Tag Archives: discussion

When You’re Just Not in the Mood to Read

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I’ve hit a slump, guys. Well, maybe it’s not a slump, it’s more just like I don’t feel like reading right now.

As a book blogger, it kind of sucks because I love posting reviews and discussing books with others and doing all the things book related, but I think I’m just feeling burnt out and I need a break.

It’s natural, though, to go through waves of interest. Sometimes you’re more into one thing than you are another, and that’s perfectly fine. It’s just when you let that thing you started with become such a huge part of your life that you feel lost without it.

I’ve been trying to read some books I’m interested in – like, very interested in – and I’m just not connecting with it at all. I felt the same way this time last year, too, so it might be a seasonal thing. I just don’t have the desire to read.

And that’s okay.

I’ve been more in the mood to watch anime and Netflix than anything, lately. I want to do more than just center a lot of my life around books and I think that’s mainly where this not wanting to read feeling is stemming from.

It could also be environmental: if you’re stressed out from work or family or whatever you’ve got going on in your life, that could easily affect your reading, too. I know it’s affected mine because I’ve just been stressed out lately, too.

So if you’re just not in the mood to read and you’re usually an avid reader, then don’t fret because it’s probably just something going on in your life that’s causing it, you’re not reading the right thing at the right time, or you just need a break. Heck, it could even be a combination of all three, but don’t let it get you down.

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

Is anyone else going through something similar? What do you do in the meantime?

July 2016 Wrap Up

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Hey guys! We’re almost in August which means it’s almost my birthday, which means I’m going to be OLD. Okay, well, 25, so not that old, BUT STILL. A QUARTER OF A CENTURY.

Anyway, I had a much better reading month this month than I did in June, and I got some writing done, which is always exciting. So let’s talk about all of the things I did this month!

What I Read

  • Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes – Such an awesome book with a cute story and characters, where there was, of course, romance, but it dealt with mental health, supportive friendships, and learning about yourself. 5/5 stars Check out my review!
  • Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – I can definitely see what all the hype was about even though it felt like it was missing something. Like an extra bit of oomph! But I still enjoyed it. 4/5 stars Check out my review!
  • Orange: The Complete Collection vol 1 & 2 by Ichigo Takano – I LOVED THIS. These two manga volumes were definitely my favorite reads this month and I am just so happy that I read them. Beautiful story about depression, suicide, and the importance of friendship. 5/5 stars Check out my review!

Books I Started But Didn’t Finish

  • The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson – I found it really difficult to get into this book, and I only read the first chapter. Maybe it’s just her style of writing, but I’ll still give it a go.
  • The Dragon Round by Stephen S. Power – I received this for review on Net Galley from Simon and Schuster and I didn’t finish it on time, but I was enjoying it, even if there was a lot of technical jargon and other problems with it.
  • Red Rising by Pierce Brown – Okay, technically I started this a long time ago, but I started listening to it again and I was enjoying it! But I still haven’t finished it.

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Books I Got This Month

Discussions I Held

None. NONE!? What is this sorcery!? I usually have at least one discussion… Huh. I guess this month didn’t have much going on.

Top Ten Tuesdays & Top 5 Wednesdays

Writing Related

  • Camp NaNoWriMo: July Edition – That’s right! I had joined Camp NaNoWriMo! My plan was to do weekly updates again, but that fell flat pretty quickly.
  • I will say, though, that I started one novel then worked on the one I started last year because I’m finally – FINALLY – almost done writing the first draft. Maybe I’ll finish it today once this post is already up, but I’m very excited!

Fun Things

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I read one fantasy book this month, bringing my total up to 25 out of 30 fantasy books read for the year! I’m pretty impressed, really.

Life Updates

  • I think I had a boring life this month… It consisted mostly of work.
  • It was my mom’s birthday, though, so there’s that. The week after her birthday we had a barbecue at their house and a bunch of family came over, plus I got to see my nieces and nephew, whom I don’t see that often. It was nice!
  • And I applied to two rep searches on Instagram: one for Evie Seo and the other for Bookworm Boutique! I think it’s so cool that they put out products, and I already have one from Evie so I know that they’re good quality!

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

What was your favorite book that you read this month? Did you participate in any readathons? Tell me all the things!

Seasonal Reading Slumps

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Hey peeps, so this little discussion kind of ties in with a discussion I had earlier this month about reading certain books during certain times of the year but this particular discussion is more focused around having a reading slump around the same time each year.

I noticed this last year around this time that I was hit very hard with a reading slump. It sucked so, so, SO much, but I still tried to read some books that I was highly anticipating and enjoy what I could. The only problem I found with that was that my reading experience and enjoyment of those books felt diminished than if I would have read them at an earlier or later time. I didn’t want my mood or the time of the year to reflect poorly on my reading experience, but as a result my reading slowed down tremendously and I felt like I was dragging my feet just to get a book read.

Now I don’t know if this is because I was trying to read books I just wasn’t in the mood to read or if outside circumstances were causing me to focus more on them than on books, but I do know that I struggled a lot and I was not a fan of that.

For me, personally, I know my biggest season of struggle for reading is summer. This year in particular, as soon as June started, I didn’t want to read at all. I barely read anything in several books before I put them down and wanted to do other things. And I’m not saying that doing other things isn’t fun or important, but I still wanted to read! This happened around the same time last year, too, and I barely read anything all summer.

This past spring, though, I read a lot of books. Within the first six months of this year I’ve read 28 books. I’d call that a success for me, and my reading was also around the same amount last year, too, within the first six months. The second half of the year, once fall and early winter started, was also when my reading picked up again and I read a bunch more books and met my goal for that year. I felt relieved and happy that my slump had finally gone away.

But now I’m worried that I’m going to have seasonal slumps every year. It sucks because there are a lot of cool books coming out this summer that I definitely want to read, but I don’t know if I’m going to be in a slump and want to or not.

I think that I’m going to do my best to power through the books because I know I’ll find that one book that definitely brings me out of my slump, and like I stated in my other discussion: summer reading, for me, is meant to be light hearted contemporaries. So maybe I’ll read more contemps and less fantasies.

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

Do you feel you’re ever in a seasonal reading slump? What do you do to get out of it or do you just accept it? What times of the year are your strongest reading times?

Lending Out Books

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Now I know for a fact that a lot of readers have a problem with lending out their books to other people. I don’t have exact numbers or anything, but I’m assuming about 90% of bookworms would rather eat their books than lend them out. At least, I know I would.

If you’re part of that 10% then you may be asking yourself, “But Rayna, why would you want to do that!?” Well, my friend, let me tell you why.

It’s like a curse. Almost every single time I lend a book out to someone to borrow they somehow manage to get damaged in some way. 97% of the time that includes the cover somehow being ripped in a corner or along the edge. That other 3% consists of either my book never being returned to me, something happened to one of the pages on the inside, or some other anomaly of some sort.

But why is it that this happens? I just… I don’t understand! Maybe it’s my personality, but I am very possessive of my belongings. I don’t want people touching my things (well, okay, they can touch it and look at it, but be gentle with it), or using my things, or driving my car… I mean, that’s normal, right? You know the condition of how these things are when you lend them out and then when they’re returned in less of a condition that you gave them out? You’re heartbroken! Annoyed! Enraged, even!

I know that when I borrow something from someone I want to make sure it stays in the exact condition that they gave it to me because I want to show that I can be trusted. I’ve always been that way – and I’m not saying I haven’t made mistakes, too. It happens; something inevitable gets in the way.

But sometimes, it’s 100% preventable.

A few months ago I let a friend borrow a book and still have yet to receive it back. I mean, I kind of regret getting the book in the first place, so I’m fine with it, but still… It’s the principal!

I’ve let people borrow my books and the covers have been demolished or their parents have used it as a coaster (like, who does that to a book, anyway!?). So I’ve had a lot of traumatic experiences when it comes to my books.

That’s why I’m extremely selective when it comes to letting people borrow anything of mine. I have a hard time trusting that they’ll take care of it, but I mean, I can’t be paranoid about it all the time. It also depends on the book, too, I think. If it’s one I haven’t read yet or one that I didn’t particularly like, then I might give a little leeway, but if it’s a favorite book? You bet your butt I’m not giving that out to anyone.

It’s a two sided coin, really.

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

So friends, I want to ask you: have you ever had these bad things happen to your books when you’ve lent them out? Do they come back pristine or are they destroyed afterward? Have you ever done this to someone else’s books? I need to know!