tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45241432209798731502017-05-22T03:00:32.606-04:00Reading is InevitableJust a little blog mostly run by one, sometimes two, teens on books, art, life, and some other random stuff! Enjoy. :)Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-23892420487531418162017-05-22T03:00:00.000-04:002017-05-22T03:00:32.617-04:00Barnes & Noble Haul - 02.04.17On the fourth of February, Em and I made another trip to Barnes &amp; Noble, and I thought I would share what we got! Together, we got a total of three books and two little blind boxes!<br /><br />Looking around the store, it was a bit difficult to pick exactly what it was I wanted. I mean, there’s such a large selection! Sure, I’ve seen most of the books before, but there’s always ones that I’m thinking about reading later. And then there’s the question of if I want to buy the book, or give it a try first with my library’s copy of it. (If they even have it!)<br /><br />There were some sections I knew I could skip over. That’s the first step towards progress. For me, that was skipping the usual fantasy-action-“I must save the world” type of teen book. (Sorry. They’re just not my thing.) I also could pass by this table of popular teen books, which mostly had those type of books.<br /><br />On my book-searching journey, there was also books that I have read, such as <i>The Boy in the Striped Pajamas</i> by John Boyne. When I had first read it four years ago, I didn’t like it much because I was bothered by the main character’s ignorance. (I know that was the whole point of his character, but it bothered me still.) However, whenever I see the special anniversary copy of the book with the amazing art, I always wonder if I should buy it and give it another shot. (Talk about buying it for the cover!)<br /><br />There were also ones that just happened to catch my eye.<br /><br />As I was looking, it wasn’t long before Em announced that she was done. That she had found everything she wanted and she was ready to go. And I had nothing.<br /><br />She had picked out the book <i>Every Day</i> by David Levithan. The story is about teenager A, who wakes up every day in someone else’s body. Every morning, they figure out who they are and prepare to live a day in someone else’s life. They try to keep things normal for the person, acting how that person might act, even though they are still themself and might not like the person they’re stuck with. And then one day - day 5,994, in fact - they meet a girl. And they fall in love. Now, A has something to live for, but the problem is, are they allowed to love? Is it too dangerous to love for a person in their position?<br /><br />[Is that okay? I haven’t read the book and made it up as I went along.]<br /><br />She also decided to get two blinds boxes: One was a Kid Robot Barnes &amp; Noble Exclusive Labbit blind box, and one a Neko Atsume blind box that she got for me (aww).<br /><br />But, moving on: panic time. I had nothing. She had everything. I didn’t want to hold them up. Panic panic panic.<br /><br />Soon I was flying through the shelves. There had to be something I liked, right? But I’m so picky! Eventually, after running around the aisles a bit and a cute yet strange encounter with a toddler (kinda long story that I’ll save for later), I had picked up two books.<br /><br />The first book that I got was <i>In a Dark, Dark Wood</i> by Ruth Ware, a book I had actually stumbled upon earlier and started reading but had delayed confirming my purchase because it’s not the type of book I normally read. It’s a psychological thriller, something that someone like me, a person who typically reads historical fiction, coming of age, and introspective-type books, would normally stray away from. But this one not only has a thrill/horror feel to it, but also has to do with relationships and secrets, something I can find interesting. To add, the reviews, which claimed that it was the type of book that you stayed up all night reading (although reading a scary book at night probably isn’t the best idea), drew me in. I also must admit that I thought the cover would, at the least, look nice in bookstagram pictures. (And it's a good thing I bought it, because I did enjoy it and I do recommend it if you want an exciting and interesting book!)<br /><br />Still, I wasn’t done. I wanted more. (A bookworm’s problem, eh?) Once again I was in search of an amazing book when, thank goodness, I found the gem of a book that is <i>The Perks of Being a Wallflower</i> by Stephen Chbosky. Now, I don’t know what you’re doing if you haven’t heard of this book, because I know that I’ve heard great things about it. Chbosky’s book is more like what I read: a coming of age story about wallflower Charlie as he tries to navigate his life and growing up. It’s an award-winning book that can even be found on the “Best Books Ever” list on Goodreads.<br /><br />With that, we were done.<br /><br />Em ended up getting an adorable polka-dotted labbit from her blind box…<br /><br />...and I got Ms.Fortune in all her glory from mine!<br /><br />I loved <i>In a Dark, Dark Wood</i>, and, while I still haven’t read my <i>Perks</i>, I look forward to it. And, as for Ms.Fortune, she has a very special spot on my bookcase headboard*!<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Thank you to the glossary of terms used by Ashley HomeStore for this one, haha. </span><br /><br /><hr /><br />I never got to explain what happened about the blog post that never published two weeks ago. I got sick Sunday (which then continued on into the beginnings of the week), and, while I already had the post written, I had planned on scheduling and tweaking the post on Sunday. But, as you know, I was sick, so I didn't get to do that and ended up not posting. Sorry! Next week's post may or may not be the book review I was going to publish. Things are still undecided. Sorry for any trouble!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CpX8SUQl1lk/WOcfQL1uD0I/AAAAAAAABk8/Rz9y67gewbQ0MEBKvO72VRd9mgM1hZFHACPcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252817%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CpX8SUQl1lk/WOcfQL1uD0I/AAAAAAAABk8/Rz9y67gewbQ0MEBKvO72VRd9mgM1hZFHACPcB/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%252817%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-82336781966775166632017-05-15T03:00:00.000-04:002017-05-18T17:52:22.906-04:00Navigating Bookstagram - Stories & Tips From a Small(er?) Account - The Truth About BookstagramAs you, my fellow bookstagramers know, bookstagram can be a pretty tough place to gain attention. While we all love books a great deal (after all, we did dedicate a whole account just to the art of being a bookworm), in the end, popularity might boil down to what you've read or your picture quality. Tough stuff right there.<br /><br />I mean, we all love books, so why should it matter which ones we read? So what if we don't read the most popular books on bookstagram? Those dystopian YA books with futuristic societies or tons of action? Who ever said that classic books were bad? And, no, I'm not just talking about those Puffin classics with the beautiful covers - but the ones with less visually appealing covers, too.<br /><br />Who said that our pictures necessarily had to be good? I mean, sure - this is Instagram we're talking about, a social media network built upon pictures - but when did we let that get in the way of what we came here to do? When did we let a less popular style or "cluttered pictures" - pictures with tons and tons of books - make us hide away from those accounts? Doesn't that just mean that they have lots of books and a large love for them?<br /><br />Sadly, though, this is what it's come to. I don't blame bookstagrammers - once again, this is Instagram - but I do believe that this should be taken as a warning. Sure: you're going to find some amazing people who really love books just like you do. But, at the same time, don't expect great fame in the bookstagram community just because your love of books is so strong. That won't cut it.<br /><br />To be a bookstagrammer doesn't mean that you just love books. Just like how bookstagram isn't just books. There's two parts to it: The book-loving part, and the picture part. It's the art of taking beautiful pictures of books, sharing not only good books but also nice photography.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">It's the art of taking beautiful pictures of books, sharing not only good books but also nice photography.</blockquote><br />If you really want to make it somewhere, you're going to have to confine to whatever trends are popular at the moment and adjust your pictures to do so, or create a pictures style that's popular with others. If that's your style, go for it, but if you must, don't change yourself for others. You might be influenced by other bookstagrammers' pictures, and that's perfectly okay, but if what you're doing doesn't feel right, then it simply is not.<br /><br />I suppose what I'm trying to say is this: don't let the dream of fame crush you.<br /><br />Yes, being popular and getting thousands of likes might seem nice, and yes it probably does feel nice, but that's not going to happen to everyone. Like I always say with sports in gym class, someone has to lose. For bookstagram, there's going to be smaller accounts. And that's okay.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">For bookstagram, there's going to be smaller accounts. And that's okay.</blockquote><br />If you continue to worry about the number of likes you get, or the number of followers that you see on the top of your screen, you might not end up anywhere and will lose the reason why you came to bookstagram in the first place. Sure, I track our followers and likes, where we've been featured and whatnot. And, when we recently hit a new record of 390 likes on a picture, we celebrated. That's okay. That's good. Feel proud.<br /><br />In this case, it's about progress, wanting to do better for yourself. What you're trying to avoid is thinking of bookstagram as all work and no play. Sure, there's work to it, such as being a representative for companies, but bookstagram isn't for followers or likes or any of that stuff. Don't get swept away from such thoughts.<br /><br />Remember what is is that you're really here for: books. Books, books, books. Sharing your love of books with others and talking about books and showing your love of books and falling in love with them all over again. Why have thousands of followers when you could have a few who you know well, who comment on your stuff and actually like it and share an interest in the things you like? Why have tons of likes if you don't even like what you're posting yourself? In the end, it's the real connections to people, photography, and books that's going to keep you going. Not a number on a screen.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">In the end, it's the real connections to people, photography, and books that's going to keep you going. Not a number on your screen.</blockquote><br />So, please, if you can, don't worry about being bookstagram famous. Instead, work towards producing content you like and finding nice people. If you need someone, I'm here. Bookstagram is a community, not a competition.Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-16411741279406203322017-05-05T03:00:00.000-04:002017-05-19T16:51:34.586-04:00April 2017 Reflection<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UgksyakBFb8/WQv1p058wHI/AAAAAAAABtI/O7RmzXbdTG0c0BafClPiuaW_rlhPdH-cACLcB/s1600/Reading%2Bis%2BInevitable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UgksyakBFb8/WQv1p058wHI/AAAAAAAABtI/O7RmzXbdTG0c0BafClPiuaW_rlhPdH-cACLcB/s400/Reading%2Bis%2BInevitable.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I forgot to say this in my last post, but happy May everyone! Since it's the first Friday of the month, you know what that means: A monthly reflection! (Yayy.) Okay, so maybe that doesn't sound all that exciting. "It's just a way for them to look over their statistics for the month", you might say, and, yes, this is true, but this can also be helpful for you, too! You might be interested in this post because...<br /><ul><li>you want to compare to your own blog or bookstagram to ours</li><li>you'd like to see how we do it</li><li>you are honestly interested in how we're doing (thank you ♡)</li><li>you want to laugh at how much I probably failed my goals (it's okay: let it out)</li><li>you want to know what's coming up for the blog and bookstagram</li></ul><div>Whatever the reason may be, I hope you enjoy this post! For those of you who are very confused right now because you don't really know what this post <i>is</i>, allow me to explain. In these posts, I not only reflect on the past month for our blog and bookstagram, but I also tell you what is coming up in the future and whether or not I completed the month's goals.</div><div><br /></div><div>And with that, let's dive in!&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><h2>Looking Back Into April</h2><div><br /></div><b>The Blog</b><br /><div>I would say that the blog did better than last month! With a <b><span style="color: #38761d;">75% increase in the total number of pageviews</span></b> and a <b><span style="color: #38761d;">post on every day I was supposed to post</span></b>, I would say that I did a pretty good job, considering my performance in recent months. (Giving myself a sorta deserved pat on the back.) While I did change the schedule for posts a few times, pushing some back to post others, I still was prepared every time to actually have a post. (Even if I did last-minute tweak some.)</div><b>Bookstagram</b><br />Yes, yes: new heading! Might as well write "bookstagram" than "Instagram" because that is what we are, after all: bookstagrammers.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rvr9CkXCjaQ/WR9atebjQAI/AAAAAAAABuI/hQPlWtPjCT0SgtUt8E2Occjqw71pb7qogCLcB/s1600/Screenshot%2B2017-05-04%2Bat%2B11.27.46%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rvr9CkXCjaQ/WR9atebjQAI/AAAAAAAABuI/hQPlWtPjCT0SgtUt8E2Occjqw71pb7qogCLcB/s400/Screenshot%2B2017-05-04%2Bat%2B11.27.46%2BPM.png" width="303" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div><br /></div><div>Moving on, we did see an <b><span style="color: #38761d;">increase in followers</span></b>, ending at around 1,650 followers. Unfortunately, I can not give a percentage because I am not sure how many followers we ended March with. We also <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>changed up our theme a bit</b></span>, now having a more spring and yellow theme that I'm actually happy with! We've been trying to be more creative with our pictures. The other exciting news is that we landed our first job as a bookish shop rep for <a href="http://www.instagram.com/demureforestfae" target="_blank">@demureforestfae</a>'s <a href="https://www.etsy.com/de/shop/demurebookmarkShop?ref=hdr_shop_menu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">shop</a> that sells galaxy-themed bookmarks.</div><div><br /></div><b>Goals</b><br /><div>So, as usual, I made a total of three goals for myself to complete during the month of April. The thing is, I never really <i>check</i>&nbsp;what my goals are, rather just <i>think</i> of the whole mess of goals I want to try to work towards (if that makes any sense), so I guess I'll find out how well I did now!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PzWR9fmfc10/WObnFbWR45I/AAAAAAAABkE/tREq_MP2J-siKBjyYwxr7Q4EhdnT6P_JQCPcB/s1600/image2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PzWR9fmfc10/WObnFbWR45I/AAAAAAAABkE/tREq_MP2J-siKBjyYwxr7Q4EhdnT6P_JQCPcB/s400/image2.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And...it actually looks like I did well this month!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ol><li><b>As I mentioned a bit earlier, we did keep up a theme for our bookstagram.</b>&nbsp;We have especially done this ever since the start of what I like to call our "Yellow Sunshine" or "Spring Sunshine" pictures. Even before that, we had a theme of sorts that consisted of more wintery pictures.</li><li><b>Glad to report that I <i>did</i>&nbsp;keep up with the blog </b>(I probably wouldn't be writing this post if I had abandoned it!). Like I said earlier, I was able to get all my posts done.</li><li>While <b>I did get better at posting</b>, I didn't really do the things I said I would do. I didn't set reminders nor did I draft posts ahead of time, but hey: at least I posted!</li></ol><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><b>Comparison — April 2016 vs. April 2017</b><br /><div>Wow. There really are a lot of differences from this past April in comparison to Reading is Inevitable's first April, which was also our first full month. For one thing, Em still helped out on the blog and the blog consisted largely of book reviews. Not to mention the fact that we mostly used our bookstagram as a way to advertise for the blog. (Nowadays, we also post regular bookish pictures you see on all bookstagram accounts.)&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><h2>Coming Up in May</h2><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The Blog</b></div></div></div><div>So far, I have three out of four May posting days planned out, although it isn't impossible for them to change.</div><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-0ad30386-c61c-54e1-3138-764a107cbb26"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; text-align: center;"><colgroup><col width="458"></col><col width="166"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday, 5/8: </span><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Book Review on <i>The Glass Castle</i> or <i>Jackaby</i></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">☆</span><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday, 5/15: </span><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Truth About Bookstagram</span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday, 5/22:</span><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> &nbsp;Barnes &amp; Noble Haul - 02.04.17</span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">☆</span><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday, 5/29: </span><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">?? (note: will be an addition to the Navigating Bookstagram series)</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-0ad30386-c61c-54e1-3138-764a107cbb26"></span></div></div><br /><div><b>Bookstagram</b><br />From now on our pictures should have more of a spring vibe since it's spring up here in the Northern Hemisphere, but things might change a bit, as you'll soon find out below.<br /><br /><b>Goals</b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HCdpYIEzuxg/WQv7n0ZN4HI/AAAAAAAABto/Dzwf23WmeOISDvrvHj4R8UBke6JoTovQwCLcB/s1600/-weekly%2Bmenu-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HCdpYIEzuxg/WQv7n0ZN4HI/AAAAAAAABto/Dzwf23WmeOISDvrvHj4R8UBke6JoTovQwCLcB/s320/-weekly%2Bmenu-.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><b><br /></b><b><br /></b><br /><ol><li><b>Not only keep a bookstagram theme, but get a better one.</b>&nbsp;Okay, I know that I was just saying how I was happy with our new theme, but I don't know....It's a bit cluttered, don't you think? At the least, I would like to add a bit more order and thought to it.</li><li><b>Hit 1.7k followers on bookstagram.</b>&nbsp;I know, I know: we shouldn't care about the numbers and whatnot, blah blah blah. But we've been a bit stuck around 1,650-1,660 followers lately, and it has me thinking that maybe we're doing something wrong. And that's not a good feeling to have. (This goal is connected to the previous one.)</li><li><b>Have posts that people actually are interested in!</b>&nbsp;Sure, there's no precise method to find out if people are interested in the content that I post. However, April's first two posts, my March 2017 Reflection and first post on SFS's in the Navigating Bookstagram series, got a relatively higher amount of pageviews, which I like to think means that you were more interested in those posts.</li></ol><div><br /></div></div><hr /><br /><div>So that's all for this post! Onward to May! I guess I'll "see" you next time Monday with an actual book review! (Yay!) I haven't had one of those in a while. If I don't have much time over the weekend to last-minute write up the post, it'll be a book review on <i>The Glass Castle</i>&nbsp;(I already have a draft ready), but if I do have time, I'd like to share with you my thoughts on William Ritter's <i>Jackaby</i>. I guess you'll just have to wait and see! Bye!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CpX8SUQl1lk/WOcfQL1uD0I/AAAAAAAABk8/Rz9y67gewbQ0MEBKvO72VRd9mgM1hZFHACPcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252817%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CpX8SUQl1lk/WOcfQL1uD0I/AAAAAAAABk8/Rz9y67gewbQ0MEBKvO72VRd9mgM1hZFHACPcB/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%252817%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-47537956105524048522017-05-01T03:00:00.000-04:002017-05-01T03:00:01.021-04:00Navigating Bookstagram - Stories & Tips From a Small(er?) Account - Hosting a SFS<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s3zp221Ouog/WQaX_4X64MI/AAAAAAAABrg/MTtlCSjQeP4YoEg0vziPJ_65bnrUEi-RQCLcB/s1600/shoutout%2Bfor%2Bshoutouts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s3zp221Ouog/WQaX_4X64MI/AAAAAAAABrg/MTtlCSjQeP4YoEg0vziPJ_65bnrUEi-RQCLcB/s400/shoutout%2Bfor%2Bshoutouts.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br />All the way back in the beginning of April, I published a post on shoutout-for-shoutout sessions (SFS's) in the bookstagram community, specifically <i>entering</i>&nbsp;them. Now, I will - after promising to do so back in my first SFS post - finally discuss hosting your own SFS.<br /><br />Em and I have done two shoutout-for-shoutout sessions in the past: one on our own when we hit 1,000 followers, and one with a group of bookstagrammers in honor of the then-new year, 2017. Therefore, shoutout-for-shoutout sessions <b>can be hosted by one account or a group</b> of accounts. As mentioned in my previous post, besides single and group shoutout sessions, there are now two types of SFS's. These two types are <b>post SFS's and story SFS's</b>, the latter available due to the relatively recent addition of Instagram Stories.<br /><br /><h2>Basic Guidelines for All SFS's</h2><div>No matter the format of your SFS, there are some basic guidelines that most bookstagrammers follow when hosting a shoutout session. To start, some sort of <b>announcement is usually and arguably should be posted to your page</b>. This way, there is a concrete post where people can check in and view the rules.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yes, rules. <b>In order to keep things organized, you will want to construct a set of rules for participating in your SFS. </b>The set of rules should be specific, and cover the following topics:</div><div><ul><li>Who can participate. (This is rather limiting, I must admit, but usually only bookish or bookstagram accounts are allowed.)</li><li>What format participants should use (formats will be discussed later in the post)&nbsp;</li><li>Requirements expected of participants. Some common requirements include having participating accounts following the host(s) or (for post SFS's) leaving the shoutout up for a certain amount of time</li><li>When the session ends. This includes the day, time, and timezone.&nbsp;</li><li>How many people will be picked (all, a specific number, a percentage, etc.) and how. (Ex. Based on feed? Will follower number come to play?)</li><li>Optional but usually done: Requiring participants to comment that they've participated. This makes things easier to track.</li></ul><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t0CUom1xFfE/WQab0U2zLHI/AAAAAAAABsc/04gWLunorH0RxgMC1a1UTX2VBUbNt1tmACLcB/s1600/IMG_6239%2B-%2BEdited.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t0CUom1xFfE/WQab0U2zLHI/AAAAAAAABsc/04gWLunorH0RxgMC1a1UTX2VBUbNt1tmACLcB/s400/IMG_6239%2B-%2BEdited.png" width="303" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">The set of rules we used for our SFS.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div></div><div>Once this post is up, feel free to continue to share your SFS through additional (temporary) updates to your page and/or story. It is also recommended that, once the shoutout-for-shoutout has closed, you <b>make announcements on your story and/or page that it is over</b>. (You may edit your caption from the original announcement so that it now reads "CLOSED" or something similar at the top, letting everyone know that it is over. If you are requiring participants to comment when done on this post, <u>do not delete this post until you have completed the shoutouts.</u>)<br /><br /><h2>Group SFS's</h2><div>I think that what I've been referring to as "single SFS's" are, for the most part, simple. You can make the rules and set the times and such by yourself according to whatever best suits you. It's fairly easy and simple. But what about a group shoutout session? Now things can get tricky.<br /><br />Back in early 2017, we helped to hold a group SFS with seven other bookstagram accounts. This was our first and only group SFS so far, and we were happy to do it with Taylor (@bookishvibes_), Haya (@bookheroin), Savanna (@_thenightfaerie), Kayleigh (@justpagebypage), Chalene (@literaturarian), Matin (@fictional.fanboy), and Chari (@charli_the_book_princess).<br /><br />All together, we were a group of 8 bookstagrammers with, at the time, a total follower amount of over 14k. That's <b>an advantage </b>of group shoutout-for-shoutout sessions: <b>You can have a smaller amount of followers yourself</b>, but still advertise a large number to participants. In comparison to the individual SFS Em and I held, the group SFS was <b>largely successful</b>.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i8cWdy82z4M/WQaai5qDSWI/AAAAAAAABr8/03TjhzalUhkLe0X1rQ8hJg9NpMQuXJ8PwCLcB/s1600/image1%2B%252816%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i8cWdy82z4M/WQaai5qDSWI/AAAAAAAABr8/03TjhzalUhkLe0X1rQ8hJg9NpMQuXJ8PwCLcB/s400/image1%2B%252816%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">The picture used for the group SFS we helped to host. Agreeing on the picture was one of the many things we all had to discuss.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><b>Communication is an essential part</b> of a group shoutout-for-shoutout session. There are a lot that needs to be discussed and agreed upon, and can be difficult depending on how well you get along with your fellow hosts and how many similarities you share. You will need to decide on...<br /><br /><ul><li>a picture to use to share the SFS</li><li>a general list of rules to include on this post</li><li>times to post parts of the SFS (announcement posts, when to end the SFS, when to post the shoutouts)</li><li>(if you are only returning shoutouts for some) who will be receiving the shoutouts</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>Therefore, before diving into a group SFS, be sure that you know, trust, and like your fellow hosts! For us, since those we worked with were wonderful, things, for the most part, ran smoothly. Like always, things can be tricky at first, but with practice and time you might just be a pro.</div></div><h2>Post SFS's</h2></div><div>This was the original shoutout-for-shoutout session. On the post announcing the session, you would write in that participants must post a shoutout of your page to their page for a certain amount of hours. Methods include having them create a collage, screenshot your feed, or share just one of your posts. A lot of bookstagrammers give participants the freedom to choose the method that fits them.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Pros:&nbsp;</b></span>The good thing about this type of shoutout session is that more people might see the shoutouts others give you, as your shoutout could easily get lost in a cluttered Instagram story. Additionally, although I don't believe most bookstagrammers worry about this, with this type of shoutout session, the shoutouts you give to participants might be seen more, motivating them to participate.</div><div><b style="color: #990000;">Cons:</b>&nbsp;While the above is true, people might be less likely to participate because posting would disturb their feed. The shoutouts you give others would also temporarily break your feed. And feed is very important to some.</div><div><br /><h2>Story SFS's</h2></div><div>This type of shoutout rolled around with the introduction of Instagram stories. As with post shoutout-for-shoutout sessions, a post to your page is usually added to announce the session and to lay out the rules. Most hosts ask participants to screenshot their feed or showcase a few of their pictures, tagging them in this picture using Instagram stories.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Pros:</span></b>&nbsp;A lot of people might prefer to participate this way because they don't have to mess up their feed to give you a shoutout, meaning that you will get more shoutouts. To add, more people might participate because, for most story SFS's, <i>all</i>&nbsp;shoutouts are returned.</div><div><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Cons:</b>&nbsp;</span>Most likely, the shoutouts you receive from others won't get as much attention or views. Your story will also be quite cluttered for a bit, and you will either have to separate the shoutouts or settle for an extremely long story.</div><br /><hr /><br />That's all for today's post. If you have any more questions or would like any clarifications, let me know! Be sure to check in two weeks from now on May 15th to read the next installment of Navigating Bookstagram: The Truth About Bookstagram.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CpX8SUQl1lk/WOcfQL1uD0I/AAAAAAAABk8/Rz9y67gewbQ0MEBKvO72VRd9mgM1hZFHACPcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252817%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CpX8SUQl1lk/WOcfQL1uD0I/AAAAAAAABk8/Rz9y67gewbQ0MEBKvO72VRd9mgM1hZFHACPcB/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%252817%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div></div>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-15569221097480602372017-04-24T03:00:00.000-04:002017-04-24T03:00:11.569-04:00Series Review: The Wake Trilogy<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CMHL8mPCYbM/WP0-Q74EauI/AAAAAAAABqw/EngMZLXON7AKp1XGyGSkIBFR8z1EfMW2QCLcB/s320/Series%2BReview-The%2BWake%2BTrilogy.jpg" width="213" /></div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Series:</b> Wake Trilogy&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Author:</b> Lisa McMann&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Genre:</b> YA fiction, romance, crime, mystery, suspense</span></span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rating:</b> 4 out of 5 stars</span></span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reviewer:</b> Em</span></span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wake.</span></span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Fade.</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Gone.</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I. Don’t. Know. What. To. Say.</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">This trilogy was somehow amazing and disappointing all in one? I have very mixed feelings about this trilogy. First off, I finished it in two days over my spring break, and it was a great read. Took me about 4-5 hours to finish each book, which is not too bad. It kept me interested and made me go into a rut of reading after not reading for the longest time!</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">First, I will share my individual feelings on each the book and then my evaluation on the whole series, in which I have huge opinions and conflicting thoughts. ,0[This is going to be long, so stay with me. There’s going to be quite a rant at the end.</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>NO MAJOR SPOILERS</u> (only what it says in the book description)</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><br /><h2><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Wake</span></h2><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Wake was a great book! I thought it introduced the topic very well. It started off my explaining the background of Janie’s ability(?) to go into other people’s dreams. She has no choice in the matter, and is flung into dreams even when she is wide awake. It explains in the book that she is unable to stop from seeing the dreams of others, and cannot alter them either. However her life changes when she meets Cable.</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">They strike up a relationship, even after Janie has seen Cable’s troublesome dreams, but it starts to fall apart because of his growing reputation as a drug dealer at their school. In this book, Janie struggles with her odd and bumpy relationship with Cable, and growing a stronger understanding and acceptance of her ability. The author showcases the effects of their pasts on the present beautifully and displays the flaws in their character that make them human. With romance, mystery, and a hint of a crime sub-plot, the book is interesting from start to finish. I completely devoured it.</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><br /><h2>Fade</h2><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">By far my favorite book in the trilogy! This book was so excellent, I don’t even have words to discribe it. It made my emotions swing back and forth, it was crazy. The plot in this book is extremely compelling in all the right ways, and it will make you squirm. Instead of a crime sub-plot, the whole book is centered around it. Janie is very independent in this novel, however I do feel it makes Cable a less important character. Still, this book was amazing. Janie deals with having to solve this mystery despite the danger it puts her in, and no matter what those close to her think. She also learn more of the long term affects her ability will have on her.</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Her raw emotions and fears stand proud in this novel, and it’s probably why I enjoyed it so much. Although Janie is going through a lot alone, she remains strong and keeps her promises. My fingers itched for the next page. Even with dealing with her own troubles, Janie still wants to help other people, which makes her character have so much depth. If you don’t absolutely adore Janie by the end of this book, I will be quite surprised.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><br /><h2><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Gone</span></h2><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">What I want to start out with is this; I liked this book more than some people did, but didn’t love it. Probably my least favorite of the trilogy, and although good on it’s own, it didn’t have the right amount of action to be the perfect conclusion of the story. But more on that later.</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In this book, Janie must come to face with where she’s from and what her future holds. I did find it to be a good conclusion on the last two novels so that you knew where the characters were going, but it felt unnecessary. Although it was intriguing to figure out more on Janie’s ability and her past, I felt that the end of Fade would be a great conclusion. Although there would be some unanswered questions, I do not think it would be crucial to answer them, because they were played off as not that important in the first two novels.</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I also found myself not loving Janie as I said I did after book two, which was disappointing. At the end of Fade she seemed to have accepted herself and what she must go through in the years to come, while in this novel she shows great fear and pity towards her future, downplaying how brave she acted in the second novel. I do understand that not everyone can be brave all the time, but with Janie being very troubled and conflicted throughout the novel, it was drastically different from the enthusiastic and brave approach she had to a serious problem in Fade.</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The realism in her character however shown through, making her the most realistic and vulnerable she has been in the trilogy. It is also great to see her strength and forgiveness toward her father. She also overcomes many feats, and even as she struggles with them in the end, she stays true to her character and tries to solve her problems herself, which is neither good nor bad.</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">It may seem that I completely don’t like this book after my mini rant, but it still is quite splendid, just not the ending I expected or wanted, although I don’t know what I would change.</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><br /><h2><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Trilogy Rant</span></h2><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>I WANT MORE CABE.</b> Although I thought he was going to be just as important as Janie, he really isn’t. Yes, it is from Janie’s perspective, but I feel he was hardly a part of the second and especially the third book. In Fade, it’s mostly about her crime mystery, and in Gone, it’s mostly about her past. He seems like a total side character to her life in general, because she is so engulfed in her own problems. While being one of the two most important people in her life, I feel he’s hardly in the trilogy, and Carrie, her best friend, is also barely in the story. Yes, they are there. Yes, they have depth. However, I just wish they and their own personal troubles were displayed more.</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The main topic of Gone is poorly introduced. </b>The mystery of Janie’s past took most of the action in the story, which was fine, but as mentioned earlier, her past was not mentioned in detail in the last two books, nor did she seem to care about it too much, making the reader feel that learning more about her past is not very striking. Although her past shows in her independence, she does not seem deeply bothered in Wake and Fade that she does too much about her father, which still bugs me because most of Gone was about her father. Overall, the topic felt dull and unneeded to the reader.</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>I don’t agree with Janie’s decision at all.</b> In Gone, Janie comes to a crossroads where she must make a decision that will alter her future. And the choice she makes at first (she may or may not stick with decision) is HORRIBLE. In my honest opinion, I have no idea why anyone would ever choose her decision over the other. Someone may agree with her, but I 100% didn’t, which frustrated me because my love for her after Fade was turning to annoyance, which was quite upsetting.</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway,</span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite those points, I COMPLETELY recommend this series. It was great, and even if I have some issues with it, it was mostly about how the book ended, and the end is never at good as the climax. Please read it, it so interesting and Fade is so gripping and amazing. The characters have depth and Cable and Janie’s relationship is not perfect, just as it should be. Definitely a must read!</span><br /><div><br /></div></div>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-23875109957132987872017-04-17T03:00:00.000-04:002017-04-17T03:00:22.512-04:00Navigating Bookstagram - Stories & Tips From a Small(er?) Account - #booksNOTbullies Anti-Bullying Campaign<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lNL_oaY3EnE/WPRa7mSfpXI/AAAAAAAABpQ/Gyxk9-uM22INuoV6a05m3K97W79a8XAgACLcB/s1600/Beauty%2521.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lNL_oaY3EnE/WPRa7mSfpXI/AAAAAAAABpQ/Gyxk9-uM22INuoV6a05m3K97W79a8XAgACLcB/s400/Beauty%2521.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />I know that I promised a different addition to the Navigating Bookstagram series, but there’s something important that happened last Wednesday that I feel like I should share with you, my fellow bookstagrammers.<br /><br />If you haven’t noticed, there has been some bullying (or at least some unkind words) in the bookstagram community lately. For instance, I have seen issues over rep searches, where people argue over not getting picked and create issues for everyone involved. I’ve heard of a shop that had to not have reps and might have even closed, and have also heard of people who have been directly hurt through direct messages. I think most bookstagrammers can agree that the bookstagram community is a safe one where we’re all united by our love for books. I know that when Em and I joined bookstagram, I was shocked at how wonderfully nice everyone was.<br /><br />But sadly that hasn’t been the case lately. That’s why five bookstagrammers who recognized this organized the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/booksnotbullies/" target="_blank">#booksNOTbullies</a> anti-bullying campaign. These five bookstagrammers are Abi (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/thesqueakycupboard/" target="_blank">@thesqueakycupboard</a>), Georgia (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/the.bibliofiles/">@the.bibliofiles</a>), Kat (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/notthepathtonarnia/">@notthepathtonarnia</a>), Katie (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/katielmae/">@katielmae</a>), and Katy (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/katyslibrary/">@katyslibrary</a>). The purpose of the campaign was to stand against the bullying and to once again create a safe community by posting blue last Wednesday, the 12th of April under the hashtag #booksNOTbullies.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">We would like to invite everyone to post BLUE on Wednesday April 12 as we stand in solidarity with our fellow bookstagrammers who were bullied and bring awareness to this issue.</blockquote><div style="text-align: right;">-- Abi, @thesqueakycupboard</div><br />Em and I at Reading is Inevitable even took part in the campaign. The result was the picture you see below, the blue being my blue sweater and the blue cover of The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah. I decided to share a quote on love from Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, because love is important to keep in mind and to hold close during times of bullying. I also managed to like over 300 pictures under the tag to spread love in and good feelings in the bookstagram community, and was glad to participate in the event.<br /><br /><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 33.24074074074074% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div></div><div style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSyxvmblRe1/" style="color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">[04.12.17] - 『Whatever teaches us to talk to ourselves is important: whatever teaches us to sing ourselves out of despair....And I feel I have something very serious and urgent to say to you....That life—whatever else it is—is short....That Nature (meaning Death) always wins but that doesn't mean we have to bow and grovel to it....And in the midst of our dying, as we rise from the organic, it is a glory and a privilege to love what Death doesn't touch....I add my own love to the history of people who loved things, and looked out for them, and pulled them from the fire, and sought them when they were lost, and tried to preserve them and save them while passing them along literally from hand to hand, singing out brilliantly from the wreck of time to the next generation of lovers, and the next.』 — The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - - A little quote on love for #booksNOTbullies. ♥︎☆</a></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by Julia&amp;Em (@readingisinevitable) on <time datetime="2017-04-12T17:18:02+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Apr 12, 2017 at 10:18am PDT</time></div></div></blockquote><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script> <br />The campaign was, for the most part, a success, with a total of 1,266 posts on the hashtag as of yesterday evening. It should be noted that claims of misuse of the hashtag have been made by some bookstagrammers. (This includes promoting negative or harmful books or even actual bullying under the anti-bullying tag!)<br /><br />Still, it was a lovely idea to hold the event, and hopefully it has raised awareness about the bullying going around in the community. Like I said earlier, usually, the bookstagram community is a beautifully kind one where we can all unite over our love of books. Why should we let different opinions or other stupid little things separate us? Bookworms should stick together, right?<br /><br />Below you’ll find a list of some of my favorite posts due to the captions written for them, as well as a post from each of the hosts of the campaign. Be sure to check it out! (And the next installment of the Navigating Bookstagram series will be an extension to the SFS post, as I realized I did promise one in that post, and then one on "moving away from the idea of fame", as promised in my March Reflection. Once again, my apologies!)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CpX8SUQl1lk/WOcfQL1uD0I/AAAAAAAABk8/Rz9y67gewbQ0MEBKvO72VRd9mgM1hZFHACPcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252817%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CpX8SUQl1lk/WOcfQL1uD0I/AAAAAAAABk8/Rz9y67gewbQ0MEBKvO72VRd9mgM1hZFHACPcB/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%252817%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><hr /><div><br /><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSyc7idDck5/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Abi's cupboard (@thesqueakycupboard)</a> on <time datetime="2017-04-12T14:16:10+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Apr 12, 2017 at 7:16am PDT</time></div></div></blockquote><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script></div><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 52.43243243243243% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSzQgcVjmqQ/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Georgia🌲📖✨🇳🇿 (@the.bibliofiles)</a> on <time datetime="2017-04-12T21:46:51+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Apr 12, 2017 at 2:46pm PDT</time></div></div></blockquote><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script> <blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSzaXQDh9ue/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Kat of Not The Path To Narnia (@notthepathtonarnia)</a> on <time datetime="2017-04-12T23:12:58+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Apr 12, 2017 at 4:12pm PDT</time></div></div></blockquote><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script> <blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSyiGjuBeit/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Katie (@katielmae)</a> on <time datetime="2017-04-12T15:01:21+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Apr 12, 2017 at 8:01am PDT</time></div></div></blockquote><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script> <blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 33.33333333333333% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSya768j8AV/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Katy📚 (@katyslibrary)</a> on <time datetime="2017-04-12T13:58:44+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Apr 12, 2017 at 6:58am PDT</time></div></div></blockquote><br />Amazing Captions You Should Check Out...<br /><br /><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSzKb6yFK0A/?taken-by=pages_of_my_heart">@pages_of_my_heart</a><br /><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSzK7LQBdRV/?taken-by=estherhaelanra" target="_blank">@estherhaelanra</a><br /><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSzK-OYlv4d/?taken-by=jennifer_f_santucci" target="_blank">@jennifer_f_santucci</a><br /><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSzOg4TlVKc/?taken-by=pagingserenity" target="_blank">@pagingserenity</a><br /><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSzbKgPg-fh/?taken-by=lindabookmania" target="_blank">@lindabookmania</a><br /><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSzbtZQhkct/?taken-by=books_and_abe" target="_blank">@books_and_abe</a><br /><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSzbutBh0Ul/?taken-by=bookwnoname" target="_blank">@bookwnoname</a><br /><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSzhyKChJfW/?taken-by=jillreadsit" target="_blank">@jillreadsit</a><br /><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSzjDN9jicn/?taken-by=amillionbookswithyou" target="_blank">@amillionbookswithyou</a><br /><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSzlfN2jqnP/?taken-by=readbyashleyd" target="_blank">@readbyashleyd</a><br /><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSzq6HSBBv6/?taken-by=staybookish" target="_blank">@staybookish</a><br /><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-50185345626553307242017-04-10T03:00:00.000-04:002017-04-10T03:00:01.803-04:00Denik's New Layflat Softcover Notebooks - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WZvij3ESDBc/WOsTBiw7YaI/AAAAAAAABoA/eI5rGE7phvkQum8aEiLYNmU2XgNQq2_FACLcB/s1600/IMG_7645.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WZvij3ESDBc/WOsTBiw7YaI/AAAAAAAABoA/eI5rGE7phvkQum8aEiLYNmU2XgNQq2_FACLcB/s640/IMG_7645.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Hey there everyone! If you've seen our <a href="https://www.instagram.com/readingisinevitable/" target="_blank">bookstagram</a> recently, you would know that we got some amazing new Denik notebooks! Now if you've never heard the name "Denik" before then I think it's time that you know, and after you read this post go check out their <a href="http://denik.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>, okay? (They actually came out with a new website design, too. It's amazing.)<br /><br />Denik is so much more than just a notebook/sketchbook-selling company. The word Denik describes the whole community and cause that surrounds the company, a "grassroots, artsy-eclectic bunch", as it is so beautifully described on their website. The designs displayed on the covers of their products are made by artists around the world, no matter who they are or where they come from. With the income from the notebooks and sketchbooks they sell, Denik gives some to support these artists and to build schools for children around the world. The whole idea that Denik is built upon is that, together, art and people can change the world.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The whole idea that Denik is built upon is that, together, art and people can change the world.</blockquote><br />On March 31st, Denik continued their mission towards this cause by releasing a new line of notebooks. These would be their <b>new layflat softcover notebooks</b>. The new notebooks, which come in 18 amazing designs, feature a special soft cover that are designed so that, <b>even after use, the covers will still lay flat</b>.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_053Psj1CUk/WOsTWP-Y7BI/AAAAAAAABoI/L8e61kXdoYU22f9BRmCzSSOvH2Lmbh8nACLcB/s1600/IMG_7625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_053Psj1CUk/WOsTWP-Y7BI/AAAAAAAABoI/L8e61kXdoYU22f9BRmCzSSOvH2Lmbh8nACLcB/s640/IMG_7625.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />In this review, I will be covering the following topics:<br /><br /><ul><li>the cover and overall structure</li><li>cover designs/artwork</li><li>possible uses</li></ul><div><br /></div><div><i>Note: We were given Denik's Layflat Softcover Notebooks in exchange for advertisement.&nbsp;</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><h3>Cover and Overall Structure</h3></div><div>First up is the cover and overall structure of the notebook, although I'm putting an extra emphasis on the cover structure because, after all, that's what makes these notebooks special and different from other Denik notebooks. I actually have two other notebooks myself and Em and I have another one that the lovely people at Denik gave us, so I can make a pretty good comparison. Let's start with the cover, shall we?<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rb8kDSd4-sw/WOsTo8FxP_I/AAAAAAAABoM/RVZMcSyjWjQG-30iTMIEmnl9jozSamHjgCLcB/s1600/IMG_7644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rb8kDSd4-sw/WOsTo8FxP_I/AAAAAAAABoM/RVZMcSyjWjQG-30iTMIEmnl9jozSamHjgCLcB/s640/IMG_7644.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Just by opening the notebooks I can tell that there definitely is a difference in the binding, and it's amazing that, even though you might expect the new layflat binding to be more stiff so that it can keep the notebooks closed, it actually feels smoother to me. And to answer your question: Yes, the notebook does lie flat even after opening it, which is pretty cool if I do say so myself. And these softcover notebooks (which I'm almost positive includes most if not all of Denik's 5.25 x 8.25 inch notebooks) really are <i>soft</i>. I honestly can't stop feeling it.<br /><br />Maybe I'm just some oddball who pays way too much attention to detail, but I also really appreciate the structure of the whole notebook. The covers and pages of the notebooks are curved at the edges, which I find to be an amazing detail that makes them feel so much better (the curves are also really smooth and clean-cut). The notebooks come in <b>ruled or blank format</b>, and the paper doesn't feel cheap either, if you know what I mean. I actually did a little exploring on the Denik website and found out that <b>they use acid-free 75% recycled paper</b>, which is amazing.<br /><br />Overall, the structure of the notebooks is great.<br /><br /><h3>Cover Designs</h3></div><div>The design that we received is only one of eighteen wonderful designs. The artwork varies from simplistic designs to graphic art to text-filled art. <b>All designs are honestly beautiful</b>, and be sure to see them for yourself <a href="http://denik.com/shop/?category=Layflat+Softcovers" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> so you know what I'm talking about.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tg5PoylYxJM/WOsT9G68XmI/AAAAAAAABoQ/oN2V_fjfbvIkQzzwDRuw8hFoQot86qOuQCLcB/s1600/IMG_7642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tg5PoylYxJM/WOsT9G68XmI/AAAAAAAABoQ/oN2V_fjfbvIkQzzwDRuw8hFoQot86qOuQCLcB/s640/IMG_7642.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h3>Possible Uses</h3><div>Okay, so this is where the more formal, definite review ends. Now it's time for me to discuss some possible ways that you can use a Denik Layflat Softcover notebook. Personally, I'm still trying to decide what exactly to do with mine, because the possibilities really are endless. That's the amazing thing about Denik notebooks. They're just the right size and the choice of lined or blank paper really gives you the opportunity to use their notebooks in any way that suits you.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4rgYeRQVbAw/WOsUPruQ4KI/AAAAAAAABoU/g0SZ4rI1UH4X479pm2ovbSqBIN5c9giQgCLcB/s1600/IMG_7643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4rgYeRQVbAw/WOsUPruQ4KI/AAAAAAAABoU/g0SZ4rI1UH4X479pm2ovbSqBIN5c9giQgCLcB/s640/IMG_7643.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">They're just the right size and the choice of lined or blank paper really gives you the opportunity to use their notebooks in any way that suits you.</blockquote><br />Some ideas that I had that I think you bookworms and/or bookstgrammers might like include...<br /><br /><ul><li>DIY planner</li><li>journal&nbsp;</li><li>book to write your favorite book quotes</li><li>bookstagram planner/idea book</li><li>mini sketchbook</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><hr /><br />That's all for this post! In the end, it turns out I actually really like Denik notebooks. They're beautiful, and now with the new layflat cover technology, they're even better! They also have a great cause, so please head over to their website and get some for you and your friends! Until next time,<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CpX8SUQl1lk/WOcfQL1uD0I/AAAAAAAABk8/Rz9y67gewbQ0MEBKvO72VRd9mgM1hZFHACPcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252817%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CpX8SUQl1lk/WOcfQL1uD0I/AAAAAAAABk8/Rz9y67gewbQ0MEBKvO72VRd9mgM1hZFHACPcB/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%252817%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-71019262635192426152017-04-07T03:00:00.000-04:002017-04-08T10:36:46.831-04:00March 2017 Reflection<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-89TNqJ4jQPk/WObm_6nVc9I/AAAAAAAABj0/_zvX9xAl_0UIG-ziqvEXAnbIYuXW74-wgCLcB/s1600/image1%2B%25283%2529.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-89TNqJ4jQPk/WObm_6nVc9I/AAAAAAAABj0/_zvX9xAl_0UIG-ziqvEXAnbIYuXW74-wgCLcB/s400/image1%2B%25283%2529.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Hello everyone! Since March has been over for a bit now, it's time for a monthly reflection! A good amount has happened over the course of one month, and I must say that this March reflection is much different from last year's! (This is the first time I can also compare months, which is exciting.)<br /><br />So, here's the layout for this post:<br /><br /><b><u><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4524143220979873150#March">Looking Back Into March</a></u></b><br /><ul><li><a href="#Mblog"><u>The Blog</u></a></li><li><a href="#Minstagram"><u>Instagram</u></a></li><li><a href="#Mgoals"><u>Goals</u></a></li><li><a href="#Mcomparison"><u>Comparison - March 2016 vs March 2017</u></a></li></ul><u><br /></u><b><u><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4524143220979873150#April">Coming Up in April</a></u></b><br /><ul><li><a href="#Ablog"><u>The Blog</u></a></li><li><a href="#Ainstagram"><u>Instagram</u></a></li><li><a href="#Agoals"><u>Goals</u></a></li></ul><div><br /></div><h2 id="March">Looking Back Into March</h2><b><id="Mblog">The Blog</id></b><br /><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Pageviews increased by about 26%</span></b>! Personally, I am glad with that number, as I know that after my period of absence here on the blog, pageviews dropped drastically. While they still haven't reached the numbers they did before, I am still glad to see progress. :) Additionally, I started <b><span style="color: #38761d;">posting regularly again</span></b>, which is easier thanks to the <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>new posting schedule</b></span>. The <b><span style="color: #38761d;">blog</span></b> also got a fancy <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>new design</b></span>! Overall, it was a good month for the blog.<br /><br /><b><id="Minstagram>Instagram</id></b><br />Unfortunately, I never wrote down the follower count so I can't track how many followers we have on Instagram for the month. However, we did officially make our account an <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Instagram business account</span></b> by hooking it up to our Facebook page (which, FYI, doesn't have a username because apparently we need a certain amount of likes before we're able to do that). Now we can get cool insights on our posts, and even figure out what are the best times to post so that you can see our posts more!<br /><br /><b><id="Mgoals">Goals</id></b><br />Back in late December/early January, I made some goals for 2017. One of them was to work on the blog more, because "I really don't want this blog to be dead." <b><span style="color: #38761d;">I think that was the whole theme for this month: keeping the blog alive.</span></b> I made steps towards doing so, even changing the posting schedule to something that was easier and less stressful for myself and creating a new way of planning my posts. Along with these changes and the new blog design, it all felt new and clean and exciting, which I think largely helped me in wanting to work on the blog more. I'm happy to be back. :)<br /><br /><b><id="Mcomparison">Comparison - March 2016 vs. March 2017</id></b><br />Wow. A lot has changed since then. After all, March was our first month with the blog and bookstagram, meaning that we were still learning and experimenting. Not only is the look of the blog different, but the content is as well! Back then, we post<span style="font-family: inherit;">ed a lot more book reviews...and <span style="color: #990000;"><b>Em</b></span> was involved in the blog. While most days I don't think anything about it, I do sometimes get sad that she <b><span style="color: #990000;">doesn't help out with the blog anymore</span></b>. As I wrote in the March 2016 Reflection, "...we have grown closer. I can recall some weekend nights just sitting with her, both of us on our computers, blogging....</span>While I hope that this blog grows, I am fine with it staying small if it means that I get to spend more time with Em."<br /><br />Still, I get to work with her on the bookstagram, which made me more invested in it. Our feed has certainly changed - thank goodness, for our first handful of pictures weren't the best! - although it still needs improvement. In the end, though, <b><span style="color: #38761d;">we've both learned so much </span></b>about blogging and bookstagram and books and photography, and I'd say I've learned how to be what one calls "relatable" through the bookstagram, so thank you all for that! None of this would have ever happened without an audience!<br /><h2 id="April">Coming Up In April&nbsp;</h2><div><b><id="Ablog">The Blog</id></b></div><div>So! What's coming up in April?</div><br /><ul><li><b>April 10th</b>: Denik Flatlay Softcover Notebooks (excited for this one!)</li><li><b>April 17th</b> - Navigating Bookstagram - Stories &amp; Tips From a Small(er?) Account - Moving Away From the Idea of Fame (excited for this one too, whoops)</li><li><b>April 24th</b>: Book Review: The Glass Castle (maybe - not set in stone!)</li></ul><div><br /></div><b><id="Ainstagram">Instagram</id></b><br />Look out for more posts! I'll try to post at least once every other day, preferably once <i>every</i>&nbsp;day if we have the pictures! (I'm also going to try to stick to a theme.) <br /><br /><b><id="Agoals">Goals</id></b><br />Like usual, I'm going to make three goals for the month (while keeping in mind my three goals for the year of 2017 as discussed in "2016 Yearly Reflection - The Words").<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PzWR9fmfc10/WObnFbWR45I/AAAAAAAABj8/0ukInepYx5k1FdL2YzzxO5mrbVRlVTcIwCLcB/s1600/image2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PzWR9fmfc10/WObnFbWR45I/AAAAAAAABj8/0ukInepYx5k1FdL2YzzxO5mrbVRlVTcIwCLcB/s400/image2.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><ol><li><b>Keep up a theme for our bookstagram!</b>&nbsp;If you haven't noticed, we're not exactly the best at bookstagramming when it comes to themes/feeds. But we're trying to fix that, having decided on a "theme" that we'll try to keep and myself figuring out an editing style that'll work with this theme.</li><li>&nbsp;<b>Continue to keep up with the blog. </b>I found that I'm starting to slip a bit when considering planning and being prepared with blog posts. I'm starting to have last-minute blog posts again (cough cough: this post), which is a sign of abandoning the blog again! I can't have that after how far I've come in this past month.</li><li><b>Get better at posting on the bookstagram.</b>&nbsp;I really haven't been the best about posting, either because I'm too lazy to get photos off of the camera or too lazy to edit them, or I don't think about it until it's a bad posting time. Will try reminders for myself and drafting posts ahead of time. We'll see how it goes!</li></ol><div><br /></div><hr /><br /><div>And that's it for this monthly reflection! Even though April has already begun, let's hope the rest of it runs on smoothly for Reading is Inevitable! New post Monday, but until then, bye!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CpX8SUQl1lk/WOcfQL1uD0I/AAAAAAAABk0/VPVjxgUUlCk4BiiL-L_57wVn97VF-dl_wCLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252817%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CpX8SUQl1lk/WOcfQL1uD0I/AAAAAAAABk0/VPVjxgUUlCk4BiiL-L_57wVn97VF-dl_wCLcB/s400/FullSizeRender%2B%252817%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-16936507078849688412017-04-03T03:00:00.000-04:002017-04-03T03:02:28.470-04:00Navigating Bookstagram - Stories & Tips From a Small(er?) Account - SFS<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3OVv8SEBTjs/WOHvXOiCmRI/AAAAAAAABjc/BxAdNKiEHi4rJ0eQAKSZ8pGeG08SCtJSACLcB/s1600/image1%2B%25282%2529.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3OVv8SEBTjs/WOHvXOiCmRI/AAAAAAAABjc/BxAdNKiEHi4rJ0eQAKSZ8pGeG08SCtJSACLcB/s400/image1%2B%25282%2529.PNG" width="265" /></a></div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hey everyone! Stressful weekend, but I still managed to get this blog post together for you. Hopefully a March 2017 Reflection will be coming up soon on Friday, one of the new changes to the posting schedule, but I have a somewhat busy week ahead of me, so we'll have to see what happens. (If you missed the details back in mid-March, then be sure to either check out the post <a href="http://readingisinevitable.blogspot.com/2017/03/blog-update-031717.html" target="_blank">here</a> or visit the posting schedule page by clicking the tab above.) For now, though, it’s time to do another installment in the Navigating Bookstagram series, also know as the NBSTFSA series (I’m just kidding; no one says that). Today I will be covering shoutout-for-shoutouts. Ah: sfs’s, as they’re sometimes called. What are they? They’re exactly what they sound like: When one account shouts out another account in exchange for a shoutout from them. But what I specifically want to talk about today is entering shoutout-for-shoutout </span><span style="color: black; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">contests</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline;">. </span></span><br /><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First of all, what is a shoutout-for-shoutout contest? (Warning: This is arguably biased and unfair.) A shoutout-for-shoutout contest is when an account (usually a larger one with several thousand followers) or accounts (whose total number of followers adds up to a few thousand) offers to give a shoutout to several accounts in return for a shoutout from everyone who enters. </span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Therefore, entering these contests is risky. You may get a shoutout, or you may not. While it would probably be more fair to pick the lucky few randomly, the hosts select the accounts by feed. (All the more reason to make sure you have better pictures, as discussed in the last two parts of Navigating Bookstagram.) The idea is that, by giving them a shoutout, you </span><span style="color: black; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">may</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> be rewarded by getting a shoutout from them.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What’s the point, then? Why should you even try? Well, you have to assess the situation. How many followers does the account have? How confident are you of your current feed? (And are you willing to ruin it to post the shoutout-for-shoutout picture?) If the account has a good amount of followers (set your own limits!), you’re happy with your feed, and you think the person/people holding the sfs will like it too, then go ahead! </span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A little thing that I personally like to do is saying something sweet about the account in the caption. Even if flattery doesn’t woo the person over, it’s still a nice thing to do that’ll brighten someone’s day! (Including yours, for being kind is rewarding.)</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Additionally, the traditional sfs, where one posts the shoutout to their feed, is growing more and more uncommon. Ever since the release of Instagram stories, there have been a lot of sfs’s where the shoutouts are done on the story instead, so be sure to look out for these too! (I've also noticed that more accounts are selected during these.)</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And still, there are shoutout-for-shoutouts where </span><span style="color: black; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">everyone</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> gets a shoutout in return. While these may seem like the perfect win-win situation, as you know that you’ll definitely get a shoutout back, they have their faults as well. If enough people enter, it means that your shoutout will just be one of many in a whole sea full of them. In other words, it’s easy to be missed in such a large bunch. Part of the benefit of being hand-picked by the host of the sfs is that viewers will </span><span style="color: black; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">know</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that your account must be good in some way to be selected.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still, I wish you the best of luck in entering sfs’s. At first, you might find that you won’t get as much attention, but with time things will hopefully even out! If you’re looking to host your own sfs, I’ll be discussing that in the next edition of Navigating Bookstagram. Until then!</span></span></div>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-290358180258993502017-03-27T03:00:00.000-04:002017-03-27T03:00:09.633-04:00Two-Day Barnes & Noble Haul <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DXKVlofTFqk/WNfGdSKy-cI/AAAAAAAABh8/P7NIcGMToVIF8RUS8C7wfMMOESytHMJMQCLcB/s1600/image1%2B%252814%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DXKVlofTFqk/WNfGdSKy-cI/AAAAAAAABh8/P7NIcGMToVIF8RUS8C7wfMMOESytHMJMQCLcB/s640/image1%2B%252814%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Hello everyone! So a long long time ago on the 26th and 27th of December, Em and I went to Barnes &amp; Noble and got some goodies. Since we got a good amount of stuff, I figured I might as well share what we got because who doesn't like that? (Especially all of you bookworms out there, the majority of my readers if not all of them, haha.) Between the two of us, we got a total of eight things, four each.<br /><br /><h2>Day 1 - December 26th</h2><div>It was a good day, and a fun car ride for Em, as she was playing with her peach-colored slime. Downside of that is sticky fingers and needing a certain someone (me) to help her clean up, but it was alright for the most part.</div><div><br /></div><div>After poking around a bit, looking at various things and going to the knickknacks and such first on Em's request, we both had two things we wanted to purchase. I had decided on two books; for Em it was a book and a little collectable.&nbsp;</div><div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ9Aj6egERJ/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w5MPWy9SEEs/WNfGeBZQy8I/AAAAAAAABiM/WtqtTzlOWMwrL_ZCOD2C2cPyBz9qi-llwCEw/s640/image4.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div>The first book that I got was <i>I Wrote This For You </i>by Iain S. Thomas. In the Barnes &amp; Noble we happened to be at, there was a little poetry display on the end on one of the bookcases (fun fact: it's actually been there for a few weeks at the least), and this little book just happened to be there. I was drawn to it because of the photography inside, and a now ex-friend had showed me this, so I thought, <i>why not? </i>Plus I thought it would look nice in pictures, haha.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was originally going to get <i>Salt to the Sea </i>on this first trip, but then realized that the copy was a bit beaten up. There was only one copy, and since I already read this beautiful book, I decided to wait until I saw one in a better condition. Still, I did not want to leave with only one book, so I quickly grabbed a hardcover copy of Ransom Riggs's <i>Library of Souls. </i>It's actually pretty nice without the dust jacket, because it has the signatures of the main characters on it. A sort of farewell, I suppose.<br /><br /></div><div>Em got herself <i>Thirteen Reasons Why</i>, a book she recently read and enjoyed on the recommendation of a friend. I'm glad to say that I pointed it out to her, although I'm sure she would have noticed it even if I had not done so. (Of course a special anniversary edition came out soon after, but that's besides the point.)</div><div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wLg77k_PmWI/WNfGd1710aI/AAAAAAAABio/rxCcnZw-47wawILWNsLC440JLLLp0LqdwCEw/s1600/image1%2B%252810%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wLg77k_PmWI/WNfGd1710aI/AAAAAAAABio/rxCcnZw-47wawILWNsLC440JLLLp0LqdwCEw/s640/image1%2B%252810%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div>The little collectable she got was a Yummy World keychain through a blind box. In other words, she didn't know what she was getting! She was very excited to find out that she got a little pink cotton candy keychain named Connie. According to the little box that Connie came in, the possibility of Em getting her was 2/24.<br /><br /></div><h2>Day 2 - December 27th</h2><div>What's this? Did we go to Barnes &amp; Noble again? You bet we did! And yes, Em brought her slime and made a bit of a mess. She also brought her new little cotton candy key chain, Connie.</div><div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQWm6Wlj__U/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z6Yjnmb2cyA/WNfGeeMdiTI/AAAAAAAABis/ixNYNkFPRvIFndMQHj__3UBXPIMQSbEIgCEw/s640/image6.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div>We went to a different Barnes &amp; Noble this time, which means different stuff! And do you know what I found? I was lucky enough to find a signed copy of <i>Salt to the Sea</i>, with a much prettier front cover, too, I must admit. I loved this book so much and am thrilled to have a signed copy now. I always thinks it nice when authors add "something extra" to their signature, and Ruta Sepetys wrote in "Freedom!"</div><div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQBxPPcjiKL/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hrDuiu9YXyA/WNfGeeHWwzI/AAAAAAAABic/blvGIkKxAHwCwmRR5Z7XVIlwoeH5TlJEACEw/s640/image5%2B%25281%2529.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /></div><div>The other book I got was one that I couldn't find the previous day. I was looking for it, but couldn't find it. I was sad when I thought I couldn't find it on the 27th too, until I stumbled across it in a special display of top reads of 2016! The book I speak of is Kristin Hannah's <i>The Nightingale</i>. It has such a beautiful dust jacket, and the front cover itself might be considered "plain" by some, but I love the colors and you might see it in some pictures soon, haha. (I think I'm just partial to blue books.)</div><div><br /></div><div>This time Em didn't get any books! Imagine that! No, she doesn't want to spend too much money (especially since she's been saving up for a special lense), so she just got herself some more cute collectables. Since she liked the idea of a blind box, she got two more of them.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TE_Eso-xn9w/WNfGeIcvHCI/AAAAAAAABic/NsZGfsjUiGwpHjoBDx7nWtFzUc7FscS8ACEw/s1600/image3%2B%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TE_Eso-xn9w/WNfGeIcvHCI/AAAAAAAABic/NsZGfsjUiGwpHjoBDx7nWtFzUc7FscS8ACEw/s640/image3%2B%25284%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />One was a Labbit Classics blind box and the other a series 1 Num Noms Blind Bag. She got a little magician labbit in a hat. The possibility of her getting this specific labbit was 3/50, and, even though it's not a rare one, I find it to be adorable!<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c0814p8Wot4/WNfGdojn_yI/AAAAAAAABic/hijfbKbrB5oiNfD0wijULSt1zwTG0iqxACEw/s1600/image2%2B%25286%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c0814p8Wot4/WNfGdojn_yI/AAAAAAAABic/hijfbKbrB5oiNfD0wijULSt1zwTG0iqxACEw/s640/image2%2B%25286%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />The other item she got was a little container of lip gloss with a cute cover to go over it.<br /><br />And...that's our little Barnes &amp; Noble haul! Out of the stuff I got, I might like my copy of <i>Salt to the Sea </i>the most just because it's signed, and Em loves her li'l labbit the most!</div><br />Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-26053469399945857502017-03-20T03:00:00.000-04:002017-03-20T03:00:00.164-04:00Navigating Bookstagram - Stories & Tips From a Small(er?) Account - Pictures (Part 2)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jgPdbrh5ZJw/WMgyOJMznLI/AAAAAAAABd4/DQiCZJbL2rMBR--r4d3V_od57NJKdhIiwCLcB/s1600/IMG_7219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jgPdbrh5ZJw/WMgyOJMznLI/AAAAAAAABd4/DQiCZJbL2rMBR--r4d3V_od57NJKdhIiwCLcB/s320/IMG_7219.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Hi everyone! Sorry about the lack of posts. I'm trying to get back on top of our bookstagram and our blog, so just hang tight!<br /><br />Speaking of our bookstagram (and also our blog, actually), what seems like forever ago back in December I had promised to make a part 2 for "Navigating Bookstagram - Stories &amp; Tips From a Small(er?) Account - Pictures (Part 1)", since I had too much to say for just one post. Unfortunately, that never happened. But, don't fret, because here it is, only a few months late! (Heh heh...)<br /><br />So, what do I plan to cover in this post? Well, I plan on talking about the following subjects (click the links to jump to that section):<br /><br /><ul><li><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4524143220979873150#P"><b>Props</b>&nbsp;- What to use, and when and how to use them</a></li></ul><br /><ul><li><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4524143220979873150#E"><b>Editing </b>- Do's and Don'ts, explanation of tools</a><a name='more'></a></li></ul><br /><h2 id="P">Props</h2><div>First up is props! Props are helpful, especially with indoor pictures or maybe winter ones as they make everything a bit more exciting. Props are used for the more extravagant styles. In other words, if you're going for a more simple theme, props might not be the thing for you. Sure, they can be used, but there's usually a more specific type of prop that's used in this case. (I briefly talked about styles in part 1.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Props in pictures can pretty much be anything, from food to book merch to jewelry, as long as you know how to use it correctly. Here's some more info on some types of props:</div><div><ul><li><b>Book Merch</b>&nbsp;- One of the most common props seen on bookstagram. Includes anything from candles to bookmarks, clothing and jewelry, mugs and buttons. More information on some below.</li><li><b>Candles</b>&nbsp;- For some reason, bookstagrammers <i>love </i>candles. (I'm sorry if this offends you.) While we've never used candles in any of our pictures, I have seen them used quite a bit.</li><ul><li><u>Outdoor</u>: Can be stacked on top of books or placed besides them.</li><li><u>Indoor:</u>&nbsp;Same thing as outdoor pictures, but if you're doing flatlays, sometimes colorful or lit candles are used or they are placed on their sides so that the candle front can be viewed.</li></ul><li><b>Bookmarks - </b>Wow. Bookmarks in...book pictures. Surprise. (Excuse my sarcasm.) So these guys can pretty much be used anywhere, heck, pictures of just bookmarks are popular on bookstagram. They fit nicely into flatlays, look fine <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMFHI3ADNQC/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">in open books</a>, or even in your hand. If you use several in one shot, it always looks nice to fan them out.</li><li><b>Jewelry - </b>While this can be something bookish, it doesn't have to be! I most often see necklaces on bookstagram, but bracelets and pendants or whatever other jewelry exists (not exactly my area of expertise) works, too. They might be dangling from a branch in front of a book, if you're an outdoor bookstagrammer, or maybe spread out across a page if you're an indoor one.</li><li><b>Mugs </b>- Mugs are usually filled with tea or coffee, sometimes hot chocolate, but they don't have to be. They can be <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLPZhJlDiQ2/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">on top of stacks of books</a>, placed gently in the background, or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BNBWk7DjMQ9/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">in your hand</a>. They work well for indoor and outdoor pictures, although incorporating them into flatlays is a bit more difficult.</li><li><b>Food</b>&nbsp;- Hey, us bookstagrammer get hungry too! (Sorry, that was kind of...cheesy, sort of. Yeah, I know. Oh, wait - cheese is a food, and....This isn't going anywhere good.) When picking food to put in pictures, make sure the food looks good, okay? Not that murky green pea soup is necessarily bad-looking, I just wouldn't recommend using it in pictures. Some ideas are <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BKmgDjbDxMU/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">fruit</a>, nuts, pastries and other sweets.&nbsp;</li><li><b>Notebooks</b>&nbsp;- There are a lot of beautiful notebooks out there - inside and out - that look lovely in pictures. What I most often see is pictures with notebooks with nice covers or ones that have writing in them, sometimes book related, such as a book review or some quotes.</li><ul><li><u>Outdoor:</u>&nbsp;Next to books, fanned out; spines of notebooks; open with a book in it, or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLwqkFaDGi3/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">reversed</a> (an open book with the notebook in it)</li><li><u>Indoor:</u>&nbsp;Pretty much the same as outdoor pictures, but if you're doing <u>flatlay pictures</u>, they are also helpful as filler space.</li></ul><li><b>Fairy Lights</b>&nbsp;- Fairy lights are very common among bookstagrammers, whether they're soft or bright or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BP3SHIUjHLL/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">multicolored</a>, bookstagrammer absolutely love them. They can be used as <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMCeKsxDLz4/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">background</a> for pictures, or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQb7vqejZXy/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">wrapped around the book(s)</a> or even your hand!</li><li><b>Leaves &amp; Flowers</b>&nbsp;- We have used <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMefgx-Df53/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">leaves</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLRw-Xcjzww/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">flowers</a> in a lot of our pictures. They're great for outdoor pictures, but I have seen them used in indoor ones too.</li><li><b>Random Odds &amp; Ends</b>&nbsp;- Practically anything can make a good picture, and a lot of everyday objects are used in flatlays. Here are some examples below:</li><ul><li><u>Pens, pencils, and other writing utensils:</u>&nbsp;These look nice in flatlay pictures, or sometimes lying across an open page.</li><li><u>Decorative Tape:</u>&nbsp;Sometimes used in flatlays.</li></ul></ul><div><br /></div></div><div>I apologize if all of this wasn't too helpful, but a lot of this is found out through trial and error. Even some props that works for some don't work for others, and it's all a matter of your own personal preference and skill.</div><div><br /></div><h2 id="E">Editing</h2><div>Editing! I know that some people don't believe in editing pictures, but it's just a part of photography and something that you have to do if you want to get big on bookstagram. First, let's start off with some do's and don'ts, okay?</div><div><br /><b>Do:</b><br /><br /><ul><li><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Play around with filters!</b> </span>The more you explore, the more you'll know! Mix and match them to create the blend that's right for you.</li><li><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Try different styles.</span></b> (I'll get into that in a bit.)</li><li><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Play with shadows and highlights.</span></b></li></ul><div><b>Don't:</b></div><div><ul><li><b><span style="color: #990000;">Overedit pictures.</span></b> Going overboard with saturation or filters can make a picture look unnatural and over edited. While it is usually noticeable if pictures are edited, there's a certain limit to how far you can go and still have the picture look good.</li><li><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Shy away from the tools.</b></span> Don't let my advice from above prevent you from doing everything you want to do.</li><li>Get into the mindset that you need fancy editing software to make your pictures look wonderful. <b><span style="color: #990000;">You do not need expensive editing software. </span></b>Similar to what they always say with photographers and cameras, it's the editor, not the app.</li></ul><div>Now let's explain some basic tools that will come in handy on your editing adventures:</div></div></div><div><ul><li><b>Brightness:</b>&nbsp;This tool will help you to achieve that brighter look that seems to be more popular these days. Unless, of course, you go in the other sorta popular direction, which is a darker more mysterious theme.</li><li><b>Exposure:</b>&nbsp;Exposure and brightness are very similar, and are often confused with one another. However, are they different? Yes, they are! Take a look at the pictures below. What do you notice? The one in which the brightness was changed, the whole photo appeared to become more (I guess) bright and full of light, while the other had a sort of faded look to it. (The latter is more "exposed".)</li></ul><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iAfNk_pmPLc/WM84tak1xHI/AAAAAAAABfY/cbJZLBzlecwe8a80VE_pSra2l6tENr9IQCEw/s1600/IMG_7292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iAfNk_pmPLc/WM84tak1xHI/AAAAAAAABfY/cbJZLBzlecwe8a80VE_pSra2l6tENr9IQCEw/s320/IMG_7292.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><ul><li><b>Saturation:</b>&nbsp;By turning up the saturation, you can make your photo very vibrant and colorful, and by turning it down, you can make colors more dull.</li></ul><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wCpeIQEECQ0/WM85F0ZvkJI/AAAAAAAABfc/b5yToSJFYx8nqaaIx6wcMQMhIgV7QgrfQCLcB/s1600/IMG_7293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wCpeIQEECQ0/WM85F0ZvkJI/AAAAAAAABfc/b5yToSJFYx8nqaaIx6wcMQMhIgV7QgrfQCLcB/s320/IMG_7293.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><ul><li><b>Shadows &amp; Highlights:</b>&nbsp;Shadows and highlights can be helpful in creating a sort of feeling to your picture. Adding more shadows helps with a darker, more mysterious look, and adding more highlights can make it nice and cheerful without making the whole picture too bright (possibilities from adjusting brightness). I would be careful if you tried to take away shadows and/or highlights, however. At times, this can create a sort of faded look that doesn't look natural. (Unless, of course, you are going for a faded theme. I see this a lot with indoor pictures; for outdoor pictures, faded isn't always the best.)</li></ul><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T3ywK0H5IoY/WM85GCbt-GI/AAAAAAAABfk/6NutnjE-nZoBa32wG_mFKdiHMrRjJfdxwCEw/s1600/IMG_7294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T3ywK0H5IoY/WM85GCbt-GI/AAAAAAAABfk/6NutnjE-nZoBa32wG_mFKdiHMrRjJfdxwCEw/s320/IMG_7294.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><ul><li><b>Fade:</b>&nbsp;Ah, the fade that I was talking about earlier! Increasing the fade effect on a picture will make it look less clear, almost as if you're looking at it through a gray-ish window. Be careful in how much you use this, as too much of anything is never good.</li></ul><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pws-9XzNNjU/WM85GLb_MOI/AAAAAAAABfg/I8x00RR32lMcr15N_1B9STx_hmrj9hoOQCEw/s1600/IMG_7295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pws-9XzNNjU/WM85GLb_MOI/AAAAAAAABfg/I8x00RR32lMcr15N_1B9STx_hmrj9hoOQCEw/s320/IMG_7295.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><ul><li><b>Temperature:</b>&nbsp;When you select the temperature option on editing apps, you can usually slide left and right to make it warmer or cooler. Some might even have it labeled to help you out. If it's not, here you go: To the left (usually the negative numbers in other editing applications) is where you can make it cooler, and sliding it to the right will make it warmer. These might be wanted to create certain feelings towards your pictures, or maybe for seasonal themes as well.</li><li><b>Sharpen:</b>&nbsp;Using this tool will allow you to make your pictures look sharper, which is wonderful if it gets a bit blurry. (Still be careful with this tool! This is an easy one to mess up.) However, if it's not that bad, I would suggest that you use more of the <b>clarify</b><i style="font-weight: bold;">&nbsp;</i>option offered by some editing programs.&nbsp;</li></ul><div><br /><hr /><br />I'm not sure how helpful this was for you, as I am still exploring many editing techniques myself, but as I have repeated multiple times, it is all about trial and error, experimenting with a variety of styles until you find one that fits you.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Best of luck, J.</div></div>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-55553694520421726762017-03-17T03:00:00.000-04:002017-03-17T03:00:07.938-04:00Blog Update - 03.17.17<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kjcGVkT92IM/WMgxxRIJXfI/AAAAAAAABd0/6-zsDmOyT4gmgLwdmgkOWY4q6CTJOExHgCLcB/s1600/IMG_7218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kjcGVkT92IM/WMgxxRIJXfI/AAAAAAAABd0/6-zsDmOyT4gmgLwdmgkOWY4q6CTJOExHgCLcB/s320/IMG_7218.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As some of your probably know already, it was our one year anniversary for our bookstagram and blog this past Sunday! It’s amazing to think that in one year we were able to literally start from nothing to where we are now: 1,500+ followers on Instagram and more than 3,000 pageviews to the blog. We seriously can’t thank you all enough.</span></div><b id="docs-internal-guid-7ef2113d-ce01-8cbc-346a-560155cbb404" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While our bookstagram certainly has done well, I think I owe an apology to you, our blog readers. I really haven’t kept up with the blog. Heck, my last blog post was back in January. That really isn’t good or fair for your guys. I think I want to change that.</span><br /><a name='more'></a></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Normally, I would write two blog posts a week. But trying to get two full blog posts of good quality with pictures is tiring and even difficult for me during the summer, when I don’t have school to worry about. Trying to do that during school too was an unrealistic expectation for myself. I”m going to finally put that to an end. </span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Starting next week, I will try to always have a post up every week, but I’ll keep it at that: just a single post. Since I planned for the Navigating Bookstagram series to post every other Monday, I will stick to Monday as my posting day. After all, back in the very beginnings of our blog when Em still wrote posts, Monday was my day. For monthly reflections, I'll post on the first Friday of the month, so that you still get all of your regular posts on Mondays.</span></div><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eventually, I’ll switch over to two posts a week once summer rolls around, as I’ll have more time then. And when fall comes along with school, I’ll switch back to one post a month. I think that’s about fair, eh?</span>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-4908386899401925232017-01-13T03:00:00.000-05:002017-03-14T23:58:53.377-04:002017 Reading GoalsSo, since 2017 is officially here (and has been for about two weeks), I figured I might as well post about our reading goals for the year! I'll also attempt figuring out all of the books I read in 2016, but I know it'll be far from accurate as I did not write it down and I know I won't remember everything!<br /><br />For 2016, I actually didn't make any reading goals. I just wanted to finish one book a month, I guess! I can happily say that I did complete this very small goal of mine. (Some people aim for 100 books a year!)<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><h2>Books Read in 2016</h2><div>In 2016, I finished...<br /><br /><ul><li><i>In The Shadow of Man </i>by Jane Goodall</li><li><i>The Light Between Oceans </i>by M. L. Steadman</li><li><i>Audacity </i><span style="font-style: italic;">by Melanie Crowder</span></li><li><i>Wink Poppy Midnight </i>by April Genevieve Tucholke</li><li><i>Symptoms of Being Human </i>by Jeff Garvin</li><li><i>Beautiful Creatures </i>by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl</li><li><i>Rumble </i>by Ellen Hopkins (or at least I <i>think </i>I read this in 2016, haha)</li><li><i>The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes </i>by Anna McPartlin (gosh, is this right? I didn't think I read <i>that </i>many books in 2016!)</li><li><i>Being Jazz: My Life as A (Transgender) Teen </i>by Jazz Jennings</li><li><i>Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts </i>by Susan Cain along with Gregory Mone and Erica Moroz ★★★☆☆</li><li><i>How Many Letters Are in Goodbye? </i>by Yvonne Cassidy</li><li><i>Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children </i>by Ransom Riggs</li><li><i>The Goldfinch </i>by Donna Tartt</li><li><i>The Whispering Statue </i>by Carolyn Keene</li><li><i>Salt to the Sea </i>by Ruta Sepetys</li><li><i>The Handmaid's Tale </i>by Margaret Atwood</li><li><i>When Marnie Was There </i>by Joan G. Robinson ★★★☆☆</li><li><i>This One Summer </i>by Mariko Tamaki</li><li><i>On Writing </i>by Stephen King</li><li><i>Hollow City </i>by Ransom Riggs</li><li><i>A Separate Peace </i>by John Knowles</li></ul><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Note: These books aren't in a particular order, although they are, for the most part, organized in the order that I finished them.)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div>I'm actually pretty proud of myself. I had no idea that I read at least 20 books this year! (I know I'm missing some. The only ones I have are the ones I could figure out through bookstagram, in all honesty.) My favorite would have to be <i>The Goldfinch</i>, and some other favorites were <i>Salt to the Sea</i>, <i>The Light Between Oceans</i>, <i>Symptoms</i>, <i>The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes</i>, <i>How Many Letters Are in Goodbye?</i>, <i>Hollow City</i>, <i>A Separate Peace</i>....You know what? Let's just say I read a lot of good books this year.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Knowing an estimate of how many books I read in 2016 definitely helps me in figuring out a good goal for 2017. Speaking of which, let's move on to that!</div><div><br /></div><h2>Julia and Em's Reading Goals for 2017</h2><div>It's a popular thing in the bookstagram and book blogging communities to make reading goals for the year, basically saying how many books you want to read in the year! I'm also going to include some books that I want to get to reading in 2017.</div><br />In 2017, Em wants to read...(drumroll, please)...<b>50 books! </b>Wow! That's quite a lot, isn't it? She says that she should probably aim for 30 or something lower, but she still wants to go for it. Just to let you know, that's almost a book a week! (I told her it was fine, for some of you bookworms attempt and achieve 100!)<br /><br />In 2017, I want to read...(a second drumroll, please)...<b>36 books! </b>Heh, not as much, but that's still three books a month (if I'm consistent, which I know won't happen). I know I don't read three books every month right now, so I guess I'll have to do some adjusting....I just hope I don't try reading another colossal book like <i>The Goldfinch</i>! (Although I won't mind if it's very good.)<br /><br /><h2>A Li'l List of Books I Want to Read</h2><div>Since I'm making a goal for this year, I have to know some books that I want to read! Otherwise, where would I start? Below is a li'l list of books I want to read in 2017 as a sort of a reminder to myself and help to any of you trying to reach your own goals. :)</div><div><ul><li><i>The Nightingale </i>by Kristin Hannah</li><li><i>Milk and Honey </i>by Rupi Kaur</li><li><i>I Wrote This For You </i>by Iain S. Thomas</li><li><i>Wired Man And Other Freaks of Nature </i>by Sashi Kaufman</li><li><i>Library of Souls </i>by Ransom Riggs</li><li><i>The Borrowers&nbsp;</i></li><li><i>The Secret Life of Bees </i>by Sue Monk Kidd</li></ul></div><br /><hr /><br />That's it for today's blog post! Good luck with your own reading goals for 2017, and if you feel like sharing yours or maybe some tips, I would love to hear about it below in the comment section or on our Instagram!<br /><br />Our next blog post will be publishing this following Monday, and it's a two-day Barnes &amp; Noble haul! (Yes: <i>two </i>days of Barnes &amp; Noble!) Be sure to come back Monday to read about the books we got, along with some other things too.</div>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-1542763113761195512017-01-09T03:00:00.000-05:002017-01-09T03:00:03.943-05:002016 Yearly Reflection - In Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CuYcphIugH0/WHMkAgiyR0I/AAAAAAAABcs/ZqZJ6a-nYnISs6vtb9n0fHyhJKL9Ve_AQCLcB/s1600/image2%2B%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CuYcphIugH0/WHMkAgiyR0I/AAAAAAAABcs/ZqZJ6a-nYnISs6vtb9n0fHyhJKL9Ve_AQCLcB/s320/image2%2B%25284%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Hello, everyone! So, my last post was a 2016 reflection, right? Well, if you didn't notice, it was my reflection, but specifically "the words". Today I have a visual 2016 reflection planned! Basically, I'm going to look back at the year in pictures, rather than mostly statistics and whatever notes I had jotted down over time. These pictures include bookstagram pictures and our collection of blog designs!<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><h2>Blog Designs</h2><div>So, over these 9 1/2 months that we've had this blog, we've had a few different designs for our blog. I will be sharing with you two blog designs that we had for longer periods of time. (I believe we have had other designs over time, but we didn't have those for that long.)</div><div><br /></div><div>We started out with a flower-purply-pink theme, which I was hoping would make Em more happy with the blog. (She wasn't that interested in it from the beginning, haha.) To keep this theme up, I had flowers everywhere. When we needed a background for a picture with text, we used flowers, and even the headings in posts were a pink-purple or green to match the theme. (If you look at some old posts you can still see it.)</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wyKgXmI8FEk/V0EYmXFXg2I/AAAAAAAAAPM/2nX2h_fg9Hg323jCZyjLU1a1Pq88jU0VQCPcB/s1600/Screenshot%2B2016-05-01%2Bat%2B2.51.36%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wyKgXmI8FEk/V0EYmXFXg2I/AAAAAAAAAPM/2nX2h_fg9Hg323jCZyjLU1a1Pq88jU0VQCPcB/s400/Screenshot%2B2016-05-01%2Bat%2B2.51.36%2BPM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We kept this theme for a while, but eventually I wanted something more modern and fresh. The flowers were nice, sure, but the design we picked had it so that the background was still, with the section with the posts rolling on it. I didn't like the look of that so much, and it just looked a bit old to me. So, after playing around with different designs and colors, I suggested changing it to Em. Together, we made the following design:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N_ygKrd3d-A/WGl-CH4GhvI/AAAAAAAABaw/lYmS3SvfI7IoA84gkHGjHfZlzL3beOvpQCLcB/s1600/Screenshot%2B2016-09-24%2Bat%2B10.26.20%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N_ygKrd3d-A/WGl-CH4GhvI/AAAAAAAABaw/lYmS3SvfI7IoA84gkHGjHfZlzL3beOvpQCLcB/s400/Screenshot%2B2016-09-24%2Bat%2B10.26.20%2BPM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I always thought of this as a "glacier" sort of theme, kind of cold and sleek. We had made it gray and white to make it more modern-looking. I had wanted to go with a very light gray, but Em hated all of the white, and said that she instead wanted this darker gray. As you can see in the picture above, I had added a new tab and made our bio shorter so the month's popular posts could be seen once you visited our page, rather than having to scroll down.<br /><br />Eventually, we switched to the theme that you see now. Em got sick of the gray glacier theme, saying it was too cold and colorless, so we went all the way to the other end with this. Originally, it was a bolder shade of yellow, but I've always hated it so I secretly changed it to a lighter one....I don't think she'll notice.<br /><br /><h2>Bookstagram - Pictures &amp; Feed</h2><div>Our bookstagram has also changed over time! Not only have we gained followers and changed our bio a handful of times and added more and more hashtags to our ever-growing list, but we have also changed visually!<br /><br />Below is an evolution of our feed:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nivkJTOUr0U/WGmFzfi34OI/AAAAAAAABbE/SkvFPppUIxkcCMBQ2-E54bLvNWV-qd8kQCEw/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252811%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nivkJTOUr0U/WGmFzfi34OI/AAAAAAAABbE/SkvFPppUIxkcCMBQ2-E54bLvNWV-qd8kQCEw/s400/FullSizeRender%2B%252811%2529.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was our feed in the beginning...as you can<br />see, it wasn't very organized.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hDEtGYZWdAs/WGmGEiDooJI/AAAAAAAABbY/U54wiTEE0UUQWBZlffQroH9U5xvOIWXNACEw/s400/FullSizeRender%2B%252816%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="285" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here we made a white divider to separate the older,<br />worse pictures and the supposedly better ones.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hDEtGYZWdAs/WGmGEiDooJI/AAAAAAAABbY/U54wiTEE0UUQWBZlffQroH9U5xvOIWXNACEw/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252816%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hDEtGYZWdAs/WGmGEiDooJI/AAAAAAAABbY/U54wiTEE0UUQWBZlffQroH9U5xvOIWXNACEw/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252816%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MgCxeSuzPGU/WGmGSDkuxNI/AAAAAAAABb0/Z0JrywaLmgc5WUGge6iwu7TYqlulGIufwCEw/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%25287%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MgCxeSuzPGU/WGmGSDkuxNI/AAAAAAAABb0/Z0JrywaLmgc5WUGge6iwu7TYqlulGIufwCEw/s400/FullSizeRender%2B%25287%2529.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was when I took pictures on my own, and they<br />didn't exactly go together as I didn't have a theme.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-10CVCEkiDpw/WGmGPJg5AMI/AAAAAAAABb0/CIW91L3hm6oGeJ9EyGk07As_nMUbzVHVgCEw/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%25286%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-10CVCEkiDpw/WGmGPJg5AMI/AAAAAAAABb0/CIW91L3hm6oGeJ9EyGk07As_nMUbzVHVgCEw/s400/FullSizeRender%2B%25286%2529.jpg" width="287" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is another feed with pictures that I took! It...it<br />actually doesn't look <i>too </i>bad, eh?</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0xePp3vio28/WGmGMwAzRbI/AAAAAAAABb0/kcZX_P-e02cONG0tpFMWuu8dOZLFY5RrACEw/s400/FullSizeRender%2B%252812%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="283" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aha! Pictures with a theme <i>and </i>good quality! I had<br />also started to watch more carefully what worked on<br />bookstagram. (Before I just did whatever I wanted,<br />which wasn't exactly a good thing.) I also had<br />help from the amazing Em.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0xePp3vio28/WGmGMwAzRbI/AAAAAAAABb0/kcZX_P-e02cONG0tpFMWuu8dOZLFY5RrACEw/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252812%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0xePp3vio28/WGmGMwAzRbI/AAAAAAAABb0/kcZX_P-e02cONG0tpFMWuu8dOZLFY5RrACEw/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252812%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZmtoUyqiT5Y/WGmF2u2kDtI/AAAAAAAABb0/JbcZjI4_r6wK66Nsv0RFRC5NzZBf3Q8GwCEw/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252813%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZmtoUyqiT5Y/WGmF2u2kDtI/AAAAAAAABb0/JbcZjI4_r6wK66Nsv0RFRC5NzZBf3Q8GwCEw/s400/FullSizeRender%2B%252813%2529.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proof that a good camera doesn't equal amazing<br />pictures. The pictures certainly were good, but<br />they didn't fit and I was playing around way<br />too much with the editing.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MaxzXhTct4g/WGmF8oEqC2I/AAAAAAAABb0/QUbjv_vSVagUKXfdz40sDhFhLvFX9FAoACEw/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%25289%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MaxzXhTct4g/WGmF8oEqC2I/AAAAAAAABb0/QUbjv_vSVagUKXfdz40sDhFhLvFX9FAoACEw/s400/FullSizeRender%2B%25289%2529.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, look! I remember actually planning open books<br />and stacks and such, so that it would be pretty<br />evenly split. I also edited it so that they would<br />look similar, but Em said (and I agreed) that<br />it was too plain and dark.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s_IRrLVzeJY/WGmF_27aMVI/AAAAAAAABb0/B8RUlifhZ7UXSN0XRvsaLzQ66wnguZ4IgCEw/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252814%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s_IRrLVzeJY/WGmF_27aMVI/AAAAAAAABb0/B8RUlifhZ7UXSN0XRvsaLzQ66wnguZ4IgCEw/s400/FullSizeRender%2B%252814%2529.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was us getting better. Em got some nice fairy<br />lights, and I starting editing in a more "fallish"<br />way...which, to me, is kind of rustic, which<br />people actually really like!</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7vgZ_awp1n0/WGmGU5baDsI/AAAAAAAABb0/VRl7OHxzbLQ8f7s044PEei0PKfOSoXT3gCEw/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252810%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7vgZ_awp1n0/WGmGU5baDsI/AAAAAAAABb0/VRl7OHxzbLQ8f7s044PEei0PKfOSoXT3gCEw/s400/FullSizeRender%2B%252810%2529.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THIS is my favorite. I like all of the colors, and we<br />started using a different lense...</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8tVQ-VuvNFA/WGmF6OlozNI/AAAAAAAABb0/a89-ob4SyAEzs1PHCztJprHlE1mZtA9wACEw/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%25288%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8tVQ-VuvNFA/WGmF6OlozNI/AAAAAAAABb0/a89-ob4SyAEzs1PHCztJprHlE1mZtA9wACEw/s400/FullSizeRender%2B%25288%2529.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is alright. It's still good, with some beauties.</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div>There's an easier way to look at the evolution of our pictures. I looked through our bookstagram and created a collage of the most-liked pictures from each month. (Note: In my opinion, not all of the pictures included are the best from the month.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9os6djILki4/WGmGbhMNaSI/AAAAAAAABb0/Urv8oo5nacwMC27qRs2BiUKkkM46zX-DwCEw/s1600/IMG_6599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9os6djILki4/WGmGbhMNaSI/AAAAAAAABb0/Urv8oo5nacwMC27qRs2BiUKkkM46zX-DwCEw/s320/IMG_6599.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />As you can see through these pictures (sorry - there's a lot!), we have improved over time. There are a few things that happened over time that I believe helped us to come to where we are right now:<br /><br /><ul><li>using a better camera&nbsp;</li><li>editing pictures (if you don't have a nice camera, this will <u>definitely</u>&nbsp;help; editing does wonders!)</li><li>deciding on a theme and editing according to a theme</li><li>posting more regularly (although I failed at this towards the end)</li><li>making pictures "different" while still sticking to theme</li><li>more interesting pictures (angles, props, etc.)</li></ul></div><br /><hr /><br />In the end, Reading is Inevitable has changed a lot. Heck, you can even see it just by looking at these pictures, which I think says a lot. But in the end, like I said in my last post, 2016 was the year we literally built up from nothing. From nothing to...this. And I couldn't be more grateful. Bookstagram and book blogging has done a lot for me, so I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you to all of those who have read this blog or followed us on bookstagram, and to those who have gone beyond that and have actually spoken to me directly. I also thank all of those with their own bookstagrams and book blogs. I love this community. Let's hope for another great year.<br /><br />Your fellow bookworm,<br />JuliaJulia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-39278536858168354262017-01-06T03:00:00.000-05:002017-01-09T00:47:20.568-05:002016 Yearly Reflection - The Words<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lj5usxgleJE/WHMjxlzIvnI/AAAAAAAABco/O0eS8Lv9fcAMIN3O_OuyCbgLV0YZ822ZgCLcB/s1600/image1%2B%25289%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lj5usxgleJE/WHMjxlzIvnI/AAAAAAAABco/O0eS8Lv9fcAMIN3O_OuyCbgLV0YZ822ZgCLcB/s320/image1%2B%25289%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Ahh! The year of 2016 is over! Some might say it's a good thing, because 2016 has been pretty bad. I guess I can agree in some ways, but that doesn't mean that 2016 was completely bad! I mean, it might have had some downs, but let's give it some credit, okay? And let's hope it was alright because this is my first yearly reflection, even though we haven't had this blog or our bookstagram for a full year yet. (Shhh.)<br /><br />What I plan to do in this yearly reflection is very similar to what I do in my monthly reflections. I'm going to look over everything, see what went wrong and what went right, what could use some fixing or tweaking, what needs to go and what needs to come, etcetera etcetera. I will also show you almost everything that I have planned for 2016, which, frankly, isn't a lot.<br /><br />But anyway, let's begin! (This might take a bit.)<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><h2>March - Beginnings</h2><div>March! It was Saturday, March 12th when Em and I created our bookstagram and blog. We published a welcome post on the blog and some little "introductory posts" on Instagram, but it wasn't until the following Monday that we actually had some good content. These were the days in which our photography and editing skills were certainly something, but the nice thing was that Em helped me out with the blog! (As you can see, I'm not the best at keeping the schedule all by myself, haha.)</div><div><br /></div><div>We only had 32 followers by the end of the month, at least according to the monthly reflection I had whipped up. (The first one, too! Here comes nostalgia.) There's one line in there that I think is a bit funny. I was talking about having a low amount of readers and followers, how it didn't matter, blah blah blah, that we would "still be doing [it] whether it be with 20 people or 1,000" and that we might "be a bit lucky in the way that we don't have as much pressure put on us!" I just find it funny that we're past 1,000 followers now and I still don't worry much. (Should I...?)</div><div><br /></div><h2>April - Trying to Get Situated&nbsp;</h2><div>Next up is April! (Obviously. Whoops.) Emily's decreasing interest in the blog was starting to show. Especially in our April 2016 Reflection, which she wrote. I remember she was not happy to write that, clearly shown in her first goal for May listed in that post ("make blogging less of a chore"). She still wrote three posts for that month, however, I did have to write a post for one of her posting days.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>For those of you who didn't know, Em used to write posts for Fridays. We were also supposed to alternate who wrote the monthly reflections, but April's reflection turned out to be her first and last.</div><div><br /></div><div>As for our bookstagram, we only posted twice a week, but once we posted - don't get too excited - three times a week! Wow! (If you can't tell, I'm using an extreme amount of sarcasm.) Our feed also wasn't exactly pleasing, as we posted a lot of posts with text.&nbsp;</div><br /><h2>May - Slow Progress</h2><div>By the end of May, we had hit 80 followers, and while Em was not too happy, I was excited. Ah: the simpler days. We had also started to participate in shoutout-for-shoutouts, which helped us in our slow but visible progress on our journey. Journeys also include lows, and for May, that was dropping in pageviews for the blog by about 29%. Em also only wrote one post for the whole of May, with me writing the ones she missed.<br /><br /><h2>June - New Experiences</h2><div>June marked the start of a lot of new things for us! For one thing, it was our first month trying a photo challenge, and our first month with some pictures from Em's camera! Not that we really knew what we were doing in terms of using it or editing, haha. But we did hit 100 followers, so we must have been doing something right!</div><div><br /></div><div>June was also a very independent month for me. It was my first month that I wrote all of the blog posts on my own. I also ended up taking pictures on my own with my phone instead of with Em and her camera. As some of you may know, she has another account, and she put a lot of her time testing her camera and such with that account. I still wasn't comfortable with the idea of taking pictures on my own, so we ended up not completing the photo challenge.</div><div><br /></div><div><h2>July - Big Time Independence</h2><div>Did I say I was independent in June? Whoops. Talk about July! Once again, I wrote all of the blog posts for the blog, and I actually took almost all of the pictures on my own! While I used some of the pictures that I had once taken with Em, most of the pictures were my own. I couldn't figure out a theme, though, so they were all over the place: outdoor stacks and flatlays, indoor flatlays and stacks and such, props and no props, and good editing nowhere to be found! (I didn't even edit the pictures, haha.)</div><div><br /></div><div>While I was doing things on my own, it was a good month. Pageviews for the blog increased, we got more followers and likes on our pictures, and I completed all of my goals for the month. A beautiful thing it is: having more time to devote to the blog and bookstagram in the summer.</div><div><br /></div><h2>August - Quickly Escalating&nbsp;</h2><div>August was a shockingly amazing month for us! We gained 278 followers in one month, which was a huge increase in comparison to previous months. We were also featured on three accounts, two bookstagram feature accounts (@bookstagramfeatures and @bookworm_insta) and one featuring "what's funky fresh in YA" (@yainsider). Part of this was that Em started to help with the pictures, meaning that we used her camera! We also settled on a theme, and I started to pay more attention to what other people were doing to see what worked. Another thing we did was editing pictures. I settled on a routine of editing pictures so that they looked better together.<br /><br />Instagram also rolled out it's Instagram stories in August, which allowed advertisement for the blog without all of the clutter from posts with text on our feed.<br /><br /><h2>September - Good Bookstagramming, Bad Blogging</h2><div>September was a month of goods and bads. On the one hand, our bookstagram was pretty successful. While I was exploring slightly different variations of a combination of edits, we did manage to get 228 likes on one photo (a new record for us at the time) and increased our follower count by 243. We also got our second features on @bookstagramfeatures and @bookworm_insta.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, the blog...? I was alright at first, but then I sorta kinda missed three posting days? Unfortunately, this was only the beginning.</div><div><br /></div><h2>October - Even Worse Times for the Blog</h2><div>The blog - oh! - the blog. Did you know I only published two posts for the whole of October? Yep: that's right. Because of that, the number of pageviews to our blog dropped by 77% in comparison to September....</div><div><br /></div><div>Still, I stayed active on bookstagram. We took pictures, I figured out an editing style that worked and I started to participate in more and mores sfs's, which, by the way, are a great way to gain followers.</div><div><br /></div><h2>November - A Steady Low</h2><div>I was just riding some sort of wave where things weren't the best but weren't the worst. I missed two blogging days, but it was better than last month. Our pictures were good and all, but I missed a few days and had to finish in the early days of December. We gained less followers than October, but still gained a bit over 100. It was alright. Just...alright.</div><div><br /></div><h2>December - Trying to Repay it All</h2><div>Beginning of December didn't look good. I tried to make up for my absence on the blog with some posts in the beginning, but then I dropped out of it again. In an attempt to make up for a short absence from bookstagram, I accidentally got blocked from writing captions, so I ultimately created an even longer absence. (Whoops.) But, I regained my footing and promised a good amount of posts come January. December was a month of trying to redeem myself.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div></div></div></div><hr /><br />So how was 2016 for Reading is Inevitable? Well, there were some lows - bad pictures, periods of absence, disagreements between Em and I - but in the end, it was good. For Reading is Inevitable, 2016 meant building up from nothing, from square one; from literally nothing to <b>64 blog posts</b> and <b>288 Instagram posts</b> with <b>1,277</b>&nbsp;people to see them. Thank you.<br /><br /><h2>2017 Goals</h2><div><ol><li><b>Work on the blog more! </b>I really don't want this blog to be dead.</li><li><b>Post twice a day regularly on our bookstagram. </b>I've been wanting to do this! We don't have enough pictures in stock at the moment, but by the end of 2017 I want to regularly post twice a day.</li><li><b>Find more great books to read through other book blogs and bookstagrams!</b></li></ol></div>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-18557118534667117432017-01-02T03:00:00.002-05:002017-01-02T03:00:09.279-05:00Dear Readers - Another Apology & An Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DbNgrdZwzG4/WGlRNZo7-lI/AAAAAAAABX4/FSUg2xSVJ24HcjT-cjyeqwPMiaclsup_QCLcB/s1600/image1%2B%25288%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DbNgrdZwzG4/WGlRNZo7-lI/AAAAAAAABX4/FSUg2xSVJ24HcjT-cjyeqwPMiaclsup_QCLcB/s320/image1%2B%25288%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Hey, guys. I kinda messed up (again) this month. Next to no posts on the blog or bookstagram, and hardly a word from me. Unless you caught a few snippets of information on our Instagram stories, you were clueless and probably pretty confused, so I apologize about that. You don't have to forgive me this time, if you don't want to.<br /><br />Anyway, I thought I should get you all caught up on what has been going on. From things you missed to what I've got planned behind the scenes. If you plan on sticking around for another rocky bookish ride with us in 2017, then pack what you need and strap up! Be sure to read this little "guide" beforehand. ;)<br /><br />And with that, let's begin!<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><h2><span style="font-size: large;">W</span>hat You Missed</h2><div><b>Bookstagram</b></div><div>First let's talk about why we were absent from <a href="https://www.instagram.com/readingisinevitable/" target="_blank">bookstagram</a>. There was an issue with our captions. I know it might sound kinda weird, especially because Em never experiences issues with writing captions on her other account, but for some reason Instagram just hates Reading is Inevitable! (Jokes, jokes: don't get mad at us, Instagram.) I think it might have been some weird thing where I was posting too quickly, and we got banned from writing captions...? (Not even the shortest caption - a single letter - would work. It's not the length of our captions that was an issue.) Since there's no fun in posting pictures without captions, I just sorta stopped?&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>We also didn't take pictures during this, as it's usually me who has to organize these sort of things, and I was stressed with school and the holidays. I know that I should really stop saying this sort of thing and that it's probably annoying (Em has a teacher that won't grade tests for more than a month with excuses like this, so I know what you might be thinking), so sorry. I'll stop.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Blog</b></div><div>Why was the blog dead? Well, let me tell you. It's pretty much the same thing as I said in the second paragraph of the "Bookstagram" section, so I won't repeat myself.</div><div><br /></div><h2>What I Have Planned</h2><div>Ooo: fun stuff! I actually have a lot of good stuff planned for the beginning of 2017, and time to do it with winter break. (Yay!) Let's get into what will hopefully be coming your way this year!<br /><br /><h3>[COMING SOON]</h3><b><br /></b><b>BLOG - Book Reviews</b><br />Yay! Book reviews - who doesn't love 'em? There will probably be a book review on <i>A Separate Peace </i>sometime in January, as I completed it back in November.<br /><br /><b>BLOG - 2016 Yearly Reflection</b><br />Every month so far (excluding November and December) I have done a monthly reflection where I go over the month, and I am doing something similar for the year of 2016! There will be two parts, and they will be posting the next two posting days (Friday, January 6th and Monday, January 9th).<br /><br /><b>BLOG - Barnes &amp; Noble Haul</b><br />If you haven't yet found out through our Instagram, we recently went to Barnes &amp; Noble and got some goodies, so I'll be writing and posting about that soon.<br /><br /><b>BOOKSTAGRAM - No Monthly Photo Challenge</b><br />That's right: we will not be participating in any photo challenges this month. After the disaster of December, we want to figure out things on our own and be free of the ties and pressure of photo challenges. This will also allow us to tap into our creativity a bit more. ;)<br /><br /><b>BOOKSTAGRAM - Group SFS</b><br />This is actually going on right now! If you're a bookstagram or bookish account that would like to possibly get a shoutout to over 14k people and meet some new bookstagrammers, then be sure to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BOvHtcLgw4t/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">enter</a>!<br /><br /><h3>[AT SOME POINT THIS YEAR]</h3></div><div><br /></div><div><b>BLOG - Another Bookshelf Tour</b></div><div>My shelves are <i>very </i>different from when I did my last bookshelf tour last year. (As of right now, actually, they're pretty empty.)&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><b>BLOG - Book Reviews</b></div><div>There will be book reviews on most if not all of my current reads of 2017, starting with&nbsp;<i>The Glass Castle</i>. I think that, for the most part, they will be the same, although I might consider adding the publisher's synopsis in, too, just in case you don't like the way I put it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>BLOG - More Installments of <i>Navigating Bookstagram</i></b></div><div>Remember that little blog series? The one that was supposed to have a new addition every other Monday? Well, while I'm not sure if there'll be any new <i>Navigating Bookstagram </i>posts in January, I know that I will continue the series into 2017.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><b>BOOKSTAGRAM - More Pictures!</b></div><div>We will continue to post pictures on bookstagram and participate in that wonderful community.<br /><br /></div><div><hr /><br />That's it for now! Happy New Year everyone. We look forward to another great year of blogging and bookstagramming in 2017! Be sure to catch the first part of my 2016 Yearly Reflection publishing on Friday! Until then!</div>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-33015773968589533332016-12-05T03:00:00.000-05:002016-12-05T03:00:01.582-05:00Navigating Bookstagram: Stories & Tips From a Small(er?) Account - Pictures (Part 1)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sIheMjyY_bQ/WEUKaXx2a0I/AAAAAAAABW0/_S-ZHhWDuwUFWaMDcjkvrcOaQAhNsZTCwCLcB/s1600/image1%2B%252810%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sIheMjyY_bQ/WEUKaXx2a0I/AAAAAAAABW0/_S-ZHhWDuwUFWaMDcjkvrcOaQAhNsZTCwCLcB/s320/image1%2B%252810%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Last time (in the <a href="http://readingisinevitable.blogspot.com/2016/11/navigating-bookstagram-stories-tips.html" target="_blank">introduction to this little blog series</a>), I mostly did the whole "story" part, rather than giving tips. So, to officially start things off, I'm going to give some tips on the whole post/picture aspect, for those small accounts out there who are new or don't know where to go. It's something we sort of had to figure out on our own, and I'm here to help!<br /><br />So. You have created your bookstagram account. Got a cool name and all that, maybe even a cute little bio. Great! Good! Now what? Well, let's see, of course, you want to follow some great bookstagrammers. Just don't get blocked from following people because you followed too many people in too short of a time, as I mentioned in the intro to this series. (Em got a li'l excited, heh heh.)<br /><br />And now? Well, it's time to consider what you want to post. When it comes to posting, you have to think about your feed. While the individual posts might look good alone, how do they look when they're all jumbled up on your Instagram page? While some people definitely rock the "no theme" look, it's not easy to pull off. But in the beginning, I think it's perfectly acceptable. Actually, I would love it if you would.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />My advice to you is to <b>start off by testing different styles</b>. Try indoor and outdoor, flat lays and stacks and pictures with props and holding books, dark and light, vibrant and dull. Try editing them different ways, too, and post these to your account. This way, you can find your own style (what do you want to say?) and where your strengths and weaknesses lie.<br /><br />If you find that you really like a style but there isn't a large reaction from your audience (likes and comments are low), don't let that stop you! Practice and observe what others are doing. What works? What doesn't? In the beginning, there's a lot of experimenting. With this comes downfalls, but you'll get back up. I'll show you some examples.<br /><br />For us, flat lays are a <i>huge </i>weakness. We aren't terribly bad at them, we're just...not the best... <br /><br /><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 28.0555555556% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BDb2jWSCm_n/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Julia&amp;Em (@readingisinevitable)</a> on <time datetime="2016-03-26T23:46:36+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Mar 26, 2016 at 4:46pm PDT</time></div></div></blockquote><br /><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script> <br /><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 37.5% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BDf1TSUimwk/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Julia&amp;Em (@readingisinevitable)</a> on <time datetime="2016-03-28T12:52:38+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Mar 28, 2016 at 5:52am PDT</time></div></div></blockquote><br />We also couldn't figure out good angles or positions for our outdoor pictures:<br /><br /><br /><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 37.5% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BHpjV2YjsXb/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Julia&amp;Em (@readingisinevitable)</a> on <time datetime="2016-07-09T17:33:41+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jul 9, 2016 at 10:33am PDT</time></div></div></blockquote><br /><br /><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script> <br /><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BFwuj-Xim8d/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Julia&amp;Em (@readingisinevitable)</a> on <time datetime="2016-05-23T19:23:38+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">May 23, 2016 at 12:23pm PDT</time></div></div></blockquote><br />Not that any of these are terrible, they just aren't the best. The flat lays have poor lighting, and the outdoor pictures have interesting positions (the first we should have just done a book stack because that looks rather odd, don't you think; the second, well, the book is...yeah, and no one really wants to see my thighs, eh?) and don't fully take advantage of the beautiful nature surrounding us.<br /><br />However, with time, we learned and improved. We learned how to use our surroundings to our advantage. We stopped taking pictures when there wasn't good lighting. We also learned some basic structures of pictures. The idea is that, with time, <b>you'll find your own strengths and style.</b><br /><br /><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 33.3333333333% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BL6QdPSjx5u/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Julia&amp;Em (@readingisinevitable)</a> on <time datetime="2016-10-23T15:21:20+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Oct 23, 2016 at 8:21am PDT</time></div></div></blockquote><br /><br /><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script> <br /><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 33.3333333333% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BM20j1Kjmo7/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Julia&amp;Em (@readingisinevitable)</a> on <time datetime="2016-11-16T03:51:14+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Nov 15, 2016 at 7:51pm PST</time></div></div></blockquote><br /><br /><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script> <br /><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 33.3333333333% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BNQRAJrjuF5/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Julia&amp;Em (@readingisinevitable)</a> on <time datetime="2016-11-26T01:00:47+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Nov 25, 2016 at 5:00pm PST</time></div></div></blockquote><br /><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script> <br /><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 33.3333333333% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BNawaylDOWI/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Julia&amp;Em (@readingisinevitable)</a> on <time datetime="2016-11-30T02:47:43+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Nov 29, 2016 at 6:47pm PST</time></div></div></blockquote><br />Of course, Em did get a fancy camera (bokeh!) and we have started editing since then, but we really have learned who we are as bookstagrammers, and dived into the nature side of bookstagram!<br /><br />As I mentioned a bit earlier, we learned some basic "structures" of posts. While I can't help you if you want to do flat lays, I can help if you want to take other types of pictures, especially if you choose to be a nature bookstagrammer. We need more of 'em, so I'd be glad to welcome you to the club and show you around!<br /><br />Remember how we had that awkward picture of us holding up three books...? Well, it's not exactly ideal. <b>Here are some "structures" that work.</b> (Note: to see an example of the picture, click the link. I did not want to clutter the page with pictures.)<br /><br /><ul><li><b>Book Stack(s). </b>This is a great way to incorporate multiple books in a picture. It's usually nice to keep the stack at a moderate size, and if you are going to build a colossal stack, only use one per picture. Can be on a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMrHNmQDwPM/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">surface</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMziidHhonI/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">in the air</a>, or in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMhdPkTjtpV/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">front of a body</a> (preferably wearing nice clothing or bookish gear).</li><li><b>Book in Hand(s). </b>Perfect way to take advantage of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BNSIQLNDi2N/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">beautiful scenery&nbsp;or backgrounds</a>. Using two hands gives a feeling of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMxsJA4DOGT/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">triumph</a> to the picture; a bit of flare. Tip: if you are putting the book and hand off to the side of a picture, have the hand against the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BNVGVDUDJBd/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">edge of the frame</a>.&nbsp;</li><li><b>Books in Hand. </b>Very similar to the previous one. This one is better with smaller amounts of books, and is good when books are <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BJDb7kKjXK_/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">fanned out</a>. You can also feature some spine beauty along with some <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMHr_hVjTmr/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">background beauty</a>.</li><li><b>Open Book. </b>For the most part, these only work with hardcovers or paperbacks with broken spines. You can choose to include the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BL6QdPSjx5u/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">surface</a> the book is on, or cut it off for a cool look.</li><li><b>Open Book in Hand(s). </b>Makes it look as if someone is reading the book. Can be done <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BNXfm8djocW/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">in the air</a> or on a surface. Note: You'll need a model for this one, unless you're some sort of wizard who can take a picture while holding a book.</li><li><b>In Front of a Body. </b>Sounds weird. My apologies: I'm not the best at wording things at times. Basically, wear something nice or "bookish", and hold book(s) <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BKM13QODxI7/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">in front of it</a>. Note: a second person needed.</li><li><b>Placed in Settings. </b>Okay. I didn't exactly know what to call this one. Sometimes, you can just place a book in somewhere odd, use a cool angle, and - bam! - you have <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMpfMcpDbO8/?taken-by=readingisinevitable" target="_blank">a picture</a>.</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>Sadly, that's all for this blog post. I still have a lot more to say, however! Tune in Monday 19th to read part 2, where I'll be discussing accessories (props) and editing. Until then, best of luck on your own bookstagram journey!</div><br /><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-72692291760123740312016-11-28T03:00:00.000-05:002016-11-28T03:00:09.810-05:00Book Review: Hollow City<b>Title: </b>Hollow City: The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children<br /><b>Author: </b>Ransom Riggs<br /><b>Genre: </b>Fantasy &amp; Action ("Horror"?)<br /><b>Rating: </b>5 out of 5 stars<br /><b>Reviewer:</b>&nbsp;Julia<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rfF8toDMCLE/WDvEJ_zTCnI/AAAAAAAABWA/Uo25NTvc4T8cV9ha74PQI07EOTEQymJnQCLcB/s1600/image1%2B%25289%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rfF8toDMCLE/WDvEJ_zTCnI/AAAAAAAABWA/Uo25NTvc4T8cV9ha74PQI07EOTEQymJnQCLcB/s320/image1%2B%25289%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Maybe this title isn't that familiar to you, but what about&nbsp;<i>Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children</i>? Yeah? Well, this is the action-packed, emotion-filled, much <i>better </i>sequel to that book, and the second book out of the trilogy. Not that <i>Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children </i>is bad, this one's just simply better (in my opinion), but if you haven't read it yet check out my book review on it and pick it up soon.<br /><br />Moving on, <i>Hollow City </i>is a great teen book. (Note: teen, not that teen books are less, I just don't think it compares to some amazing adult books, of course. But I did give it 5 stars, so it's still great, if that's not too confusing.) It's got a good amount of friendship, character development, and plot action to exceed expectations and nicely satisfy the reader.<br /><br />Let's start with a little summary, okay? Also, spoiler alert! Don't read this if you haven't read the first book because there are hints to what have happened in my review and it will also be a bit confusing. You have been warned.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><i><br /></i><i>Hollow City </i>picks up where <i>Miss Peregrine's </i>left off: with Jacob, Emma, and the rest of the peculiar children along with Miss P herself rowing in three little boats across the water to the mainland. When they get to the shore they have to figure out what to do next, and after a quick visit to another loop full of peculiar animals, they have one goal in mind: to save Miss Peregrine before she's lost to them forever. You see, she's trapped in her bird state and cannot transform into a human, and, bit by bit, she's losing her human self. If they can't cure her in time, she'll be forever trapped in her bird state, and the children will have lost their mother-like figure.<br /><br />Tragic, I know.<br /><br />The whole beginning is actually a bit of a low for the characters, as they are at a loss at what to do (this is before they visit the other loop) and scared. Tied in with self doubt and some tension between characters, this part is certainly a low, but it's all kind of beautiful, too, and dragged me into the book. Already I was seeing how much I was going to enjoy this book, from the sense of adventure to the stronger characters. And this was before I came across the plot twist at the end.<br /><br />First on the list: adventure. I already knew that there was going to be a good bit of action in this book after reading the first, but this one even more so. Recall how much action was packed into the last scene of <i>Miss Peregrine's</i>? Well, just think of that exciting pace except for pretty much the whole book. A real page-turner, I must say, and that's always great. (No reading slumps in the middle of this book; yippee!) And if you are a fan of really exciting endings don't worry: the ending does speed up (in a reasonable way; not like some rushed or sudden ones) and slaps you in the face, which I'll get to in a bit. First I have to explain what I mean by "stronger characters".<br /><br />In this second installment of the Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series, Riggs really digs into the characters. This involves relationships (some good and some bad) between the children and how they interact with one another, individual feelings (not just Jacob, mind you), and self-growth (being chased by monsters really does that to a person). I really loved how Riggs did this, not just the fact that he did further develop the characters but in the <i>way </i>that he did it. It made me really see the peculiar children as people, rather than just names that I had I hard time of keeping straight. (Guilty; that was definitely me while reading the first book.)<br /><br />All of this is great and kept me happily turning the pages, not to add the wonderful descriptions and pictures that have continued on in this book, but that's not all. Oh, no, it's not. Riggs just had to go and hit me with that ending.<br /><br />Ah, the ending. What's so horrible (yet wonderful) about it? Well, as I said before, it was exciting and contained a plot twist, which was amazing. And then there was a bit of a cliff hanger. Ahh! How wonderful and painful they can be. The ending really was unpredictable for the most part. When I thought one thing was going to happen, no, it went in the opposite direction. It kept on turning and twisting until it stopped right in the middle of something exciting. Some people might not think of it to be a cliff hanger, and maybe it's not really one. At least for me, I did not think it would end there and was not hoping for it to end there. But alas, it did.<br /><br />Overall, this book was amazing and a joy to read. Just when I thought that Riggs couldn't possibly top the wonderful thing that was <i>Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children</i>, he not only did it but he did it so beautifully.Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-57688041262914065052016-11-21T03:00:00.000-05:002016-11-21T07:04:12.092-05:00Navigating Bookstagram: Stories & Tips From a Small(er?) Account - Introduction<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hello, everyone! How are you all today? As most of you probably know already, Em and I have a bookstagram (bookish Instagram account) where we share pictures of books and our love for reading! The bookstagram community is actually pretty large (the largest account I have found so far has 200k followers), and while it’s full of great and wonderful people, it can also be a bit intimidating and scary for newbies and smaller accounts alike. </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We’ve been on bookstagram for about seven months now, give or take, and have gotten more used to the swing of things on bookstagram. While there’s still so much for us to learn, we do know quite a few things that should prove to be useful to beginners and fellow smaller accounts. (I know that we have 1.1k, but if an account with 3.8k account I was talking to considers themself, then I think we count.) That’s why I’ve created this little series of posts where I plan to share some of my own stories every other Monday. Us smaller guys have to stick together, right?</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">"Us smaller guys have to stick together, right?"</span></span></blockquote></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">First, let’s start with a little introduction, okay?</span></span><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My name is Julia, and I run the bookstagram @readingisinevitable along with my best friend/twin sister, Em. (Yes: our relationship is finally revealed!) I run the blog, however, unless she goes and writes a blog post which is such a nice treat. We run the bookstagram together; a weird combination of her taking pictures, me editing and posting them, along with interacting with others, and both of us planning the pictures.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We started our bookstagram on March 13th, and since then have posted 214 pictures (in which only some are good), and gained about 1,100 followers (the number dances around 1,115 and 1,120 due to unfollowers).</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When our bookstagram was still young, we had no idea what we were doing. Our pictures were not set up nicely for we didn’t yet know what kind of angles and layouts looked good for books, and something went wrong during the editing stage:</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 40.6481481481% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BC7i7PQim9z/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Julia&amp;Em (@readingisinevitable)</a> on <time datetime="2016-03-14T10:39:25+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Mar 14, 2016 at 3:39am PDT</time></div></div></blockquote><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script> <br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Em had also followed about 100 people in a manner of minutes (we were actually blocked from following people for a little over a week because of that). At the time, I was upset with her for following so many people at once, but now I see that maybe that was a good thing, because 1) we found bookstagram (originally we were just making an Instagram for our blog), and 2) we got a good taste of what people liked, even if it was a bit of a scary thing at first.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I mean, there were so many accounts that have already been in the game already, and I was looking at book after book that I had not even heard of before. I had thought that we were just going to create a little Instagram for our blog, but what I didn’t realize was that there was already such a large and active bookish community on Instagram. It was overwhelming, definitely, and I found myself wondering, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What in the world did we just get ourselves into?</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Looking at all of these accounts, I realized that we weren’t just going to need to post advertisement for blog posts but also additional book pictures. There was the question of when to post, how much to post, photo challenges, shoutout-for-shoutouts, and loads more. It was obvious that this wasn’t going to be as easy as we thought it was.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">"It was obvious that this wasn't going to be as easy as we thought it was."</span></span></blockquote></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And even once I adjusted to the whole bookstagram idea, there were still more obstacles to hurdle. You aren’t going to gain 1,000 followers in two weeks. (While I have seen that done in the past, it’s near impossible.) There’s going to be unfollowers, too: lots and lots of them. And there’s even going to be low people who steal pictures and repost them without proper credit. </span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-b5f90c12-8388-ed95-ca29-5f22f34d8099"></span></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the beginning, we just had to run with it and pretend like we knew what we were doing. We had to learn a bit here and there, and we’re still learning. Hopefully, by making this little blog series, this journey will be easier for you. And if you’ve been here for a while and sit in the same boat we’re in, hop along too: there’s still much more exploring we’ve got to do.</span></span></div>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-21376882450038501322016-11-18T03:00:00.000-05:002016-11-18T17:45:09.204-05:00How Quickly Can You Think of 100 Blog Post Ideas?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xQOlGFVSJN0/WC97Jw7ZwRI/AAAAAAAABUo/u_28UPxi_coOAJjmraWHIhDrqqI8OQ-uwCLcB/s1600/IMG_6254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xQOlGFVSJN0/WC97Jw7ZwRI/AAAAAAAABUo/u_28UPxi_coOAJjmraWHIhDrqqI8OQ-uwCLcB/s320/IMG_6254.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Here's a little situation that's very common for me: It's the day before a blog post is supposed to publish. (I have no blog post.) I think to myself, <i>Oh, I have the whole day </i>[afternoon, on school days]<i> to come up with something and write it! No biggy! </i>Soon it's past the afternoon: evening moving into night, and I still don't have a blog post done. I don't even have an idea. What's next? Why, the only thing I really can do: Panic.<br /><br />That's what happened this time, sad to say. (Whoops: I did it again!) I have a little list of blog post ideas that I have conjured up with hours of research spent on the internet, and as I was mentally going through the list, I recalled an idea that I had seen at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.getspokal.com/i-challenged-myself-to-create-100-blog-post-ideas-in-30-minutes/">http://www.getspokal.com/i-challenged-myself-to-create-100-blog-post-ideas-in-30-minutes/</a>. In this little post, the writer - Sarah Burke - challenged herself to create 100 blog post ideas in only 30 minutes.<br /><br />I thought to myself, <i>Hey! I have time since it's an early dismissal&nbsp;day, so I should be able to think of 100 post ideas! </i>I certainly liked this idea, but the whole 30 minute factor seemed intimidating. So, rather than doing that, I altered the challenge by keeping the 100 post idea, but changing the actual challenge part of it to how quickly I can get all of it done.<br /><br />I grabbed a pen and a sheet a paper, and I was off!<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><h3><span style="font-size: large;">Doing the Challenge</span></h3><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BXcmcjEcSJM/WC973L63u9I/AAAAAAAABUw/7z7Cu0olUys-NKQLFxhtXknOBpgwh1giwCLcB/s1600/IMG_6258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BXcmcjEcSJM/WC973L63u9I/AAAAAAAABUw/7z7Cu0olUys-NKQLFxhtXknOBpgwh1giwCLcB/s320/IMG_6258.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />The stopwatch feature on my phone has a little option to track "laps", so I used it to compare how long it took me to write 10 ideas. Here are the results, with my fastest time in green and the slowest in red:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="color: #38761d;">#1-10: 2 minutes, 8 seconds</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">#11-20: 3 minutes, 33 seconds</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">#21-30: 4 minutes, 30 seconds</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">#31-40: 3 minutes, 38 seconds</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="color: #990000;">#41-50: 5 minutes, 17 seconds</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">#51-60: 4 minutes, 53 seconds</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">#61-70: 4 minutes, 14 seconds</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">#71-80: 4 minutes, 59 seconds&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">#81-90: 3 minutes, 21 seconds&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">#91-100: 5 minutes, 11 seconds&nbsp;</blockquote><br />In the end, to think of 100 blog post ideas, I took 40 minutes and 24 seconds, which means that I would have failed that 30-minute challenge. Oh well. Good thing that's <i>not </i>the challenge I was doing!<br /><br />When I was doing it, I started off with simple ideas - book reviews, bookshelf tours, etc. - and gradually began venturing into the unknown, where I would have to pull my hair out trying to think of something creative. Of course, it doesn't help when you have a runny nose and a horrible cough, but I fought through it, until - finally, FINALLY - I had reached 100 ideas.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KrzAzFKdulw/WC9-NaB36lI/AAAAAAAABVA/aZaLtrRDg30P6RC2H2Y5kaBFsBCJfKD4gCLcB/s1600/IMG_6263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KrzAzFKdulw/WC9-NaB36lI/AAAAAAAABVA/aZaLtrRDg30P6RC2H2Y5kaBFsBCJfKD4gCLcB/s320/IMG_6263.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><h3><span style="font-size: large;">The Results</span></h3><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jTBX2Wpbx-Y/WC9-_VnaOlI/AAAAAAAABVQ/39vTyOLUKkEunrETiQ1GqC_U_9oXuJS2wCLcB/s1600/IMG_6259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jTBX2Wpbx-Y/WC9-_VnaOlI/AAAAAAAABVQ/39vTyOLUKkEunrETiQ1GqC_U_9oXuJS2wCLcB/s320/IMG_6259.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Guess what? I'm not just leaving you there! Below you'll find a list of blog post ideas. And before you say anything: no, they're not 100 ideas. Why? Well, I found that some ideas were really similar despite my efforts to try to make them different, so I have narrowed it down some by categorizing them. There were also just some really silly and absurd ideas that I had added towards the end because I was getting desperate. I don't think it's necessary to add those.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1uktZ9PqL2o/WC9-Zg7ASnI/AAAAAAAABVI/GP-4mYx7v9ETvJjldEd1WXWjZ-c_6nN4gCEw/s1600/IMG_6262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1uktZ9PqL2o/WC9-Zg7ASnI/AAAAAAAABVI/GP-4mYx7v9ETvJjldEd1WXWjZ-c_6nN4gCEw/s320/IMG_6262.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice a "silly" idea here? (Ahem! "I don't feel like writing a<br />blog post...")</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><ol><li><b>Book Review - </b>This one doesn't require explaining.</li><li><b>Bookshelf Tour - </b>If you don't know what this one is, it's when you go through your bookshelves and give <a href="http://readingisinevitable.blogspot.com/2016/08/julias-bookshelf-tour-august-2016-part-1.html" target="_blank">a tour</a> of them. Basically go through your books and knicknacks, add your own little touch, and run with it!</li><li><b>Movie Adaptation Comparison/Review - </b>I have <a href="http://readingisinevitable.blogspot.com/2016/08/movie-adaptations-beautiful-creatures.html" target="_blank">done this one in the past</a>. All you have to do is compare a book to its movie adaptation and review the adaptation. Was it a good adaptation of the book? Which was better: the book or the movie?</li><li><b>Plot/Theme/Character Analysis - </b>The idea is to take a book's plot, theme, or characters and analyze them. What did the author do to create the plot, theme, or character? A good one if you're interested in writing.</li><li><b><a href="http://readingisinevitable.blogspot.com/2016/04/quotes-audacity.html" target="_blank">Favorite Quotes</a> - </b>Self explanatory. Take your favorite quotes and share them! What do you like about them?</li><li><b>Bookshelf Organization - </b>Everyone organizes their bookshelves differently! How do you organize yours?</li><li><b>Lessons From a Book - </b>Books have themes and lessons in them, so why not make a post out of them? I <a href="http://readingisinevitable.blogspot.com/2016/11/lessons-from-on-writing-vocabulary.html" target="_blank">did this fairly recently</a> with Stephen King's <i>On Writing</i>. (Idea from Garrett Moon at&nbsp;<a href="http://coschedule.com/blog/find-blog-ideas/">http://coschedule.com/blog/find-blog-ideas/</a>; thanks!)</li><li><b>Throwback Time! Then vs. Now - </b>Heard of Throwback Thursday? Well who says that it has to be for social media only! Here are a few throwback ideas I had:</li><ol><li>Old Bookstagram Theme</li><li>Old Bookstagram Posts (first post??)</li><li>Old Review of Book vs. New Review (see #32)</li><li>Old Bookshelf vs. Today's</li><li>Old Blog Designs</li></ol><li><b>Bookmark Tutorial - </b>For the crafty type for sure, this blog post idea actually needs another idea behind it, this being how to make a neat little bookmark! I have done this before with my <a href="http://readingisinevitable.blogspot.com/2016/07/diy-flower-pattern-bookmark-tutorial.html" target="_blank">"Flower Pattern"</a> bookmarks and <a href="http://readingisinevitable.blogspot.com/2016/09/easy-sticky-note-bookmark.html" target="_blank">little sticky note corner bookmarks</a>.</li><li><b>Month Reflection - </b>We do these ones every month. In our little monthly reflections, we reflect back on the month for our blog and bookstagram, and then go ahead and give a sneak peek of the next month along with making goals.&nbsp;</li><li><b>GAMES - </b>Throughout this challenge, I thought of a few games for the writer and/or readers to do. Some are below:</li><ol><li>Can you remember all of the books you read this year?</li><li>Guess the book? (by description or it without dust jacket)</li></ol><li><b>Blogging Themed - </b>I also thought of quite the number of blogging-themed posts, some of which are listed below:</li><ol><li>How To Get Out of a Blogging Slump (<i>note: if you know some tips, please help!</i>)</li><li>Blogging Tips</li><li>Blogging Problems</li></ol><li><b>Bookstagramming Themed - </b>Since we are a part of the bookstagram community, I do have some bookstagram post ideas:</li><ol><li>Tips on Bookstgramming</li><ul><li>pictures</li><li>posting</li><li>gaining</li></ul><li>Photogenic Books (helpful for people who want a nice feed)</li><li>How Bookstagram Has Changed Me</li><li>Bookstagramming Problems</li></ol><li><b>Discussion Post...with a Twist - </b>This isn't an actual discussion, but it's like one! I did this once with the book <i><a href="http://readingisinevitable.blogspot.com/2016/06/book-discussion-rumble.html" target="_blank">Rumble</a></i>, in which I went online, looked at some common comments made by people on the book (reviews on online stores, book reviews, etc.), and then responded to them in the format of a blog post!</li><li><b>Book Merch Review - </b>Like a book review, except you're reviewing book merchandise! (*Might be helpful for people who represent a shop.*)</li><li><b>Opinion Post - </b>You have an opinion, so shout it out loud and proud!</li><ol><li>This or that?</li><ul><li>Bookmarks or Dog Earring?</li></ul><li>Best and Worst Fandoms (be respectful!)</li></ol><li><b>Favorite Characters of ALL TIME - </b>Who are your favorite characters of <i>all time</i>? Make a list along with reasons why!</li><li><b>Play BFF Match Maker - </b>Take two characters from different books who you think should be friends and explain why!&nbsp;</li><li><b>Why I... - </b>Not really a good category, but I had a lot of ideas starting with this one phrase. Here they are:</li><ol><li>Why I'm a Bookworm</li><li>Why I Blog</li><li>Why I Bookstagram</li><li>Why I Started Reading</li><li>Why I Started Blogging</li><li>Why I Started Bookstagramming</li></ol><li><b>How Reading Has Helped You - </b>Reading is powerful to us bookworms! In what ways have reading and books helped you?</li><li><b>All About My Favorite Book - </b>Have a favorite book? Then you're qualified for this post. I'll let you run with it from here....Just explain why you love it, and then add anything else: favorite quotes, fanart, stories about it, etcetera etcetera etcetera.&nbsp;</li><li><b>Discuss a Book w/ Another Bookworm - </b>Sounds fun, right? Get together or message each other, and use your conversation for an interesting blog post!</li><li><b>Books to Read Around... - </b>For instance, winter is just around the corner! (Unfortunately.) What are some books that you feel are just right for the occasion? Or any occasion, whether it be a holiday or season!</li><li><b>Favorite Bookstagrammers - </b>Spread the love! While this can be easily done with a few screenshots uploaded to your Instagram story, it's also nice to include descriptions and stories about how you first found their account!</li><li><b>Rewrite a part of a book - </b>Didn't like the way something turned out? Rewrite it! Make that sad ending into a happy one where your OTP is cannon!</li><li><b>End of Year Reflection - </b>Like the monthly reflection, but for the whole year! How'd you do? Make some New Year's resolutions while you're at it!</li><li><b>Bullet Journal Posts - </b>A good number of bookstagrammers are into bullet journaling, so if you have one why not use it to your advantage and share it?&nbsp;</li><li><b>Best Plot Twists EVER - </b>Plot twists! Oh, you have to love them! (And hate them...oh, they're a double-sided sword sometimes.) With the proper spoiler alert, list your top plot twists.</li><li><b>Playlist Post - </b>A common post in this bookish community, it brings out your creative side and gets you really thinking about the themes and characters in the book! Create a playlist that matches the book, or one you'd like to listen to while reading the book!</li><li><b>Writing Prompts - </b>Be nice and create some writing prompts to push the creativity out of some fellow writing bookworms! (Us bookworms tend to enjoy writing.)</li><li><b>SFS Results/Analysis - </b>If you hold a shoutout-for-shoutout, then take the opportunity and make a post out of it! Look over how well it went and if you gained (or maybe even lost!) followers.</li><li><b>Rereading Review - </b>When you reread a book, your perspective might change a bit! That means that a new and updated book review is due!</li><li><b>More Than Just a Name - </b>Explore the background story of your blog name or Instagram username!</li><li><b>ABC's With Books - </b>Don't let the name drive you away! Here are two alphabet-related blog post ideas:</li><ol><li>Spell name with book titles</li><li>Go through the alphabet with book titles; include descriptions of books</li></ol><li><b>Latest Trip to Bookstore - </b>Talk about your most recent trip to a bookstore, including books you were interested in and what you bought!</li><li><b>A Bookworm's Must-Haves - </b>What are some essentials to please the inner bookworm in you?</li><li><b>Give a Book a New Title - </b>Get creative!</li><li><b>DARE: Read 3 Books of Your Least Fav. Genre - </b>Don't worry: you'll survive! You can make this a series of posts or one complete post in which you go through the process (was it hard? easy? alright?) and determine your feelings at the end (is this genre not as bad as you thought it to be?).</li><li><b>Confession Post - </b>Is there that one book everyone's read but you? Do you secretly hate a character? Not have a bookshelf? Like that one overdone cliche? Write about it here.</li><li><b>Bookish Locations - </b>Let's just say that your OTP kissed at a certain place, and you happen to visit said place. You would be freaking out. Turn your experience into a post! (Potterheads: have you visited platform 9 3/4?)</li><li><b>Tell a "Horror" Story - </b>We all have one bookish horror story: that time it started to pour during a photoshoot, a week-long reading slump, some jerk at school stepped on your book when you dropped it....</li><li><b>Create a Reading Challenge For Yourself - </b>For instance, challenge yourself to read seven books over winter/holiday break. Make a series of blog posts with updates on it.</li><li><b>Signed Books? Yes, Please! - </b>Signed books are always nice! Show them off!</li><li><b>Create/Show Off Your Reading Spot - </b>Don't forget the pictures!</li></ol><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-37471682769879108542016-11-14T03:00:00.000-05:002016-11-14T03:00:03.188-05:00Lessons From On Writing: VocabularyAs you may or may not know from our Instagram page, I recently read&nbsp;<i>On Writing </i>by Stephen King. No, I have not read any of his other books, but I plan on reading at least one of his other works. And while I'm not going to tell you everything about this wonderful book, I have still come across some things that I think are worth sharing.<i></i><br /><div><br /></div><div>In <i>On Writing, </i>King goes through what has created himself as a writer and some important things people should know about writing. One of the lessons in his book is on vocabulary. While this is one of the smaller parts of the book and some people might not even remember reading this, I really was able to connect with it and believe that it is something that all people should keep in mind (especially kids in school, oh my goodness).<br /><a name='more'></a><br />What King said more or less about the subject of vocabulary was that you had to be careful with it and while it is certainly a helpful tool to have, you shouldn't stress over it. (Something which I am guilty about.) Sure, at least according to him, it is still wonderful to try to expand your vocabulary, but you don't want to go searching for a more complicated word just to make your writing seem better.<br /><br />No, he says. Don't do that.<br /><br />And, sure, I'm guessing that you've probably heard this a billion times or so from your teachers throughout the years. But did you listen to them? Well, that's another story for some, isn't it? If you were looking for a sign to stop doing this - searching a dictionary or the internet for fifteen valuable minutes just for a word - here it is. So maybe you weren't going to listen to your fifth grade writing teacher, but at least listen to a bestselling author, okay?<br /><br />King really brings up a good point that vocabulary, in a sense, isn't everything. Some great authors have actually used a rather simple collection of words in their writing. And, yes: while you do find authors with an unimaginable variety of words (Donna Tartt, author of <i>The Goldfinch</i>...? Don't get me started on that one!), there are these writers who can use simple words to make a more complex picture.<br /><br />These aren't examples that King used in his book, but I just want you to think of any amazing picture book you've read (titles such as <i>Kitten's First Full Moon </i>by Kevin Henkes or <i>What Do You Do With An Idea? </i>by Kobi Yamada come to mind for me). Picture books are simple and easy reads; we can all agree on that. But some have great ideas and concepts behind them, yet the words used are basic vocabulary that can be easily understood by a child.<br /><br />Or what about <i>The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time</i>&nbsp;by Mark Haddon? Such a beautiful book, but simple vocabulary.<br /><br />You see, you don't <i>need </i>complex words to make your writing better. After all, writing is about the ideas, which brings us to King's other remark on vocabulary:<br /><br />Use the first word that comes to mind.<br /><br />Sure: this has some exceptions, but I see where Stephen King's coming from when he says that the first word that pops up in your mind is probably the best word for this situation. It's what you mind thought of, and what word could better match what you're trying to say? (Like I said, there are some exceptions.)<br /><br />I don't know about you, but I feel like these are two very important things to take from King's book, <i>On Writing</i>. If you want more tips on writing and information on what shaped King into the writer that he is, then I suggest you read <i>On Writing </i>for yourself. His sarcastic and just plain old funny humour definitely keeps the book going at a good, casual pace. An enjoyable read.</div>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-68829519178599071172016-11-11T03:00:00.000-05:002016-11-12T16:07:40.709-05:00Book Review: On Writing<b>Title: </b>On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft<br /><b>Author: </b>Stephen King<br /><b>Genre: </b>Nonfiction<br /><b>Rating: </b>4/5<br /><b>Reviewer: </b>Julia<br /><br />Personally, I've never read any of Stephen King's fiction works, titles such as <i>The Shining </i>or <i>Carrie</i>. However, I am a fan of writing and am interested in writing little stories myself, so I thought, "Hey! Reading a book on writing by a bestselling author might just be a good idea." I was actually motivated to fulfill this notion of mine by the amazing Brittany of @bookbarrreview on Instagram, who said to me,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>"If you like writing, or you're just interested in how stories are created, it's definitely worth a read!"</b></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">&nbsp;<b>--Brittany, Book Barre Review Blog and @bookbarreview (Instagram)</b></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">On that great description courtesy of Brittany, let's get this review started!<br /><a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>First off, we need a description of the book itself.</b> <i>On Writing </i>is a nonfiction book split up into four different parts - "C.V.", "Toolbox", "On Writing", and "On Living" - although it can be argued that the section titled "Toolbox" does not count. (For some reason, on most reviews I've found online, this section has been excluded from the list, but it is definitely a part of the book.) The first section, "C.V." is an introduction of sorts that covers King's life and what has shaped him as a writer. (This is where the "Memoir of the Craft" part comes in.) It was definitely interesting, perhaps because I am a fan of biographies/autobiographies/memoirs. It was also helpful to hear a bit about King himself, especially because I have not read any of his other books nor did I know very much at all about him.<br /><br />In the next debated-on part, "Toolbox", King creates a transition of sorts from one part to the next, and uses a metaphorical writer's toolbox to explain the "tools" you'll want for your writing.<br /><br />The "On Writing" section is the part is, obviously, on writing. While Stephen King doesn't get all nitty-gritty into things, he does cover a few topics and shares his own unique views on them, including his opinions on theme and plot.<br /><br />The last section goes into how writing has helped to save his life, in a way.<br /><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And, now that we have all of this covered, I can </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">finally </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">begin sharing my thoughts on this book with you.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Overall, I did enjoy the book. (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, duh, Julia: you did give it 4 out of 5 stars!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) From King’s sarcastic humour to the advice he has to give and the stories he has to share, the book really is something that I would consider helpful if you did want to write. While some parts might be a bit outdated (I’m sure the publishing process is different by now, although he didn’t go too in depth with it), the book is still entertaining to read (yeah: nonfiction can be entertaining; explore its potential, kids) and interesting.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first part was really like your average biography on any sort of writer: a sort of background indirectly showing you how they came to be the writer that they are. Something that I really liked in this section was looking at King’s ambition for writing; it’s contagious. (Definitely good for writer’s block.)</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I also really liked his metaphor with the toolbox which pretty much said, writers have toolboxes. They use tools to craft stories. These are some important tools you’ll always need; these ones are give or take. There were also other metaphors in his writing that I really did like that described this complex and confusing thing that we know as writing, including the fossil metaphor (which I’ll let you discover on your own).</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His tips, like I said earlier, were unique and definitely something that at least I haven’t heard or seen before, which I was entirely grateful for. They were so different yet so helpful and smart. Some of them did seem a little surprising at first, but once he went into detail about it, I was on his side. (I’ll be sharing some of my favorite lessons Monday and next Friday.) </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-a20aafa0-5157-77c3-00ff-8e0d11e7890a"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another part I really liked was his little section on how writing has kept him going. In fact, that was an underlining theme of the whole book. And what a good idea that was.</span></span><br /><br /></div>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-62302357612029180502016-11-07T03:00:00.000-05:002016-12-30T22:01:53.962-05:00October 2016 Reflection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Aw4g-PBwcoU/WB9bZMOVK7I/AAAAAAAABSY/dpHnb6Sx4bY7WquqhvFGO-8YHAeXTo_5wCLcB/s1600/image1%2B%25288%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Aw4g-PBwcoU/WB9bZMOVK7I/AAAAAAAABSY/dpHnb6Sx4bY7WquqhvFGO-8YHAeXTo_5wCLcB/s400/image1%2B%25288%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />I wasn't exactly sure if I wanted to make an October Reflection for this month. After all, I didn't really <i>do </i>anything this month. It was a "break" or just a little "gap". This past month doesn't count, right?<br /><br />That's where I decided to go ahead and write a reflection. This month wasn't an intentional break month. I didn't make a notice in advance for everyone to know. I didn't even know myself that this was going to happen. But it happened, and, since it's a tradition to do these little monthly reflections, there should be no excuse.<br /><br />Moving on, if you have not been around for our past monthly reflections, I would recommend that you of course look at our past ones (that is, if you're interested in these). I'll also give you a little summary about what we do: In these reflections, I look back on how our blog and bookstagram (Instagram + books) did as well as give a sneak peek into our blog and bookstagram in the coming month.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><h3><span style="font-size: large;">Looking Back Into October</span></h3><div><br /></div><div><b>The Blog</b></div><div>So, funny story: I didn't exactly work on the blog much in October? As a result, our <b><span style="color: #990000;">pageviews dropped significantly</span></b>, by <b><span style="color: #990000;">about 77%</span></b>, in fact. That is extremely bad. It certainly is well-deserved, but I hope to never have another month like this past one again. Only <span style="color: #990000;"><b>two posts were published</b></span> in the whole month. (And I missed my chance at a Halloween post, since it was on one of our posting days.)<br /><br /><b>Instagram</b><br />Luckily for all of those people who follow us on Instagram, I did keep up with this. Unfortunately, I forgot to write down the exact number of followers we had at the end of the month, but I believe we had <b><span style="color: #38761d;">around 950 followers</span></b>. This means that we <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>gained a bit under 250 followers</b></span> this month, which is around the same amount as last month. I think the trick is finally nailing an editing style and participating in Shoutout for Shoutouts (a.k.a sfs).</div><div><iframe frameborder="0" height="371" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f7-bEl46ojx5klHjYFbaMLC5DaqWLtDVEoGSHyyMFp8/pubchart?oid=2102004310&amp;format=interactive" width="600"></iframe><b><br /></b><br />We also successfully participated in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/commasandampersands/" target="_blank">@commasandampersands</a> on Instagram's October 2016 photo challenge, #ampersandoct16. One of our photos was even featured in the weekly overview of the challenge:<br /><br /><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;"><div style="padding: 8px;"><div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 33.3333333333% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 40px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 40px;"></div></div><div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLRw-Xcjzww/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Julia&amp;Em (@readingisinevitable)</a> on <time datetime="2016-10-07T21:56:37+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Oct 7, 2016 at 2:56pm PDT</time></div></div></blockquote><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(Above: the picture that was featured on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/commasandampersands/" target="_blank">@commasandampersands's</a> page.)</i></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script><b>Goals</b><br />I did not make goals for October because, well, I didn't actually write my September 2016 Reflection until late October, and thus never made any goals for October.<br /><br /><h3><span style="font-size: large;">Coming Up in November</span></h3></div><div><b><br /></b><b>The Blog</b></div><div>I'm currently planning a handful of posts, which include a <b>book review on </b><i><b>On Writing</b> </i>by Stephen King, a <b>book review on <i>Salt to the Sea</i></b>, a post/posts on <b>little lessons from <i>On Writing</i></b>, and a <b>book review on <i>The Handmaid's Tale</i></b>, along with some other ideas in the making. While I do have all of these ideas, I am not sure when I want to post them, so these may or may not be posted this month.</div><div><br /></div><div>I also plan on possibly adding a new addition to our "Posting Schedule" tab on the top of our page (desktop users: second tab to the left; mobile users: click the button on the top and select "Posting Schedule).&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Instagram</b></div><div>As some of you probably already know, we are <b>participating in two photo challenges</b> this month, because I couldn't find just one that suited us. We are currently participating in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/acciobooksncoffee/" target="_blank">@acciobooksncoffee</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_livelaughread/" target="_blank">@_livelaughread's</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/livelaughbooksnovember/" target="_blank">#livelaughbooksnovember</a> challenge. We are also participating in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/readwithmikee/" target="_blank">@readwithmikee</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pagewithaview/" target="_blank">@pagewithaview's</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/novbookstagram/" target="_blank">#novbookstagram</a> photo challenge.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fjHGy5uZoX0/WB9boAIpnGI/AAAAAAAABSg/qFJCMWxOTAk6Pph1M0VpG6pby-pdh-sIACLcB/s1600/image2%2B%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fjHGy5uZoX0/WB9boAIpnGI/AAAAAAAABSg/qFJCMWxOTAk6Pph1M0VpG6pby-pdh-sIACLcB/s400/image2%2B%25284%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Goals</b></div><div>Ah...goals, goals, goals! Where would we be without them? (I bet I'd still be okay because I never follow them, haha.) Here are my goals for November:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IHOxZLP9tYM/WB9bmVxpeEI/AAAAAAAABSc/PIuHY_0dsn8eq1kHnnzGgJAwQtNOYQ1NQCEw/s1600/image3%2B%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IHOxZLP9tYM/WB9bmVxpeEI/AAAAAAAABSc/PIuHY_0dsn8eq1kHnnzGgJAwQtNOYQ1NQCEw/s400/image3%2B%25283%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><ol><li><b>Use my posting schedule! </b>I really need to get back into using my posting schedule. I think it was a great tool for me in planning and figuring out what to do with posts and all. One day I'll make a post about my posting schedule (or maybe I'll do it this month; who knows?).</li><li><b>Actually work on the blog. </b>A pretty obvious one, it may seem simple and easy, but for me, it's not. But I so badly want to keep up with the blog, so try I shall!</li><li><b>Reach 1,000 followers. </b>Okay, this one's not really my call, but Em wants to reach 1,000 by the end of the month. I am going to try my best to do whatever I can to reach that goal. Besides, I think it'll be pretty simple...we're almost there!</li></ol><div><br /></div></div><div>Now I guess I'll have to see how the month of November plays out!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Note: When this post and my November goals were made, we had not yet reached 1,000 followers on Instagram, which is why reaching 1,000 followers is a goal.</i></div>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-28509228342181770852016-10-28T03:30:00.000-04:002017-04-10T10:59:49.566-04:00Dear Readers - An Apology<div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;">Sunday, October 23rd, 2016</div></div><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;">Received on Friday, October 28th, 2016</div></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Dear Readers,</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm sorry for not keeping the blog alive this past month. Will you forgive me?<br /><a name='more'></a><br />I messed up this month. Big time. Not only did I mess up towards the end of September, but for the majority of this month, I didn't write or prepare any blog posts for you. I don't really know how many people read or care about this blog, but for the small audience that I probably (or hope I) have, I would like to apologize. No content for a bit over three weeks? I know I would be going mad if that were to happen to some of my favorite blogs.<br /><br />What happened? What caused me to not write blog posts? Well, I can't really say. I guess it had to do with school, for one thing. It can be busy at times, and weekends are usually for relaxing or for meeting up with friends, and while I suppose I could have used some of my free time for blogging rather than reading or blankly scrolling around bookstagram, I did not.<br /><br />I should have tried more. I really should have. And, sure: this blog is just for fun, right? But isn't this good practice for skills I'll need in the future? Skills such as planning? Marketing? (Who knows if I'll actually need that one, though.) Writing?<br /><br />I apologize. I'll try to do better this next month.<br /><br />{Julia}</div>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524143220979873150.post-26304313685464257782016-10-24T03:30:00.000-04:002016-10-24T03:30:00.156-04:00September 2016 ReflectionIt's time for me to do our monthly reflection and I really don't feel like doing it because I am not proud of what I did this past September for our blog and bookstagram. Certain things (which I'll get to in a bit) are doing well, but I just don't feel like I am doing anything. (Explanations will come shortly.)<br /><div><br /></div><div>If you are new to our monthly reflections, let me catch you up. In these little reflections, I look back at how the month was for our Instagram and blog, by looking at statistics along with my own thoughts and opinions. I also look ahead and write about what will hopefully happen in the next month, in this case October.<br /><a name='more'></a></div><div><br /></div><h3><span style="font-size: large;">Looking Back Into September</span></h3><div><br /></div><div><b>The Blog</b></div><div>If you look at it one way, we did well in September. But if you look at it in another way, the blog didn't do well this past month. What's good is that the blog got <b><span style="color: #38761d;">655 pageviews</span></b> this month, which is about <b><span style="color: #38761d;">23% more</span></b> views than last month!<br /><br />The bad thing is that I really <b><span style="color: #990000;">did not post this month</span></b>. I only posted six times this month, when I should have posted three times, meaning that I <span style="color: #990000;"><b>missed three days of blog posts</b></span>, including this one, which should have posted last Friday, September 30th. I guess I have to get used to writing blog posts and going to school again. Looking back, I started writing all of the blog posts around May, when Em only wrote one blog post. However, at that time, I still had posts stocked up and some extra time because homework became more and more just studying for finals. This was my first month with a good amount of homework and writing all of the blog posts....I don't know how I'll survive October, especially because I've already missed a posting day.<br /><br /><i>Note: This part was written back in early October; I really didn't "survive" October, now did I?</i><br /><br /><b>Instagram</b><br />I forgot to write down how many followers we had at the end of September, but I think it was 703 or a little more, meaning that we <b><span style="color: #38761d;">gained about 243 followers</span></b> this month. Some other things that happened this September were...<br /><br /><ul><li>September 14th: Our second feature on @bookstagramfeatures, a feature account for bookstagram accounts</li><li>September 26th: Our second feature on @bookworm_insta, a feature account for bookstagram accounts</li><li>September 29th: 700 followers</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div><b>Goals</b></div><div>So...I didn't exactly complete my goals for September:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7SCIrlVgHsQ/V8iguhESRFI/AAAAAAAABJ8/EhJ_zenwDn4Tm0NpnOKwkjw44oQmmnq2ACPcB/s1600/image1%2B%25287%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7SCIrlVgHsQ/V8iguhESRFI/AAAAAAAABJ8/EhJ_zenwDn4Tm0NpnOKwkjw44oQmmnq2ACPcB/s320/image1%2B%25287%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><ol><li><b>Sorta? </b>Some posts got a good amount/more pageviews, but others still had a low number. I'm glad to see that some people are enjoying my posts, though.</li><li><b>Ha! That's funny! No, </b>I did not use our posting schedule. I started to use it in the beginning, but then, as you probably know already, I had a lack of inspiration along with school assignments that led me to not writing blog posts and thus not using my posting schedule.</li><li><b>Huh? Was I supposed to do that? </b>Yeah: I definitely didn't do that. I kept on thinking about it, but never actually got around to doing anything? Heh heh...</li></ol><div><br /></div><h3><span style="font-size: large;">Coming Up in October</span></h3><div>So...the problem is this: October is already basically over. Agreed? Agreed. I mean...it's already the 24th of October, which only leaves two more posting days in this month. I'll probably have an apology post along with a book review on <i>Salt to the Sea </i>that I started to draft in late August but completely forgot about and never worked on again.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div></div>Julia and Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756141442786822336noreply@blogger.com1
https://readingisinevitable.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
readingisinevitable.blogspot.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2017-22
316759
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:CHLFLTDW4LOL5VVMRKUFY2A6MOT6QDDV
<urn:uuid:eb9bf73a-4446-4f5f-8acd-f4424a453b72>
2017-05-24T05:58:07Z
172.217.5.225
application/atom+xml
sha1:N5H5V245TNL2LKVSC5VQDCGGURU2JDG5
<urn:uuid:88e25af6-8a3b-475c-a2e0-f7155e4f2615>
https://readingisinevitable.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
response
<urn:uuid:fa7346cf-a130-492a-ab89-fe29938e7e77>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-185-224-210.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-22
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for May 2017
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf