Guess Who’s Back!

Hello, friends! I know it’s been a while, but I finally feel up to the task of writing a blog post. Since I’ve left I haven’t read many books. To let you really know how it’s been going this year, I’ve only read 29 books. Unfortunately, at the end of April / beginning of May, I went through a pretty tough breakup just a week shy of our 5-year anniversary. I don’t want to go into much detail since that is pretty personal, but the two months following that were probably two of the hardest months for me mentally, physically, emotionally, etc. It took everything I had in me to function. I finally feel like myself again, and I’ve been occupying my brain with other positive outlets. I have a few odds-and-ends I’d love to share with you all.

I’ll just start with a little reading update!

I believe I’ve finished six books since I last wrote a blog post. It’s been a lot of non fiction and historical fiction. I think I read one thriller.

The Hunting Wives by May Cobb – two stars

News of the World by Paulette Jiles – five stars

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline – four stars

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates – Not rated (assume it’s a five-star read.)

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby – four stars

Maid by Stephanie Land – three stars

I’m honestly happy with the books I have been reading, even though I haven’t read that much. I’m currently in the middle of How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith, and I’m still truckin’ through A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. That’s pretty much my goal for the rest of the year. I’m not going to pressure myself too much.


Now I’ll talk about the other hobbies I’ve picked up since I last spoke to you. As many of you know, I tried to get into digital art, specifically digital planning, and it didn’t go as planned. Etsy wasn’t really the best place to start off with. I pretty much stopped doing that very quickly. I’ve moved to Redbubble just as somewhere to put my art without having the pressure of paying a renewal fee with Etsy every so many months. It’s book-ish art that I want to share with you all, but I’m willing to create other content. I’d love it if you all checked it out. I think if you have any friends who love bookish items, these might be good little stocking gifts!

Redbubble Shop

Books & Coffee
Excellent Library

One other little hobby I’m working on is sugar cookie decorating. I’m very much a newbie, and it’s crazy hard to do. It is fun to learn and I’m hoping to continue making progress. I just wanted to share my very first decorated cookie. It looks silly, but there’s something about it being the first one that makes me smile.


Thank you to everyone who has stuck around even after I basically fell off the face of the Earth for half a year. I can’t guarantee I’ll make steady content, and I’m honestly thinking of changing up my blog to more than just books. Let me know what you think about it. I just appreciate all of you, and I’m hoping you all have a wonderful end to your year!

Life + Reading Update

Disclaimer: This is a post to get things off my chest, and I also wanted to give y’all an update. I don’t feel like I have to do this, but I really wanted to. It does get personal, so if you aren’t interested, just click off. I promise I won’t be offended.


Well, this is awkward.

I had so much I wanted to read this month, and I only ended up reading 40 pages of one book. The will to read is probably the lowest it’s been since I started reading avidly 3-4 years ago. It’s been a month since I finished a book, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon, unfortunately.

I don’t want to give up on my blog and Bookstagram, but I’m struggling to find the joy in it. People say all the time that it’s not about the numbers, but I’m here to say that it’s hard not to think about numbers. I think it ruined the passion I had for this hobby. I felt stressed to post everyday on Instagram in order to grow, but that’s not what it should be about. I felt like I needed to read a book in two days, otherwise people would be bored with my content. I also couldn’t find anything creative to post about on my blog. Book reviews and tags get repetitive, no matter how look at it. I know I don’t need to apologize for it, but I feel like I should. I’m amazed at the amount of people who even read my blog posts. Yeah, it’s not many compared to other blogs, but I don’t feel like playing the comparison game.

I don’t think this is just a cute little reading slump that’ll be over in the snap of a finger. I think I’m losing steam with all of it, and I just need to take a step back and reevaluate what I want. If I’m being honest, I don’t want to track my page count or how many books I read in a month. I’m sick of picking up popular books by authors I’ve already read from. I think branching out would be good for me. I want this to be fun again, and that was the goal when I first started this. No one has pressured me to do anything, but I feel so pressured all the time. Make it make sense.


I’m also not in a good place mentally (surprise, surprise). I’ve always struggled with my mental health since I can remember. I’ve never been to a therapist (mostly due to financial reasons), and the thought of being prescribed medicine for something I could probably change with help and time. I’ve struggled with my body, and when I say that the thoughts ruin my day, month, year, it’s not something I say to be quirky or relatable. It’s real. It impacts my relationship in every possible way. The last couple of months have been extremely rough. I’ve shed a lot of tears over the thought of my relationship ending because of how my body looks (which my boyfriend reassures me all the time that he loves me for me, so no worries).

And before you say that I should exercise regularly and eat better . . . I have! I’ve lost over 50 pounds (in a healthy way/timeline) before, and I ate healthier foods, but I was still repulsed by my body. I’m here to tell you that it’s not always about weight. My body has changed a lot over the years, and I always tell myself that I should have just been happy when I was younger and “skinnier.” I tell myself I had no reason to be unhappy then. How toxic? Having a healthy relationship with food and your body is such a hard feat. Don’t ever bring someone down about it. It doesn’t matter what someone looks like—the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Everyone deals with different demons. They have different coping mechanisms. Be their support.


I hope all of you understand why I haven’t been / won’t be posting regularly. It’s just supposed to be a hobby, and I want to post when I feel happy to. I’m sick of putting pressure on myself to read a book / post on my blog. I appreciate all of you, and I hope you’re doing well. If any of you ever need to talk, I’m here for you. This year hasn’t been easy, and it’s okay to just let it all out. Don’t hold your feelings in. Listen to your mind and body.

Thanks for reading, everyone! I’ll be back at some point.

Reading Wrap-up! (12/9/18)

I’m not even going to talk about how poor my blogging schedule has been. I honestly have no excuses. I am going to give you a little bit of a reading wrap up from the last month or so. I haven’t read a lot because I was in a bit of a slump, but I FINALLY broke free from those chains. We can all rejoice now.

I have only read one book since my last reading update.

Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident by Donnie Eichar ☆☆☆☆

I am now in the middle of one physical book and one audio book.

Every Single Secret by Emily Carpenter – Physical.

Daphne Amos has found love with her fiance, Heath. They are both very private people until Heath starts to have nightmares. It starts to put a strain on the relationship, so Heath asks Daphne to come with him to a seven day retreat with Dr. Matthew Cerny, a psychologist. She agrees, but when she has to give up her phone and keys she begins to question this place. The institute isn’t what it seems. 

A Sucky Love Story: Overcoming Unhappily Ever After – Audio

“This isn’t a love story.” This is about Brittani Louise Taylor, a youtuber, and her unhappy ever after. She meets Milos, a wealthy athletic doctor from Europe. It was basically love at first sight, but something told her to run. This is her story of survival. 

I have learned that audio books are very important to me. I don’t have a lot of down time (except for right now because I’m super sick) but audio books allow me to do what I need to do and also keep reading. It makes me happy that they exist.

If you enjoyed this then follow my blog for future reading updates.


 Be respectful and happy reading! 

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Reading Update! 10/25/18

I sincerely apologize again for not blogging! I’m really bad at this. I have been reading quite a bit since I have last updated you all. I figured now would be a good time to get everyone caught up on my reading progress.

Since I wrote my last WWW Wednesday I have finished 5 books and 1 graphic novel!

The Chalk Man by C.J Tudor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Letter 44 Volume 2: Redshift by Charles Soule: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It by Stephen King: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have since started Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak, and I am almost 100 pages in.

If you want an in depth review of any of these just let me know in the comments!

If you enjoyed this then give it a like and follow me for future reading updates! Be respectful and happy reading.

Life & Reading Update! 4/14/18

I’m back with a little update for you all. Unfortunately, our moving plans were a bust. We probably aren’t going anywhere for a while, but that’s okay! That just means I have more time for blogging and reading again. I did hit a wall with reading for a bit but I picked up a book that knocked that wall DOWN. I don’t usually read Young Adult, but I picked on up and I was instantly interested in reading again. Anyway, here is my reading progress.

I have not completed any books since I last talked to you all, but I plan to finish at least one this month.

Currently reading:

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch: 429/719 pages. I am really enjoying this book so far. It has a great mix of action and humor. I’m just waiting to see where it’s going. I have no clue how it’s going to end. This does complete one of my 2018 Popsugar reading challenges as well.

The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord: 97/388 pages. This is such a fun read. It is sad because of what the main character, Lucy, has to go through. I just find it a fast read and that’s why it kind of pushed me through my slump.

Thank you all for understanding why I was gone for a little bit. It was nice to take a break for a hot second, but I’m very excited to start back up again!

If you enjoyed this little life and reading update, give it a like and follow me for future ones. Be respectful and happy reading!

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