Rapid Fire Book Tag

This is a book tag created by Kate from GirlReading (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-46EzDWdSY). There are a series of book related questions to answer so let’s go:

Q: E-Book or Physical Book? 

A: E-book, I know this is a controversial answer but I love my kindle so much! It is light to hold, keeps my page open and tells me an estimate of how much longer I have left in the book which helps motivate me to keep reading.

Q: Paperback or Hardback? 

A: I don’t really have a preference!

Q: Online or In-Store Book Shopping? 

A: I love shopping in a book store. Being surrounded by books is one of my favourite places. I can look at all of the different books available and choose whichever is available at the time. I often find books that I wasn’t originally planning on buying!

Q: Trilogies or Series?

A: I love series because then there are more books to read, as long as the books still continue to be great and there is enough story to last across more books.

Guest Post: The Psychology of Writer's Block by Kim from writersideoflife.com

I want to talk about the dreaded realm of the tortured artist: Writer's Block. Anyone who calls themselves a writer has experienced it. Your coffee is hot and your fingers are poised over the keyboard. The cursor flashes black in a sea of white. All those ideas that were rushing around while you were trying to get to sleep are gone. Your mind is completely blank.

What is writer's block?

Writer's Block is defined as the condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing. I love the quote by Thomas Mann; “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” So what makes it harder for us writers?

Fear of criticism

Writers are inherently sensitive people. They have to feel things deeply to be able to write about them in a way that feels relatable to other people. It follows that they will think deeply about others' attitudes towards their work.

April/May Goals

Aru Shah and the End of Time

Hello! I have been spending a lot of time blogging and working on social media in relation to this. I love doing this but in between I am spending a lot of time just scrolling through social media and I am not getting other things done that I want to do. So here is a list of my goals to achieve over the next month or so:

Read

I really want to finish more books a week and I have been experiencing a reading slump in April! So my goal is to try to read even more. I need to actively make sure that I am fitting in reading time where possible because I love reading and there are so many more books that I want to read! My 48 hours of no internet is this weekend (28^th-29^th April) so I am hoping that will help kickstart some more reading (this is for Cancer Research UK and you can donate here).

Art

I have always wanted to be good at art and over the years I have experimented with different arts and crafts. Earlier this year I was lucky enough to obtain a drawing tablet to draw digitally and I have so far made a couple of drawings that I am proud of but I would like to try fitting in regular drawing time to practice and improve. 

Guest Post: Mental Health & Creativity by Hannah from thedysfunctionaldamsel.com

Today’s guest post is by Hannah from http://thedysfunctionaldamsel.com/I am honoured that she wrote a post discussing dealing with her mental health issues to share with you all. 

Hannah often writes about mental health and trying to navigate through life while making weird metaphors, pretending to be dinosaurs with her toddler and ranting about her obese dog.

My relationship with mental illness and creativity has been evolutionary. I was diagnosed with depression when I was merely 11 years old. I can remember feeling like an outsider even then, and not in the cute “no one gets my preteen angst” sort of way. Instead it was insidious self-hatred. I always felt as if I was stuck behind a glass pane, with my nose pressed against the window while I voyeuristically watched others enjoying their lives. I wanted so badly to have effortless joy, but had no idea how to find it or if I was even meant to have it. My acceptance of what I felt, of what I was, and just of myself truly started with channeling my creativity.

Because We Are Bad: OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought by Lily Bailey Review

Deciding what to do with your life

Finding what you want to spend your time doing- both for a career and for your free time, is something that can be really difficult to do. You may feel lost or you may have an idea. However, this idea can change as you grow older and that is okay. Even if you feel lost now, don’t worry, you will find your way. Here are some tips that may help:

What do you already enjoy? I have a passion for books, I love writing and reading and so it seems natural for me to hope for a career in this industry. You can always think of subjects that you enjoyed at school or people that you look up to.

What jobs stand out to you? It is okay to try different jobs, take work experience or internships or temporary jobs. Research related careers on job websites. For UK graduates, I would recommend Prospects.

Manga Classics: Jane Eyre Book Review

Games that I am finding relaxing right now

I have always been a gamer. However, when my mental health dipped I found it harder to focus on video games and I haven’t really played them as much as I used to but I do want to change this. I am trying to relax more and here are two games that I am finding relaxing at the moment. I am focusing on these as these are what I feel like playing at the moment!

Kingdom Hearts Unchained X

I recently restarted this game after losing the account when my phone broke. This is a free mobile game based on the Kingdom Hearts series. You play as your own custom character and you go through levels finding items, opening treasure chests and fighting heartless (the creatures in some of the Kingdom Hearts games). You don’t need to have played Kingdom Hearts before to play this. The game is separated into short levels which is relaxing and fun.

For those of you that do play Kingdom Hearts, this game is a prequel to the original game and I think that it connects to Kingdom Hearts 3!

Renewing focus: keeping those dreams alive

Lately I have been in a bit of a slump. I had a terrible cold and my mental health dipped. I didn’t really feel like reading or writing which made me feel worse. However, I tried to finish editing a chapter of my book for Wattpad and I did it! After feeling like I had fallen out of love with writing fiction, it was a relief to actually finish a chapter and feel good about it.

After being unwell, I finally got back to the gym and I felt a bit better in myself after exercising.

I have been able to finally renew my focus on activities that I love and want to pursue further: writing, reading and blogging. I aim to continue writing chapters of my book, to read a lot more and of course to keep blogging. I intend to keep posting book reviews and discussing reading, writing and mental health so subscribe if you want to keep updated as to when I post! 

I still feel anxious but I am glad that I have reached this realisation of the things that I really need to and want to focus on. These are the things that make me happy and the stepping stones on the way to my dreams. I just need to enjoy the journey.

I hope you are all well and please feel free to comment!

What I Have Been Up To #2

Hi everyone, so the plan was to read a lot and post more book reviews. However, my health had other ideas and I have had a terrible cold for over a week so I’m a little behind with what I wanted to do. However, I wanted to update you on what I have been doing and some of my future plans.