'Tis the Season Book Tag!

I absolutely love Christmas and I'm really in the Christmas spirit! So, I decided to do a Christmas related book tag! 

1. Do you have a favorite winter read?
Any Harry Potter novel. 

2. Find a book with blue on the cover!
I just finished reading this book yesterday, Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover.




3. Find a book you’d use as the star on a Christmas tree!
Legend by Marie Lu because it's golden and shiny!



4. Pick one fictional place that would be perfect for a winter vacation!
Narnia!

5. Pick one fictional character you’d take with you on your winter vacation! 
Harry Potter!

6. Name one book on your wish list this year!
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.

7. Favorite holiday drink, treat, & movie?
I absolutely love white chocolate mochas from Starbucks! My favorite holiday treats are the homemade Christmas cookies that I make with my mother. And my absolute favorite Christmas movie is The Year Without a Santa Claus! I have such fond memories watching this movie with my parents and little sister every year.



Let me know your answers to these questions! Are you as excited for Christmas as I am? Merry Christmas!

-Chelsea

November Reading List

The year is almost over! I can't believe that it's already December! Just like all of the other months this year, I am recapping all of the books that I've read this month. So without further adieu, here is my November Reading List.

1. Heir of Fire



2. Don't Look Back



3. Titanic: Voices From the Disaster 

 

4. Winter Town



5. Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales 



6. Crush



7. Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus- I heard that this book was an interesting read, especially for married couples. So, I picked it up from the library and gave it a quick read. It's definitely a unique take on the subject of differences between genders.



-Chelsea

Snow Day!

Yesterday, there was a HUGE snowstorm! But it didn't hit until the afternoon. In the morning, I went out with Kelsey and Jax to have some fun before the snow got too bad. It was so much fun and I love how the pictures turned out! I love living up north so far! I know that it's going to get crazier but for now, this is spectacular!

This is officially one of my favorite pictures!

Stay warm, everyone! 

-Chelsea

Reader Problems Tag

I cannot resist doing any book-related tags, so here is yet another one!

1. If you had 20,000 books on your TBR, how would you decide which one to read next?

I'd probably try to figure out which books have been there the longest and start from there. I know that it'd be next to impossible but I'd probably end up giving it a shot.

2. If you are halfway through a book and you're not loving it, then do you power through it or put it down?

I normally power through it. I hate leaving books unfinished.

3. If it's the end of the year and you're behind on your reading challenge. Do you try to catch up?

I'm actually done with this year's reading challenge but if I wasn't, then yes, I would try.

4. How do you cope if a series that you love doesn't have matching covers?

I normally borrow books from the library before I buy them. So by the time that I get around to buying them, the covers normally match. It's not an issue that I deal with very much.

5. If everyone that you know loves a book that you don't like, who do you bond with over shared feelings? 

I don't have a lot of friends that read or read the same books that I do. So if I hate it, sometimes I'll go read some bad Goodreads reviews about it.

6. If you're reading in public and you're about to cry, what do you do?

It's actually very rare for me to cry in books. I don't know why, it just is. So I can't see myself crying in public like that.

7. If a sequel of a book that you love comes out but you've forgotten most of the first book, what do you do?

I like to marathon series or at least try to read books in a series in a timely manner. But if I hadn't, then I'd probably just jump right into the sequel and hope that I remember everything while I'm reading it.

8. If you don't want people to borrow your books, how do you politely tell them no?

I just tell them that people have damaged my books before and I don't want that to happen again.

9. How do you get over a reading slump?

I try to just keep reading. If not, I try to find a new hobby until I want to read again.

10. If there are a bunch of new releases coming out, how many do you buy?

As many as I want but not all at once.

11. How long do books sit on your shelf before you read them?

They don't. My nose is stuck in that book from the second that I get it.

-Chelsea

Happy Things

I got some bad news today and it really got me down. After I got the news, I gave myself a small amount of time for sulking and then pulled myself together. To do that, I started thinking about some of the good things in my life.

1. My family- I called my family right after I found out my bad news and they were very supportive. Kris was with me when I found the news out and he was completely there for me. He made me feel like, no matter what, things were going to be okay. Everyone felt bad for me but offered encouraging words. They told me that I was a strong person that could handle anything that life threw at me. I realized that at the end of the day, I'd always have them. And if I have them, then life's pretty great. I feel very lucky and blessed to be a part of my family.

2. Kelsey- In the short time that I've known Kelsey, she's become one of the best friends that I've ever had. She lets me cry to her, goes out of her way to help me and accepts me for who I am. I honestly feel very blessed to have her in my life and I'll be forever grateful to her.

3. My health- I got some blood work done about a week ago and my doctor assured me that everything is completely normal and healthy. That's all that I can really ask for. I've been going to the gym 5 times a week and I've significantly changed my eating habits to reflect clean eating. I feel better about myself than I have in a long time and it's great to know that it's getting results.

It's easier to get through tough times when you focus on positivity, so that's what I'm going to do. It's easier to feed into the negativity but life is what you make it. So I'm going to make it the best that it can possibly be and that starts with my positive attitude.

-Chelsea

New Ideas

I've been having a lot of writer's block lately which has, of course, made writing my novel really difficult. I haven't been able to get my story to go where I want it to go and it's very frustrating. I want to write but I don't want to force a story just for the sake of writing. The story has to be true to the characters and to my vision of what the story should be.

But the other night while I was laying in bed, I got some new ideas. New ideas that would change my story while still remaining true to what I want. Unfortunately, these ideas involve me completely starting my book over but I think that it'll make the story even better. Which is fine with me. Authors go through tons of rewrites, right?

So I'll now be working with these new ideas instead and hopefully they take me on a new journey. One that will make my book even better than what it would've been.

TBR

I'm subscribed to a lot of BookTubers on YouTube and because of that, my taste in books has changed a lot. I've read a lot of books that I never would've otherwise and I've opened my eyes to completely new genres. Generally, whenever I see multiple BookTubers rave about a particular book I'll either buy it or borrow it from the library. As such, I've acquired a lot more books and quite the TBR pile as well.

BookTubers are always filming book hauls and recommending new books. So it's almost impossible to keep up with all of the books that I want to read. Right now, I have over 60 books on my TBR shelf on Goodreads. So I thought I'd share some of the books that I'm anticipating reading the most. I'm not sure when I'll get around to reading them but I'm really hoping that it's sooner rather than later.

Don't spoil me if you have read these books!

1. Heir of Fire- This is the 3rd book in the Throne of Glass series. I've read the first and second book and they were amazing! So I absolutely can't wait to get my hands on this one! I'm sure that it'll be just as amazing!



2. House of Hades- I'm a huge fan of the Percy Jackson books. I've read all of the Percy Jackson and the Olympian books and the first 3 books in the Heroes of Olympus series. But because House of Hades hasn't been released in paperback yet, I haven't bought it. (I own the first 3 in paperback and I want them all to match.) So, I'm probably going to borrow it from the library soon and then buy it in paperback later.



3. The Bronze Horseman- Little Book Owl absolutely adores this book and I trust her opinion. PeruseProject also read it and gave it rave reviews. I'm a little intimidated by how big that it is but I am sure that I'll be ready to tackle this challenge soon.



4. Maybe Someday- Slammed is the only Colleen Hoover book that I've read and I really enjoyed it. I've heard nothing but wonderful things about this book and I'm sure that my second Colleen Hoover novel will be just as great as the first.



What's on your TBR pile?

-Chelsea