Retrospect #117–118: April 3 (Double Edition)

In My Life

Gearing up for Driving Test

Two months ago I had my first driving lesson. Last week I finished my last practical assessment that allowed me to book the driving test. In the mean time, I’m taking a few revision lessons to prepare me for the day. Needless to say, I’m both nervous and excited, least of all because I signed up for manual transmission. I had one compulsory lesson for automatic transmission and my mind was boggled at how much simpler it is, particularly when moving off on a slope. Still, I like that I will have options when I finally do get my license.

New Design on Society6

Recently I felt inspired to do something about my Society6 account. I set it up last year but beyond red carnations, I didn’t add anything new. To welcome spring, I finally added a new design. I’ve finished another one and currently have a third in the works. My plan for now is to do more typographical stuff, both bookish and non-bookish. Check it out, maybe?

Book Haul

A whole bunch of books found their way unto my bookshelves. Just a few more books left among my pre-orders that I placed at the end of December. My plan for 2016 is to greatly reduce my expenditure on books. I own dozens upon dozens of books which I have yet to read, so I’m limiting myself to buying sequels and books which I expect to love. Beyond these, I’m turning back towards (digital) libraries, particularly for new releases I’m not entirely sure about.

For review:

• With Malice by Eileen Cook — initial thoughts on Goodreads
• London Belongs to Us by Sarra Manning

Bought & gifted:

• The Winner’s Kiss (The Winner’s Trilogy #3) by Marie Rutkoski
• Dreaming of Antigone by Robin Bridges
• Sonnets from the Singlish, Upsize Edition by Joshua Ip — initial thoughts on Goodreads
• Dreamfever (Dreamfire #2) by Kit Alloway
• The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter
• The Possibility of Now by Kim Culbertson
• The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) by Brandon Sanderson
• The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) by Brandon Sanderson

Books Read

In the course of two weeks I finished seven books, which is great, except that none of these put a dent in the TBR pile of books I actually bought. Hah. I got audiobooks through Scribd and Overdrive, two books I received for review and one was a gift.

• Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa —2.5/5 stars [audiobook]
• Armada by Ernest Cline —4.5/5 stars [audiobook]
• Sonnets from the Singlish, Upsize Edition by Joshua Ip — 3.5/5 stars [paperback]
• On a Clear Day by Walter Dean Myers — 2.5/5 stars [audiobook]
• The Girl from Everywhere (The Girl From Everywhere #1) by Elin Hilderbrand — 3/5 stars [paperback for review]
• Dreamland by Robert L. Anderson — 4/5 stars [audiobook]
• With Malice by Eileen Cook — 4.5/5 stars [ARC]

On the Blog

Blog Posts

After the month-long lull, I got back to drawing up Bookstagram 101 tutorials. My two latests ones examine consistency in terms of topic, theme and time, and listed 28 post ideas. Audiobooks make up a huge proportion of books I read, so I decided to point to 10 ways to acquire audiobooks.

On the Bookish Scene front, I posted the April themes of the book photo challenge. In light with these, I snapped photos related to Humour and Easter.

As always, I featured weekly YA releases for March 21 and March 28. These round-ups also spotlight paperback and re-releases. I generally include books from the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

Book Reviews

Though I’ve found my reading groove again, after my dismal 3 books in January, that hasn’t translated to book reviews yet. In any case, I did review Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate. It’s one of the rare books that did multiple points-of-view justice. At the end of the book I felt like I got to know every single character because their voices were pretty distinct. This resulted in a good portrayal of how various perspectives of the same events intersect yet differ.

Around the Blogosphere

Books

• Amber @ The Mile Long Bookshelf consolidated her top 8 books on mental health.
• Christina @ Christina Reads YA came up with her reader character wishlist.
• Rachel @ Confessions of a Book Geek formed her opinion about the controversy of Go Set A Watchman.
• Angelica @ The Bookish Angel expounded on the Stephen King quote, “Books are a uniquely portable magic.”
• Kritika @ Snowflakes & Spider Silk asked for book recommendations for literary non-fiction.
• Bec @ Readers in Wonderland weighed the pros and cons of cover changes.
• Aentee @ Read at Midnight considered when your favourite book is problematic.
• Cait @ Paper Fury wondered how realistic books should be.
• Stephanie @ Adventures of a Bibliophile gave her answers to does it matter who the author is?

Genres, Etc.

• Bee @ Quite the Novel Idea extolled Middle Grade even when you’re older.
• Emily @ Loony Literature talked about the power of retellings in a modern era.

Diversity

• Alyssa @ The Devil Orders Takeout declared that well-explored diversity matters way more than quantity.
• Nuzaifa @ Word Contessa shed light on Muslims represented in YA fiction.

Reading

• Kaitlin @ Reading is my Treasure tied moods to the formats she prefers to read.
• Maryam @ Great Imaginations picked apart language in books and how their levels of difficulty and formality affect reading experiences.
• Lauren @ Bookmark Lit reconciled required reading with being a mood reader.
• Tonya @ Lilybloom Books wondered if it’s possible to read too much.
• Chantelle @ Oh, the Stories You’ll Know discussed the need to like characters in order to enjoy reading a book.

Readers’ Lives

• Laura @ Boats Against the Current expressed 5 reasons to love libraries.
• Pamela @ A Writer’s Tales confessed to book piracy in the past, and explained the situation of Ecuadorians who don’t have easy access to English books.
• Jillian @ Chasing Faerytales reflected on finding acceptance for being a bookworm in the book blogosphere.
• Lola @ Lola’s Ramblings looked at ways to discover new to you authors.
• Genevieve @ The Reading Shelf one-upped OTPs and introduced OT3s (One True Trios).
• Cristina @ Girl in the Pages examined her science of swooning.
• Ceilidhann @ Bibliodaze addressed her looming TBR pile.

Events

• Joey @ Thoughts & Afterthoughts shared about Indigo Teen Summer Preview 2016 (Canada).
• Amber @ The Mile Ling Bookshelf reported from the Penguin Random House 2016 Showcase (UK).

Blogging

• Jeann @ Happy Indulgence recapped legal issues for bloggers. Such an important read if you’re a blogger uncertain about legal boundaries.
• Tamara guest blogged @ My Not So Real Life about the merits of sponsored posts.
• Joey @ Thoughts & Afterthoughts noted benefits of participating in Top Ten Tuesday and memes in general.
• Aimee @ Deadly Darlings counted 5 ways bloggers rock.
• Kaja @ Of Dragons and Hearts debunked the notion that bloggers are introverts but noted that it’s a great toll for those who are introverts.
• Ari @ The Daydreaming Bookworm reminded that it’s okay to write controversial discussions.
• Jessica @ Bookish Serendipity rounded up her advice for new book bloggers.
• Harvey @ Bookmarked identified 5 ways bloggers can learn to code for free.

Reviewing

• Ari @ The Daydreaming Bookworm tried to come to terms with the relevancy of book reviews.
• Reg @ She Latitude defined the elusive five-star book.

Social Media

• Lauren @ Bookmark Lite shared part two of her Goodreads shelves organisation methods.
• Ari @ The Daydreaming Bookworm broke down how social media has affected her reading habits.

Miscellaneous

• Alexandra @ Twirling Pages grappled with depth vs. shallowness, how they’re measured and if attributes considered shallow are necessarily a bad thing. She gave a voice to insecurities many of us have and opened them up for discussion.
• Jessica @ Princessica of Books shared her latest obsession with podcasts.
• Bee @ Quite the Novel Idea thinks bloggers and authors can be friends and that’s okay.

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How selective are you about books you haul?