Tag Archives: Event

Love-a-thon Mini-Challenge #5: X Meets Y

Posted on by

2017-love-a-thon-graphic

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.

More mixing and matching, ahoy! Only this time the challenge is to mix and match your favorite TV shows with some books so people can find some fun recommendations that way!

10 Things I Hate About You meets P.S. I Like You

10-things-i-hate-about-you-movie-poster-800x1200 psilikeyou

I think this is the perfect kind of X meets Y because both the movie and the book include characters that hate each other at the beginning, and through some sort of way they come together and end up really liking each other. I mean… they’re both adorable, gotta say.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind meets The Raven Boys

nausicaa%cc%88_of_the_valley_of_the_wind_dvd_cover theravenboys

Okay, hear me out on this one. Both include characters that are trying to figure out why strange things are happening around them, both include magic and mystery, but they also have a huge part that deals with trees and the magic in them. I think that if you’ve read The Raven Boys, you’ll like Nausicaa because it raises a lot of questions, but it also amazes you with the beauty of it.

Star Trek meets Illuminae

star-trek-2009-movie-poster illuminae

It’s not just because they both take place in space, okay? But it’s because they’re both VISUALLY stunning! If you haven’t hear the buzz around Illuminae, where have you been? It’s an amazing story and the way it’s told through graphics, chat messages, documents, etc, really play into the whole story and it really makes the whole book come alive. And if you haven’t seen this first Star Trek movie, again: where have you been?

So I think that that’s good for now for X Meets Y! I loved each of these books and movies, so I highly recommend checking all of them out!

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

What movie/book combo would you recommend to me based off of what I’ve shown here? I’d love to see what you come up with!

 

Love-a-thon Mini-Challenge #4: Sweethearts Candy Message

Posted on by

2017-love-a-thon-graphic

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.

Welcome to the next mini-challenge of this event! So for this challenge you have a box of Sweethearts candy and you’re asked to share the candy with a person or couple – fictional or real. So who would I give them to?

  • LOVE WINS: A couple you didn’t think would get together, but against all odds, they did
    • Probably Tarver and Lilac from These Broken Stars. I mean, even though they were the only two on the planet, they didn’t have to fall in love with one another. Just saying. But I love them and they love each other and ahhhh so many feels.
  • I DO: A character you’d marry
    • You mean if I weren’t married to my husband? Well, I wouldn’t pass him up, so I pick my husband for this one, haha!
  • DREAM BIG: A character whose dreams you want to come true
    • Chaol Westfall
    • Helene Aquilla
  • CRAZY 4 U: A character you’re crazy about
    • Aeduan from Truthwitch. I just. *fans self* I DON’T CARE IF HE’S BAD, OKAY!?
  • TRUE LOVE: Your ultimate OTP
    • Sakura and Syaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura. FOREVER OTP.
    • Also Sailor Moon/Usagi and Tuxedo Mask/Mamoru. FOREVERRRRRRR.
  • TE AMO: A language you’d want to be wooed in
    • Spanish is very beautiful, for sure. I think I’d get chills if I were wooed in Spanish.
  • BFF: A character you want to be your best friend
    • Did I already mention Karou and Zuzana before, because I choose them almost every time.
  • WINK WINK: A character you’d want to wink at you
    • Winking is awkward. Like, I don’t know what those emotions are that I feel when I’m winked at, even by my husband. But, if I had to choose, probably Rhysand. I mean… you know…
  • SWEET TALK: A character who knows how to sweet talk/flirt
    • ^Did I mention Rhysand because WHAT IS THIS SEXTING THROUGH MAGICAL NOTES!? Wow.
  • BEST DAY: A moment from a book you wish happened to you or your IRL best day
    • Is there a moment where characters have cake? Because I want that moment right now.
  • OOH LA LA: A character you want to slow dance with
    • Maybe Aedion because he seems like he’d be good at dancing.
  • LOVE YOU: The character that gets your undying love
    • Ronan from The Raven Boys. *squishes his cheeks*

I wouldn’t want to give anyone one of the white candies, though, because those are nasty. I think the purple ones are, too, but I don’t remember. I like the orange ones and the green ones!

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

So, who would you want to wink at you? ; ) What about a character to flirt with you? And who do you want to have their dreams come true more than anyone?

Love-a-thon Mini-Challenge #2: Mix & Match

Posted on by

2017-love-a-thon-graphic

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.

So this mini-challenge is all about combining your love of books with another hobby/passion/fandom/talent that you might have. We can do this through photos, artwork, videos, collages, whatever we’d like and t just have fun and be creative with it.

So, as I stated before, I love to draw. I’m doing my own 365 Days of Art Challenge where I’m going to draw something – anything – no matter how big or small, complex or simple, every day for the next 365 days. I started this back on February 5th, so I’m a couple of weeks into it now, and I’ve been keeping up with it pretty well.

I’ve done fanart before of characters, but I’m doing these pieces in a traditional fashion rather than digitally. So here are some of my favorite characters and how I view them in my mind (except one which is from a manga, so I kind of already know what he looks like). Can you guess who they are and what book they’re from?

img_4493

I’ve always found drawing to be a very relaxing activity from the time I was a child. Like reading, I’ve always loved to draw, and of course I improved greatly from the time I was a child, and I’m going to continue to improve the more I do draw. I find that drawing is a way to escape, it’s a way to really let the mind go and dream and be free from the rest of the world.

img_4495

Of course, that’s not to say that reading doesn’t have the same effect, but drawing is just something that really takes my mind away from the present and really allows me to be unique, to show myself what I can do, and to truly be me.

img_4463

I think that combining two of the things I love most – art and books – to be a very natural thing for me. Of course I have to rely on the descriptions that the authors provide, but I also love that because it allows for so much creative freedom. You can make them look how you envision them, which may or may not match what the author had in mind. And I think that that is so cool.

I hope you guys liked this and that you’ll be inspired to maybe pick up a pen or pencil and draw some of your favorite characters! Can’t wait to see you in the next post!

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

If you’re into drawing and art, what’s your favorite medium to work with? Do you prefer more traditional works, or digital ones? Who’s your favorite book character that you’d want to draw out yourself? Tell me all the things!

Love-a-thon Mini-Challenge #1: Mad Libs: Fairytales Edition

Posted on by

2017-love-a-thon-graphic

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.

The first mini-challenge we have here is the Mad Libs: Fairytales Edition! If you don’t know what Mad Libs is, are you living under a rock? Pretty much there’s a set of words with prompts, such as “location,” “adjective,” “verb,” etc, and you choose any random word that fits that prompt that comes to mind to fill in the blanks in the story afterward. It’s usually really hilarious, so let’s just right into this.

*Mad Libs I choose will be bolded and pink in the story to find them easily.

  1. LOCATION: Erilea
  2. CHARACTER: Dragon Knight
  3. TYPE OF STORE: Clothing
  4. BODY PART (plural): Feet
  5. ITEM: Necklace
  6. ROYALTY: Queen
  7. REPEAT ITEM FROM #5.: Necklace
  8. ACTIVE VERB (example: running): Skipping
  9. ANOTHER LOCATION: Cliffside by the ocean
  10. AN EMOTION: Perplexed
  11. MUSICAL INSTRUMENT: Xylophone
  12. PIECE OF FOOD: Pizza crust
  13. NUMBER: 42
  14. TYPE OF HOUSE: Bungalow
  15. VOICE ADJECTIVE: grating
  16. DESCRIBE A SOUND (ending with –ing): Muttering
  17. ROOM IN A HOUSE: Playroom
  18. OBJECTS: Lamps
  19. DESCRIBE AN OUTFIT: Delicate lace with a touch of Gothic garments
  20. INFINITIVE VERB, activity: to play
  21. REPEAT MUSICAL INSTRUMENT from #11: Xylophone
  22. A JOB: Bounty hunter

Okay, now that I have my random words, let’s read this glorious story!

Once upon a time, in a far away Erilea, there lived a smart Dragon Knight. She lived alone in a clothing store, where she had grown up with the deceased owner. She had beautiful feet, and she was known for her shiny red necklace, the only thing she had left of her parents.

Alas, the Queen of the country became jealous and wanted to own this necklace. So, she became a wanted person and had to flee into the forest to find a place to hide. After skipping around for hours, hungry and tired, she stumbled upon a cliffside by the ocean. An old lady appeared, offering her shelter from the bitter cold.  She looked at her with perplexity and said: “I will protect you, but I need your help first. Years ago I lost something precious and I want it back. You need to climb into the sky and get my xylophone back. Here is a magical pizza crust, throw it into the earth, sprinkle with water and it will sprout a beanstalk. You have 42 days to return before the stalk withers.”
She followed the instructions given to her, and lo and behold, a beanstalk grew and grew and grew all the way up to the clouds. After an exhausting climb, she saw a huge bungalow. She walked to the door and knocked. A grating voice said: ‘Fee-fi-fo-fum, who dares to come and enter my house?” She was not afraid and said: “My name is Jamie and I’ve come to collect an item.”
The door made a muttering sound when it opened and revealed a large playroom filled with golden lamps.  She stepped inside and walked towards the spiraling staircase, where a figure moved, cloaked in darkness.

“Who are you? Step into the light, so I can see your face.”
The beast growled angry. “Why did you come here? I just want to be left alone.” Still, she moved and stood in front of it. There were three horns on his head, and hair all over his face and his mouth was filled with large teeth. He wore delicate lace with a touch of Gothic garments.
“What happened to you?” She reached out to touch one of the horns, but the beast flinched. “Many years ago I was cursed by a witch. I have one year left to play so I can break the spell, but I’m not brave enough.”
“If you give me the xylophone, I will help you.”
In keeping her promise, the beast and her worked for a few hours and that afternoon, the beast transformed into an ordinary older guy. “I can’t wait to return to my job as a bounty hunter in the normal world. Can I come with you?” Together they climbed down the beanstalk, carrying the instrument for the old lady. The moment she saw the guy and her beloved instrument, she started to weep.
“My husband, you have returned!” They hugged and looked at Jamie.
“We have to tell you something,” the old lady said. “You are our child. We were separated after the curse, but now we are reunited!” From that day, the three of them lived together in the forest, happily ever after.

Aww, how sweet was that story? I think it was cute. Also, I want that magical pizza crust because that sounds amazing.

I hope to see you in the next mini-challenge post for Love-a-thon and thanks for stopping by! c:

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

What kinds of funny words did you have for the mad lib? Would you be willing to go get the instrument to help the old lady?

Love-a-thon 2017 – Get to Know Me

Posted on by

2017-love-a-thon-graphic

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!