book blog

June TBR 2020

Published on June 2, 2020June 1, 2020 by Jessica C Writes6 Comments

Hello everyone. I was not sure if I should continue to let this post go up today, as I had scheduled it over a week ago. However, I have not yet spoken up about the current events on this platform (though I am trying to be as vocal as possible on social media), and I think it is so so important to use my voice for good.

First, please do not be silent about the issues that the Black community is facing right now. Especially if you are white. Stand up for these injustices in any way you can. Please. Also, boost the voices of Black people right now. Do not speak over them. Share their stories. Let their voices be heard.

If you can, please donate. Any amount that you can spare will go a very long way.

If you can’t donate money at this time, sign petitions, share links on social media, attend protests.

In addition, educate yourself. Educate your family. Do not stop at social media. Bring your activism to your life offline. Call out your friends, stand up to cops who are interrogating innocent Black people.

Here are some resources for you to utilize:

Master Twitter Thread of Petitions to Sign and Places to Donate

Ways You Can Help

More Ways You Can Help and Educate Yourself

Protestor Safety

///

This month, I am participating in the Olympic Games Read-a-thon as part of cabin 7- with my godly parent being Apollo! There are NINE challenges, but I am only going to pick 6 books for my TBR right now- the rest I am allowing myself to decide as I go!

Main Challenges

Listen to an audiobook: N/A

This one I am leaving open because I have tons of options for it, so I’ll just see what I’m in the mood for once I get to it!

Read a book you know will make you happy: Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon

This book is described as a romantic comedy and if that’s not something that will make me happy, I don’t know what will! It follows two high school teens who are rivals but are forced to team up for a final senior game. Sounds like enemies to lovers if you ask me- and I am HERE for it! I received an ARC from the publisher a while back, and I am very excited to be reading it.

Predict a 5 star read: Everything I Never Told You by Celest Ng

This book was one of the books I included on my “5 Star Predictions” post, so it was only fitting that I include it here. Also, I just read Little Fires Everywhere last month (also by Celeste Ng), and now I am even more excited to read this one! I have really high expectations for it, so I’m hoping it does not let me down!

Read a book that starts with the letter ‘A’: Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

This is an audiobook I am borrowing from my library via the Libby app! I will definitely be reading it this month since I have limited time to read it. I’ve heard really great things about it, and I am definitely looking forward to reading it!

Complete a prompt for Artemis (because they are twin gods!): N/A

For this one, I am also not choosing a book yet, but the prompt I am picking to honor Artemis is “read a book while the moon is up.”

Advanced Challenges

Read a book under 200 pages: You Are Not Your Thoughts by Frances Trussell

This is my e-book pick for the month from my TBR jar! It is only around 100 pages, which is great because that means I’ll be able to get through it quickly. It is a book about mindfullness, which is something I definitely am interested in reading about, as someone who practices meditation frequently.

Read an anticipated release: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

This is one of the releases of 2020 that I am SUPER excited about (except, of course, Midnight Sun). It came out last month, and I just got my copy in the mail a little over a week ago. I have been holding off on reading it so that I could include it here. Elizabeth Acevedo is one of my all-time favorite authors, and I am so happy to have another book by her in my hands.

Read the next book in a series: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

I am ECSTATIC about finally getting to read this book. I really enjoyed SoC, but I feel like I will love this one even more now that I know the characters better! I have the e-book on Libby as well, so I will most likely be getting to this one early in the month before I have to return it.

Read a book published within the last 5 years: N/A

This is another challenge that I have plenty of options for, so we will see where the month takes me! I have a few backlist ARCs I want to get to, so those are definitely an option. We’ll just have to wait and find out what I decide on!

What’s on your TBR for June? Are any of these books on your TBR? Or have you read any of these yet? Let me know in the comments :)

May 2020 Wrap-up

Published on May 28, 2020May 27, 2020 by Jessica C Writes11 Comments

May is always one of my favorite months- it finally starts getting warm out, school is over, and I am usually most motivated to read this time of year!

I read so much more than I expected to this month, and I found some new favorite reads, too! I’m so excited to tell you about them :)

Currently Reading:

Before We Go Extinct by Karen Rivers: This is the last book that was on my May TBR, and I am about a quarter of the way through! It is a pretty short read, so I will definitely be able to finish it before the end of the month (plus, this post is going up with a few days to spare).

5 Stars:

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng: This book was PHENOMENAL. I am definitely dipping more into adult books this year and each time they really surprise me in the best way possible! Also, the Hulu adaptation of this was just as beautiful and I definitely recommend it.
Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power: This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and Queen Rory did not disappoint! I will be sharing a full review soon, so be on the lookout for that!

4 Stars:

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer: Right after the Midnight Sun announcement was made, I decided I wanted to re-read the entire Twilight Saga because I haven’t done so since my first ever read when I was like 11 years old! This first book just brought back so many feels for me- it was so nostalgic and I enjoyed revisiting this story! These books are not perfect by any means (not even close), but it was nice to just read an old favorite!
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer: Surprisingly, Breaking Dawn was one of my favorite books in the series this time around! I used to think Eclipse was my favorite, but during this re-read, I found Jacob to be even more annoying than I remembered (team Edward forever).

3 Stars:

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer: This book was alright, but nothing too special. Again, there was too much Jacob for my liking.
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer: This is probably now my least favorite of the 4 books. Jacob was just so pushy and no one ever taught him consent. I’m definitely ready to read Midnight Sun now, though, and see inside Edward’s mind!
Ruthless by Carolyn Lee Adams: This was a horror/thriller novel that was on my TBR for a really long time. There were some parts of it that were interesting, but overall I did not love this story.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins: I was not planning on reading this book this month, but I was able to get the audiobook, so I figured, why not? I enjoyed it. There were lots of interesting elements to it, especially in terms of the history of the hunger games and how it has evolved. However, I just didn’t care for the characters, and obviously I don’t like Snow, so having to read a whole book about him just wasn’t worth it in my opinion.

2 Stars:

Nutshell by Ian McEwan: In case you missed it, I shared a post where I predicted some 5-star reads, and this book was one of them. Unfortunately, I really did not enjoy it. I found it to be too slow-moving and it wasn’t capturing my attention. I’m disappointed because I know many people LOVE this author, so I may have to give him another chance one day!
Professed by Nicola Rendell: This was my e-book pick from my TBR jar for the month, and unfortunately it was just…not good. It is a romance that follows a professor/student relationship and it was just very cheesy, and there was no development between the characters!

1 Star:

Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne: Guys… I finally read my first one star book of the year. I am so sad because my reading year has been pretty good so far. I decided to finally read this one because it has been on my shelves for years. I bought it in like 2014, and I think I read like 1/2 of it before DNF’ing, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember anything about it or why I DNF’d, which is why I never got rid of it. This time around, I read the entire book, and it was just one big mess, if I’m being honest. I will definitely be unhauling this one- it’s about time!

Please feel free to share your thoughts on any of these books if you’ve read them- whether your opinion was the same as mine or not!

I hope you all had a great reading month, too, and I’m looking forward to my June reads!

Testing Recipes From Books!

Published on May 26, 2020May 17, 2020 by Jessica C Writes11 Comments

Quarantine has been causing me to work on so many different hobbies that I never felt I had the time for. One of those is baking!

I’ve always enjoyed baking- it’s so relaxing, and testing out different recipes is so much fun. So, I had the idea to test recipes from different books I’ve read before! This is not an original idea, and I’ve seen many people try it before, but I wanted to do it myself, too!

For this post, I test three different recipes: one from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, one from P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han, and one from With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo!

I may do more of these in the future, so if you know of any books with recipes in them, please leave a comment letting me know!

Recipe 1: Strawberry Milk

The first recipe I tested was strawberry milk from Elizabeth Acevedo’s book! The recipes in this novel are used to separate the different sections of the story, and they are used more for humor/as an element of the story, not as a functional recipe. Because of this, I had to figure out what I was doing on my own a bit and tweak the instructions.

For example, the recipe said to use as many strawberries as you can find, but I was only making a batch for myself, so I had no idea how many strawberries I should use. I decided to go with four (though, if I were doing this again, I would probably use 6 for one person).

The recipe also wasn’t clear about how much sugar to use (it just said to taste), so I ended up using maybe two teaspoons, which was not enough at all. I had to keep adding little by little until I felt like I was getting the right consistency!

In the end, my syrup was not liquid enough, and it wasn’t mixing well with my oat milk. So, I poured it into my blender and blended the syrup w/ the milk. The consistency was so much better after I did this (the first picture is before blending & the second is after), and as far as taste, it was pretty good! It wasn’t as strong as I would have liked the strawberry taste to be, but again, I think that is because I didn’t use enough strawberries!

Rating: 7/10

Recipe 2: Snickerdoodle Cookies

So, this was actually my first time baking snickerdoodle cookies (despite being one of my favorite types of cookie). At first, my dough was really sticky, and so I had to add much more flour to it, but then it came out to be perfect.

The recipe said it would make about 48 cookies (which is A LOT), but I only made about 20 because I made them really big (accidentally). If I had made smaller balls of dough, there probably would have been closer to 40, but I hadn’t realized just how big they would grow- this was all my fault oops!

But, when I took them out of the oven, they looked amazing. They tasted amazing, too. My family devoured them within two days! I definitely recommend keeping them sealed up or else they will harden pretty quickly. They were still really good, but just not as soft as the first day we ate them!

This is the recipe I’m most likely to make again!

Rating: 9/10

Recipe 3: Brownies

I will say, this was a pretty standard brownie recipe. I’ve made brownies hundreds of times, so I knew what to expect when it came to making them! The one thing I did change was instead of adding walnuts (which my sister doesn’t like), I just added chocolate chips for that extra-chocolatey taste!

They definitely came out good and I have no complaints, but like I said, it was a standard recipe. They were a bit more on the chewy side instead of fudgey, but if you prefer chewy, then this is perfect for you!

Rating: 7/10

Do you like to bake? What are some of your favorite treats to make?

Leave me a comment letting me know, and maybe I’ll try making it, too!

June Writing Challenge Announcement – Join Me!

Published on May 25, 2020May 25, 2020 by Jessica C Writes5 Comments

Today I am making a super fun announcement to tell you all about the writing challenge I have created for myself (and for you guys) for the month of June!

Starting on June 1st, I will be challenging myself to spend one hour every single day on my writing.

I have always loved to write. I have started multiple different novels, I have written tons of short stories, and I am constantly jotting down lines for poems on my notes app. But, I never really prioritized it. I always told myself “when I have more time, I’ll finally finish that novel” and “I’ll work on that manuscript one day.”

I have no excuses now. The majority of us are currently practicing social distancing, meaning we are staying home pretty much every day. I know I definitely am. Now is the perfect time to finally commit myself to writing. I am done with school until the fall semester, and I don’t really have many responsibilities right now.

So, I created this challenge and shared it with you guys on Instagram and Twitter! So many of you told me that you are going to be joining me, and it was so incredible to see. I am even more excited to be doing this now, and I even created a few extra weekly challenges to make this more of a group endeavor! Feel free to do these if you want (and share them on social media if you are comfortable), but do not feel pressured if you do not want to!

If you want to share your progress or challenges on social media, be sure to use the hashtag ‘#HourToWrite’ so I can see your post!

I decided not to have any word count goals or writing prompts because I want this to be as stress-free as possible. Use your hour every day to work at your own pace- maybe you are stuck at one scene and all you can write is a couple of sentences. Maybe you’re revising the first draft of your novel, so your word count doesn’t change much throughout the month. That is ok!

I also created a Discord group chat for you all to join if you want a place to chat with others about writing!

Also, I am posting updates and other things on my Instagram and Twitter, so be sure to follow me on those if you want to keep up :)

Please let me know in the comments if you will be participating in this challenge, and tell me about what you’re going to be writing :)

Q&A #3 ft. film adaptations & my most recommended book!

Published on May 21, 2020May 21, 2020 by Jessica C Writes6 Comments

Hello! It has been over a year since I last did a Q&A post, so I thought I would do another one today :) Be sure to follow me on Instagram & Twitter if you want to know when I am doing more posts like these because that is where I ask for questions!

Let’s just get straight into it!

If you could be any literary character, who would you be?

I love this question!! I thought long and hard about this, and my two answers for this are Evie from The Diviners series or Mirabel from The Starless Sea! I think both of these worlds are so fun and I would love to be able to explore them more! Also, Evie is a diviner and that is so cool!! I would love to have any of the abilities that the different diviners have, so I wouldn’t necessarily have to be Evie, but just one of the diviners! I chose Mirabel from The Starless Sea because she’s a painter who can create different doors that lead to this incredible, hidden world of stories! Imagine having access to it all times??? That would be incredible.

What prompted you to start your own blog?

So I’m actually coming up on my five year blog anniversary (in September), which is surreal to me. I initially started this blog as a fashion and beauty focused one because that is what I thought I was most passionate about as a young high schooler. However, I soon started finding booktubers and other book bloggers online, and I slowly starting posting more and more about books until it took over my life (jk…but also not really).

I started a blog because I needed a creative outlet. I was always writing in notebooks but never had anywhere to share it. I also wanted a place where I can share my passions with others and find a community! Blogging brought me that and I haven’t looked away since!

Books you would like to see adapted as films/tv shows?

This was actually hard to choose because a lot of books that I think would make good tv shows are already in the works or have been made before! I think any of Jenn Bennett’s books could make a cute teen rom-com on Netflix, though. I would also love to see a Hulu adaptation of The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin!

Book you recommend the most to people?

There are like 5 books that I recommend to people very frequently on here, but if I think solely about a book that I recommend the most in my life outside of blogging, it would probably Daisy Jones and the Six! I just think it’s such a great book and is pretty universal. It would appeal to a wide variety of people, so it’s my go-to recommendation!

Music that you’re into at the moment?

If I’m being honest, I haven’t really been listening to any new music for months now! I’ve just been playing some of my favorites by Ariana Grande, Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, and some others! Nothing too interesting or special right now. I would love to know what music you’ve all been loving, though, because I am desperately in need of a new playlist! Feel free to comment some recs below :)

*Images from Pinterest, not my own

If you could do anything without failing, what would you do?

I would open up a bookstore & smoothie shop in a small, rural town. I would love to own a bookstore one day, but the instability of the current indie bookstore market is terrifying to me. SUPPORT YOUR INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES PLEASE!

My Favorite Series

Published on May 19, 2020May 16, 2020 by Jessica C Writes12 Comments

I have always preferred standalone novels over series, and I don’t think that will ever change. But, of course, that doesn’t mean that every so often I won’t pick up a series and fall in love with it. Even when looking at my favorite series, they are only 3-4 books long! Anything longer than that really intimidates me, if I’m being honest!

Today, I’m going to share my five favorite series with you all!

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

This is one of a couple of books that got me back into reading in middle school. I was always a reader growing up, but around 6th and 7th grade, I got swept up in what was considered “cool” or not, so I wasn’t reading as much.

In 8th grade, I picked up this book because I knew the movie was going to be coming out soon, and I fell in love! I recently did a re-read of the entire series as well, and it is still a favorite of mine. Actually, the day this blog post goes up is the day of the release of A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I probably won’t be getting to it for a while, but I am excited to read it!

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy by Jenny Han

This series came to me my freshman year of high school. I remember asking for it for Christmas, probably after seeing it in a magazine or online somewhere. I fell in love immediately, and I was soon able to read the second book!

This series followed me all the way up until now (with the movies coming out), but it really was the series I needed to read in my early teen years. I have such fond memories of it, and it will always have a place in my heart.

The Diviners by Libba Bray

This is a series I actually just read recently, but I love all of the characters in it so much. This is the only series on this list that I haven’t completed yet, but I feel like that’s okay because the final book just came out a few months ago and I’m still waiting for my hold to come in from the library.

I really fell in love with these characters and the setting that Libba Bray put this story in. It was such a delight to read about, and I can not wait to finally get to the last book! I just honestly can’t believe I put off this series for so long.

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

This series surprised me in many ways. I really wasn’t expecting to love it, as I don’t tend to enjoy YA mysteries as much as Adult ones. BUT, I really, really ended up loving it! The main character, Stevie, was so interesting, and the murder we learn about was fascinating.

I honestly did not know where the story was headed for the majority of it. It completely pulled me in and left me surprised! I think it was very well thought out, and I hope I’ll be able to find another mystery like it one day.

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

When I first read book one of this trilogy, I fell in love. I wasn’t a big fantasy reader then (nor am I now, but I’m definitely more versed in it), so I was shocked to find a book that I enjoyed so much in this genre.

I will admit, the last book in the series was my least favorite, but I still really enjoyed the overall atmosphere of all of the stories. They were all just so magical and fun! I didn’t want my time in the world to ever end!

There are plenty of other series that will probably make this list one day, but I tried to limit this to series that I’ve completed (or basically completed).

So, tell me what some of your favorite series are so that I can add some more to my TBR :)

Top 7 Books With Mental Health Representation

Published on May 14, 2020May 13, 2020 by Jessica C Writes14 Comments

May is mental health awareness month, and this is a topic that is so important to me. In the past, I have helped run (and participated in) a mental health book bingo, I have done many posts dedicated to this topic, and I constantly look for new books to read with MI rep. I am someone who has dealt with anxiety and OCD my entire life, so it is definitely something I relate to, and I think good representation in books is extremely necessary.

Today, I wanted to share with you my top 7 favorite books with good* mental health representation (sorry, I couldn’t narrow it down to 5).

*Everyone experiences MI differently, so what may be an accurate representation for me might not be the same experience you’ve had. Please be kind and keep an open mind.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

First off, I highly recommend listening to the audiobook of this one because it is incredible! This book has the BEST anxiety/OCD rep I have ever seen. I truly mean that. When I first read it, I was in so much awe of how well crafted the main character, Aza’s, thought spirals were. They so accurately depicted what I was feeling. I will say this one doesn’t have the best plot ever, but if you are looking for good representation, that is exactly what you’ll get.

It is very difficult to read, though, so please keep that in mind!

TW: anxiety, OCD, thought spirals/panic attacks

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

I just recently finished reading this entire series, and let me just say- it is SO GOOD. What I love about the representation in this one is that the main character, Stevie, has anxiety and takes medication for it. We don’t often get books where MI is normalized, let alone have medication be normalized. I really appreciate that this book did that, and I think this is so important to see in YA novels.

TW: panic attacks, murder

Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman

This book is so beautiful. I adore Akemi Dawn Bowman’s writing, and Starfish was such a great novel. This one does such a great job of representing anxiety. Kiko, our main character, is so well-written and throughout the novel, her character really develops. I love seeing how Kiko progresses and overcomes her anxiety (obviously it never fully goes away, but she learns how to live with it).

TW: rape, sexual assault, abusive parent

You Asked for Perfect by Laura Silverman

I think oftentimes, books don’t really show just how much school affects teenager’s mental health. We all know that school can really cause stress and anxiety, but this never get represented. When I read this book, I felt so seen. I think it’s so important to acknowledge just how much pressure there is on students because adults often neglect it.

Four Weeks, Five People by Jennifer Yu

This book was actually recommended to me by Emma from Emmmabooks, and I had never heard of it prior to her suggestion. I’m so glad I picked it up, though, because it was incredible! I talked about it more in-depth in a post I did where I read 5 books with OCD/Anxiety Rep!

TW: depression, OCD, anorexia, suicide/self harm, narcissistic personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, panic attacks

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

This one is one I’ve talked about many times, but it was the first book I read with OCD representation, and it was the first time I felt seen in a book. I related to the main character so much, and this book has stuck in my mind for years. I definitely give this book credit for bringing me out of a bad place, so it means so much to me. It also has a really good twist at the end, so if you want a shocking book, I recommend it a lot!

Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

This book is very dark and it deals with very difficult themes. It made me cry. A lot. But I think it is so important. This book follows a main character who was in a treatment facility after struggling with depression and PTSD, I believe (I may be wrong about this, I can’t really remember so please let me know). It was really well-written, and I think it is worth reading!

TW: suicide, self-harm, alcohol abuse, sexual assault, rape, PTSD

If you are looking for even more recommendations, Marie recently shared her top 5, so I highly recommend checking her post out!

Also, if you have any recommendations of your own, please share them with me- I want to find more novels to add to my list!

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin // Review

Published on May 12, 2020May 11, 2020 by Jessica C Writes9 Comments

Hello everyone! I found another favorite book and I am so excited to share it with you all!!

Today I am going to be talking about The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin. I have seen many people talking about, but I haven’t really seen a lot of reviews for it, so I thought I would share my own because I can’t stop thinking about this book.

Goodreads Synopsis:
It’s 1969 in New York City’s Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children—four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness—sneak out to hear their fortunes.

The prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in ’80s San Francisco; dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy; eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality.

A sweeping novel of remarkable ambition and depth, The Immortalists probes the line between destiny and choice, reality and illusion, this world and the next. It is a deeply moving testament to the power of story, the nature of belief, and the unrelenting pull of familial bonds.

My Review:

I went into this book with pretty low expectations, if I’m being honest. I thought that it was going to be a fantasy book that I wasn’t going to enjoy because it would be too confusing and too slow.

Boy was I wrong! This book pulled me in, and I enjoyed every second of my reading experience.

First off, this is a story that is very character driven, which I didn’t expect- I thought it was mostly going to be focused on the plot, but it wasn’t. Each character was so unique, despite the similarity of them being siblings. They each had different personalities, interests, and drives, which I enjoyed reading about. I am a HUGE sucker for character driven novels, so I was pleased with how the story was written. It is split up into four parts, one for each character, and we get to see each of their stories and where their lives went. Given this, it is not a book for everyone. If you are someone who is looking for a fast-paced, action-packed plot, you won’t be getting that.

BUT, there were still so many plot twists and elements that kept me on my toes. There is a really good plot, and the book focuses on many important themes and questions. The story’s entire premise is centered around the question of whether you should live life by taking risks or by playing it safe.

Next, the prose was absolutely beautiful. The writing really sucked me in and kept me in the world- the book is set in NYC from the mid 1960s to the early 2000s, and the atmosphere that the book setup was incredible. I felt like I was really there- I could picture the world and every room that the author had described. The writing was also so poetic. I was sad to have ended the book when I did because I wanted to keep reading that incredible writing.

The main thing I have to say is that I left this book with so many new lessons learned and thoughts to ponder. Each character’s story taught me something new and really made me question my own life and how I was choosing to live. What would I do if I knew the date of my death? It is such a simple premise, one that we’ve heard a thousand times, but Chloe Benjamin executed it well with this story and made it a unique reading experience for me.

While there were some parts that were a bit predictable, and at times I felt the story was starting to drag a bit, this book definitely made its way onto my favorites list because I can not stop thinking about it.

I honestly think everyone should give this one a read!

Rating: 5/5 stars

Have you read this one? If you have, what were your thoughts? I feel like this one is super underrated, even though I do remember it getting some initial hype. I, for one, will definitely be recommending it for a long time!

May Bullet Journal Spread

Published on May 7, 2020May 5, 2020 by Jessica C Writes18 Comments

Hello! I have not shared a bullet journal spread with you all since FEBRUARY because my spreads have all pretty much been the same. My 2020 bullet journal is very minimalistic because I wanted it to serve a specific function & not just be a pretty design (there is nothing wrong with making intricate spreads & I LOVE looking at them, it just wasn’t effective for me personally!!).

This month, I did change some things up, so I decided I would share the spread with you guys!

First up, we have my goals and TBR page. I don’t do a monthly calendar anymore because I don’t use it that much. Most of my monthly planning goes on a google sheets page I have, or on my phone calendar!

I use my overview page to instead write down some goals, as well as my TBR for the month. I like having these written down because seeing it helps me to say on track.

Next to this, I have my expenses sheet, which is one of the most important pages in my monthly spread. I think it’s a really great habit to track your expenses so you can see where your money is going. Plus, knowing that I will have to write down everything I buy makes me want to save my money even more. Each month I try to make this sheet emptier than the previous one!

Next up is my habit tracker! I changed up the format from my previous posts because I think it is easier to use and much cleaner. I also changed some of the habits that I’m tracking because my priorities are different. Plus, I realized that I was tracking some things unnecessarily because I was already doing them every day, or they just weren’t important.

This month, I will be tracking…
1. reading
2. writing
3. working out
4. running
5. drinking enough water
6. meditating
7. any days that I bit my nails (hopefully none)
8. getting enough hours of sleep

Moving on, we go straight into my weekly spreads. You could see some of it in the last picture, but here is a full week’s spread.

I decided to give myself room vertically this month instead of horizontally because I like to plan my days out by hour. This way, I can write down my most important tasks, and I can write out a schedule for myself each day.

So far, I am really liking this method of to-do list-making.

At the bottom of each day, I also write down what workouts I am doing (including the days I want to go for a run). For now, I kept them in pencil just in case if I decide I want to do a different workout one day, or if I injure myself and can’t run (which happened last week).

I also have room at the end of the week to write down any notes that I have. This space is usually dedicated to grocery lists or tasks that I need to move over to the next week!

Overall, I’m really happy with my spreads this month, despite how simple they are. I am very glad that I decided to go with a minimalistic BuJo this year because it has been much more sustainable for me. I’ve actually been sticking with it for months now!

Let me know what you think in the comments :)

May TBR 2020

Published on May 5, 2020May 4, 2020 by Jessica C Writes8 Comments

Happy May! I’m really excited for this month because I will have tons of time to work on my goals and hobbies now that school is over, and it will (hopefully) be warm outside soon, so I can spend time in the sun!

This month, I also decided that I wanted to read the shortest books on my TBR! For this, I chose 4 physical books and one e-book: all of them are under 300 pages. Plus, I added one more book to the list that I just knew I wanted to get to this month.

e-book:

Professed by Nicola Rendell: So as some of you may know, I pick an e-book from my TBR jar every month, and this month I got super lucky because I happened to choose one that fit in so well with the rest of my theme because it is super short- it is only 252 pages! I have seen some pretty bad reviews of it, though, so I’m a little bit worried to read it.

physical:

Nutshell by Ian McEwan: (208 pages) This is a book I just got recently, and I talked about it in my 5-star predictions post. All I know is that this is a thriller that involves murder. I don’t want to know more going into it because I feel like that would be best for this one.

Ruthless by Carolyn Lee Adams: (248 pages) Clearly there is a big mystery/thriller theme happening in this TBR because this one is also a thriller. This is a YA novel, and YA thrillers are definitely hit or miss for me, but I do hope it is good!

Before We Go Extinct by Karen Rivers: (256 pages) I have absolutely no idea what this one is about but I bought it on BookOutlet one day to get my total to $35 for free shipping hahaha (that is something I no longer do- it is such a bad habit). Anyway, I like the cover, and maybe I’ll find a new favorite read.

Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne: (262 pages) This book is one of the oldest on my TBR- I bought it in middle school maybe ??? Which is way too long to have owned a book and not read it considering I’m a rising college junior. I remember I started it a couple of times but for some reason just never finished it. It wasn’t because I wasn’t enjoying it, but simply because other books were my priority. I am finally going to actually work my way through this one (and if I still can’t finish it, it’s getting unhauled).

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power: This is the extra book that is on my TBR this month because I have been dying to finally read this. I have nothing but high hopes for this one, and it is definitely going to get read early in the month!

Have you read any of these books? Let me know what your thoughts of them were if you have, and tell me what are some books you want to read in May!