Month in Review: May

ONE MORE MONTH AND THEN I'M DONE SCHOOL! I'm so happy that it's June if you can't tell :D Here's what I got up to in May:

What I Read: 

Ok now before I started writing I had no idea that I had read THIS many books, but I guess May was my reading month. Omg I'm actually so proud and somewhat scared of what I am capable of.

Macbeth by: William Shakespeare- 4/5 stars
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by: Maggie Stiefvater- 5/5 stars
The Raven King by: Maggie Stiefvater- 5/5 stars
Rebel of the Sands by: Alwyn Hamilton- 4/5 stars
The Crown by: Kiera Cass- 3/5 stars
The Wrath and the Dawn by: Renee Ahdieh- 5/5 stars
Oryx and Crake by: Margaret Atwood- 3/5 stars
This is Where it Ends by: Marieke Nijkamp- 3/5 stars
Alanna: The First Adventure by: Tamora Pierce- 3/5 stars
Rebel, Bully, Geek, Pariah by: Erin Jade Lange- 4/5 stars
A Darker Shade of Magic by: V.E. Schwab- 2/5 stars
Supremacy by: Christin Lee- 2/5 stars

Favourite book: IDK MAYBE THE RAVEN KING?! I'm actually so overwhelmed with all these books, but I guess I'll say the Raven King because it was a great finale and had me crying like a baby.

What I Blogged: 

11 posts went up this month! My favourite was my discussion post on Why We Need more Male Friendship Groups in YA, it's something that I've been thinking about for a while!

Favourite Blog Posts of the Month: 

Denise explains Why it's Ok Not To Read Sometimes 

Cee discusses 6 Ways to Read More Widely 

Ruzaika reviews The Crown by: Kiera Cass 

Sierra talks in Defense of Fan Fiction 

Blogger of the Month: 

I'm all for meeting new blog buddies, and I have been able to connect with more and more throughout April and May, so this month I'm giving a shoutout to Annika @ Hiding Books ! Her posts are hilarious, honest, and so worth the read, and I've been so happy to be able to communicate with her! Go give her some love!

Personally of the Month: 

School has been killing me lately, and by that I mean photography. I don't want to go on a rant, but I was having so much fun in the course until we got a new teacher who has completely changed everything our old teacher built up for us! She drowns us in work and expects us to not ask for help. I'm really stressed at the moment :( ONE MORE MONTH!

The highlight of my month was going to see a musical downtown with my family! We got tickets to see Forever Plaid, which is my mom's absolute favourite musical, for her and my grandma's Mother's Day. We had such a great time! The best part was that the actors came out afterwards and we were able to meet them. I get kind of nervous in situations like that but they were so nice and we had an awesome chat. It was a really cool experience and so surreal for my musical-loving family.

That was pretty much my month! I read a lot, stressed a lot, and am really looking forward to my next month in review because by then I'll be done school. I can do this.

How was your May? Did you have a highlight?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by: Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal
Published: September 18, 2012 by: Scholastic Press
Pages: 409
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

All her life, Blue Sargent has been told by every psychic she's ever met that if she kissed her true love, he would die. This prophecy carries her through every year, and through every St. Mark's Eve, where she stands on the footsteps of a church with her clairvoyant mother and watches all the people who will die in the upcoming year. Blue has never seen the dead people, as she possesses no psychic gift like her entire family, until one year, when she witnesses a boy in a tattered school uniform who will soon die. The boy is Richard Gansey, a student of Aglionby Academy, a Raven Boy. Blue befriends Gansey and his gang, wondering if she should reveal his fate to him, and make sure that she doesn't fall for anyone in the group as well. For they could end up dead too.

After absolutely everyone and their cousins in the bookish world raved about this book, this series, and for the dramatic finale, I decided to swing by my local library and give it a go. I was immediately swept into this series and without exaggeration, finished all 4 books in less than 5 days. I literally read a book a day. This series is unique, magical, and something so brilliantly crafted that it will pull you in and never let go.

Let's start with why the characters in this book are the best characters ever. First we have Blue, who is an outgoing feminist who comes from an amazing band of psychic women who stand by each other. Blue was one of the best female protagonists I've read, because she was fiery, tough, but at the same time relatable in a sense.

The Raven Boys are a group of 4 boys from the prestigious Aglionby Academy, whom Blue befriends. First we have the absolute gem of a guy that is Richard Campbell Gansey the Third. He's hilarious, preppy and wears boat shoes which are my favourite shoes of all time, so there's that. Then we have Adam Parrish, who is the absolute cutest boy ever and who has my heart. Ronan Lynch is a bit tougher, he is very protective but he does have a soft side. Lastly, there's Noah Czerny, who's mysterious and friendly and so awesome. These boys were supportive of each other and so well written.

I found it kind of hard to explain the synopsis of this book, because there's so many amazing elements to it that you kind of have to read it yourself to fully understand and appreciate it. I will say, that the plot of this book is so amazingly beautiful, the diction will keep you hooked and even the imagery seems so aesthetically pleasing. It's pretty amazing.

The only, and only thing that prevented me from giving this book a perfect 5 stars is that it takes a while to understand. Like in any first book of a series, it's there to act like an introduction and provide the build up into the other books, so I just thought that this book was a bit slower than the others, because there was a lot of background information to explain. However after this, it's a breeze.

I don't think this was a very coherent review because there is just SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT with this series, that you kind of need to just experience it yourself. I promise you, you will be amazed.

Have you read The Raven Boys? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Paperback's Pondering's: Why I'm Not a Fan of Fanfiction

Paperback's Pondering's is a weekly discussion when I take a topic and well, ponder about it! Judging by this week's title, I can guess that almost every bookworm reading this right now is gasping for breath. Get ready people, because it's #unpopularopinion time.

You're probably wondering, how can any bookworm not appreciate the beautiful art of taking their favourite characters and making more stories about them? What's so bad about that? Well, I can say that I wasn't always this way, but my opinions on fanfiction has changed drastically over the years.

Once upon a time when I was a 13 year old girl obsessed with One Direction, I read fanfiction religiously. Now don't be fainting asking why a 13 year old girl was reading possibly dirty fanfiction on the Internet, because I didn't read anything smutty. First, because I had the most ignorant sex education ever and didn't understand half the terms, and second because I was a goodie two-shoes and knew that I would get in trouble. ANYWAYS, I was really into reading One Direction fanfiction as the really good ones seemed like contemporary romance novels with my favourite band as the main characters. It was awesome.

Once I hit 14, the fanfiction switch suddenly switched off in me and I just was not into it anymore. This was partly because I was maturing with my reading and wanted to read proper published books, and also because I thought that reading fanfiction was sort of creepy and overly-obsessive. It's sort of like forcing something that's never going to happen.

When I entered the book blogging world, it seemed like everyone was obsessed with fanfiction. To this day, I haven't seen anyone who has said that they don't read it, and even some YA books are actually dedicated to it. When I read Fangirl and then Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, I knew that fanfiction had finally taken a world of it's own. It was really incredible, but for me, unnecessary.

Ever since my 1d days I can't bring myself to read fanfiction. Even if there's infamous Hermione/Draco, Harry/Luna ones, I found them to be weird and uncomfortable. This meaning, that they just seemed wrong. I'm a big believer that what ends in a book is how it should end, that maybe we can't understand it, but we cannot change it. These fanfictions at least give me false perceptions on what really happened in the story, they mess with my brain.

I just don't like change, which is a sole purpose in fanfiction, and so I try to stay clear. I think that who ends up with who was meant to be, who died was meant to be, and I couldn't imagine anything else differently.

All this being said, a main purpose in fanfiction could be to change typical stereotypes in books and promote diversity, which of course, is always a good thing. A lot of fanfiction can feature LGBTQA romances using traditionally straight characters, which can show the spectrum in which a character could be on. I do respect this movement a lot.

This isn't a post to bash fanfiction. A lot of work goes into it and some writers have even gone so far as to get book deals for their work, so there's no denying that this medium can bring out true talent in people. I'm just saying that it's not for me, and probably never will be. I think that the past should be left in the past and I just don't like to read the change. Maybe I just haven't found the right fanfiction yet.

What do you think? Are you into Fanfiction or not into it? Do you have a favourite story or theme?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Conversations Week 4: What are the Essential Things the Blogs you Follow Have to Have?

Conversations is a fortnightly discussion hosted by Geraldine @ Corralling Books and Joan @ Fiddler Blue. Head on over to their blogs for all the information on these posts! This week is all about what is essential for a blog I follow to have.

I don't think I'm very picky when it comes to choosing blogs to follow. Really, as long as you're a nice person and blog about YA, I would probably highly consider following you. However there are a few things that are nice and helpful for a blog I follow to have. That being said, people should do whatever they want to do and don't feel like they need to have something in order to be popular.

I think that it is important for blogs I follow to reply back to comments, or at least comment back. I understand that some blogs get many, many comments and it's time consuming to reply to everyone, but I do like an acknowledgement of my comment. It makes me feel kind of awkward if no one responds or returns the favour. That being said, I don't just comment on blogs expecting to get a comment back, I just like to know that the blogger appreciated my comment.

I also like blogs I follow to have a social media page. Usually when I follow a blog I think I will like, I would like to follow them on other platforms as well such as on Twitter or bookstagram. It's just nice to talk to bloggers in platforms out of the comment section, so I do think having social media is important.

Like I said, I don't look for much, so lastly I would just like for bloggers to not only post book reviews. Sometimes you're not all that interested in the books they review, and so it's nice to put some memes/discussions/tags in there to appeal to a wider audience. I think it's nice to spice things up a bit.

That's pretty much it, if I'm being honest. Like I said before, I'm really just looking for a kind, genuine person who isn't only looking for more followers, and actually wants to get the chance to chat and know you. I've never had a problem with the blogs I have followed up to now, and I'm hoping to follow more great book blogs in the future!

What are the things you look for in a blog?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

The Outsiders by: S.E. Hinton

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Classic
Published: September 1, 1988 by: Speak
Pages: 192
Rating: 5/5 stars

Ponyboy Curtis knows that there are only two groups of people in the world: The Socials, who are the rich, egotistical, well developed men in society, and The Greasers, who are the poor, uneducated and trouble makers of the world. Ponyboy and his gang are Greasers, and would do anything for each other to help defend them against the group of Socials who could jump them at any moment. However when chaos ensues and a Social is killed, Ponyboy and his friend Johnny are now on the run, from the law, from Ponyboy's authoritative older brother, and from a life where they will always be the Outsiders of society.

I read this book a long time ago, and it only occurred to me recently that I just had to re read it, when I watched the movie for the first time. If you haven't seen the movie, imagine 1980's brat-pack, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe and just sheer awesomeness. Seriously, everything about this movie is awesome. So I really wanted to re read the book and reclaim my love for it, and let me tell you, I totally did.

If you read my Paperback's Pondering's from this past Wednesday, then you'll know that I love a strong element of male friendship in a book. This book was obviously filled with really strong relationships that will make you begin to question every single friendship you've ever had. The love that these boys have for each other is extraordinary.

This book is full of some of the strongest characters you will ever see. I always find it hard to believe that S.E. Hinton wrote this when she was still in high school, as the writing in this book seems like that of an author who has written dozens of bestsellers. Each character was gorgeously crafted with his own special character traits, and each one of them played a role in the bigger picture. It didn't seem like some characters were forgotten about at all.

This book will make you cry. I'm just saying it right now, it's sad and if you don't already know what happens in it then boy are you in for a treat. However this is one of those books where it was a beautiful kind of sad. The context was sad, but the meaning was incredibly deep and meaningful.

I think that this book should be a staple in every teenagers life. Past or present, this book will find a way for you to relate to it and it will definitely make you laugh and cry. Read this, it'll change your life.

Have you read The Outsider's? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Paperback's Pondering's: Why We Need Male Friendship Groups in YA

Paperback's Pondering's is a weekly discussion when I take a topic and well, ponder about it! This week, is all about why I love a strong group of boys in a book.

Last month, I had read two amazing books that really stood out to me. The first was a reread, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, and the second was a series, The Raven Cycle by: Maggie Steifvater. Now plot wise, these two books have nothing alike, but for some reason I connected both of them together and recognized that they were both some of my favourite books. I think I now know the reason why, and that is, because I love groups of boys in books!

This seems like a weird topic, but I hope I can explain in as much detail as I can. Basically, a lot of the YA I read contains a female protagonist with female friends. She is supported by her strong group, and then usually a male love interest makes his way into the mix later. Now while I'm all for the girl power, as I can obviously relate to it more, recently I've been really into that sort of brotherly love that you can get from a strong group of boys who share a friendship. It's pretty awesome to see romance take a backseat sometimes.

I can relate this to The Outsiders first. The Outsiders is basically about a group of Greasers in the 50's who struggle with fitting in and protecting their gang from their rivals: The Soc's or "Socials" of the town. The boys make sacrifices for each other and will defend each other no matter what. There are only two minor girl characters in this entire book, with romance only being an itty bitty part of a much bigger relationship. This book really stood out to me because it was refreshing to see boys having as strong of a friendship that we normally see in girl groups.

I absolutely love that books with strong male friendships are less about falling in love and more about helping each other out. There is often a stigma that men do not get emotional and do not show feelings, but these books with male friendships show true heart in friends that often gets overlooked.

Now to The Raven Cycle. The main character of this book is actually a girl, who gains a friendship with "The Raven Boys" and is accepted into their group. While it's awesome to have a variety and see a strong girl in this friendship group, I also love the relationship between the boys. Even though they all come from different backgrounds, they respect and defend each other and understand each other in ways that perhaps a girl couldn't. The friendship relationships actually take over the romantic relationships for me in this book.

I really don't know where I'm going with this, but I just thought I'd share my feelings that a group of boys in a book can really get me hooked and make me really respect a book. It's something that I've only just realized I loved just recently, as it is not often seen in YA. That being said, any friendship is a great friendship if we're being honest here, and it can be the strongest force in a book.

Do you have a favourite fictional friendship group? Give me some rec's!

Emily @ Paperback Princess

ARC Review: Frayed by: Kara Terzis

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery/Thriller
Expected Publication: June 7, 2016 by: Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 304
Rating: 4/5 stars

*Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with this copy in exchange for an honest review*

Ava will stop at nothing to find her sister's killer. Fostered at a young age, Ava and her sister Kelsey were inseparable. Until, Kelsey showed up murdered with no suspects. Now Ava must uncover the truth behind her sister's killing, by trusting those she never thought she would, investigating those she thought she trusted, all while battling her own personal demons.

With thrilling twists and a surprising ending, this book was insanely good to say the least! The plot kept me hooked from start to finish, and I felt like I was right along with Ava trying to figure out the murder. This book weaved together many different elements such as mental illness, PTSD, relationships and crime, all while keeping a very engaging atmosphere. The only problems I had were minor ones.

I loved how this book seemed to intertwine many different genres. There was definitely a contemporary feel with the themes of mental illness, and a protagonist that seemed real and relatable. However the main genre was actually a mystery-thriller, which was shown through the overall dark atmosphere of trying to solve a crime and the dangerous aspects to it. This book satisfied my contemporary side, all while being an easy to read mystery as well.

You'll definitely want to keep reading until the ending. The ending was completely mind blowing and totally unexpected, and this book seemed like a crime show that you just want to keep watching until the end. The plot had me hooked on finding out who committed the murder, there was absolutely no room for boring parts.

The only problem I had with this book, was the protagonist, Ava. I found that she wasn't really described well, so I couldn't really get a feel of her personality type or her inner problems. All is revealed at the end, however I wanted to know a bit more about her as the book went on. I feel as if she was quite underdeveloped until the very end.

Overall, this was a great book if you want to start out reading mystery, but also a great book for the veteran mystery lover. This book will keep you entertained, and definitely leave you surprised.

What do you look for in a good mystery-thriller? Do you have any rec's for me?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Paperback's Pondering's: Writing Update

Paperback's Pondering's is a weekly discussion when I take a topic and well, ponder about it! This week, I'm pondering writing, and where I want mine to go from here.

For those of you who don't know, I participated in NaNoWriMo last November. I finished my book, and decided to get it bound properly with won of the winning coupon codes. Included in the package, was publishing, in which people can purchase my book in ebook form to review. However recently I have decided, that I do not want it published... yet. Let me explain:

I spent years imagining what life would be like when I published my first novel. I wanted it so bad. I even expected to do it when I started NaNoWriMo. However as time went on, I began to get quite self conscious about my book. That is, I didn't know if it was any good.  It's very awkward reading your own book, and you nit-pick every detail to ensure it makes sense. To be honest, there's still a part of me that is scared that my book is far from perfect.

I obviously know that anyone who reads this book isn't going to bash it's mistakes, but I can't help but wonder what they're thinking. I see such amazing plots and characters of other people's books, and I can't imagine my book ever comparing to them. It's a matter of being very self conscious.

I would never dream in a million years right now to send this book to a publisher. That is, I am almost certain it would be rejected. Why you ask? To be honest, I don't know. I put my heart and soul into this book, I took care to edit, but I compare myself to every other writer on the planet. I just don't think I'm good enough.

There's also the problem of writing a book in one month. You feel very rushed and pressured, there's very little planning involved, and everything just seems very overbearing. I feel like now, I would much rather write a book over a longer period of time before publishing it.

Nobody has read my book, and I don't really want anyone to read my book right now. I have the full copy now, and it was so surreal to be honest to see it so professionally done. But this is something that I just want to do for me right now. I think I just need more time to ponder really over if I'm completely confident about this book.

A lot of people have been asking for an excerpt, and I think that's all I can manage right now. It's amazing how many of you have been caring about this, and congratulating me. It gives me more confidence. So, deep breathes, here it is. But this is probably all anyone's going to get from this book:

Synopsis:

Everyone thinks that Augusta Abney is dead, about to be unplugged after a decade of immense suffering. That is, until she wakes up. Some are intrigued by her stories of a different world she seemed to have travelled to while asleep, but other's find her to be threat to their corrupted city's traditional ways. Can Augusta figure out the truth behind her world, or will she realize that the life she thought she had been living, has all been in a dream? 

When I woke up, everything was white. There were white walls, white beds, and I was covered by a white bed sheet. Haven’t these people ever heard of some colour?  I crane my neck to peer over my bed frame, but I find myself too scared to move. Where is my school, where is Akilah, and how come I’m lying in this bed? Then, all of Ms. Levesque’s teachings hit me. What if, this is the Old World? She always told me that the Old World was not diverse and as rich in culture as Arcanus, and this definitely seems like just that. But, why I am I here? Surely, this is just a dream, and that I’ll be able to wake up and tell everyone that I have experienced the past. I pinch myself, once, twice, nothing. This is all too peculiar, all too strange. And somehow, it seems all too real. 

*cringes* That's it! Really though, thank you to everyone both back in November, and now, that cheered me on and have been incredibly supportive of my writing experiences. Hopefully, I'll find the courage to post more in the future. 

Have you ever felt self-conscious about your writing? Do you have any published books? 

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Conversations: Week 3: What Pushed you to Start Blogging and Why do you Continue to Blog?

Conversations is a fortnightly discussion hosted by Geraldine @ Corralling Books and Joan @ Fiddler Blue. Head on over to their blogs for all the information on these posts! This week is all about blogging habits and why we blog.

My blogging start was probably a bit different from post people, and that it is because it was actually my parent's idea for me to start a blog! They thought it would be a great way for me to practice writing through reviews, and for me to become more social. I wanted to be a journalist, so they thought that writing book reviews would be good practice at writing articles. So basically, as unexciting as it sounds, I started blogging just because I wanted to prove to my parents that I could do something they wanted me to do. I just wanted to make them happy by taking their advice.

It really was my parents who took control of my blog at first. My mom came up with the name, my dad came up with a template, and then they basically handed it over to me to start blogging. None of us knew anything about it, and I had no idea where to begin. There were a lot of Google searches, to say the least.

When I started to gain a small following, that's when I realized that I wanted to do this properly and long-term. By then my parents had pretty much given up on the blog, so it was just me to direct it wherever I wanted it to go. I knew I wanted to continue because people's lovely comments on my posts motivated me to keep going.

I have always been a quitter growing up. I don't usually stick with things long-term, and almost all of my interests have fizzled out. To be honest, I didn't think this blog would last the summer I started. However seeing that people actually enjoyed my posts was enough for me to carry on and see where it went, and boy am I happy that I did.

I continue to blog now because with each passing day gives me more opportunity to meet new people, connect with more authors, and discover more amazing books. I wouldn't have read half of the amazing books that I have read now if it wasn't for connecting with different people and sharing recs. I wouldn't have a proper book under my belt if it wasn't for bloggers who told me about NaNoWriMo. I wouldn't have a support system who could literally cheer me up about anything, if I had quit.

Bottom line is, I continue to blog because it has become my life. My blog buddies have become my friends, and I would feel incomplete if I stopped now. People say I need to get a hobby other than reading, but honestly, blogging is my hobby. It's what makes me truly comfortable, it's what makes me, me.

I want to know what you think! Why do you continue to blog?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Dorothy Must Die (Dorothy Must Die #1) by: Danielle Paige

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Retelling
Published: April 1, 2014 by: HarperCollins
Pages: 452
Rating: 4/5 stars

Amy Gumm never asked to be swept up in a tornado and sent to Oz, but soon she is swept into a mission like no other. Lonely and an outcast, Amy would do anything to be respected in her small Kansas school. However that wish will have to wait when she is swept into a tornado and sent to the Wonderful World of Oz. But this journey is no fairytale. Amy is recruited by The Revolutionary Order of Wicked to spy on Oz's ruthless queen: Dorothy. In order to save Oz from a terrible fate, Amy is chosen to carry out a deed like no other: kill Queen Dorothy. Will she succeed?

I have to admit, I'm not the biggest fan of the Wizard of Oz. As a matter of fact, it's probably the most hated classic in my family. I never really read it properly, and it wasn't a major part of my childhood like some. However, this book took a story beloved by many and turned it into an incredibly badass assassin novel that was nothing short of creative! It was all kinds of unique.

I loved the main theme and the idea behind this book. It can be shocking to some to have to accept the fact that Dorothy is now a ruthless villain, but I thought that it was awesome! I loved the change in character roles, and how everyone basically grew a dark side to make way for new protagonists. I thought the change was done really well in a way that was interesting to non-Oz lovers like myself.

I really liked Amy as a character. She was funny, sassy and sarcastic and you could still get a feel of her modern teenager persona throughout the book. I wouldn't classify this book as an urban fantasy, but there were definitely hints of the modern world in her that made her more relatable and more appealing to me.

I did have some issues with the other character though. Besides Amy and Dorothy, none of the other characters really stood out to me or made much sense. Maybe it's because I'm not familiar with all the creatures of Oz to begin with, so I was left feeling really confused as to who was what and who was a good guy and who was a bad guy. It was also very hard to visualize them in my head.

Overall, this book could be very appealing to all those who are fans of The Wizard of Oz, as well as those who just love a good retelling. The new plot was incredibly appealing, although I do think you need some background knowledge on Oz to begin with before you start.

Have you read Dorothy Must Die? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Paperback's Pondering's: Why I Can't Seem to Get the Hang of Bookstagram

Paperback's Pondering's is a weekly discussion when I take a topic and well, ponder about it! This week, I'm diving into the world of bookstagram.

It's a popular form of social ,media in the bookworm world: bookstagram. Just by searching up the tag #bookworm on Instagram, thousands upon thousands of aesthetically pleasing book photographs will show up. Some people even use bookstagram as their prime social media tool in the book world. I decided to give it a shot about a month ago when a few fellow bookworms convinced me to join. Sadly, I can't seem to get the appeal of it.

Rewind to late March when I was at a book event and almost everyone in the line was raving over bookstagram. Some talked about how amazing the community was, how they were able to make friends with authors through the site, and how easy it is to get noticed by publishers this way. Everyone got me hooked on the idea, and with me being in a photography class this semester, I felt like it would grow my knowledge on it as well as make some new friends.

I have now realized that bookstagram is not for me, at all. I soon found myself stressed over how often I had to post, as I saw the people I was following post at least once a day, as well as whether or not I had to join monthly photo challenges or not. Being a busy student, I barely have time to put together a nice setup for one book, let alone 30 per month! While I have a great admiration for those who put so much time and effort into their photos, seriously these people are like superheros, I could never do it myself.

The main thing that people seemed to love about bookstagram was the community. Some said that they had found their best book buddies on the site. I'm always looking for new friends to rave with about books, but I found it very hard on the site to make friends with people when you're just starting out. Most more popular book accounts would follow me, I'd get excited and follow them back, only to be unfollowed LITERALLY MINUTES LATER because they just wanted to expand their followers. I'm not trying to be rude or bash bookstagram, but I never have that problem on my blog or Twitter.

I find it hard to have proper conversations through bookstagram. On Twitter it's so easy to jump into a conversation and keep it going, but a conversation through the comment section of a photo just doesn't seem as organized. I find it a lot harder to let the conversations keep moving.

I guess what I'm trying to get here is, that while I have an amazing respect for all things bookstagram and I'm sure that there are lovely people on there that I would love to meet, Twitter is my main and favourite form of communication. I just find that with my experiences, everyone is a lot more open to each other, and it just overall seems a bit more my type. While I still keep my bookstagram to like the EVER SO GORGEOUS photos I see on there, and while I'll still keep my account for when I'm in the mood, I don't think it will be a major form of social media for me. I just don't feel very comfortable there.

I want to know what you think! What do you like/dislike about bookstagram?

Emily @ Paperback Princess