Where I've Been!

Hello all! It has been a hot minute since I've posted anything. Similar to the break I took when fall term began, I also took a break during winter term to focus solely on school. But now that the term is over and I've survived my first year of grad school, I'll have a lot more time to dedicate to blogging. But for now, here's an update from the past few months. 

What I've Read

I'll be honest, I wasn't reading consistently over winter term. In fact, I had to shorten my Goodreads goal from 100 books to 75 books this year. I think this goal will be more achievable. I did read some memoirs from Indigenous authors, such as A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt. Belcourt is a queer Indigenous writer and his memoir explores familial bonds, masculinity, and critiques of Canadian colonialism. It was very well-written and I'd recommend. 

My sister has also recommended to me some thrillers to read over the summertime. I will definitely be getting into those and hopefully then my reading will become a lot more consistent. Despite not reading a whole lot, the books I did read I enjoyed, and that really is all that matters! 

Blog Stuff 

I'm really sorry that I haven't been all that consistent in commenting since the fall. Usually even if I don't blog I can blog hop, but now I'm feeling very out of the loop with what other people have been posting. I will definitely be more consistent now with keeping up with what y'all are reading and writing! 

Life Stuff 

Of course, school is now over for the year and I'm really happy with where I'm at. My grades were good, I have a solid plan for the next few years, and I'll have the opportunity later this month to visit a Canadian province I've never been to; Manitoba, to attend an Indigenous literary studies conference. I really do love presenting conference papers, so I'm excited about that. 

Over the winter I started dating again, and I have now been with my partner for five months. He makes me super happy, but of course at the beginning of our relationship we were busy getting to know each other, and figuring out if we'd be compatible. Given my social anxiety and panic disorder, entering a new relationship was not without its stressors. But I am happy to report that my partner has been amazingly supportive of my mental health and he has educated himself on how best to help me during times of panic attacks. I am truly grateful for every moment we spend together, and now that we have been dating for a bit of time, things have mellowed out so that we can just enjoy each other's company without any pressures attached. It's been very very nice and I am so happy. 

This summer I'll have to prepare for my comprehensive exam, which is a big examination that I will do in the fall which will test me on foundational texts within the field of Indigenous literary studies. Luckily I have friends also prepping for the exam, so we will definitely be supportive of each other and help one another study. But I also have some fun stuff lined up for the summer as well, including weddings, a family vacation, and maybe a baseball game or two. So it won't be all work for sure! 

That is basically what I've been up to the past few months. A lot of work, but some happy life updates as well. Like I said, I am looking forward to blogging again and reconnecting with blog friends. I'm glad to be back! 

How have you all been? Has anything new/exciting happened in your lives? 

Emily @ Paperback Princess

I'm Back! Updates and Plans for 2022

Hello blogging world! I think it's been no secret that I pretty much dropped off the face of the blogging earth these past few months. In September I planned on going on a short hiatus to sort out how to find a blog/life balance, as school has kept me very busy. But then, school pretty much only got worse in terms of busyness and I just knew that I would have no time at any point soon to return. However, now that I am on winter break and the main hustle and bustle of the holiday's are over, I have finally had the chance to open up the old blogging app, blow off the dust, and update you all. So here it is! 

What I Read: 

Over the past few months, I have been able to read some great books. Luckily, a lot of the books that I have to read for school are novels, and so even though I was technically doing school readings, I was still able to add to my Goodreads tally for the year. I am finishing out the year by reading about 175 books, which is a huge accomplishment, and the most books I've ever read in a year! I am very proud of myself and I credit a lot of that reading to the huge lockdown that Ontario was in for most of the winter and spring. While it's been very hard to pick some favourite books of the year, I will say that I was happy to read and enjoy some books outside of my comfort zone, including classics and non-fiction books. A few of these include Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, No Friend But The Mountains by Behrouz Boochani, and Chernobyl Prayer by Svetlana Alexievich. I hope to continue to push myself to read outside of my comfort zone in the new year. 

What I've Been Watching: 

Despite not being able to blog, I made it a point to set aside some time in the evening to unwind from school and watch some new shows. I finally got to The Umbrella Academy, and omg I absolutely loved it! Both seasons are on Netflix and the themes are so well-written, the action is so entertaining, and the banter is hilarious. If you love superhero tv and dark comedy, this show is the one for you! If you're curious, my favourite Hargreeves sibling is Diego :) 

I'm currently rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and its spin-off, Angel. I do think both of these tv shows have some fascinating themes, and I can't get enough of vampire tropes. So, these shows have very much kept me company these past few months. 

I do still have to get to Hawkeye, and I need to watch the new Spiderman movie. I've caught up with all of the Marvel movies that I've missed over the years, except for No Way Home. Judging by all of the positive reviews, I'm very much looking forward to watching it. 

Life Stuff: 

Obviously, school has been all-consuming since September. But I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't having a good time. I've made a lot of friends in my masters cohort. We're a small group so we look out for each other, which is great. My courses for the fall term were a little bit more general, but next term I have a superhero course to look forward to! I've been able to receive a lot of cool comics that I need to get to, which will for sure prepare me for that course. I'm super excited. 

Overall, my grades were good for the fall term, and the fun thing is, I've also been able to grade first-years as a teaching assistant! I'm really enjoying my position and learning first-hand what it's like to instruct university students. It's been pretty cool to learn. 

I've also been able to apply to a few creative writing competitions, and it's been fun to get back into writing. I also might have the opportunity to travel to Montreal in May for an academic conference, which is nerve-wracking, but would be pretty cool. Fingers-crossed it works out. 

Health-wise, I've been pretty much the same. Obviously I still deal with OCD and panic attacks, however for Christmas I got some cool self-care tools that I'm hoping to implement and see if they help in any way. School has also been a great distraction from worries and it helps to talk to friends as well. So, we're getting through it! 

Over the next few days, I'll be using some of the gift cards I received to buy some new books to read in 2022. I'm appealing to all of you guys to please send me your recommendations! Anything you've got, such as comics, non-fiction, poetry, and of course, YA, I'm willing to try. I'm looking forward to building up my bookshelf for the new year. 

I've been giving some thought into how to best return to blogging, and I think what makes the most sense is to start writing my posts in the evening time while I watch my shows. I think I can manage one post on Fridays, as I did before, and I just need to time manage a bit better. Of course, things might change, and I'm not going to pressure myself to stick to a routine, but this seems like a plan that will work. 

Overall, I want to apologize for not being as active on the commenting front. I'm hoping to get better at it, and hopefully this new plan will help. I'm really looking forward to seeing all that the book blogging community accomplishes in the new year, and I wish you all a happy and healthy 2022! 

Now it's time for you to please share with me what you've been up to these past few months! How was your holidays? Did you receive anything cool? What are your new year's resolutions? Talk to me! I've missed you guys :) 

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Life Update: I'm Back, And I Wrote a Book!

Hello everyone, and what an amazing day it is because I can finally confirm that my hiatus for November is finished! It was harder than I thought, with me constantly wanting to be online and making sure that I was still in the loop with what was going on in the blogosphere. Although I got a lot of things accomplished during this time, I hope that it will not have to happen again in the near future. Anyways, so many things happened in November that I'm very proud of!

Bookish Wise:
The beginning of November was very slow when it came to reading. I hadn't read in about 2 weeks and I really thought that I was entering a slump. However, during this time, my school announced that they would be allowing students to borrow ebooks from their site, and this site has almost any title you can imagine! It will sure lesson the budget on book buying. During these past two weeks, I have read:

The Rest of Us Just Live Here: by: Patrick Ness -5/5
Dreamland by: Sarah Dessen -3/5
Unravel Me by: Tahereh Mafi -5/5
Panic by: Lauren Oliver-5/5
The Last Time We Say Goodbye by: Cynthia Hand-5/5

Reviews for all of these books will be coming soon!

Writing Wise:

The main reason why I took a hiatus was because I participated in my very first NaNoWriMo! It was an experience to say the least, but I had a blast while doing it. I was able to communicate with some amazing writers, receive pep talks and advice on how to improve my writing. Winning the challenge and officially confirming that I had finished my very first book, was a very emotional moment for me as this has been in a dream in progress since I was 9. I could not be happier with the outcome, and I'm looking forward to editing this novel and (hopefully) self-publishing! The future looks bright!

Life Wise:

Midterms just past and I am doing very well in my classes! I have really taken an interest in my Ancient History course, and it has definitely made me want to write something inspired by it! I'm enjoying the easy times while they last because I know that exams will soon be right around the corner and I will really need to buckle down! I am so happy to have gotten through this month :)

So where I'm going with this, is that I am back and ready to get back with blogging! Expect more reviews, discussions and anything else that I may like to write! Here's to a great December and a Happy Holiday Season!

I would now just like to take this opportunity to truly thank anyone who commented, tweeted or gave me any advice on how to deal with my hiatus and also in NaNoWriMo. It was an interesting month to say the least, and it was the support from the blogging and writing world that helped me deal with it. I've have never been happier to see all of the positivity posts that have been circling around lately, with Jillian @ Jillian's Books positivity campaign, and just general bloggers spreading the love, this has really become a routine! How amazing it is when a few people get together to make the internet a better place :)

So how's your life going? Read any good books lately? Did you participate in NaNoWriMo? Let me know as I feel like I've been so absent!

Emily @ Paperback Princess