July // NaNo + Micro + Shelves (oh my!)

The reason why this post is late is because I was taking summer school finals on August 3rd and I couldn't afford to take any time off to blog. And it paid off! Well, with the help of my splendid microbiology professor:

Profs who round up like this are the #realmvp. Blessings upon my microbiology professor! ☺️☺️ pic.twitter.com/xMpD5eFBTM

— Sophia (@LiteraryRambles) August 4, 2016

Now I have two weeks until the fall semester starts, and, lovelies, do I have a LOT planned. Writing and reading and blogging and photography and...

Oh talking about writing! I completed July's Camp NaNoWriMo with 51k, but am just barely halfway through the novel. #SlavicNovel is turning out to be a 100k monster of badass women and creepy forests. My ultimate goal is to finish this draft before school starts, but I'd be happy if I can manage it by sometime around the beginning of September, really. And then I'll put it aside for a bit, because I've got plot bunnies to tend to and eeeee NaNoWriMo!

You may have noticed that I've been rather AWOL around here lately, but that's all because of summer school. Don't worry! I'll be around much more! I've got a lot of reviews coming up and a lot of random and fun posts hopping around in my brain. My blog inspiration has been a little dead lately, but now I think it's BACK!

I've been saving the biggest news for the end here, but it's not really July news, since it only happened this morning. BUT IT'S GOING IN THIS RECAP BECAUSE I SAY SO.
Anyway, look! I have a NEW BEAUTIFUL FLOOR-TO-CEILING BOOKSHELF! It's right across from my bed in my room so it's a perfect thing to wake up to. I am so in love. (Thanks dad for doing all the heavy work <3) GAZE AT IT AND BE HAPPY:

Yes, it's color coded. Yes, some of the series are split up. If you are bugged by that, go commiserate with my sister, who is organizationally annoyed though aesthetically enraptured with the whole thing. BUT I COULD NOT RESIST THE RAINBOW. 

So guess what's on the horison? BOOKSTAGRAM #SHELFIES. I have never taken a shelfie and look! That picture I just shared! That was my FIRST EVER SHELFIE. 

Something Strange and Deadly, A Darkness Strange and Lovely, and Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard - in preparation for Chapter One Young Writers Conference on Saturday! Susan Dennard is the keynote speaker, and will be having signings afterwards - I'm so excited! I haven't read any of them yet :-)

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia - also for Ch1 Conference! Also TBR!

The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue - found at my train station free-book shelf. Changelings and fairies!

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard - from the library, unfortunately, and not to keep for the signing. But I'm currently reading it and I love it!

(all photos link to their instagram versions!)

Friends! Lovelies! How was your July? Tell me everything! What did you read? What did you write? What did you do? 

June // NEW BOOKSHELVES COMING!!!

YES - I know I've been super absent - I've been busy doing such productive and unproductive things as:

• Summer School: I decided to take two classes this summer: Microbiology and Spanish 4. Spanish 4 is the easiest thing in the world (at my school), which is good, because Microbio is wayyy harder than I thought because it is wayyy more online than I thought it would be. And I recently discovered that I don't really need it for my current degree or for medical school. So that's fun.
• Instagram: I gave myself a personal challenge this month (before I started that cursed Micro class) that I would post one bookstagram a day. AND I AM PROUD TO SAY THAT I SUCCEEDED! It's been super fun, and you should go check out my pictures! Though I think that I'm going to take a break and post once every two or three days because Microbio is taking over my life.
• Graduations: No, not mine, but basically everyone else's, it feels like. It's graduation season, which means a party every weekend wooo. My sister's was this past Sunday, and that was epic, but took up the entire weekend because planning and shopping and cleaning up.
• Bookshelves: If you follow me on twitter, you will know that I have been measuring my room for new bookshelves, thanks to my mother wonderfully pointing out that if I got rid of a certain useless shelf and desk, I would have room for SO MANY BOOKSHELVES. Yes, I have the best mother ever. So we are going to IKEA shortly to purchase said bookshelves. I CANNOT CONTAIN MYSELF. Prepare yourselves, because so many #shelfies are coming!

Yeah, I'd say that's basically been it. It's been fun (and not so fun, MICRO), but I've also got stuff planned for July, namely, a mega blog post about all my travels from the past semester BUT WITH THE HELP OF BOOKS. (Yes, I know that I've been home for over a month, but shhhh it's a super long post so be quiet.) I'm excited, so you should be excited too!

ALSO CAMP NANO. Where are my other friendly Campers? I'm doing a rewrite of #SlavicNovel - hopefully Micro doesn't take over again aaaaah - and I want to hear all about your projects!

ALSO - today, July 1st, is the day my baby sister turns 18! So go check out her blog and wish her a happy happy birthday :)

This month has been my best haul month ever. Seriously. Look at this beauteous pile:

 Let's break it down, shall we?

FROM BARNES AND NOBLE:

Black Dove White Raven by Elizabeth Wein - am I ready to have my heart smashed into pieces? I think so.
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff -I FINALLY HAVE IT. I can't wait to read this amazing-looking work of art! (Also, IT'S SIGNED OMG)

FROM MY TRAIN STATION'S FREE BOOK SHELF:

Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman - this book looked interesting and feels like a study of dialects and multiculturalism disguised as a fiction novel. I'm intrigued.
Printer's Coffin by M.J. Carter - a fabulous cover and a shadowy mystery... what can go wrong? It's apparently the second in a series but works as a standalone.
Murder Underground by Mavis Doriel Hay - A British Library Crime Classic. I always love these classy mysteries.

FROM AMAZON:

The Three Golden Keys by Peter Sis - Peter Sis is an amazingly intricate artist who creates books that feel like they contain magic in the pages. I want to live in his sketches, please. This book is from my childhood - I remember getting it from the library - and a week ago, my mother and I bought it on impulse from Amazon. BEST DECISION EVER.

FROM FRIENDS:

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel - I won the lovely Lisa's twitter giveaway! THANK YOU <3 <3

FROM THE LOCAL LIBRARY:

The Raven Boys and Blue Lily Lily Blue and The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater - (yes yes of course I have The Dream Thieves on hold, did you think I had forgotten? NEVER.) I'm rereading them so that I can better prepare myself for what is the potential explosive feels-tornado that is The Raven King. HOLD ME

(photos link to their instagram versions)

 
 

How was your June? Did you do anything exciting? What did you read? Are you doing Camp NaNo? Tell me everything!

May // axe throwing + blogversary + home again

This month. I can't even begin to explain what a whirlwind this month has been. I finished my study abroad program, met my family at the Copenhagen Airport, boarded a ship for Norway, cruised around Norway and Scotland, flew home to Chicago, and cleaned out my closet.

Yep, that ending was a little anticlimactic, I know. But it was an epic accomplishment. I haven't done a full closet clean up since maybe seven years ago. But you're not here to hear about my housekeeping glories, are you? (Wait, you're not? You don't want to hear about how many giant bags of clothes I'm donating to Salvation Army? WELL THE ANSWER IS FIVE.) You're just wondering about the post title and how the words "axe throwing" somehow snuck in there.

Well I'll tell you.

On our cruise, we stopped by to the Isle of Skye and (after a 1 hour walk that was supposed to be 20 minutes according to a kind and apparently untrustworthy Scot) ended up at a axe throwing, archery, and rifle shooting place. My mother had done Research and this was apparently The Thing To Do. 

So now I know how to throw axes and shoot rifles (with mediocre accuracy), so you better watch out. This is all, of course, part of my giant plan to become a badass YA heroine which started when I realized I had been born with green eyes.

ALSO THIS MONTH, this baby blog turned three! Did you miss that gloriously glitter-ful post of cake and giveaways (three of them!) and games? Well, you won't want to pass up this opportunity to win lots of books! (One of the giveaways is INT! The other two are US only, unfortunately.) The giveaway was supposed to end tomorrow, but I've extended it for another week! Click here to join the party...

(photos link to instagram)

Over the course of the semester, I ended up having some books (and bookish goodies) sent to my Chicago house while I was in Denmark. Soooo, this haul is going to be a four-month haul, instead of a monthly one. :-)

Uprooted by Naomi Novik - my last #OTSPSecretSister gift from back in January from the lovely XXXX! I just read it this month and ADORED it - review coming soon!

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doehrr - this popped up on my family's bookshelves at some point during my four month absence and no one can explain how it got there. If you sent it, thank you! I have a crappy memory so maybe I entered a giveaway and forgot?

Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen - my Danish host mother gave this to me for my birthday in February! I'm saving it for when I'm feeling nostalgic for my Scandinavian Crime Fiction.

THAT GLORIOUS MUG is from the Society6 shop of the ever-lovely Cait (Paper Fury)! I can't wait to use it :-)

These I picked up at a used book sale in Copenhagen which had an abnormally large collection of English books and a deal of 6 for 500 kroner (not the best deal but books are AWFULLY expensive in Denmark). 

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - just finished and loved it!

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie - read earlier this month! review to come!

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - read coincidentally at the same time as my sister - maybe she'll pop by the blog to review it with me?

Dracula by Bram Stoker - I've read this one before but I'm about to start a reread!

The Code of the Woosters and Right Ho, Jeeves! by P. G. Wodehouse - I still haven't read any of Wodehouse's books but I really want to!

How was your May? Read anything interesting? I feel like I've been out of the bookworld loop since I've had no wifi for two weeks, so tell me what I missed! And have you entered my giveaways yet? :-)

April // SlavicNovel draft done + other reasons to party

April is the month in Denmark where the weather decides to ignore all seasons and just do whatever the heck it feels like. This is basically the same as in Chicago, except the average of warm days to cold days is much smaller in Copenhagen. I suppose it feels the need to live up to being a Scandinavian city. 

I've been to Budapest and Prague this month, and those were the last time I'm traveling this semester before my family shows up to visit. Sad, but kind of relieving too. I get to relax without making any more travel plans! 

What's my life been like on the bookish front? Actually, let me direct you to my travel blog for that, because I wrote about my adventures as a bibliophile studying abroad (suffering from four month withdrawal from my bookshelf). Check it out here! I also explored the famous Royal Library/Black Diamond Library in Copenhagen, which I SHOULD have done MONTHS ago (and if you feel the need to chastise me for being a shame to the bookish community, I will accept the scoldings guiltily).

In the writing world, I discovered the wonderful thing that myWriteClub is (thanks to Ava Jae). Also, I finished Draft 0.5 of #SlavicNovel! (!!!!!!) 

I've been waiting for this day and now it has finally arrived! The tangly bits have untangled and I can move on to Draft 1ish and hopefully finish that by August (and then start planning something new for NaNo).  Oh yeah, talking about planning something new for NaNo - I have a plot bunny sniffling around that I will now call #MagusNovel, though it will have an actual title and all by the time NaNo rolls around. It's really epic, but currently is just a bunch of notes about worldbuilding and a girl named Cecilia who may end up being the MC. We shall see what it turns out to be.

Also, do you know what's happening next month? MY 3-YEAR BLOGOVERSARY! Will there be festivities? Will there be giveaways? Will there be glitter and cake? YES!

(...well, hopefully, if I can get my stuff together :-P)

(photos link to instagram versions)

  

Because I am missing my family and will see them in just about two weeks (!!!) I think it's a good time to tell you (again) about my epic sister and her epic blog and her epic instagram. Remember that I mentioned her way back when she was starting all the interneting? Well, guess what. After some friendly competition, she now has MORE INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS THAN I DO. As an older sibling, I find this almost unacceptable, but as an older sibling, I choose to ignore these annoyances. (We get good at that.)

Therefore, as a PROUD older sibling, I think you should go check her out at Kitchen Whimsy. She posts really funny stories about her life, with recipes as kind of epilogues. Also, who wouldn't want their instagram feed to be full of delicious cakes and things? So go follow her over there, too! (Pictures link to instagram) 

Skye @ Further Up and Further In talks about writing what you need, and using writing as a sort of therapy.

Emily @ Ink, Inc. talks about ENDINGS (dun dun). And when they can be well done, or problematic.

Emily @ The Loony Literate gives super good tips on taking pictures for bookstagram! 

Cait @ Paper Fury asks if we need books without discrimination used as a plot point? Is it possible (is it even just okay) to write a world with NO DISCRIMINATION?

My Favorite Bookish Twitterers

{Follow all my favorite people on the twitterverse! Go! You won't regret it!}

Guest Post: Not a Poet

{Mike Taeger talks about his experience reading poetry as a writer of prose}

Scandinavian Murderousness in Novel and TV-show Form

{Scandinavia is the land of feminism and eerie forests, obviously coming together to make epic crime fiction!}

March // Amsterdam + Barcelona + Copenhagen

Do you like my little alphabetically ordered title? Those are the cities I've spent my March in, mostly Copenhagen, obviously, though I spent a GLORIOUS Easter in Barcelona, and a weekend earlier in the month with my friend who lives in Amsterdam. 

Amsterdam!

Barcelona!

Because of my crazy travels (and multiple exams! study abroad is actually real school!), I didn't get to post a lot here. Though I DID post a TON on my travel blog, which you can check out here at Seeking Souls. Usually when I'm not here, I'm over there. And travel is NEARLY as good as books.

So because I've had such a lively, un-book-bloggly month, this recap is going to be scandalously short. In book life, I've been reading a lot of Scandinavian Crime Fiction for my class (lots of reviews to come!), and running around flailing in terror at the awfully high prices of books in Denmark. 

In writing life, I've been writing a kind of Draft 0.5 of #SlavicNovel - I realized that since I didn't have the ending plotted out, I couldn't just push through with a Draft 1. But I had so much written already, so it's not a Draft 0. But starting at a certain point, I started writing in a Draft 0 style, with lots of {insert magic item here} and [somehow they escape... with the bone? or without it?]. So that's why I'm calling it a Draft 0.5. It's almost done! 

Because of this, I'm not doing the April Camp NaNoWriMo. Maybe I'll join in the next round? We shall see. Good luck to all participating in April! 

Ummm... so that's literally all I have for you this month. I was super uninvolved in the internet world, which was actually good because that means I was super involved in my real world travels. 

Tell me about your month! Are you doing Camp NaNo? If so - tell me about your project! I will cheer you on from the sidelines - wooooo woooo wooooo