-
AUGUST RECAP // absolutely no reading except some fanfic & start of second semester
So um… August sucked. I went back to (online) uni. Second-semester WHOOP WHOOP. Note sarcasm. And eh my mental health has not been so great. It’s better today, up and down I guess. I’m also in a reading slump. Again. Meaning, I did not read anything so I can’t show you a wrap-up. Except… this fanfic. The Ballad of Big Nothing: I,,, watched Flipped again #sorrynotsorry and then went looking for fanfic, as per usual, whenever I watch this. And I stumbled upon this piece of brilliance, which is 7 chapters long and lowkey the best thing ever??? I’m so upset that I can’t add this to Goodreads because it was SO GOOD OH MY GOSH. Loved it so so much and it’s the type of romance I wanna write. So we loved that. And I just adore that story. It’s on Netflix now btw if you want to watch. I did start some books though, I just haven’t picked them up in like 2 weeks whoops: An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir: 63% in. I was buddy reading with Kerys but she may have finished already so… need to get back to this reread. With The Fire…
-
PAIRING UMBRELLA ACADEMY CHARACTERS WITH BOOK CHARACTERS // playing platonic (maybe) matchmaking because I actually watched a tv show ft. dysfunctional characters galore
Love that my brand is about never watching tv shows yet here I am watching like a million. Quarantine is making me do it. I may have disappeared for a while because I forgot that once you scheduled one post you actually had to prepare another one. So that’s fun. I’m also just going with the flow here and doing whatever posts I want to. But also, sorry I abandoned you for like almost two weeks. That was unintentional. This post could be a disaster and I have no idea how it’ll turn out but I had this fun idea and I just wanted to do it. I recently decided I needed to finally watch this show and wow we had a great time. It’s not Stranger Things level for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and was so… surprised?? I didn’t expect it to be as well-made as it was and I genuinely had a good time. Anyways that’s enough rambling so let’s just get on with it. Also, I’m going to try not to spoil anything and if there are any I’ll be sure to mention it because obviously, not everyone has seen the show hehe. Header image…
-
MY HISTORY WITH BOOK REVIEWS // a discussion: why I stopped writing reviews (and blogging in general) for a while, how they’ve changed ft. tips to improve yours!!
Hi friends, come on this very rambly journey with me. I have no idea if it makes sense but let’s give it a go. SO. I’ve been wanting to do more discussion posts and I have a few topics I’ve been wanting to chat about. This’ll be my first real attempt at a full-length discussion post so let’s hope it turns out well. If you’ve been around for a while, you would’ve noticed I hardly posted ANY book reviews last year, nor was I that active either. I used to be that girl who reviewed every single book she read, ‘reviewed’ not being the correct word because a) I hated my old structure and b) I don’t think I was very informative anyways. Which we’ll get into more in a bit. But I’m back on track with them all now and am overall pleased and proud of them, so I thought maybe I could chat about it?? Those are what discussions are right?? Wish me luck. WHY I STOPPED BLOGGING LAST YEAR? A question I still don’t know how to answer tbh. And I think it’s a number of reasons. Firstly: school. Last year was my final year of high…
-
JULY RECAP // beating the reading slump, bookstagram mania, booktube videos & back to uni
Friends, this post is actually on time and I am just living my best life tbh. July… was a bit all over the place. Which was unexpected. Unfortunately, I fell into a bit of a physical reading slump so… am behind on reading a little bit. But it’s fine, I’m slowly getting back into it and I’m looking for quality, not the quantity you know. But some other great thigs happened. Anyways, let us just get into it!! All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson {★★★★★}: No, I do not know why it took my an entire month to listen to a 5-hour audiobook. I just don’t make sense that way. Truly it should not have taken me so long because I was absolutely loving it. This book is SO GOOD and one I think literally everyone needs to read. It was narrated by the author, which made the reading experience so much more personal. This one is a YA memoir-manifesto that deals with topics like sexuality, race, the intersection of being black and queer and also navigating your way through life. George is also gender non-conforming, so it also handles misogyny and gender roles. And it’s so well…
-
THE FOLKLORE BOOK TAG // matching masterpiece songs with books (kinda) ft. all the heart eyes for the new taylor album
So we can collectively agree that this is Taylor’s best album yet, right? And this is PURE MASTERPIECE GENIUS? Coming from someone who isn’t the biggest Swiftie. I really enjoy her but her music have always been something I listen to for a bit and then I move on? Not in a bad way, I’m just not a big pop listener. I go through spurts you see. So when the internet started freaking out and I saw the title I knew that this was going to be MY ALBUM. And it is. Anyways, I want to give a big thanks to Ilsa, the creator and who is like a whizz and idk how she got it up so fast. But also am obsessed that you did this. Thank you for tagging me, as well as Olivia & Nimika, who are both lovely and I love you all a lot. Also, you’re cheating if you’re doing this tag and NOT listening to folklore. It’s not a competition, I know, but I don’t make the rules. THE RULES Link to the original creator: Ilsa @ A Whisper Of Ink Tag at least 3 people. Declare the rules and list of prompts in…
-
ANSWERING ALL THE QUESTIONS FOR THE LIEBSTER AWARD // reflecting on my early blogging days ft. my rating system, favourite albums & tbr books
Say hello to a post I’ve left abandoned for 6 months. But also thank you Caitlin @ Caitlin Althea and Lais @ The Bookish Skies, for nominating me, who are literal angels and I love them a lot. Honestly can’t believe that you people actually like me. We’re doing both sets of questions today because I’m late as per usual. Nothing new here. Grab a snack because this might will be very long, but I’ll try to keep my answers short and less rambly welp. Anyways, they’ve left some questions to answer so that is what we shall be doing today. Click for important links!! – https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ – https://blacktranslivesmatter.carrd.co/ – https://trans–rights.carrd.co/ – https://pendingpetition.carrd.co/ – https://blacklivesmatter.com/ – https://getinformed.carrd.co/# THE RULES Acknowledge the blog that gave it to you and display the award Answer 11 questions that the blogger gives you Give 11 random facts about yourself Nominate 11 blogs and notify them of their nomination Give these blogs 11 questions to answer CAITLIN’S QUESTIONS What book do you think would make a great TV show? (Take note: not movie) I did some research (by research I mean I just quickly googled it and scanned the page for approx 3 seconds) and…
-
IMAGINE ME BY TAHEREH MAFI // book talk: mini defy me review ft. sad feelings and hardcore warnette shipping
My life now has a hollow hole because I’m SAD and EMO this series is over. Somebody send me HELP please and thank you. Also, I have no self-control and read this book in an entire sitting YAY FOR ME. I think I’m an ACTUAL reader now, a reader whizz if you will. I’VE MADE IT! Watch me do all the 24 hour readathons. WAIT NO I TAKE IT BACK I DON’T WANNA JINX IT!!! gahhhhhh mini-review Before we start, I again have to apologise because I was supposed to do a review of Defy Me ages ago when I read it but never got around to it. Should we do it now? Why the heck not I suppose… Defy Me (Shatter Me #5) by Tahereh Mafi Seeing as I read this book like a year ago, excuse any stupidity. I mean you already do that most of the time but still. But from what I can remember, and I’ve actually been rereading parts of the books because I’m emo and truly don’t want this series to end welp. I did not love the end of Restore Me, it was way too much drama and I HATE a particular ‘trope’…
-
JUNE RECAP // pride reads, end of semester, profile photo change, movie watching & fave blog posts
Hi hello there friends I keep doing these saying I’m trying to be on time and then I never do and it is an… endless cycle. Seriously, I need to stop making broken promises. Anyways, some fun things happened in June so let’s just get into it I didn’t have the most amazing June in terms of new faves, but I nonetheless enjoyed mostly (we’ll get into that later) all of the books that I read! Pride by Ibi Zoboi {★★★½☆}: what a delightful book oh my gosh. I stayed up until like 4 am reading this because I was enjoying it so much. I haven’t read Pride & Prejudice, only seen the film, but I loved this twist on the story and thought it was very well done. I definitely need to go and read all of this author’s backlist now too because I just really enjoyed her narrative and lyrical voice. The romance was sweet, although frustrating at times ahhh, and I LOVED the sister dynamics. I loved how Zuri could stand her ground. I do think this book could’ve been longer for character development but I also do like how short it was? Anyways, a fun time…
-
MID YEAR BOOK FREAK OUT TAG // what is 2020? ft. starting a youtube channel
Ah, it is that time of year once more. It’s not Christmas, but Christmas in July… for us book people. Anyways, this year has been… meh for me so far. I’ve been doing a lot of rereads this year so my answers aren’t that great. But we’ll just see I guess? BLM Before we get into this post, I’m just wanting to remind you that the world is still in chaos and I HIGHLY urge you to do everything you can to help. CLICK HERE FOR IMPORTANT LINKS ⇣⇣ Petitions to sign ↳ George Floyd ↳ Ahmaud Arbery ↳ Breonna Taylor ↳ Tony McDade ↳ Dominique Fells ↳ Elijah McClain ↳ Kendrick Johnson ↳ National Action Against Police Brutality ↳ Collins Khosa #1 & #2 ↳ Tshego Pule ↳ Naledi Phangindawo ↳ End racism in SA schools ↳ End GBV in SA ↳ LGBTQ+ rights ↳ THE WORLD ↳ More DONATE!! ↳ Completed list ↳ Black Visions Collective ↳ To bail funds ↳ Watch this Youtube video where all AdSense revenue gets donated Directly contact ↳ Text or call ↳ Email template ↳ Collins Khosa email template Ways to be a better ally ↳ Support black businesses ↳ Support black…
-
MAY RECAP // reading game still going strong ft. 8 books, new music + black authors & pride tbr
Hello friends So the world is terrible right now and we need to fix with it. SOME LINKS So in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement, here are some links you can head over to SIGN PETITIONS, DONATE and SHARE. The only way any change will be made is by doing so. And please, don’t stay quiet. Racism exists EVERYWHERE and we must be allies in every way possible. It’s about time something was done to end racial injustice. You can sign petitions! It takes 3 seconds: ↳ George Floyd ↳ Ahmaud Arbery ↳ Breonna Taylor ↳ Tony McDade ↳ National Action Against Police Brutality ↳ Collins Khosa #1 & #2 ↳ More DONATE!! ↳ Completed list ↳ To bail funds ↳ Watch this Youtube video where all AdSense revenue gets donated Directly contact ↳ Text or call ↳ Email template ↳ Collins Khosa email template Ways to be a better ally ↳ Support black businesses ↳ Support black bookstores ↳ Educate yourself ↳ Read books by black authors ↳ Read non-fiction about racism More ways to help – click here Beach Read by Emily Henry {★★★★★}: so this book is possibly my favourite book of this year, apart…
