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Love-a-thon 2017 – Get to Know Me

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Hello lovely people and welcome to Love-a-thon 2017, hosted by these lovely ladies: Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books, Cee @ The Novel Hermit, Kristin @ Super Space Chick, and Mel @ The Daily Prophecy. This is a two day weekend event that I also took part in this event last year and I’m SO excited to be doing it again this year! There’s so many awesome posts planned over the next couple days with some Twitter chats and blog hopping involved.

If you don’t know what Love-a-thon is, it’s a way to show love to all of the awesome people in the book community! So whether you have a blog, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube channel, it’s about spreading the love and sharing some positivity to those in this awesome community.

So without further ado, here’s the questionnaire for this first post of the event!

An Introduction to You and Your Blog

  1. What’s your name? Where in the world are you blogging from?
    • Hey, I’m Rayna and I’m blogging from Massachusetts in the United States!
  2. Tell us your history with reading. Were you always a reader? Were you a reluctant reader? Was there a book that convinced you to become a reader?
    • I’ve always been a reader, actually. Not when it came to books I was required to read in school, though, because I never found any of them to be interesting (except for one, which was A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb). I’d always want to get books, even if I never read them, because let’s be honest, my book hoarding tendencies started when I was a smol child. I think the book that really made me become a reader was the Twilight saga by Stephenine Meyer. I know it was a series that was kind of the pinnacle of reading for many people, but it really got me wanting to read more and more books. I didn’t really do so until 2014 when I joined the book community, though.
  3. How did you get involved in the online book community?
    • I had been watching a lot of Booktubers for months at the point that I joined. So I decided, “Hey, I can do this, too,” and I made my YouTube channel (which seems to have since been abandoned… I prefer writing than speaking. Maybe I’ll revamp it one day.). My first blog post was my review for the Divergent series. No introduction, no “this is what I want to do with this blog,” just me jumping straight into a book review. It’s cringey to think about it now, but I’m so glad I took the leap to join this awesome community.
  4. How did you choose your primary platform (blog, Instagram, YouTube, etc)? How did you come up with your blog name?
    • I’m so creative… I’m like, “Omg, how am I going to come up with a name?” And so I was thinking and thinking of clever names, but the only one that stuck in my mind was “Reader Rayna.” Look at that alliteration. #original
  5. What’s your favorite thing about the online book community?
    • Everyone’s very open and so willing to make friends. I think a lot of us feel isolated in our personal lives because it’s very hard to find like minded people – readers (active readers, mind you) – to talk about books and fandoms and squee over characters about. I love that about this community and that we strive to be better every day when it comes to topics and what we read and how we read it.
  6. What sort of posts can readers expect from you?
    • I do a little bit of everything, really. I do tags, reviews, discussions, wraps ups. I even include writing posts (because I’m a writer, too) as well as occasional posts about my hobbies other than reading.
  7. What book genres do you talk about most?
    • Have you heard of this epic genre called fantasy? Yeah, that’s my favorite genre to read. I love magic and I love anything that’s not the real world, because let’s be honest, this world is scary. Not that fantasy worlds aren’t scary… hell, more often than not they’re scarier. …you know what I mean.

Favorites

  1. Favorite food? Beverage?
    • Favorite food: mac and cheese foreverrrrrrrrr!
    • Favorite beverage: probably milk or apple juice.
  2. Favorite color?
    • Pink~ I like almost any shade, but my favorite is baby pink and a blush pink.
  3. Favorite things to do apart from reading?
    • Hey, didn’t I just mention my Hobby Corner posts? But to put it simply: play video games (OBSESSED with FFXV), drawing, writing, listening to music. I love to be creative, pretty much.
  4. Favorite tv shows?
    • YURI!!! on Ice, Haikyuu!!, Your Lie in April, Oremonogatari!
    • Non-anime related: Arrow, Flash, Penny Dreadful, Agents of SHIELD.
  5. Favorite movies?
    • The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Moana, Inside Out, all things Disney (pretty much), Harry Potter series, Pirates of the Caribbean series.
  6. Favorite musical artists?
    • HAMILTON. I know it’s not a musical artist, but WHERE ARE THE REST OF MY HAMILTRASH OUT THERE!?
    • Otherwise: Owl City, Lindsey Stirling, BTS, Girls’ Generation, Disney songs for daaaaaays.
  7. Favorite places to shop?
    • Barnes & Noble. Duh. I also like maurices. As for independent bookstore: Brookline Booksmith.

Book Talk

  1. Favorite childhood books?
    • Stellaluna, fairy tales (not Grimm, I’m not sure what kind it was, but it was based off of Grim brothers), science books (they were kid friendly kind). [No, Harry Potter is not on this list because I haven’t finished the series yet for the first time– I KNOW. I’m working on it.]
  2. Favorite books read in the last five years?
    • Um. Well. That list would be ginormous. Here’s a few: Illuminae, Fangirl, Throne of Glass series, ACOMAF, Starbound trilogy, Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, The Raven Boys saga, An Ember in the Ashes.
  3. Favorite genres?
    • FANTASY~ YA or otherwise. I also enjoy urban fantasy, historical fiction, romance, contemporary, science fiction.
  4. Underrated book, series or author you love?
    • I don’t know if it’s underrated, but the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa was my favorite series at the pinnacle of my faerie obsession stage in life. I haven’t finished the last book, The Iron Queen, but I need to reread the trilogy and see if I still love it.
  5. A book you want to see made into a film or tv show?
    • ^See above. Also, I’d love to see Fangirl be made into a film. It would be so cute!
  6. Book boyfriend/girlfriend? Book BFF? Book family?
    • Oooh, the fun questions are coming out! Okay, book boyfriends: Aeduan from Truthwitch and Kaden from The Remnant Chronicles. (How am I not thinking of more, I don’t know.) Book girlfriends: Helene from An Ember in the Ashes.
    • Book BFF: Karou and Zuzana, who are also BFFs in the books and I need them to be my BFFs IRL.
    • Book family: The Weasley’s because who wouldn’t want to be part of their family?
  7. Books you want to read in 2017?
    • All of them.
    • …seriously.

Alright, that’s it for this first post! I hope to see a lot of you in this super fun and awesome event and I can’t wait to go blog/channel/insta/twitter hopping! Have fun!

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

Are you excited for this event? What are you most looking forward to? Also, what’s your favorite independent bookstore? Have you ever been to one? Who’s your book boy/girlfriend? Tell me all the things!

Reading & Blog Goals for 2017

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Happy New Year everyone! Aren’t you glad 2016 is over? I’m excited for the new year because it means new beginnings, and I’ve never felt more genuinely excited for new beginnings since this year. I don’t know what it is, but I’m just anticipating what this year could potentially bring. I’ve already talked about my writing goals for this year, so now let me talk about my reading and blog goals for 2017:

Reading Goals

  • Read at least 30 books.
  • Finish several books on the Beat the Backlist Challenge. I think this is a great challenge to really cross off those books that have been on my shelves 5ever.
  • Read more diverse books.
  • Finish the Harry Potter series, dammit.
  • Read more adult books (not there’s anything wrong with YA, I just want to read more adult things).

Blog Goals

  • Comment on more blogs! I know I said this last year, but I want to keep it up because I have commented more this past year, but not as much as I’d hoped.
  • Maybe change the way I review. My review style has been transforming slowly the longer I do reviews, so it’s a natural progression kind of thing. I like my review style, though, so this one’s just kind of an optional one.
  • Have fun with what I’m doing.

I honestly don’t have that many goals that I want to achieve this year in reading or blogging because I just want to enjoy my time doing both, which I think is the most important thing of all. As long as I’m doing that, then everything else can fall into place afterward.

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

What do you hope to accomplish reading wise? What about you blog? Are there some things you definitely want to tackle this year?

October 2016 Wrap Up

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THIS IS HALLOWEEN, THIS IS HALLOWEEN!

Now I can actually sing that.

The month of October was a pretty good one, and I feel like it’s going to be a good end of the year, too. I mean, not a whole lot went on, but it’s my second vacation week now, so I’m pretty pumped about that. Plus, NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow and I’m really excited to keep working on my novel!

I’m trying out a new format this month for the wrap up because I feel like it’s too boring, honestly, and I want to share more and do more things with it. I’ve been getting inspired by other’s wrap ups, so here we go!

Books I’ve Read

Click on the cover to be taken to its respective review!

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  • A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir – I loved this book so much! It was such an amazing sequel. 5/5 stars
  • Siege & Storm by Leigh Bardugo – I thought this was a fun, strong sequel with plenty of darkness and turmoil. 4/5 stars

Books I’ve Gotten

Click on the cover to be taken to each respective Goodreads page!

thereader crookedkingdom stalkingjacktheripper unhinged ensnared untamed nevernight holdinguptheuniverse gemina

Other Blog Posts

  • Criticism vs. Cruelty – I talk about the differences between criticism in reviews versus being cruel/mean in them and why we should really notice the differences.
  • Relating to Characters – Do you ever feel like you relate to certain types of characters, like you’re just drawn the them? Yeah, me too.
  • Hobby Corner: October VIDEO GAMES Edition – My monthly little corner where I talk about my hobbies other than reading and this month I introduced some of my favorite video game franchises.

Writing Related

  • Beautiful Books 2016| Introducing the Novel – A super cool meme hosted by super cool people and where I talk about the novel I’ll be working on for NaNoWriMo this year. Speaking of which:
  • NaNoWriMo 2016 – I’m participating in NaNoWriMo! I talk a little bit about my plans, about my story, and what I hope to achieve in November.

Fun Things

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I’ve officially met my goal of 30 fantasy books read for the year! It’s incredible how well I’ve been doing so far this year. I’m having a great time and I know I’ll be reading more fantasy books as the end of the year draws close, so I’ll still keep everyone updated on the amount! Right now I’m at 31/30.

I’ve also have been doing a buddy read with the lovely Erica @ novelink_erica on Twitter and we’ve been reading Stalking Jack the Ripper. It’s really interesting so far and we’ve got a lot of speculation going as to who did what and what we think will happen. Expect a review up soon!

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I’ve read 40 books this year! It’s crazy to think that I’ve read more books in the last two years that I have in my whole life. And I absolutely love it. ❤

Instagram

So if you didn’t know, I do have an Instagram where I focus on books 99% of the time. I’ve been participating in two challenges this month and I haven’t missed a day, so there’s lots of photos to check out! I feel like I’ve been greatly improving, which really makes me happy, and I’ve been having a lot of fun doing it. Here’s some of my photos I’ve posted this month:

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Around the Internet

This is a feature I’ve seen in several other blogger’s wrap ups and I think it’s a fun way to show what else I’ve been reading/seeing around the internets!

Life Updates

  • I’ve been getting more into Instagram, as I stated above, and have learned that the Dollar Store is my friend. Book photo supplies are expensive, yo.
  • I’ve been thinking more and more about getting some tattoos that I really, really want but I’m waiting because reasons (and money), and also because I haven’t completely laid out a design yet for one of them. In case you’re wondering, one’s a quote from ACOMAF, the other is a bit of lyrics from Hamilton. I mean, is anyone really surprised? No? I didn’t think so.
  • I went to my workplace’s charity event to raise money and awareness for kids and young adults with mental illnesses, and it went really well! I couldn’t hear/understand the guest speaker the whole time he was talking, but there was a lot of inspirational moments and a lot of people there.
  • I’m on vacation this week! Which I’m glad for considering it’s the first week of NaNo. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a lot of writing done.

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

How was your month of October? Did you do anything fun or go to any Halloween parties? How do we like the new layout of the wrap ups? I’m kind of really digging it! Tell me all the things!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On Your TBR From Before You Began Blogging

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Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday as hosted by the lovely people over at The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is all about the books that have been on your TBR for forever and a day before you began blogging. I actually find this really interesting because before I began blogging and joined the book community, I didn’t have a huge pile of books that were waiting for me to read them.

But here are some of the books that WERE on my TBR and may or not be anymore.

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1 . The Hunger Games. Yup, that’s right, I still haven’t read this hugely popular series. It’s been on my TBR since the movie was announced and, well… I’ll get to it someday. I really enjoy the movies, and I know the books are awesome, I just need to read them.

2. Vampire Academy. I’ve given up on reading this series. It was a series I went to right after Twilight back in the day, and I only got up through part of book three before I stopped. I don’t plan on picking this one back up so sorry to those who loved this series.

3. Pride and Prejudice. Despite loving this story, I still haven’t read it! Blasphemy, I know, but when I read Sense and Sensibility (several months before I started blogging), I just felt like the language was difficult and the styles were just so different from what I was used to that I was nervous to pick up this one. But I will!

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4. Harry Potter. FIVE THOUSAND YEARS IN THE DUNGEON. I know. But I’m working on it! I’m on Goblet of Fire, and it’s a beast of a book, but I find that when I’m reading it goes by quick? Magic, man.

5. The Mortal Instruments. AGAIN, THE DUNGEON. I’m on book five now, but I’m reading TMI and TID in order of publication, so I’m on Clockwork Prince… It’s confusing, I know, but I’ll finish it one day!

6. The Chronicles of Narnia. In my defense, the bind up of all of the stories is ginormous, and I just couldn’t bring myself to read all of them. And again, the language and style of the books are so different from what I’m used to that I find it hard to adjust sometimes. One day I’ll read these! I have read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe back in school and I really liked it (back when I was eleven or something), but I haven’t read any others.

These are the big ones that I started or wanted to start pre-blogging days, and as you can see, I’ve finished none of them. It’s been two years since I first started blogging and I haven’t even touched any of these books. So sad.

(Also, did you notice the color scheme for the second group of books? Green and yellow are really pretty together!)

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

What books did you start back in the day and never finished? Are you joining me in the dungeon? How high up on your TBR have you placed these books or are you like me and just say, “I’ll read them one day?”

Two Years of Blogging Celebration + Giveaway

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That’s right! My blog is officially two years old! I can’t believe it. I never thought that I’d become a blogger – a passionate blogger – let alone a book blogger. But I am so happy to be here sharing my thoughts, feelings, and passions with all of you.

When I started blogging two years ago, I was nervous. Excited, but nervous. Would people even look at my blog? Comment on my stuff? Interact with me? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t doing it for the “fame” in the beginning, because who doesn’t want their five minutes, you know? But pretty soon after I started I fell in love with it. Interacting with all of you – my peeps – is one of the joys that brings me back to my blog every day. I love seeing comments and commenting on other’s blogs (which I still need to work on, I know!), and then interacting on Twitter and Instagram… it’s so worth it!

I fell in love with books all over again because of blogging and book community. Not only is the book community the most welcoming community I’ve ever seen on the Internet, but there’s also so many passionate and diverse voices here that it sparked my love for reading all over again. Once people were excited over a book, so was I! It was fun to talk about and gush or gripe over books – and it still is!

When my first blogiversary came around, my numbers and content (and amount of books on my shelves) were much smaller than they are now, but I was still so grateful to have faithfully stuck with book blogging and having those connections with people and books and more.

Now, two years after I started blogging, I’m so excited to see how far I’ve come and where I can see myself going. I’ve had such a great time this past year and I have some of those milestones to share with you.

What Happened This Last Year

  • Between July last year and July this year I’ve read and reviewed 57 books, novellas, short stories, and audiobooks. That’s a lot for me and I am so amazed at how far I’ve come in that time!
  • I’ve had 43 discussions. Wow. I had a lot to say, apparently!
  • I went to my first author book signings in YEARS and got to meet my favorite author. Actually I went to three: Jodi Meadows and Erin Bowman, Sarah J. Maas, and Maggie Steifvater! All of the authors were so lovely and nice.
  • I participated in a lot more events and readathons, like Love-a-thon, Make Me Read, and more.
  • I even started the ToGReadalong with some bookish friends!
  • I’ve met more awesome bookish people through Twitter chats, which I am very thankful for. Such Twitter chats have been #BBTC and #RQWN.

What I’m Looking Forward To

  • Reading more books! I feel like I never have enough time in my day to read as much as I want anymore, but I hope to just continue reading and having fun doing it.
  • I’m obviously going to keep posting more on my blog, but I want to do some new and different things in the next year. I’m going to look into different things so they’ll be a surprise when/if they happen!
  • I’ve been neglecting my YouTube channel, and I don’t know if I’ll continue to make videos or not, so I’m going to be debating on an upload schedule and trying to stick to it.
  • Go to more book signings and events! I’m going to make it my mission to go to some sort of book convention whether it be this year or next year, but I really want to go and meet so many people!

The Giveaway

I’m giving away a $25USD gift card to Society6! You’ll be able to choose whatever design and item you want up to $25 (any additional fees are up to you to pay). I’ll be sending the gift to you via email, so be sure to keep a lookout! I’ll obviously email the winner beforehand so that they’re aware of it and all of that. Yes, the giveaway is international because they do have worldwide shipping! Just make sure they ship to your country, obviously.

Click here for the giveaway!

A Big Thank You

I feel like this year is going to get better, just like how I thought last year that it would get better – and it has! I’m so excited to be part of such an awesome community and I just want to thank you all for being part of this journey with me. You’re all lovely and beautiful and my peeps (yes, the fluffy marshmallow chicks). Thank you all for sticking around and I hope to have many more conversations with you all and continue to grow and be passionate and have more fun than before.

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

What has been YOUR favorite post that YOU’VE done on your blog and why? Share with me your links so I can check them out and visit your blogs! It’s all about connection here and I want to connect more with you all, so show me your favorite/best/most creative post/video/Instagram photo that you’ve got!