Am I Moving on from YA?

This is a question I’ve been trying to answer for myself for a while now. The less I’ve been reading, the more apparent my tastes are becoming, however strange that may seem. But this question came to light again when I heard about Leigh Bardugo’s upcoming book, Ninth House.

I don’t know much about the book, but from what I can tell it follows a college-aged protagonist and confronts some heavier and darker issues than YA often does.

My busy schedule has made me be much more choosey with the books I decide to pick up for pleasure, and I’ve noticed a lot of influences from school coursework and my surroundings being integrated into my new interests. I’ve been reading a lot more non-fiction lately, which I never thought I’d ever say. I’ve also been discovering an interest in philosophy, politics, and bigger (maybe even existential) issues than I had before.

Not that YA doesn’t have its share of books about these topics, but as I’ve grown into an adult, I’m starting to become more interested in books that deal with characters, or perspectives, that I can relate to on a more one to one basis.

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Book Photography & Blogging | The Rise of Bookstagram & Do Photos Make for Better Posts?

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At the beginning of this summer, I began to start heavily using my blog’s Instagram, or “Bookstagram,” account. Considering the thousands (probably more like millions) of book-centric accounts on the social media platform, I was late to the game. Yet, I’ve slowly begun using it; building my profile, creating a feed “theme,” taking advantage of Instagram’s stories (I much prefer using Instagram stories over Snapchat, feeling that it’s not as private as Snapchat can be), and interacting with authors, publishers, and other readers in a new way! I’m a sucker for a beautiful cover and book design, so naturally, I fell into loving to take bookish photos! I’ve also started adding them into my posts here on the blog since I posted my redesign.

With this rise in book photography and aesthetic in the book community, I can understand why bloggers are feeling the need to post more visuals alongside their written posts. Normal digital graphics aren’t as eye-catching and engaging as looking at a pretty image of a new book with a text overlay. I personally started adding photos when I switched to a simple black and white blog design theme. I let the images bring color to the blog, so it’s always kind of changing!

But I’ve been starting to wonder: Does including visuals, particularly book photos, make for better posts? 

Unhauling Books | My Criteria for Saying Goodbye

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As I was cleaning my room and bookshelves, attempting to start packing to head back to school, I decided that it was time once more to get rid of some books. Last time I purged my shelves was probably about 2 years ago now, and I’ve since acquired a LOT more books. I really struggled this time around with choosing which to say goodbye to, since last time  I really buckled down and got rid of a lot.

I have a really hard time parting with many acquisitions:

• ARCs & Finished Copies from a publisher — Whether I particularly enjoyed them or not, I feel lucky to have them! They’re like physical proof of my blogging success!
• Signed books — Whether I met the author or not, it’s signed and special! Getting rid of a personalized one will probably never happen.
• Series that I own all the books for — If I have a completed series, I feel like I’ve invested too much money into them. I’m really struggling right now with whether or not to keep the Divergent trilogy including my signed edition of Four… I’m not really a fan of these books anymore, and I can basically guarantee that I won’t ever read Four, but it’s a beautiful hardcover complete set!

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Clearly, I have book attachment issues. But, I think I’ve got some solid criteria for unhauling books that won’t end up breaking my heart!

• Only keep ARCs of books that I really enjoyed or think are special!
• Keep the personalized signed books, but if there’s just a regular signed copy that I’m considering getting rid of, just say goodbye!
• Get rid of random books from a series that I don’t own all of the books in physical format.

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So, now that I’ve decided what books I’m getting rid of, should I sell them or donate?

• ARCs & Finished Copies from a publisher— One would think that dealing with ARCs is self-explanatory, yet so many people sell them even with the printed on “NOT FOR SALE” on the covers. Please, please, please don’t sell ARCs ever, whether they’re 5 years old or not yet released! It’s illegal and wrong. I also feel morally obligated to treat any book sent to me from a publisher that’s a finished copy the same way. I didn’t buy it the first time, so I’ve no right to sell it and profit, in my opinion. Instead of selling, donate them to a school, shelter, charity, or Little Free Library*! Or if you’re a book influencer, like a blogger or bookstagramer, host a giveaway or trade them!

*I actually made a version of a Little Free Library for a final for one of my studios last year at school! I haven’t gotten it set up yet, but I hope to sometime in the future.

• Everything else — Donating will always be a wonderful option, but if you’re looking for some extra cash, selling is great. I don’t have any used bookstores near me to sell to, so I’m not really sure how those work, but I have worked with Barnes & Noble. They have dedicated dates and times when you can bring your books in to sell, and they gave me a pretty fair amount for each book. They don’t normally give cash, so I got store credit to use on whatever I wanted!

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Do you guys unhaul books? What are your criteria for letting them go? Do you have any other suggestions regarding what to do with them when you no longer want them? Let’s chat!

Writing Reviews | Timing, Genres, and Review Styles, Oh My!

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Lately, I’ve been more conscious of the amount of time I take between finishing a book and writing its review. You’ve probably noticed that my reviews come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they’re long, detailed, and thorough. Other times they’re short, to the point, and a little vague. Less frequent, but never to be discounted, are my fangirl-y, caps-locked, gif and emoji-employed ones. Depending on how I felt after reading a book, it will result in one of these three reviews, and the process with which I write them. So, let’s talk review writing!

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The Long, Detailed, Thorough and (hopefully) Eloquent Reviews

First I’ll note that these reviews often stem from books that I either really enjoyed, or really didn’t. I also find myself writing longer reviews for historical or fantasy books, probably because there are more elements to cover, from world building to magic, etc. That’s not to say other genres don’t get long reviews from me! I’ve just noticed this pattern.

If Characters Were Bloggers | Part 2

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I was reading through my old posts a while ago, and found one that I had completely forgotten about! It was If Characters Wrote Blogs, and I gave characters a niche kind of blogger they would be if they had a blog. I’ve since read many books that have perfect candidates for bloggers in them, so I thought it was time I write another one of these posts!

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Lara Jean Song Covey from the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy by Jenny Han
I could so see her making a cute little baking blog where she posts recipes of all these delicious cookies and baked goods she makes!