR after rising from the dead.

What are you reading? Let me know down below in the comments ⬇️

Talk soon!

May Wrap-Up + June TBR

Everything I read in May and all the books I plan to read in June!

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Happy Wednesday!

I cannot believe it is already that time of the month; the time where I share everything I managed to read (which…was not a lot this time around) and want to read in the next month.

I read only ONE book in May and have been halfway through another for at least three weeks now. I got so caught up with hustling and if you saw the writing update that I posted last Friday (click HERE to read it), you will know I had a very productive May project-wise. Just not reading-wise, which happens! April was such an amazing reading month that a slump was kind of expected. My goal for June is to get back into reading because whenever I don’t read every day, I always feel off and not going to lie, a little guilty!

Anyways, let’s get onto what I read this month and what I want to read in June!

May Wrap-Up

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

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This is the one and the only book I finished during May and it wasn’t the best read, but it was a fast one. I have a whole non-spoiler review on it which you can read if you click HERE, so I won’t say too much about it. However, I will say that I was very excited to read it but it didn’t really meet my expectations. 3.5/5 stars

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Princess: Clare, Cassandra: 9781481456036: Books - Amazon.ca

I haven’t finished this book, but I decided to include it because I am 330 pages in but for whatever reason, even though I was liking it, I just stopped putting in the time to sit down with it. I tried to pick it up multiple times, but I just have not been in the reading mood! There will be no DNFing though because I know that if I don’t finish it, I will feel guilty because it is the last book in the Infernal Devices trilogy.

June TBR

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Princess: Clare, Cassandra: 9781481456036: Books - Amazon.ca

Hopefully, I will finish the last 200 pages or so of this book!

A Touch of Death by Rebecca Crunden

A Touch of Death (The Outlands Pentalogy #1) by Rebecca Crunden

This is a book I received for review purposes, but I am very excited to dive into it because I need some fresh, new reads to propel me back into reading. This is the first book in a dystopian series that takes place a thousand years in the future where humanity lives behind the walls of a totalitarian Kingdom. Stay tuned for my synopsis and review that will come later this month!

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger by Stephen King

The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger eBook: King, Stephen: Amazon.ca ...

Lately, I am in the mood to read the books I have never picked up on my shelf, and this is one of those books! I have never read a Stephen King book STILL, except for his book on writing, and I want to finally pick one up. I watched the movie years ago and liked it, so fingers crossed that I enjoy the book too. I know Stephen King has an amazing writing style and I am curious to see if I like it or not.

Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman

Legacy of Kings (Blood of Gods and Royals, #1) by Eleanor Herman

I read this book years ago and remember nothing except that it takes place in Greece and follows multiple POVs, including a young Alexander the Great. I do remember one important plot point, but other than that, my memory of this story is very faint. I own the sequel and have never picked it up so that is the prime motivator for me to re-read Legacy and continue on with the series. I am not sure if there is a third book, but hopefully, if there is, I like the first two enough to continue on!

Those are all the books I read in May and want to read in June, and I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know how productive May was for you and what your upcoming reading plans are because I’d love to know.

Don’t forget to check out my last blog post as well as my social media accounts linked down below.

Thanks for reading 🙂

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Readathon Update!

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Happy Thursday!

Today marks the fourth day of the Reading Rush, the second readathon I have participated in this July, and I thought it would be fun to give a little update!

Anyways, currently, I am on track with reading seven books in seven days which is shocking, to say the least. A few years ago, reading that many books in that little amount of time would have been easy even if I had a million other things going on. As I get older, reading for long stretches of time seems to get harder and I do NOT know why. Shouldn’t I be less fidgety and more willing to slump on my couch for like five hours?

Apparently not.

While I did not finish a full book on Monday because I thought it was a smart idea to try and read half of two books and then finish them both the next day (this did not happen!), I did catch up yesterday. I tried to read Blue Lily Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater (which I successfully finished yesterday) and We Hunt the Flame by Hasaf Faizal (which I did not successfully finish yet) on Monday and Tuesday, but only finished the first because while We Hunt the Flame is good, it’s moving a little slow for me. I’m thinking of replacing it with Again, But Better by Christine Riccio because it JUST came in from the library for me and I really want to read it. Plus, it would be an easy replacement for We Hunt the Flame because it is also a debut book.

I do want to finish We Hunt the Flame because I enjoy the rich world and story, but I don’t think it is readathon material.

Yesterday, I finished reading Avatar the Last Airbender: The Promise: Part Two by Gene Luen Yang which I read for the challenge of “read a book in one place”. It took me literally 20 minutes to read and I had a fun time! Yesterday, I also started and finished reading Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Richard Stevenson which was a nice, short read at 68 pages. As you can see, I am only on track because I’ve been reading my short books HOWEVER, none of the books left are anywhere near that short. Well, maybe except for Again, But Better which I started last night and am 50(ish) pages into already. But that is it.

My plan for today is to finish Again, But Better which I have no doubt I will do and then get at LEAST halfway through The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee because that is a hefty one being over 500 pages.

After that, I will only have two books left: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare and The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater. Hopefully, I can finish these books in the next three days and I can win this readathon! However, I’ve been doing a lot of writing and other activities lately, so it will be slightly challenging but doable, I think?

If you’re participating in the readathon, let me know how it’s going!

Anyways, that is all for this reading update and I hope you enjoyed! Don’t forget to check out my last blog post as well as all my social media accounts linked down below. Thanks for reading 🙂

Last Blog Post: Reading Rush TBR

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What I’m Reading

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I thought it would be nice to have a relaxed post where I just catch you all up on what I am currently reading.

On Thursday, the final Biannual Bibliothon begins and goes on for 9 whole days (my TBR for that is coming on Thursday), but before that, I have a few books I really want to get done.

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The book I’ve been spending the most amount of time reading lately is Dig by A.S. King. This was a completely random read for me because I was at the library and I recognized the title of this book and author because I listened to a podcast episode with her in it (88 Cups of Tea with Yin Chang). I decided to just pick it up and maybe I would get to it…spoiler alert, I did! This is surprising because I am famous for picking out library books and then never actually reading them. However, something drew me to this book and I DID start reading it.

I would describe Dig as a coming-of-age story where there are multiple POVs and plot lines that at first, do not seem to connect, but as you carry on with the story they begin to intertwine. I really enjoy this style of novel and I’ve also been able to heavily relate to all of the characters in one aspect or another. They are so raw and real and I cannot help but be fascinated by each of their stories because they are all so different. This is something I miss when I read fantasy, the realism and raw relatability I feel to the characters and story. Of course, every fantasy is originated from something real, but you know what I mean!

Currently, I am on page 242/392 but I am really hoping to finish it today because when I pick it up, I fly through it. I highly recommend this book to anyone because it is truly captivating!

Image result for writing down the bones

The other book I really want to finish before the Biannual Bibliothon is Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. I’ve mentioned before that I am pretty sure I’ve read this book on writing before, however, I remember nothing! So, when I saw it at my library I decided to pick it up. Lately, I have felt disconnected from writing and I am hoping this book can help bridge that gap I’ve been feeling. So far, I am not very far at all, but hopefully, over the next few days, I can change that.

That is all for my short and sweet reading update and I hope you enjoyed. Stayed tuned for my Biannual Bibliothon TBR coming this Thursday and another blog post on Saturday! Also, don’t forget to check out my last blog post as well as my social media accounts which are all linked down below. Thanks for reading 🙂

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The Camp NaNoWriMo Diaries – Week 1

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Happy Sunday!

It has been a while since I’ve posted on a Sunday, but I made it a goal for Camp NaNo to post a little update on how I’ve been doing every week. I also think I might include at the end of this what I’ve been up to reading wise…anyways, here is what I managed to write this week!

For this Camp NaNoWriMo, I am working on various WIPs which include essays, short stories, poems, and also the start of a novella. My goal word count wise, however, is only 25,000 words because 1) April is going to be a busy school month 2) Lots of these WIPs are less than 2,000 words a piece sooo.

Currently, I am sitting at 4,822 words out of my 25,000-word goal so I am not on track, but I will be, don’t worry. The days I did write, I wrote a bit over a thousand words even almost 2,000 words one day which was awesome. I have started working on about half of my projects for this April, and it feels so good to finally be getting them done rather than only planning because sometimes, I think we all get a little caught up in the prep rather than the actual writing. Here are some details on what I am currently working on:

  • Ayn Rand’s Anthem Essay – This is a 600-1,200 word essay I am writing for a scholarship contest, and currently I am on draft 3! Right now it is is in edits/re-writes, and I am doing my best to polish it up. It’s not exactly where I want it to be, so there is a 99.9% chance a completely new draft will be written this coming week. Deadline – April 18, 2019
  • Other Scholarship Essay – For this one, I have to write only a 500-word essay on somewhere I would like to live outside North America, and I am on the second draft of this one. I like it how it sounds, but I also might end up re-writing this one as well. You know how us writers are; hopeless perfectionists. Deadline – April 30, 2019
  • Shakespeare-Inspired Poem – I did not intend on writing this during Camp NaNo, but things change. I found a really great contest opportunity so I am now writing a poem (between 200-400 words) as well! Lately, I have really enjoyed writing poetry so maybe this is the start of me being a poet too…who knows. Deadline – April 30, 2019
  • Random Story – This is ANOTHER random, surprising story that I never intended to write but here I am, a servant to the muse of art. Anyways, I have no idea where this one is going but let me tell you, it’s going somewhere at least. Deadline – None

I think those are all the projects I started working on this week…I hope it is because I am way out of control otherwise. I hope you enjoyed this mini update on my Camp NaNoWriMo projects, and make sure you comment below to tell me how you’re Camp NaNo journey is going! Before I go though, here is a little reading update as well:

Recently, I have finished re-reading the An Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir, meaning I FINALLY read A Reaper at the Gates and OH MY GOD, I love this series. I am obsessed and cannot wait for the fourth book next year! I also somehow ended up listening to and finishing the audiobook for Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell because I love that book just too much. As for what I am reading right now, I am in the middle of four books: The Harvest by KB Benson (I have a review coming up for this towards the end of April!), Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake, Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, and I am also listening to the audiobook for American Panda by Gloria Chao (yes, I am giving this book another go and I am so excited!). I have just been on my reading game lately, so why not pile on the books?

Okay, I’ll go now! I hope you enjoyed this blog post and don’t forget to check out my last blog post as well as my social media accounts linked down below. Thanks for reading 🙂

 

Life Update – Books, Writing, Blogging + More!

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Hey guys! Happy Wednesday! I hope the week is treating you well so far, and hopefully, the rest of the week is even better. Today, I am going to be doing something a liiitle bit different because I think it is about time for a life update. I don’t think I’ve done one of these ever, but you got to start somewhere, right? Also, I haven’t done a reading and writing update in like two weeks so I thought I would add that in here as well. Anyways, let’s get into it.

Due to a wonderful feature on WordPress that lets you pre-write blog posts and schedule them ahead of time, you might not have noticed that in the last month or so, I’ve been slacking with the blogs. I was pretty good through the Biannual Bibliothon but every now and then, I miss an upload day. Which, is not a big deal because I am all for trying to stick to my schedule but I’m never mad if I miss a day because life happens. Sometimes I cannot find inspiration to write a blog post ANYWHERE, or school has completely taken over my life and trying to write a blog post would basically be a wasted hour where I could have put towards my never-ending pile of homework…those are kind of the cases, but also not really.

Overall, I am a pretty social person. I love going out and doing things, getting out of my comfort zone and just being with friends. However, since last year (my grade 11 year) was my first year at a new school (my…sixth school?) and while I’ve done this rodeo before, I decided to focus more on school than making friends. I still went out every now and then, but I spent a lot of time on school, blogging, writing, and reading which was GREAT because I got a lot of good stuff accomplished in 2017/2018. However, this year I’ve expanded my friend group a little bit and have suddenly found myself juggling all of my passions and school and now a “bubbling” social life. This sounds so lame but it is really hard to do all of this without wanting to pass out in bed at 8pm!

This week, I’ve been dedicating it to find balance amongst all this craziness but it’s been a struggle. I have done little things here and there to squeeze in time for the things I love. Suddenly, working out has become a favourite hobby? Pasttime? Of mine, and it is great because it works on my mental health and physical health at the same time. So that’s great. I haven’t found it hard to find time for working out because it is a wonderful way to procrastinate. Next comes reading because when was the last time I read more than 10 pages in one day? Hmm, couldn’t tell you honestly. I really want to change that, so to get back in the habit of reading, I’m trying to take a bath or two a week because that is really the only way I won’t get distracted while reading. So far, it has been successful because I read 30ish pages of Pride and Prejudice and am now only 100 pages away from finishing it!

One other thing I’ve been struggling with amongst time management is reigniting my passion for writing. Don’t get me wrong, I still loooove writing with all my heart and I know it is what I’m meant to do, but I’ve been so focused on writing for this contest or this literary magazine or this writing assignment that it’s felt more like a chore than a choice. This really sucks, and I’m trying to just write what I want at the moment to fix this. Well, I will be after I hand in my screenplay assignment on Monday. I know it won’t be quick and easy, but I’m willing to set aside all the writing contests and literary magazines to do so.

Honestly, if I cut back on all the YouTube and Netflix I could get everything done but this is a VERY important part of my self-care routine and self-care is important! (Ha haI am trying to limit the amount I watch though…it’s becoming a problem.)

To make it a little bit easier to learn how to balance all the things, I am going to only upload blogs three times a week instead of four. I’ve decided to sacrifice Friday blog posts (you’ll still be getting Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday blog posts from me!) because uploading four times a week is a lot…most people I follow only upload twice a week (which is completely fine. Upload as many times a week as you want!) so I’ve realized it’s okay if I dial it back a day. This will also help replenish my energy towards my blog, and hopefully, in a month or so, I’ll know how to balance my life and start uploading how I usually do on here!

Anyways, that is it for my rambly life update. Basically, I cannot balance everything right now so I’m cutting back on blogging, limiting my binge-watching time, and focusing on fitting in other productive things I love like reading, writing, and yeah, school.

I hope if anything, some of you can relate to this and like me, are trying to learn how to handle everything without completely shutting down! Don’t forget to check out my last blog post as well as my social media accounts which will be linked down below. Thanks for reading 🙂

P.S. They are announcing the winners of the Biannual Bibliothon blogging challenges, and I won the day 1 + 3 challenges so I will link those down below for you to check out!

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Biannual Bibliothon Day 1: Biannual Bibliothon Day 1 – Winter Snow Storm Fun

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Reading + Writing Update – Biannual Bibliothon 2019 Day 1 & 2

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Happy Sunday!

I was going to do daily updates for the current readathon I’m participated in, the Biannual Bibliothon, but I decided to do a reading update every 2 days instead. It works out that this is the second day of the readathon (well, the very, very end of the second day) and also the day I post my weekly reading and writing update so yay. I’m tackling two birds with one stone. Anyways, let’s get into it!

This week was a decent reading week. Not my best, but I did finish reading 2 books and started on a third! On Tuesday, I finished the fourth and final book in the FABULOUS Raven Cycle quartet by Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven King. It was a good book but honestly, I wasn’t that satisfied with the ending. It seemed…too easy for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love the characters and want them to live happily ever after, but the way things got resolved was strange, to say the least. I still really enjoyed it though and flew through it! The next book I started on was Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Every month or so I need a little break from fantasy and magic, and desperately need to slip into some cute contemporary stories. Soooo, I chose Anna and the French Kiss and it was exactly what I needed! I actually only finished it a few hours ago…but hey, it got done and I had fun so that’s all that matters. Last but not least, I started my second read of the Biannual Bibliothon (whoops, forgot to mention that Anna and the French Kiss was my first read of the readathon!), Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I mentioned in my goals for 2019 that I wanted to read more classics so here I am, reading classics! I’m really excited to read this and join the bandwagon, and I’m hoping I truly like the story but I have no idea at this point in it. I might be around 30ish pages into it so I still got a ways to go. If you want to see what I plan on reading for the rest of next for the readathon, check out my TBR HERE!

I think I’m done my writing break. While I took most of my winter break off from writing back in late December/early January, I think that was enough time for me to replenish my creativity. It felt so strange not to write, and honestly, I really didn’t like how it made me feel. I haven’t written a crazy amount this week or anything, but I did write well over 2,000 words and I think that’s a healthy amount when getting back into the swing of things. I’m working on a non-magical piece…actually the short story version of a later script I will be writing/adapting for my writing class. We are doing screenwriting but in order for me to fully create a fleshed out story, I need to write the in-depth short story for it first. My first draft of it was about 1,500 words and I’m looking forward to tackling the second draft tomorrow!

Anyways, that is all for this update and I hope you enjoyed! Don’t forget to check out my last blog post as well as my social media accounts linked down below. Thanks for reading 🙂

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Reading + Writing Update!

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Happy Sunday!

We are almost ONE week into 2019 already, which is crazy. I am happy to report I have a pretty decent “first week of the year” update both reading and even writing-wise, so let’s get into it!

I read 75 books in 2018! My goal was to read 75 books, and I am happy to say I read exactly so. This week, I finished reading Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, which I liked enough. It wasn’t as good as I hoped, but it was fun to read a classic I just really needed to finally get DONE. My last book of 2018 was actually a novella from The Selection series by Kiera Cass because the only way could have reached my goal was doing so… The two stories in there were The Prince and The Guard, which I enjoyed! They were nothing special, but some fun stories to end the year off on! Oh, and somewhere before finishing that novella, I also FINALLY finished listening to City of Lost Souls by Cassandra on audiobook. That took forever, but now I am only one book away from finishing my audiobook re-read of The Mortal Instruments series which is fantastic. City of Lost Souls is easily one of my favourites, and Molly Quinn was a fantastic narrator so overall, it was a great time. Fast forward to the new year, and my first read of 2019 was..drum roll, please…Antigone by Sophocles! Yes, I started my year off with a good old Greek tragedy. Why? I was just in the mood to read it honestly, and I really liked it! Antigone is a breath of fresh air in old, Greek literature because she stands up for her own beliefs despite the consequences, and that was really admirable. I then picked up The Outsider by Albert Camus ONCE AGAIN, because I have to have it read for my first week back at school and while I did that, I forget almost everything so a re-read was in need. That’s okay though, because I analyzed the text more this time and noticed things I didn’t notice the first time. Okay, okay, last but not least I read most of The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater. I know, finally, right? This is the last book in The Raven Cycle which I started back this summer and for some odd reason, I never finished it! However, I bought it and just flew through it during the last half of the week and now only have about 40ish pages left. I really wanted to get it read by the end of today but Sunday turned out to be incredibly busy since I am prepping for my first day back at school tomorrow so…yeah. Anyways, I plan on finishing it tomorrow and then starting a nice, feel-good contemporary; Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (my millionth re-read honestly)!

Surprisingly, I did a little bit of writing this week. However, I haven’t been scheduling in writing time because as I mentioned before, I AM ON A BREAK (I’ve been watching Friends lately, so I read that in Ross’s voice). I’ve been feeling little sparks of motivation to write though, and it has driven me to work on two projects. One is this piece of literary fiction (I don’t even know if that’s what it is…I just know it doesn’t have magic in it) that I wrote in grade nine, but have had the sudden urge to re-write it. Secondly, I’ve also been writing draft 3 of Project Mystic and while I am only a little over 2,000 words, I am having such a good time being back in this world with my characters that I plan on writing a bit more this coming week. Hopefully, I will slowly keep adding words throughout the month and then when January is over, I’ll jump back into writing full swing! I have a lot of writing deadlines I want to hit, but I am also not putting a lot of pressure on myself to meet any of those but I’m just feeling things out, and topping off my creative well.

Anyways, that is all for this reading and writing update, and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post and my social media accounts linked down below. Thanks for reading 🙂

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Reading + Writing Update

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Happy Sunday!

I hope you all had a great week whether you celebrate Christmas or not, and I hope you managed to get a lot of reading, writing, or whatever else you enjoy doing, done! Personally, I had a GREAT reading week and while I am technically on a writing break, I do have something I want to discuss in that section of this blog post though so stay tuned for that! Anyways, let’s get into this update.

I finished 4 books this week which I am really happy about because now, I am only 3 books away from finishing my 2018 reading goal! Yes, that means I have to read 3 books in one day since tomorrow is the last day of 2018, but I know I can do it since the last 3 books I want to read are short. One is the City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare audiobook which I am only one hour away from finishing…so yeah, I will finish it tomorrow for sure. The other books I plan on reading tomorrow are two novellas because THAT’S NOT CHEATING!

Anyways, for what I read this week, I read Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones, Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, and last but not least, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. I actually have a review coming out for Wintersong in the next week or two, but I will give a quick snapshot on my feelings for it, as well as the other books. I was so excited to read Wintersong, but it was not a book for me. I thought it would be because it has goblins and magic and takes place in Germany in the past, and to me, that sounds epic. Sadly, it was anything but! Anyways, more to come in my review. However, I did love Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire, the sequel to Every Heart a Doorway which I read during the BookTubeAThon in the summer and while I enjoyed it, I wasn’t blown away with the first book in this series. The sequel was so amazing though; everything from the writing to the world to the characters was just brilliant, and how the author packs so much stuff into a book under 200 pages will never cease to amaze me. But yeah, loved it! I also, OF COURSE, loved re-reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell because this is an all-time favourite of mine for sure. This may have been my fourth or fifth re-read of this contemporary to be honest, but I did’t love it any less than I did the first time or the second time and so on. I was in desperate need of a cozy, heart-warming contemporary and immediately leapt towards Fangirl because if you’ve read it, you’d know how wonderful it is and if you haven’t read it…what are you doing!? Lastly, I read the short entirety of Alice in Wonderland, the classic by Lewis Carroll which I actually have not read before. Honestly, wasn’t super impressed. It was alright but Alice…well, she is a difficult character to say the least. I wasn’t expecting much from this book, but I do wish I enjoyed it more than I did since it is a “classic”. Anyways, half of my reading this week was AMAZING and the other half was bleh, but that’s how it goes sometimes. I am so excited to strive to read 3 whole books (OKAY FINE, novellas…but those are books too! They count!) tomorrow and reach my yearly reading goal because I am so close it would suck to not reach it, you know?

Okay, okay, I know I’m on a writing break but suddenly the urge to write overtook me. Not in the way I expected or the way you might assume. Since I spent the last two days reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, I had the urge to write some fanfiction (something I haven’t done since I was 13-years-old and locked away in the world of Percy Jackson). In Fangirl, our main character, Cath, writes fanfiction for this massively popular fantasy series similar (not unlike Harry Potter), and that just made me want to write some. Not because I want to regularly write fanfiction, but because I was desperate to write something. Something that didn’t contain my own original characters or world, just my own story idea. So, I wrote 1,000 words of some AWFUL fanfiction following my favourite characters from The Dark Artifices trilogy by Cassandra Clare and it was a lot of fun. It was a great creative release and it truly helped me fill my creative well just a little bit more in a way both reading and watching Netflix can’t do. I have no idea if I will write any more terrible fanfiction or if I will write something of my own, but I do plan to head to a coffee shop tomorrow and hopefully, something productive will occur from that.

That was all for my reading and writing update and I hope you enjoyed! Don’t forget to check out my last blog post as well as my social media accounts which are all linked down below. Thanks for reading 🙂

Last Blog Post: Best Books of 2018

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Reading + Writing Update!

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Happy…Monday?

Yeah, I didn’t even realize it was Sunday yesterday until I woke up this morning, checked my phone, squealed with excitement that it is Christmas Eve, and then realized I wrote NO blog posts over the weekend. I had a fun blog post all planned out for today, but instead since I never wrote it…I will just be posting this update. Anyways, let’s get into it!

This week I finished 2 books which felt great because one of them was Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare! I have been reading this book for almost 3 weeks now and it feels strange to wake up and not sit down with it in the mornings, a cup of coffee at my side and fingers eager to flip those bible thin pages, but I was dying to see how it ended and now…well, now I have. I am trying to write up my review of it but my thoughts are all over the place and muddled in confusion, so who knows how long this will take to put together. This week, I also finished The Outsider by Albert Camus for my English class, and surprisingly, I really enjoyed this book. In no way is it something I would pick up “for fun”, but as a book meant for analyzing and studying, oh my-there was a LOT. Meursault as a main character is so interesting and different that it distracted me from the boring, plain plot line. Apart from those 2 books, I am still listening to City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare but I only have just over 5 hours left. My goal is to finish it this week so I can focus on reading/listening to The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, another book I am eager to pick up before the year ends. Yet another book I am still making my way through is Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. I have around 100 pages left and I usually manage to read 50 pages a day, so fingers crossed I FINALLY finish it in the next 2 days. Lastly, I picked up Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones on Saturday, a German fantasy story that I’ve been meaning to get to for a while. While I am only 100 pages in so far, the story is quite slow (as I’ve read from reviews) but I am really hoping it picks up soon because I think I’ll enjoy it! I am trying to read 6 other books by the end of 2018 to hit my reading goal, so I am trying to pick up the pace when it comes to reading and blast through as much of them as I can…wish me luck!

While I am taking a break from writing, I have been struck with a really fun and exciting idea for a story (short story or novel, I’m not quite sure yet). If this idea continues to pester me, I will give in and write it, but I am holding out because I can still feel how depleted my creativity is. I am worried that writing would scrape the last flecks of creativity left inside of me, but if the idea calls, I kind of have to answer. Right?

Anyways, that is all for this late reading and writing update! I hope you enjoyed, and make sure you let me know what you managed to read and write this week because I would love to know. Also, don’t forget to check out my last blog post, as well as my social media accounts linked down below. Thanks for reading 🙂

Last Blog Post: My Reading & Writing Goals for 2019

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