the new normal // September Wrap-up

I love September because it represents so much potential. You can always turn over a new leaf, set new goals, start a new school year etc… For some reason, I totally consider September the “January” of my life. Even if school was pretty challenging this month I did some pretty exciting stuff, and read some pretty good books that I can’t wait to tell you guys about!

books

• This month turned out to be a pretty good month in terms of books! I read a total of 9 books. I managed to read not one, but THREE five star book, and considering the fact that I am a very picky reader, THIS IS FANTASTIC NEWS!
• The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (4 books) | 5 FREAKING STARS – As I’m currently writing this, I’m trying to hold back my tears because I am listening to a The Raven Cycle playlist and man, do I love this series. This was the one series that I never seemed to finish for no reason, and now that I have it’s like there’s two different versions of me. Amena before The Raven Cycle and Amena after The Raven Cycle. Okay, maybe I’m a being a bit dramatic but I am so attached too the characters it’s not healthy. Everything just went so well together! If you haven’t read this series PLEASE read it!
• The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi | 5 stars – I was blown away from the book and I will never stop talking about freaking awesome it is. The worldbuilding, the friendships, the plot, the characters, Hypnos, everything was wonderful. I actually did a review on how great it is and I also did a character edit on Laila on my tumblr!
• The Cruel Prince by Holly Black | 5 stars – Maybe the reason I love this book so much is because Jude literally HAS THE SAME BIRTHDAY AS ME (November 13, Scorpio gang RISE UP) and we both need constant validation in our lives, but wow this book pulled me in! This was a re-read because I have the worst memory when it comes too books and I don’t remember loving it as much as I do now which is crazy because I’m in the process of building a shrine for my manz Cardan rn.
• The Wicked King by Holly Black| 4 STARS – I finished this one day and started Queen of Nothing a day later because I could not put it down! I’m just in awe because GOSH THAT BOOK WAS EVERYTHING!
• The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black |4 stars – Once again I started this right after I finished The Wicked King, and this did not disappoint. Honestly, this series was so freaking good.
• Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed | 3 stars – I really loved the premise of this book, but not really how it was executed so it was kind of a let down. Also Khayyams character was a bit annoying for me, and the author tried to make the male interest so desirable, and good looking too the point where it was kind of cringey. But I loved the writing and the chapters written in Laila’s P.O.V, the writing was gorgeous!
  

tbr for October

• Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles – I heard so many good things about this book, and I know it has been compared to Caraval, and The Night Circus. If you have read it please let me know how it went! This is probably my most anticipated books for this month.
• Jade City by Fonda Lee – This was pretty hyped up like two years ago think, and people are still raving about it on Twitter (which is basically where I get all my book recommendations from nowadays) and it is centered on Asian badasses which is my favorite thing ever.

Only two books because I actually don’t know what to read and also because I’m not trying to put a bunch of pressure to finish books because of school. Until I get a sensible schedule down and have sort of a weekly routine then I won’t really have time to read.

blogging

• In terms of blogging, I didn’t really get to post as much as I wanted too mostly because school is taking up so much of my time as well as other extracurriculars, but I did manage to post!
• My favorite post this month was about how romance in ya can be a bit harmful.
• I also posted about three star ratings, and did a book review on The Gilded Wolves.

In the beginning of the month I was pretty good at bloghopping, and reading stuff from my Reader, but by then end I barely interacted with people which sucks! But I silently read a couple of posts and here are some of my favorite!

• Caro @ Bookcheshirecat did the Pumpkin Spice Latte book tag. This tag is so cute and made me crave the super overpriced drink, and I agreed with a lot of the answers she put.
• The girls behind Act Your Page posted about reasons behind why they won’t like a book. And I noticed that we all shared similar thoughts!
• Chana @ Paper Procrastinators wrote a really important post about people who recommend books by white authors
• Riddhi @ Whispering Stories talked about series in books!
• Erin @ Reading on a Star posted this review about Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. And I can’t wait to read the book, but it’s currently unavailable in my ebook library so I have to wait!
• Katie @ Never Not Reading wrote a really interesting post about contemporary books that might become classics in our school curriculum.

life

• School has started for me! – Can you believe I said on my last monthly wrap up that I was excited for school?? Just what was I on because school is so time consuming, and so stressful. I have assignments due almost everyday and I’m working on them all the time. I don’t even have to to procrastinate! But slowly and surely I have been adjusting too school life. I know once I get the hang of things I’ll be able to handle school.
  
• I joined a whole bunch of cool organizations – So one of them is called Diversify Our Narratives, which fights against anti-racist texts in the US school curriculum. I’m an organizer which means I get to do cool things like design graphics for our Instagram page, and email/meet up with school board administrators too add more books by BIPOC. It would mean a lot of you guys signed the petition. The other one is called 1000Girls 1000Futures which is where I get too be mentored by female STEM professors and talk to other girls from around the world who are passionate about STEM. Everyone is so sweet and kind its like a sisterhood ❤️❤️
• honestly out of all the sections this is the hardest to write because what the hell I even say??? This whole month has been Spain but the s is silent. I’m sorry I’ve been on tiktok too much LMAOAO.

next month

let’s do a bit of a recap of last months goals

• Finish The Raven Cycle series – YES I DID THIS AND IM ACTUALLY KINDA SAD THAT I FINISHED THE SERIES IT WAS THAT GOOD
• Interact with more people – Kinda accomplished?? I did blog hop and went around my reader and commented on a few blogs, but then I stopped once school started LOL.
• Write more book reviews – Yeaaaaah nope. I only published one, but writing book reviews take forever and I just didn’t have the time.
• Finish up blog re-design!— Well I did start it… there’s still a couple of things too do but it’s almost done!
  
  this month
• Make a sensible schedule and get more organized for school
• Finish this months TBR
• Post consistently
• Post at least two book reviews!
  

So that’s about it for September! I’m really excite for October because spooky szn 😈😈 and also I think I have a couple of days from school in the future THANK GOD! How was your September? How many books have you guys read? What was memorable about this month for you? If you started school are you able to balance school and blogging (pls send advice)

5 Important Things I Learned While On Hiatus // I return from two years in Azkaban

Hey everyone! It’s been a really long time since I last updated on this blog. The last time would be sometime around April. 

Two years ago.

Honestly, book blogging never really crossed my mind until a few months ago when my mom randomly popped in and was like “hey whatever happened to that geeky site you had?” And at first I was like “Mooom iT’s nOt gEeKy” in true teenager fashion, but then I was really thinking about it. Whatever did happen to Nerd in New York? It used to be my child, I used to obsess over layouts, editing, my instagram, etc… The Amena  two years ago would never let this blog die out. 

I admit, time really got away from me. I only promised myself a few days of blogging hiatus, but then days turned into weeks, and before I knew it, it was a whole twenty four months since I last posted on Nerd in New York. I haven’t been exactly doing much while on my blogging break, just finishing up on school and things like that (which is now finally over!!). But now, I want to come back into the blogging community, and this post was the only way I could think of to make my “comeback” here. 

I’m honestly a bit scared of posting this, and making it live, because I just feel like… I’m so irrelevant? Like that never did make a huge difference, but now it kinda does. It’s been like two freaking years, I’m pretty sure all my old blogging friends have forgotten about me, and I’m way to embarrassed to be like HEY!! REMEMBER ME!! YEAH I DIDN’T THINK SO EITHER!! But back to the point of this post, being on a break made an impact on me whether I liked it or not. I learned some things about me, and are beneficial to anyone who is busy, and overwhelmed. 

I don’t know how, when, and why I suddenly wanted to get back to posting on here, but I’m just glad I didn’t give up on Nerd in New York! And my WordPress Reader is soo dry right now so if you are an active book blogger link up, and I’ll check out your blog. A lot of bloggers I used to follow are not active anymore so I’m incredibly bored on WordPress.

also what happened to the wordpress layout i’m soo confused, and everything is scaring me now.

1) My stats do not define my blog

Stats don’t matter. 

Everyone says this too me. And when I mean everyone, I mean everyone. Almost to the point where the meaning got lost on me, and I didn’t care about it. I was constantly thinking of new ideas, new posts that would give me new views, followers. I just wanted a whole bunch of clout, to put in 2018 teenage language.

But when I was on my break, I didn’t even spare a glance at the huge bar graph. Honestly, I didn’t even visit WordPress, and I felt great.I wasn’t obsessively checking up on  my views, because I just stopped a lot of blogging activity.  And in the four months that passed, I simply stopped caring.

Eventually I began to understand that numbers don’t define a blog for what it is. Not having a huge amount of followers doesn’t mean anything bad about your blog. It doesn’t matter. 

2) My blogging voice is my own

These past 2 years I was trying to be something I wasn’t. 

Everyone has their own unique personality, but for some reason I couldn’t find mine. For a while, I wanted to have this funny, witty, and engaging tone for my posts. I tried. A bit too much actually because now as I look back on those old posts, I was actually very cringe-y.  

Than I tried to be this very aesthetic-y sort of person. Someone who looks like they have everything planned out, and everything together. I didn’t even use proper punctuation because it made me look “cool”. Except that got on my nerves, so I stopped doing that. 

I was sort of trying out all new sorts of “identities” trying to see which one appealed to me, as well as my readers, and in the end this is what came out. A somber sort of tone that doesn’t really grab your attention, but I’m comfortable writing like this, and I think that’s what the most important. 

3) Don’t be sorry 

The first rough draft of this post began with a whole bunch of sorry’s to the point where it got annoying. I was saying sorry for everything. Sorry, I wasn’t active enough. Sorry, I can’t put up a better introduction than this. Sorry, I didn’t reply to all these comments. 

I’m tired of that word, and I’m tired of saying it. I took a step back and re-evaluated. I don’t have to be sorry for anything. When I take a break, however unplanned and long it is, I won’t be sorry. Yes, it does seem like I’m unreliable and not the type of person you can work something long-term with, but in the end, I’m still not sorry. 

4) Making time for myself is not being selfish 

Around March-April I was studying for my spring semester mid-terms, and then I had school and all it’s clubs, and then there was blogging. If you go back to my posts around that time (please don’t) you’ll see published pieces that were created in 30 minutes or less. Yeah, they weren’t really high quality posts either. 

I didn’t make a lot of time for myself, I was rushing through everything. On this break, I learned to create boundaries with time. In the midst of all the chaos that was happening a few months ago, I felt like I always had to be doing something. But by setting time out of the day just for me is one simple and easy way to make myself a priority.  

5) My own definition of perfection is not the same as everyone else’s – but that’s okay.  

This is pretty hard to put into words, but I’m going to try anyways. 

 I was trying to create a blog that was perfectly styled with perfect content and it wasn’t working and I was unhappy. I kept on comparing and looking at other blogs thinking my blog could never be as good as theirs. 

I’m trying to stop that way of thinking (it’s kind of hard though), and focus on my definition of “perfect” for this blog. And to stop basing everything on what other people care about.

 

So what’s going on? What are some tips you would give for someone trying to assimilate back into the blogging world after two years? asking for a friend Have you ever went on hiatus, and ever regretted it? How much was your longest break from blogging? 

 

 

 

 

What Makes a Good Romance… A Good Romance? // ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

actually SFW, I just really like the lenny face, lol 

I’m an absolute sucker for those cute, fluffy, innocent, and well written romance. Almost all the YA books I have ever read, they have some type of romance. So today I’m pretending that I have a love life (I don’t), and discussing things about the charestics of a good romance.

Character Dynamics

I think this actually given, but just to get this out of the way I’m writing this. The characters, they actually have to have chemistry. The author have to write them in such a way, that it won’t seem awkward or boring.

I know that a lot of people (namely, me) love the whole opposites attract thing, and I think it’s because of the way they’re personalities work together, and fit in a beautiful way, despite expecting them to clash. I love the dynamics of a snappy, sassy heroine, and the sort of aloof hero.

My favorites character tropes/dynamics

• Enemies to lovers!! – I love these so much because it’s so fun watching/reading the characters realtionship go from hatred to dislike to tolerable to BAM! Lovers. It’s so cute.
• Oppisites attract – Relationships where person A is super bright, perky, while Person B is mostly remote, and quiet are my favorite thing ever! And I know it’s so cliche, but it isn’t it so heartwarming (I’m trying to find synonyms for cute, lol).

My not so favorites

• Best friends to lovers – I’m pretty sure that I’m on the minority for this one, but ehhh. I don’t know, I guess I don’t find it incredibile realistic, and would make a boring realtionship?? Like, they know everything about each other, what would make it more intresting or something?

Healthy!! Relationships!!

It’s 2018, and if I see yet, another problematic relationship I will erupt, and destroy everything in my path. Some (not all) books have this relationship where one character practically forces their S/O to do whatever they want. Or basically mentally or physically abuse them, and some people call it “love” or “cute”. It honestly disgusts me, and I hate reading book like that, and end up giving them a one star *cough* *cough* When Dimple Met Rishi *cough* *cough*.

I liek seeing realtionships that cute, and healthy. Where thye both have each other backs, support each other, and get each toher despite differences. Those are the ones that make my heart warm, and make me smile, and go like

or

Just overall, a healthy, caring relationship in which, both parties are genuinley happy with each other!

Conflict to get things interesting.

Also known as ANGST!! I just love reading books that have heart wrenching, tear inducing angst. I honestly don’t know why I’m like this, but I can’t be the only one?? I feel like it’s here where the romance becomes interesting, and not just some senseless romance.

Some of my favorites are when:

• the characters get into an aurgument because of a misunderstanding, and it’s up to one of them too reconcile the other.
• The cheesy kdrama story line in which, the parents of the character A tries to tell Character B that they can’t be with each other because of social classes or something.
• They are actually enemies on the oppisite side, and not meant to be in love (ahflkjafhas I absolutely LOOOVE THESE)
• Character A convinces themselves that they can’t be with Character B because they are worried they will hurt them.

My non-favorites 

• Love Triangles!! – Most people don’t like this either, and I totally agree with them. I find them so boring, and pointless, and sooo predictable. And also I suffer from second-lead syndrome  

I like angst when it’s temporary, like there will be a happy ending. Because if it doesn’t lmfao goodbye my heart.   

Impactful Relationships

This doesn’t even have to be about a romantic relationship. I like reading about friends or people who changed person A’s life somehow. It makes the whole romance seem more important, and not senseless.

Lot’s of fluffy moments!!

It’s pretty self-explanatory, but just a relationship filled with backhugs, forehead kisses, hand holding, blushing, and dID I MENTION FOREHEAD KISSES?? And it doesn’t even have to be just touching. But heart-to-heart conversations late at night looking up at the stars… Just overall, sweet things.

Recommendations!

 

 

• The Art of Feeling by Laura Tims – I’m telling you this is such an underrated book, and the cover is so plain, and it’s nothing like the actual pages! I loved this book so much, I gave it five stars!! Eliot, and Samantha are just such a good couple, and not only that they make good friends too. Eliot has a condition where he can’t feel any pain, and has very self-destructive tendencies. Samantha is recovering from an accident, to which she lost her mother too. Samantha is such a caring person!
• Made You Up by Francesca Zappia – This book wasn’t as highly hyped up as the authors other book (Eliza and her Monsters),but I actually liked this better than her other book. Miles has a similar personality too Eliot from The Art of Feeling, and Alex has a mental illness ( schizophrenia). Their romance is something that I will remeber for a long time because I seriously LOVED THIS.
• The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson – Honestly, anything by Morgan Matson is pure gold, but I really loved this book becasue of the character development. And not to mention the awesome friendships! Andi, and Clark had such a meet-cute moment.

 

 

•  The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli – CUTE, CUTE, CUTE!! I think mostly everyone has read or at least heard of this insanely, good book. And if you haven’t stop living under a rock. This book has it all: diversity, excellent romance, and cameos from Simon vs The Homosapiens Agenda!
• Simon vs. The Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli – Okay, so this whole post was low-key inspired by Love, Simon. Which btw, sounds so cute, and wonderful, and too bad I’m too broke to go to the theatres. But this book was like the gay version of The Upside of Unrequited. And it is insanely good. I devoured the whole book in one whole sitting.
• P.S I LIKE YOU by Kasie West – Kasie West is my go-to author for cute, original love stories, and P.S I Like You is, in my opinion one of her best works!! The concept of this book is actually really intresting, because it aslo focuses on family, not just romance.

So that’s it for this post! I’m planning on updating two times a week, and it’s going well so far!! But anyways, what do you think makes a good romance? Do you focus more on the plot or the characters? What are some good YA romance books you have read in the past?? 

 

Monthly Wrap-up: March 2018 // HAHAHAHA I’M STILL ALIVE…

So somewhere along the month of March I just disappeared (again), but hey I have… absolutely no excuse except for the fact of school, and I have zero motivation. March proved yet, to be another flop because I had so many high expectations for myself for blogging, but obviously, it didn’t work out 😦 ! BUT I SWEAR ON MY TBR THAT I WILL SUCEED THIS APRIL, NO MATTER WHAT!

• I joined track, and am planning to join more sport teams!! – So rip my poor calves because track is killing me. And it’s just week 1, but it was an amazing opportunity to make even more friends, and I get to stalk the cute boys playing basketball (lol jk). But I’m even more excited to join the volleyball team after spring break, my own gym teacher said I show promise!! Agh, I feel so hyped up just thinking about it!!
• I’m on break – and I have absolutely zero plans. Except for reading, and try to find my motivation to blog, oh and studying (midterms for the second term are right after the break, and my pimples are raging)
• I started binge-watching new shows!! – So you know all that time I planned to work on this blog??? I actually wasted it by watching a whole bunch of new shows! Like 90210, That Man Oh Soo, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (re-watch), Go Back Couple, and of course Supernatural, and Modern Family.

• I’m struggling to find motivation – I don’t know these days it’s so hard to start writing a discussion post, or any post in genearl. That’s sorta one of the reasons why this wrap-up is kinda late. I didn’t really want to push myself soo hard that I end up detesting blogging, which I don’t want to happen. And watching my stats plummel wasn’t really helping, but I understand that the reason behind that is my fault. I’m still going to continue, but it won’t exactly be as frequent.
• I’m getting better at making aesthetics, and gif edits for my favorite edits – Usually after finishing a book I create an aesthetic (something that is visually pleasing to the eye) for the book, and then I post it at my tumblr. I have been getting more notes, and I’m really happy to show these out in the world.
• AUTHORS RETWEET/LIKE SOME OF MY TWEETS – So this started happening around last month, but I posted an aesthetic of Starfish, and the author liked, and retweeted my post. So did other authors like April G. Tucholke (author of Wink Poppy Midnight) , and S.K Ali (author of Saints, and Misfits) lie, and retweet the aesthetics I made! AND I WAS BURSTING WITH HAPPINESS ASDFGHJKL.

 

P O P U L A R   P O S T S

my blog 

how to spot a problematic book, and what to do with it

Around the Blogoshphere 

• May @ Forever and Everly talks about the privilege in YA bookish community
• Aimee @ Aimme Always talks about 5 books that got her into the YA reading genre 
• Cait @ Paperfury talks about authors + their book blogs, and whether or not if it’s helpful.
• Julianna  @ Paperblots talks about how to deal with the stress of book blogging (which I totally needed, thanks btw)

 

The books I read were meh this month, and lets just give me a pat on the back for being able to read 7, okay.

• The Art of Feeling Laura Tims – Okay, talk about the most underrated book EVERRR! Like this book was so good, the writing style was super, the plot, the romance, EVERYTHING WAS JUST FANTASTIC!! Eliot is the perfect cinammon roll, and ugh my heart | 5 stars!!  
• The Lovely Reckless by Kami Garcia – This took me forever to read because I was reading in ebook format, and ugh I hate ebook guys. Like they  are prety handy to use, but holding the actual physical book is wayyy better. Anyways, this was… okay?? Like it was intresting, but Marco really got on my nerves. | 3 stars 
• The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Rueter Hapgood –  This was such a good, aesthetic-y, and well-written novel! Maybe one of the best I’ve read so far, but the main character was pretty damn annoying, and selfish. Also, it was super confusing, at times?? | 3.5 stars -> 4  
• The Cruel Prince by Holly Black – THE CRUEL PRINCE WAS GREAT I LOVE IT, I WAS SOBBING BY THE END OF THAT BOOK, JUDE IS AWESOME, I STAN. | 4.5 STAARS!! 
• Wink Poppy Midnight – This book was slightly crazy, but it’s dark fantasy reminded me a bit of Cruel Prince, but not as good. But the plotline was pretty intresting, and Leaf sounds hot. | 4 Stars 
• The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord – Ooooooh this was cute, but was it great?? Not really, I could relate with the MC a bit, but the plot wasn’t that great. Or original. | 4 stars 
• The Thousandth Floor by Katherine McGee – UGH NO THIS WAS NOT FOR ME AT ALL. There was incest, so much girl  hate, and unintresting plot line |1 star 

• Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed – I have high expectations for this book, as it does touch upon a subject that is really important to me, and includes some diversity. I am currently liking it, but so far it’s pretty confusing???
• Saints and Misfits by S.K Ali – Another highly anticipated book, and I readsome of it online through my library, and I’m not sure if I really like it?? Like the writing style is really rocky.
• Off the Page by Jodi Picoult, and Samantha van Leer – Randomly picked this up, and it seems really cute. Also Jodi Picoult is a pretty popular author so I couldn’t resist.
• The Rest of Just Live Here by Patrick Ness – Patrick Ness is a really good author, and this book sounds sooo intriguing, and it also got good reviews online! I am excited for this book.
• Immaculate by Katelyn Detweiler – This was just picked up randomly, and the blurb sounds really weird, but interesting enough. It also got pretty good reviews, so it better be worth it because this book is like 300+ pages long.

U P C O M I N G

• a whole bunch of mini reviews
• endings – which type of endings are best for which type of books?
• family relationships in books
• blogging under a pseudonym – good or bad??

G O A L S

last months 

• read all the books on this month’s tbr ✔ – I only had two books on my TBR, but I managed to read those, and read 5 more
• KEEP ON DRINKING WATER ❌- nope nope nope nope.
• do really good on the last of my exams (the pressure is on people) ✔ – YASSSSS YA GURL PASSED
• post consistently (at least on discussion, and book review a week❌- NOPE I AM A FAILURE LOL

this month 

• read at least 7 books this April
• Write reviews for at least 3 of said books
• Drink more water (plsss)
• Post more often

So that was it for my slightly boring March. How was your month? How many books did you read? What do you have coming up? What were some of your favorite reads?? Any recommendations?? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

why negative reviews are so scary + how to not fail at writing them

reviewing is just part of a book blogging life.

reviewing is based on your opinion, and how you feel about the certain something. while stating your feelings sounds so easy, i came to realize that it’s not. it’s waaaay more complicated than that. especially if it’s negative, or a negative review amidst the sea of super popular ones.

why writing negative reviews can be scarier than taking a chem final

i lied nothings scarier than taking a chem final you didn’t study for 

1. scared of backlash – when i was writing a review for when dimple met rishi, it involved important topics like sex, and diversity. i read that review 10x to make sure i wasn’t writing anything that can offend anyone. i rewrote every line that remotely looked like i was trying to say something bad. why? because i was scared. i was scared of being seen as someone who doesn’t support such an important thing, and someone who is percieved of being racist. it’s embarassing, and sad to be thought of someone like that.
2. being the black sheep – confession time: way, way, way, back when i first started blogging (like i used to use blogger instead of wordpress) and i read hyped up books that let me down i changed my rating on goodreads so it could seem like i “fit in” with all the other positive reviews.  i didn’t write a whole review because anyone with a brain could’ve seen how fake i was. i don’t do this anymore, and i won’t do it anymore especially if a book is representing something in a very problematic storyline.
3. being sued – okay this sounds of a bit of a stretch, but believe me when i say, i was super scared of writing anything negative about a product, or ANYTHING after i found out you can be sued. i read a blog post about someone getting sued 350,000 for writing a bad review, and lord help me, i don’t need to be so broke that i end up in the negative values. 
4. authors can be scary?? – please read this, as well as this to figure out what i’m talking about.

so while we have that side let’s look on the side where it’s important to posting a negative review, and we shouldn’t be scared of it

1. to start off, there may be people who actually agree with you. and may think you’re helpful because you just saved them a lot of time, by crossing of that book of their TBR.
2. some authors will take the criticism in a good way, and hopefully use it later on to improve on their later books
3. it’s part of book blogging. reviews are pretty much the heart, and soul of a book blog. it’s the second (after goodreads) people look up to for a review on a book. you wouldn’t want to spread false statements on your book reviews.
4. fourth, and most important it’s your opinion., everyone has a different outlook on books, or things in general. so why should a negative opinion be considered in valid?

tips on writing negative reviews

• try to relay your opinion in a calm, and polite way

unless it’s extremely problematic you don’t want to immediately start bashing on an author. blood, sweat, and tears (bts reference!!!) have gone into these books, and the author will probably be upset, and a little pissed off to be bombarded with deragatory words.

DON’T: this book was just soo stupid, i don’t even know how the publisher allowed this to be published! my eyes were literally burning with each sentence. the author made very character sound so stupid. how was this even the final draft??? my grandmother could’ve wrote better than this, and she didn’t even go to school!! 

i think i went a bit overboard

DO: to start off, the characters were more or less developed, and i found them doing something that should really need some looking-over. there were a lot of grammer mistakes, that didn’t help with the already, broken writing 

• look at other peoples unpopular opinions

if you are unable or unsure of how to express your opinion (or if you don’t even know your opinion), you could look at the other reviews to help you out a bit. some people might see this as copying. that’s not the case. if you are quoting someone then of course credit them.

DON’T: *looks at famous blogger* *starts to write the same exact way, WITHOUT crediting them* 

DO: as another reviewer, ________ said, “lot of  plot holes, and dumb characters”. and i totally agree with that… 

• try to be sassy!!

if you try sugar-coating, but you sound like a 40 year old professor, try to make you reviews more entertaining! i love reading, may’s, julianna, or cait’s reviews because they manage to tell if something is not wroth the time, but still make me laugh. i try (key word try) to be funny, but no. i am not.

DON’T: everything about this was so stupid. for example in page 131 paragraph, 6…. 

DO: i have no idea how to be sassy, but if you want awesome exampled read Cait from Paper Fury’s review of Warcross or Em @ softlykaz’s reviews  

• balance it out

if you calm down enough, you might find something that was remotely good about the certain book. i remember when writing  When Dimple Met Rishi, i was so engrossed in writing away all the bad things about the book (which were a lot surprisingly) i forgot to focus on the one good aspect. which was the diversity, because it was so spot on.

I like to think that made me seem less like a angry, rambling, crazy, bitch, and made my conscience feel a bit better.

and one final reminder: it’s okay to post a negative review. you are your own person so by that logic, you have your own DIFFERENT opinions. so what your favorite types of review? were these tips helpful? what are some other tips you can add on? are you comfortable sharing  negative review online? let me know!

 

january wrap-up // i’m super productive!!

usually every wrap-up i begin with, “x month has passed by soo fast!” well that’s not the case now! january seemed forever to pass along, and i’m happy to start febuary! but i’ll admit the first month of 2018 wasn’t as bad as i thought it would be.

life

• i started watching supernatural, and riverdale – so i took a break from watching k-drama’s, and anime to focus on these popular american shows! and i have to say it’s going pretty well!!! i love the plot of supernatural, and riverdale is okay.
• MY HUBBIES ARE GETTING ATTENTION INTERNATIONALLY !! – SOOO If you haven’t heard already BTS is gaining a lot of attention in the U.S, and i couldn’t be more prouder. i have been with them since debut, and when they almost disbanded because they were soo broke, and look at them now!! I HAVE MOST OF THEIR ALBUMS, so yeah you can say I am a major ARMY!

if you haven’t checked them out, please do!!

• my!! grades!! are!! fabulous – while blogging somewhat good content, but still managing to be in the top 1% in school is an AMAZING FEELING, GUYS I’M SO HAPPY!! asdfghjkl remember school is more important than blogging, so don’t be guilty if you leave for like 5 months to focus on studies!! 

blog

• i reached 600 followers! – so somehow while i was on a long hiatus (from most of september to december) i fained 600 followers. the count is actually 630 something. and yay, i’m really happy!! welcome new frennns! i don’t know how i reached these many followers, but i’m so grateful
• i “try” to give my blog a makeover (for the hundreth time) – buuuuuut it backfires, and i end up reverting back to my old design. i’m okay with the design i had since summer, but sometimes i look at other blogs, and then all of a sudden i feel like changing up mine.
• i slowly emerge from my hiatus – like i said ever since school started, i haven’t really gave any thought/attention to my blog (there are comments from august still waiting for a reply. oops), but every since the beginning of this month, i have been slowly posting more, and more, and getting my stats back up. i still haven’t got my schedule set in stone, but honestly i need to work at my entirely slow pace.
• TOP POSTS

zodiac signs as bibliophiles

top five authors i discovered in 2017  

books

i have read 8 books this month, which is suprising because ever since i got a new phone, i haven’t been reading much. but i still read a lot, and i’m happy because reading is LIIIIIFE!

• Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng – wooow. this book was so heavy, and sent me on an emotional rollacoaster. i loved this book, but it did have it’s downsides (like being extremely slow at times). i also loved the writing style it just sucked you right in | 3.5 -> 4 stars
• Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes – cute, cute. this book was soo cute. first an accurate representation of PSTD. second, girl!! friendships!! are!! everything!!. third, the romance was sooo cute. i loved this book a lot, and really reccomend to anyone | 4.5 -> 4 STARS 
• If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout – I love JLA book so much! so of course i was expecting another great book from her, but sadly no. i didn’t hate this book but i didn’t like it either. i just felt that the main character is just like EVERY OTHER MAIN CHARACTER from JLA books. | 3.5 -> 3 stars 
• Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia – THIS WAS SOOOO CUTE!! I loved the blossoming romance between the characters, and the drawings were wonderful. And another accurate representation of mental illness, wooow | 4 stars check out my aesthetic! 
• Renegades by Marissa Meyer –  I was super excited to read another Marissa Meyer book, but no it was kinda really annoying. check out my aesthetic! | 3 stars 
• When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon – I hate to say this soo early in the year, but this might be the biggest let-down ever. Great representation, but everything else was horrible. Abusive, femal characters, horrible romance, and a weird plot. Definitely, check out my review for further explanation. | 2 stars 
• Seven Days of You – Stupidest book ever. This was like watching those dumb reality shows on tv, where everything is fake, and pathetic. I was really hyped up when I found out the setting was in Japan. I was so ready for my anime-binging skills to come in, but the setting wasn’t even important. This could’ve been in New York, New Jersey, and NOTHING WOULD’VE CHANGED | 2 stars 
• A Week of Mondays – At first I was really hatin this book, but then gradually I really, really, really liked it! My full review will be posted sometime this week or next week! |4 stars

• Enter Title Here by Rahul Kanakia – This is my current read, and it has an Indian rep! I didn’t here about this a lot, but the plot is pretty interesting.
• Made You Up by Francesca Zappia – Yup, the same author who wrote Eliza and Her Monsters. I loved that book so much I couldn’t help myself when it came to this one.
• Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman – Heard a lot of things about this book from good to super bad, but I wanted to give this out a chance.

not that much planned for this month!

blogosphere

some my favorite posts from my favorite bloggers!

• Julianna @ Blots of Inks and Words posts about important inventions we bookworms need! let me just say, julianna SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!
• Cait @ Paperfury (a.k.a the blogging queen) writes about 8 types of tbr’s.
• May @ Forever and Everly writes a super important post about the importance of rep in books. This post made me spill out my inner anger about how there are too little diverse book.
• Julianna @ Blots of Ink and Words writes a fantastic review on The Valiant. SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY (again).
• Aimee @ Aimee, Always writes an awesome, and detailed review on Warcross (which I still need to read)

UPCOMING POSTS 

• A Week of Mondays Review
• Self-Care tips
• How to write negative reviews
• how to spot problematic book

so that was it for my month, how was yours?? I haven’t been around the blogosphere as much as I wanted to be, hence the small posts :), but i plan on getting to know some new blogs this month!! How many book did you read, and that was your most favorite one? I need new recs for books, and tv shows! !

 

Renegades Book Review // Secret Identities, Epic Fights, and Not-so-good Romance

check out more aesthetics by me 

Title: Renegades

Author: Marissa Meyer

Rating: 3 stars

Blurb (GR): Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone…except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

✨Pro’s ✨

• World Building/Setting – I think one of the hardest job for a fantasy writer is creating a whole new world, with completely different lifestyles all from scratch.  I admired the world Marissa Meyer created in Renegades. It was structured carefully, and there wasn’t anything really confusing about it either. It fueled my unrealistic dream of having super powers. The comic book side of me was squealing because the world was so gosh darn amazing! Another plus was that there wasn’t any  INFORMATION DUMPS as it does happen in other fantasy books!
• Action-scenes were 💯💯- Honestly, I think the action scenes were pretty much awesome. It was so fast-paced, and everything was just so unexpected. But in a good way, ya know.  One thing I learned about Marissa Meyer is that she must really like plot.
• Super cool powers – There were hardly any “cliche” superpowers in here. In fact, it was quite unique, and clever. Nova has a power that can put people to sleep, Adrian can draw things to life, Ruby can bleed out rubies, one dude can absorb super powers. All in all, it was just really fun reading about these powers.
• Diverse!! Characters!! – There are people with disabilities, Adrian is black with two dads, and Nova is biracial (Filipino, and I think Italian)

✨ Cons ✨ 

• Slow, slow, slow pacing – I think a large number of pages in this book were not needed because it had just nothing to do with the plot in general. Towards the last hundred pages I found myself debating whether I should continue or not because the plot was just taking soooo long. It was really good at the beginning, but sort of drifted off into boring-ness towards the end??
• Cliche plot – So basically Nova is a villain who wants to take down the Renegades, but has second thoughts. Oh, she also fell in love with a boy too. And now she is confused???? (like me 99.9% of the time) So I’m guessing in the next books she doesn’t kill the Renegades off?? But I thought something like that in Heartless too, and I was a sobbing mess by the end of that book. So I’m not sure??
• Romance was so boring – Tbh, I didn’t see any “real chemistry” between Nova, and Adrian. I just felt like it  was just super awkward. Especially towards the end of the book. And it was also super slow, just like the plot.

 Nova –  Nova was super annoying, and she went through 0 character development. And was really rude to Ruby, Oscar, and Adrian. It just made me pretty mad because no one wasn’t calling her out or anything. Also, I don’t really think she was a real villain at all. She just sounded like she has big identity crisis or something.

Adrian – A really cliche, and boring character. I just didn’t connect with Adrian. Even though I read 500+ pages about him, I still can’t name any standing out characteristics. He was really passionate about justice, but so is every other YA superhero.

The writing style was something that kept me engrossed in the book, but honestly, it wasn’t anything special. I felt like it was a little bit bland, and could use a little bit of work.

Definitely had big expectations for this book, and it didn’t really come to par with my expectations. I’m not really sure I will pick up the next book in the series. Hopefully it won’t be as long.

 Were you planning on reading this book? Will you give it a try (please do, and tell me what you think)? Was this review even helpful? 

 

October Wrap-Up, Book Haul + Aesthetic // I get Neck Deep In the Laini Taylor Fandom

Hello everyone!

*crickets*

Soooo I have been inactive for a excessively long time, like wow I didn’t even know it was this possible for me too stay away from the internet so long while. But I do have a valid excuse, *opens mouth* *closes mouth*… I got nothing.

I actually don’t have a valid excuse. I could say I was busy, but I don’t think just watching k-dramas, and reading manga really count as “busy”. But one of November’s goal is too stop being inactive , and believe me, for once, I have a plan.

Anyway, October just flew by me. Like one month I was chilling up in my homeland, and then BAM, everyone has pumpkin spice latte in their hands, and wearing cozy fall stuff. And I’m like ???

sorry i’m going through a meme phase

But while I still noticed October was here, I HAD A VERY EXCITING MONTH, and I cannot wait to share with whatever is left of my followers.

B O O K S   R E AD

I DISCOVERED THE POWER OF HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARIES!!! SO. MANY. BOOKS. And I got to read a lot, so hiatus = more boooooooks!

• Stranger The Dreamer by Laini Taylor – No lie, this is probably the best book I’ve read all in 2017. Whyyy haven’t I read this sooner?? Oh wait, I’m completely broke. But I loved, loved, loved Lazlo. He was so freaking shy, and innocent, and asdfghjkl why isn’t he reeeeal??? My full review is currently in it’s editing stage, but I can’t wait to share it. | 5 stars 
• Once and For All by Sarah Dessen – When I saw this on goodreads for the first time, I freaked out. Sarah Dessen (a.k.a one of my favorite authors. EVERRR!) wrote a new boook, about weddings!! I actually loved this book, but I had a problem with the main character, who was a major prick. | 4 stars 
• Frostblood by Elly Blake – Loved the cover, but the story??? Ehhhhh. I mean I did think the plot was weak, and LIKE EVERY SINGLE FANTASY BOOK OUT THERE. The romance was not needed. At all. | 3 stars 
• The Serpent King by Jeff Zetner – I went into the book thinking it was a fantasy novel, because I didn’t read the blurb. So I was really confused when no evil snakes came in??? After I got over my state of confusion, I really got bored of it. The pacing was sloooow. |3 stars 
• Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza – Once again, love the cover, but story was really boring. I did enjoy it too some extent. I guess. | 3 stars 
• Kings Cage by Victoria Aveyard – UM OKAY WHAT IS UP WITH THIS BOOK, WOW OKAY. | 3 stars 
• Tell Me Three Things – It has been pretty long since I read SUCH A CUTE BOOK, ASDFGHJKL WOW | 4 stars 

• Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman – THIS BOOK WAS LIT | 4 STARS 

b l o g g i n g

So um, this section is preeety small, as I have been too lazy too go on the internet.

• I have started my bookstagram – So it has been on hiatus for a suuper long time, and I have opened it up again. I got a new phone, and before that I had too share with my older sister. As it is with siblings, she hardly let me use it. But now, I can use instagram to upload some pictures!
• Nerd In New York has it’s own tumblr!! – So awhile ago, I did make a tumblr, but that turned into a studyblr (which has helped me out a lot in school). Now I made one specifically for Nerd In New York! This will include pictures, updates, and exclusive posts, and other things I will figure out. So check it out if you want to!! 
• New!! Feature!! Out!! Soon!! – I have a jumbled details in my head, but I know I want it out!!

Around the blogosphere 

• Cait @ Paperfury is releasing her own boook! It’s already on my MUST-BUY-IMMEDIATELY list
• Madeline @ reverie pages is officially one year old! I recently discovered her blog, and I LOVE THE DESIGN SOO MUCH! Not only that her posts are BOSS!
• IIsa @ A Whisper of Ink talks about how to spice up book reviews.
• May @ Forever and Everly talks about blogging pet peeves. I can relate so hard, and am quite guilty of those (specifically, the one about leaving randomly. Woops????)

n e w    b o o k s

So yeah, there is a wonderful thing called school libraries, and I love it!! It’s much easier to go here than my public library (so. far. awayyyy), and I actually remember to return books 😀 I think I went overboard with this list though, but #YOLO

• Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde – FANDOMSSSSSSS
• Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin – Second book in the Wolf by Wolf series! The first book left me in such a cliffhanger!
• Gem and Dixie by Sara Zarr – This the story of a broken family, and two sisters. I love any story about family, especially sisters because I am able to relate so much!
• THE ENTIRE RAVEN CYCLE SERIES!! – Who knew they had a wHOLE BOX SET OF THOSE???

u p c o m i n g

I don’t have that much posts (as of now), but here is what I’m planning for the future month of November (a.k.a MY B-DAYYYY month)

• Strange the Dreamer aesthetic + review
• Empress of a Thousand Skies review
• How to stop procrastinating
• libraries vs bookstores

So that was my month for October! I’m really hypes up for November because I have plans on making my blog better, as well as balancing my studies, and clubs. A marking period just ended, and I’m striving hard to do better! Fighting!! But how was your month? How many books did you read? How many posts did you publish (if it’s more than 1, I’m jealous)? What was your highlight for October? What’s coming up for November?? Please let me know!

How to Balance Blogging and School // A.K.A How To Stay Sane

It’s that time in the year when everyone is still adjusting too their school years, classes, and homework. And if you are a blogger, it takes a lot of time to adjust making quality content, and staying on top of school work.

Last year, I was a complete mess at the start of the last school year. I uploaded maybe once a month, hardly any book reviews, and I almost thought of quitting all together (gasp). But I’m glad I pushed through, and I learned from my mistakes. And in this post, I’m sharing my tips on how to balance school, and blogging.

Remember Your Priorities

First off, I’d like too say school is more important than your blog. Yes, your blog is important too you, but education holds more value. If you need too take a break from blogging because you are too overwhelmed, than feel free too. Don’t feel guilty that you are not posting for a week or so. It’s your life, and your blog, and you have full control over it.

Keep a Planner

Too keep up with life, I totally recommend too keep a planner of any kind. A planner will help keep you track of things like homework, deadlines, upcoming exams, upcoming blog posts. Things like that. Using a planner can help you feel very organized. I really, really, really reccomend using the bullte journaling system because it’s cheap (you literally need a notebbook, and pen), and totally customizable.

If you need help with starting how to plan, or learning to plan I recommend these tumblrs.

(these are mostly for bullet journaling)

• pridebulletjournal
• bulletjournaling101
• studyclarity
• gooseapartment

Make a Schedule

Another important thing to do is too keep a schedule of when you are going too focus on blogging, and school work. I dedicate most of my mornings, and afternoons for my schoolworks. And evenings, and night time is dedicated too blogging.

When it comes to blogging I have a specific schedule as well:

Sunday: Write up the post (S)

Monday: Edit, and hyperlinks

Tuesday: Add images, featured images, and then schedule.

Work on Important Things First

Like I said earlier, you should keep your prioritize in check. Work on important things first. Have an important project coming up? Finish it ASAP! This will make you feel less stressful knowing you have less on your plate.

Stop Comparing Yourself

I have a bad habit of comparing myself too other people who have better grades, pageviews, followers, study methods. You know the deal. But these days, I’m trying not too. Why should I feel let down because some people are doing well? There will be always people who are doing… well better than you, but you have too take care of yourself. And do what’s right for you.

So that’s my tips on how to balance blogging, and school. I notice a lot of blogging friends go on hiatus because of the pressure from school, and this year I’m finally getting the hang of things. How do you balance school, and blogging? How do you find time to read when school gets to you? Do you find these tips helpful? 

What To Get for a Bibliophile (Or anyone really) // Bookish Gifts for Bookish People

I don’t know about you, but I love getting gifts from people. You might call me selfish, but I call it people giving me awesome stuff for free. And I mean who doesn’t? Whenever it’s a holiday, or my birthday I am really excited for GIFTS.

The topic of gifts made me wonder, what are some gifts for bookworms like us? So today I’m talking about gifts that are soo valuable to bibliophiles!

A bookmark 

If you know a person who dog-ears GET THEM A FREAKING BOOKMARK! You could be stopping a crime right there, the bookish lords will award you. I love bookmarks because they A) are so pretty and B) helps me track of what page I am. I love showing them off on bookstagram, and to my friends. One of my favorite bookmark makers are LexyOlivia, and littleinklingdesigns

littleinklingdesigns book marks!

LexyOlivia’s beautiful bookmarks!

A candle inspired his/her favorite books 

A Court of Candles has one the most beautiful candles ever! This will be sure to please anyone, even if they’re not a bibliophile. This is a perfect book gift because who doesn’t want something to smell something marvelous as Nico Di Angelo! 

A tote-bag 

We bibliophiles need something to carry all our books when we are at the library/bookstore. A bag would be perfect. I would recommend buying from this shop. They sell the most classy, and beautiful things ever. Here is one of their totes. 

A poster 

A poster show-casing his/her favorite book characters/symbols would be awesome! The best part of this gift is that you can make one of your own, or even print one out if you have no art skill (like me)

A book 

Do i have to explain further? Yes, because it will make this post seem longer. Here is the definition of bibliophile 

We love books, meaning we also hoard books. We’d really appreciate it if you bought a book. Even more if you buy one from our TBR. Actually, the best gift for a bookworm is if you buy our whole TBR. There you go. Best gift in the world.

 

Someone please buy me like all of these. Please. What’s your idea of a perfect gift? Which would would you want? What would you buy for your friends? What are some other gifts you would buy/want? 

Picture of littleinklingdesigns bookmark was found on their instagram page!
Picture of LexyOlivia’s bookmark was found on her instagram page!
Picture of A Court of Candles was found on their instagram page!