The Hazel Wood // an utterly dreamy and creepy tale

The Hazel Wood was utterly dreamy and whisked me away into the bustling city of New York and the eerie forests of the Hinterland.

Mini Reviews #4

I am back with more mini reivews for my required reading, this time with some Contemporary Literature. Half of them were DNFs which was a shame, especially since I'd promised myself to read more of my texts this semester. But they were also the two biggest texts I had to read this semester, so I am hopeful that I will be able to read all the other books. Midnight's Children was interesting but rambling and going nowhere, and even with the audiobook Brick Lane couldn't engage me at all. The Buddha of Suburbia had some good ideas but didn't really work for me. Which leaves Interpreter of Maladies, which I actually loved! I only gave it 3 stars because that was I rated the majority of the short stories as. But there were also some stunning 4 and 5 star stories in that collection that took my breath away.

Books I Want to Refresh My Memory Of

I am not a big re-reader, so there are a lot of books I loved that I haven't touched in years. I have a relatively strong memory of what happens in books, so reading sequels a year later isn't too much of a struggle for me. But there are some books that I would like to revisit, just so I can remind myself of what it was I loved about them. This post isn't just about books I want to re-read (that post is coming in a Top 10 Tuesday next month), but is instead about books I read 3 or more years ago that I want to remind myself of, and possibly rediscover my love for them.

My 2017 in TV

After my posts on my 2017 in books and in movies and music, this will be my final yearly wrap up post. My TV post is almost as long as my book post, which is a shock to me because I didn't think I had watched that much TV this year. It was an interesting, if not slightly alarming reflection on myself and how I spend my time (multiple seasons of 25 shows is a lot of time). I'm thinking that 2018 will be the year I cut down on my TV time by not starting as many new shows, so I can make time to do more of the other things I enjoy.

Bookish Goals for 2018

I am not normally a fan of setting myself yearly goals or resolutions. But there is something about these early days of 2018 that make me feel motivated to do something with my year and achieve things. It will probably fail, but as long as it doesn't fail dramatically, I will be happy.

Love, Hate & Other Filters // a romance with a deeply personal look at family, cultural disconnect, and Islamaphobia

Love, Hate & Other Filters was a lovable, relatable, and moving read. Romance is not my genre, and I tend to avoid it if I can help it, but the promise of an #OwnVoices look at an Indian-American Muslim teen facing Islamaphobia drew me in, and the rest of the novel refused to let me go.

My 2017 in Movies and Music

Whilst I was writing my post about my year in books, I realised that I also wanted to share my year in consuming other art forms as well. I decided that I would put my TV, movies, and music loves of 2017 all into one post, because 'it isn't going to be that long, right?' Wrong! Whilst reflecting upon my year I found that I had ended up watching and listening to so many more things than I thought I had. My TV favourites ended up being the longest of the three, so that's going into a separate post. But today I've decided to focus on movies and music, and I'm keeping my thoughts short and sweet. 💖

Priority Reads for 2018

2017 was filled with books I didn't get to read. Which is sad, because I have a stack of so many books that I'm certain I'm going to adore. I hope to be able to read more this year, or at least find more books that I loved, and I think these 10 books are definitely going to make the love list.

Things A Bright Girl Can Do // an unputdownable story about young suffragettes

I was quite nervous to pick up Things A Bright Girl Can Do. It was my book club's very first book, and I knew my friends had already read and loved it. I knew next to nothing about it, and as the first book I picked up this year I felt like there was even more pressure to like it. But my fear was all for nothing, because I didn't want to put this book down.

My 2017 in Books

Another year, another end of year book survey! This is my second year completing The Perpetual Page-Turner's survey. I didn't answer all the questions like I did last time for reasons I will explain, but it was just as fun as last year and a great way to reflect on 2017. I'm also doing my yearly wrap up for TV, Movies, and Music, so keep a look out for those coming out this January.

New-to-Me Authors of 2017 That I Want to Read More Of

I discovered so many new authors in 2017! Over two thirds of the books I read last year were by authors I hadn't read before. Whilst I'm avoiding adding too much to my TBR, there are some authors I know I'll be picking up again.