2021 reading wrap-up ⟡ feat. stats & a tag :)

Hello hello!

I read 63 books in 2021 and I’m going to talk about them, because I like talking about books.

I hope you like reading about books. (:

First, if you want to see all the books I read, you can check out my 2021 Goodreads stats page. (You don’t need a Goodreads account to view it.)

On to a tag!

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I’m confused about the name of this tag, because it’s not the end of the new year, but the beginning… however it looks like great fun! Thanks to Emily for this tag! Check out her original post for all the details, rules, etc.

How many books did you read this year?

I read 63! I originally wanted to read 100, then 75. Clearly, I did not accurately estimate the amount of reading I would be able to do during college.

What were your top five books of the year?

New-to-me:

1. Thorn by Intisar Khanani
2. Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
3. Hillsdale College Western Heritage Reader
4. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
5. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Know the Novel Part 1: Introduction ⟡ a writer’s linkup

Friends.

FRIENDS!!

I have missed you so!

I am so happy to be writing a blog post again. It is, admittedly, not the ideal time to do so. I am currently sitting in my college library where I originally came to work on school. I have papers due on Friday and Monday, a group presentation and a test in two days, and copious amounts of reading and translation for all my classes.

But. How could I not do Christine’s linkup? I’ve been doing this Know the Novel thing for two years now and I didn’t want to miss it. It is a very helpful excuse to get back into blogging, too. In fact, I want to (tentatively) announce that I am returning to blogging! If you’ve been around here you’ll know that I tend to blog sporadically anyway, so there will certainly not be any sort of consistent schedule in my posting, but I thoroughly hope and intend to post again in the next month or so. And again. And again.

I’ve missed this a great deal.

All right, on to the NaNo stuff.

mid-year book freak out tag + hiatus announcement

Hello and welcome! Today I’m super excited to do the mid-year book freak out tag. I have no idea where this tag originated so sadly, I cannot credit anyone, but it’s something a lot of book bloggers do in late June and is a fun way to talk about the books you’ve read that year. (You can read my 2019 post here and my 2020 one here… they’re very cringy but that’s okay, it’s fun to look back and see how far I’ve come.)

Before we get to that, though, a quick announcement (which is literally in the title of the post): I’m taking a hiatus from blogging.

Actually, I kind of have been for most of the past few months anyway 🤷🏽‍♀️ I’ve been writing, and reading, and working, and prepping for college, and I haven’t had the time or motivation to blog. And, unfortunately, I don’t see myself finding either in the near future.

I don’t know how long I’ll be gone — I could return to blogging consistently this fall, or maybe it won’t be until January, or even next summer. HOWEVER. This does not mean I’m completely disappearing! I’m still going to be reading other people’s posts, and I will likely pop in here from time to time.

Basically, I’m just officially explaining what’s already going on 😌 I’ll be blogging randomly, so don’t expect to hear from me much on WordPress, but I’m not leaving and I still love it.

If you want more consistent content/updates from me, you have two options:

• my email list! I send out monthly life/reading/writing updates. It’s a ton of fun and I’d love to see you there!
• my Instagram! I just joined this platform and am still not sure what, exactly, I am doing, but expect occasional bookish/authorly posts and also very random stories.

email list

instagram

Onward to the blog post!

meet the book blogger tag

Hey friends! I’m back!

I’ve been lacking motivation to post lately, but hey, it helps when you get tagged/find good tags multiple times in a week 😂 In order not to fall massively behind on all these tags, I’ve decided to do one. (And yes, I do enjoy them. I’m not doing it because I “have” to — tags are honestly quite fun.)

Thank you to Jan @ The Doodlecrafter, who (sort of) tagged me for the Meet the Book Blogger Tag! (That is, I found it on her blog, and she tagged anyone who was interested.) This tag was created by the Bibliomavens.

who is your all-time favorite book character?

Picking one favorite character is like picking a favorite book! Which is to say… I do have an answer (as I also have an answer for the “favorite book” question):

how to get back into writing // tips for inspiration + consistency

Hey there, friends! I’m sorry it’s been a while since I last posted. I’ve been busy with school and other stuff, and I also haven’t had much motivation to blog. Honestly, I haven’t had much motivation to write at all lately. But a conversation with a friend the other day reminded me that I need to get back into it, so last night I sat down and wrote 2k words (on a brand-new project instead of my WIP, oops). Then that gave me the idea to blog about how to get back into writing… so here we are! I hope this post inspires you to start writing again too — or just to stay motivated 🙂

Even if you’re not a writer, these tips can help you get back into anything you need to be doing (school, art, chores, etc.), though there are some writer-specific tips.

⯎ accountability ⯎

This is, truly, the #1 thing that will get you back into writing! Having somebody there to remind you to write is so helpful. Here are some ideas…

the Liebster award x2 // in which I am interrogated

I have been tagged for the Liebster award!

Twice!

Thank you so much to Grace A. Johnson and E.K. Seaver for tagging me. Both of them are amazing writers and bloggers so go check them out!

✰ rules ✰

• thank the blogger who nominated you (gratias tibi ago, Grace and Emily!)
• answer the eleven questions he/she asked
• nominate eleven more bloggers for the award (and notify them of their nominations)
• ask your eleven nominated bloggers eleven new questions

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✰ Grace’s questions ✰

1 // When did you first start your blog?

I started this blog in April of 2019 (almost two years ago, wow). You can read my first post here if you like. It’s a little cringey and very different than how I blog now, but I’m glad I started back then… it’s given me courage and a writing voice and an audience and so many friends.

the smashing and dashing character awards 2020 // feat. some of my favorite fictional friends!

Hey there! Today I’m participating in an amazing tag/challenge/thing called (you guessed it) The Smashing and Dashing Character Awards. These used to be hosted by Cait @ Paper Fury and the grand tradition has been preserved by Katie @ I’m Charles Baker Harris, and I was reminded to do them by Sarah @ Sixty-Something Trees. (Go check out all those bloggers! I love all three and smile very big when I see they’ve posted something new.)

The rules are simple: There are several prompts relating to characters. You answer each one with a character from a book you read this year (well, technically last year now). I believe they are supposed to be characters from a book you first read in 2020, but I may end up including some rereads, since I *cough* reread a ton last year.

Onward to glory (for the characters) and agony (for me, who much choose just one in each category)!

meet my MC // writers linkup open Jan. 1-30

Hey, friends! As many of you may know, for two years now I’ve participated in Christine Smith Author’s amazing NaNo Know the Novel linkup. It’s a fun way to connect with other writers and talk about your current WIP, and I really enjoyed it.

As I was doing this year’s Know the Novel, I had the idea to start my own linkup. Since most of the Know the Novel linkups are about the writing process and story, I thought I’d do something different and create a linkup to talk about our MCs (main characters)!

Happy Christmas [ + Know the Novel part 3 ]

Hi friends! This post is going to be my last one until the New Year. I’ve been pretty busy with school, so I’m excited to have the next couple of weeks off to spend time with my family, read a ton of history + plan for my biography paper, organize all my school books, read Brandon Sanderson, write my novel, and catch up on all my letter writing.

Oh, and celebrate Jesus’ birth. *cough* That too.

Unfortunately, with all of the busyness and crazy stuff this year, I keep forgetting the most important part of Christmas. WELL, that stops today, because today I’m talking about Christmas to all of you!

I’m also going to be doing Christine’s Know the Novel linkup, but since I only wrote 10k in November and haven’t gotten back to the story much since then, I don’t have a ton to say and so I decided to combine it with this post.

books that remind me of my WIP // 9 series to read if you like Remnant!

Hi, friends!

Lately I’ve been talking about my WIP Remnant a bunch, and some of you have asked if you can read it and/or said you liked my characters and writing. (Thank you so, so much if you did. Really. It’s just what I need to force myself to write it :))

Hopefully someday it will be available for you to read, but until that day, here are some books that remind me of it! Some of them inspired the original draft, others I discovered later, but all of them are incredible books that I recommend highly.