Musings on Writing, Anxiety, and My Blogging Hiatus

Writing Post1

My, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Hello old friends, I hope you’re all doing marvelously. About three weeks ago I finished my freshman year of college (woo!) and, as I tend to do when anything major comes to an end, I’ve been feeling very introspective lately. Part of this has been related to my schoolwork, obviously, as in thinking about what I liked and what I didn’t, what I did well at and areas where I think I should improve. Another major part of this, however, has been thinking about the things I do for fun, particularly book blogging, because during the last couple of months I became completely consumed by school work, neglecting those activities like reading and writing that I love so dearly. And while school is important, the things we enjoy are also important, and finding a balance between work and play is something I need work on. Not just a little bit of work, a huge amount of work. Basically, I’m hopeless at it. Continue reading “Musings on Writing, Anxiety, and My Blogging Hiatus”

Advertisement

Sunday Morning Book Chats Part 8 – Ankita from @thoughts_of_an_insomniac

sunday-morningbook-chats-8

Hello! Today is Part 8 of my Sunday Morning Book Chats series, where each week I chat with a different bookstagrammer about their accounts, what they’re reading, and what they’re like outside of the online bookish community. There have been seven other interviews so far in this series, so if you’re interested in checking any of those out you can click the “Sunday Morning Book Chats” tab at the top of the page.

This week I’d like to welcome one of my dearest bookstagram friends to my blog, the ever-lovely Ankita from @thoughts_of_an_insomniac. Ankita is honestly one of the kindest, most beautiful souls I have met through bookstagram, and if you’re not following her you’re completely missing out. 🙂

thoughts_of_an_insomniac

Continue reading “Sunday Morning Book Chats Part 8 – Ankita from @thoughts_of_an_insomniac”

Sunday Morning Book Chats Part 7 – Freesia from @bookishreview

sunday-morning-book-chats-7

Quick Note: I have updated the schedule for this series all the way through October 9th. If you are interested, you can find the full schedule under the “Sunday Morning Book Chats” tab at the top of my blog.

Hello everybody! This week is the seventh installment of my Sunday Morning Book Chats series, where every Sunday I chat with a different bookstagrammer about life and literature. This week’s guest is Freesia from @bookishreview, who is one of the first bookstagram accounts I discovered when I made my own account. She’s an absolutely lovely person, and her taste in books is wonderful. Without further ado, let’s get to the questions!

@bookishreview

Continue reading “Sunday Morning Book Chats Part 7 – Freesia from @bookishreview”

Wizarding Whimsy: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

harry potter and the cursed childTitle: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Parts One and Two)

Authors: J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books

Pages: 327

Summary (from inside flap): It was always difficult being Harry Potter, and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and a father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: Sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places. Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thorne. It is the eighth Harry Potter story and the first to be officially presented on stage. This special rehearsal edition of the script brings the continued journey of Harry Potter and his friends and family to readers everywhere immediately following the play’s world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.

“Those that we love never truly leave us, Harry. There are things that death cannot touch. Paint…and memory…and love.”

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which was released at the end of July, was quite possibly the most anticipated book in all of 2016. People were thrilled that we were finally getting another installment in the lives of everyone’s favorite witches and wizards, yet their excitement was tinged with disappointment as they learned that a) it would be a play, not a novel, and that b) it wasn’t actually written by J.K. Rowling.

Despite all this, however, Potterheads across the world pulled out their robes and wands once more and lined up all night at midnight release parties. A whopping four million copies were sold the first week alone in the US, UK, and Canada. Hopes were high, and, unfortunately, many people were left disappointed. I, however, was not one of those people, and I thought Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was completely and utterly brilliant. Continue reading “Wizarding Whimsy: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”

Sunday Morning Book Chats Part 6 – Minh from @cassandrale179

sunday-morningbook-chats-6

Hello, and welcome to Part 6 of my Sunday Morning Book Chats! This week I am very happy to introduce you to one of the loveliest, kindest people I’ve must so far on bookstagram, Minh from @cassandrale179. An Asian international student who is planning on studying law and economics at university, Minh has a gorgeous account where she features loads of classic novels. Without further ado, let’s get started!

cassandrale179

Continue reading “Sunday Morning Book Chats Part 6 – Minh from @cassandrale179”

Sunday Morning Book Chats Part 5 – Mathilde from @relationsheep

sunday-morningbook-chats-5

Hello readers! Can you believe that it’s already August? It feels like only a week or two ago that summer started, and now in just around a month school will be starting again! Where has the time gone???

Anyways, today is the seventh of August, which means that it’s time for Part 5 of my Sunday Morning Book Chats series. This week’s guest is the lovely Mathilde, a French university student who has been a part of the bookstagram community for two years. Her account, @relationsheep, is one of my absolute favorites, and I’m so excited to have her on my blog today. Without further ado, let’s get started!

relationsheep

Continue reading “Sunday Morning Book Chats Part 5 – Mathilde from @relationsheep”

Sunday Morning Book Chats Part 4 – Jennifer from @thetirelessreader

sunday-morningbook-chats-4

Welcome to Part 4 of my Sunday Morning Book Chats series, where each Sunday I sit down and chat with bookstagrammers about life, the universe and everything (okay, not quite, but you get the idea!). We’ve had three parts so far – Alison from @littlebookwormig, Saoirse from @xleptodactylous, and Ani from @boundless_being – and this week I’m very excited to welcome the lovely Jennifer from @thetirelessreader! 🙂

Presentation1

Continue reading “Sunday Morning Book Chats Part 4 – Jennifer from @thetirelessreader”

Sunday Morning Book Chats Part 3 – Ani from @boundless_being

sunday-morningbook-chats-3

Welcome to Part 3 of my Sunday Morning Book Chats series, where each Sunday morning I sit down with a different bookstagrammer to talk about life, books, and how they got started. Our first guest was Alison from @littlebookwormig, last week we had Saoirse from @xleptodactylous, and this week we have the lovely Ani from @boundless_being!

boundless_being

Continue reading “Sunday Morning Book Chats Part 3 – Ani from @boundless_being”

Sex, Drugs, and Show Business: The 50th Anniversary of ‘Valley of the Dolls’

IMG_4310

Title: Valley of the Dolls

Author: Jacqueline Susann

Publisher: Virago Press

Pages: 417

Summary (from first page): Dolls -red or black; capsules or tablets; washed down with vodka or swallowed straight. For Anne, Neely and Jennifer it doesn’t matter, as long as the pill bottle is within easy reach. These three beautiful women become best friends when they are young and in New York, struggling to make their names in the entertainment industry. Only when they reach the peak of their careers do they find there’s nowhere left to go but down – to the Valley of the Dolls.

Valley of the Dolls is one of those books that I’ve known about for a while but I’ve never felt motivated to pick up and read. Truth be told, until a few months ago I didn’t actually know what Valley of the Dolls was about. I knew it was supposed to be quite scandalous, that it had a pink cover, and that I was 95% sure it was made into movie. It wasn’t until I discovered that this year, 2016, is the 50th anniversary of Valley of the Dolls (it was originally published in 1966), however, that I finally took the plunge and decided to buy a copy for myself and check it out (it does help that it came in the gorgeous Virago Modern Classics edition you see above.) Continue reading “Sex, Drugs, and Show Business: The 50th Anniversary of ‘Valley of the Dolls’”

Sunday Morning Book Chats Part 2 – Saoirse from @xleptodactylous

sunday-morningbook-chats-2-2Today is the day – it’s time for the second part of the Sunday Morning Book Chats series! Today’s guest is the wonderful Saoirse from @xleptodactylous (if you haven’t read the first part in this series, you can find the link here). A former book blogger whose been on bookstagram for over a year now, she has just under 5,000 followers and is currently reading her way through the massive #InfiniteVariety2016 reading challenge (it’s over 200 books long, can you even imagine??).

xleptodactylous

Continue reading “Sunday Morning Book Chats Part 2 – Saoirse from @xleptodactylous”