Retrospect #100: November 29

Say hey! I’m into the hundredth week of Retrospect! I didn’t actually write a hundred Retrospect posts since I bundled quite a number of them into double, triple and even quadruple(!) editions. But point is, a hundred weeks have at least sort of been accounted for. For someone who’s never been good at regularly updating a diary, I call this an achievement.

In My Life

The Replacement of my Phone

Last week I sent my iPhone for servicing because the top left corner of my screen was basically a black shadow. My warranty was about to expire mid-December, so I had to get something done about my phone as soon as possible. After Apple spent five days evaluating my device, they decided to replace it rather than to repair it for me. This means I received a replacement and an additional 90 days of warranty.

I’m happy. Phone’s working and looks as good as new because there aren’t any scratches (yet). Most importantly, I’m connected to the world again. Also, my navigation system’s back in hand. I rely so much on the bus and subway apps to get me round because with so many new service additions, you never know if a quicker way has emerged to reach my destinations.

Food

My oven was hard at work again this week. I baked zesty lemon madeleines. They’re a little on the sour side, better suited for people who love pure citrus. Like my dad. He loved them. For the rest of us, I intend to halve the lemon juice during my next attempt.

I also got creative with my first use of a new muffin tin that I recently bought. My old one has been MIA for at least a year, possibly more. With these delectable cupcakes, I don’t know how I managed to go so long without a tin for these mini cakes!

Book Haul

My acquisition of books is slowing down, which is good. That’s the plan so that the rate of the books I own and have actually read has a hope of ever exceeding 50%. That’s a goal I want to set myself for 2016.

Anyway, I ordered Silber: Das zweite Buch der Träume by Kerstin Gier from The Silver Trilogy. I bought the third book in Switzerland at the beginning of the month, skipping the second because it was cheaper on Book Depository. I was also afraid that if I waited too long, I’d have a gaping out-of-print hole in the series.

Another arrival was Tonight the Streets are Ours by Leila Sales. I received it for review purposes and look more than forward to reading this. I adored This Song will Save Your Life by Leila Sales, so I have high hopes for this new book of hers.

On the Blog

ICYMI: Win 3 Books by Chantel Guertin

You can win 3 books by Chantel Guertin in the photo contest I’m hosting. I had the honour of interviewing Chantel Guertin (via email). Since I love photography and the Pippa Greene series revolves around photography, there’s no better way to celebrate than with a photo contest. The winner will receive the first three books in the series as a prize. Click here for more details.

Book Review

Retellings are all the rage these days. A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston delivers. Not only that, it has such lyricism, I was enthralled.

Blog Posts

Now that I have my phone back, I was able to tackle the common question, Is a DSLR necessary for book photography? I took photos of the same set-up with my iPhone 6 and Nikon DSLR to determine this. I also introduced the friends I met at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2015.

Regular features that I posted this week were:

• Hot off the Press — Nov 23, 2015
• Mise-en-scène: Wistfulness

Around the Blogosphere

When I opened up my feeds to sift out discussions, tutorials, etc, I was greeted by the return of Jess from My Reading Dress and Dana from The Unprinted Protagonist. They’re two of my favourite bloggers and I definitely recommend following these two lovely ladies!

Books

• Rosie @ Rosie Reads yearned for the future and compiled books that release in 2017.
• Michelle @ A Thousand Lives Lived wrote a letter to her favourite books.
• Josie @ Josie’s Book Corner strongly opposed sex in novels.
• Cait @ Paper Fury discussed, how relatable do book characters need to be? as well as, what is the worst character death?

Genre

• Kaylie @ Potterhead Reviews quit reading 5 genres.

Readers’ Lives

• Ella guest posted at Chasing Faerytales, questioning if we actually like waiting for books to come out.
• Lili @ Lili’s Reflections penned down her Black Friday observations at Barnes and Nobles.
• Lola @ Lola’s Ramblings shared all the places she likes to read at.
• Kaja @ Of Dragons and Hearts thought about why she hardly gives authors second chances.
• Nuzaifa @ Word Contessa dedicated a letter to readers.
• Silvara @ Fantasy of the Silver Dragon was curious, Do you cry when reading?
• Jen @ The Bookavid paved the way to realistically reducing your TBR (to be read) pile.

Publishing

• Lili @ Lili’s Reflections ruminated about what she learned as an intern at the Viking imprint of Penguin Random House.
• Briana @ Pages Unbound gave tips on where to find publishing internships.

Blogging

• Angelina & Briana @ Otakutwins Reviews are hosting The YA Book Blogger Awards. Be sure to nominate your favourite bloggers in the various categories!
• Amanda @ The Mile Long Bookshelf explained why and how to remove broken links.
• Vlora @ Reviews and Cake wondered if book bloggers are targetting the wrong audience.
• Amanda @ Nellie and Co. noted 5 reasons she gets put off particular blogs.
• Jeann @ Happy Indulgence implored bloggers to remember why they started.
• Harvey @ Bookmarked was the voice of reason, stating that taking a blogging break won’t kill you (or your blog).
• Jessica @ Bookish Serendipity posted a checklist for rocking that blog post.
• Tiffany @ About to Read explained how to take advantage of editorial calendars.

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Americans also celebrated Thanksgiving this week. What are you grateful for?