Tag: Book Chat

Updated Blog Schedule

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So I announced a bit ago that I will no longer be doing promotional posts and blogs. I later amended that to state that I will still do blog tours. Especially for certain companies. Whether or not I do a review for the tours depends on how many books I have to read for that week. So I’ve decided to update the schedule to reflect the changes.

Monday:

12 PM- Blog Tours (If Any)

4 PM- Weekly Reading Goals (Will discuss the books I plan to read during the week and any goals I have)

8 PM- Book Reviews (If Any)

Tuesday:

12 PM: Blog Tours (If Any)

4 PM: Top Ten Tuesday- This is a meme blog that I used to participate in that I will be doing again.

8 PM: Book Reviews (If Any)

Wednesday:

12 PM: Blog Tours (If Any)

4 PM: Featured TV Show- I’ll talk about a tv show I’m really enjoying that week.

8 PM: Book Reviews (If Any)

Thursday:

12 PM: Blog Tours (If Any)

4 PM: Featured Book- Will showcase either a book that has recently been released or a book I’m really enjoying.

8 PM: Book Reviews (If Any)

Friday:

12 PM:Blog Tours (If Any)

4 PM: Weekly Coloring Projects- Will showcase four of my favorite coloring projects. Will show both actual and digital projects.

8 PM: Book Reviews (If Any)

Saturday:

12 PM: Blog Tours (If Any)

4 PM: Weekly Progress- How I did on goals and reading for the week.

8 PM: Book Reviews (If Any)

Sunday:

12 PM: Blog Tours (If Any)

4 PM: Sundays in Bed With- Talk about the books I’m reading for the day. Sundays are my off the grid days.

8 PM: Book Reviews (If Any)

All times are EST. Please feel free to follow my blog or my page here Star’s Books & Tea.

I feel good about this! I’m excited to see how things go! Have a good night everybody!

Book Clubs I’m Participating In This Year

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I’ve been enamored with some book clubs I see online. This year I’m actively participating. I’d love to see who all is also participating in them. I also need to find more info on where to talk about the books as I read them.

  1. I will be participating in my library’s book club. This month’s book was The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian. Which is a book that an old book club that I haven’t attended in a while did at the end of the last year. I’m almost done with the book. Our meeting is on Monday.
  2. The Reece Witherspoon book club. I’ve been following this one for a while. I have a list of the books previous books that I plan to read eventually.
  3. Read With Jenna. My mom introduced me to this one last year. I’ve been curious about it. I also have the list of previous books for this one too.
  4. Belletrist. This is another book club I discovered last year. I’m really excited to start participating in it this year.
  5. Good Morning America Book Club. I’m going to be transparent here. I just heard about this one. I’m probably only going to participate this month. I’m not fully sure about that yet. The book they are doing this month is one I chose for my Book of the Month box. So I figured I could kill two birds in one stone!

I’m really excited to participate in these! I got the first four books in audiobook just so I can make absolutely sure that I have them read in time! I’m branching out and trying to balance between reading books for review and books for pleasure. Don’t get me wrong. I find joy in reading both, but yeah. Sometimes it’s hard to pick up a book just because. If you participate in any of these, please let me know!

An Unreliable Reader and Blogger

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In September, I’ll have been a blogger for 10 years. Ten. Years. I just can’t believe it. I remember living and breathing blog things. I haven’t always been Star’s Books & Tea. I can’t tell you all my blog names, but there have been a few. This one really fits me. Anyway, I’m so far left field with the topic I wanted to talk about today. To be fair, this thought process brought about the topic I wanted to discuss.

For the past two to three years, I’ve really been a very unreliable reader and blogger. I say that I’m going to do things and then don’t. It’s not that I don’t intend to. I have had a lot going on in my life. I will not go into detail about what has happened in my life. For one, I don’t want pity or judgment. For two, I feel like they are just excuses at the end of the day.

Rather than dwelling on what I’ve done and what I haven’t done the past few years, I plan to let it go and move forward. It’s going to be hard. I still feel the guilt. I still feel the pressure. I will just take it one day at a time. I will slowly get back into how things were before. I will get back in both my love for reading and for blogging. I still love them, but it’s different now. I can’t explain it.

For those who are struggling with anything, it will all look up. Sometimes you just have to step back and reconfigure if you will. Find the groove that works for you. It’s not going to be easy. There will be some hard days. There will be some good days. Just hang in there. It will all work out in the end.

Goals For December

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I’d like to start setting some goals for the following month. I’m not sure I’ll settle on a specific day. Maybe sometime in the last week of the month. I’m not going to overdo it like I have in the past. Maybe just a few simple ones. We shall see. Hopefully, this is a thing that sticks.

Goals:

  1. Get meaningful gifts for loved ones.
  2. Conquer challenges before the year is over.
  3. Keep up with routine
  4. Be more active.
  5. Create a permanent steady income.

I tried to make all of these vague so that if I make any progress I will consider it a win. Baby steps!

BOTM Yearly Challenge Update

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Another challenge update. I haven’t been good with this one either. I think I need to average 2-3 books a week for the rest of the year to pull it off. It might be tough, but I think it’s doable. Anything is possible. I’m almost done with one, so there’s that. From what I understand, there’s a second stage to the challenge this year. If there is, I’m definitely not going to try for it. I’ll be lucky to get this one done!

Yearly Recommendation Challenge Update

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I’m sad to say that I haven’t really been doing good with this challenge at all. I finished January And February. I need to do March and April. I have finished May and June. I need to do July and August. I finished September. I need to do October and November. I will also need to do December as well. I’m stubborn and determined. I want to finish them all by the end of the year! I am also considering doing this again next year. It was really fun! We will see!

A Long Game Project

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This was my favorite series in high school. I loved finding them in the library. I always wanted to own all of them. I had attempted a few times in the past and due to circumstances, I have not succeeded and lost what I did have. I have been working on getting them all in ebook. They are $2.99 each. Lately, I have been using all of my gift card and promo credits on getting them. I now own more than half of them. I’m going to be so excited when I finally own them all. I actually also own the first six in the University series, but I own physical copies. I own the diary specials too. I really do want to read them all one day and in order! I’ll probably do that once I own them all. I may even try to find some more university ones as well.

My Bookish Icks

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I want to disclose this by saying that I have no problems with these things existing. I also have no problems with people enjoying them. I’m just saying that they are a no for me. Keep in mind that I identify as a demisexual (on the asexual spectrum). I’m also more into women than I am men.

  1. Books that are more about the sexual aspect than the actual plot itself. I don’t mind books that have sexual situations in them. As long as its not the entire story.
  2. Instalove. I just really find it a little questionable. It’s also not really for me. Though I can say that I do find it cute in short stories, but it depends on the situation.
  3. Miscommunication tropes. I just can’t. I didn’t really enjoy it in tv shows either. It annoys me really quickly. I’ll still read it, but I will be agitated. Along the lines of miscommunication, I really don’t care for the jumping to conclusion and running off situations either.
  4. Prolonged situations. I mean I get that things have to be drawn out for drama purposes. However, there is an extent where it goes too far. At least for me. It just gets really annoying.
  5. Short book series. This one I feel the need to explain a bit. There are circumstances where it’s okay. Like standalone series for instance. They told their point and it was done. However, the ones that are broken up into short segments that really could have been combined into one book and been just as good irk me. If the point is made by a certain point, that’s fine.

I hope these make sense. I want to point out again that I am in no way judging people’s preferences. I’m just saying what I don’t personally like. I’d love to hear your bookish icks.

Graduating Training and Weekend Plans

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Today I graduated from training for my job. Starting Monday, I’ll be in Abay. It will last up to twenty days. I have a chance of graduating to production earlier than that, but it depends on how well I do on calls during ABay. I am feeling pretty confident. We shall see. I am really hoping this job works out. It seems very promising so far!

I plan to celebrate this weekend by reading! It doesn’t hurt that I’m hosting my monthly readathon for The Introverted Readathoner group. If you have Facebook, please feel free to look it up and join us! Here are some of the books I plan to try to read this weekend:

What are your plans for this weekend? How was your week?

12 Book Challenge Updates

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  1. Ascenders by C.L. Gaber- Recommend by Pamela Sims- Completed
  2. Obsession by Karen Robards- Recommended by Maggie Eckert- Completed
  3. Pretty Killer by Truant & King- Recommended by Sarah Nicole- Need to read
  4. Escaping Demons by Killian Wolf- Recommended by Sheena Gotta- Need to Read
  5. Cell by Stephen King- Recommended by Dustyn Brown- Completed
  6. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey- Recommended by Books Are The New Black– Completed
  7. Wolves And Daggers by Melanie Karsak- Recommended by Breezy Jones- Need to Read
  8. The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen- Recommended by One Book More– Need to Read
  9. His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik- Recommended by Roxy Sterling- Need to Read
  10. The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams- Recommended by Emily Camp- Need to Read
  11. Crave by Tracy Wolff- Recommended by Karen Ludwick- Need to Read
  12. Raven Blood by M Sinclair- Recommended by Kelsey Hicks- Need to Read

I’m working on this. I thought I was further behind than I was. So there’s that!