book blog – jessica c writes

Contemporary-a-thon TBR

Published on February 12, 2019February 11, 2019 by Jessica6 Comments

Hello, loves! Today’s post was supposed to be something entirely different- it was supposed to be a discussion post, but that will be up either later this week, or next week!

Then, I was going to do a Q&A, but I am going to save those questions for next week, so if you have anything you want to ask me, leave a comment down below :)

I decided instead to do a last minute TBR for the contemporary-a-thon! This read-a-thon started yesterday actually, by the time you’re reading this, so I probably already started/finished some books!

This is a read-a-thon hosted by some AMAZING people, so definitely check all of them out!

There are seven challenges, so you can read 7 books, but you can combine challenges and read as many as you want! I’m going to pick a book for each category, but I only plan on getting to about 2-3 books (oops).

1. Read the most recent contemporary book you purchased/acquired

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

I just bought this the order day at a trip to Barnes and Noble: I actually bought three books, but this is the one that I found last. I bought it sort of on a whim, but I have heard such amazing things about it. All I know is that it is a murder mystery novel which is right up my alley.

2. Read book with blurple (blue or purple) on the cover

Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Yes, I am still reading this. I sort of put it down for a few weeks, not because it was bad, but because I had other books I needed to prioritize. However, I am finally a good chunk of the way through, and I should definitely finish it in the next couple of days.

3. Read a diverse contemporary (keeping in mind that it is Black History Month!)

A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert

This is a romance novel whose main character is black and I believe on the autism spectrum. I read Merry Inkmas but Talia Hibbert and enjoyed it. It was a quick read, so I’m hoping this one is the same, so I can knock it out in a day or two.

4. Read a dark/emotional/hard-hitting contemporary

You by Caroline Kepnes

This is another mystery novel that is about stalking- I’m sorry that my TBR’s don’t have good descriptions of the books, but I don’t usually know a lot going into a book. I think it counts as a dark contemporary, but honestly I don’t know since I don’t know anything about it. I have been putting off watching the Netflix show because I want to read the book first. I don’t think I will be able to finish this one during the week just because it’s a longer one, but I’m hoping to at least start it!

5. Read a contemporary that you meant to read in 2018 but didn’t

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett

If you know anything about me, you know that I love Jenn Bennett. She writes really cute, fluffy contemporaries, which I honestly don’t even really like to read anymore. BUT, there is something about her writing that makes me fall in love with her characters and want to read more. I have read 3 of her novels, but have not gotten around to this one yet. I really hope I love it as much as the rest of her books!

6. Read a contemporary in a non-traditional format

Someday, Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham (e-book)

I have had the e-book of this novel for probably over a year now. I read Lauren Graham’s autobiography and she is so incredibly funny. Since then, I have wanted to pick up this book, which is her debut novel, I believe.

7. Read a contemporary with some sort of picture on the spine

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman

I’m away at school and this was the only contemporary I have that sort of fits this challenge- it has a little cartoon person at the top of the spine. I loved Radio Silence by Alice Oseman, and IWBFT has been on my TBR since it came out (maybe even earlier). I have said in multiple TBRs that I would read this and yet I still haven’t- but is anyone even surprised?? So, let’s hope I finally get around to it :)

Leave a comment down below letting me know if you are participating in the contemporary-a-thon :)

Also, please leave some questions down below for a Q&A post! I will try to answer all of them, if I can!

Sadie by Courtney Summers | Review

Published on February 5, 2019February 5, 2019 by Jessica7 Comments

Hello, loves. One of my resolutions this year was to put more effort into my creative pursuits. For the blog, that means writing posts with more depth and better content overall. Specifically, I want to incorporate more reviews on here because I love writing them, and I get to share my feelings more.

Today, I want to talk about Sadie by Courtney Summers. I finished reading it literally a few minutes ago and knew immediately that I wanted to write a post about it.

Stats:

Trigger Warnings- murder/death, sexual assault/rape, pedophilia
Representation- stutter, LGBTQ+

It took me about 3 days to read. I started it on the first of February, and today (the day I’m writing this) is the third. But, I didn’t really read much for the first two days because I had other books to read. I read l over half of it today.

I alternated between the physical and audio because I knew I wanted to listen to at least some of it. The audiobook is what got the most hype for this book, so obviously I had to listen.

My rating: 5/5 stars

Summary:

This is one that I definitely think you should go into knowing very little, so all that I am going to say is it follows a girl (Sadie) who goes missing, and the story switches two POVs. One is Sadie narrating her travels, and the other is a podcast host, who is telling her story alongside her, gathering his own clues about where she is.

Characters:

I am a character driven reader, so this is the first category I want to talk about. At first, I did not like reading from Sadie’s POV. I was much more interested in the podcast part because it was faster paced. However, the more I got to know Sadie, the more I started to love her.

I decided that she is definitely a scorpio- she’s stubborn and when she feels something, any emotion, she feels it deeply and with her whole heart. There is not a lot that can get in her way if she has her mind set on something. She’s also just such a badass. Her relationship with her sister was obviously so strong, and it drove her to do things you wouldn’t expect.

I see a lot of myself in her, so once I got used to the writing style from her POV, I loved her and everything we read about her.

As far as the podcast host goes, I loved him. He was very conflicted on whether he should take on this story or not, but you definitely see him evolve as he gets more invested in the case. He definitely cares.

Plot:

Like I said earlier, I don’t want to give too much away about this book. It was a fast-paced story that gripped me from beginning to end. The concept of the podcast was so unique and interesting. It tells the story of grief and sister love.

As far as the ending, I can’t stop thinking about it, and I know I won’t be able to for a while. It’s a little open-ended (not really, you understand if you read it), so if you don’t like that, you might be a little angry at it!

Overall:

I would highly recommend checking this out. It’s gripping, it’s fast-paced, and you won’t want to put it down. I will definitely be picking up more by Courtney Summers. This book was truly a whole experience from beginning to end, and I’m so happy I finally picked it up.

Have you read this book? What were your thoughts on it? Leave me recommendations of books that are similar to it :)

February 2019 TBR

Published on February 2, 2019February 2, 2019 by Jessica8 Comments

The first month of the year is officially over! It was a pretty productive month for me that came with a lot of changes and unexpected surprises- all in a good way! I hope things were good for you, too.

First, a mini wrap-up.

I read a total of 11 books last month, which is the most I’ve read in a while. I’m hoping that I can keep this going for the rest of the year, but as school gets more difficult, that might not be possible. I’m just going with the flow right now.

Out of those 11, 5 were poetry collections and 6 were actual novels. Usually I don’t read this much poetry in one month, I try to spread it out. However, I got a lot of ARCs and review copies so I wanted to read them ASAP.

Also, I only read one physical book this month which is definitely new to me. I usually only read a few ebooks/audiobooks a month, but those are basically all I read in January. Like I said, January was full of surprises.

The TBR

February is the first month of the Booktube Games, which I am participating in! If you don’t know, it is a month long reading challenge where everyone is put into a team based off of a fictional place. The goal is to read as much as you can, and the team with the most amount of pages read wins.

I’m team camp half-blood (which is obviously going to win), and I’m so excited!

I planned a TBR out of 6 books, but I plan on reading a lot more- I just wanted room to read whatever I’m in the mood for.

It by Stephen King

I have owned the physical copy of this book for a long time now, but it’s so intimidating because it’s over 1000 pages! But, I finally got the audiobook on Libby, so I want to listen to it. I think it’s the only way I’ll get through the whole thing.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

If you don’t follow me on Instagram or Twitter (which you should), then you wouldn’t know that I am hosting a Shades of Magic read-a-long with my friend Aza! This month we are starting off with A Darker Shade of Magic (obviously), and I’m so excited! This book is one that is extremely hyped by the community, so I hope it lives up to that!

If you want to join us, be sure to use #SOMreadalong to update your progress :)

Sadie by Courtney Summers

I am actually group reading this with a few people on Twitter, so this is one of the first books I plan on getting to this month. The cover is stunning, the story sounds amazing, and literally everyone loves it. I heard the ending will make you cry, and that’s what I’m always looking for in a book if I’m being honest!

Circe by Madeline Miller

This is camp half-blood’s group read for the games, and if you read it within the first week, you get double the page count! I am not entirely excited about this one (it’s not something I would pick up on my own), but hopefully I end up enjoying it.

Gerald’s Game by Stephen King

Another Stephen King book is on here, oops. I just finished reading On Writing by him, and I loved it so much. That book really changed the way I view writing, so I need to get a move on and actually read his books!

Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Finally, I want to read Starfish, which is a book I started last month. BUT, because of my weird ebook/audiobook kick, I couldn’t pick up any physical books. I definitely want to get to it this month, though. Summer Bird Blue was my favorite book of 2018, so of course I need to pick up other books by Akemi!

What are you reading this month? Are you participating in the booktube games? Definitely let me know in the comments (and what team you’re on)!

My Reading Tastes Have Changed… & So Has the Way I Rate Books

Published on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019 by Jessica5 Comments

Hello, loves! Jess here. Notice anything new? I recently changed my site name, as well as my Instagram and Twitter handles! I wanted to “rebrand” in a way because my old name just didn’t encompass what this site is. I wanted a name that fits this blog and me! Kisses From Jess is now in the past :)

What does this change mean? Basically nothing.

Like I said, I mainly just wanted a name that fits what this blog is- and that’s what Jessica C Writes does. I write. About books, writing, journaling, and a couple other things. As far as content, the type of things I post will stay the same, but I am going to be putting a lot of effort into those posts. I want each and every post to be something I am proud of. So that is going to be my aim for this coming year (oh- and expect more book reviews).

Anyways…

Let’s move onto what you clicked for- which is a discussion post about how my reading tastes have changed, but more specifically how it has changed my ratings!

I wrote a post about how I read both critically and for fun a few months ago, but my opinions have definitely changed on that subject since then.

I realized that (especially in the last few months) my reading tastes have been changing dramatically. What I used to read were mainly YA contemporaries- very fluffy ones. I had the occasional thriller or fantasy or adult book thrown in there, but I basically just stuck to one genre that I knew I loved. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

But the truth is, I didn’t really know what I liked in books and what I didn’t because I was only reading one type of book. Within the past few months, I wanted to change this. I wanted to pick up different books so that I could figure out what I like.

I now pick up books that are very different from what I was reading just a couple years back. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t suddenly become a huge high fantasy or science fiction reader, but I stray outside of the YA contemporary romance books. I read mysteries and thrillers, and lots of NA and Adult books! I also add a lot more fantasy novels to my TBRs than I have in the past!

Overall, I have definitely broadened my horizons when it comes to reading, and I am so happy about that!

How has this affected my reviews?

Because I now know what I like to see in books- in terms of themes, genres, character development, etc., I read more critically. I am very picky about what I like and what I don’t like, so I don’t give everything 4 or 5 stars anymore as I previously had for no reason whatsoever. I basically just gave everything 5 stars as long as I somewhat enjoyed it.

With that in mind, I am also pickier about what I read to begin with- I don’t add books to my TBR just because they are extremely hyped by the book community. I only add books that I have a genuine interest in reading now. So even though I said I give less 4/5 stars, that doesn’t mean the book is necessarily bad. It still had something in it that drew me to it, it just isn’t one of my all time favorites.

Mainly, I am just pickier about what I choose as my favorite books opposed to just good books.

For example- a rating between 4-5 means a book is amazing and I really, really love it. It has definitely earned a spot in my top favorites.

However, a book with 3-4 stars does not mean the book is bad- there was just certain elements that fell flat for me, or I was a little disappointed by it. For example, I might not have liked the writing style, but loved the story. Or the pacing was slow but I loved the characters, etc. This is still a book I enjoyed though!

I think most people see a 3 star rating and assume a book is bad, when that is not the case for me at all. It all definitely depends on each reviewer and how they rate their books, but I think in general a 3 star rating is not equal to a book being awful.

I rarely give 1-2 stars, but those are the books that I consider “bad.”

By experimenting with my reading tastes, I have definitely turned into a much more critical reader. Reading critically is something I really enjoy, and I’ve always been this way with books for school, so I don’t know why it has taken me this long to be this way with other books.

This post is getting pretty long, so I’ll end it there!

Have your reading tastes changed at all? How/Why? This is a topic I could go on about for days, and it’s super interesting to hear other people talk about! Definitely leave a comment letting me know your opinions on this down below :)

See you soon!

Books About Writing That I Want To Read

Published on January 22, 2019 by Jessica4 Comments

Hello everyone! Hope your January is going well so far. I can’t believe it’s almost over already!

Today I want to talk about books about writing that I want to read! I haven’t mentioned this here yet, but I am actually starting a new WIP! I am so so excited about it, and I will give more details about it soon. But for now, I want to give you a list of some books I want to read that are about writing. As a writer, I think it is so important to learn about the craft, and what better way to learn than from the experts??

These are all books that I have NOT yet read, but I’ve heard amazing things about them. I won’t describe them in too much detail since I haven’t actually read them, but also because there are a lot on this list! I hope you find at least one to add to your TBR :)

On Writing by Stephen King

This is one that’s a staple to all writers. I have heard nothing by good things about this one, and I am actually in the process of reading it right now. It is funny and entertaining, but sprinkles writing tips all throughout. Stephen King is a legend in the writing world, so learning from him is huge to me.

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

This is another that I’ve heard such amazing things about. I want to read it ASAP! I will probably get it from my library right after I finish the previous one. From what I’ve heard, this book discusses so many different aspects of writing- not only does she give advice and tips on writing itself, but also on being a writer and what it is like.

A Writer’s Diary by Virginia Woolf

This is basically all of Virginia Woolf’s thoughts about writing put into one book- why wouldn’t you want to read this? Woolf is such an important and prominent writer, and her works are said to be art. I have only read one of her books, Mrs. Dalloway, and loved it! I definitely want to read more by her in the future, and eventually get my hands on this diary!

Why I Write by George Orwell

This is another diary-like book by a famous author. You may know him for 1984 and Animal Farm. His books were pretty revolutionary for how they described the future, and I would definitely love to read his reasons for writing. I am sure that this one will be amazing.

The Anatomy of Story by John Truby

I heard this recommended by Kat from Katytastic on Youtube, and she absolutely loves this. This is a book about screenwriting, but the methods can be used for novel writing as well. After I heard Kat talk about it, I was sold. She said it definitely helped her with her writing and outlining, so I need it!

Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose

I saw this book recommended in a Pinterest post, and I added it to my TBR immediately. As a writer, I believe it is VITAL to read as much as possible. But knowing how to read like a writer is something even more valuable. I think this book will definitely teach me a lot, so I want to pick it up in the very near future.

Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer

I remember seeing someone tweet about finding this book at a used bookstore, and I was intrigued by it. Naturally, I looked it up. It is an illustrated book that looks so beautiful. Among the pictures, there are tons of tips for writing, and it just seems so interesting. It’s pretty different from the rest of them, but it’s still something I want to read.

Why Poetry by Matthew Zapruder

These next two are about poetry actually, and not novel writing. BUT, this is something that I am also very passionate about. I heard about this one from Ariel Bissett, another Youtuber, and I trust all of her recommendations. This one isn’t necessarily teaching the craft, but it talks about why people read poetry and also poetry in a modern age. It definitely piqued my interest.

A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver was a beloved and very famous poet, who unfortunately passed away a few days ago. She was a huge inspiration to so many people, and I definitely want to read her handbook. This is a quick book that I think will be very useful. If I can write even 1/8 as good as she does, I would be happy.

That is all for this post! If you have any recommendations for books about writing, please leave them down below :)

how im staying organized in 2019

Published on January 15, 2019 by Jessica10 Comments

* this post is in promotion with Clever Fox planners, but all opinions are my own *

Hello everyone ! If you saw my last post, you would know that I have started using the Clever Fox Planner this month, and I am really loving it! Today I wanted to make a post about how I am using my planners, not just that one, for 2019. I have a system that will probably change as time goes on, but for now it is something that works for me!

Planner 1: School

The first planner that I am using is my Clever Fox planner, which I decided I would use for school! I was originally going to use this one for my creative projects, but because it is a lot bigger than my other planner, it will fit all of my assignments better. Plus, it is undated, so after this semester is over and I am off for four months, those pages aren’t being wasted because I can use them for the next year.

The picture that I have is of my January spread which actually has all of my creative projects on it, but that will be changing starting next month. Instead, I will assign a color to each class I am taking, and will include all of my assignments for that month.

The weekly spread is where I will write down all of my day to day homework assignments, as well as my work schedule and other meetings or plans with friends.

Planner 2: Creative Projects

As for my creative projects, I will be using this Ban.do 2019 planner. I am obsessed with the look of this one, and it is something that I wanted to purchase for myself for a few years now. They no longer sell the design that I have, but I linked the same planner with a different pattern.

It is smaller than the other planner, which I like because I can carry it in my bag with me.

I will be using this one for scheduling blog post and videos, as well as days to take bookstagram pictures, write poetry, work on my draft of my novel, etc. It will be solely dedicated to planning out my creative projects, because those are something that I am taking more seriously this year.

The monthly spread will once again be color-coordinated for each project, and the weekly spreads will have my day to day to-do lists.

Journal: Goal Tracking

Processed with VSCO with hb2 preset

Finally, I will be using an art/junk journal that I have to track my habits and my goals each month. I might eventually switch over to just doing this in the Clever Fox planner because it does give you space to do so. For now, though, I like the way I have mine organized.

That is all for how I will be staying organized this year! If you have any questions about the system, please leave them in the comments :) See you next week!

Clever Fox Planner- Unboxing and Review

Published on January 8, 2019 by Jessica4 Comments

Hello loves! Today I have an exciting post- I collabed with Clever Fox to unbox one of their planners for you guys! I got the Pro planner in the color blue, and I am LOVING it.

I have been looking for a bigger sized planner to use for my creative projects for a while, so I was really excited to get my hands on this one. I love that it has three bookmarks so that you can easily find different pages that you are looking for, and I love the stickers it came with. I will definitely be using those a lot.

I also love the front pages where you can create a vision board and outline your goals. It is definitely something that I really like because, again, I am using this mainly for my creative projects. Those pages will be great to track progress and stay on top of my goals.

There is so much room to write everything down, and overall I really love it.

The one thing that I wish was different is that I don’t like how the monthly spreads are all together at the front, and the weekly spreads are in the back. I wish that those alternated so that you can see the monthly spread right before the weekly ones. However, because it does come with the bookmarks, this is something I could get used to easily.

I would definitely recommend giving this one a try if you are looking for a new planner this year. They have a variety of sizes and styles to choose from, so I’m sure there will be one for you!

If you want to purchase one yourself, I have 3 10% discount codes, so just leave a comment with your Instagram username and I will message it to you :)

For 2019, I made a schedule for my posts, so they will be up once a week on Tuesdays, so be sure to stop by next week!

December 2018 Wrap-Up

Published on January 1, 2019 by Jessica1 Comment

Hello everyone and Happy New Year! This is my first post after Blogmas, and I’m feeling great. I’m inspired and I have so much to share this year. I can’t wait to see where I go.

Today’s post is a simple wrap-up because December was actually a pretty good reading month for me up until the end. I read a total of 9 books, which ended my year with 65 books read. I didn’t beat last year, but I’m okay with that. My goal for 2019 is 52 books! Hopefully I can get more than that :)

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

Oof. Where do I even start? I wanted to like this book, and I tried. I really did. But the characters were just so unlikeable and I honestly didn’t care for the plot at all. I had high expectations for it, too. But I just couldn’t get myself into it.

Rating: 2/5 stars

What Happened by Hillary Clinton

This is a memoire by Hillary Clinton talking about what happened in her campaign and sort of what went wrong. I really enjoyed this audiobook and I found the story so interesting. I am very interested in politics, so this story was very important to me. I highly recommend it if you want to know more about the 2016 election.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Pillow Thoughts by Courtney Peppernell

This is a poetry collection that I wasn’t entirely sold on. The poems just didn’t connect with me all that much, and I felt like they were too simple. They didn’t have that rawness and depth that I look for in poetry.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Yesterday I Was the Moon by Noor Unnahar

Luckily, after that last one, I picked up a collection I actually enjoyed. These poems were so powerful and important. I felt the emotions behind each one, and I was able to be empathetic and connect to them, even if they didn’t relate to me personally. I loved it.

Rating: 4/5 stars

What We Buried by Caitlyn Siehl

This collection was just breathtaking. I bought this because I was attending a reading for Caitlyn and Amanda Lovelace (author of The Princess Saves Herself in This One). I fell in love from the moment I heard Caitlyn read a poem. She was amazing. I really, really recommend this one.

Rating: 5/5 stars

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

This is a book I read for one of my classes last semester, so I don’t want to judge it. I read it solely from an analytical point of view.

Merry Inkmas by Talia Hibbert

I’m starting to get into the romance genre and so I decided to pick this one up because the ebook was free. I am so glad I did. It was a quick read but filled with a lot of cute moments. I really enjoyed it.

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

I heard a lot of good things about this one, but again, I just didn’t like it. The love story was just so cringe worthy and unrealistic to me. It’s a big “insta-love” and I hated it. That’s probably my least favorite trope ever. I loved Natasha’s story a lot, and I would have preferred just reading about her, and not the love story.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi

This is another book that I wanted to love so so bad. I have been putting it off for so so long because I was scared I wouldn’t like it, and unfortunately my fears were right. I just didn’t connect with it and I honestly don’t really remember the plot at all and I read it so recently. Nothing stood out from it to me.

Rating: 2/5 stars

As you can see, my reading was sort of all over the place this month. Lot’s of ups and downs. Let me know what you thought of these books if you’ve read them, or what you read this month!

A Thank You. Recommending Bloggers // Blogmas Day 25

Published on December 25, 2018 by Jessica7 Comments

Merry Christmas y’all! I know Blogmas technically ended yesterday, but I wanted to add an extra day to thank everyone who has either been very inspirational to me, been a great friend, or just someone I love to read! I am going to be sharing some of my favorite bloggers for you guys to check out because they deserve the world!

Thank you all for everything. I wouldn’t be where I am without all of your love and support. This community means so much to me, and I just want to give back by shouting out some of my faves!

Merry Christmas again, and see you in the new year !

Meltotheany

Kalinasbookblog

Ambsreads

Taytalksbooks

Abookathought

Justanotherbookinthewall

Brilliantlybookish

Sprinklesofdreams

Emmareadstoomuch

Classyxbookreviews

Kerrithebookbelle

Midnightwanderer

Thecursedbooks

Tarynandherbooks

Drizzleandhurricanebooks

Tag your favorite blogs down below! Let’s spread the joy :)

more pretty book covers! // Blogmas Day 24

Published on December 24, 2018 by Jessica4 Comments

It’s already day 24 of Blogmas! Merry Christmas Eve :)

I just wrote this post recently, but I have so many more book covers that I want to talk about, so here is part two!

This cover is just so pretty to me because it’s simple and clean, but different. There’s just something about it that always catches my eye, even if I don’t necessarily think I’ll like the book. It was just done really well.

I think everyone agrees that this is a nice book cover. The gold compliments the flowers so nicely, and makes it pop. I am usually fan of simple covers, but I love how this one looks a lot.

The reason that I love this one so much is because I didn’t even notice that the “mountain” in the back is a face. It’s just so subtle and nice. I’m obsessed with it.

This cover. I don’t even know where to begin. It is gorgeous. Jellyfish are my favorite sea creatures, so this definitely caught my eye from the beginning. Also, the background is so nice and I love the font of the title.

This has been one of my favorite book covers ever for a long time because it’s just so aesthetically pleasing. If I wrote a book, this is the type of cover I would want. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the book as much. The cover makes up for it a little bit.

Once again, Merry Christmas Eve! I’ll see you guys for the last day of Blogmas tomorrow! Enjoy the holidays :)