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Last 5 Books I’ve Read #2

Aug 5, 2017

For the last month, I’ve either been in a reading slump or a contemporary mood. It’s been a very few busy couple of weeks for me. I’ve started back at uni, and have been trying to maintain a balance between that, my bookshop job and my internship. It’s been a little crazy and I’ve only been able to read a couple of books.

But, I am feeling a little bit better at the moment and I think it’s slowly starting to simmer down – until the end of August and Melbourne Writers Festival that is. However, other than that – I am good.

So today, I thought I would share the last five books that I have read. That have all been contemporary, and two are re-reads.

Point of Origin by Rebecca Yarros: It’s been ten years since the wildfire that turned their small town to ashes, taking the lives of fathers and their elite hotshot crew.

It’s been six years since Sebastian Vargas since left the town and Emerson Kendrick behind. Breaking her heart and leaving without an explanation. And now he is back.

Bash is trying to bring back the old Hot Shot crew, with the 10-year anniversary coming up, time is ticking. But him being back doesn’t just bring memories of all those who died.

Emerson and Bash and like fire together and fire burns. Can they come together or will their past year them apart.

Ignite by Rebecca Yarros: Colorado is calling him home, needing every Legacy-born firefighter to successfully rebuild their fathers’ team. In Legacy, Colorado, River Maldonado buried his father alongside his elite Hotshot team.

In Legacy, Colorado, River Maldonado buried his father alongside his elite Hotshot team. Ten years later, he has followed in his footsteps—fighting fires in the mountains of Alaska with his brother.

Amid the flames, nothing ignites River like Avery Claire. She’s stubborn, strong, sexy as hell, and his best friend. She also has no idea that River is in love with her.

Tied Up To You by Erin Fletcher: After an ‘accidental’ kiss, both Luke Jackson and Malina Hall know they’re in trouble.

Luke and Malina have been best friends for some time now, but that’s all it has been. Expect Luke has always known how amazing Malina is. After, their kiss, everything is a little … awkward. But, she likes him too right? Yet, even if they get together will it work? He is the next big star in hockey, and now one of his team mates has shown some interest in Malina.

As her best friend, Jackson should get out of the way. But if there’s one thing he’s learned from hockey, it’s that you have to go for what you want, even if it means falling flat on your face.

Rebel by Rebecca Yarros: She’ll defy his every expectation.

She’s Penna Carstairs. The Renegade they call Rebel. There’s no rule in extreme sports she hasn’t broken, no gender barrier she hasn’t demolished.

When Penelope and Cruz met in a bar in Vegas, the last thing he thought they would so is illegally BASE jump. And spent quite a night together and now Cruz can’t get Penna out of his head.

But things are about to get interesting. Because he is Dr. Cruz Delgado—the youngest professor on their ship, and Penelope Carstairs just walked into his class.

No Limits by Ellie Marney: A companion novel to her ‘Every’ trilogy, No Limits follows Harris Derwent who isn’t exactly the good guy.

After his unsuccessful attempt to help Rachel Watts, Harris has landed himself in hospital and unemployed. He is still stuck in the country and at his father’s peril. He needs to make money fast and being a runner for a drug cartel is where Harris lands himself.

Amita Blunt is the police sergeant’s daughter. Getting involved in Harris’s case was never part of the plan. But working at the hospital, she’s invisible – which makes her the ideal contact for a boy feeding information back to the police…

Backed into a corner, with everything at stake, it’s time for Harris and Amie to find out if love really has no limits…

I am also currently reading – or listening to Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel. I am absolutely loving it. There is about 2 hours to go and just wow things are intense alright. I never thought I would get into audio books, but they are amazing for train rides – which I do about 4 times a week or so.

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Have you read any of these books? Are you planning on reading them? What are your last reads? Let’s Chat!

Discussion: Disability on Covers

Apr 20, 2017

If you’ve followed me for a while you might know that I am very vocal about disability in YA. I want it front and centre. I want people to read about it, to understand, to gain something and take it with them. A couple of months ago I wrote about living with chronic pain and shared posts through Disability Diaries. You may also know that Ely over at Tea and Titles also has a passion for disability in novels. And as well as being my best friend we love to share our passion together.

So today we thought we would share our thoughts on a few covers of books that delve into disability. This may be the protagonist or even someone very close to them. We wanted to see how publishers present disability on the book cover or even at all. We’ve split this one up so don’t forget to check out Tea and Titles for more.

Welcome Ely! Thank you so much for coming here and chatting with me about this. Do you want to talk quickly about yourself and why you are passionate about disability representation in literature?

As Angel said, I’m Ely and I blog over at Tea & Titles. I was born with a mobility disability that affects me almost every day, and I also have diabetes and anxiety. Growing up, the only fictional character who I could connect to was Nemo from Finding Nemo because he had a bad fin/leg like I did. Because of that, I’m very passionate about getting more disability into literature, especially YA. I’m currently writing my thesis on the representation of disability in YA so it’s all I think about at the moment.

Thank you for sharing Ely. If you couldn’t tell already a lot of our talks do end about disability in YA. So let’s get started.

The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen

Let’s get started with this one. Both of us have read it and really enjoyed it, however the cover doesn’t tell us about about the book in a disability sense. The female protagonist has recently been confined to a wheelchair after an accident and while can use crutches, she will have a mobility disability for the rest of her life. However, that isn’t portrayed here on the cover. What do you think Ely?

I have to agree with you. When I saw the cover, I had no idea that the book was about disability at all. To me, it just looked like a cute summery contemporary and it was only when I read the blurb that I found out about that aspect. It’s such a huge part of the book that I’m actually really disappointed that it’s not on the cover at all, especially because I feel like disability is portrayed really well in the book.

Totally agree with you. And also that the disability plays such a big part in the novel itself with the protagonist coming to terms with everything that has happened. Also check out Ely’s review on The Year We Fell Down.

Aw, thanks Angel <3 I think it’s important to note that both main characters are disabled—one permanently and the other temporarily, so you’d think there would be even the smallest nod to it.

Tone Deaf by Olivia Rivers

Now this is an interesting one. Just by the title you have an understanding that this book is going to focus on deafness and well it does. And I love that the cover incorporates it without really trying. The contrast of the concert scene with the noise recognition. It’s smart. I haven’t read this one yet, but I’ve read This is What Goodbye Looks Like by this author and that makes me excited. What do you think of this cover Ely?

Having never heard of this book before, I have to say that I don’t hate the cover. Usually I wouldn’t pick it up because of the pretty stereotypical concert picture going on there, but the title draws me in. Even more than that, the soundwaves between the two words makes me feel pretty exciting for it actually. I can’t think of another book that looks at deafness with a cover like this, can you Angel?

As you said it’s a pretty generic concert image, but no I can’t think of once that also has to do with deafness. It’s small and if you didn’t know about the book you might miss it, but it works in way.

Highly Illogical Behaviour by John Corey Whaley

This one is a difficult one to talk about. While it’s not in your face, I can see how it would work to represent agoraphobia. All the different colours and how the lines are going different ways. All over the place – It’s like how you could feel. Being throw from one side to the other. Your mind everywhere all at once. Is that how you see it Ely?

Yes, but I also see it as connections—kind of like one of those crime things you see in TV where they have string going across the room, but in someone’s brain. As in, it’s like your brain is making all these connections to things. The way I see it is in anxieties and fears, if you do this thing then this is what could happen, or if you don’t do this thing and so on. Does that make any sense?

Totally makes sense and totally agree. It’s a way of connecting the dots and how your brain works in a way. How it makes sense of everything that is thrown at it.

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As you can see from this post disability isn’t represented a whole lot on YA covers. Which is upsetting to say the less. You have to really and make your own interpretation of what is being presented. I don’t know why publishers don’t have disability front and center, but I do wish it was there more. What would you love to see more of Ely?

Personally, I’d love to just see more disability in all aspects of publishing. It’s still very rare that a book that features disability, and even when they do they are often pushed aside by bestsellers. I think everyone can think of a few bestsellers with little to no diversity in at all. I hadn’t realise before this post, but I’m sad that disability is featured so little on covers. We need disability on covers of disability books!

Could not agree with you more. Over the past year or so I have seen it more, but not nearly enough and it’s frustrating at times. There are so many disabilities in the world and so many people suffer – so why not have a good representation in the YA world.

Thank you Ely for joining me here on Angel Reads and don’t forget to check out Ely’s post where we talk more about disability on covers. I hope that you enjoyed this post and feel as passionate as we do about more disability on YA covers.

Thanks for always letting me rant about disability, Angel. I can’t wait for our next hundred conversations about it!

Have you seen a cover where disability is presented well? Can you think of any where it’s not even there or showed in a horrible way? Let’s Chat!

Book Blogging Basics: Starting A Blog

Apr 7, 2017

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Starting book blogging is always hard. You don’t know where to start, what you want to talk about, or even how to start. When I started 6 years ago, I had no idea what I was doing. I just starting blogger, with a crap layout and wrote about my thoughts. Now, I am here on WordPress and I treat it like a job – a job that I love. But where do YOU start?

Today, I have the lovely Sarah from Written Word Worlds to delve into starting a bookish blog. So here are some hints and tricks on where to begin.

Hi, everyone! Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Angel. I’m looking forward to talking about our blogging journeys together!

Figure out a name

Choosing your name for your blog is probably the most important thing. It’s how you are going to be known, it’s going to be your display. Creating ‘Angel Reads’ wasn’t much an effort as it wasn’t that creative – it’s just my name and what I like to do.

I agree. What you decide to name your blog is really important because that’s how people will find you, and it’s how you’ll get your content out there. I decided to call my blog Written Word Worlds because I’ve always loved alliterations. And the domain name was available, so that also helped!

Choose your platform

The next thing on your list of things to do is find a platform that you love. As I said before I started on blogger. It’s always a good place to start as there isn’t much HTML work and their basic themes are easy to work around. About a year and a half in, I moved over to WordPress and never looked back. My lovely friend Millicent created my fabulous design and while it’s gone through a couple of changes – it’s still the same. I have much more freedom with WordPress and after learning some basic HTML, I love that I can do.

I absolutely love the layout and design of your blog! My ‘origin’ story was a little different. When I was in high school, we had to do a project for the whole year, which counted towards a major part of our grades. I wanted to do book reviewing, but initially, I wanted to do it on YouTube. When I realised I was way too awkward to show my face in front of a camera (well, I’m still awkward but I actually do YouTubing now), I thought I should start a blog! I’d never been a big part of the blogging scene and I had NO IDEA what to do, so I talked to my IT teacher at school and asked if he could help me make a website. I thought I’d have to make it from scratch (silly me), but then he told me about WordPress! So I made my blog with his help, right then and there! I love WordPress – it’s really easy to use and looks fabulous.

I wish I had assessments like that at high school – maybe if I continued with IT, it would have come later. But hey, I am here blogging now.

Social Media

Over the years it’s become apparent to me that social media is very important when you are a book blogger – any type of blogger really. Not only is social media amazing for promoting your own blog, but it’s a great way to connect with other readers and bloggers. Twitter and Instagram are two that I would highly recommend that you have. Social media is also a great way to keep up to date with bookish news. Before I starting blogging I missed out on a lot of news and bookish events – but now it’s everywhere and it’s great.

I absolutely agree. I’ve had my blog for over four years now, but I only really found the bookish community on Twitter at the start of 2016. Up until then, it kind of felt like I was shouting into the void. But then I started following some bookish people on Twitter and really got into bookstagramming. Not only did this help promote my blog, but it also allowed me to meet a ton of awesome nerds, like myself! I’m so happy I found this community – it’s become such a big part of my life and I have social media to thank for that.

Basic layout

You don’t need a fancy layout to blog. Obvious a nicer layout is more appealing and will make more people look at your blog. But, to start off, you are blogging for YOU. As you become more use to the idea of blogging and doing it more consistently. Then you can think about creating something more with the layout. The way I see it, it’s better to have great content that something looking amazing, but you haven’t posted in months.

I’ve never been very good at creating graphics, so for a while, the look of my blog wasn’t something I was proud of. I thought it was boring and not very aesthetically pleasing, but thankfully one of my blogging friends was kind enough to give my blog a makeover! I’m in love with the way it looks now, and because of that, I’ve felt a lot more motivated to post on the blog.Being proud of how your blog looks is definitely very important, but I agree with Angel – it’s equally important to have good content on your blog too.

Totally agree, when I starting blogging my layout was very simple. Just a header and a couple of things in the sidebar. Then when I starting loving blogging more and becoming more into it – it became what it is now.

Get posting

Why have a blog and not post? Book reviews are probably the easiest thing to start with. And you don’t need to get books from publishers for this. Start off with the books that you are reading – and write away. Features like Top Ten Tuesday and Waiting on Wednesday are always great ways to get some posts up. These also create a space where you can connect with other blogs that you can follow and interact with. Something that I’ve learnt over the years is to blog what you want. Don’t let others influence what you post, it’s your blog, your space. Obvious don’t post anything offensive but post what you like to see, what you like to write.

Such brilliant ideas! I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never done a Top Ten Tuesday or Waiting on Wednesday – probably because I have too many favourites and I’m waiting for EVERYTHING! To me, having a regular posting schedule is important because it helps me stay motivated. Throughout high school, I only had time to post once a week – twice if I was lucky. Now I’ve started having a more regular posting schedule and I usually post three times a week (Tuesday, Friday and Sunday). It gets a little tricky when I have blog tours, but you can always work around them. But just posting SOMETHING is better than nothing! Don’t know what to post? Write about indecisions or being in a blogging slump! Too many books on your TBR that you feel overwhelmed? Talk about what’s on your TBR and how you got recommended them! There are infinite possibilities for posts, so get cracking!

Interact

Something else I’ve learnt over the years is to interact with other bloggers. Not only will you create a connection via blogging but you could make so great friends. That is how I become friends with Ely and Michelle from Tea and Titles and Sarah here. Even if you don’t comment on their blog (which you should) talking on social media is great.

Absolutely. I’ve always been quite good at replying to comments on my blog, even if it takes me a couple of days sometimes. I think replying to comments is really important because it shows people who take the time to read your posts that you care about their opinion. I also love to chat with other readers on Twitter and recommend my favourite books, as well as tweeting at authors and freaking out when they favourite my tweet! Instagram is also a great way to interact with followers and promote your blog. Remember – your opinion matters, so don’t be afraid to interact with other bloggers on their platforms!

Don’t concentrate on stats!

Stats are not the be all and end all – if you are loving what you are posting that is all that matters. If you are always looking at how you stats are going you might become upset – and you don’t want that. It’s not what blogging is about. Try and not focus on that, focus on your content. I know this is hard – trust me, but it’s for the better.

I couldn’t agree more. It’s easy to fall into the trap of being obsessed with your follower count or how many views you’re getting on certain posts. It’s vital to remember that your passion and your opinion is more important than any number that emerges. You can’t put a number on your love for books or this community.

Obviously, we are not totally experts, but between us, Sarah and I have been blogging for 10 years and we know a little be. Also, these hints are based on our experience of book blogger and yours might be totally different.

No one blogging journey is the same, so we’d be interested in hearing about you! How did you get into blogging? How long have you been blogging for? Let’s chat in the comments below! Thanks for having me, Angel!

Thank you, Sarah, for joining me and I hope to have you on Angel Reads in the future. But, yes let’s talk below. Both of us would love to hear about your journey. Check out Part 2 of our discussion on Sarah blog now.

Don’t forget to follow Sarah and I on social media. We will be doing some more of these discussions soon.

Sarah: Blog | Twitter | Instagram

Angel Reads: Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook