I'm slowly but surely narrowing down my reading tastes so that I am able to source and read more books that are 4 stars or more, something I used to struggle with immensely. Defining my reading tastes has been pivotal and vital in my reading enjoyment. It's not enough to know you like a genre,… Continue reading Discovering My Reading Tastes ~ Literary Niches within Genres
Tag: reading
My January Intentions ~ 2026
January has come around quickly, and I usually love this time of year for setting new goals, opening a new journal and planner, and visualising what I want to do with this gift of a blank slate. But last year, I did my January a little differently and I loved it. Here are my intentions… Continue reading My January Intentions ~ 2026
Gift-able Books: Book Recommendations for Gift-Giving This Season
Tis the season of gift-giving and my favourite thing to gift is books! There's just something so special about a book. You can gift it new or secondhand. You can give one of your own, even with your tabs or scribbles in the margins, sharing a piece of yourself with someone you care about. A… Continue reading Gift-able Books: Book Recommendations for Gift-Giving This Season
Black History Month TBR: Books to Read to Support Black Culture, History and Livelihood
Go find my other posts on books by black authors here I’ve done a few posts on black authors and book recommendations for black history month, but I wanted to share my black history curriculum! Books that I either own already and haven’t read yet or books I’m sourcing from my library that sound interesting… Continue reading Black History Month TBR: Books to Read to Support Black Culture, History and Livelihood
It’s Not All Doom and Gloom: Anti-Negative News
Hi everyone, I hope you are well. The world seems to be in a state of chaos right now and it's hard to hold onto hope when you're a minority, immigrant, or from a group that isn't the dominant in Western society. We feel pushed out. Villainised. Held responsible for a broken system that we… Continue reading It’s Not All Doom and Gloom: Anti-Negative News
Black History Month: Book Recommendations from Black Authors
Books I’ve read by black authors that I enjoyed: Ring Shout (current read, very interesting so far) - horror, fantasy, historical We Need New Names - set in Zimbabwe The Secret Lives of Church Girls - short stories, spicy, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - literary, historical fiction Hello Mum - contemporary Dear Martin… Continue reading Black History Month: Book Recommendations from Black Authors
What I’ve Learned About My Reading Tastes This Summer
I've suspected for a while that my reading tastes are not what I once thought they were. I used to read fantasy, as I write fantasy. But when I really thought about it, I realised I don't often finish fantasy books and rate them highly. This summer, I decided to experiment with my writing style,… Continue reading What I’ve Learned About My Reading Tastes This Summer
How to Choose the Right Books for You: why do you read?
This question stemmed from my mini reading rut that I’m in. I am considering DNF-ing another book and I really don’t know what I want to read next that will engage me for the length of a book. Am I just too impatient and don’t give a book enough time to get good? Do I… Continue reading How to Choose the Right Books for You: why do you read?
Reading stats of 2022
Total books read: 36 Average book length: 300-499 Audiobooks: 14 Number of non fiction read: 7 Number of fiction read: 28 Favourite non-fiction book: The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green Favourite fiction book: The Book Thief, White Smoke, or House of Hollow (yes I can’t pick one!!) Number of authors of colour read: 10 Top… Continue reading Reading stats of 2022
How to create natural tension and conflict in your narrative
Tension and suspense are key to gripping your reader. Conflict is what makes a story interesting but there is boring conflict and then there is natural and tense conflict! You want the latter if you can! I will be talking today about natural conflict and tension using the latest Planet of the Apes franchise to… Continue reading How to create natural tension and conflict in your narrative
S. R. Crawford 