8 Reasons to Re-Read a Book

I have been a big reader almost all my life. I would read a book, and some time later--weeks, most of the time, but in some cases days--I would read it again. And then a little while after that, I'd read it again. And again. I didn't have a huge selection of books as a child--books that belonged to me. The greater portion were schoolbooks. But I often reread those schoolbooks--dozens of times, for the most part.

Then, when I was around sixteen or seventeen, I entered the blogosphere (merely as a reader, not as a blogger). I began to follow the bloggers I followed on Instagram. and I began to notice something. Those bloggers bought at least one book a month--more often than not, four or five (or eight or ten, in extreme cases ;) ). They also got a few review books, pretty regularly. They read between 8-15 books a month. BUT. They hardly ever reread a book. If they reread a book, it was a huge deal. It was a phenomenal book!

My personal reading style is to read a book--very fast. Then, a few months later, I read it again, more slowly. And a few months after that, again--more or less slowly. Rereading has helped shape me in many ways. Last year I read A TON of new books; this year, my goal is to read as many old books as new books. And as I reread, I remember why I do it. Today, I am going to share ways that rereading has helped me. Rereading may not be applicable to every person (or every book!), and rereading might not do for others what it has done for me personally, but I still believe it is well worth doing, even a little. 

1. Rereading has helped me remember information. 

I have often found that rereading books many times had implanted information on my brain. I can remember the details of a historical occurrence long after I read it because I have read the book many times. This could be simply that I have a good memory for words. However, I've seen that rereading also helps me remember information about things I don't particularly care for.

Example: My mother was reading a schoolbook (that I have never read) to my younger siblings. It was describing a certain bird. (I am not particularly interested by natural history). My mother asked my siblings if they could guess what bird it was. Based on the descriptions (a twittering bird with grey/brown stripes on its side and a bright red cap & breast), I answered, "I think I know what it is." She looked at me and replied, "I don't think we have those here." I answered offhandedly, "Redpoll or Redbreast." The answer was a redpoll. She replied jokingly that she guessed I hadn't had that bad of an education after all! The fact was, I had immediately remembered a bird that shows up in The Burgess Bird Book for Children (which I have read at least eight times). If I had only read that book once, I would very likely have completely forgotten that unimportant little fella. But reading it so many times had imprinted it on my memory.

2. Rereading has helped my writing. 

When rereading, I often notice things I did not notice the first (or second, or third) read. Like how certain characters changed. How an author wove certain parts of their books together. How they wrote a certain scene. How they worked plot twists. How dialogue showed the characters' growth. How forshadowing began. It's taught me things about the writing craft. I've often fallen upon cool writing tricks that I would not have seen if I had not reread the book. It has also taught me words (I always look up words while rereading but very, very seldom while reading for the first time--unless its a boring book!). I sometimes stop to notice how a phrase was worded. I stop to notice quotes much better than during the first read, too. ;)

Example: When I reread Ivanhoe, I was amazed to see how Scott deftly pulled characters together and how the climax slowly worked up to a huge incident. Since I had read the book before, I knew when characters would reappear and I noticed how certain happenings helped work in the climax. When I reread Enemy Brothers, I noticed SO many ways that Constance Savery revealed characters, expressed their emotions, etc. 

3. Rereading has turned books into deep friends. 

How many times have I reread Little Women? What about Anne of Green Gables? Or the Little House on the Prairie series? Understood Betsy? Our Island Story? I've lost count. But I know those books (among others) like my own bedroom. Those books seem to hold my childhood in them. They hold the dreams and tears and laughter and happy sighs of my growing years. They are home. I know their pages like I know my parents' faces. They speak comfort and happiness. The characters are more than just acquaintances. They are friends--deep, real friends. It's hard to even describe how dear those books are to me. And I think that's a lovely problem to have. ^_^

4. Rereading has improved my vocabulary/writing style. 

 I reread books so often that many phrases and/or words have stuck in my head. Often when I am speaking or writing, I come out with good words to describe things or a phrase which sums up the subject. I have an extensive outlay or words to choose from and many good quotations. I strongly believe that's just because I read good books so often that their styles & vocabularies bled into me. 

5. Rereading has brought a lot of fun into my life!

There's nothing like quoting "has anybody seen my mouse?" when you hear anybody walk around complaining, "Has anybody--?" There's nothing like quoting an sentence from Little Woman and having your sister reply with the next sentence. (It's even more fun if it's a dialogue and you know

 almost, if not all, of it.) There's nothing like having your sister read out a sentence from a book and you're able to tell exactly what scene she's on. ;)

6. Rereading has helped me see things I missed the first time.
This sounds like a repeat of #2, but it isn't. Rereading helps me understand the story better. While rereading, I see where a character first pops up, why they actually were in a certain situation, who this personage was, etc. I am going slower, and I know what happens in the end, so I understand things better. 

7. Rereading gives a book a second chance.
Sometimes I read a book and I find it disappointing, boring, etc. It's not bad, it's just not what I expected. Often, when I reread the book, I find that I enjoy it much more. Perhaps I'm in a better mood. But generally it's because I know now what will happen so I'm not disappointed by how it all turns out. I like giving books like that a second chance. :) 

8. Rereading helps me rave about books better. 

Mwahaha, that's open to debate, I suppose. But I can tell you it's much better to be able to spill out the whole plot of a book in detail than to have to frown at the cover and say, "I remember really loving this book, but I have no idea why anymore..." xD When rereading a book, you see things you never noticed, you dig deeper, you remember it better, you develop a special knowledge of the book, and you enjoy it again. All of which helps it stay longer in your mind. :) 

~ / /~

So, are you Team Reread or Team One Read? And why? :) 

10 Ways to Make a Friend's Day

Hi, friends. :) Today I have a list of things that I have found to bless me. They're things that have made a grey day better, touched my heart, and made me feel loved. They're things which I want to remember to do for my friends. I hope this list can be inspiring for you too. :)

1. Make them a compliment.
It's always nice to let someone know how beautiful they are, or how creative their project is, or how cool their story is, or how nice their new hairstyle is. It always brightens my day when someone tells me something along those lines. It doesn't have to make me prideful (I'm trying hard to combat that) but it can just make me happy to know someone thinks I did a good job or that I actually look nice today. :)

2. Listen to them & offer sympathy &/or advice.
We all need a shoulder to cry on, or a listening ear to pour our troubles in. We need Godly friends who'll point us to Christ and offer sage advice. It can make a big difference to spill it all out, even if the friend can't really do much but let us know they care. It's very freeing to know I have friends who let me vent and love me hard even if they can't fix my problems. Let your friend know you're always ready to listen and help if you can. It makes a difference. 

3. Pray for them & let them know you are praying. 
This I am guilty of often forgetting. It's easy to say "I'm praying" but how often do we actually remember? Write out a list. Hang it in a prominent place so you remember to pray often for the people on it. Make it a priority. And let them know it's a priority. Randomly asking, "Hey, how can I pray for you today?" or "I'm rewriting my prayer lists--is there anything I can pray about for you?" lets them know you're serious. There was a time when I would message people and say, "Just wanted you to know I'm praying for you today" and the responses I got were amazing... "I've been really struggling today and your message really encouraged me." You never know when a message like that can make a difference.

4. Randomly check up on them.
I can tell you nothing warms my heart like suddenly seeing a message in my inbox that says, "Hey, dear, I'm thinking of you today. How are you?" It's a small act of kindness, but it goes so far. <33 

5. Express interest in their moments.
Is your friend enjoying the arrival of a new kitten? Worrying over a computer problem? Struggling with editing? Screaming over a new car? Whatever is happening in their life right now, big or small, that they share about--let them know you care. A one-sentence comment, an emoji... it means you are willing to make time for them.

6. Tell them what they mean to you. 
Whether it's a random message or the end of a conversation, a birthday post or a quick shoutout... let your friends know what they mean to you and how God has used them in your life. When a person gets bogged down in all the things they've done wrong, all their problems the reminder that they touched someone's life, that their pain was used to help someone else--that really blesses and gives new courage. 

7. If they have a business, book, blog, anything like that, give them a review or shoutout on social media.
Reviews &/or shoutouts make a difference! Share about your friend's book, business, blog, bookstagram, etc. Talk about it. Let people know how awesome it is. xP If you can't honestly recommend it, then don't; but if you can, do! 

8. Send them a letter or card, maybe a little gift. 
Mail is just so special to get. Just adding stickers, wash tape, quotes, & pretty lettering makes a letter even more special! 'A little gift' needn't be big, either. A bookmark, a keychain, a painting, a poem... there are many inexpensive little gifts you can send your friend. Birthday/Christmas presents are super fun, but so are random, unexpected ones! 

9. Share with them what God’s been teaching you.
It can be really encouraging to hear of how God is working in people's lives. We are supposed to build each other up and encourage one another in Christ, but how can we if we never talk of Him? Share the Bible verses, the sermon notes, the passages from your devotions, the hymns... Talk of your mutual Saviour & God and rejoice together. 

10. Ask how a current project of theirs is going. 
When you're working hard on a book, blog, painting, or any other project, it's heartening to know someone else remembers you're invested in it and is genuinely interested in how it's coming along! You encouragement might just be the thing to get them through writer's block, discouragement, or weariness. :)

~ / / ~

There you are! What are some ways you bless/are blessed by your friends? 

8 Ways to Reclaim a Bad Day

We all have those days, don't we?

The day when everything goes wrong from the moment you wake up and just gets worse as the day goes on.

We also have those days when everything is going fine and all of a sudden EVERYTHING GOES BAD.

Neither are fun. Both are stressful. Both end up as unproductive, miserable, and failures.

But do they have to?

No way. 

Life is going to throw a lot of that kind of day at you. There's going to be times when you feel swamped by all you have to do and everything you can't do and everything that's going wrong. But there is victory. 

Here are 8 things I find help me reclaim my bad days.

1. Pray. 
It's not easy to stop everything and pray when you're stressed and angry. It's actually quite hard. We don't want to let go of our anger. We don't want to admit we're wrong. We don't want to stop what we're doing. We don't want to admit we can't do it. But that's exactly what we have to do. Reacting in anger is reacting in the flesh. We want to react the Godly way. The spiritual way. The prayerful way. So stop and pray for peace and wisdom and strength and grace. He will always hear and He will always give.

2. Decide you want to stop.  
Stop being mad. Stop being worried. Stop being bitter. Stop being stressed. Just decide that you really want to stop. Right now.

3. Start listening to Godly music.  
It is impossible to stay mad when listening to hymns. I guarantee. Music soothes the soul. The praise of God calms the heart. Before long, you'll find yourself humming or singing along, or at least feeling happy again.

4. Refuse to think of it. 
Are you mad? Think of something else. Are you bitter? Cast it away. Are you worried? Place your fears at Jesus' feet. If you let it go and turn it over to God, it will make things better already. Surrender your day into His hands.

5. Read your Bible.
If you haven't had your devotions yet, sit down and do it. If you have, sit down and read a Psalm, or Romans, or any book that you love. It's impossible to stay mad while focusing on Jesus.

6. Choose joy. 
Choose to let it go and to choose joy. Smile and sing. Anger and joy can't dwell in the same place. Allow God's peace and joy to fill you. And choose it over and over and over and over again.

7. Do something that makes you happy. 
Take five minutes to read a little in your book. Listen to your favourite song. Put on a pretty necklace. Chat for a moment with a friend. Just some little thing that will brighten up your spirits. :)

8. Get to work. 
Start working on what you have to do. Don't waste time feeling sorry for yourself. You'll just make things worse and deepen your frustration.


When you boil it down, it all comes to one thing:

CHOICE. 

You can choose to stay unhappy, or you can choose to be joyful. The Lord is willing to help you if you ask Him and you try. Choose the right thing, my friend. You'll never regret it. <33

~ / / ~

What are some of your tips on reclaiming a bad day? 

Katja's Tips to Having a Productive Day

Hiya, friends! I'm here today with a lifestyle post. This is a list of things that I've found help me to have a productive day. I hope you'll find them useful. :)

1. Get ready.

It's always best to get up early. It gives one more time. xP 

But regardless of whether it is 5:20 a.m. or 7:45 a.m., the question still stands. Can you get to work on your to-do list? Not if you’re curled up in your bed. Get up! Get ready. If you’re like me, you’re probably already dressed by now, but if not…

1) Get dressed! xP
2) Brush your hair and put it in a ponytail (optional—that just helps me feel businesslike!). Clean your glasses if you have some, too. xP
3) Put on some earrings or a necklace or something that makes you feel happy. :)
4) Turn on some music. It helps with concentration & attitude. :)
5) Eliminate distractions. Turn on the do-not-disturb, silence the notifications, remove them altogether, turn off your phone, turn off the wifi, hide your current read, whatever. Just recognize and eliminate the distractions. 
6) Have your quiet time with God. This sets the tone for the whole day. Have your devotions. Pray. Putting God first will bless you and prosper the work of your hands. 
7) Find an accountability partner. I don’t always do this, but many people find it helpful and when I do do it, it is really motivational. Try to find them in advance, though, so you don’t spend 25 minutes browsing Social Media while waiting for your friend to answer your “want to be my accountability partner?” text. ;P Or  just pick someone who knows & loves you and let them know what you’re trying to do.

8) Declutter. If you're going to work mainly in one area  (ex. your desk or your room), clean it up. It won't take that much time, but it will improve your atmosphere and your attitude.   

And if you haven't had breakfast yet, that might be a good idea too. ;P

2. Have a plan.

I am positive this beautiful little planner of mine is responsible for my much more productive life. When you have a plan, you're not rushing round trying to remember all you have to do or scattering in a million different directions because you want to do everything you're thinking of. It looks like wasting time to sit down and draw up a plan instead of diving into your day, but I promise it isn't. To-do lists are great, but plans are even better.

A to-do list is simply a list of what you need to accomplish in a day. A plan is a detailed blueprint of how you will accomplish out that list. 

1) Draw up your to-do list.
2) Prioritize. What are the top 3 (or top 5 max.) things you absolutely need to do today?
3) Specify. How many steps does each thing have?
4) Identify what stuff needs to be done first. For example, the laundry. You need to do it all day, so start it early and a load can wash while you do something else. Or, have you any appointments or deadlines? Make sure you include that in your plan.
5) Add your everyday stuff. This will not only help you feel like you accomplished something, it will also help you see what you’re doing with your day & the really important things that need to get done. And if throughout the day you do something that wasn’t on your list, add it to the list and cross it off. ;) 
6) Be realistic. You obviously won't be able to do what you do normally in the evening if you are going to be hanging out at a friend’s until 9:30. Don’t saddle yourself with more than you can actually accomplish. That’s just asking for discouragement. If you complete all that you had originally set out, you can always add more, anyways.
7) List what things can go together. Will you need to be in one place or use the same thing for three different tasks? Try to do them all in a row. What stuff can you switch back and forth between if you have to?
8) Try to list things according to how you can do them. Can you not do a certain task until mid-afternoon? Put it lower on your list. Can you do something right away? Put it first. Try to create a list that will follow your day. That way you can start at the beginning and make your way down to the top without wasting time trying to find what you can do just now. 

3. Get to work.

Now you're ready to tackle that to-do list! Let's start.

1) Set the timer. Timers are sooo helpful to keep you motivated and concentrated. If you're someone who likes that kind of stuff, do a sprint with a friend. Set a length of time (ex. 15 minutes) or an end time (ex. 9:45) and see how much you can do in that much time. 

2) Don't take too many breaks. Yes, rewards are good and you need one or two. But there's no need to stop and browse Instagram every fifteen minutes. You'll only get derailed. And time those breaks and make yourself GET BACK TO WORK when it's done.

3) Multitask. Listen to an audiobook while you wash the dishes. Upload those pictures while you dust the living room. Don't go overboard or you'll end up with disaster, but some multitasking can be done easily and safely. 

4) Use the spare minutes. Are you waiting for someone? Do something small in the place where you’re at. Answer the email you’ve been needing to reply. Finish the chapter in your current read. Clean through your inbox or your camera roll. There are a number of little things you can do on your phone while you wait, or in the room where you’re waiting, probably. 
5) Don't waste time. Sounds like a no-brainer, but it's hard to do. There are many ways to waste time during your day--don't do it! If you're struggling to find time, try writing down every time you do something, no matter how trivial. Let the dog out? Write it down. Fixed your hair? Write it down. Maybe you'll find out a bad habit of yours that you weren't even aware of. At any rate, you'll quickly see where your time goes and you'll be able to be more mindful of what you're doing with your day. 

6) Stick to your list. Don't hop around or skip around. Systems are efficient if you work them out! You'll save time by not trying to figure out what you feel like doing. Just do it was you planned out--as long, of course, as you see that it's reasonable. But at the same time...

4. Keep in mind what's really important.

The successfulness of a day depends on your attitude and actions. Don't allow yourself to be cast down or stressed. Keep your eyes on Jesus and your mind fixed on what's really important. 

1) Keep a good attitude. I can't even begin to stress how important this is. If you keep smiley and peaceful, the day will get so much smoother and brighter. :) Singing is a great way to keep happy and praise the Lord!

2) Be willing to serve. Taking your little siblings to the park wasn't on your to-do list? It is now. Someone needs to help your mother cook the supper? Here I am. Be willing to serve. It looks like you're taking time from yourself, but God blesses those who bless others. Reschedule & reprioritize. It's always worth it. You can have wonderful and productive day even if you don't finish everything on your to-do list. 

3) Remember what really counts. That's basically a repetition of no. 2. Your family, your friends, and your God are more important than your current read, your WIP, or your newly begun craft. Remember...

Jesus first.

Others next.

Yourself last.
That spells joy. 

If you keep this in mind, you'll have a successful day even if you don't get a single thing crossed off your list. For the kingdom of Heaven is to be sought first of all.

And remember--if today is a bad day, just pick yourself up, make things right, and start over tomorrow. His mercies are new every morning. <3 

~ / / ~

I'm always on the look out for more productivity tips!! Please share yours in the comments below. ;)

8 Ways to Implant a Habit

For a long, long time I've had habits that I've wanted to implant. They include:

• Wash my face twice a day.
• Brush my teeth twice a day.
• Brush my hair every day.
• Read my Bible every day.
• Write in my diary every day.
• Post daily on my bookstagram.
• Eat better.
• Sleep better.
• Get up early.
• Drink more.
• and other random projects that I want to work on every day.

As you may have guessed, I've struggled with implanting these into my day. In the last two years I finally nailed the three basic hygiene habits. Last year I struggled hard with the rest of those goals. This year, I've suddenly found myself including those habits into my day. What happened?

The answer is just that I did them every single day. 

It sounds easy, doesn't it?

Let me tell you, it's not.

But there are ways to make it easier.

Today I will be sharing with you the ways that I have managed to acquire these habits.


1. Put them on your to-do list. 
Have you got a list of things you have to do today? (If not, you should. I promise it will save you time & energy!!) Put down all these things you're trying to do. Each time you see them written down, you'll be reminded--oh yeah, I want to ________. 

2. Have the objects you need to use visible.  
Keep your hairbrush on your desk. Stack your diary and notebooks next to your bed. Set out your music stand. If it's not practical to have the object (or an object) out, then write yourself some sticky notes and put them in a prominent place. Making them pretty, witty, or funny might help keep you from being unhappy about seeing them all the time. ;)

3. Appoint times to do those things.   
If you always write in your diary before bed, or brush your hair before you leave your room, or take a drink when you switch projects, you'll be reminded to do them. Appoint a time for practising your instrument and set a timer for it. If you can't do it then for some reason, snooze the timer!

4. Set a certain number of minutes to work on a given daily project.
30 minutes of writing a day. 10 minutes of Bible memorization. 5 minutes of stretching. Whatever. Set an amount of time to do something daily and time yourself as you do it. Pause the timer and return later if you have to.

5. Be conscious of your bad habits & counteract them. 
So you want to get up at 5 a.m. every day... but you don't close your phone until 11 p.m. Ehhh... yeah. Be conscious that you have a hard time getting off your phone, and find a way to counteract that. Put it out of reach, put on screen time, get someone to text you at 10 p.m. to warn you off your phone... whatever. Just find a way to make a new habit. Instead of picking up your phone when you get into bed, pick up a book or your Bible. Or work on poetry or Scripture memorization. Find something else to do instead of your bad habit. This stands for any bad habit.

6. Make it easier on yourself.
Do you want to post every day on your bookstagram? Keep a running list of ideas. Take lots of extra pictures that you can use. Write some posts in advance. Whatever it is that you want to do every day, find ways to make it easier for yourself to do this thing every day.

7. Get an accountability partner. 
We're proud critters. (Any Sheffey fans out here?!) We don't like to admit that we failed. Having an accountability partner can keep you motivated. They can encourage, threaten, praise, or comfort you. It can be someone who's trying to do the same thing or who's willing to partner over different stuff. Either way, this can be a great help.

8. Choose to do it. 
All the help in the world won't help you unless you help yourself. No one can make you choose to do this. You have to choose yourself. If you genuinely choose to do it and are absolutely determined to do it, you can do it. Ask the Lord for His strength. Be willing to sweat and hurt and work hard. Endurance brings satisfaction. :)

~ / / ~

There you are! I hope you found those tips helpful. Let me know of your tips for implanting habits! :)

How I Manage My Reviews & Reading

Hi friends! Today’s post will be one that organizer geeks like me will probably like, and if you’re not an organizer geek... you may find it less interesting. ;) But I hope it can also be helpful somehow to someone :) Also you will probably notice that this post was written back in November 2019... don't judge me, guys. ;P

I am a half-organized, half-disorganized, half-procrastinating, half-impulsive person. This will show up in this post! ;P So, let’s get down to it. 

When I first started writing reviews, I stacked them up in an Evernote note. That worked well because I hadn’t many at the time. If I remember correctly, for a while I did the titles in bold if I’d posted them on Amazon. Then I had three notes—“Indie Author Books,” “Indie Author Books posted,” “Reviews #1,” “Reviews Posted #1,” etc. I would often write my review on paper first and then transcribe it, editing or rewriting it as I did so. After a while I started having trouble because I had too many reviews in those notes. I got a notebook and decided I’d write each review in there, with the author last name on the margin & the number of stars. I also kept a running list of books organized by number of stars on the inside cover. After a while, though, I quit writing reviews on paper because it took time. I wanted something faster, easier, and more organized. I toyed with the idea of a spreadsheet and things, but nothing struck me. 

I think it was my mother who gave me the idea. At any rate I got it. Why didn’t I use Evernote? As soon as I got that idea I geeked out. It was perfect! 

So, after this long intro, let’s get down to how I manage my reviews. 😋

First off I went to Evernote and created a notebook. 

Click the little + in a circle to create a notebook.

I personally created three—one for posted reviews, one for to-be-posted reviews, and one for French reviews. Then I took those three notebooks and put them in a stack. 

Click those three dots & the options will come up. 

Click on “notebook settings” & then on “stack.” 

Having made my stack (“Reviews”) I then copied-&-pasted all of my reviews into individual notes. 

I want to be able to organize these by title, so I take all the prefixes & place them at the end of the review’s title—then I know it’s there, but I don’t have the books starting with “The” in the T section when I click “sort by title.” ;P (which, by the way, is the three dots, then "note list options", then "sort by title.")

Each time I post a review here, I add tags. I tag my reviews by the year, month, number of stars, whether they’re indie books, whether they need quotes, whether they need to be updated, whether they’ve been posted on Old-Fashioned Book Love, and the number of hearts. Just click on the little 'i.'

(For my French reviews I used to place an asterisk before the title when I’d posted it on Amazon; but I’m going to go with the tags instead now). 

By using Evernote, I can organize books by title to see if I’ve reviewed a book; I can search for a book or author; and I can search in my tags. (On my phone I can only search in one notebook at a time, but online I can search in the whole Stack--or I used to until recently. I'm forget if I still can.)

All right! Now that I’ve explained how I manage my reviews, let’s see how I manage my reading. 

On my Kindle app I have a collection called “CR & Reviews” for “Current Reads & Reviews.” When I start reading a book, I move it from the “Intimidating TBR” collection to “CR.” 

(Yes, the title was not yet changed in this picture. ;P)

The top line is for current reads, the bottom line is for books I need to review. Though sometimes there’s an odd number so the reviews & current reads are on the same line. ;P Which drives me crazy. 

So when I finish a book, I make sure it’s out of the TBR collection, mark it as read, move it to the bottom of the collection, & then head over to Notes. 

Each month I keep a running list of the books I’ve read that month. (Learn by my experience and keep these lists; you’ll probably want them at some point.) So I write down the name of the book I finished in that list. 

(Yes, I spy the typo...)

Sometimes I have a note for this, sometimes not, depending if I’ve written any reviews lately. But I go to or make my Reviews note & write down the title of the book so I remember to review it. 

Then I head over to Pages. Here I have my Books Read This Year list. This page is organized into two sections: New Reads & Rereads. The books are listed by alphabetical author’s last name, then by alphabetical title, unless it’s a series, in which case they’re listed under the first letter of the series’ name. I also underline the short stories so I know they're short stories & not full-length books. 

In 2019 I discovered that it is very difficult to go through all your Books Read list & categorize alllll the books, so this year when I write down the book title I also add the genre. 

So I mark down the book here too. Generally I wait at least a day to write a review, though sometimes I write it the same day. Sometimes also I procrastinate reviews until I have a pile-up. ;P I often write reviews when I have a spare moment with nothing to do & I have my phone. When I’ve written the review, I often procrastinate getting the quotes, because since I’m a thorough, conscientious person, it’s a long process. 😏 If I'm smart, I get the quotes first! When I’ve got the quotes for the review, I can remove the book from CR/Review collection, post the review on Amazon if I can, & then put it in Evernote. :)

So there you go. A long, detailed description of how I manage my reviews. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed making it! 😉 Tell me your reviewing tips! :)

My 5 Favourite Bookish Twists || Clichés & Twists 02

Today is part two of my clichés & twists series. Be sure to read part one if you haven't yet. As I stated last week, I like the "perfect" things. Beautiful heroine, handsome hero, predictable romance, happy-ever-after, villain-is-caught type of books. And yet... I also love the not-what-I-expected, bittersweet, realistic, unusual type of books too. There's a place for both. I firmly believe we need books that show different point-of-views--the unheard, unthought-of, forgotten POVs. Books that show life as it is, but reminds you that whatever happens, God is there and He reigns. Books that challenge your opinions and prejudices. Books that show you things you didn't think about. And books that are just frankly exciting and unusual. Today, I'll be listing my five favourite book twists--things that make a book stand out or hit hard. 

1. Blemished hero.

Henty's heroes are almost always handsome, strong, brave, and skilled. And yet one of my favourite of his heroes is the only flawed one--Ralph Bathurst. Bathurst is clever, handsome, and strong; but he has an innate and helpless horror of noise. Yells, gunshots, roars. drumbeats--loud noises he cannot stand. Talk about a serious defect during the Indian Mutiny! Bathurst's struggles to overcome his flaw are excellent. Heroes who struggle, in any way, are very relatable.

2.  Flawed heroine.  
This, again, ties in with number one. The Little Women from the classic are all flawed--pride, temper,  shyness. And yet, don't we all relate to them and love them? Anne Shirley is beautiful, but she struggles against her "romanticness" and her pride. A flawed heroine, whether in her face or her character, is much more "living" than a perfect one. The "perfect" characters often tend to be boring, if not irritating. 

3. Different POV.

There are some topics that we are used to seeing through the eyes of the same type of person. A WWII book is generally through the eyes of an Ally. An American Revolution book tends to be (on the American side at least) to be from an American's POV. The French-Indian wars in the 1600s are typically written from the French standpoint. But a book that shows WWII through the eyes of an German. Or the American Revolution from the POV of an Englishman or a Canadian. Or the French-Indian wars from the standpoint of an Iroquois. Now that is new and fascinating--and, if well done, though-provoking--even to the author himself, perhaps. 

4. Unexpected twist.

Rather a vague title, but let me explain. By this I mean when you, the reader, is expecting something to happen and the book takes a strong turn to the left or right of that and you are left gaping in astonishment. Unless it has nothing whatsoever to do with the story, that is a fascinating place. 

5. Bittersweet ending. 
Your "ship" didn't happen. The MC's best friend died. They didn't strike gold. The homestead was filed by someone else. Loss. Loss in any way. Bittersweet endings can be so well done. In real life, things don't turn out the way we want. In books, the same can happen--and remind us that there is still hope and beauty. 

So let the villain get away. Make your Nazi captain nice instead of devilish. Marry your main character to someone else than her childhood friend or her dashing rescuer. Give you hero a fatal character defect. Make them unusual and real. 

~ / / ~

What are your thoughts on this series? Have you any favourite twists?

My Writing Journey: My Advice to Young Aspiring Authors

As a child, I took scenes and passages and descriptions from various books and move them into a story. I usually ended up with it unfinished, but at the time it pleased me very much. Then I began to write little stories—2 or 3 pages, probably less than 500 words. When I was about 10, I started my first written-all-out-of-my-own-head book. I never got past chapter three, but it wasn't a bad plot. 

Then when I was twelve, I met a girl. She was a teenager, and writing books and stories. Inspired by her, I decided to start writing. My first book was from a writing prompt. At the moment I was deep into Scottish history, and very much in love with Sir William Wallace. (Not much has changed). So I wrote out about twenty different story titles and sat down to write the stories, the first one being the story of the girls in the tower.

Around the same time, I read this story (Morning in the Trenches) and decided I could write better than the young lady who wrote it, so I began a WWI story set in France. The story morphed into a book, and then I laid plans for a six-book series, each chronicling a year of the war. My Scottish book reached about 12k or so—I never finished it—and my French WWI book was about that or less. 

Thus began my writing journey. I wrote many short stories and began several short story collections. My average length was 10,000 words (usually attained with some difficulty) for a long story and 300-500 for a short story. I was a solitary writer. I told family and friends about my writing and sometimes they read it and praised it, which made me so happy. 

I was introduced to NaNoWriMo when I was around thirteen. At this moment my model was that girl and I was striving to be like her (writing books, writing every day, etc). Of course my life was very different from hers, and I was discontented and frustrated. While she wrote 50,000 words for NaNo, finished books, and even published books, I could hardly write 10,000 words, I had no good books, and I struggled to write every day. I neglected other things and grew angry and upset when my writing time was restricted, threatened, or taken away. I was often depressed and angry. But I kept writing and enjoyed my new stories. I participated in Victoria's monthly writing challenges and was always so happy when she commented about my stories. At one time I had an email thread where I sent monthly updates of my writing to various family and friends, and sometimes they answered. 

In 2016, as a fifteen-year-old, I began to do NaNoWriMo. My first story, a pretend biography, was 15,151 words long. I kept writing. My best friend was a staunch supporter, and so were some family members; and I kept writing stories for Victoria's challenges. My word counts still stayed around 10,000 maximum, though I usually had shorter stories that that. 

Earlier that year I had begun to follow Amanda Tero. The first post from her blog that I ever read was this one. It struck me hard, because it was exactly what I needed, though I didn’t like it. Some time after I read this one and was again hit hard—it was so my story and so what I didn't want to do. I did not want to give up my writing. But finally, after struggling for years, I began to let go of my writing. I’m not sure when exactly, but it was some time after this. I wrote for the pleasure of writing, most of the time; didn’t strive to be the same as my model; and was much happier. And I finally surrendered my writing time. I still kept learning all I could about writing, and followed many writers' blogs. But writing became a hobby instead of my obsession.

In 2017 I began to write longer stories, and began a trilogy. Story #1 was 8 or 9,000 words long; story #3 was about the same; and I wrote story #2 for NaNoWriMo. I did Camp NaNo in July (I don’t know how much I wrote; somehow I have no records), and during NaNoWriMo I wrote 14,172 words. I was ecstatic—I had almost reached novella (15k) length! I was also very happy to have written a story that had been in my head for a long time. This was the first time I began to write stories that I had written in my head. 

In 2018 the pattern continued. My word count varied between 500-10,000 words. I didn’t write very much. In July I wrote a 12k story in a 100-for-100 (writing 100 words every day for 100 days). I missed only 3 days, even if we were traveling across the U.S. & Canada on vacation, and ended up with 12,436 words. And it was a story with characters from a story in my head. I also had some of my stories published on a blog and I was so happy--especially when people commented that they liked my stories. 

During NaNo 2018, I wrote 18,504 words in 12 days and was almost speechless with happiness. Not only had I passed 15k, I had also written a good story and I’d written an average of 1,542 words a day. That story ended up at 19,110 words and I went on to write 21,190 words’ worth of Flash Fiction. So I finished up with 40,300 words’ worth of writing in 30 days. My dream was still to write a 50,000 word book, but I could only hope in the distant future that this would happen. And I dreamed of writing 50,000 words for NaNo—all on the same project—but this also seemed a distant achievement.

In April 2019 I participated in Camp NaNo again and this time I joined a cabin. I wrote 40,682 words in 30 days, and it was all on the same story—which was not yet finished!!! My goal was suddenly much nearer. I had a story good enough to publish—so I thought. And I had fangirls and a writing club. I was blissfully happy. I kept writing until I was at 45,000+. I couldn't figure out how to end it, so I sent it to alpha-readers—and when I got their response, I realized my book wasn't good enough to be published yet and was full of flaws. I was intensely discouraged and I stopped writing in it. In May or June a sweet friend read my book and left me a ton of compliments and fangirly comments. I found that there was good in my story and I was happy—but I still didn't write.

Then, in Camp NaNo July, I started a random short story, was very uninspired, plowed through, and then randomly decided to finish Chords. I dreamed of reaching 45,000 and this story fulfilled that dream, topping out at 46,526 words. 

I edited this story and sent it to beta-readers. I also edited a Christmas short story and gave it to friends to read, and a well-known published author (!!!) loved it and asked me to publish it so she could add it in her Christmas book recommendations. (A post on a well-known blog about my little story. Can you imagine?!) I was even able to have a proofreader read it and I made it available to the world. 

I was blessed beyond measure. My old dreams were becoming real. I had a (sort of) published book, I had a fan club, I had almost reached my dream of a 50,000 word book. And that’s when God decided to bless me even more. 

I started writing a new story. Like Chords, it went from a short story to a novel. It passed 19,000 words and it still wasn’t anywhere near done. I decide to finish it for NaNo and then work on some other WIPs I had. 

NaNo began. Broken passed 30,000 words—40,000 words—45,000 words—and my dream came true. As of 2:14 p.m. on November 14^th, Broken sits at 50,245 words. 

NaNo is not yet over. I have passed the halfway mark—I’m currently at 26,140 words. I’m writing more than the necessary 1,667 words a day, averaging at 1,800 words a day. I’m on track to reach that dazzling 50,000 words goal and I might even pass it. Broken is still not done and might end up at—who knows?—that gorgeous 60,000 words. I don’t know ye.

But I do know that I have been blessed. And I know that it was worth surrendering my dreams and aspirations to God. And I know that with time, perseverance, and hard work, dreams can come true. 

I’m writing this post for you, the young teen who wants to become an author. I’m telling you, learn all you can about your craft. Write as much as you can. Pray about your writing and surrender it to God. Don’t compare yourself to other writers. Write what the Lord would have you write. Accept when He gives you seasons of little or no writing. Keep working. Don’t give up. Don’t neglect your responsibilities or miss out on life.

God is good, and if it is the right thing for you, He will make your wildest dream true. Trust His timing and rest in His promises. 

Because the Lord is good, and worthy of trust.