Hello guys,
A bit of an introspective post today.
I logged into my goodreads account to start following some more groups and maybe even get an idea of what to talk about in blog posts (maybe join top 5 Wednesday for a start). Instead I was confronted with how many books I managed to read this year and felt a weird sense of longing and disappointment.
Now, in case you were wondering I managed to read 29 books this year which was 4 over my goal of 25. You would think that was a good thing and in a way, it is. The thing you don't know though is that earlier this year, from January to July I was reading about 7 books a month. I was active in goodreads groups and often participated in monthly challenges.
Then my husband came back from deployment and I stopped reading as much, falling into an incredibly long book slump. I have started about 10-15 books and have only managed to finish a few of them- three books.
I have read three books since July. And as someone who loves to read, someone who used to carry a book in her bag a la Rory from Gilmore Girls and was almost always with a book, this hurts me. I feel as if I let my inner bookworm down which is stupid yes, but it doesn't take the feelings away.
On the positive side, I did read 29 books this year and while not a lot of them were 5 star reads, quite a few of them were pretty great.
Amber
Friday, December 16, 2016
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Currently Reading: Eleanor and Park
Hi guys,
It's me again and I'm here to tell you a bit about what I'm currently reading.
Now Eleanor and Park is a book that has been around for quite some time. If I remember right it was published in 2013, during a time where I wasn't really doing much reading. Now I have already read two Rainbow Rowell novels, Fangirl and Carry On and I loved them a lot, especially Carry On which was just beyond magical to me and also added a lot of humor to the whole Chosen One trope but Eleanor and Park is a book that I have recently heard a lot of not so good things about.
Recently, it came to my attention during a twitter thread that there were quite a few things within Eleanor and Park that were triggering to poc culture, especially Korean culture. This made me feel a bit conflicted about reading it but since I had bought a signed copy before knowing that it contained anything racially insensitive I decided to warily read it anyway.
Is it bad that I still love Rainbow Rowell's writing style? Because I have to tell you that I do. There is something lovely about how Rainbow Rowell writes a book. Her way with words is just fantastic but I do have to let you all know that right from the beginning I found some things within the literature that were racially insensitive. Things were mentioned about people that I felt did not need to be mentioned and would not have been mentioned had the characters in question had not been POC.
As for the book itself and the friendship/eventual romance between Eleanor and Park, I do find that at first, I was a fan. Their friendship was very adorable and they both gave things to each other that no one else had but I do feel that they sort of went a bit weird once they confessed their love for each other (for example: Eleanor's comment about how Park has "magic eyes" and makes her feel like a cannibal <--- say what now?).
I'm hoping that once I get going again on this book that I might be able to enjoy their romance a bit more. If so, I'll give you all the details and if not, you can be sure to hear all about those details as well.
Amber
It's me again and I'm here to tell you a bit about what I'm currently reading.
Now Eleanor and Park is a book that has been around for quite some time. If I remember right it was published in 2013, during a time where I wasn't really doing much reading. Now I have already read two Rainbow Rowell novels, Fangirl and Carry On and I loved them a lot, especially Carry On which was just beyond magical to me and also added a lot of humor to the whole Chosen One trope but Eleanor and Park is a book that I have recently heard a lot of not so good things about.
Recently, it came to my attention during a twitter thread that there were quite a few things within Eleanor and Park that were triggering to poc culture, especially Korean culture. This made me feel a bit conflicted about reading it but since I had bought a signed copy before knowing that it contained anything racially insensitive I decided to warily read it anyway.
Is it bad that I still love Rainbow Rowell's writing style? Because I have to tell you that I do. There is something lovely about how Rainbow Rowell writes a book. Her way with words is just fantastic but I do have to let you all know that right from the beginning I found some things within the literature that were racially insensitive. Things were mentioned about people that I felt did not need to be mentioned and would not have been mentioned had the characters in question had not been POC.
As for the book itself and the friendship/eventual romance between Eleanor and Park, I do find that at first, I was a fan. Their friendship was very adorable and they both gave things to each other that no one else had but I do feel that they sort of went a bit weird once they confessed their love for each other (for example: Eleanor's comment about how Park has "magic eyes" and makes her feel like a cannibal <--- say what now?).
I'm hoping that once I get going again on this book that I might be able to enjoy their romance a bit more. If so, I'll give you all the details and if not, you can be sure to hear all about those details as well.
Amber
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Growing! We Do It Everyday...
Greetings friends,
I know I have been incredibly absent from the world of blogging and nail polish lately but I'm here to let you all know that I'm back. Now, I feel like I owe you guys an explanation for not just my absence but also as to what I plan to do on this blog from now on. As for the explanation, well I had another child, moved houses and also became a full-time online college student, pursuing a degree in Teaching History for Secondary Education.
I also happened to lose a bit of interest in nail polish and the nail polish community. With two children and the full time job that is pursuing an education, it hasn't been easy to settle down and paint my nails. I've also been rping, tapping into my love of Harry Potter and creating a community where people can write their own HP stories to their heart's content has sort of taken over my life in some aspects but honestly, sometimes I feel more like pretending to be Lee Jordan in his world than feel like living out my own life, not that I hate my life but fiction is where my imagination roams and fact can get a bit lonely at times.
Now as for what you can expect to see in the upcoming days and weeks of my blog are a splattering of my own interests and ideas. Some days I will post reviews of books, bath bombs, and possibly even episodes of television shows. Other days I might feel like going over some issues I have had when it comes to reading, going through school full-time, parenting and other random things. I may even come at you guys with a haul every once in awhile.
The thing is though, that I am here and that I do feel a lot more evolved and complicated than I once was and I hope you accept me as I am which is flawed but still learning.
Amber
I know I have been incredibly absent from the world of blogging and nail polish lately but I'm here to let you all know that I'm back. Now, I feel like I owe you guys an explanation for not just my absence but also as to what I plan to do on this blog from now on. As for the explanation, well I had another child, moved houses and also became a full-time online college student, pursuing a degree in Teaching History for Secondary Education.
I also happened to lose a bit of interest in nail polish and the nail polish community. With two children and the full time job that is pursuing an education, it hasn't been easy to settle down and paint my nails. I've also been rping, tapping into my love of Harry Potter and creating a community where people can write their own HP stories to their heart's content has sort of taken over my life in some aspects but honestly, sometimes I feel more like pretending to be Lee Jordan in his world than feel like living out my own life, not that I hate my life but fiction is where my imagination roams and fact can get a bit lonely at times.
Now as for what you can expect to see in the upcoming days and weeks of my blog are a splattering of my own interests and ideas. Some days I will post reviews of books, bath bombs, and possibly even episodes of television shows. Other days I might feel like going over some issues I have had when it comes to reading, going through school full-time, parenting and other random things. I may even come at you guys with a haul every once in awhile.
The thing is though, that I am here and that I do feel a lot more evolved and complicated than I once was and I hope you accept me as I am which is flawed but still learning.
Amber
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