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

My Goodreads Challenge Update

Hello all! Given as we are a little halfway over the year, I decided that I would take a look at my progress on my yearly goodreads challenge. I want to see how things are going so far and which books are looking to be my favourites. I'll be looking at some stats on what I have been reading so far!

My Goodreads Challenge:

My Goal: 50 books from January 1, 2018- December 31, 2018
Books read so far: 37 (13 more to go!)

Breaking Down the Books:

Out of the 37:

8 have been YA contemporary
9 have been YA fantasy
3 have been YA historical fiction
9 have been classics
4 have been adult realistic fiction
4 have been graphic novels

Five Star Reviews:

I have had twelve five-star reviews so far which seems pretty good to me! I only have one one-star review which is so awesome. To me that seems like I have established what I like and have developed a strong rhythm in my reading.

I won't decide officially until the end of the year, but it looks to me that Maus: A Survivor's Tale by: Art Spiegelman is on track to be my favourite book of the year, which is surprising considering it is a graphic novel! I would have never thought that a graphic novel would be my fave, but this book was so amazingly crafted, and I cannot wait to write my review on it.

The Main Things I've Noticed:

I read a lot more adult fiction these past few months! It seems like every other year in the past was filled with YA with a few classics sprinkled in, but I had a lot more of an even match between adult novels and YA novels as a whole. There was also a healthy amount of classics thanks to my literature class last year.

I also have been ahead of the game ever since I started the challenge, and this is probably due to me reducing my goal to fifty books instead of my usual hefty eighty. I decided to stop forcing myself to read an enormous number of books that I probably skimmed through, and instead focus on reading a smaller amount more closely and thoroughly. Reading has become a lot less stressful with this method!

Overall, over these past six months I found that I have been reading out of my comfort zone, and it has paid off! I would never have reached for as much adult fiction in times past, but I have been taking risks in my reading and the result has been that I have been enjoying books far more! In fact, most of my two-star reviews had to do with the YA's I have read. Now this is not to say that I hate YA, I just think it's good that my reading has matured over this year. I'm looking forward to the remainder of the year and hopefully reading a lot more awesome books!

How are your reading challenges going?

Emily @ Paperback Princess