Hello internet!!
I've been neglecting my blog as of late, but I'm going to try and get back into the habit of writing reviews and posting. Also need to get back into the habit of editing videos as well.
The purpose of this post is mostly an update on how my reading has been going this year.
I have surpassed my goal of 12 books and have since updated by goal to 50, which I have also surpassed. I'm currently over 60 books on the year and I couldn't be happier with the books I've been reading.
I've been bit by a YA contemporary bug and I think I'm okay with this. I will have some wrap ups coming to my channel within the next few weeks, so head on over to my channel (here) and subscribe to know when I post those videos!
At this point in the year I don't think I am going to upload a haul video between March and July, I haven't been keeping track of what I've gotten but I know it hasn't been much....in fact most of the stuff I've gotten has been ebooks. I have a handful of preorders coming though, so I will keep track of those and maybe do an end of summer haul.
There are a few things I plan on participating in coming up. The booktubeathon is happening next week (starting 7/24) and while I don't think I'll be able to do the video challenges since they are posted day of I am going to try and do as many reading challenges as I can. I've been trying to figure out a TBR the last few days but really need to look at my audiobooks and overdrive to get a decent idea of what I want to read.
I'm currently reading Cinder by Marissa Meyer as part of Brunette Bibliophile's traveling book! I'm having a blast rereading this and can't wait to send off to someone new.
I've also registered for BookNet Fest! I'm so excited to be going to Wizarding World of Harry Potter on the first day of Hogwarts and can't wait to see so many bookternet friends! I'm going to try vlogging and actually be decent with it while at the park! We're also planning on doing Disney while in Florida, so that trip should be amazing!
I am going to attempt to be part of Project Unhaul (created by Dylan and Brittany). Basically this is where you take one or two books a month that you've been on the fence about getting rid of, try and read it, and if it's not holding your attention of you're just not feeling it put it in an unhal box to finally get rid of!! I have a handful of books picked out and in a bag ready to go. I may do a more detailed post about it but I will for sure be posting a picture of the books on Instagram.
The last thing I want to mention is some reading plans I have for the second half of the year. I've finally started physically reading again so I really do want to try and make my way through my signed books this second half of the year. This was a plan of mine to start the year and I'm pretty sure I've only read two or three of those signed books. I'm also going to try and reread Death Note. I wanted to do this before the Netflix movie but I'm not sure if that timeline will happen. I've had the Black Edition of the books for a year and a half now and it's about time I reread it. Other than that I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing because it's been working. I'm excited to see how many books I will end the year on, if I keep up this pace it's probably going to break 100.
That's all for now, thanks for reading a very random and kind of everywhere post. I'm going to try and be better with posting here and on YouTube, but I'm not making any promises.
Hope y'all have a great day!
xoxo
Gina
Sunday, July 16, 2017
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist || Book Review
Book: Love and First Sight
Author: Josh Sundquist
Release Date: January 3rd, 2017
Published: Little, Brown and Company
Genres: YA Contemporary
Format: Hardback
Pages: 272
Hey y'all!!
This month I'm going to be a guest host for Contemporary Corner and I am so thankful they asked me to guest host on this month. This months book, Love and First Sight, has been one of my most anticipated reads since Josh announced he was working on his first fictional novel and it did not disappoint!
Love and First Sight follows Will, a blind 16 year old who decides he wants to go to a mainstream high school after spending his entire school career at a boarding school for the blind. He makes friends and even starts falling for a girl in his journalism class, Cecily. After an experimental surgery gives Will the opportunity to see for the first time he learns that his friends weren't honest with him and that Cecily may not be the most traditionally beautiful girl.
I loved this book!! It was fun, insightful, beautiful, and eye opening. I loved the characters, the story, the scenery, and most of all the message. When Will is experiencing sight for the first time he gives the most detailed, yet basic, descriptions giving the reader time to take a moment and think about the colors and shapes of things they see on an every day basis.
While this book primarily focuses on Will and his blindness we see so much personality from him, he's not just the blind kid. We see his love for journalism and his sarcastic nature when people ask questions about his blindness. We also see his fear for fitting in and being 'normal' while also seeing his confidence in navigating the school after being shown his classes.
I do wish it was longer but I usually wish YA contemporary were longer. I want more time with these characters and this story! I want to see Will and Cecil in their remaining time in high school. I want to see more game nights. I want to see more family bike rides. I just want more.
This book was a very quick read. I almost read the entire book in one sitting. Had I not needed to go to bed for work I would have. I don't read books in one day very often, luckily I've been reading some magnificent books lately that I have been able to read in one or two sittings. I simply did not want to put Love and First Sight down!!
Further more, Love and First Sight made me laugh out loud, it made me warm and fuzzy, gave me hope, made me see things in a new way, and also made me a bit teary eyed. Anyone who loves a good YA contemporary should check this book out! Love and First Sight is insightful, funny, heart breaking, and an all around great read.
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017
Happy New Year!!!!
After what seems like a never ending year, we have finally entered into 2017! There were a handful of posts and videos I had planned on creating for the end of the year but time got away from me and here I am writing this instead.
What I'm aiming for this post to be is a collective of things I liked about 2016 and my hopes for the future.
2016 Reflection
Yes, 2016 has been a long and rough year but I've had some amazing times this year and I don't think they should be blanketed under the ideation that this past year has been nothing but horrible.
This past year I have met more authors than I ever thought I would, I have been to some amazing events (musicals, sporting events, book events), and I've even been able to meet some of my best internet friends in real life! I've gotten to travel, granted not very far but more than I typically do in a year. I've gotten closer to some friends and made new ones along the way. My signed book collection is vastly growing and I love it! My Funko PoP! collection is also getting out of control but I love that as well. The Blues finally got a Winter Classic, and in their 50th year no less! Last, but certainly not least, I've rediscovered some of the things I love that had gotten away from me (crochet, sewing, crafting ect...).
I read about 92 books this past year, a handful of those were rereads and the majority of them were audiobooks. Yes, that is less than I read in 2015 but I'm okay with it because I haven't been feeling like reading lately and I've been extremely busy.
I started keeping a spreadsheet of all the books I read but gave up on that sometime in August, so sadly I don't have any specific statistics that I wish I had.
I went to BookCon for the first time this past year and completely loved it!! Unfortunately I don't think I can go in 2017, although I had initially planned on it, but I am planning on going to YALL Fest and SEYA Fest instead.
I became a season ticket holder at The Fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis and have enjoyed the shows so far. Can't wait to see the rest of the shows and renew our tickets for the 2017-2018 season.
Other than big events this year has also been great with getting to know my friends better as well as making some new friends along the way. I was also able to meet up with some friends I don't see very often, which it's always nice to catch up.
All in all, 2016 was pretty great for me when I take a step back and appreciate the positives. While I had some great times in 2016, I'm more than excited to start a new year.
To the Future
I'm feeling inspired for 2017 and I hope that feeling continues throughout the year. I feel like I was in a slump pretty much all throughout 2016, in both reading and making content. Yes, I read near 100 books but as mentioned most of those were audio books. I've noticed that a lot of my free time is taken up my mindlessly looking at my phone for hours on end and I'd like to change that. The following are things I plan on doing to have a more positive and stress free year.
1. Focus more on reading physically.
I'd like to take at least half an hour a day to read in either a physical book or an ebook. I've set my Goodreads goal at 12 and I'd like that number to be met by physical books.
2. Utilize my ereader and tablet more.
I have a handful of ebooks that I have yet to read and I really do enjoy reading on my ereader. Also want to use my tablet more for blog posts. I don't get on my laptop all that often and using my tablet will help me keep up with posts.
3. Set time aside for hobbies.
I've rediscovered my love for crochet and I have a few projects in mind for the year. More on those later. I also want to color more and start sewing again. One last hobby I want to focus on is gaming. I got a Xbox for Christmas and I want to make time to play games on it as well as some of my new 3DS games (still need to finish Pokemon Moon).
4. Less time on my phone.
I'm going to try and incorporate techniques I used in college to stress less and spend time on other things. I'm going try and be off my phone no later than 8pm, earlier would be nice too, and completely stay off it on most Sunday's. Now if I'm going to be out or have something planned then obviously I won't stay off electronics all together, but for the most part I'm going to try and stay off my phone and computer on Sunday's and use that day to focus on reading and other hobbies.
5. Do what makes me happy.
Simple right? I pretty much already do the things I enjoy, but this year I want to focus more on the positives of things and less on stress. I want to stick to my plans and if I have a certain time blocked out for myself I want to stick with it and not be so easily distracted by last minuet plans or social media.
Basically I want this year to be less controlled by technology while also utilizing the technology I'e been neglecting. Sounds crazy! Overall I hope this is a reading and hobby filled year! I also have at least three small trips planned, maybe four, and hopefully it will be another great year for author signings.
Hope you all have a fantastic 2017!
Until next time,
<3 Gina
After what seems like a never ending year, we have finally entered into 2017! There were a handful of posts and videos I had planned on creating for the end of the year but time got away from me and here I am writing this instead.
What I'm aiming for this post to be is a collective of things I liked about 2016 and my hopes for the future.
2016 Reflection
Yes, 2016 has been a long and rough year but I've had some amazing times this year and I don't think they should be blanketed under the ideation that this past year has been nothing but horrible.
This past year I have met more authors than I ever thought I would, I have been to some amazing events (musicals, sporting events, book events), and I've even been able to meet some of my best internet friends in real life! I've gotten to travel, granted not very far but more than I typically do in a year. I've gotten closer to some friends and made new ones along the way. My signed book collection is vastly growing and I love it! My Funko PoP! collection is also getting out of control but I love that as well. The Blues finally got a Winter Classic, and in their 50th year no less! Last, but certainly not least, I've rediscovered some of the things I love that had gotten away from me (crochet, sewing, crafting ect...).
I read about 92 books this past year, a handful of those were rereads and the majority of them were audiobooks. Yes, that is less than I read in 2015 but I'm okay with it because I haven't been feeling like reading lately and I've been extremely busy.
I started keeping a spreadsheet of all the books I read but gave up on that sometime in August, so sadly I don't have any specific statistics that I wish I had.
I went to BookCon for the first time this past year and completely loved it!! Unfortunately I don't think I can go in 2017, although I had initially planned on it, but I am planning on going to YALL Fest and SEYA Fest instead.
I became a season ticket holder at The Fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis and have enjoyed the shows so far. Can't wait to see the rest of the shows and renew our tickets for the 2017-2018 season.
Other than big events this year has also been great with getting to know my friends better as well as making some new friends along the way. I was also able to meet up with some friends I don't see very often, which it's always nice to catch up.
All in all, 2016 was pretty great for me when I take a step back and appreciate the positives. While I had some great times in 2016, I'm more than excited to start a new year.
To the Future
I'm feeling inspired for 2017 and I hope that feeling continues throughout the year. I feel like I was in a slump pretty much all throughout 2016, in both reading and making content. Yes, I read near 100 books but as mentioned most of those were audio books. I've noticed that a lot of my free time is taken up my mindlessly looking at my phone for hours on end and I'd like to change that. The following are things I plan on doing to have a more positive and stress free year.
1. Focus more on reading physically.
I'd like to take at least half an hour a day to read in either a physical book or an ebook. I've set my Goodreads goal at 12 and I'd like that number to be met by physical books.
2. Utilize my ereader and tablet more.
I have a handful of ebooks that I have yet to read and I really do enjoy reading on my ereader. Also want to use my tablet more for blog posts. I don't get on my laptop all that often and using my tablet will help me keep up with posts.
3. Set time aside for hobbies.
I've rediscovered my love for crochet and I have a few projects in mind for the year. More on those later. I also want to color more and start sewing again. One last hobby I want to focus on is gaming. I got a Xbox for Christmas and I want to make time to play games on it as well as some of my new 3DS games (still need to finish Pokemon Moon).
4. Less time on my phone.
I'm going to try and incorporate techniques I used in college to stress less and spend time on other things. I'm going try and be off my phone no later than 8pm, earlier would be nice too, and completely stay off it on most Sunday's. Now if I'm going to be out or have something planned then obviously I won't stay off electronics all together, but for the most part I'm going to try and stay off my phone and computer on Sunday's and use that day to focus on reading and other hobbies.
5. Do what makes me happy.
Simple right? I pretty much already do the things I enjoy, but this year I want to focus more on the positives of things and less on stress. I want to stick to my plans and if I have a certain time blocked out for myself I want to stick with it and not be so easily distracted by last minuet plans or social media.
Basically I want this year to be less controlled by technology while also utilizing the technology I'e been neglecting. Sounds crazy! Overall I hope this is a reading and hobby filled year! I also have at least three small trips planned, maybe four, and hopefully it will be another great year for author signings.
Hope you all have a fantastic 2017!
Until next time,
<3 Gina
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