In My Life
1. I learnt new things about web hosting
Over the past two weeks I had a lot of things to complete at work. One of those projects included setting up a website. Since I don’t know how to write code from scratch, I had to source for a pre-made WordPress theme and work from there. Thankfully I knew what I was looking for and found a suitable one pretty quickly.
The difficult part was actually moving the final website from my local (offline) server to the live (online) server. I had never done this before, so setting up the databases took a while to figure out. At least I’ve moved files via FTP for years, so that part I could do in my sleep.
Then came to a dead end. Long story short, my final solution was to host the website on an external server (ie. different host). For technical reasons, the domain has to stay with the original host. Getting the name servers to point in the right direction, ensuring that the different servers get along, all while not breaking emails which stayed on the original server caused a lot of headache. In the end, I did manage to resolve everything. The last step is restoring the SSL certificate.
All in all, I’m glad I pulled through because I learnt heaps of new things about the Internet, web hosting, etc. These skills are useful to have when there’s nobody else to turn to for help.
2. I stretched my dollars on pre-orders
On New Year’s Eve I placed all my 2016 pre-orders for the first quarter. I was determined that I wouldn’t order more books until April at least. Then Book Depository decided to give their Singapore customers a 10% discount coupon this week. Initially I meant not to use it at but after asking Elaine_ which books she intended to get, she gave me the idea of cancelling and re-ordering.
Due to price drops since I ordered and the discounts I saved enough to add another paperback and still have a couple of bucks left over. Than I decided to entirely cancel a hardcover and order two paperback I’m keener. In the end, for the same amount of money I had initially charged to my card I’m now getting two more books than I had reckoned with.
3. I drove a car for the first time
This week I had my first few driving lessons. In the past there’s was no point in getting my licence because my family didn’t own a car. My family still doesn’t because it’s still cheaper to take a cab everywhere than to own a car.
Buying a car still isn’t on the cards but I’m old enough to rent one whenever I do need one, so my licence wouldn’t go to waste for now. Bottomline, I won’t be someone with a licence who doesn’t know how to drive.
4. I fell ill but thankfully, recovered
Busy periods are the worst time to fall sick. There’s so much to be done and if there’s nobody else to pick up your slack, you have to power through anyway. After spending my entire Monday in bed, I had to crawl out before sundown and catch up on everything I missed while everyone else was awake.
At least days like these teach me all over again how to prioritise and get the important things done first rather than building from the easy to hard stuff just to strike things off the to-do list faster. Good thing I was clear-headed and steady on my feet by Tuesday morning.
5. I’m infinitely grateful for blogging friends
When I first started blogging, I didn’t even know that the YA blogging community existed. It took me months till I stumbled upon it and a few more till I finally dared to reach out to others. If not for all the wonderful bloggers I’ve come into contact with, I would probably still be writing book reviews on my tiny little blog, feeling like I was talking into a void. The most amazing thing is knowing I can call a bunch of amazing people my friends.
Last week when I was most down about blogging and questioned why I ever bothered to pour so much of myself into it, they were there right by me. They reminded me that it’s something others can’t take away from me unless I allow them to. Their fierceness in all things made me ever so grateful because I know that they’ve got my back. When I say, I love you, guys! I really mean it. You know who you are.
Secondary Bookstagram Account
Some of you might have noticed @litgraph spring up on Instagram. It’s a legit account belonging to me. I set it up because I decided to test out some of the bookstragram advice that’s floating around. Since I like my main account the way it is, my only way to do this was to set up another account. Expect some reposts of old photos but remixed with filters a well as new photos that I’ll only post under @litgraph.
Book Haul
This week I received for review Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard and The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig.
My paperback pre-order of One Thing Stole by Beth Kephart came surprisingly early. It won’t be released until April yet Book Depository already managed to ship it. I have no idea how or why but it was a very pleasant surprise.
Prior to this week I also received my Amazon pre-orders of Up to this Pointe by Jennifer Longo and the paperback of Kalahari by Jessica Khoury.
On the Blog
Blog Posts
Yearning to Read off the Radar resonated with a lot more reader than I had anticipated. With the high visibility and hype surrounding popular releases, lesser known books completely drown in the fray and that’s something I felt compelled to talk about. I continued the Bookstagram 101 series with ten photo editing apps that I personally think are great tools to work with.
If you’d like to know which books released over the past couple of weeks, check out Hot off the Press editions of 25th January and 1st February. There are a lot of new books to choose from, I promise you!
Georgie wrapped up January of Bookish Scene: Project 52, featuring some of her favourite photos from our participants. To kickstart the month, I shared the February themes. If you want to take part, you can still sign up. The current week’s theme is Tea vs. Coffee. So far tea seems to be winning. The previous week’s theme was Off the Beaten Path.
Book Reviews
I posted my book review of Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. Despite the abrupt ending, I gave it four stars because it was such an all-encompassing read. There’s so much attention to detail and the main character’s life matters in and outside of her home/family.
Around the Blogosphere
Books
- Joey @ Thoughts and Afterthoughts thinks it’s unrealistic that protagonists can remember everyone they’ve met.
- Renae @ Respitring Thoughts considered the power of stories.
- Claire @ Cover to Cover defined gray characters and talked about their importance.
- Genevieve @ The Reading Shelf wants to see more books featuring ambiguous sexuality.
- Alex @ Fiery Reads went in search of brown-eyed characters.
- Jenna @ Happy Indulgence broke down what makes a character relatable.
- Cait @ Paper Fury weighed the pros and cones of character descriptions.
- Brianna @ Fable’s Library wished for more religious characters in YA, regardless of religion.
- Ana @ Read Me Away loves worn books.
- Bec @ Readers in Wonderland rationalised book hoarding.
Genres
- Tracy @ Cornerfolds tried to define dystopia, then found herself at a loss.
- Renae @ Respiring Thoughts defended the genre of romance.
- Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books mentioned ten reasons drowning in YA contemporary books is great.
Reading
- Maryam @ Great Imaginations made a case for being a proud bookworm.
- Amy @ Aya M. Productions spoke about the joys of re-reading.
- Grace @ Rebel Mommy Blog noted some ways audiobooks have changed her reading.
- Silvara @ Fantasy of the Silver Dragon expounded on how sometimes she wants to do something because she read it in a book. This especially applies to food and I totally relate because if a book mentions sushi or cake, I definitely want some too.
- Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction tackled her TBR pile, significantly culling it.
- Alexandra @ Literary Legionnaire doesn’t always see the point of reading epilogues.
- Paloma @ Pages and Pineapples related how her life experienced shaped her reading interests.
Blogging
- Lyn @ Great Imaginations compiled BloggerPROfessions.
- Sophia @ Bookwyrming Thoughts walked through her organization through spreadsheets.
- Laura @ Boats Against the Current asked if you actively tell people about your blog.
- Sarah @ Kerosene Lit doesn’t want to tell others that she blogs.
- Beth @ Fuelled by Fiction grappled with finding her blogging voice.
- Lola @ Lola’s Reviews wants opinions — including buy links for books, yes or no?
- Pamela @ A Writer’s Tales shared about her experience of self-hosting her WordPress blog.
Reviewing
- Becky @ A Fool’s Ingenuity wondered who else has the urge to re-review books.
- Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookworm is against rating a book before reading it.
- Mishma @ Chasing Faerytales explained why reviewing backlist books is important too.
- Josephine @ Josie’s Book Corner lamented the struggles of rating and reviewing books and tried to come up with solutions.
- Ceilidh @ Bibliodaze analysed one-star reviews on Goodreads as a form of protest.
- SJ Bouquet @ A Tree Grows in Bookland talked about the fear of writing negative book reviews.
- Jen @ The Bookavid worked through a timeline on when it’s best to post ARC reviews.
Social Media
- Carrie @ Once Upon a Dream books interviewed Crini about her approach to bookstagram.
- Emily @ Loony Literate took apart the notion that bookstagram feeds need a trademark style.
Miscellaneous
- Mel @ The Daily Prophecy shared her survival guide to conquering your internet apocalypse.
- Inge @ Bookshelf Reflectios declared that Hufflepuffs are no just a bunch of turnips.
- Cait @ Paper Fury caught us all with ten lies bookworms tell themselves.
Congratulations on driving a car for the first time! Personally I love the freedom of being able to drive (it’s a great time to listen to music or audiobooks), so I hope you enjoy it as well. :)
I’m glad you’re feeling better physically, and I hope you’re feeling better mentally as well. I’m still shocked at how you were treated, so I imagine it’s going to take a while for you to completely move past it. *hugs*
I’m curious to see what you learn from your test Bookstagram account, and I’m assuming you’ll report back!
Thank you, Maraia! As of now, I’m still extremely stressed on the road. Haha. But it’s getting better and I do enjoy the fact that I’m finally learning. Can’t wait to access place that aren’t so well connected to public transport because some of those spots are amazing for photography. *hugs back* You know I’ll report back for sure ;)
Setting up a website sounds like such difficult work, but it must be so rewarding when you’ve finally done it. Great job! And it is fantastic that, with some moving and switching around, you’ve managed to get two more books for the same price. I’m also really really really grateful for all the friends I’ve made. I can honestly say that I was a bit lonely before and, despite the fact I can’t see most of them in real life, I feel much more social now :)
Definitely difficult when you’ve got to figure out everything yourself. And yes, infinitely rewarding when you do manage somehow. I’m so happy blogging has helped you overcome some of your loneliness! :) It’s funny how blogging has pushed so many out four comfort zones o reach out and make new friends.
Wow! You’ve had a productive two weeks, Josephine. I’m really glad that you’re feeling better, first of all! Being sick is just no fun whatsoever. And I think it’s great that you’re driving! I have yet to pluck up my courage (and make the time) to learn to drive here in the US, but I really should :)
Do it! Once you’re behind the wheel, learning your courage will grow. I was terrified when my instructor decided I was ready for the road. Haha. But after my third time on the road I’m feeling much more confident and almost wonder what I was so worried about before. Of course, it’s always prudent to be cautious though.
Although, since you’re in NY, would you even have the chance to continue driving after obtaining your licence?
I hope you’re feeling better Jo! That’s actually pretty cool that having a cab is cheaper than a car in Singapore! We couldn’t get by without a car here. I love both your instagram accounts, so will be following this one too! Yess I add stuff to my TBD wishlist and sometimes there’s a wishlist sale that’s 10% off, I always have to buy something. Have a great week ahead!
I am feeling better. Thank you, Jeann! <3 Lol. It's not that cool. Cars here cost twice as much as most any other places in h world because when you purchase a car you need a Certificate of Entitlement for which people have to bid for. This can mean paying as much for the certificate as the car. On the other hand, they have to do that to control the vehicle population since Singapore doesn't want to have the same congestions as cities like Jakarta or Manila.
I’m glad to see that you played around a bit with preordering and stuff on TBD and managed to get more books for the same price :D
Did you find driving a bit hard at first? Because I know I did, and my dad was terrified because I kept pressing the accelerator and brake wayyyy too hard haha.
To be sick during busy periods suck, yeah :/ But at least you’ve recovered now! *happy dances*
Love the links you’ve provided as always – now off to more bloghopping :D
Driving on the road is stressful! Just today a bus inched too close behind me at a traffic light, I freaked out. When I moved forward a little to give myself more space, the driver followed very closely behind. Sigh.
Thankfully it’s not as difficult as I had always imagined — except when I keep stalling the engine. My instructors probably want to bang their heads against the windshield whenever I do that. But controls while in motion seem to work pretty smoothly for me, aside from the occasional accidental jam break. Oops. I’ve been gentle with the accelerator right from the start. Still another month of lessons to go though before I’m allowed to book my practical test.
Hope you had fun bloghopping! :)