Gushing about VE Schwab

About last night 😍

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We had a fantastic time at the @veschwab event last night! @authormalmccartney and I rode a book high all the way home.

Victoria is so incredibly eloquent and confident in the way she speaks about the writing process, world building, character motivation and just life in general. I am continually in awe of her.

Also she drew Allegro in my book đŸ±.

The way Victoria spoke about the inspiration for her books was really compelling. This Savage Song came from her need to explore the USAs cultural desensitization to really horrible acts of violence. Layers guys, lots of layers.

She spoke about how when writing, she starts with the world building because the world informs her characters and from there she can predict how they would react to the plot. Which was a really interesting perspective, one I had not considered before.

One of my favourite speaking points was on the characterization of her female characters. How she doesn’t go for “the self sacrificing saviour” heroine, her characters are self interested. They would burn the building down with people in it, if it served their best interests. If they happen to save the world while serving their own interests…well then that’s just a bonus. Maybe that’s why I love Delilah Bard so much, because I can relate better to her realness than I can to other YA heroines.

Victoria hilariously told us that Kate from This Savage Song is growing up to be Delilah Bard while she writes A Dark Duet. Which she mentioned is maybe problematic but she’s dealing with it.

How she spoke about music in This Savage Song and the magical otherworldly-ness she associates with music was really gorgeous. She was just talking about her lack of musical talent but she made it sound like poetry. Like I said, continuously in awe.

The countdown is on for The Conjuring of Light and Victoria warned that she dives straight into the madness.

I am not prepared.

Until next time,

TheReadersigntransp

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#WayfaringReadsTheThousandthFloor

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The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee is so stunning, it makes me want to cry. The Wayfaring Bookworm feels the same way which found us gushing over it on each other’s bookstagram. Long story short…we were so excited about it we decided to buddy read but it felt selfish to keep all the excitement to ourselves. Which is how #WayfaringReadsTheThousandthFloor was born.

Here’s the deal, we’ve broken the book up into four parts and will be reading one section each week followed by IG chats about that section on either one or both of our pages (so be sure to follow us both!), followed by a Twitter chat at the end of the book.

We are creating a delightful contest but the prize is classified while we work out the details. Hint: It will be pretty awesome. Be sure to use the hashtag #WayfaringReadsTheThousandthFloor when you post your own photos to participate in the chat AND be entered in the contest.

The reading schedule:

  • October 3rd – 9th: Read up to page 109
  • October 10th – 16th: Read up to page 219
  • October 17th-23rd: Read up to page 327
  • October 24th – 28th: Finish the book!
  • October 28th: Twitter chat

If you read ahead that’s great, but our chats are a spoiler free zone so please be considerate.

Happy reading and we can’t wait to see your pictures!

Until next time,

TheReadersigntransp

Bookish Pet Peeves

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We all have our bookish pet peeves, whether it be folded page corners, broken spines, insta-love, writing style, etc…but I feel like we all have that ONE that can make or break a book for you. Mine broke Miss Peregrine’s and I’m super disappointed about it.

One of my big bookish pet peeves is a book that has an incredible concept but fails in 1st person execution. There are a lot of really wonderful 1st person books out there, a few of my favourites actually. However my big pet peeve is immature, underdeveloped 1st person. Unfortunately for me, Miss Peregrine’s fall in that category.

Stunning concept and great book atmosphere but horrible 1st person narrative. With the movie coming out soon (which looks stunning) I really wanted to love this series but I just can’t 😭😓.

What are your big bookish pet peeves?

Until next time,

TheReadersigntransp

Litsy: A Brand New Bookish App

I discovered Litsy yesterday and it is wonderful.

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What is Litsy?

Litsy is a place to share and discover your favorite books with your favorite people.

The Litsy community is a groundswell of passionate readers, authors, celebrities, and more. Share bookish moments with Quotes, Reviews, and Blurbs. Measure Litfluenceto discover your “bookprint” in the world. Explore recommendations from readers, not algorithms.

Oh yeah, want to organize your reading list? Our app has stacks for that, too.

It’s fun.  It’s simple.  It’s all about the book.

A friend of mine from my publishing days (Steffie, who works for Joe Books, check them out) recommended Litsy to me last week. It took me a few days to get around to it but I am loving it so far.

It will never replace bookstagram for me but it is definitely an awesome mix of goodreads, instagram and twitter. And it’s for books ONLY!

I have to admit that I’ve never really been a fan of Goodreads, I don’t enjoy the structure or the atmosphere. So I love that the book community now has a different outlet for reviewing and sharing reading experiences. The apps layout is easy to figure out so you can feel comfortable getting involved right away! I’m a fan of the rating system, it has moved away from the star system to a “Like, So-S0, Pan and Bail” system. Which I prefer, however I wish there was a “Love” option. Like doesn’t describe how I feel about some books, I need a stronger word.

Do I think it will replace Goodreads? No. It doesn’t have the format for long reviews, which people love. But it is a great way to keep track of my TBR list, as well as share my book photography and reviews on a broader format.

It’s only available for IOS users for now but it’s only a matter of time before it becomes available for everyone.

Come join me on Litsy, my username is RegularlyReads!

Until next time,

TheReadersigntransp

Pleasure Reading with Sarah Knight

I just wanted to thank @MCSnugz (aka Sarah Knight, author of The Life-changing Magic Of Not Giving a F*ck) for this post on Book Riot about the power of pleasure reading.

notgivingafuckI was an intern at a major publisher and it was absolutely amazing, a book lovers dream, which I miss dearly and would do again in a heartbeat. BUT I had the same reading problem. I had stacks of ARCs to read and prepare work for and they were all books I would be happy to pick up in store anyway so I should have been thrilled, but there is a difference between reading because it has to get done and reading for pleasure. I almost resented my book stacks by the end of the internship (just an internship, although a full career hasn’t been counted out yet) because I missed reading when and where I wanted to. These feelings were completely unexpected. I thought I would have my Book Lovers badge taken away because I was so lucky to be in the position I was, surrounded by amazing books and future best sellers, and not loving every minute. So thank you Sarah Knight for making me feel like I can still proudly wear my Book Lovers badge.

Starting Regularly Reads was a way to share books with the community I love (here’s looking at you fellow book lovers) at my own pace and schedule. I may return to the publishing world someday in the near future and this time I won’t underestimate the power of pleasure reading.

It’s all about balance.

Because as Sarah said “…life is too short to finish books you don’t like”.

Until next time,

TheReadersigntransp

P.S. I did love my internship (just not every minute) and would recommend a career in publishing to anyone considering it. When your only problem is you have TOO many books to read…well life isn’t that bad. Just remember balance.