Dating Apps & Loving Myself First

This isn’t my regular type of post; in fact, it’s not book related at all. But it’s something I needed and wanted to get off my chest and this is one of my favorite digital spheres to inhabit. I’m not going to say this is the start of a new blogging “feature” per se, but I will warn you that I’m not closing the door to making more of these on here in the future. I doubt they’ll be very frequent, but I’m not closing the door on that either. Anyway, don’t worry, I have more bookish posts coming, but I needed to publish this first.

An Update

So it's been nearly a month since my last post. I have 7 more days of school and then I get to go home. But I thought I would take advantage of this extended break already and push back my return to the blog until December 1st. I want to stock up on some reviews and other posts for the next time the stress starts to kick in.

As a side note, I also have a side blog now, for my personal life. It'll serve as a place I can talk about studying abroad, once I leave in January. If you're interested I recommend checking out Postcards & Polaroids because I'm pretty proud of it.

ALSO I want to have a giveaway to celebrate my third year blogoversary on December 25th. What would you like to see me giveaway? Let me know!

I'm Back & Where I've Been & What Will Happen Next

Yes, well, that was an abrupt posting wasn't it? Suddenly I was here and then I was taking an unscheduled break. I'll be honest, I didn't know if I'd be coming back.

Why? Emotional reasons. Things got pretty bad and I was severely overwhelmed. Even though blogging wasn't really the reason, I didn't have the time or energy to spare for it and I didn't want it to get stressful so I stopped while I was ahead. Honestly, I've taken a step back from nearly everything and slowly been adding it back to my life. Next up on the list is to try and start writing regularly again.

Right now things aren't as hard as they were but I know they won't be easy like they once where and I wish they would return to. Once upon a time I didn't have emotional and mental barriers keeping me from living a regularly scheduled life, and I've thought for a while I could return to that life, but I know now I can't and I have to use what I have now to carve a life I can enjoy and handle. And that's not bad at all, because now that I'm embracing what's wrong, learning about it, talking about it, dealing with it in new ways, I'm getting back parts of that previous life. And I'm starting to learn how to be actively happy again and it's really nice. 

But I also know this means I can't count on myself to be as reliable with everything. I will continue blogging- I love it and the community- but I don't want another unscheduled disappearance, so I have to take things a little differently.

So, what's next? I had a lot of grand ideas at the beginning of the year and I intend to follow through with some of them still. It's going to be slow going though.

I'll be back to regularly posting book reviews, but perhaps not every week. If I don't feel strongly about the book I'm not going to write a review. I'll also continue with College Journey post's, and I want to get back to that DC Comics series I was writing, but that one may have to wait for a while. There will still be two wrap-ups a month instead of one each week. As for movie/tv reviews, I think I will still do a few here and there if I feel super strongly about them but no promises.

Otherwise, consider me back to business!

Discussion: On Pen Names

Nom de plume

noun | \-'plüm\

A name used by a writer instead of a writer's real name.

Since I was little I liked playing around with the idea of a pen name for my work. I toggled between using just my initials, my initials and a new last name, or my real first name with a new last name. I eventually settled on the latter. I started to look on that name as my sort of "professional" name and only took it out and used it when I thought a professional name was needed.

Why am I bringing this up? I've talked about using that pen name here on my blog instead of my real name. So, yes, Sam Frost isn't my real name, per se, but it's a name I'm very comfortable with. As comfortable as I am my real name. My first name really is Sam, short for Samantha, though my last name is actually something different, but the original last name (which I won't be sharing, though it isn't hard to find if you look) is a polish word that roughly translates into Frost, which is why I chose it. Recently my "real life" (what I refer to as outside of the computer and book community) and "book life" (the book community, including the blog and all connected social media) are starting to bleed together. Originally I kept them apart, and I still like them being mostly separate. Sometimes I write about things happening to me in real life, and sometimes I talk about the blog in real life, but they don't cross as often as one might think.

When I created this blog it was actually my third or fourth attempt at doing so. Since I had been in middle school I had been enamored with the idea of book blogging, but for various reasons the blogs fell through before I got very far with any of them. Each of them, though, I had used a pen name (the same pen name, I think, though I have no idea where those lost blogs have gone and can't fact check). This blog was born on December 25th, 2014 with a review of the TV show Constantine. I was halfway through my senior year of high school and again had the intention of book blogging. As you can tell, this one has been much more successful than the last several. But I clung to the pen name, even though I was already 18, a legal adult. Here's why:

Safety. I grew up in a very internet-wary house. Safety was the number one rule, and so I was always uncomfortable putting too much of myself out there. This was part of the reason the pen name was born in the first place. It's not that I didn't trust the people I interacted with, it's that I don't trust the people I don't interact with- the scammers, the hackers, the freaks and trolls of the internet- and so I kept up the pen name for most social media.

Identity. With or without the pen name I'm the same person, but it is a sort of professional name for me, and when I sit down to write a post I'm doing something at least semi-professional. The pen name helps me keep this identity in tact and keeps me on track.

I like it. I like my pen name, it's why I ended up settling on this one among the many I could have chosen. And I use it so frequently it's not alien to me at all and feels closer to a real name than a pen name.

To those I know online who may be surprised, I don't want it to feel like I lied to you. I'm going to be keeping my real last name a secret, at least for now, because I don't see a reason to share it, honestly. I think I have shared it in past blog posts, though I don't know which, and I know it can still be found on some social media I still use with the book community. Look for it if you wish, I won't be offended, I just won't use it here.

To those I know IRL: You may have found this blog. I connected it to some personal social media, which was a poor decision since I did still want to keep the two lives separate in their own ways. I hope you enjoy the blog! I put a lot of time and effort into it pretty much every day and I want it to be the best it can be. But if I haven't brought it up in conversation, haven't specifically shared it with you, it's not because I'm trying to hide it or because I don't care. It's because I like them to be separate, and I like the two worlds to remain mostly private of each other. This is a very personal space, and when people IRL drop hints about it, almost like they know dirty secrets, it makes me uncomfortable. It makes me want to shut down the blog and stop. But I don't want to do that. So IRL people, please enjoy, but don't bring it up. Thanks!

I'M BACK feat. A HUGE APOLOGY (with a special guest appearance from DAMAGE CONTROL)

You may or may not have noticed that I haven't blogged in like two weeks or so.  I actually kinda stopped on the 14th.  Which is crazy.  I did try to write a few posts and I did already have a few set to post already, but beyond that I just kinda gave up on blogging for a short period of time.  

It was completely unplanned but things just snuck up on me and I didn't have the time or the state of mind to dedicate time to blogging of any sort.  After the first few days I scrambled to catch up but I fell asleep while I was working on it and the next day I realized I shouldn't push and stress myself out about this.  So I rolled with it and didn't stress out about it at all.  I didn't allow myself to.  I let this unplanned vacation from blogging happen and now I'm ready to come back.

I have been spending a TON of time on twitter lately and it has helped remind me why I started blogging and why I love the community.  It's also a great place to kill time and just hang out with people, something I didn't realize I was so sorely missing since being home from school and my friends there.

One big thing happened since my little vacation happened and I wanted to bring attention to it: I started a side blog.  It's called Fernweh and I'm not going to talk about it a bunch here but I thought I would mention because it will be taking a (very very small) fraction of my time.  Fernweh is a small corner of the internet and is a darker place for me to just rant or talk about how I feel about the state of things or my adventures (that aren't book related).  I will also be doing most of my writing posts over there from now on and if something big happens in a book I'm working on I will link it during the weekly wrap up for those who are interested.  Fernweh is going to be more of a "me" blog and it's going to be intensely personal.  It's a nice reprieve to have it there since I'm not super good at keeping a physical diary.  I don't really expect people to visit Fernweh but I don't want to discourage you if you're interested.

Anyway, that's where I've been.

And let me say I AM SO SORRY!  I didn't plan this at all and while I realize I desperately needed it I hate just disappearing like that.  

Which leads me to Damage Control.  Well, I'm certainly behind on what I wanted posted and read and a dozen other things blog related so these next few days will be dedicated to that.  Tomorrow I'll be doing a lot of background stuff like updating goodreads and tumblr and small pieces of this blog.  Thursday I don't think I'll be around but Friday I should be finishing all the bigger things I need to get caught up on and on Saturday everything will be back to normal! 

Thank you for sticking with me throughout all of this, guys!  I hope to be back blogging regularly by next week and I'll be back to visiting blogs and commenting on them and just re-emersing in the community again by Saturday.

See you all soon!

Summer Goals Update 1

A whole month of summer has passed!  Isn't that crazy?  I'm sure some (probably most) who are on break see theirs quickly coming to a close, but I am blessed to have a strange school schedule where I still have over two months before I have to go back.  So, really, my summer hasn't even gotten to the halfway point, yet, but it still feels like I have no time left!  Last month I posted my goals for the summer and I wanted to update you all on them and give myself the kick in the butt I need to complete some of the goals.

The Book Related Goals

- Finish writing my current WIP, dubbed, at the moment, "The Queen's Ransom"

Status: I have been working on it, and while I'm a few days behind my goal, it goes well.

- Reread the Harry Potter series because, can you believe it, I haven't reread these books in years!

Status: I reread the first one and I think I'm expanding this goal to go past the summer because I want to take the time to enjoy these books.

- Read the Poison Study series; I've been saving this one for this summer and already have all the published books on my kindle waiting for an epic marathon

Status: So I don't know if I'm actually going to do this this summer now... But if not this summer then definitely over winter break before the final book comes out!

- Read The Chronicles of Narnia; I've never read these, either, but I feel like it's time; a friend of mine recommended that I listen to the audiobooks, so that might be the way I go

Status: I still want to do this, but not as badly as I did at the beginning of the summer, so it's been pushed back a little bit.

- Buy a Camera; this may not seem book related, but I actually want one so that I can take some really nice pictures for Instagram and the blog (and maybe Youtube videos someday...?)

Status: I may not need to! I've been using one of my parent's camera's and it's been working really well for me and I think they'll let me take it to school. Now I just need another memory card but I think we have a few of those laying around.

- Focus more on Instagram; this goes along with the previous goal; basically I just want to devote more time to what I put out on Instagram because these last few months I've been very poor on there

Status: I have definitely put more thought into what I post on Instagram.  I don't post every day (that's just too much) but I spend more time posting and have created some really great content (imo).

- More original content on Tumblr is pretty self-explanatory; if you have any ideas for what you might like to see on my Tumblr please let me know!

Status: I have been working on a set of Mortal Instruments/Hamilton posts that I'm rather proud of and I can't wait to post them!  I also have a bunch of ideas for things to post.

- Catch up on ARCS because I am so far behind and I feel awful about it

Status: I have been integrating more ARCs into my reading diet but I haven't made much headway with the pace I've been reading at.

The Non-Book Related Goals

- Cut Hair is just a reminder that I need a haircut so that I can take a proper profile picture instead of my dog (LOL but he'll probably be in the picture, too)

Status: I did get my hair cut... but I'm not super happy with it.  Not the hair dresser's fault; it's mine.  I think I'll be getting it cut right before I leave for school, though, so I will absolutely take a profile picture then.

- Get a job preferably at a book store

Status: Well, it's not at a bookstore, but I have a job!  I go in tomorrow to sign paperwork.

- Working Out is part of my plan to lose some weight and I also want to Eat Healthier because I feel sluggish all the time lately

Status: I did really well with the eating healthier at the beginning of the summer, but it's been hard to keep track of.  I think I'm going to buy a planner for keeping track of meals.  As for exercising, I have definitely gotten better at it.  I try to either run or bike a mile every other day and I hope that in a few weeks I can manage to do this every day.  And then, by the end of the summer, I want to be able to run steadily (I don't care how far) for at least 45 minutes.

- Learn a language and it will probably be either Russian or American Sign Language (for two very different reasons)

Status: I was really keeping up on this at the beginning of the summer but it sort of fell through.  I'm going to check my library to see if they have a book that will help.

- Start going to Church again because I unfortunately fell away from the habit while at school and I really miss attending Mass

Status: So far, so good

- Catch Up on TV because I haven't watched anything in ages!

Status: I'm not really catching up (yet) but I am getting back into the habit of watching television (to my own detriment).

- Locate a comic book store and frequent it; I have one at school that I adore, but I don't actually know where my local one at home is

Status: I'm still working on this one.  I visited a few and they weren't really what I was looking for in a store so the hunt continues.

- Go outside more even if it is just to read

Status: Not really happening yet, but that's because I hate the heat and it's been pretty bad lately.  It's either a million degrees or raining.

- Keep in contact with all of my friends is one of the easier goals on this list, but sometimes I need to remind myself to do this

Status: Going surprisingly well

- Read more news in order to help myself be more knowledgeable about the world

Status: I'll be honest, I completely forgot about this goal.  I shall get on it now.

- See family; by which I mean make it a priority to see extended family even if I'm not in the mood because they are important people

Status: At the beginning of the summer I pushed myself to make sure this happened... and my anxiety and depression got the better of me because of it.  I'm taking it a little slower and trying to limit it to every other week or so, but things have gotten much better.  I'm going to a cousin's graduation this weekend!

- RELAX it's summer; I need to remind myself of this

Status: I need to continue to remind myself of this.  I think I might set aside a certain time each week just to do nothing.

So here's how my goals have been going.  How has your summer been?

Dragon Loyalty Award: The Great Game

Aww this is so awesome!  Thanks Lauren for nominating me!  Seriously, stop by her blog she's super awesome!

The Rules:

1. Give seven (or nine) facts about yourself.

2. Tag other bloggers (dragons only).

So, four of these "facts" will be true and five false, or five true and four false.  Guess in the comments!  Good luck, everyone!

The "Facts":

1. I love the musical Wicked

2. My favorite superhero is Black Widow

3. I go to a small liberal arts college in the middle of nowhere

4. I have a horrible singing voice

5. I have an orange cat named Chester

6. I cut my hair (drastically) for the first time last summer

7. I finished writing a novel all on my own

8. I do surveys online to earn gift cards and money

9. I read books with the dust jacket on

The answers will be posted in a week, so best of luck and have fun!  (I'll also be tagging people in that post because I'm a spaz and forgot to tag people here...)

Wrap Up & I'm Back

Hello everyone!  It's great to finally be back on the blog.  It was only about two weeks off, but just getting this off my plate for a while really helped lower my stress levels, which is what I really needed.  I'm not in perfect condition, but I'm much better than I was two weeks ago when I decided I had to take a break.  At the time, I honestly wasn't sure when I'd come back, or whether I'd come back at all.  But really, how could I have doubted?  I love blogging and talking about books and I missed everyone in this community.

I said I would try to stay up in the community, commenting on blogs, being on twitter and tumblr, and all that, but it just didn't happen.  It was hard to remember to do those things when I wasn't even running the hub (this blog).  But, I did create a bookstagram (tsundoku_sam) and if you have one, please let me know what your username is in the comments so I can follow you!  I've been really enjoying bookstagram and it helped keep me excited for books when I wasn't reading so much.

Hopefully I'll manage to stick around for a while now that I think the worst of things have passed.  Over the last two weeks I've done a lot of things to change around my habits and lifestyle and those changes have really helped make things less hectic.  And, my dad is visiting later today to take me to the largest nearby town where we can get some real food :)

Currently Reading

I'm in the middle of White Night, the ninth book in the Dresden Files and I'm really enjoying it.  It's been several months since I last picked one up and this was a little of the medicine I really needed.  I'm also making headway again on the second book in the Bentwhistle the Dragon series, which I had put down for far to long.  I'm really enjoying the new character, Flash, who was introduced in this one.  Very James Bond-y.  Graphic novel-wise I'm reading the second volume of Hinges.  I read the first volume last year and I loved it.  After I've finished some of these I'll be picking up Tell the Wind and Fire an galley I received a bit ago that I'm dying to take a crack at.

This Week

Sunday-- TV Wrap Up

Monday-- Review of Morning Star

Tuesday-- Review of You Were Here

Wednesday-- Waiting on Wednesday

Thursday-- Discussion

Friday-- Review of Six of Crows

Saturday-- Wrap Up and Haul

So that's really all for me.  Is there anything interesting going on in the bookish community that I've missed?  Let me know in the comments!

Blogging Tips #4: Blogging Safety

This is my first Blogging Tips post since November since it is now a monthly post and not bi-weekly. I've been blogging for over a year now (just barely) and while I'm no expert in the field, I do think I've picked up quite a few things.

Today I wanted to talk about Blogging Safety, not because I've had issues, or am directly connected to anyone who has (to my knowledge) but because I was thinking about it lately.  It's going to be a rather short post, because there's little to say on this, since I feel like a bit of it is common knowledge since safety on the internet isn't so different from safety in real life.

Don't be stupid

Okay, that sounds really harsh, but it's the only way I can think of summing up this point.  Don't just dangle your address out there for the world to see.  Sometimes I put my general location out there, like the fact that I live in Illinois, and I have actually talked about my college, but I don't get more specific than that.  You could theoretically find me, but it would take a bit of work (considering I use a pen name of sorts... I've talked about that here, if you're interested) and I trust that the regular visitor probably doesn't want to.  I'm not completely locked down on my location, but I don't like everyone to know.  Of course, you could keep where you are even quieter than I do.  It's a choice.  In fact, before I turned eighteen, I never even put the country I was in online (outside of my personal Facebook), because I was rather paranoid.  The bottom line: don't be stupid.

"But What About ARC's and Galleys and the like?"

Well, that's a different matter.  You say you want ARCs?  Well, it's good to have a review policy somewhere on the blog with a way to contact you, but DO NOT PUT YOUR ADDRESS THERE!  Seriously, because you will get spam for sure, and maybe worse.  This falls under the don't be stupid idea.  If someone contacts you with a book they want you to read, if you've never heard of them, duo a quick google.  See if they're legit, if other reviews have reviewed the book, if they have a website and a track record.  Don't feel like you have to go total private eye or anything, but don't get scammed.  If you're requesting through a traditional publisher, you're probably safer since they do have a track record.

"And how about giveaways I've won?"

Well, first of all, congrats.  Winning is awesome!  Okay, but do you give your address?  Well, it's a little late now that you've won to ask yourself this since most of the time it says that you need to be able to give your address in an email in order to receive your prize.  So, really, in this case, just think about it before you enter.  I've never had any problems with anyone, and most of the time, I don't enter giveaways unless I know the blogger.  If it's not a blog, but a different kind of website, go back to the idea of "Don't Be Stupid" and if it feels like a scam or like it's wrong, don't enter.

Moral of this story: Trust your gut and don't be stupid.  Pretty simple.

I hope this doesn't come off too negative, since I'm really writing this post to be helpful.  I really just want everyone to be safe on the internet and be careful with their information.  (I will admit I'm writing this a bit late, so it's not as streamlined as I would like.)

Blogging Tips #3: Writing A Review

Hello and welcome to another edition of Blogging Tips!  So far, doing these has been a lot of fun, and actually help me evaluate my own blogging.  I love encouraging people to blog, and I love lending a helping hand.  Thanks again to the wonderful Lauren, who lent some advice in the comments section.  You can see that here if you are interested.  And, if you're interested, please don't be afraid to ask questions or lend your own experience and advice in either the comments section or by emailing me here.

Like last time, I'll be posting her advice, and then expanding on it with my own thoughts as well as adding my own additional advice.  This post is specifically about writing a book review, so I hope it helps.

Her advice: Include a picture, rating, and short summary.

My Thoughts: Yes, yes, and yes!  And make sure all three are easily accessible in the review.  People will always look at the picture and the rating to get a general idea, and then the summary.  I know if it's a book I've never heard of my first desire is to find out what it's about.  I recommend putting the picture, rating, and summary at the top of the post, though the rating can just as easily go at the bottom.

Pictures can be taken from anywhere, and taking your own always has a really great affect and makes things personal, but if you're like me, you may just want to get them from Goodreads.  And that way, you also know that every picture will be the same size.

The most important thing to keep in mind about ratings is that you need a set way to rate.  If you're going to do it out of five stars, make sure you do it out of five stars every time.  And have some set criteria.  I do it based off of how I feel when I immediately finish the book and then, on top of that, how well it was written and thought out.  I work to separate myself from the name of the author or the fandom, because it's more accurate for me that way.  It doesn't always work, but it allows me to really admit whether a book was actually good or just popular.  Rating can be hard, and it helps to keep a little chart somewhere, whether it's public on your blog or not, about what constitutes a good book for you.

Summaries can be done in two main ways.  Either take it from somewhere else, like the back cover, or summarize it yourself.  I like to summarize myself, just because sometimes the blurbs can be misleading sometimes.  However, both ways are pretty good.

Her advice: Include likes and dislikes.  Discuss what I would want to know as a reader.

My thoughts: Including both likes and dislikes is important.  And remember, when writing posts, the first and last points will be the most powerful.  People are more keen to remember the first and last thing they read, so if you really want to get something across, whether it's a problem or a perk, put it in one of these locations.

Discussing what one might want to know before going in is important.  It can be pretty much anything.  For me, if there's some really adult stuff, like graphic sex, I try to put that somewhere where someone can find it immediately.  Or if there's some sort of possible trigger, like rape.  Having these notices can help.  And, generally, just giving advice about the book, like whether the cover is super misleading, can be really beneficial to those interested in reading.  A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself whether you would have wanted to know this before diving in.

Her advice: Wrap it up.

My thoughts: Yep, this is super important because it helps get the general point across to the reader.  This isn't unlike summarizing an essay you've written for class.  Lauren likes to use .gif's or pictures (and she does an AWESOME job of it).  I don't do this, but I love how it gets across information.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

My advice: Keep your format the same.

It doesn't have to be cookie cutter, but it's a good idea to keep each review somewhat the same, format wise.  If you always start with a summary, start with a summary.  If you always end with the rating, end with the rating.  That way, people who stop by your blog regularly won't have trouble finding the information you need.  Don't let this stop your creativity, but also don't start doing experimental review formats every single time you post.  Finding your rhythm will take time, but you will find it.

My advice: Include links to the author/where to buy/Goodreads.

This isn't really that necessary, since it's not exactly hard to google stuff nowadays, but I like to include links to make things even easier.  I know after reading certain reviews I've gone and bought the book immediately (yes, I have a problem).  It can be a nice touch.

If you're still looking for how to format your posts, you can always ask me a question.  Or, just stop by other book blogs and see how they work theirs!

Thanks again to Lauren!

There won't be another blogging tips post until January (they're now a monthly thing, rather than biweekly as I was once going to run them).  I'm not sure exactly what the theme for it will be, yet.  Thanks for stopping by!

Blogging Tips #2: Voice and Content

Hello and welcome to another Blogging Tips post!  I love to encourage people to blog, whether about books or not, and actually have a friend who has recently started blogging.  But that's neither here nor there.  Basically, I want to help out people who are new to blogging by giving advice.  And I want your help!  If you have tips you think would be great to give newcomers, please let me know in the comments, or email me at tsundokublog(at)gmail(dot)com.  These tips come courtesy of Lauren Stoolfire who I talked with in the comments of the last post, which you can access here.  Thanks, Lauren!

College Journey #6: Calendars and Schedules

Welcome to another installment of my college journey blog posts!  I'm coming to the end of my first term here, so things have been rather stressful.  Luckily, I go home in a week, so I get to spend plenty of time with my bookshelves.  If you ever have a specific question you'd like to ask about either college in general or my specific college (Knox College) please feel free to ask in the comments!  I make these posts to help ease the fear of people who are going to be starting college, whether at mine, in the near future.

Discussion: Blog Proud & How Did You Get Here?

So, this is part discussion and part story, but something I think is really important to talk about.  If you're interested in my past discussion posts, click here.  I do these every Thursday or so, and have a few more planned.  Once I get through all my ideas, though, I think I'll start discussion posts on particular books and see how those go.

Book Blogger Tag

I was tagged by the wonderful Christina at Books and Prejudice and if you're not following her blog, what's wrong with you?  Anyway, thanks Christina for the tag!

1. How many times do you check your email a day?

During the summer I checked about a billion times, but now that school has started up it's much less.  Whenever I'm walking to class I like to check and whenever I log onto my computer it immediately pops up, so I check then as well.  I have three email addresses, though, so if I don't check at least three times a day I end up overwhelmed with mail.

2. How many times are you on goodreads?

I don't really seek goodreads out.  I use the app, but only really update whenever I finish or start a book.  I do participate in some groups, but only spend time on them every once in a while.  I love goodreads, I just don't find that I spend that much time on it.

College Journey #5: The Challenge

This is part of a series of blog posts that I write about my college experience.  It's in part a way for me to talk about my own life, and in another part a way for me to give advice to incoming freshman.  While many of these posts will be tailored and full of details about the school I attend (Knox College, a small liberal arts college) some will also have general lessons about college.  Here are the previous posts in the series:

College Journey #1: Orientation

College Journey #2: My First Few Weeks as a Freshman

College Journey #3: Friends
College Journey #4: Food (On Campus)

If you ever have a topic you want me to cover, please let me know!

Blogging Tips #1: So You Want to Start a Blog

So you're wondering what this is since it's a new, let me tell you.  I've been blogging for almost a year now, and one of my suite-mates here has been considering starting a blog.  So, it made me think, maybe other people want to start a blog, too.  So, here are some tips, and some pros and cons if you're considering.

Discussion: A Real 5 Star Book v A Fake 5 Star Book

Discussion posts are a new-ish thing for me.  I'm doing them every Thursday, and I have posts planned for the next month or so.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topics, so please comment!  If you're interested, my last two discussion posts were Get To Know Me and In Defense of Historical Romance.

College Journey #4: Food (On Campus)

This is part of a series of blog posts that I write about my college experience.  It's in part a way for me to talk about my own life, and in another part a way for me to give advice to incoming freshman.  While many of these posts will be tailored and full of details about the school I attend (Knox College, a small liberal arts college) but will also have general lessons about college.  Here are the previous posts in the series:

College Journey #1: Orientation

College Journey #2: My First Few Weeks as a Freshman

College Journey #3: Friends

If you ever have a topic you want me to cover, please let me know!

Discussion: Get to Know Me

So, I've started doing discussion posts every Thursday or so.  Most of the time they'll be book-related, but not today!  I've been blogging for almost a year, and I thought I'd just open up a little about myself.

I'm So Sorry Guys...

I've been so behind lately.  There are so many things I wanted to get up on the blog this week, and especially today, but I just fell behind.  Tomorrow I plan to get all caught up, but I am very sorry for being so behind.