Let’s Talk Bookish: Do Book Titles Matter? | 10/21/22

Let’s Talk Bookish is a bookish meme that was created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and now is hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits, where each Friday, bloggers write posts discussing the topic of the week! Definitely check out her blog for more bookish content plus more Let’s Talk Bookish topics and the schedule.

This week’s topic is:

October 21: Do Book Titles Matter? (Hannah @ Hannah’s Library)

How much do book titles matter?

I think they matter a lot. I think a good title sets the tone for the book.

Have you ever read or not read a book based on the title alone?

Yes, most definitely – because if I’m not attracted to the title but the cover art is amazing. Well, I’m a sucker for a good book cover so I’ll read it. As for not reading something because of the title…🤔, I’m trying to think of an instance but am coming up blank. But I’m sure there have been titles I’ve skipped because of the title.

Do you like long or short book titles better?

Keep it short and sweet!

Do you think the title has to connect to the story in some way?

Yes, I feel it should connect because as I said before I feel like it sets the tone for the book. If I read a book that doesn’t match the title, I feel a bit mislead. For example…

This story to me needed more Christmas things about it because the cover is very Christmassy and the title says Christmas Clash. The things clashing in the story was two families that had bad blood and they have rival restaurants. It’s set around the holidays but that’s about it for the Christmas part.

What are some of your favorite book titles?

I love titles that get straight to the point! 😆 The Grace Year and the Hunger Games made me wonder…what is a Grace Year? What happens in the Hunger Games – and whoa, do we find out!! As for Fable and Guncle – one word titles are short and sweet. I think all the titles in The Inheritance Games series were spot on and strong. It totally tied into the story.

Of course on the opposite end of short titles are those with long, fancy titles which we usually find in the fantasy genre. I have a love/hate relationship with those. Sometimes they sound so pretty…and other times it’s just too many words lol. For example, the SJM titles are always fitting and I kinda blame her for starting this trend lol…

All these titles that start like: A Court of, A House of, A Storm of, A something something something….titles was fun for awhile and then I started to roll me eyes. 😅 It got to be too much but I believe finally it has died down!

At least I know when I see a title like that it’s going to give me fantasy or romantasy. So I guess that’s one good thing about it!

I want to know what some of your favorite titles are, let me know in the comments below!

Let’s Talk Bookish: DNFing Books | 10/7/22

This week’s topic is:

October 7: DNFing books (Mint @ Mint Loves Books)

DNF is an acronym that stands for did not finish.

What makes you DNF a book?

If I am constantly putting down a book because it’s boring me or I have a hard time concentrating then I either DNF or tell myself to come back to it at a later time. I still have a hard time DNF’ing arcs though – so if I get halfway through the book and that’s all I can push through – I’ll skim the rest.

How often do you DNF books?

Not a lot – but if I have too many books I’ve borrowed, or arcs due in a month, I find myself letting the borrowed books go past due date. I can always come back to them. I think I’ve been DNF’ing a book every other month this year lol.

What’s the silliest or pettiest reason why you DNF’d a book?

A main character who gets on my nerves to the point I cannot continue reading about them anymore. I feel like my will is pretty strong to push through any book and I sometimes like unlikable characters. But if it comes to the point where everything about them just puts me off then I DNF the book.

Do you review books that you DNF?

If they are arcs – yes I do review them as best I can. It’s super rare for me to give a one star review, even for a DNF’d book because someone else out there might actually love the book. But books that aren’t arcs? If I have the energy to write a review after DNF’ing it I will – but most times, I don’t.

Let’s Talk Bookish: Reading Seasonally | 9/23/22

This week’s topic is:

Reading Seasonally

Do you read seasonally?

I think I’ve done much better at reading seasonally but I never used to care about it before. I think joining the blogging community made me more excited to read seasonally. I look forward to reading more spooky reads near Halloween and of course holiday romances near Christmas.

Do you like a beach read in summer, a spooky book in the autumn and holiday themed ones in winter?

Definitely spooky books in autumn and holiday ones for winter but as for beach reads…I like a good contemporary romance for summer time. What happened to spring?! lol…are there no books for spring? I guess spring break would include beach reads also.

What’s your favorite season?

I like all things about fall even though there isn’t much seasonal changes here where I live. But I love when pumpkin flavored foods makes it way into the grocery stores and I really love Halloween. The longer nights make me want to get cozy to read also.

Do you have any favorite seasonal reads?

I don’t have any favorite seasonal reads that I re-read every year. But here are some of the books I want to read this Autumn!

Let’s Talk Bookish: Tips for Newbie Bloggers | 9/16/22

I’ve seen this one around on many blogs that I follow and always wanted to give it a try so why not now? This week’s topic is:

Tips for Newbie Bloggers

What have you learned since you first started blogging?

I’ve learned that patience is key and do what you can. When I first started blogging I struggled to come up with posts that wasn’t a book review but following other bloggers and researching book memes and prompts really help add other things to my blog other than book reviews. I was reading so many books just to have something to post and it was killing my enjoyment of reading. So the second year of blogging I told myself to scale back on book review posts and add other things to the blog. I think this is my 4th year of blogging now? And I finally feel like I’ve enjoyed more this year because I put less pressure on myself.

What advice would you give to new bloggers?

It’s okay to take breaks!
Pre-write you posts especially if they are memes or prompts like this one or Top Ten Tuesday. I try to pre-write my posts a month ahead, meaning I will do all my Top Ten Tuesday posts for the month of September in one go so it’s set and I don’t have to think about it anymore. Same with New Release posts and Arc Reviews.
You don’t have to tag anyone on book tags if you feel uncomfortable, now I just say I tag everyone lol.
If you need help with making graphics for your blog, try Canva.
If you are on NetGalley – remember don’t request more than you can read. I felt so much pressure to finish the books I requested and it was a long list in the first 2 years. I’ve gotten SO much better at pacing myself. Because remember you are going to read books you borrow and books you buy too…so it can pile up quick!

What is your favorite thing about blogging?

I love books, have always loved reading and I have found my community here in the blogging world. I can count on one hand the amount of people in my life that read as much as I do or like the same books I read. But here….I have found hundreds of you who mostly like the same books I love to read! It’s wonderful. I love meeting all of you new bloggers from all over the world, it’s so much fun. Also having this blog gave me access to arcs on NetGalley which is the best thing ever…it’s why I started blogging in the first place and I accomplished that goal!

What is the hardest part of blogging for you?

I made it a goal to post something everyday. I guess it’s an experiment to see how much I could make through ad revenue alone because I’m curious! It was not a lot when I first started this blog because I wasn’t posting as much as I do now. So when I made it my goal to have a post everyday it became a challenge. But it became a challenge that made me think up more topics, and made me try out more book prompts/memes like this one. I’ve found that there is so much you can post about! You just have to actually sit there and write the post lol. Sometimes it’s hard finding motivation to type something up but that’s why I love the prompts and memes. If you have nothing – they have topics for you! So thank you to all of you who hosts them!

Is there anything you wish you’d done differently with your blog?

I fussed a lot about the graphics on my blog. I think I’ve changed the look of my blog at least 10 times! lol…I have finally gotten it to a place where I hope I can just be satisfied with it and leave it alone. I’ve also written my reviews differently over the years. So of course I kinda wish off the bat I knew how I wanted my blog to look but that wasn’t the case. It’s okay do, I think trial and error is good and it’s made me learn a lot.

That’s all I got for newbie bloggers – I say dive in! The learning kind of happens as you go along and you will know how you want your blog to look eventually. Just keep in mind why you have the blog in the first place, even if you don’t get much views and likes in the beginning…it will come! I made a blog to get NetGalley arcs and and now I get to read books before they are published (yay!)…and all I have to do is leave a review for the book! Easy peasy! Now that I succeeded with the NetGalley goal, my blog is here to give people some book reviews, bond with my fellow book lovers, see what other book lovers are reading and see what’s happening in their lives if they want to share. I’ve found that it’s been a fun and safe space for me to share my love of books and I appreciate that about this community. ❤️ Thanks for reading!

Blogging | New Layout

Hi everyone!

I was playing around with a new blog theme yesterday. I wanted one that showcased many things on the home page instead of just my latest post, so I think I finally got it looking somewhat close to what I envisioned?

Are you someone who likes to stick to the tried and true or do you like to change the look of your blog often, like I do?

What’s your favorite wordpress theme to use for your blog? The one I’m using right now is called Maxwell and I like the clean look of it even with so many things going on with the homepage.

Every time I mess with my blog, I end up seeing the Pages section which I don’t update regularly. I haven’t updated the Pages since the end of 2020. Here we are at mid 2021 and I’m wondering if I should update the Book Reviews list and Bookish links right now since I’m updating my blog. How often do you update your Pages info? Are you consistent about it or wait until the end of the year like me?