I've never been one for TBR lists, but since I started using my planner again, I've been a huge fan of creating them. It's been helping me organize my books that I have on my shelves left unread, and also solving my constant dilemma of never knowing what to check out from the library.
My TBR is more of a goal list, as I tend to stray from it quite a bit, but here's the rough TBR for the month of June.
1. Ship It by Britta Lundin
I just started this book and I'm loving it so far. This book is told in a dual perspective, following ultimate fangirl Claire and Forest, the actor in Claire's favorite show. The show in question gives me hardcore Supernatural vibes, especially as Claire is a slash-fic writer, and I am a huge Destiel fangirl. Overall, I'm super excited to read more of it this month.
Oh and can we talk about this GORGEOUS cover?!?!
2. Legendary by Stephanie Garber
This is the sequel to Caraval, which is one of my absolute favorite reads. Caraval ended on a huge cliffhanger, so I've been dying to find out what comes next for the characters. This book came out at the end of May, but I'm waiting for a library copy, so hopefully I can get it soon!
3. Save the Date by Morgan Matson
I am a huge Morgan Matson fan and I've been waiting for what feels like FOREVER for her new book. I pre-ordered this book with the special edition notebook and stickers and I am so stoked to finally get it! This book comes out June 5th, so it will probably be one of the first reads of the month.
4. Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett
I got this book as a gift from my mom and I've been pretty excited to check it out. I'm not exactly sure what it's about but the cover evokes summer night vibes and I'm super stoked to check it out. I read Alex, Approximately last year and thought it was a cute read so I'm excited to see how this compares.
5. Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl
I actually just heard about this book on booktube and it sounds super incredible. This book involves a mysterious death and the main character hunting for answers. That's all I know about it, but it sounds super spooky and amazing.
What books are you reading this month? Let's chat about it!
Always, Raineedayze
Now that is officially, full fledged SUMMERTIME, it's time to set some goals and make the most of what will probably be my last summer vacation.
I've thought a ton about what I wanted to accomplish this month, and I realized I want to use this free time to do all the things I've been putting off the rest of the year.
1. Watch more documentaries
We live in an age where knowledge is so easily accessible, and yet I feel I haven't been taking advantage of it. I want to watch more documentaries and learn more about the world. I'm a huge trash tv junkie, and while I will never give up my overly dramatic shows, I should definitely get some quality stuff in my brain too!
2. Be Active 30 Minutes/Day
via GIPHY
I've actually been doing really well, health-wise and I want to stay on track. Our pool is open and it feels so nice to be out and moving. Plus, my body has never felt so good! I feel stronger and my back is not in so much pain. Also, getting a quick 15-minute workout each morning has really set the mood for my days and motivates me to get out of bed. Let's keep it up in June!
3. Post 3 Book Reviews
I'm loving reviewing books for this blog and I realized I have a huge passion for talking about books. I've been looking into careers where I can put my love for books to use, but for now, I really want to improve my reviewing and talk about books with as many people as possible! It's just so nice to connect with so many cool people who just GET IT. I really want to work more book reviews and bookish things into my life.
4. Take some #SummerVibes pictures
Summer is such a magical time. Everything is a little bit brighter and lot more free. I want to take advantage of this by capturing all the best summery moments to remind myself of how great life can be. I made a list in my planner of a few summer ideas and I can't wait to share some of them this summer.
via GIPHY
5. Hit the Pool!
I love the pool and now that our apartment has it open, and I can visit the college pool as an alumni, I really should take advantage of it. Not only is it an excellent workout, it's so relaxing to be in the water, especially in the Texas heat!!
What are your summer goals for June? Let's chat about it!
Always, Raineedayze
Holy smokes, it's the end of May.
I had a pretty big month, from seeing my family and friends to graduating COLLEGE! In life, my May was pretty eventful. So let's recap!
| Genuine Fraud* by E. Lockhart | A Map for Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor | The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard | The Good Girls by Sara Shepard | It by Stephen King | Letting Ana Go by Beatrice Sparks/Anonymous | Jay's Journal by Beatrice Sparks/Anonymous | Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli | Royce Rolls by Margaret Stohl |
This month was a pretty great reading month for me, all things considered. I read a total of 9 books (technically 8 since I read Genuine Fraud on the last day of April). I enjoyed the majority of these books, and as you can tell, they went from serious dramas to more lighthearted contemporaries to ease myself into summer.
| Deadpool 2 | Avengers: Infinity War | 1984 (Amazon) | The Cloverfield Paradox (Netflix) |
Riverdale (Netflix) | Bob's Burgers (Hulu) | Lost in Space (Netflix) | Ash Vs. Evil Dead (Netflix) | 13 Reasons Why (Netflix) |
I actually had time to sit in bed and watch ALL THE THINGS! I caught up on Riverdale and 13RW and finally watched a bunch of stuff I had on backlog. I really enjoyed all of the things this month (except Cloverfield -_____-). I'm still going through my lists of "need to watch shows" but it's slowly working!
| Stardew Valley (Steam) | Overwatch (PC) | Just Dance Now (Android) | Orwell: Ignorance is Strength (Steam) |
I've enjoyed my downtime, but with Jon's new schedule, a lot of my gaming has been solo, more relaxed games. I'm loving easing myself back into playing games and finding the time to de-stress. Plus, the Stardew multiplayer is SO MUCH FUN!
Other Cool Stuff:
- Graduation!!!
- I've actually been working out a ton and eating healthier
- So much drawing and crafting!
- Job applications!
- Internet friends!
- Spending many days at the pool
This is the first month I've felt really free. Summer vibes are real, my dudes. And I am thoroughly enjoying them! I have a pretty exciting June planned, so stay tuned!
How was your May? Let's chat about it!
Always, Raineedayze
I've spent most of this summer so far with a good book by the pool, so it was only natural that as soon as I picked up Leah on the Offbeat, I would be rushing to read it. I loved Becky Albertalli's previous books in this universe, and so I couldn't wait to immerse myself in her new book.
This book follows Leah, the (in my opinion), badass underrated character featured in Simon Vs. The Homosapien Agenda. First things first, Leah is a bisexual ICON. She is adorable and tough as nails, and her musings about Harry Potter, fanfic, and Tumblr were music to my very nerdy ears.
As with all the books in this universe, there are a ton of references to fandoms, ships, and general geeky goodness.
The gang is back, now embarking on the last few months of high school and dealing with prom, dating, college preparations, and taking that scar leap into the unknown. This book was amazing in that regard and something I wish I had read in high school.
Though I adored Leah, I do have to say her narration was probably the weakest in comparison to the previous books in the series(?). She also had more of angsty feel, very different from Molly and Simon. As a standalone, this book would have been an automatic 5 star read. However, since the book did rely on the other two books a bit more than they relied on each other, I do think it diminished it a little bit.
The romance in this book was a bit obvious, but very adorable nonetheless, and I seriously loved the really cute moments. As always, there were a few shoutouts from the previous couples, which was always nice to see.
Overall, I gave this book 4/5 stars. It was a very cute read and Becky Albertalli has a way of writing nerdy teenagers and I could read a million books following this group.
In the spirit of it, I also made a playlist for the book! I'm getting a feel for it to see if I want to keep making these for books, so let me know if you enjoy it!
Have you read Leah on the Offbeat? Let's chat about it!
Always, Raineedayze
It sure has been a while since I have been able to get my thoughts coherent enough to blog, but I have a huge life update to talk about!
I officially graduated from college!
I'm so happy to finally finish my degree and now, it's on to figure out what exactly I want to do with my life. I have zero idea what's in store for me, but at least the hard part is over!
Other than that, I've been finally able to just relax, which for me means lounging by the pool, reading ALL the books, watching movies, and naps. SO MANY NAPS.
It feels so good to finally be done with something that I've been working for for over 4 years, but now I do kind of feel a little lost in the void. It's scary but feels really good to have so much potential.
For now, expect some more reviews, life musings, and a whole lotta weirdness! Thanks for sticking with me!
Always, Raineedayze
Holy Moly, It's the end of April!
This year has been going hella fast and I have a lot of stuff to talk about this month. As you may have noticed, there were no monthly goals or posts at all in April here. That's because I spent the entire month working my butt off to officially be ready to graduate college in 10 days!!
I am so so SO excited to finally be done with school and start figuring out what I want to do with my life. That being said, April was a blur of exams, paperwork, phone calls, and spending way too much money to make sure that I will be graduating next week. So, I didn't have a whole lot of time to get online this month. That being said, I actually was able to do some cool stuff so let's talk about it!
| Things I'm Seeing Without You by Peter Bognanni | Ana's Story by Jenna Bush | The Dead Inside by Cyndy Drew Etler | Want To Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman | The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love by Sarvenaz Tash | Save Me, Kurt Cobain by Jenny Manzer | Lies My Girlfriend Told Me by Julie Anne Peters | Game Over by Various Authors |
I had an excellent reading month, all things considered, reading a total of 8 books. A lot of these were very dark and thriller-type books and I really enjoyed being able to burn off my stress in these suspenseful novels. Most of these were also random library finds or thrift store finds, so it was nice to read a book completely blind.
| The Running Man (Amazon Prime) | Lost In Space (Netflix) | Meatballs (Amazon Prime) | The Emoji Movie (Netflix) |
| Citrus (Crunchyroll) | Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid (Crunchyroll) | Recovery of an MMO Junkie (Crunchyroll) | Himouto Umaru-Chan R (Amazon Prime | Pokemon Sun and Moon (Netflix) | Star Trek TOS (Netflix) |
This month I actually tried to watch a whole lot of new stuff and actually clear out my list of "should eventually watch". I also spent a lot more time watching anime this month and remembered why I love it.
As for movies, Jonathan got pretty sick this past weekend so in order to cheer him up, I relinquished my control over the remote and let him choose some movies I hadn't seen. And I loved them all. But let's be honest, Arnold Schwarzenegger in anything is fantastic.
| Just Dance Now (Android) | Hogwarts Mystery (Android) | Unravel (Xbox One) | Breath of the Wild (Nintendo Switch) |
Luckily, I had a little bit of time and energy to play some games this month. Since getting on my anti-depressants, I've really been way more motivated to do things I actually enjoy instead of just staring at the ceiling in bed. So even though this is a short list, I'm mostly excited that slowly but surely my hobbies are picking back up.
Other Cool Stuff this Month:
- I finally have confirmed my graduation! I have two more exams and then it's the big day!
- I've been way more healthy this past month. More water, less junk food, and actual exercise has been good to me!
- I got some cool merch and cute things in general. Now to make some room in my apartment! (Pics to follow when I clean my apartment!)
This month was hella stressful, but I was able to get through it. I know I'm probably gonna be on edge until I officially have my degree in my hand, but soon everything will be great!
Next month's posts may be a bit late since I'll be doing graduation stuff and finals at the beginning, so if you can bear with a week of silence, it will all be great!
How was your April? Let's chat in the comments!
Always, Raineedayze
I haven't had many 5 star books in a while, but Autoboyography definitely deserved it.
Autoboyography follows Tanner, an openly bisexual teenager who, after his move to Mormon-filled Utah, goes back in the closet. However, when he enrolls in a class to write a novel in a semester, he ends up falling for his male TA.....who just happens to be the bishop's son.
This book was amazing. Tanner was a hilarious narrator, and I loved his wit. The Scott family was wonderful and flawed but I adored them. There were also SO many tearjerker moments. I finished this book with a huge lump in my throat but I absolutely adored it.
Sebastian's storyline of dealing with who he is and what he has always known broke my heart, and his automatic shifts to being "fine" just tore me up. I was worried this book would bash religion, but I think it dealt with it in a very real way. It managed to deal with being a good person and religion in way that wasn't mutually exclusive and how you can be a person of faith and question different parts of your beliefs.
This book dealt with so many huge and real issues for teenagers growing in conservative/religious settings. The authors (Christina Lauren is actually duo, Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings) did a ton of research and featured a list of LGBTQ+ sources at the end of the book. Christina was also a school counselor who saw many children coming in her office dealing with these same issues.
This book was absolutely wonderful, had incredible bi representation, and I cannot recommend it enough. Definitely 5/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Let's chat about it!
Always, Raineedayze
I got this book as a gift from my mom and I've been pretty excited to check it out. I'm not exactly sure what it's about but the cover evokes summer night vibes and I'm super stoked to check it out. I read Alex, Approximately last year and thought it was a cute read so I'm excited to see how this compares.
