Currently Reading, Blogging Thoughts, & More: September 2021 Edition

September 24, 2021September 23, 2021 fangirlfury7 Comments

Happy Friday! I wrote this post just last night. I knew I wanted to share a post on Friday & I 110% admit that I didn’t have any posts prepared. I debated on forcing myself to catch up on mini reviews, but instead just found myself wanting to talk about life lately & what I’ve been reading this week.

I have been reading a lot more than I have been blogging or writing reviews. You might know from wrap-ups and other posts that I am an English teacher in my first full-year/full-time position and I am LOVING teaching. However, blogging has been taking a back seat to work, life things, and honestly self-care type things like reading, exercising, catching up with friends, and resting. If I have a free afternoon, you’ll most likely find me curling up with a good book or going for a walk over writing blog posts. I’ve been blogging since February 2017 – aka through nearly four years of undergrad, my master’s program, part-time jobs & internships, a pandemic, and other life happenings – and aside from maybe a handful of weeks, pretty much consistently sticking to 3 blog posts a week (throwback to my I 2018 self where I shared 4 blog posts a week during the summer).

You probably know that I am a huge Bad on Paper Podcast fan & I also really enjoy reading co-host Grace Atwood’s blog, The Stripe. Sidenote that I love going for walks just to listen to BOP’s latest episode! Grace recently wrote a blog post about having a lack of stamina in many aspects of her life and found myself relating to her thoughts on productivity when it comes to book blogging.

Don’t get wrong, I LOVE blogging and by no means am I really taking a break. What I’ve been doing is trying not to mentally beat myself up for not posting 3 times a week (honestly the past 2 weeks I have had so much work & life stuff going on that I forgot I didn’t post one day until two days later). I’m also a believer in positing quality content over quantity. Ultimately, what all this means is that there will be some weeks where I am my usual Fangirl Fury self, and other weeks when you hear from me one or two times. I think not pressuring myself to write will also allow me to write when I genuinely want to write & share vs. feeling obligated to.

And today, I felt like sharing what I’ve been reading, watching TV wise, and listening to lately!

25 Fangirl Facts About Me: 2021 Edition

April 9, 2021December 31, 2021 fangirlfury4 Comments

I love finding ways to bring in slight lifestyle like posts to book and fandom blogging. I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve done a non book review/TBR/book tag type book. The 25 Bookish Facts About Me post was big across the book blog community and BookTube a few years ago. I loved this post so much that I actually did it 3 times over the first two years of blogging, and I’m happy to bring it back to the blog for the fourth time during my fourth year of blogging. I slightly adapted the post during my third and this time around to be fangirl facts about me to include some things about myself outside of books. Below you’ll find out more about my reading habits, feelings towards one of my favorite fantasy series being adapted, TV/movies, & more.

1.I am a firm believer that the best kinds of books for beach reading are paperbacks (preferably of the contemporary/contemporary romance genre).

2. I’ve only won 1 Goodreads giveaway, which was a mass market paperback copy of Red Rising by Pierce Brown.

3.I no longer own said copy of Red Rising, after trading it through #booksfortrade on Twitter for an ARC of Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere – This was pre Little Fires Everywhere being published & the Hulu TV adaptation, so I always wonder if the person I traded with regrets making the trade given how popular Little Fires Everywhere is now.

4. I’m more of a TV show than movie person.

5. The most amount of books I read in 1 year was 133 books in 2020. It’s not necessarily my #1 reading-related goal, but I’d love to surpass that amount one day.

6. Instagram is my primary book social media platform. I love finding book recommendations especially on IG stories, from authors like Hannah Orenstein and Emily Henry, but I have been trying to spend more time on the feed… including posting more on my own…

7. My current favorite Taylor Swift album is folklore, with “august” as my favorite song.

8. I’m a recent Star Wars fan. I had seen bits & pieces of the films growing up, but I fully watched Episodes 4-6 with my mom during Christmas 2019 and was hooked. I soon got into The Mandalorian (still crying over the season 2 finale), and watched the other 2 trilogies during the first half of 2020.

9. My bed is my go-to reading spot, but I think my absolute fave reading spot is tied between reading while floating around the pool or on the beach.

End of Year Book Survey 2020

January 1, 2021January 1, 2021 fangirlfury11 Comments

Happy New Year! The End of Year Book Survey, created by Jamie of The Perpetual Page Turner, has been an annual tradition here ever since I started blogging back in 2017. I can’t believe that February 2021 will officially mark four years of Fangirl Fury!

I was originally going to have this final 2020 wrap-up posted yesterday, but I thought this favorite reading survey of mine would be a fun day to kick off the new year. I also finally took a note from my past blogger self and decided to complete this survey once my year of reading had officially ended, since I typically post my end of year survey a week or two before New Year…and end up having to go back to add to my reading total or adapt some responses.

2020 Reading Stats

Number of Books You Read: 133

Number of Re-Reads: 7

Genre Your Read The Most From: YA

One of the reasons I also pushed this post until New Year’s Day vs. New Year’s Eve is because I finally put all of my 2020 reads into a Google Sheet to calculate how much YA vs. contemporary romance vs. other genres I actually read this year. I know I’ve said in so many posts that I couldn’t tell if I had read more YA or contemporary romance in 2020, but YA was the ultimate winner, having read 48 YA books and 38 contemporary romances (this number doesn’t include any adult contemporaries or adult fiction books I read.

I’m here to admit that while I try not to repeat answers, there are at least 4-5 books within my responses that you’ll notice a few times. I do try to diversify my answers, but I want to be as honest as I can and reflect on the books I loved most & stand out the most in my memory.

Best Book You Read In 2020?

Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Close runner-ups in no particular order: House of Earth & Blood by Sarah J. Maas, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein, You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle, More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn, Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett Read More »

Hallotober Tag

October 28, 2020October 26, 2020 fangirlfury1 Comment

With Halloween coming up this weekend, it’s time to really break out the pumpkins and fall decor this week! I don’t have a costume planned for this year, but I am wearing a candy corn face mask for work this week to get into the Halloween spirit. I was tagged by The Book Bratz to do the Hallotober Blog Tag. The Hallotober Tag was created by Jordanne of The Life of a Glasgow Girl.

What’s the worst Halloween candy?

I am a huge chocolate fan, but I never really liked ‘sugary’ candies, with Laffy Taffy as my least favorite.

What is your favorite horror novel or short story?

It’s definitely not considering a straight-up horror book, but I love, love Carmen Maria Machado’s short story collection, Her Body and Other Parties.

What was the last halloween costume you wore?

I dressed up as a mermaid last year – if I somehow have to dress up again this year, I’ll probably throw the mermaid scale leggings back on!

What is your favorite fall snack?

I don’t think I change up my eating habits too much in the fall – I definitely reach for pumpkin spice coffee, but I’m not a fan of pumpkin-flavored foods (yes, this includes pumpkin pie). I’m definitely more of an apple fan over pumpkin, so I feel like I do tend to eat more apples in the fall, and I’ve been planning on making an apple pie with coffee crumb topping soon.

This photo was taken last fall – I actually didn’t make my way to a pumpkin patch this year.

Do you carve pumpkins?

I tend to paint them instead of carve!

Do you prefer horror movies or stories?

You might know that I’m not the biggest horror fan in general, but I’d rather take horror in book over movie form.

What is your favorite halloween memory?

I can’t think of a particular moment, but until about seventh grade, I always went trick-or-treating with my two younger sisters. I probably got bratty at times for not being able to go trick-or-treating with my friends, but looking back, I’m so glad we got to have those memories together. We always loved coming home and dumping all of our candy on to the table and dividing it into categories while we ate dinner. There were actually 2 years we didn’t go traditional trick-or-treating because we spent Halloween weekend in Hershey Park!Read More »

Happy 22nd Birthday to Me: 22 Favorite Books, TV Shows & More

August 10, 2020August 8, 2021 fangirlfury13 Comments

If you couldn’t tell by the title, today is my twenty-second birthday. To say the least, it’s definitely a weird birthday thanks to our current reality. I’ll be going out shopping – in mostly outdoor shopping outlets – for the first time since January and I have plans to celebrate with friends later on this week. 21 was a big growing up year for me, and despite the events of the last five months or so, I loved being 21. I think 22 is going to be another big growing up year for me, as I navigate post-college life, real working world and grad school included. I’m trying to be more optimistic and less stressed in August, and I want to do my best to carry out this attitude this year!

I wanted to bring some birthday cheer to the blog today, so I’ll be sharing 22 of my favorite things that have brought me so much joy this summer, in the forms of books, TV/movies, and podcasts – you’ll likely recognize a few repeats from my monthly wrap-ups but I can’t stop gushing about them so much! I also didn’t want to share strictly books because I recently shared my favorite reads of 2020, and let’s be honest yearly wrap ups or a summer wrap up will be here before we know it!

Books

Some books that I’ve LOVED but haven’t shared too many details about yet or full reviews for include:

The Heir Affair (The Royal We #2) by Jessica Morgan and Heather Cocks – I feel like I’ve mentioned The Heir Affair in so many blog posts this summer, but I officially read & finished it last week… and I can’t stop thinking about this sequel to The Royal We! I actually got too impatient to wait for a physical copy from the library, so I borrowed a digital copy and devoured it on my Kindle in about 2 days. The Heir Affair was everything I wanted in this sequel, and while I’m really content with the way it ended, I seriously would not mind a third book.

Anna K by Jenny Lee – Anna K is hands-down one of the best YA books I’ve read in 2020. I’ve come to realize that I don’t want to use the Gossip Girl meets Crazy Rich Asians comparison because while it has GG vibes (and honestly not really CRA), it is such a story of its own. I loved its Anna Karenina retelling, and it just felt so mature. I seriously cannot wait to get my hands on the upcoming sequel.

If We Were Having Coffee: June 2020 Edition

June 19, 2020June 18, 2020 fangirlfury3 Comments

If We Were Having Coffee is my favorite way to share current happenings in my life outside of my usual fangirl and bookish-ness. But don’t worry, there’s still plenty of talk about the books, TV, and podcasts I’ve been consuming lately.

Although I’m waiting for my honors cords to come in the mail, my cap and gown did come in, which called for an impromptu photoshoot!

If we were having coffee, I’d probably be having a cup of coffee with milk and cinnamon. I feel like I’m cheating on summer by saying that I haven’t been drinking iced coffee that much lately. 4 out of the 5 people in my house drink at least two cups of coffee everyday, so instead of making single cups using the Keurig, we usually make two or three pots a day using Dunkin Donuts’ Original Blend. My sister and I love blending cinnamon in the grinds before brewing.

If we were having coffee, I’d probably tell you that my mind feels like its in five different places at once. It’s weird to think that I feel busier being at home vs. being out in the world at school and work. I know I’ve mentioned it in a wrap-up and maybe another post, but since my If We Were Having Coffee about my college graduation, I made the decision to stay at my alma mater to attend their Master of Arts in Teaching program. I had actually been admitted into the program back in March and hadn’t made a decision about when and if I’d join the program when the world went into madness. Since one of my summer jobs went from full-time to part-time remotely, I made the decision to join the program and start taking summer courses.

Although I’ve still been eating up 3 or 4 books a week (summer time is the best reading season for me), I’ve been doing so much work and reading for school since mid-May. Two of my classes met for two weeks each every day, so now I have a slight lull in my schedule. I have a weekly elective until the end of June when the second round of classes begins. I am also doing some remote work for the organization I worked at as an undergraduate. It’s definitely a busy schedule, but I am of course grateful to know that I am able to partake in all of these things from home. Read More »

If We Were Having Coffee: The Graduation Edition

May 15, 2020May 15, 2020 fangirlfury5 Comments

If We Were Having Coffee is forming into a mid-monthly ritual. I love doing these more personal posts- don’t worry I’m bound to talk about books and TV somewhere- so I don’t have to save everything for my end of the month wrap ups. I’ve been embracing blogging and reading so much lately, and it’s been nice to reflect lately since these past two months certainly haven’t been easy for anyone.

If we were having coffee, I’d probably be sticking to iced coffee. By the time I make my way downstairs in the morning, the coffee that my parents brewed earlier in the morning isn’t remotely hot anymore. In that case, I just grab some ice and some caramel macchiato creamer.

If we were having coffee, I’d talk about graduating from college! Graduating from college can be bittersweet to begin with. While still bittersweet (maybe even more this year), it’s just plain weird. Since I finished up the second half of the semester completely online, it feels so bizarre to be done. Nevertheless, I graduated with my B.A. in English and Media & Communications with a minor in Holocaust Studies, and was inducted in Phi Beta Kappa!

That being said, if we were having coffee, I’d give you an inside scoop about what a virtual graduation is actually like. Like almost all, if not every college senior, in the U.S. , I did not have an in-person commencement or any IRL form of senior activities, ceremonies, rites of passage, and goodbyes for the past two months. My in-person commencement is currently scheduled for early August, but since stay-at-home orders have been extended into June in my state, there may be a chance that the ceremony will be pushed to the fall. However, my school wanted to commemorate our original commencement date and decided to hold a virtual ceremony. I’ve had an honor society induction and a few senior toasts online.

Although I know everyone has great intentions, the online replacements tend to make me more sad than happy because it just reminds of what should have been. This made me apprehensive going into the virtual commencement, but it was much more organized than I had imagined. The speeches had been prerecorded, while certain segments were still live. While they scrolled through the graduates’ names, many of our professors and faulty had shout-out videos! My family also decided to honor my graduation that day. I really appreciated their at-home festivities – my sisters and mom made me an at home cap and gown made from construction paper and a tablecloth and a hand-written diploma.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell that you need to watch Never Have I Ever on Netflix as soon as possible. I finished binge-watching it after I posted my April Wrap Up- no worries, I’ll probably end up including it in my May one anyway! Never Have I Ever was the perfect blend of everything that I want in a ‘teen’ show. After the sudden passing of her father, high school sophomore Devi is willing to do anything she can to get her life back to normal- and by that, Devi really wants to become popular and date the hottest guy in school. This show was so, so funny and you really grow to become attached to all of the characters. The last episode left me smiling with tears rolling down my face.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you about my subscription to Book of the Month. From podcasts to blogs to Instagram, Book of the Month has been taking up so many of my social media channels. You likely know that because of the public library being closed, I’ve been buying way more books than usually lately. One of those books? Emily Henry’s Beach Read. Beach Read is one of my most anticipated books of 2020, and I knew I wanted to get a copy ASAP. I considered pre-ordering a copy, but when I saw it was a BOTM pick (in hardcover as always), I figured I’d give the subscription service a chance. I’m honestly debating if I’ll keep my subscription because #brokecollegestudentlife but I’m tempted to try it out at least over the summer.

If we were having coffee, I’d of course have to mention at least one book I’ve read in May. I know I’m late on the hype train, but so far my favorite has been Well Met by Jen DeLuca! Speaking of hyped reads, I also finally read Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating and totally see why this it is many readers’ favorite Christina Lauren book.Read More »

If We Were Having Coffee: Current Entertainment Faves & Other Life Things

April 10, 2020April 8, 2020 fangirlfury1 Comment

Let’s be honest, talking about all the books and TV I’ve been loving lately is one of my favorite things to do. I usually save my TV and movies talk for monthly wrap-ups, but I’ve been really enjoying seeing what everyone has been watching and doing at home that I want to share the love today.

If we were having coffee, I’d probably be drinking an iced coffee. The slight warm change in weather has brought out in the iced coffee drinker in me. I went through Dunkin Donuts’ drive-thru twice before stay-at-home orders really set in for my go-to medium iced coffee with caramel. I think the next time I get to treat myself, I’m going to go for the Girl Scout Samoa cookie flavor if it’s still available! My homemade iced coffee is rarely as cold as it should be – I’m often too impatient to wait for it to cool before I pour it over ice. I like making iced coffee with Hamilton Mills French Vanilla K-cups or with Dunkin Donuts Original Blend (occasionally with caramel creamer).

If we were having coffee, I’d talk about all the book podcasts I’ve been listening to on my daily walks. Whether I’m walking alone or with my family, I love plugging into a podcast episode on my hour-long walk. I’ve been listening to a mix of Bad on Paper‘s early and recent episodes and keep adding more books to my TBR because of their recommendations. I’ve also been listening to Sarah’s Bookshelves Live– I loved her recent episode with Steph Hockersmith of @PieLadyBooks. I’ve also downloaded a few episodes of The SSR Podcast.

If we were having coffee, I’d talk about how I’m so sad I am about Schitt’s Creek being over. I’m one of the fans who found the show towards its end, having watched its first five seasons on Netflix last summer and fall. Season 6 was so, so good. I really love the way each character’s story wrapped up (and yes, I’m still crying over Ted and Alexis’ final scene). While there is a wedding and some final goodbyes in the last episode, I loved how the goodbyes and wrap-ups weren’t contained to the final episode. I also loved the documentary, “Best Wishes, Warmest Regards,” that aired right after the finale. As sad as I am that its over, I really appreciate the show creators’ decision to end the show when they felt it was right, instead of adding on two more unnecessary seasons just because it was gaining more and more popularity. And no worries, I’ve been pushing this show on to everyone who is looking for TV recommendations at this time (including you!).

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that Booksmart is my new favorite movie. I’ve been wanting to watch this one for so long, and one of my school’s streaming services had it in their catalog- I’m still trying to figure out what class included it in their syllabus. I loved the two main characters (played by Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever) and their relationship, the cinematography was amazing (my favorite scene was the doll scene) and it was just comedy done so, so, well!! With plenty of antics in store, this movie is really about friendship, growing up, and trying to prepare for moving on into a new stage of life.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that the best book I read this week was Lyssa Kay Adams’ Undercover Bromance. I just have so much love for The Bromance Book Club world, the Russian of course included.

What I’ve Been Fangirling Over Lately: Life Update, Books, & TV Recs

March 23, 2020March 21, 2020 fangirlfury3 Comments

It goes without saying that there are many difficult things going on in the world right. I hope this post finds everyone safe and healthy. I am especially grateful right now for my little corner of the Internet and being able to escape into the world of books and fangirl things for a while.

I’ve talked about this on Instagram and Twitter, but it’s major life update time. As some of you know, I am a college senior. My school had just gotten back from spring break during the second week in March only to find out on that Tuesday, we would be going online until April 3^rd. We had the option of staying on-campus or going home, but with all the uncertainty going on, I elected to go back home. I was bummed that I’d basically be home for a month during the last eight weeks of senior year, but felt it was important to me at home with my family, and nothing was going on on-campus. I was also disappointed that this meant that my last college formal had been postponed, but I looked forward to going back a month later.

A Tuesday later, my college decided to officially go online for the semester. To say the least, I was, and still am, devastated. Yes, I have so much to be thankful for right now, and so, so many people have it way worse than me right now. All of my friends and family and myself included are safe and healthy. But I can’t help but think about those senior rites of passages I will be missing and won’t have the opportunity to get back: attending my last formal with my best friends; opportunities to present on my media and communications capstone research; ceremonies celebrating me and my classmates’ hard work; having my last day in the office I’ve worked in as a student employee for three years; saying my official last goodbyes to my best friends and professors; and the one that is hurting me the most right now, getting to walk across that graduation stage with my diploma in hand. My school is trying to work on a solution for this one, and I am really hope that a deferred in-person graduation will one day occur for us.

In light of all this, while I am still doing school work as I have online classes through the first week of May, books and TV have been a even more present comfort in my life right. I tend to not go on book buying sprees as often as I’d like, but I bought 5 books for myself within the first week I was home (thinking of them as early graduation gifts).

Today, I’ll be sharing and discussing the books and TV I’ve been enjoying lately in hope that you might find some comfort in them too. I’ve definitely been spending way too much time on my phone- my only exception in doing so is when I am FaceTiming or texting my friends- so I want to try to delve into more reading and watching this week.

Books

ARCs/Upcoming Releases: What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter & We Are the Wildcats by Siobhan Vivian – If there’s one thing I really appreciate about social distancing (PSA, please practice it), it’s having the opportunity to catch up on all my review copies. What I Like About You (YA book blogger with a love for cupcakes and an online alias meets her online crush and best friend IRL) and We Are the Wildcats (girls’ field hockey team must deal with a very toxic coach and reunite as a team) were two of my most anticipated releases of the year and they did not disappoint at all. Reviews for both will (with an inspired recipe or two) will be coming in April!

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord – I now also have plenty of time to catch up on early 2020 releases that I missed; insert sigh here that I didn’t put more books on hold before the libraries closed- I’ll read you soon, Of Curses and Kisses & Anna K . My weekend read was Emma Lord’s Tweet Cute, which I am still utterly obsessed with! It was such a fantastic romance and I basically want to make 50 blog posts with recipes inspired by the book.Read More »

ADVENTURES ABROAD: My Trip to Ireland

January 24, 2020March 20, 2023 fangirlfury14 Comments

For the past few years, my new year usually begins in a quiet way, wrapping up winter break and trying to get to all the books I can before heading back to school and ‘real life.’ However, my 2020 started in the most exciting way possible by going on a study abroad trip to Ireland!

I always knew that I wanted to do some sort of study abroad program while in school. Blame it on all the books I’ve read, but I’ve had this growing sense of wanderlust in me for the past few years. I admit that I was intimidated by going abroad, having never travelled outside of the United States before and how pricey study abroad and travelling can be. However, everything seemed to fall into place during the fall semester of my senior year and I decided to apply to my school’s winter break program in Ireland. I have a few countries on must travel-to list, but Ireland has always been in the #1 spot because of my own Irish heritage.

In short, I am so, so glad that I went to Ireland because I had such an incredible experience. I have a ton of photos featured below, but even they do not fully capture how beautiful everything is there. I’m going to be breaking down my trip more for you below, but I quickly fell in love with the West Coast of the country and know I need to go back someday. It’s true what they say about going abroad or travelling: once you go somewhere, you want to get back on a plane and go somewhere else! I’m hoping my adventures abroad or at a travel feature will become a somewhat regular series here on Fangirl Fury.

And yes, I admit that I’m disappointed with my bookish self for not taking a long a copy of Jenna Evan Welch’s Love & Luck for ALL of the bookstagrams.

DERRY

My day spent in Derry was one of the trip’s highlights. As a Derry Girls fan, going to Derrry was one of the things I was most excited about. During the first half of the day, we visited the Museum of Free Derry, hearing from a relative of a Bloody Sunday victim and walking through the museum’s exhibit on civil rights. After the museum, we toured the Bogside murals.

The second half of the day was spent in Derry City, where we had complete free range to explore the city. Since our bus dropped us off at The Guildhall, we walked through the Plantation of Ulster exhibit and later took some nice nightsky photos. After the exhibit, my friends and I walked across the Peace Bridge, which again prompted for the nice photo ops. We then went into the city, with our first stop at the Derry Craft Village. We popped into a few stores, where I picked up a belated Happy Christmas ornament for my family and a pair of claddaugh earrings for my sister. My must-see stop for the day was of course the Derry Girls mural! After, we walked along the 17^th century wall near there and also stopped at St. Columb’s Cathedral. We also stopped at a print shop that sold a ton of Derry Girls merchandise, picking up a postcard for my equally obsessed Derry Girls friend and I, and at an ice cream shop called Joe Jackson’s. After falling in love with lemon meringue pie at dinner earlier in the week, I treated myself to lemon meringue and salted caramel ice cream.