Category: Personal / Information / Etc.

Top Ten Tuesdays #463: TBR Additions

Posted January 21, 2025 / Goals & Planning, Personal / Information / Etc., Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 1 Comment

10 Recent Books Added to My TBR: Physical and Digital Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. This prompt is to share the 10 most recent additions to your TBR. I decided to split this out and share the five books I most recently added to my physical TBR, then the five books I added to read on Goodreads/Storygraph. Here we go! 5 New Physical Books Acquired I preordered BEG, BORROW, OR STEAL by buying tickets to the Sarah Adams discussion and book signing up in Portland, ME. I knew my sister would want to go since she lives in Maine and I try to go up there as often as humanly possible haha. It was a fun event! While at the Books-a-Million store, I decided to pick up a copy of HEARTLESS HUNTER kind of randomly. Everyone is reading this and loving it. I also realized that it’s on Kindle Unlimited, so I’m a little annoyed I bought it lol. I’m trying to be in my fantasy era this year so hopefully I’ll just read it using both formats. My January BOTM arrived recently so those are the other two books I recently acquired. I picked THE FAVORITES because everyone keeps […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #462: Goals

Posted January 14, 2025 / Goals & Planning, Personal / Information / Etc., Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 2 Comments

Bookish Goals for 2025 Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I usually write a bookish goals and resolutions post but I didn’t this year. I feel like I never actually pay attention to these things throughout the year! I thought I would keep it simple and go over my basic goals and thoughts for my reading in 2025. Reading Goal = 75 Books Last year I squeaked out the 100 books I had set for my Goodreads goal. I ended up reading a lot of books under/around 200 pages like graphic novels and novellas in order to stay on pace. It was kind of a weird reading year where I didn’t love a lot of books and everything felt very mid. Knowing that I could easily read 6 books a month instead of 8-9, I decided to set my goal at 75 books. My secret back-of-mind goal is to actually read 100 books but we’ll see. Challenges Simplified I have historically signed up for a number of challenges and even tried to do the same thing again for 2025. Right before my challenge post went live, I decided to bow out of one and keep it even simpler. I’m doing the […]

Boox Palma | Review and First Impressions as a Kindle User

Posted February 22, 2024 / Discussions, Features, Personal / Information / Etc. / 1 Comment

I recently noticed a few people trying out the Boox Palma as an ereader instead of a Kindle (or in addition to!). On a total whim like the frivolous spender I am, I decided to buy one. I thought I would share my first impressions as a gal who loves her Kindle and wants to keep using it. How do I like it and when would I use it compared to my Kindle? Here are my thoughts. Overview I’m not big on the tech side of things so I added a quick image from their website (linked above) if you do care about that. All I knew was that the Palma is essentially a smartphone mixed with a Kindle. It has the e-ink pages you’re used to reading on and an operating system like an Android, including the Google Play store for apps. The Palma fits in your hand and is pretty much the same size as an iPad. The screen is obviously in black and white due to the ink-like technology. It’s truly like if your Android phone had a baby with a Kindle. It has similar functions to a phone where you can take photos, download apps, browse the internet… all with a screen that doesn’t hurt your eyes! Pros and Cons These are my personal pros and cons for this device. You may feel differently! My cons may be your pros and vice versa but hopefully you can understand its functionality a […]

My Bookmark Collection

Posted September 18, 2023 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 0 Comments

I’ve been thinking about writing this post for a long time. I’m a huge collector of bookmarks and believe you can never have too many! I like to collect them from all the bookstores I visit and different places I travel. It’s so fun to look back at my collection and see where they all came from. I’ve been buying more on Etsy lately for certain fandoms and books that I love, so my collection has grown a lot! I finally got around to organizing them and taking some pictures, so here they are for your viewing pleasure! I’m sure some are missing (I can picture one or two that I have no idea where they are lol) but it’s the vast majority of them. I’m going to discuss where some are from and link to the appropriate websites if I can find them and remember. Bookish These ones all feature books or bookish quotes in some capacity! The READ one is from my local library. The yellow bookstack is from Emily Cromwell Designs. I can’t remember where the white book one comes from, which is a shame because it’s so cute! The same could be said for the wooden book quote and black book qoute ones – I think they were either gifts or came from a bookstore. The blue book/coffee one is new and from Gigi and Bo. The wooden engraved one is from Marked By Mary. The blue book quote on the bottom is from Novelly Yours, […]

Currently 8/21

Posted August 23, 2023 / Currently, Personal / Information / Etc. / 0 Comments

Latest prompts stolen from Hannah at So Obsessed With Bookish Things are still going really strong with reading for this year! I’m way ahead on my Goodreads goal and only have to complete ONE BOOK to finish. Ironically I’ve been stuck on two books since before the weekend and have yet to cross that bridge. I had a super busy weekend but hopefully I can crank through the rest of my TBR before next week. Currently reading: I’m currently trying to get through ARC August but also following my moods and library holds lol. I’m reading YOU, WITH A VIEW from Libby on my Kindle. I decided to splurge and get the audiobook for NONE OF THIS IS TRUE in addition to my BOTM copy that finally came in, so I’ll be focusing on finishing that up soon too. Currently audiobook-ing: See above. I have another audio mystery/thriller out from the library as well (ONE OF US IS BACK) that I need to get to but I’m concerned my other holds of the physical copy and ebook aren’t going to coincide. Ideally, I’ll finish my current audiobook and immediately start this one even if the other copies aren’t in yet. Currently recommending: I recently posted my five-star reads of 2023 so far, of which there are technically ten. I featured nine of them in the post because one was a children’s graphic novel that I didn’t review. Currently in my cart: Nothing right now! I did make a fun list on […]

Summer TBR and Bucket List – 2023

Posted May 25, 2023 / Book Lists, Features, Goals & Planning, Personal / Information / Etc., TBR Lists / 8 Comments

I used to write these all the time and got back into it last year, so here we are again with a somewhat similar post! I really am hoping to read some good seasonal stories this year because I failed with last summer’s TBR. Bring on the beach reads! Summer TBR Summery Review Copies & Upcoming Releases Backlist Summer Stories Summer Plans & Bucket List 1. Go to the beach more than once I’m not huge on the beach usually but I had a great time last summer going with some of my aunts, cousins, and sister. I hope Chris and I manage to go a few times (especially in Maine – we’re hoping to get back up there during the Fourth of July holiday weekend). I love reading under an umbrella and now I have some decent bathing suits too! 2. Read on the porch/outside every nice day I know this is a big-sounding goal (“every day”) but it’s pretty reasonable as long as I’m home! I can take my lunch outside with the pup and read or sit on the porch after work to read a chapter or two. If it’s not raining and not a million degrees, I need to enjoy my porch while I can! 3. Use my roller skates I bought skates a year ago and have been generally too afraid to use them after I fell in the house lol. I need a helmet and then I’ll be good to go! 4. Eat 2 […]

Updated Cookbook Collection

Posted March 29, 2023 / Food & Drink, Personal / Information / Etc. / 2 Comments

I’m a big fan of food and ever since I tossed aside the idea of dieting, I’ve been in a much happier place with eating it and enjoying it! I’ve posted before about diets and food that I won’t link here because I’m not interested in perpetuating some of those things, but I will link my initial cookbook collection along with their rankings. Today’s post is a bit of an update on that because my cookbook collection has grown exponentially, and factors heavily into how I plan meals (post on that coming soon!). Without further ado, here’s a close-up on my entire cookbook collection as of right now. Skinnytaste Collection These are partially a holdover from my dieting days and I really hate the “Skinnytaste” name, but they’re good cookbooks. I don’t pay attention whatsoever to the calories or information she includes. I preordered the new one coming out later this year because it’s a “Simple” book with five-ingredients or less I think. I have all of the Skinnytaste cookbooks: Air Fryer Dinners Air Fryer Cookbook Original Skinnytaste One and Done Meal Prep Fast and Slow Four of them are larger full-size cookbooks and there are two smaller ones about the air fryer. Generally speaking I’ve made the most recipes from the last three that I listed above. Celebrity Chefs and Other Go-To Books These are some of my favorites and go-to cookbooks! Some of them are brand new and I haven’t read them yet so we’ll see if they […]

Currently 1/19

Posted January 19, 2023 / Currently, Personal / Information / Etc. / 2 Comments

I haven’t done one of these since 2021 (these latest prompts stolen from Hannah at So Obsessed With) and wanted to share a little more about my life and what’s been going on lately. Lauren Lately kind of fell by the wayside thanks to Covid (literally my last one was March 2020…) and we’ll see if I plan to ever bring it back. I thought this would be a nice way to capture how I’m feeling right now! Bookish I’m thrilled that my love for reading is back. I’m feeling so much less slumpy than the past two years. I think it took a lot out of me always being behind on my Goodreads goal (such a stupid thing to care about that much but I can’t help it!) and I just never wanted to sit and read, thinking it was fruitless or putting too much pressure on myself to get back on track. 2023 feels like a fresh slate for reading and I’m feeling so good! Currently reading: At the time of writing this, I’m reading LUNAR LOVE. I told Chris about it when I was debating which books to read in order this month and he told me I better get going on the Lunar New Year-ish book so it’ll be done by our celebration with his family on the 21st! This is super cute and I’ve been blazing through it. I’m assuming I’ll be done with it by the time this post goes up. Currently audiobook-ing: Soooo thrilled […]

Guide to Holiday Movies Releasing in 2022

Posted November 4, 2022 / Media, Personal / Information / Etc. / 1 Comment

Everyone knows that this season begins for me basically on Halloween or the day after. I just want to enjoy my Christmassy stuff for two full months instead of one, and it costs you $0 to mind ya business and let me be happy. I normally refrain from making blog posts until we’re nearing the end of November, but I thought it would be fun to do a holiday movie round-up post BEFORE posting any of my holiday movie reviews, which always come throughout December. This means I’m sharing ALL of the holiday movies on my radar that are releasing this year. I wanted to get this post out early enough for people to make plans, set their DVRs, and order Disney+ in preparation. Without further ado, here are all the movies you could see this year and where to find them! There are too many channels now (thanks for adding yourself in, Great American Family) for me to do any extra work on this so for now I’ll just include the big graphics that the networks themselves provide. You can find a pretty extensive list here that combines the networks chronologically as well. Network/Streaming Services A Christmas Open House (Discovery+ – 11/11): I wasn’t sure what to expect from this streaming service this year, but they appear to have some fun Christmas movies coming! This one involves a romance between a real estate agent and property stager. Designing Christmas (Discovery+ – 11/11): I thought this was a reality show episode […]

Summer Plans including TBR and Bucket List

Posted June 22, 2022 / Book Lists, Features, Lifestyle, Personal / Information / Etc., TBR Lists / 2 Comments

I used to make seasonal TBRs and bucket lists (aka the different trips I wanted to take or plans to make during that season) when I was blogging more regularly. I was working on my TTT the other day for my summer TBR and was thinking it would be fun to bring back this “feature” to share what I hope to do and read this summer. It has also been a bit less fun to write posts like this because I’m reading like half as much as I used to, but here’s a “wishful thinking” TBR for this season at least! Summery TBR Review Copies I have a number of review copies that are publishing this season but these three will likely have the most summer vibes! I’m excited to get to all of them within the next couple of months. New Releases I have a TTT post coming up next week that lists some new or upcoming releases on my summer TBR but decided to pick a few summer-specific books to include here. These three books are coming out this summer and will likely be fun and light reads. Summery Stories I reread the first book in Han’s Summer series a couple of years ago and have plans to finish off my reread via audio this summer, since the TV show is now out. They were renewed for season two so I’d like to get books 2-3 done before they catch up to the show! I also hope to […]