The Weekly Hufflepuff #67 // Uhhhhhhh *insert witty title*

Yes a weekly wrap up on a Monday but it’s okay

It’s been over a MONTH since my last weekly wrap up and?? I don’t know how that happened?? I did talk about some personal stuff in April’s wrap up (IT’S ALMOST TIME TO WRAP UP MAY HOWWWW) but I didn’t share any blog posts that I read?? Be prepared to get lots of great posts thrown in your facesMy memory is failing me and I have no clue what I’ve read since my last wrap up (both weekly and monthly) so I’ll just talk about what I’m reading right now which is okay because it’s SO GOOD. I was hooked from the first page and I immediately knew Anger Is A Gift would be a new fave. It’s coming out tomorrow so I should have finished it by now so I could have my review up but… I requested it not that long ago thinking I wouldn’t get accepted anyway, but then I DID and now I’m kinda screwed. But I’m halfway there so my review should be up next week at the latest*

* That’s what I thought when it came to Starfish and that took me a MONTH hahahaSo last wrap up I didn’t talk about what classes I’m following this term, which surprises me because I remember being prepared to RANT but then I just forgot because school is eating my brain. Oh well

Anyway, in either your third or fourth year you need to choose a specialisation. I chose culture, which means I’m taking fine arts, film, literature and philosophy of culture. Fine arts and film are a lot of fun, philosophy of culture is okay – it’s not a lot of philosophy, mostly it’s history and a lot of it I already knew? And then there’s literature

Now I know what you’re thinking: ‘Michelle, you’re a book blog! Are you saying you don’t like your literature class?’ hahahaha

That’s exactly what I’m saying

Okay but hear me out. My entire class is focusing on ONE book. ONE. A book of course written by a white, abled straight cis man, who also!! Is incredibly islamophobic, sexist and homophobic!! So the book we’re reading?? A MESS. My teacher? LOVES IT. My anxious ass? QUIET. I really wish I could speak up but,,, ugghh. Anxiety. The teacher doesn’t seem to have a problem with the book at all. She even went out of her way to say that she doesn’t think it’s islamophobic. Oh and the sexism?? ‘so absurd that it’s unrealistic’ yeah the main character thinking women shouldn’t vote is so unrealistic hahahahaha and the objectifying of women? Doesn’t happen!!! Never!! But to make matters worse there was this:

”Do you guys think there’s any humour in this? I do”*proceeds to read aloud a quote that I personally found homophobic/lesbophobic but apparently she thinks it’s funny!!*

And of course a few people laughed

Meanwhile I felt like I had been slapped in the face and was about to cry

So yeah. FUN

But my other classes are a lot more inclusive! Not as much as I’d like, but still. Plus at least they’re not this woman :) We have to fill out surveys for each class each term, so I’m definitely going to say something about her and her class. Maybe I’ll find the courage to speak up in tomorrow’s class now that I’ve finished the book but that woman makes me really anxious (speaking up itself already does sdjgh)

Anyway what else happened?

💛 EUROVISION. Eurovision was once again a blast, though there was not enough weird Eurovision stuff, glitter and gay. Also I don’t like the winner. I had SO many faves why did my two least favourite ones end up first and second. Countries were robbed. Not enough meme material. But it’s Eurovision and I will always love it

💛 MY OTP GOT MARRIED AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT AND GINA RODRIGUEZ FINALLY APPEARED ON B99 AND IT WAS PERFECT AND ROSA’S REACTION WAS ICONIC AND RELATABLE AND SUCH A MOOD (don’t want to spoil anyone so I’m being vague lol)

💛 Two weeks ago I had to take care of the neighbours cat and she was the CUTEST thing #blessed

💛 Uhhhhhhh

💛 I seriously need a PensieveSince my monthly wrap up I wrote four posts wow so much many posts much impressed

💛 I reviewed My Name is Victoria which was,,, okay? But the plot twist at the end ruined it for me
💛 I also reviewed Starfish which was INCREDIBLE and my favourite book of the year nothing will surpass it
💛 I shared my reactions to the Hogwarts Mystery game
💛 I shared another playlist for Monthly Mixtape

I can’t wait for summer break to get here and I swear if I don’t pass my exams and have to redo them my school is going to catch these hands💛 Emma @ The Book Crunch shares her favourite YA books that feature mental health issues
💛 LaRonda @ Flying Paperbacks recommends some contemporaries that deal with mental health as well
💛 Julianna @ Paper Blots reviews My So-Called Bollywood Life which sounds like a great book so check out her amazing review
💛 Ilsa @ A Whisper of Ink talks about her writing in the Rising Author Tag and shares some amazing snippets
💛 Annemieke @ A Dance With Books celebrated her blog’s third birthday
💛 She also wonders if these days 3-star ratings are bad ratings
💛 Eri and Alexis @ Lacy Literacy talk about their day at YALLWEST
💛 Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books shouts about 10 books she rarely screams about but feels like she should
💛 She also wonders if you have to review books to be a book blogger
💛 Oh and of course she once again made me even more excited about her WIP by doing my Your WIP in Gifs Tag
💛 Amber @ The Literary Phoenix talks about the worst movies adapted from books
💛 Sarah @ Written Word Worlds talks about stereotypical YA characters and created a quiz to figure out which one you are
💛 Kat @ Life and Other Disasters wonders if you fight for your tv show
💛 She also created another great writing tag called The Milestones Write Tag
💛 May @ Forever and Every recommends YA Asian books 
💛 She also reviewed Furyborn and rants about the messy and vague bi rep which you should really read
💛 Ever wondered how to write a shipable OTP? Elizabeth @ Redgal Musings has a guide for you
💛 Holly @ Nut Free Nerd talks about book blogging as a feminist space
💛 Lu @ It’s Lu Again started a new blogging series called ‘Coming Out Series’ and I can’t choose which one to share so: Part 1 about LGBT+ Rep // Part 2 about 2018’s LGBT+ themed books // Part 3 in which she reviews Autoboyography
💛 Aimee @ Aimee, Always shares 5 things Children of Blood and Bone made her do 
💛 Vivian @ Writing With Style talks about how she avoids inconsistencies in her writing
💛 Amena @ Nerd in New York talks about how blogging changes the way she reads
💛 Inside My Library Mind shares all you need to know to start using Edelweiss
💛 Chiara @ Delicate Eternity gives 5 reasons why she enjoyed Ace of Shades
💛 Cristina @ Girl in the Pages talks about YA books set in college
💛 Fadwa @ Word Wonders shares how she manages to not drown under blogging and reading
💛 And last but definitely not least, Cait @ Paper Fury announced her second (!!) novel

I have four more weeks to go until summer break* but it feels sooo much longer. Probably because I never even got to properly rest from last school year dskngjhd I have so many blog post ideas and I’m so excited about blogging again, but it’s hard to find the time and energy to be honest. Even though I don’t want school to dominate my life (which I’m kind of succeeding in?) I just can’t bring myself to blog as much as I’d want to. I also really, really want to change things about my design** and technically I could make time, but I’d rather use that time to write posts and blog hop. It’s starting to bug me though, I really want to change things haha

* If I pass everything please I’m begging you
** You may have noticed I changed my ‘summary’ and ‘review’ banners in my review

So yeah after I scheduled this post I got reaaaally annoyed with my old design and realised that the new posts I’ve got planned (emphasis on planned I haven’t written anything lmao) wouldn’t be done justice soooo LOOK NEW DESIGN. And a few new graphics. It’s not done yet, as I need to replace a bunch of other graphics and I want to clean up my categories more (you may have noticed that my menu is a lot smaller, but I want to come up with more categories and just order everything better) So if you only see one post from me this week blame the new design lol 
Are you almost done with school? (please don’t tell me if you’re done this week I will cry out of envy) How are you hanging in there? Read any amazing books? Did you cry at the Peraltiago wedding? Let me know in the comments!

The Weekly Hufflepuff #66 // I’M HOME

I’M HOME

live footage of me on the flight back home (also when i picked up my mom at the train station)

Sorry for the radio silence, but as I mentioned before my mom came over so I’ve been busy showing her around, and then of course packing everything up (including 16 plushies* I have a p r o b l e m) and getting back home. Manchester Airport was pretty chaotic, especially the security part which isn’t fun when that part already gives you lots of anxiety. And then our flight got delayed – but apart from that everything went fine and we got home safely.

* 1 I bought for my mom, 1 my mom bought for a friend and 1 I had brought from home but still adkbjfs

Since my last wrap up I started and finished Starfish, which I would’ve finished a lot sooner if I hadn’t been busy with my mom. I definitely could’ve read it all in one sitting – definitely worth the hype!

Today I finished Sugar Lump which was,,, disappointing. It’s centered around a mystery in a small town and boy was I let down by that ‘mystery’. I just expected a lot more.

I picked up Moxie for four pounds (if you’re ever in the UK and nearby an Asda – go go go they have a small YA section and really cheap prices it’s heaven) and started it on the plane, but I didn’t get very far as I was exhausted. I’m excited to continue though!

As I already mentioned I spent my last week in Manchester with my mom. Since Love, Simon came out last Friday and it takes forever to come out in The Netherlands* I HAD to go see it of course.

* Sometime in June like yyyy I was really lucky to still be in the UK when it came out

View this post on Instagram

Saw @lovesimonmovie the other day and I’m still not over it 😭 I have no words to express how much I loved it ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 ••• #lovesimon #simonvsthehomosapiensagenda

A post shared by Michelle 🌈 (@thewritinghufflepuff) on Apr 10, 2018 at 12:11pm PDT

I really have no words I loved it so much. I still tear up just thinking about it it was so beautiful and just??? perfect?? Brb crying

me pretty much the entire movie

I realise this sounds like I immediately went to see it as it came out, but since we had tickets to see Hairspray the same day we went to Love, Simon the next day. Hairspray is my favourite musical so when I found out it was playing in Manchester while I was there I knew I had to take the opportunity. I’m so happy that I got the chance to see it – and it was SO GOOD. The entire cast was just so talented and cute and just sdfhgv

Of course we did and saw a lot more than this, but I’ll leave that for future posts that I’ll hopefully get around to soon. Classes start this Tuesday and I still have two essays to write. I was planning on starting yesterday but uhhh guess what

I’m really excited to write those posts though – I’ve been meaning to write some of them since FOREVER as I wanted to post about the things I saw and did while still in Manchester, but oh well.

💛 I wrapped up March or more like promoted Hayley Kiyoko’s debut album
💛 I reviewed Lady Mary, which is an interesting look on future Queen Mary, daughter of Henry VII, and the affair between the latter and Anne Boleyn

💛 Olivia @ Purely Olivia wonders if standalones get enough credit
💛 Iona @ Dragon Waffles shares some romance tropes that melt her heart
💛 Chiara @ Delicate Eternity talkes about why she didn’t love Let’s Talk About Love
💛 Sarah @ Written Word Worlds wonders if star ratings should be replaced by gifs
💛 Andie @ Andrea’s Nirvana shares what she wants to see more of in YA
💛 Vivian @ Writing With Style shares how she outlines her novels
💛 May @ Forever and Everly talks about privilege in the YA online book community

Have you had the opportunity to see Love, Simon yet? Have you ever seen your favourite musical performed live? Let me know in the comments!

The Weekly Hufflepuff #64 | I Really Can Stay Because It’s Cold Outside*

What did I even do this week I’m not joking I don’t remember anything from before Thursday???

* Honestly can’t relate to that song it’s freezing hell no am I going anywhere

I continued to reread Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and am almost done. I’ll probably finish it tonight. I’m tempted to continue my reread after, but I’m also very very tempted to read some new books that I’ve gotten for Sinterklaas – OH YEAH THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK TOO. I remember something that happened before Thursday. My memory didn’t completely fail me yay

DID ANY OF YOU WATCH BROOKLYN NINE NINE THIS WEEK BECAUSE NO SPOILERS BUT I’M SO HAPPY IT’S FINALLY CANON AND THAT THEY ACTUALLY DID THAT. DURING THE 99TH EPISODE

Like my revelation in the previous section revealed, it was Sinterklaas (a holiday) this week. I needed to go to the bank and my mom needed to buy a gif for my cousin, so I didn’t really have the time to do much else since once we got back we immediately ate dinner and then left for my aunt’s house. My cousin no longer believes in Sinterklaas (he’s like our Santa) but it was still fun. I mean, a holiday with lots of chocolate and presents, how can that not be fun?

I didn’t take any pictures because I’m incredibly lazy* but I got: Pokemon Ultra Sun; Eliza and her Monsters; None of the Above; Always and Forever, Lara Jean; Girls Made of Snow and Glass; Marie from The Aristocats slippers; Wonder Woman thights and a chocolate letter (it’s tradition to get a chocolate letter during this holiday, usually the first letter of your name but sometimes you’re out of luck and your letter is all sold out)

* And very comfy underneath my Eeyore blanket

So I know I said I didn’t remember anything before Thursday, but Thursday wasn’t that special so I’m skipping that one. On Friday I met up with a friend from secondary school who know lives in Rotterdam where she’s also studying. While I had a lot of fun with her, the weather was horrible. There was a strong wind (my friend had brought an umbrella so she was almost Mary Poppins), rain and hail which made it even colder than it already was. It was such a relief whenever we got inside haha.

And now it’s snowing and it probably will tomorrow too so guess who’s not leaving the house

I didn’t write this week, but I might later today? I want to write some blog posts for this week first, so I’m not sure if I’ll feel up for it later, but who knows.

💛 I started a new feature for the holidays: Merry Christmas Ya Beautiful Bloggers, in which I highlight some amazing bloggers
💛 I did the All Hallows Write tag, in which I answered Halloween related questions about my characters
💛 I reviewed Vengeance Road, which had a lot of potential but I was bored

It’s so easy to get behind again haha. Earlier this week I was on top of all the blog posts I needed to read* and now?? Very, very behind. Oh well, here are some posts I liked:

💛 Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books talks about how to find and read only books you love 
💛 Aentee @ Read at Midnight created another fun readathon, this time inspired by Animal Crossing Pocket Camp
💛 Jackie @ Too Much of a Book Nerd shares 4 reasons why The November Girl should be on your TBR
💛 Julianna @ Blots of Ink and Words thought of some great inventions that all us bookworms need in our lives asap
💛 Em @ Yellow’s the Word shares her favourite things about Christmas
💛 Elm @ Just Call Me Elm or something wrote a beautiful poem called ‘Side Characters in My Own Story’ 
💛 Kat @ Life and Other Disasters created the fun Winter is Here Write Tag
💛 Holly @ Nut Free Nerd talks about Christmas at Oxford 
💛 Sarah @ Written Word Worlds shares some pretty special editions

* At least that’s how I felt haha

How has your week been? Is it really cold where you live too? DID YOU WATCH BROOKLYN NINE NINE?

The Weekly Hufflepuff #63 | I Am Eeyore

Good news: Didn’t suffer from a blogging slump this week!

Bad news: I did suffer from my mental health and my period rip

Actually I’ve been putting off this post the entire day because I’m just not feeling good mentally, but I talked to my friend for a bit just now and am feeling slightly better, so let’s wrap this week up

I started What’s a Girl Gotta Do? by Holly Bourne before going to sleep and finished it the next day immediately. I just HAD to finish it before doing anything else. I’m not one of those people who can read until the early mornings. I’ve never tried, because eventually I give in and go to sleep, but I don’t handle lack of sleep well so I’m not planning on trying. Anyway, What’s a Girl Gotta Do? is PHENOMENAL and I can’t wait to scream about it in your faces review it.

Friday on the bus I started Take Me With You by Andrea Gibson and lemme tell you: THAT WAS A MISTAKE. I almost cried on the bus. Then I almost cried at the bus stop. I finished it today in the privacy of my own house and boy was I a crying mess. I immediately reread it again and I know I will reread it again soon. It’s incredibly moving, powerful and beautiful and again, can’t wait to review it.

I also read DC Bombshells #60. 40 more issues to go before I can go on to Bombshells United. This is honestly one of my favourite comics but it’s taking me forever to read it? Once I’m finally caught up a bit I’ll write a post about it.

This morning I woke up feeling in the mood for Harry Potter, so I started to reread Goblet of Fire. I’ve been meaning to reread it for quite some time now as I started to reread the series last year, but other books just got in the way.

I wanted to go to museums this week but the weather has been terrible and life got in the way so unfortunately it didn’t happen. I’m hoping to go visit some museums soon, since some exhibitions will close while I’m in Manchester so I really need to go before I leave.

We (Blikopeners – a group of teens/young people (you’re a teen when you start) who work at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam) wrote our own audiotour, so on Friday we recorded it which was a lot of fun. It felt so professional haha

Yesterday my mom and I went shopping, since we still needed to buy presents for Sinterklaas, which is a Dutch holiday. I also treated myself to this:

IT’S AN EEYORE BLANKET AND IT’S THE BEST THING I EVER BOUGHT IT EVEN HAS A TAIL IT’S SO COMFY AND WARM AND SOFT

Here’s a picture of my grandpa wearing it. He came over for dinner yesterday. He told us that the other day a guy at his retirement home whom he really doesn’t like walked past him, and then he (my grandpa) gave him the middle finger??

My mom: why??
My grandpa: because I don’t like him 😤 and he doesn’t get it 😤 he still doesn’t 😤

My grandpa has that old people mentallity where they don’t care anymore and just do what they want. Honestly part of me wishes I could’ve had that mentallity last term when people didn’t do their work lmao.

So those were the highlights.* Like I said before, I’ve been struggling with my period and mental health, but I’ve continued to talk to my friend while writing this post and it is making me feel a bit better. My mental health is always worse during my period so hopefully it will both be over soon.

* My grandfather coming over was a highlight, not him giving a man the finger

I almost forgot that I actually wrote this week! I was supposed to go out with a friend, but unfortunately she had to cancel because of school. So I spent the day blogging and writing. Not as much writing as I would’ve liked, but I always have trouble writing while on my period. Either I’m in too much pain or I just can’t concentrate.

Anyway, recently I’ve been struggling a lot with my beginning. I realised that I didn’t like it at all, so now I started to rewrite it. So yep, I’ve already started to rewrite my second draft lol*

* I hadn’t gotten that far yet anyway so it’s okay

I’m MUCH happier with it now though, so it was worth it. Hopefully I’ll feel like writing more next week.

💛 I talked about when reading good books make you feel insecure about your writing
💛 I wrapped up November, meaning I had a crisis about 2017 almost being over and time going by so fast like every year
💛 I reviewed Paintbrush and boy I did not like it. Apart from flat characters and a borderline unhealthy relationship, it also had girls shaming other girls

💛 Cait @ Paper Fury talked about how her writing habits have changed in 2017 
💛 Laura @ The Book Corps wrote an open letter to Goodreads and Netgalley in regard to their recent changes in their policies when it comes to international bloggers
💛 Elm @ Just Call Me Elm Or Something shared her musings while she was on a train
💛 Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books is celebrating 3 years of blogging – can you believe she’s only been doing this for three years??
💛 She also talked about the fear of editing her WIP and some character aesthetics
💛 Em @ Yellow’s the Word shared 18 memories from 18 years 
💛 Birdie Bookworm made great aesthetics for The Book Aesthetics Tag 
💛 Sarah @ Written Word Worlds talks about how some of her favourite authors wrote some of her least favourite books
💛 Balie @ Nerd in New York talks about types of bookworms
💛 Kat @ Life and Other Disasters did the All Hallows Write Tag
💛 Hannah @ Mortal Reader talks about lies book bloggers tell
💛 Victoria @ Doodles and Scraps shares some cute photos
💛 May @ Forever and Everly talks about good representation concerning diversity in YA: better none or forced/wrong?
💛 The Awkward Book Blogger talked about what jobs the characters of The Lunar Chronicles would have in real life
💛 Holly @ Nut Free Nerd talked about her trip to Brighton
💛 Dazzling Dreamer talked about her trip to Dubai

Hope you’re all doing well and had a good week! What were some of your highlights? Any amazing blog posts you think I should read? Did you write? Do you love Eeyore? OH AND DID YOU WATCH THE LOVE SIMON TRAILER BECAUSE I WAS ALREADY IMPATIENT FOR THE ENTIRE MOVIE AND NOW I NEED TO STEAL A TARDIS BRB

The Weekly Hufflepuff #62 | I’m In a Blogging Slump????

Haha so yeah, I’m sort of in a blogging slump? Which I honestly didn’t expect would happen, considering usually my blogging slumps are caused by the exhaustion and stress of school. But I don’t have school? And I’ve been feeling pretty relaxed most days?

Yet, I haven’t felt like blogging these past two weeks. There were a few days where I wasn’t feeling that great (stupid cold) or wasn’t really feeling well mentally, but there were other days where I was feeling pretty great and I was in such a creative mood – just not a creative mood for blogging? I’ve been working on my photography and even writing (!!), but I just didn’t have the energy, motivation or inspiration to blog. Which has been pretty weird. I’m afraid that soon I’ll fall out of love with blogging, but I’m just going to try and listen to my heart. If I feel like blogging (like today!), I’ll blog. If I don’t, I won’t, because otherwise I’m seriously worried it will start to feel like a chore and before you know it I’ll be in an even worse blogging slump. Sooo while originally I wanted a schedule of two posts a week plus my weekly wrap up, I’m not sure if that will happen? But we’ll see

ANYWAY let’s wrap up these last two weeks

I started Vengeance Road sometime at the start of the month, and at first I thought it would be a pretty quick read, but… I dunno? It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t exactly blow me away either. I guess I also had some other expectations? If everything goes according to plan I’ll be writing my review later today, so it should be up sometime this week.

I also finally finished Karina’s Silver Shoes, which really took me a while. I’ve already reviewed this one, so I won’t get into that much detail, but boy was this one a disappointment.

I was in the mood to reread The Upside of Unrequited, which I’ve been meaning to do for a while. I still can’t believe I didn’t catch the Simon vs references the first time around? Sure, it had been over a year since I read Simon, but??? Simon is literally mentioned by his name??

I also read some comics like usual: caught up on Ms. Marvel, Lumberjanes and America, finally continued DC Bombshells (I love this comic I don’t understand why I’m so slow) and read some more Runaways volumes because the show really made me want to continue. I’m not sure if I’ll read the other volumes after Vaughn’s run though. I really hated Joss Whedon’s volume and the next ones don’t seem that great either. I’m tempted to just skip to Rainbow Rowell’s new issues.

So I’ve really been enjoying my time off! Well minus my cold and the days my mental health wasn’t that great, but other than that? Boy this break has been a blessing. I mean I’ve even been writing?? But I’ll get into that later, because I can actually include a writing section in this wrap up.

Like I said above, I’ve also been working on my photography. And trying to post more on my photography Instagram account haha. Speaking of which…

Click on the picture to go to my account! (if you want)

If you aren’t yet and want to, feel free to follow me 🙆🏻*

* Cheeky self-promo there

The other day my friend came over to hold a photoshoot, but we also just hung out, since we hadn’t seen each other since last term (not that that was that long ago and we do talk every day through imessage, but still haha). It was a lot of fun, but I was still a bit ill so spending so much time outside in the cold was a bit too much haha.

Last week I was sick of staying inside, so I decided to go to the Rijksmuseum. I didn’t know what kind of temporary exhibitions were on, so I decided to check them out while I was there. One of them was about being stateless in The Netherlands which was really beautiful (though not something I needed when I really didn’t want to cry with my stuffy nose!) and the other one was about Matthijs Maris, a Dutch artist who I had never heard of but it was really interesting and inspiring! There was another one, I’m not sure about what, but one look and I knew it wasn’t my thing haha. After those temporary exhibitions I spend some time in the regular collection, but soon I started to feel ill again so it was time to go home.

Oh! I’m  also slowly getting grades back from last term and so far so good! 🙆🏻

Also I’m now OFFICIALLY accepted at the university in Manchester for my term abroad! I’ll be studying history for my minor and thankfully they can provide me with a dorm during my stay. I’m still super anxious about it, but at least all of this is now settled

Like I said: I’ve been writing! Last week I decided to print everything I’ve written so far for my WIP (my Camp NaNo project of the past two years, I’ve talked about it in more details here), something I’ve wanted to do for weeks now, but couldn’t because

So I FINALLY printed everything out, started to reread, make notes and everything and now, even though I haven’t finished my first draft yet, started on my second draft. Maybe I should’ve finished my first draft first, but this is motivating me to actually write so I’m going with it.

I’ve also been working on plot holes and the like, and I’ve been working on my outline, as I had never figured out what would happen next and how things would exactly end. I’ve made a timeline of when everything’s supposed to happen and I’m so excited to write again

Though I’m also really sad and kinda scared to actually finish this thing??

Though I’m also already thinking of a sort of sequel/companion novel when this one isn’t even done yet haha

💛 I talked about where I’ve been, what I’ve been up to and explained that I’m taking a break from school 
💛 I reviewed Swan Song, a book about overcoming your grief, finding yourself and ballet
💛 I shared a recipe of how to make your own writer in case your stuck and want someone else to take over for you 
💛 I reviewed Karina’s Silver Shoes, which was VERY confusing 

I’m pretty behind on blog posts, and I don’t mind at all? I’ve bookmarked quite a few posts that I wanted to read, but I’m very tempted to just delete them all and start over, because boy am I never going to have the time to read them all and read all the new posts coming out all the time as well. Anyway, I don’t think any of these were actually posted during these past two weeks? I’m not sure, but hey old posts deserve some love too!

💛 Lila @ Hardcover Haven shares five things to do while in a blogging slump 
💛 Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books talks about how to NOT stress about blogging
💛 Melissa @ The Bookish Wanderer did The Book Aesthetics tag and created some wonderful aesthetics 
💛 Em @ Yellow’s The Word shared her Autumn/Winter Primark wishlist
💛 Holly @ Nut Free Nerd shared some beautiful university parks
💛 Savannah @ The Book Prophet talks about giving books low ratings without reading them
💛 May @ Forever and Everly talks about her book and shares some beautiful aesthetics
💛 Ivy and Em @ Two Girls, Two Mountains share some foreign words with no English equivalent
💛 Ilsa @ A Whisper of Ink shares 7 steps to love your own writing
💛 Vivian @ Writing With Style shares the best books about writing (and now I want them all rip my wallet)
💛 A.J. wrote a really important post about how people shouldn’t demand authors who write queer stories to label themselves 

And that’s a wrap! How has your week been? How’s your writing going? Can you relate to that frog gif? Been to any exhibitions lately? Are you watching The Runaways tv show? Let me know in the comments!

The Weekly Hufflepuff #61 | Art And B99 Murdered Me

I guess it’s becoming a habit to post wrap ups every other week instead of every week?? Though not for long! But more on that later.

I have to wrap up two weeks and I barely remember anything – why is my memory like this

In my last wrap up I was still making my way through Danger! Women Artists at Work which I finally finished. It was a really interesting read, but I wish it had included more women of colour and queer women. In my last wrap up I also mentioned having started Chasing Eveline, which I finished as well and absolutely loved. Apparently I never mentioned Masked in any previous wrap ups, but I read that one as well and… boy. I’ll elaborate later

Because I was behind on reviews I decided to not start a new book, so instead I read some comics. I’ll talk about all of them in my monthly wrap up, but for now I’ll only talk about Runaways, since I read the first three volumes. With the tv show coming up I figured it was time to give it a shot. While it’s a fun read, it hasn’t really blown me away yet. I am enjoying the girl power though.

I also finally read The Importance of Being Earnest, which is something I’ve wanted to read ever since I fell in love with Oscar Wilde a few years ago, and started Emma by Kaoru Mori. Two years ago I bought volume 1 and 2 in one, but never picked it up. It’s a cute manga, but I don’t know if I’ll continue it once I finish volume 2.

Time to test my memory

Oh yeah! I went to an art exhibition about gender and sexuality in Rotterdam, which I might cover in an Artsy Hufflehoe at some point. I say might because I might forget woops. It was really interesting though. Next week is the last week so if you live in The Netherlands and find exhibitions like that interesting, go check it out! It’s called Among other things I’ve taken up smoking and is at TENT.

Last week there was an event related to Keith Haring at the Stedelijk Museum, which included a panel with two people from the Keith Haring Foundation and a panel with some Dutch artists on whom Haring had a lot of influence and in some cases they had even met him/worked with him. It was really interesting, but what made it even better was seeing the velum in real life. Back in the 80’s Haring painted the velum specifically for the museum but it was gone for years. Now it’s been restored and it’s on display again above the stairs until June next year. If you’re in The Netherlands during that time I’d definitely recommend it because it’s really cool seeing it with your own eyes

I also finally cleaned my room – I’m not usually a messy person, but um… It had gotten really bad. By the time I was done it was so weird to see how much space I had lmao. I also re-arranged my shelves a bit and took out some books to give away. This took up a lot of my time, but at least it’s finally done.

Yesterday I went to the park hoping to take in the pretty Autumn colours and take some pictures… Only to discover that almost everything was still green #rip

ALSO DID ANYONE WATCH THIS WEEK’S BROOKLYN NINE NINE IT WAS SO GOOD

💛 I reviewed Ewan Pendle and the White Wraith which I’d recommend to every Harry Potter fan
💛 I finally wrote the first post in my London travel series (a year later lmao) 
💛 I also reviewed Masked, which I wouldn’t recommend to anyone. It could’ve been a fun superhero book, but there is a abusive relationship, a white superhero named Gypsy, slut-shaming and a bunch of other fun stuff
💛 And lastly I also reviewed Chasing Eviline, which is a really fun, cute, refresing contemporary that I’d recommend to everyone, contemporary fan or not

Hopefully I’ll be able to post part 2 of my London travel series sometime next week, and not spam you guys with so many reviews haha

💛 Giulia @ The High-Heeled Paper Girl wrote a powerful piece called ‘No, I don’t want you, stranger, to follow me down the streets’ 
💛 Lila @ Hardcover Haven talks about things she needs to see more of in books
💛 Vivian @ Writing With Style shares her NaNoWriMo project
💛 And so does Savannah @ The Book Prophet
💛 Holly @ Nut Free Nerd compares The Picture of Dorian Gray to The Goldfinch
💛 Lauren @ My Paper Infinity talks about her WIP and shares her character aesthetics
💛 Ellyn @ allonsythornraxx shares comic recommendations for young adult readers
💛 Bridget @ Bridget & Books talks about what makes her follow a blog
💛 Fadwa @ Word Wonders shares the dos and don’ts of approaching reviewers
💛 Multiple bloggers shared their beautiful book aesthetics: Brooke @ Brooke’s Books | Michelle @ Book Adventures | Laura @ Green Tea Paperbacks | Sarah @ Weaving Life | Laura @ Laura Noakes | Alicia @ The Grumpy Librarian
💛 Mikaela @ The Well-Thumbed Reader wonders if it’s okay to avoid talking about controversial topics
💛 May @ Forever and Everly came back to the blogging community! 
💛 A.J. @ Lacy Literacy discusses authors invading fan spaces
💛 The Orangutan Librarian wonders how realistic books should be

I’ve been able to read more posts these last two weeks, but I’m still having trouble keeping up, so sorry if I haven’t visited your blog in a while 💛

How was your week? Or past two weeks haha. Read anything good? Watched Brooklyn Nine Nine? Let me know in the comments!

The Monthly and Weekly Hufflepuff #60 | I Live

I didn’t mean to skip last week’s wrap up, but I was busy with deadlines and felt really weird and weak? Might have caught a bug or something, I dunno. But I live yay!

ALSO THE BOLD TYPE HAS BEEN RENEWED FOR NOT ONLY SEASON 2, BUT SEASON 3 AS WELL

I’m DEFINITELY living

Right now I’m still working my way through Danger! Women Artists at Work (I love non-fiction yet it takes me forever to actually finish them whyyy) and I started Chasing Eveline which I can’t say antyhing about yet as I pretty much just started. Meanwhile I also finished Ewan Pendle, and I ended up loving it! Hopefully I’ll have a review up this week. But let’s skip the other books I read since my last wrap up and just talk about my September books because I’m lazy  and most of them will be discussed anyway in the list below¯\_(ツ)_/¯

💛 Marked by Kim Richardson ★ – Just realised I haven’t reviewed this one yet – woops. This one really disappointed me. I found it boring, flat, the characters annoying and the romance way too insta-y.

💛 America #6 and #7 – issue 6 was a bit of a let-down for me, as I felt like the arc was ended abruptly and solved too easily, but 7 was really interesting and fun to read as it dives into America’s past and shows us her moms’ past too

💛 Giant Days #30 and Holiday Special – Still a really fun read

💛 Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh ★★★ – Another one I just realised I still haven’t reviewed. Woops. I’ve talked about it before in a weekly wrap up, but this one was also a bit of a let-down. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t really enjoy it either. I’m still questioning my three stars actually. It had a lot of potential and I definitely love the concept, but I’m definitely not a fan of the romance and I also felt really detached from the story and its characters

💛 Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor ★★ – Such a disappointment. It started out SO GOOD. I could definitely see myself loving it. But then the romance completely took over and I wanted to rip my eyes out*

💛 The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl volumes 4, 5 and 6 ★★★★★ – Squirrel Girl just gets better and better with each volume. If you haven’t checked it out yet, YOU MUST

💛 The Backstagers all issues ★★★★★ – I LOVE THIS COMIC SO MUCH I NEED MORE. Queer theater boys?? Yes please. Backstage being an ACTUAL magic place that reminded me a bit of Wonderland? Yes please. Basically this entire comic is a YES PLEASE from me and I highly recommend it

💛 Ewan Pendle and the White Wraith by Shaun Hume ★★★★ – SUCH a fun read and I’m so disappointed that there might not be a sequel. Basically all of you must read it ASAP (and I shall try to convince you to read it sometime this week)

💛 Lumberjanes #42 – Have I already yelled my love for Lumberjanes into your face? No? Here ya go: I LOVE LUMBERJANES**

💛 Doctor Who Myths and Legends by Rirchard Dinnick ★ – Unfortunately not for me. I love Doctor Who but I couldn’t connect to the writing style which really got in the way of enjoying this

💛 Ms. Marvel #22 – uhhh last book of September and I don’t really remember it? I liked it, that I know for sure. It was a good ending to this arc

* Sorry for that image
** If you want more than just ‘I LOVE LUMBERJANES’ to convince you to read this amazing comic might I redirect you to my ‘why you should read lumberjanes’ post 

What have I done with my life

That’s not a joke I don’t remember. I’ve been super busy with school and trying to meet every deadline. I’ve also worked here and there and just… Watched some tv shows? Read some books? OH HEY GUESS WHAT I FINALLY CAUGHT UP ON TEEN WOLF. Right in time for the finale (okay actually after the finale but that meant I could binge watch)

Is there a ‘I’m disappointed club’ because

It doesn’t surprise me at all because 6A had a great ending, but this one?

I barely enjoyed the season as well. Sure there were moments I liked and loved, but mostly? Nope 6B didn’t happen. JUST LIKE KIRA APPARENTLY DIDN’T HAPPEN

Thankfully Brooklyn Nine Nine is back so I’m all good

asbfhsdg I love Holt so much I’d die for him

Okay but seriously, I don’t think I really did anything?* I just focused on school and work, but this week I’m going to treat myself and go to two art exhibitions in Rotterdam.

* My memory is so bad I can’t think of anything lmao

This week I only posted my review for Doctor Who Myths and Legends. But at least I posted something yay!

Now for the entire month of September:

💛 Reviews: Snow White and the Seven Angels | Daughter of Smoke and Bone
💛 Writing: When You No Longer Like Your Plot, But Your Characters Own Your Heart
💛 The Artsy Hufflehoe: I talked about Jordan Wolfson’s Female Figure and the violence of objectification
💛 The Discussing Hufflepuff: Do You Need to Read All the Blogposts? | Why I Can’t Relate to Library-related Posts 
💛 Tags: The Little Engine Tag | The Book Fangirling Award | The Infinity Dreams Award
💛 Other: Why You Should Support The Bold Type | Books Set in The Netherlands: So Many Opportunities!! | Things I Would Change in Books

I don’t remember if I mentioned this already*, but I decided to save all the blog posts I want to read from my WordPress reader to my favourites map (and pray that Bloglovin doesn’t delete any unread posts) so that I can read them whenever I have the time. Hopefully this will help me to keep up easier, but I’m still super behind. So sorry if I haven’t visited your blog in a while! 💛

💛 Annemieke wrote a letter to authors who request reviews
💛 Holly talks about her favourite libraries in Oxford
💛 Elm has 3000 followers!! I’m so proud (also go increase that number if you’re not following her yet)
💛 Savannah talks about what makes a book problematic

I actually wanted to share more posts, but I unfortunately don’t have any time to read more posts today 😪

* Did I already mention that I have a terrible memory

So on one hand I feel like I don’t have that much left to do when it comes to school and that I’ll have more free time now (mostly because I finished my articles) but on the other hand I feel like I have A LOT to do and I’m stressing*

Basically I don’t know how active I’ll be this month, BUT. I need to keep up with my reviews because obligations. So you’ll definitely see some reviews this month. I do hope that I won’t just post reviews, because I like variety but we’ll see. All I know is that this school year is FLYING BY and while that’s great it’s also not great because I still need to do so many things before going to Manchester (fun fact: I found out only recently that I’m going a bit earlier than I thought. Our school is so clear on everything :) Basically they never said that if you’re going to England you’ll start at the start of January, not at the end of the month. Also apparently I’m only going for three months instead of five)

SO YEAH I HAVE A LOT OF THINGS TO TAKE CARE OF

* Yay anxiety

Anyway, how was your week/past two weeks/month? Is there a ‘I’m disappointed with the Teen Wolf Finale’ club and are you a part of it? What have you been reading? Are you watching B99? Let me know in the comments!