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A Quiet Birthday (with a Giveaway)

A Quiet Birthday with a Giveaway

Toned Down Affair

As the years go by, birthdays tone down a whole lot. Gone are the parties to which large circles of friends were invited. Presents have become a rarity and on the whole, that “special” day passes like any other. Case in point, nothing out of the ordinary happened yesterday, though I did bake a walnut cake.

Even as birthdays don’t excite me as much anymore, I still like to spend the day reflecting. I’m thankful for the life I’ve been given, and the many experiences I’ve had. I look forward to even more amazing experiences and hope the future has good things in store for me.

Books a Continual Constant

Last year I mused about constants in my life. Naturally, books and reading remained. I’m glad I’m still blogging too, and still am very much comfortable in the bookstagram community. Both are a source of heat fun, particularly because of the wonderful people I’ve met.

What has changed, I noticed, is that I’ve become a lot more critical of things. This has extended to the way I rate books as well. While I enjoyed many over the past year, few received five stars.

Even though some think three stars out of five is a bad rating, it really isn’t. If we were to rate our days, we’d rate most three. These are the satisfactory ones. Four stars is for the good ones and five for the extraordinary. That’s how I’ve come to see life and it seems that also affects my disposition towards reading.

Win a Favourite Book of Mine

Given my more critical nature, when I rate a book five stars, I truly loved it. That is why I decided to pick five of my favourites books for a giveaway. I thought these books were incredible and everyone should read them. To help you guys out, I’m giving away one book among the following five titles:

  1. Heartless by Marissa Meyer
  2. The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork
  3. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
  4. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
  5. A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Terms and Conditions
+ Participants must be 13 years old and above.
+ Participants below 18 must seek parental consent.
+ Open internationally, as long as The Book Depository ships to you.
+ USA residents may receive their prize via Amazon.
+ One (1) winner may choose one (1) book among:
  1. Heartless by Marissa Meyer (pre-order);
  2. The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork;
  3. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz;
  4. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness; or
  5. A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller.
+ Winner may pick between a paperback or hardcover edition.
+ Giveaway ends on Oct 22, 2016 at 12 a.m. (SGT).
+ Winner will be contacted via email. They will have 72 hours to respond with a mailing address. If winner does not reply, a new winner will be drawn.
How has your outlook on books changed over the years?

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Comments

  1. Lillian says

    Hi Jo! I was going through feedly after ages and thought I’d comment and enter anyway =P
    Cake is the only thing that I need on my birthday. And a book to read with it 😝
    It’s good and bad that you’re more critical with your ratings. It sort of shows how you’ve grown as a person.

  2. Cait @ Paper Fury says

    Happy birthday! I totally get that birthdays aren’t as exciting as one gets older. In fact,… I avoid mine hahah. It’s too stressful, omg, I’d rather just have a normal day and a nice book and a nice piece of cake. YAY for books being constants in your life though! I don’t know where I’d be without my book friends. :’)

  7. Nicole says

    Happy super belated birthday! I totally get what you mean, but I’m glad you had a great day:)
    (Ps just discovered your website and it’s freaking beautiful😍and so helpful)
    Thanks for the giveaway! I’m really looking forward to reading Ari & Dante.

  9. Francis Alvarez says

    Hi! Belated happy birthday! I hope you had fun with your birthday. thank you for this awesome giveaway. Ari & Dante has been on top of my tbr for a long while so I’m really looking forward to reading it. Thank you.

  13. Nihaad says

    Happy Birthday!!! You and I are definitely spirit animals because I am exactly the same. I love having a quiet time pondering what my life has become and where it will be heading in the next year. To me that’s a perfect birthday! Firstly, I love your taste in books! And secondly, I wish I can reach into my computer screen to grab that Marissa Meyer book because seriously I am just dying to read it!

    Nihaad – Read & Seek

  15. Rebecca says

    Happy (belated) birthday. Glad it was a nice albeit quiet day spent. Walnut cake sounds lovely :) I LOVED Ari and Dante + The Rest of Us Just Live Here, so not only do you have fantastic taste in books, but I can’t wait to check out the others you mentioned here!

  19. Helena Reads says

    Happy Birthday! Wishing you a great day today!
    As time goes by birthdays do become less of parties and more of reflection in life. (to some at least lol) I also agree with the Three stars are good. I used to rate books five stars all the time. But as time goes by I became more critical as well. I think of it as my taste is evolving and I don’t see it as a bad thing. If anything it’s a great thing :)
    Happy birthday again Josephine!Happy reading xoxo

  20. Ceillie Simkiss says

    Happy birthday! Mine is Saturday and I’m very excited, but I also probably won’t be getting any books because my family has decided I’ve “run out of shelf space or something.”

  22. Nienke says

    Happy birthday, Jo! I do hope you still had a wonderful day, even though it was quiet. I find myself be more okay with it over the years.
    I agree. Three stars are okay. I rate books three stars when I liked it. I tend to rate a book 5 stars quick, but I’m getting back at that.
    Nienke recently posted Bands I’m dying to see liveMy Profile

  24. Shannelle CHU says

    *hugs* Happy belated birthday, Josephine! Thank you for being such a good friend over the years, and thank you for always being there for me to talk to. And that cake looks delicious, as always.

  26. Emily Maddux says

    So sorry that nothing special happened on your birthday, but at least you get another one next year!

  28. Genesis @ Latte Nights Reviews says

    Happy birthday!! I really hope you had a great day :) This year I turned 22, and it’s been the only birthday since I was 13 that has been quiet. And by quiet, I mean going out with my family and boyfriend to eat and to the bookstore. From my 14th-21st, all were themed birthday parties lol Spending this one relaxed felt different but in a good way.

    Like you, I find 3 stars good ratings. I’ve become more critical as well! I think this goes with reviewing more books, plus following blogs. This helps with reviewing a lot, in my opinion.

    Anyway, once again, I’m glad you were able to spend a relaxing day for your birthday :)

    Genesis @ Latte Nights Reviews
    Genesis @ Latte Nights Reviews recently posted With Malice by Eileen Cook | ReviewMy Profile

  29. Kaja says

    Happy birthday! :)
    I agree, birthday celebrations get quieter as you get older. My next one will be 30, though, so there might be a bigger celebration, especially as my husband is also turning 30 a month after me, so we’ll probably organise something together.

    And yeah, getting more critical about books as time passes makes sense, I think. The more you read, the more you nail down your tastes and criteria for what an excellent book should be like.

    Have a great day!

  31. Nina says

    Happy birthday! i REALLY envy the people that get books on they special day! I think you choose very good books on the options for the giveaway

  32. Alexa S. says

    Happy birthday! I’m truly glad that this community has allowed us to connect online and become friends, and I love following your blog, your Twitter and your Bookstagram accounts :) Hope you have an amazing year ahead, and plenty more to come <3

About

Joséphine. Word reveller. Loves books. Reads books. Talks about books. Photographs books. When she’s not blogging, she can be found on Instagram under @wordrevel.

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