MYSTERY BLOGGER AWARD
I was tagged by Emma from "Lost Amongst the Chapters" to do the Mystery Blogger Award. Thank you so much Emma!
– Okoto Enigma
The Rules:
- Put the award logo/image on your blog
- List the rules
- Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog
- Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well
- Tell your readers three things about yourself
- You have to nominate 10-20 people
- Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog
- Ask your nominees any five questions of your choice: with one weird or funny question (specify)
- Share a link to your best post/s
THE QUESTIONS
1. How do you feel about classic novels (Of Mice and Men, To Kill A Mockingbird, etc.)?
In all honesty, I generally hate classics. They just don't speak to me and I don't enjoy them. The one exception to this are classic dystopians. I love classic dystopian novels. But most other classics, nope, nope, nope.
2. If you could only read one genre of book for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
It would definitely be paranormal. I absolutely love all things paranormal/supernatural because they just seem so cool. Also, I still really want to be a witch so, yeah, there's that.
3. What's the most important thing a novel needs to have for you to really enjoy it (amazing plot, cool characters, etc.)?
This is a hard one. But I guess if it had to have just one thing, it would be a plot that really attracts me to it. I tend to like books that are more plot-driven than character-driven, so I need a goodass plot.
4. Do you ever binge-read series?
Oh I loveeee to binge-read series. Me and binge reading are buddies. Most of the time I discover a new series, I tend to read all the books that are out in that series back to back to back. That's why sometimes I hold off starting a series until all of the books are out so I can just binge read them.
5. Fun question! You're transported to a world where books aren't fictional (woo-hoo!), and you can meet one of your favourite characters in person for coffee (or some otherworldly venture - I mean, you are in a place where anything could happen) - who would it be and why?
This is so harrddd. There are so many people I want to meet. If I had to choose just one... dan this is hard. I guess it would be Rose from "Vampire Academy". I want her to teach me to be more like her because I think she is just a kickass woman dripping with sarcasm and wit, and that's the type of person I aspire to be.
My Best Post: I Wrote My First Guest Post (this link will take you to the link for my guest post) It's about animosity against the LGBT+ community.
Who I'm Nominating:
Temecka from "Library of Tomes"
Genni from "Ready, Set, Read"
Geraldine from "Corraling Books"
MY QUESTIONS
1. What is the worst part of reading, and why?
2. What genre do you absolutely hate to read, and why?
3. What writing style appeals to you most, and why?
4. Do you prefer to read fast or slow, and why?
5. Fun Question: If it's the end of the world and you could only save one character, who would it be and why?
FRIDAY READS: 1/20/2017
I barely have time to eat, much less read and write, yet here I am. The semester just started and I am already swamped with reading assignments, homework, notes, my job, my research gig, volunteering at the hospital, etc. Y'all I went an entire day without eating cause I just didn't have time. I don't have any free time to myself because I am managing my time more efficiently this semester and getting on top of my shit.
Never fear though because I have actually been sticking with my reading goal and reading every night for at last 30 minutes. It doesn't matter if I am going to bed at 12am, before my head it's the pillow, I read for 30 minutes. It's a great way to end the day if I'm being honest and really forces me to read.
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| real talk, how beautiful is this cover? |
Currently I have been reading "Wintersong" by S. Jae-Jones. I requested an ARC from the publisher and was luck enough to receive one. Right now I am about 25% in and I have mixed feelings. I really don't like the pacing of the book; it's all over the place. None of the main characters have really caught my attention or made me feel anything, not even the main character Liesl. The concept behind the book and all the mythology seems like it could be good, but right now the execution isn't impressing me, especially since it's set in like the late 1700s early 1800s in Germany and there is a mixture of English and German which is confusing. The entire setting confuses me to be honest. The plot's kinda confusing too. I'm just hoping things will get better when the mythology/fantasy revves up (if it revves up).
What are you guys currently reading or have read recently? Also have you heard of Wintersong or read it? Thoughts? Tell me down below in the comments.
TALKTIME #21: IT'S OK TO WRITE NEGATIVE REVIEWS
"EXTRA! EXTRA! THIS JUST IN: IT'S OKAY NOT TO LIKE A BOOK!"
Gasp! I know right? Shocker, it's okay not to like a book. You would think that would be common sense, but some people legitimately need to be told this. And what even more people need to be told is that it is okay to write negative reviews. Now I'm not gonna name names because I'm not that petty, but I came across a new author who said they were not going to write any negative reviews because as an author they wouldn't want to receive any negative reviews.
If you're thinking, 'bitch what?', then your reaction is not far from mine. How can you not expect to receive negative reviews? Negative reviews are just as important as positive reviews. Newsflash: not everyone is going to like your book and an even bigger newsflash: you're book might be problematic.
Negative reviews are the honest opinions of people and should not be suppressed. The entire point of an honest review, is that it is HONEST. If you're doing a blog tour or something and author or publisher or whoever explicits asks you not to post a negative review during the tour, I can understand that from a marketing perspective, but it is always acceptable to post that review once the tour is done.
A lot of people rely on reviews to determine whether or not they should pick up a book, and to not have negative reviews would be giving a false impression of the book onto the reader. Positive and negative reviews give a the reader a more diverse range of people's opinions and that's important because not everyone has the same thoughts.
Believe it or not, writing negative reviews can be just as much fun, or even more fun, than writing positive reviews. Sometimes just ranting about a book can make you feel really good inside and allow you to express yourself in a way that you didn't think was possible. Don't believe me? Just read some of Tika's reviews at "FANGIRL confessions". She is the queen of negative reviews.
Basically what I'm trying to say is that writing negative reviews is not a bad thing. People get an honest opinion of what you thought about the book and you get the opportunity to express what you really think.
So do you currently write negative reviews? If not, what's holding you back? Tell me all about it in the comments down below.
QUICK NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER WRAP UP
November
Lol I only read one book in November, and I didn't even read it, I listened to it on audiobook.
December
So December was a lot better, only because I started winter break and classes ended for the semester and while I was workind and doing research I had plenty of time to read and listen to audiobooks.
DNFed
I DNFed "The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett" at 10% because it was without a doubt the most annoying book I have ever read and I was not going to put myself through the pain of having to read the entire book.
I'm quite proud of how much I read in December. I ended up reading 100 books in 2016 (not counting that piece of shit book above), which is more than I thought I would. I read 100 books in 2015 and I honestly didn't think I would read that many in 2016 so I set my Goodreads goal to 50, but I surpassed it by 200%!
Book: Under Rose-Tainted Skies
Author: Louise Gornall
Genre: YA contemporary
Publisher: Clarion Books (Jan. 3, 2017)
My Rating: ★★★★
Synopsis: Norah has agoraphobia and OCD. When groceries are left on the porch, she can’t step out to get them. Struggling to snag the bags with a stick, she meets Luke. He’s sweet and funny, and he just caught her fishing for groceries. Because of course he did.
Norah can’t leave the house, but can she let someone in? As their friendship grows deeper, Norah realizes Luke deserves a normal girl. One who can lie on the front lawn and look up at the stars. One who isn’t so screwed up.
Disclaimer: I was provided a free review copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review. Thank you Clarion Books!
TRIGGER WARNING: MY GOD I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THERE WASN'T A TRIGGER WARNING IN THE BOOK BUT I AM TELLING YOU NOW. THERE IS A LOT OF SELF-HARM IN THIS BOOK, PARTICULARLY CUTTING AND SCRATCHING. IF THIS TRIGGERS YOU, I SUGGEST SKIPPING THOSE CHAPTERS OR COMPLETELY NOT READING THE BOOK and this review to be honest. I talk about it in the paragraph highlighted in YELLOW.
What to say about this book without spoiling anything... Honestly I was not expecting to like this book nearly as much as I did or identify with the main character, Norah, like I did. For those of you who didn't read the synopsis, Norah suffers from agoraphobia and OCD which of course leads to a lot of anxiety. Like Norah, I suffer from OCD as well as anxiety, and although I have different compulsion than her, I could completely understand how she felt about almost everything. The author based the novel off of herself and you can really tell because of how real and raw everything was. At times for me, it was like I was reading about myself of looking at a mirror, and that was scary, but enlightening to know that I am not alone in how I feel. I'm just really pleased with how the author tackled these mental illnesses and the central message that yes, mental illnesses ARE ILLNESSES, and just because you cannot see the sickness doesn't mean people are not sick.
What really made this book a hit for me were the characters. I'm not going to say much about them because I think they are something you need to experience on your own, but I think you will fall in love with them the way I did. Now granted, some of the characters *cough* the main love interest *cough* are unrealistic as hell, but hey, it's fiction, right?
Now I have two reasons why I cannot give this book a higher rating: the plot and how self-harm was tackled. Let's start off easy with just the plot. So uhm... basically there was no plot. I mean, I don't know how else to say it. It seemed like there could have been a direction the book was going, but then something happens and everything swerves into another direction and the ending becomes really cramped. I really wish that hadn't happened because I feel like the book could have been flushed out in a more meaningful way.
Let's talk about my biggest issue with the book and arguably the most important issue. So Norah self-harms, which isn't my problem, but how the author handles the self-harm is. First of all, there were no trigger warnings, and in this case, the book really needs trigger warnings because the self-harm is described in such great detail from the emotions Norah are feeling to the pooling of a blood. I'm going to be honest, I had to skip through these parts because I just couldn't bear to read them without feeling anxiety and like I was going to pass out. That's not even my biggest issue though. No, I hate how they did nothing to address Norah's cutting issue. Yes, they address the scratching because the therapist knows about the scratching, but they do nothing about the cutting, and I think that is a horrible decision. The book had the perfect opportunity to address such an issue and how truly bad it is, but it didn't. How the author condoned such an act is besides me.
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| I made this and decided to share it with you guys, cause why not |
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