Good morning! I hope you had an amazing weekend! Today, I’m going to be doing my monthly wrap-up for November of 2019.
It’s unbelievable how fast the year has gone by. I mean there are literally 29 days left of 2019! A new decade is about to start!! Please tell me I’m not the only one absolutely anxious, scared, and excited about this!!!
November was an interesting month. I got the last week off of school, so that was great, but all my plans for blogging and reading…didn’t happen unfortunately. The beginning of the month was great and I was super excited, but then it kind of dipped from there.
Books:
Covers are from Goodreads
I read 7 books, which is a bit of a disappointment since I read 13 books last month. I’ve got to read 14 books by the end of the year to reach my goal of 100. I’m not sure if I’ll make it, but hopefully I will. I did read some of the books on my Nov TBR, but not all, and I didn’t write a review for any of them lol. However, the links lead to my unofficial thoughts on Goodreads.
I also did 2 official reviews. I have so many backlogged reviews that I honestly need to write, but don’t feel like it. Maybe I’ll do more in December? or probably I’ll just wait and really start writing them in the upcoming decade 😉
Three Days Missing by Kimberly Belle // Rating: ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: An interesting thriller with great characters and an underwhelming reveal.
Vengeful by V.E. Schawb // Rating: ★★★★★ One sentence summary: A great sci-fi thriller with amazing characters and an intriguing plot.
Total Number of Books Read This Month: 7
Total Number of Reviews: 2
Tags:
Well, technically I did only 1 tag, but since I answered some questions in a tag-ish kind-of format for my 200 Q&A Answer post, I shall count that as a tag as well.
I had the whole of the previous week off, and I didn’t write/draft any extra posts. I’m really disappointed. I had a horrible migraine one day and then I went out some other days, and I just didn’t get anything done. I’d been planning all month, I was pretty excited, and it didn’t happen. Oh well.
I’ve been thinking about doing some different and hopefully interesting posts including a book recommendation post so if that’s something you’d like to see let me know in the comments!
I also still haven’t posted the LTB topics for this month, but I’m going to try and post them tomorrow. Sorry!
That’s A Wrap!
In the end, I read 7 books, did 2 reviews, 2 tags, and 5 LTB discussion posts. 6 of the books were 4 or 5 stars, so that’s amazing. I only met my goal of writing at least 3 discussion posts that I set for November, so hopefully I’ll do better this month.
My goals for this month are to read 14 books (at least 10), do 4 or 5 tags, 3 reviews, and 4 LTB posts.
And that’s it for this wrap-up! How was November for you? How many books did you read? What do you think about problematic books? Would you like to see a book recommendation post? Any ideas for more creative posts that I can try out? Anything you’d like to share? Let’s chat in the comments below!
Welcome everyone! Today I’m going to be answering the questions that some of you asked me on my 200 follower Q&A form. I hit 200 followers in October, and decided to ask you guys to ask me anything you’d like to know! It’s not a lot of questions, but I’m still super glad to answer them all.
Right now, I’m not really sure because I haven’t had ice cream in a while, but I think I love vanilla and chocolate equally. If I had to pick between the two…I think I’d go with chocolate, because hey! It’s chocolate.
If you had to be stuck on a deserted island with 3 characters, who would you want to be stuck with??
Kell, because he’s an Antari magician, so he’ll probably hopefully use a spell to get us off the island; Asher because he’d keep things fun, and interesting with a few explosions; and Inej because she’s sensible, smart, super agile, and maybe she’d teach me some of the things she knows (we can also cry over Kaz and his history together more like I’ll be the only one bawling my eyes out).
How did you manage to reach 200 followers? Do you have any tips?
Lol.
I don’t know.
I went to bed last night trying to answer this question, and I still can’t find the answer.
It’s kind of surprising that I reached 200 followers, because 1. I don’t think I’m a great blogger, and 2. I’m not a very good blog hopper/promoter. I really am not good at keeping up with all the blogs I follow, and commenting on their posts (I usually just read and like which is not good), and I’m working on that, but it’s a struggle.
I think that a mixture of blog hopping, doing book tags, being overly active, especially when I first started out, and taking part in the popular memes helped me get to where I am now. I also think I got more followers through Let’s Talk Bookish.
But what makes people want to follow me? Many of you (and thank you!!!) have said that you loved the design/theme, or my posts, and honestly, it makes me feel amazing and super proud of myself, especially because sometimes I think the design looks horrible and that I’m super annoying in my posts which I am.
So for tips: blog hop, get yourself out there. It’s the most generic advice ever and it works. I don’t have any social media (except if you count Goodreads, and even then I only know of a few people who found me through there), I don’t follow anyone on Twitter or Instagram, or wherever, and I seem to be doing something right, and the only thing that I am doing is blog hopping, being annoying sometimes, commenting with excessive hearts when I find someone who loves the same books as me, and just in general being a part of the community.
What made you want to start a blog, and how do you post so often?
What made me want to start a blog: A mixture of boredom, no hobbies that stuck/no friends, a love of books, and a chance to be creative and do something that was my own. Last December, I didn’t really have any friends and I loved to read. I’d dabbled in painting, coding, writing, cooking/baking, but I eventually got tired of them, and I had just discovered book blogs, and I loved the idea and decided to give it a try. And I’m so glad that I did. I’ve discovered so many new books, people who love books like me, and I have something to do that I love except when it’s 7 in the morning and I just want to sleep
How do I post so often? By procrastinating? I usually wait until the last minute to write my posts, but I always keep a set schedule in my mind.
Monday: Book review or a monthly wrap-up or nothing if I don’t finish the post in time.
Tuesday: Another review, or the review that I should have done on Monday if I didn’t make it, or my off day
Wednesday: WWW Wednesday
Thursday: A book tag, or another review if I didn’t do a second one on Tuesday
Friday: Let’s Talk Bookish
So as you can see, it all depends on my mood, how tired I am, and if I finish writing a post in time. The only two days that there is a high guarantee that I’m going to post are Wednesdays and Fridays, but for the rest of the week, I flip flop and post based on how I’m feeling. And sometimes I don’t write any posts at all, and I only write a post on Friday so it all depends. I always try to at least draft a post every morning and maybe schedule it for later in the week.
I would not suggest you follow my method, and you should actually try and draft as many posts as possible when you have free time, and then schedule them through-out the week. I usually try to do that on the weekends (and I usually fail) so that way I’m not rushing to finish a post.
If you had to change your name to a book character’s name, what would it be?
Probably Josephine “Jo” March from Little Women. I was obsessed with Jo’s name, and I still think it’s really pretty. Though I’d change the last name to Connolly. I really liked Puck Connolly in The Scorpio Races. So, Jo Connolly. I think it sounds really good.
What’s your opinion on liking “problematic” books?
I don’t think I’ve liked a problematic book before really? So I’m not really sure but I guess it depends. If the whole book is problematic, and everywhere you turn, you find something wrong, or someone says something that isn’t right etc, then yes, I think it’s, not necessarily wrong, but it’s not good to like such a book IF you don’t understand or see what the problems are.
For instance, some people may read the book, not notice all the problems everyone is mentioning, or just brush it off as a character being an idiot, or like it’s part of the plot for the character to be saying/doing things like that etc, and they like the book. You can’t really blame someone for missing that. This time last year, I probably wouldn’t have noticed any problems myself.
So I respect everyone’s decision to read whatever they want, and if they like it, then I’m not going to lose sleep over the matter. I can try and convince them of why it is problematic and why I think they shouldn’t like it, but everybody’s allowed to have their opinion, and to like whatever they want. Maybe there’s something else that they liked about the book, or maybe they didn’t see what was so harmful or problematic about it, or they might believe that it is the point of the author for the character to do XYZ.
Perhaps because we are reading the book looking for the problematic content, and they read the book with no idea about it being problematic, they saw the other good parts of the book while we were focused on all the bad things being said or done.
But at the end of the day, if they still like it, then well, life moves on.
Any tips for balancing blogging and school?
I’d suggest you try blogging ahead/scheduling posts on the weekends when you have the time, or setting aside 30 minutes each day to draft a post. By the next week, those 30 minutes will add up, and you’ll probably have one, two, maybe even three extra posts already completed.
Also, take advantage of the holidays!!! Thanksgiving break is coming up here in the U.S. and I’m already planning how I’m going to cram all my reading and blogging into next week starting from this Saturday to the Sunday after Thanksgiving though knowing me, I’m probably not going to write anything 🤦🏽♀️. Holidays are the best time to draft a lot of posts ahead of time, and then when school resumes, you’ll have a bunch ready for those days that you didn’t manage to write anything.
Honestly, the only other thing I could say is to try and find a balance. Maybe your class load is very light and you have the time to blog 5 days a week, or maybe you’re like me, you have assignments to do, yet you still try and blog 4 times a week, or maybe all what you can manage is one post every week.
Find the right fit for you, and don’t feel too bad if you can only post 4 times a month. School is stressful. I’m pretty sure it’s a scientific fact and if it isn’t, it definitely needs to be. Trying to do more than you can handle doesn’t help, and beats (at least for me) the purpose of blogging, which is to relax and have fun while talking about books.
Who are your blogging inspirations?
Definitely you Caitlin!! I absolutely love your discussions, and your humor, and it makes me want to write better posts and be more creative with the topics that I discuss on my blog and with Let’s Talk Bookish. So thank you!!
Kat @ Novels and Waffles is also one of my inspirations, especially for design. Her blog is mouth-wateringly splendid and every time, it makes me want to go and do a rebrand, or try a different look with my graphics/blog. It also makes me seriously crave waffles 😭
Xandra @ Starry Sky Books is another amazing blogger who inspired me to start Let’s Talk Bookish. Her discussion posts are on point, and I love how she explains everything so thoroughly and in such a fun way.
Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads is awesome, and I love her and her blog, and even though we don’t read many similar books, or enjoy the same genres, she still inspires me to be a better reader and blogger overall. It’s one of those things that you can’t really explain, but she definitely does inspire me a lot!
These are only some of my inspirations when it comes to blogging, and definitely not all, because all of you who read my posts, like, and comment inspire me to continue blogging, and not to give up even when I just want to curl up and go back to bed. You are all awesome, and I thank you for being with me on this journey and motivating me to keep going 💕💖💚
That’s it for today! Thank you to Meeghan, Caitlin, Aimee, and Aria for asking me questions!!
What do you think about liking problematic books? When and why did you start blogging? Who are your inspirations? Got any tips for posting more often or finding a balance between blogging and life? And for a random question, what did you have for breakfast? Chat with me in the comments below!!
Good morning!!!!!! I hope you’re happy and as excited as I am!!! I am so so excited to say that I’ve hit 200 followers!!! This is unbelievable!!!! I’m SO HAPPY!! THANK YOU guys so much for following my tiny corner of the internet and wanting to hear read what I say! It means so much to know that 200 people liked my blog enough to follow, and I’m honestly really proud of myself, super happy, and overwhelmed right now.
It’s also really funny, considering that my goal for 2019 at the beginning of the year was to have 55 followers…like wow, you guys have totally blown that number out of the park. I feel so accomplished, and I’m so glad that you guys are sticking with me through my blogging journey even though it’s bumpy and my posting schedule is a mess, and I have no idea what I’m doing!
I’ve seen this idea on other blogs before (shout-out to Caitlin and Xandra!! You guys really made me excited to do it!), and I’d love to try it out now that I’ve reached such a milestone.
So to celebrate, I created a form where you can give me feedback about my posts, and also ask me any question, or something that you’d like to know about me! You can find it here or down below.
Again, thank you all so much and I’d love to hear your feedback and questions! Now I’m off to go find some cake or something to celebrate with…
Eternity Books 