Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books in March 2010. As of February 2013, it’s hosted by Billy at Coffee Addicted Writer.
It seems I misunderstood the schedule again. I accidentally answered last week’s question. Oops.
Today’s Question(s) is …
What inspired you to start book blogging?
My Answer(s) is …
Even though this particular blog only goes back to December 2021, I’ve been blogging since 2007. My blog started as an everything blog. In 2009, I stumbled onto the book blogging community thanks to an author friend. I didn’t think I could be a book blogger, though, because I may read more than the average person but I don’t read as much as other book bloggers.
During my lurking phase, I learned that a lot of book bloggers at the time were from my home state–Utah. I befriended Natasha Maw, a popular book blogger back then, during that time. I found out she spearheaded a group bringing local book bloggers and authors together. She organized in person meet-and-greet events as well as Utah Book Month where bloggers focused on promoting Utah authors and their books.
I went to my first in person meet-and-greet in February 2010. There I met Suey (It’s All About Books), one of my BFFs, along with countless other bloggers and authors. Sadly, there are very few remaining Utah book bloggers from those days and Utah Book Month has gone the way of the dodo. Fortunately, I’m still friends with most of the people I met and my IRL book club always reads a book celebrating a Utah author in the month of August.
Thanks to the friendships I made, I started book blogging.
What about you? What inspired you to start book blogging?
At the end of December, I wrote about my yearly goals in my Evaluating My 2022 Goals post. At the time, I settled on six goals and one challenge-related goal. However, I’ve decided to make some changes. My NEW goals for 2023 are:
Read at least 50% of the Book of the Month choices I didn’t get to last year.
I got rid of two goals and my challenge-related goal. All three of those goals were tied to the Play Book Tag Goodreads group I was a part of. While I enjoyed reading a book based on a specific topic each month, my reading tastes were so different from the main contributors that I wasn’t enjoying my experience. I finally decided to leave and focus my reading elsewhere.
A few people from my IRL book club are participating in the Pioneer Book Reading Challenge (hosted by a local independent bookstore) and the POP Sugar Reading Challenge this year. I was considering joining them, but I really don’t feel like doing the Pioneer Book Challenge and I’m still on the fence about the PS Challenge. I’ll probably participate in the PS Challenge because I can always change my mind later if I’m not enjoying the books I’m reading.
Anyway, I’ll keep track of my reading progress on my 2023 Reads page if you’re interested in seeing what I’ve put together.
How about you? Do you ever adjust your goals, reading or otherwise, during the year?
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Bookish People I’d Like to Meet
Today’s prompt nearly stumped me enough to skip this week’s Top Ten Tuesday post. However, since I haven’t joined in the fun since January, I decided to work through it. The original prompt is “Bookish People I’d Like to Meet.” I decided to put a spin on it and go with “Hogwarts Teachers I’d Like to Take Classes From.” Here are my top ten:
Albus Dumbledore
Any Subject
Minerva McGonagall
Transfiguration
Filius Flitwick
Charms
Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank
Care of Magical Creatures
Rolanda Hooch
Flying
Horace Slughorn
Potions
Bathsheda Babbling
Ancient Runes
Aurora Sinistra
Astronomy
Septima Vector
Arithmancy
Remus Lupin
Defense Against the Dark Arts
I don’t really have an interest in Herbology or I would’ve had Professor Sprout on my list. If I had to take Divination, I’d take it from Firenze not Professor Trelawney so I’d actually learn something. Because I’ve been sorted into Slytherin, I may take potions from Snape but I’m a little iffy on that since he’s so moody. And, even though I love Hagrid and could learn a lot, I think Professor Grubbly-Plank would be safer, LOL.
What about you? Which bookish characters would you like to meet?
I learned in DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) that life is full of dialectics, or two opposing truths. In this case, the two opposing truths are: 1) I don’t agree with JKR’s stance regarding trans people, and 2) I still love Harry Potter.
April Clarke-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford. Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends--Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily--during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.
My Thoughts
I knew if I wanted to get over my reading slump, I needed to read a thriller or a romance. I decided to go with a thriller and read THE IT GIRL by Ruth Ware.
THE IT GIRL’s my first book by Ruth Ware. I’ve heard great things about some of her other books and THE IT GIRL seems to be the new hottest thing.
The premise of THE IT GIRL really drew me in. I love dark academia and psychological thrillers. I loved reading why everything happened the way they did and what lead up to the main “thing.” I really enjoyed the split narrative: 10 years in the past when the “thing” happened and the present when some of the circumstances of the “thing” are questioned.
“Don’t let yourself get caught up in what-ifs. That way madness lies.”
I especially loved the setting of THE IT GIRL. Even though Pelham College is a fictitious college in Oxford, I loved experiencing how one of the most prestigious schools in the world functions. Oxford’s so different from anything I experienced in school here in the US. It was very interesting to learn more about the English education system.
The characters in THE IT GIRL were interesting to me. I didn’t like April very much. She was a spoiled rich girl with entitlement issues. I didn’t feel like her friendship with Hannah was very believable. I think April only “befriended” Hannah because Hannah was easy to manipulate. I thought Hannah was an okay character. I just wish she had more backbone and stuck up for herself more. I really liked Will, but I can’t say why.
THE IT GIRL’s ending was really good. I wasn’t disappointed in learning how it all came together. I’ll definitely give Ruth Ware another go.
Have you read THE IT GIRL? If so, what did you think?
https://i0.wp.com/jennielyse.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/review-theitgirl.png?fit=919%2C918&ssl=1918919Jenni Elysehttps://jennielyse.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/logow_final2x.pngJenni Elyse2023-03-06 00:00:002023-12-30 18:08:12Review: The It Girl
Sunday Post and Sunday Salon are blog news memes hosted at Caffeinated Reviewer and Reader Buzz, respectively. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, andshowcase books and other things.
Feeling
I’m finally starting to feel more like myself again. I thought I was ready to blog in February. However, due to some lingering symptoms from the antibiotics I was taking, I just didn’t feel up to doing much. Fortunately, I no longer need to take the antibiotics and I’m feeling less nauseated, dizzy, and headachy.
Sorry I didn’t comment on everyone’s posts last time. I really want to read and comment on other blogs. I’m just trying to get back in the habit now that I’m feeling better. Please bear with me.
Blogging
I haven’t blogged since February 5 so nothing to report.
Reading
I finally read something this past week! I read THE IT GIRL by Ruth Ware and I’ll be posting my review tomorrow. I’m going to start reading THE LAST ANNIVERSARY by Liane Moriarty some time today.
I also finally finished listening to the ECLIPSE audiobook. I started listening to it last November. However, since I usually listen to audiobooks in my car and I didn’t really get out for while, it took me a while to finish.
Listening
I honestly haven’t listened to a lot of music this week because I focused on listening to the ECLIPSE audiobook. I did, however, listen to “Grace Kelly.” I first listened to the chorus sung by Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell. Afterward, I listened to the original full song by MIKA because I’d never heard it before.
Watching
Corey and I are currently watching THE LAST OF US on HBO Max. We’re really enjoying the premise and characters. We also love the actors. We have a joke that Pedro Pascal likes to be in roles where he has to protect an orphan and help get them to wherever they need to go. LOL.
We’re also currently watching season 3 of STAR TREK: PICARD on Paramount+ and we love it so far. It’s fun to see the crew from The Next Generation in their different roles. I’m really excited to see where this season takes us!
We finally binged WEDNESDAY on Netflix. It was amazing! Jenna Ortega was perfect as Wednesday. I also loved her roommate at Nevermore. I also didn’t realize how tall Gwendolyn Christie is! We can’t wait for season 2.
We also saw the new Ant-Man movie, ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA a couple of weeks ago when it first came out. I really enjoyed it despite its plot holes, which I didn’t notice while watching. Corey didn’t like it very much. He had way too many questions because of its plot holes. My favorite part was the second end credits scene, lol. If you’ve seen it, you can probably guess why.
I started bingeing THE VAMPIRE DIARIES this past week. I’ve always wanted to watch the series. I like it so far. I’m a couple of episodes into the second season. I really love the exploration of vampiric and supernatural lore. The only thing I could do without is the stupid love triangle. Because I’m required by love triangle law to pick a team *rolls eyes*, I guess I’m Team Damon. I love his character and I love that he’s portrayed by Ian Somerhalder.
Loving
I love The Fast and the Furious movie series. It’s one of my favorites, aka guilty pleasures. I know they’re way over-the-top and unbelievable, but I still love them, especially once they turned into heist movies.
The newest movie comes out in May and it looks like all the characters are returning for this one, even Brian (Paul Walker’s character). I’m very curious how they’re going to pull that off since Walker died nearly 10 years ago. One of my best friends loves the movies too so we started rewatching all the movies.
Wanting
I want the two new TWILIGHT books announced by Stephenie Meyer in February to come out sooner rather than later. I’m really excited she wants to focus on characters other than the Cullens and wolves. I can’t wait to see what comes of this announcement. I also hope this means Meyer will finally return to THE HOST world since she originally planned to make it a trilogy.
Needing
I need to get some of my crocheting and knitting projects finished. My friend and I are opening an Etsy store. We both love making amigurumi (crocheted stuffed toys), afghans, beanies, and other things. We’ve always wanted to see if we can make money selling them on Etsy so we’re going to try. I’ll share a link to the store when it’s officially open.
Title: The It Girl
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