THE JOY OF ANNOTATING YOUR BOOKS

“OMG monster!! Satan!!!! I bet you dog ear your pages, too!!!”

  

It’s that time of the day when I take out the book I am reading for summer, and grab a highlighter. 

But that’s not normal. And then I realized that a few months back I would never do something like this. It’s something I started recently, it’s new, but throughout my entire life as a bookworm, picking up a highlighter before I start reading is more that extraordinary .

Before you start yelling about the harm I’m doing to my books, take a deep breath and let me explain why I started annotating out of the blue. From the beginning of my reading journey, I was always the person who would get a heart attack  every time I saw pages of books that I lend being “dog-eared “.  I was afraid of putting my fiction book inside my school backpack because I feared I would damage the cover. 

In the majority of my books there are no blemishes and if there are, I promise you I demanded a full-detailed investigation. In a few months, I went from treating a book like something too precious to annotating using highlighters . All of this started during April when I came across a post in the bookish community of Instagram where a girl was showing her fully-annotated edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

If you are part of the YA book community around social media , then you know that  books are these precious, beautiful story vessels that we must protect with our lives. 

They offer us so much, so we have to keep them clean and perfect. Even before I became a part of this online community, I was as paranoid about my books as now .But after I joined the book-blogging  community, a lot of my reading habits changed.

First, I started buying way more books than I could read,  because  it was what everyone else was doing. 

Now I have a TBR so big that it could be compared to the Eiffel Tower, but that’s a post for another day. I never wanted a pen or pencil to touch the pages, I didn’t want my paperbacks to bend, I didn’t want anything to get on the flawless hardcovers.

But let’s go back to annotating!

On one hand, highlighting and writing in the margins is a great way to interact with the text and leave a physical reminder of how a book made you feel at some point in your life. However, it’s hard to get over the mental block of writing in books. They can be expensive and it’s hard not to overthink what’s worth writing down. The question for most book -nerds is : how to annotate a book so your marks are done effectively? 

Annotation is the process of adding your own thoughts or insights into a book or text.

If you want to re-read a book, it’s always interesting to see what parts of a story were meaningful at a point in your life. It’s a snapshot of the person you are. 

HOW TO ANNOTATE A BOOK 

There are five different ways you can annotate. 

1. Sticky Notes
2. Hilighters
3. A good,thin pencil or pen.
4. A key and symbols .
5. Annotate with the student way.

STICKY NOTES

One of the lowest-pressure ways to annotate your book is by using sticky-notes and tabs. A lot of readers have fears about marking up their books and are very protective of them, so if you’re worried about making a mistake with your highlighting or writing, sticky notes are the best option. I recommend using the small plastic ones because they look the nicest and also aren’t too thick.

However, you will have to remember to carry around your pack of tabs wherever you carry your book. It will also help if you choose to color-code your tabs so they match your favorite quotes , scenes you love and words you don’t know and need the definitions . 

HIGHLIGHTERS 

Moving from sticky notes to highlighters – which seem scary for the majority of readers. The worst thing is when you have one that’s too thick and you can’t draw with it properly and you highlight too much of the passage or highlight it in a lazy manner. It’s also important to be confident about what you want to highlight, because if you take too long, the color will seep through to the other side. So be careful with the highlighter you’re using!

A GOOD THIN PEN OR PENCIL

A good pen is a must-have for anyone annotating a book. While some people feel completely uncomfortable with writing in their books because they’re scared it’ll look messy or they’ll make a mistake that they can’t erase, there’s nothing better than writing your thoughts to the side of the page. Some people prefer using a pencil, including me. 

But finding the right pen for this job can be tricky. The only pens I feel comfortable using are the ones that have extremely thin or small ballpoint tops. An advise from me is to refuse using liquid pens, like fine liners, because they bleed through the pages. Also it’s good to avoid writing close to the middle where the pages can get messy because your  writing may become sloppy due to the fact that there isn’t enough room for a ton of words. 

A KEY AND SYMBOLS 

Similar to using color-coded tabs, symbol-based annotation is a simple way to interact with your book.  Try to figure a personal book annotation key for yourself and assign symbols for favorite quotes (underline), confusing phrases (question mark) , etc ! 

ANNOTATE WITH THE STUDENT WAY

Lastly, here are some easy practices to annotate like a student:

1.  Underline main ideas or claims the author is making .What do you want to remember when you flip through it again?
2.   Circle words you don’t know and then define them in the margin.
3.    Put stars next to anything that gives you pause.  
4. If you’d like, write notes on what the text made you feel emotionally or question.

In the end , annotating books can be quite scary, especially for those who haven’t marked-up their books before. The important thing to remember is to be confident and do what you like with it. 

To me, annotating is a physical mark of love on a book and it shows just how much it means to you. I believe annotating is really fun and it feels like your actively participating in the reading experience rather than just passing through the pages. But at last everyone annotates differently, and that’s just my way of doing it! 

Xoxo,

Miss Reader

P.S Don't forget to follow me on my bookstagram page !

@teaandpicks

LET'S CONTROL YOUR BOOKSHELVES : A GUIDE IN ORGANISING

So, you can’t see the floor of you’re bedroom any more. The books you own are getting out of control. Here I have the solution! 

Ask any bookworm you know, and the answer you’ll get is pretty much the same. One of the central preoccupations in a bibliophile’s life is how to manage and keep your bookshelves tidy. Any major events in life, from moves to marriages, is an opportunity for decluttering — to look at your collection of books and be proud of the way you store them. But if you find yourself wondering on a daily basis if you’re able to tell the exact spot of any title at any moment and the answer is complicated, then “Houston, we have a problem “!

Their many ways in which you can organize your bookshelves but what everyone can agree on is that you have to shelve your books in a way that works best for you. Minimalist, orderly or eccentric, when it comes to organizing your books, only you know the perfect system for you.

In today’s post, I’m giving a complete guide as well as choices in which you can use in order to achieve a practical as well as an aesthetic-pleasing bookshelf. Trust me, it will guarantee you’ll always know where is what. ( At least that’s what I hope for everyone ).

 STEP 1: GATHER ALL THE BOOKS IN PILES TOGETHER

To begin with,  gather every single book we own in one spot, piling them on the floor. It helps in order to make informed decisions about what to keep and what to discard. You will also be able to view how many books we own, so that you can predict how much space you will need and maybe how many books you should declutter.

STEP 2: FORGET THE PHRASE “ BUT WHAT IF I WANT TO READ THIS SOMEDAY “?

Moving on, one of the biggest stumbling blocks for readers is dealing with the fear that we may want to read the book someday, so we are hesitant to part with it.

To this, I warn you that “sometimes” means “never.” Bookworms rarely pick up a book that has been sitting on their shelf for a while and either re-read it or read it for the first time, and because of this, it is okay to get rid of the book(s) in question. 

STEP 3: DISCARD ALL THE BOOKS YOU WON’T NEED, WANT OR MEAN SOMETHING ANYMORE

You can discard your books in several different ways. You can donate them to your local library or your local church’s garage sale. If they’re books you want to sell, you can take them to a near charity or thrift shop and also sold some using Amazon’s FBA program.

Even though everyone really loves to read in their house, it will feel like a weight lifted when you manage to finally get rid of all of the books we don’t truly love or read often! 

Now that you are done with the process of deciding what you’ll keep and what you’ll give away, it’s time to put all the books in their perfect spot on your bookshelves! Here are some ways that you can use to store the books neatly and have fun doing it (even though it’s hard !).

Alphabetizing, by Title or Author 

This technique is a perfect, uncomplicated way of organizing your books because alphabetizing ensures you’ll know exactly where each book you’re looking for is shelved at all times. At the same time, friends, family, or strangers who want to find something in your bookshelves will know how to do it.

The downside? It can take a while to add new books. This is actually a con for most of the options I will list below to help organize your bookshelves—you can spend hours getting them just how you want them, but as soon as you have a new set to add, you have moved a ton more books.

By Genre 

This is ideal for readers who don’t always know which exact book they want to read next. Organizing by genre is also great for anyone who loves to make book recommendations or lend from their personal library because similar titles will be shelved together. 

This option can be more intuitive than alphabetizing and it’s easy to find a book if you’re in a particular mood for one genre over another. It’s also a good way to organize your books if you don’t have a good memory for titles and authors (raise your hands with me ! )

You can arrange your books by whatever genres you want, such as:

• ·      Fiction
• ·      Mystery
• ·      Romance
• ·      Young Adult
• ·      Horror
• ·      Fantasy
• ·      Non-Fiction

However, if you have genre sections for mystery and detective, there would be a lot of overlap due to the fact that some books fall into more than one category. You’ll also need to decide how to organize them within the genre. You may break it down by genre and then alphabetize or colour code them.

Chronologically, by Date Published

It’s kind of a pretentious way to shelve your collection and to make it even more pretentious. The act of putting your books on the shelf in order helps you to remember history, and to get a better sense of which writers were writing and publishing at the same time, and perhaps influencing one another. In addition, nerds like me love this process and it’s also satisfying. 

On the other hand, this takes a lot of time. If you’re looking for ideas on how to clean out your bookshelves, you may be facing a two-week job to get this off your to-do list.

By Color

If you have a large number of books, this is an extremely exhausting way to organize your bookshelf. Readers who really love putting things in rainbow order, and have a small number of books that they know well, this could be a visually striking way to arrange some shelves.

There are a lot of fun ways within the colour-organizing category, such as arranging them into a pattern within the colour coding, or covering your books with wrapping paper so that sections are different from one another. 

You can check Instagram or Pinterest for inspiration! 

But, there are a few cons in this way. It isn’t very practical for the majority of bookworms, it can make it hard to find what you need. At the same time, it can be frustrating to figure out where to place each book. A red cover might be darker or lighter than the other red cover you own.

Autobiographically

It could be debated that every bookshelf, like every piece of writing, is autobiographical, but I can feel the tears rolling down my cheeks (emotional alert !) when organizing books according to different stages of my life. It's the most personal way for anyone to organize their books.

it interesting to think back on all the people—family members, teachers, friends, writers—who have influenced your reading. There is always a period where bookworms have the desire to return to a certain period of my life, a frame of mind, or even a particular person or place. Shelving autobiographically means a journey of self-examination

However, you’d also have to reckon with the fact that a certain number of books will always remain unread, and another, a larger percentage will never be reread.  Also, let me warn you that it would not only be impossible for others to find books on your shelves but for you as well.

There it is—the simple, complex, and fun ways on how to organize bookshelves with a ton of books.  How do you keep all your favourites organized and easily accessible?

Xoxo,
Miss Reader.

READING SLUMP : THE DEATH OF EVERY BOOK-NERD

  

And then it happens. You get stuck... in a reading slump. 

It happens to even the most dedicate readers: you're doing great, making your way easily  through your TBR pile. For every movie that comes out, you get the book first. And classics? You could talk all day about your favorite Jane Austen book !

But suddenly and like a hurricane, you put down the 20+ books you were reading, and end up binge watching Friends instead. You scroll aimlessly through social media at night. And then, one bright morning, the café waitress asks casually, "What have you been reading all summer?" And you realize there is no emergency exist for your problem . 

Reading slumps are the absolute definition of a “nightmare”. Sometimes, it seems like you just can't fight the lack of inspiration to read, even if you're a lifelong book-lover who dreams of owning the Hogwarts library from Harry Potter . Fortunately for you, there are a few steps I use to get myself out of a reading slump . Just try one or all of the following tips listed , and you'll be back on track in the speed of light ! 

Read Something Light

If you just can't dive into an emotional Nicholas Sparks novel right now, it helps to start with something light. Pick up graphic novel, a fun young adult book, or a collection of short stories. I like to read crime novels when I'm in a reading slump, because the attention-suspense beginnings catch me right into the plot, leaving me no time for the famous "you just have to get into it" intros.

  

Organize Your Bookshelves   

Personally , whenever I organize my bookshelves, I feel a spark of motivation. Think of how beautiful all those TBR books will look on your shelf, once you finally get yourself out of the reading slump and you are finally ready for a whole-new start . Organized bookshelf, organized thoughts ! 

 Fill In Unused Time With Reading

Is there a long waiting line in the dentist office ? Some time in the morning when you could be reading, instead of watching Netflix as you drink your latte? Search for small pockets of unused time, and slip in some reading and chill ! 

Read a “guilty pleasure “

When I’m not in the mood of something heavy to read, I can always enjoy a few page-turners to get me back into the swing of things. There's nothing wrong with reading some guilty pleasure literature, because hey — books are books. Even Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl is still a “tasty” but steamy piece of a novel ( it’s amazing though !).

 Create A Reading Nook

Reading spots can make a huge difference during your reading slump phase. Light some candles with a captivating scent , brew some tea, and bundle up under a literary-themed blanket, and just like that you'll be in the reading mood and enjoying your Danielle Steel romance choice . 

Switch Up The Genre

If you've been on a fantasy novel spree, for example, and you're not just feelin' it, try hopping to historical romance, contemporary fiction or even - gasp! – illustration books. I find that I tend to get into the slump phase if I am on a real bender of a certain genre or author, so I decide to spice things a little bit." A change never harms, right ?

Write Instead

Lastly, this is by far my favorite tip , especially because I’m a writer in the making but it can also work perfectly for you. It’s widely known that most readers can be great writers and when it comes to reading slumps  it’s an ideal situation. Yes, reading can be a huge creative inspiration. But when you're trying to write the next Stephen King thriller or obsession-steamy romance, inundating your thoughts with the plots, characters, worlds and generally creations  of other authors can only help to explode your own creative juices. If you're having a hard time picking up a book now, turn to your own writing pieces instead. With your brain completely free of distractions, you'll be able to focus more on crafting your own New York Times bestseller. 

So, this was the post for today and I hope this can help every bookworm that came or will surely come across this "battle " with their book piles ! Make sure to leave below your comments and tell me about your own deathly-reading experiences , feel free to write all the necessary details. And don’t forget the best way to fall in love with reading is to just do it. Set a time each day, and simply enjoy pure literature .

 Xoxo,

Miss Reader. 

FIVE FEET APART BY RACHEL LIPPINCOTT

  Warning, this review contains spoilers.

Can you love someone you can never touch?
Dear cherished reader,

  

I hope you are all enjoying your summer vacations under the eye of the hot Caribbean sun (just kidding!). First, I want to apologize for being absent from the blog for more than two months. However, the final examinations are done so get your ice coffee ready and prepare for the best summer ever my lovely readers!

In today’s post, we will be discussing one of the most heartbreaking books I’ve read this year and it’s also a huge movie success. I can guarantee you that if you want to cry your heart out over a romantic plot, then tuned in with the movie or better the book “ Five Feet Apart ”. The credits are equally given to Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis who wrote the screenplay and also to Rachael Lippincott who was trusted to turn it into the book that made me spend three nights sobbing quietly in my bed. 

To begin with , if I had to describe this book in three words I would say that it was touching , absorbing  and heartbreaking !  Some will say that is the next “ Fault In Our Stars ‘‘but personally I don’t like to compare books just because they share similar background (e.g. teenage illness ) . Now let’s dive into the plot !

Even though her cystic fibrosis has kept her from doing some of the things she has wanted, Stella has always taken control of her disease, at least as much as she possibly can. She's a big fan of to-do lists (she loves crossing things off) and she hosts her own video series about CF on YouTube. But no matter how much control she tries to take, she can't avoid frequent extended trips to the hospital—and try as she might, she can't protect everyone around her. 

She and her family hope for a transplant that will not guarantee a safe life but it will certainly give her more time . But in order for this to happen , Stella has to stay away from any possible infections , which means the barrier that’s called “six feet apart ‘‘ from anyone with CF , including her best friend Poe . It’s hard to not being able to hug your best friend and instead you have to rely on the convenience of technology like Skype , Facetime and texting . 

On the other hand , Will has been in and out of hospitals all over the world, and he's tired of it all, especially his mother's single-minded crusade to help him beat a dangerous bacterial infection. He is just waiting until he turns 18, so he can walk away from the hospital and the drug trial, and live (and possibly die) on his own terms. Will is the exact type of person that Stella has to stay away from but because it’s Stella( a control freak that I loved ) it angers and saddens her that Will refuses to fight for a chance to live and breath like many other people inside hospitals . 

They both have something they hate and despise from each other. She gets annoyed by his devilish attitude and he doesn’t exactly adore her control-freak tendencies .  Throughout the journey of helping each other over a funny-kind of deal , their bonding becomes more intense with a specific obstacle getting in their way . They must be six-feet apart at all times because even the slightest sneeze could knock Stella off the transplant list . So what to do ? What is really the worst ? Having to keep a physical distance from one another or not having each other at all?

Most of you -including myself- can predict what was going to happen throughout the story despite the fact that we face some sort-of surprises , but it didn’t matter to me at all . In a short amount of pages I became totally attached in those characters and their struggles , even though I had to face a ton of crying and use of tissue boxes ( it’s inevitable )  . 

  

The idea of the romance was breathtaking … . The longing for something that is so close yet so far, is invigorating, and pulled my heart strings! This idea was so beautiful, and wonderfully illustrated between Stella and Will. How they show their affection through non-physical means makes for such a unique relationship, and I devoured it. The banter between them, as well as that which arises among other characters, is quite sweet and never fails to lighten the mood. To be honest , I was a bit reminded of the book “Me Before You‘‘ due to the fact that it was a romance novel and the characters only shared one kiss because of the protagonist’s disability . I also admired how the author incorporated the two teens’ parents into the story. While their characters might’ve been flawed at the start, watching them leap over hurdles of grief and misunderstandings to form deeper bonds with their children, is absolutely lovely – even if it was vague, and not explored as much as it could’ve been. However it was better than the movie in which we  get little to almost nothing of the teens’ parents and their stories ( for that I blame you , Justin Baldoni ).   

I strongly believe that the story flew better in this movie format and that may have something to do with the fact that it was first written as a screenplay before it became a YA book .It’s a short narrative to begin with, and it’s a shame that everything merely happened. There wasn’t sufficient time for grand developments to unfold, and I felt as though each event in the story began and finished only to be checked off like an item from one of Stella’s to-do lists. Some might even say that the romance was unrealistic because it was fast and also a tad impossible  that these two fell in love in such a short period of time.

This book gave me a lot of favorite and memorable moments as well as lines that they also used in the movie ( thank god !) . My deepest , emotional moment was when Will begs Stella to take the lungs for him despite the fact that it won’t change anything between them . I was at the “edge of dying ‘‘ when he told her :

“This is your chance. And that is what we both want. Don’t think what you lost. Think of how much you have to gain . Live , Stella‘‘

Those lines were only in the book (unfortunately ) but it still made me realize that when you love someone you really do have to let go , even if it’s a cliché  sometimes it can be true and extremely sad . But that’s love , real , tough and  Will's last words to Stella is a great definition of sacrifice for someone you love :

“The only thing I want is to be with you . I don’t want to leave you, but I love you too much to stay . God, the freakin’ movies were right.‘‘ 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one, and love all the little aspects that composed it. If you’re looking for a quick, sweet read, then I would definitely recommend this one!

P.S Yes, Will you’re right.The movies really are right. 

Xoxo,

Miss Reader.

GoScribbler Writer's Subscription Box

Hello everyone !!!
I hope you're all doing great and hopefully some of you are warming up their TBR pile like me.
In today's post, I want to show something I've never done previously in my blog.

As many of my friends know, I'm a huge lover of subscription boxes and I tend to show it a lot on my Youtube Channel which you should totally visit!  I already had many book boxes but I didn't have any subscription boxes regarding writers, so I was scouring the internet and came across a box called GoScribbler. I'm so glad I did!

It's a box created by bestselling authors Victoria Scott and Lindsay Cummings. The subscription box, delivered monthly, is designed to help novelists do the three most important things: 
Stay motivated while writing, improve their craft, and connect with the right publishing professionals. Inside the box, you will find :

• Curated Writerly Gifts
• New Release Novel
• Inside Look at the Publishing Process, e.g a real revision page from an editor.
• An Exclusive Invitation to Chat with a Publishing Professional, e.g Literary Agent.
• Collectable “ Writing Passport ‘‘ From a Bestselling Author Teaching You How to Master a Writing Topic, e.g Plotting, Character Building.

Your first question might be, why subscribe to a writer's box? The answer for me is simply being able to discover new authors or authors I haven't heard of before and also help myself in everything that has to do with my writing. 

In February's box, the theme was Suspense. When I first opened the book, I was so amazed by the perfect way in which everything was packed and the fact that the content of the box was fully worth the 29.99 US dollars my father paid. There was a quick introduction inside the “Writing Passport ‘‘ about why the featured book was chosen. I was also introduced to this month's author,  Christina McDonald. Inside the booklet, she gives the theory behind Writing Suspense as well as her point of view while writing her book. 

The book is a paperback copy of The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald. An emotionally charged domestic suspense novel about a mother unravelling the truth behind how her daughter became brain dead. And pregnant. 

Now moving on to the goodies of the box! 

First, a Just Write decal that I can put on my laptop and inspires me to get chapters done.
Go, Authors! 

Secondly, for those who crave chocolate like me, Scribbler sends you a Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Bar.  It's nice if you keep it and eat it as a reward when you're done with your current chapters. Furthermore, my favourite item is the 300 writing prompts journal that offers enough space for you to get started and  “flex the muscle‘‘ as we, writers say in our language! You can use it as a daily writing exercise, or to develop a character from your novel, short story. It's easy to write and also quite comfortable. In addition, the box features an invitation to an exclusive chat with Carly Watters, a senior literary agent, on March 7, which because I live in Europe, I didn't have time to get ready for this event. That's my only disappointment from the box. But luckily if you missed it too,  the recording is still available for 60 days after it happened. 

That was everything included inside the box but I also got something extra which I purchased for 11.00 US dollars and again it was surely worth it. The extra item was the new book of Victoria Scott, the co-founder of GoScribbler! It's called We Told Six Lies. 

I'm really looking forward to reading the two books and the chocolate, as well as the 300 writing prompts, are special good additions to get writers to write. The “Writing Passport ‘‘ is nice to flip through and remind me of different aspects regarding the process of finishing a novel. It's also wonderful to have the chance to connect with people in the industry and have insights from published authors. 

Enjoy the pictures taken by me and only me !!!

With love, 

MissReader aka Leni Christou.

P.S Will, you order this specific box?