July Bullet Journal Plan With Me

I haven’t done a bullet journal set up in a while, so I thought I’d share what I’m doing for my July spread. I keep my bullet journal fairly simple because I use a tiny journal, and can’t fit too much extra stuff in it. I like to have themes for every month, and this one is meant for memories. I won’t share the cover page, because it’s a bit personal, but it’s going to be filled with memories over the past few years.

July TBR 2018

After a somewhat successful reading month in June, I wanted to continue that into July. I decided I wanted to revisit one of my favourite novels, like Pride and Prejudice, and of course, read some books I haven’t yet. I think my goal for this month is to read as many books as I can. If I’m not mistaken, the BookTubeAthon is in July, and I know there will be a week of nonstop reading for me coming up ahead. So, I’m definitely keeping this in mind with my reading pile for the month. Whatever the prompts are for the readathon, I may have to change, or add, the books I’ll read, but we’ll see what happens!

What I Read in May and June 2018

Since I didn’t share what I read last month, I thought I would include it into my June wrap up. May was an alright reading month compared to June. After reading Mexico in May, I lost all motivation to read. The book was awful to say the least, so I just wanted to avoid reading another terrible book. I was definitely able to read more books in June because I had more time to focus on reading. And thank goodness I did. I read some amazing books this month, some of which are now favourites of mine.

Here is what I read in May:
Mexico by Josh Barkan: 1/5
I am Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout: 4/5
A Room with a View by E. M. Forster: 3/5

Out of all the books I read in May, Mexico by Josh Barkan was the worst. It characterizes Mexican people in a derogatory way, and heavily relies on hurtful stereotypes. I literally threw my book down after only two stories in. I didn’t finish it, and I never will. The other two books I read were actually really pleasant reads, but they weren’t the best books I have ever read, and I think that’s why my reading slumped continued for the rest of the month of May.

Here is what I read in June:
Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan: 5/5
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay: 5/5
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki: 5/5
The Widow by Fiona Barton: 3/5

June was a fantastic reading month for me, and I read some amazing books. My favourites were definitely Brain on Fire, Bad Feminist, and A Tale for the Time Being. I really hope I can continue this motivation, and eagerness, to read for the rest of the year. I hate being in reading slumps, but they do happen. If I do end up hating a book in the future, I hope it doesn’t turn me away from reading for a long time.

What did you read in May and June? Let me know in the comments!

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Spring Favourites (2018)

Spring is officially over, but it doesn’t even feel like it began for me. Where I live, it felt like winter went straight into summer.

Are They Dupes? Lipstick Edition

I have quite a small makeup collection for a blogger, and somehow accumulated 4 lipsticks that look exactly the same. I don’t know how this happened, but I am here to help you out so you don’t make the same mistake.

This Quick Fix Will Make Your Eyeshadows POP!

Often times when we buy eyeshadows, we want them to be extremely pigmented off the bat. Sometimes, that doesn’t happen.

Try a Chapter Tag

I’ve seen the Try a Chapter Tag circulating around Youtube for a while now, and I thought I should give it a try. The tag was created by a YouTuber called Book Paradise. I would recommend watching her video because she describes her tag, and rules, really well. Basically, what you do is read the first chapter of a few books, and you then decide what book you would read, or leave for later. I decided that whatever books I really liked will be added onto my May TBR pile.

Here are the books I tried:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
Hot House by Boris Kachka
The Widow by Fiona Barton

I think one of the strangest things to me about this tag was switching between books so rapidly. I read 6 different books, but only the first chapter of them all. With the books I chose, many of the chapters were not long. Some chapters were only 10 pages long. Some did not have chapters at all. So to make my reading equal, I decided that if a book didn’t have a chapter, or a chapter was too long, I read only 10-15 pages of the book. By doing so, it allowed me to have an equal idea of each of the books, without reading too much more than others. The most difficult part of this tag was only reading the first chapter and being okay with that. I feel the first chapter, or the first few pages, didn’t give enough information as to what the book will be like. With some of the books I was excited to continue reading, while with others I wasn’t sure how I felt.

I think by testing out a few books, it allowed me to see what books I was really in the mood to read. It allowed me to have an initial impression of the book, which I could later see if my first impression was correct or not. I think the tag can be really helpful if you’re in a reading slump (which I’m in currently). By reading so many different books, I was inspired and excited to read again. It felt great being excited about reading after a few days of not being interested in picking up a book. I would recommend doing the tag if you haven’t already. It’s definitely different to what I’m used to, but it’s a lot of fun.

Now, when it comes to what books I’ll be adding to my TBR in May, I have chosen 3. The book I chose are My Name is Lucy Barton, A Tale for the Time Being, and The History of Love. The other 3 books interested me, but I was not as drawn to them as the ones I’m adding to my TBR. I think I would try the tag out again in the future, but I don’t think I’ll make it a monthly thing.

Let me know if you have tried the tag, or if you would try it!

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May 2018 TBR

I can’t believe it’s already May! I felt like winter lasted so long that it can’t possibly be May. However, after the longest winter it’s finally here, and with it comes a new TBR pile for me to conquer. April was a good month of reading for me, so I want to continue that into May. But, instead of having just a traditional TBR, I am including a little twist.

Here is what I want to read in May:
– Mexico by Josh Barkan
– The Wangs vs. the World by Jade Chang
– A Room with a View by E. M. Forster

It may seem like I have an incredibly small TBR for May, but I have a very good reason. I’ll be doing the Read a Chapter tag, and will be picking 2-3 of my favourite books from the tag to include within the TBR. I’ll be posting the Read a Chapter tag sometime next week. It will include how the tag went, and my first impressions of the books I read. So this small TBR might grow to double it’s size by next week. Hopefully the tag turns out well!

What are you planning to read this month? Let me know in the comments.

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April Wrap Up

April is done, and with it, the warm weather has finally arrived. I’m able to read outside again! It’s wonderful knowing the weather is not cold and dreary anymore. Another great thing about April was that I was able to finish 5 books this month. I wanted to make sure I spent a lot of time to read this month, and I ended up reading almost 2 hours a day everyday. It was really relaxing, and stopped me from mindlessly looking on my laptop or phone. I definitely want to continue this in May as well.

Here is what I read in April:

Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thein 5/5
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green 3/5
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara5/5
Dubliners by James Joyce 3/5
The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff 4/5

I enjoyed all the books I read this month, but I would recommend A Little Life and Do Not Say We Have Nothing the most. These two books were AMAZING. I couldn’t put them down in April, and I think they’ll be books a lot of people will enjoy.

What did you read this month?

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Turtles All the Way Down by John Green Review

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green was not a book I thought I’d be reading. I am not a YA reader anymore, and I haven’t been since I was 18. I have grown out of that phase many years ago, but I know this genre is still very popular among people my age and younger. I decided to read this book for a bit of nostalgia, but also a bit of curiosity as to what I’m missing in the YA world. The following review will have spoilers, so if you want to avoid them, I’d advise you to stop reading now.