Tag Archives: weekly wrap up

The Monthly and Weekly Hufflepuff #60 | I Live

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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!

The Weekly Hufflepuff #59 | *Tries to Think of a Witty Title* *Fails*

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I had to skip last week’s weekly wrap up, as I was really not in a good place. I wasn’t feeling that well physically last week, but I also struggled a lot with my mental health. I just didn’t feel like blogging, and I’m so happy that I scheduled this month’s posts in advance (if only I had done the same for October but oh well)

I was really in the mood for Squirrel Girl last week, so I read volumes 4 and 5. I’m falling more and more in love with this comic and really need to write a post about it. I also started The Backstagers last week and finished it in one sitting yesterday. It’s super cute and fun – I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did! It’s about a bunch of boys who are part of the stage crew for their high school theater club, but backstage is a magical place. Literally. Also it’s super queer!!

Last week I also started Ewan Pendle and the White Wraith – I haven’t finished it yet but that’s definitely not the book’s fault. I’m really enjoying it, falling in love with the characters and loving the Harry Potter vibes (but it’s not too much like Harry Potter)

Like I said, I’ve been struggling with my mental health a lot last week. That’s not to say that nothing good happened! My friend and I went to ‘Boekenfestijn‘, which is an event that’s held every month in either The Netherlands and Belgium in different cities where they sell a lot of books for good prices (though there were also quite a few regularly priced). The only one that’s close to me is the one in Utrecht in September, and since we go to school there we decided to go after class. We spent a lot more time there than we had expected and it was a lot of fun to do something bookish with a friend. And obviously to haul some books.* Afterwards we went to eat at Julia’s, which is an Italian restaurant at the train station. After our pasta we decided to get a Swirl (is this ice cream a thing in other countries? If not I FEEL SO SORRY FOR YOU IT’S HEAVEN IN YOUR MOUTH COME TO THE NETHERLANDS TO EAT ONE) and ummm at the time it seemed like a good idea? But once I got to the platform, in autumn, in the evening, with my ice cream… I started to rethink that decision lmao. Once I got home I suddenly felt so ill that I immediately went to bed. I still don’t know if it was exhaustion, the ice cream so soon after pasta, or both

The next day I went to see a play with a few people from work, which was about modern art and was really, really good. It was so clever, witty, funny and well done. Dutchies if you have the chance to go see it, please do! You may need some art knowledge though (I’m not sure how much you’d be able to get if you don’t know anything) but if you’re interested in art, it’s definitely worth it

This week wasn’t so special. While I did struggle with my mental health again later this week, it started out pretty good. I’m doing pretty well in school again so far (last week I was really behind because I just wasn’t feeling well, which wasn’t doing my mental health any good) and I’ve just been focusing on that.

* Usually I’d post a picture of the haul, but I forgot to take one and now it’s too dark

💛 I talked about why I can’t relate to library-related posts
💛 I tried to convince you all to watch The Bold Type. It still hasn’t been renewed???
💛 I did The Book Fangirling tag in which I shared a hilarious Pokemon joke from my childhood
💛 I talked about one of my many writing problems: no longer liking my plot, but still loving my characters
💛 I talked about plot points and the like you could have if your book is set in The Netherlands
💛 I did The Infinity Dreams Award and basically begged for someone to buy me a life-sized Snorlax plush

💛 Eve talks about comics again
💛 They also did the What Cats Do tag and blessed us with their adorable cats
💛 Vivian talks about why you should go to a museum if you’re a writer
💛 Marie has some news to share in regards of her WIP
💛 Mikaela wonders if we still post something that we know won’t be popular
💛 Several people did my Book Aesthetics Tag and blessed me with their beautiful aesthetics: Fadwa | Kristin | Beth | Sophie Li – seriously everyone who does this tag is SO TALENTED I’m amazed at all the aesthetics everyone who’s done the tag so far has made
💛 Lia created a new fun tag: The Book Mashup Tag 

I didn’t read as many posts as I would’ve liked, but after writing about this struggle I’ve really come to term with that. When I do have the time (and energy!) I’ll try to see if there are any posts that I really want to read that are a bit older, but other than that I’ll just try to read more recent posts. I’m really going to try to not stress myself out about blogging this time

SPEAKING OF WHICH. This month you probably didn’t notice that I started school again and got really busy, except for my ramblings about it in my wrap ups. Like I said at the start of this post, I scheduled almost all my posts for this month ahead. There were a few posts I hadn’t scheduled yet when school started, but I got to that pretty soon. This week I have two posts scheduled instead of three, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to post that third one. I don’t have anything scheduled for October yet, and I may post once a week for a while if that works out better for me. I’ll let you all know. I don’t want to neglect this blog again, but I also don’t want to stress myself out

Anyway, how was your week? Read anything good? Any good comics you’d recommend me? Do you have Swirls in your country?? Let me know in the comments!

The Weekly Hufflepuff #58 | Meh Reading, School, Periods, and Doug the Pug

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I’m so grateful to past me for scheduling so many posts. Seriously bless past me

Reading-wise this was an okay-ish week. Thankfully I got to read Giant Days‘ latest issue, brightening up my week (and mood) because my other two reads were meh. I have a lot of mixed feelings about Flame in the Mist, and I kind of loathed Daughter of Smoke and Bone? I’ve already written my review for the latter and it will be up at the end of the month I believe, but I still need to gather my thoughts of Flame in the Mist

Unfortunately I didn’t finish a single path for The Reading Quest, but I came very close (4 out of 5 books) and honestly, I did better than I expected haha. I read 6 books in total, got 100 EXP (level 2) and 235 HP. Not bad for someone who usually sucks at readathons haha (I just hate the pressure? But at the same time they’re so much fun? Especially themed ones like this?)

School started again this week, and so far it’s been okay. Starting from this year we decide which path we want to take, which term we’ll take which classes, when we’ll intern etc. This term both my friend and I (along with the rest of our class) will be making our own versions of already established Dutch magazines. My friend and I are thankfully in the same group, and we’re creating our own version of ‘Opzij’, which is a feminist magazine. I would’ve prefered De Groene Amsterdammer, since that one doesn’t just cover feminist issues, but this one was my second choice so I’m still happy. Our group seems nice too and so far everyone seems to be hardworking and to take it all very seriously. Apart from creating our own magazine, we also have a research class and a class on multimedia storytelling. Thankfully we didn’t have that much to do outside of class yet, which is not only a nice way to start but also really convenient since I got my period

My friend gave me a beautiful and inspiring book on photography and a transparent phone case with a cat on it that seems to play with the Apple on my phone for my birthday (which was back in June but she forgot it at home twice and then she went on holiday haha). The book really made me want to go out and take pictures, but alas. School is back in session. It was her birthday actually this week, so on Thursday evening I went shopping for her birthday and my mom joined me. I found some great presents for her, but unfortunately I also found some stuff for me (I say unfortunately because I want to save money) It’s not like I couldn’t afford it but I wanted to put my salary from last week on my savings account haha. I’m really happy with it though!

I got this cute lightbox on which you can arrange your own message (mine right now says ‘Hogwarts is my home’ accompanied by stars and a heart) at the CUTEST store ever. They have so much great, fun, cute and AESTHETIC stuff I’m in love

I’m not joking the further I got into the store the more I started to not only love, but also hate the store because I NEED TO SAVE MONEY NOT SPEND IT

I also found a Doug the Pug notebook and pen case (not at that store), which wasn’t too expensive thankfully. You may know by now that I’m obsessed with pugs, but Doug the Pug?? Love of my life. Massive fan right here. First thing I check on Instagram in the morning? Doug’s account. I’m not even joking

💛 I shared the blog post I wrote for Stedelijk Journal, on Jordan Wolfson’s Female Figure and it’s take on the violence of objectification
💛 I wondered if we need to read all the blog posts. Thank you to everyone for making me feel better about this and giving me advice ❤️
💛 I did the Little Engine Tag in which I talked about pet peeves, my favourite (gay) song at the moment, ideal pets (I wonder what it could be…) and more

💛 Jordon talks about pet peeves in books
💛 Mikaela talks about the dilemma of reading diverse books as a diverse reader
💛 Marie talks about relatable blogging worries and anxiety 
💛 And also shared more about her WIP and AESTHETICS!!
💛 Inside My Library Mind shares a reading list for Hermione Granger
💛 Fadwa talks about Muslim representation she wants more of
💛 Analee talks about fictional schools she wants to attend
💛 Elly posted again!! And it’s another lovely playlist, this time for the month August
💛 Annemieke went to Harry Potter The Exhibition
💛 Shouni wonders if authors should keep expanding their own universes
💛 Bridget shares her blog design resources
💛 A.J. has a guide for LGBTQ+ book spine colours for Bookstagram rainbows
💛 Charlotte talks about her Melbourne Writers Festival Experience
💛 It’s the end of May’s writing challenge she hosted, and thus she shares writing advice and snippets of beautiful writing 
💛 Ilsa shares 10 perfectly fool-proof ways to encourage people to leave comments on your posts

How was your week? Favourite post you wrote/read this week? Did you read any good books? Most important question of the day: do you love Doug the Pug? Let me know in the comments!

The Weekly Hufflepuff #57 | HELP I’M NOT READY FOR SCHOOL

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I’m sorry the old Michelle can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh! Cause Crooked Kingdom murdered her ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

A lot of you warned me that Crooked Kingdom was going to break me, and guess what!! It did!! It would’ve put me in a reading slump (BECAUSE WHAT CAN COMPARE) but I had already started Marked by Kim Richardson while on the bus the other day. Which was so bad that I just need to read something that’s slightly better (so hey at least it cured me from my possible reading slump that Crooked Kingdom almost put me in!). I’ll hopefully review it soon but… So much lost potential.  I also read America‘s latest issue and am so glad that we’re leaving this artist behind. I really didn’t like that art style. Though the arc felt really rushed, which is a shame because I really liked the previous issue. Issue 1 and 5 seem to be exceptions to the really odd pace the comic has going on.

As for The Reading Quest, I’m currently at 70 EXP, which means I’m now a level 2 Mage and 145 HP

MY FINAL WEEK OF SUMMER VACATION JUST FLEW BY. WHERE DID IT GO. I’M NOT READY

I worked a lot this week, so I barely had any time for myself (and the blog) too, but at least the work was fun and you know

On Tuesday and Wednesday I had meetings from the social media team, on Thursday I was the host of the Keith Haring Summer School (throughout the entire week a group of teens followed lectures and workshops and the like, all in the theme of Keith Haring) and got to meet fashion designer/artist Bas Kosters which was really cool since he incorporates LGBTQ+ and gender themes in his clothes and on Friday we had a party to close the Summer School so I had to help set that up. Oh and there was a moshpit at the museum lmao (not an agressive one but it was still funny) Oh and I saw an old teacher from secondary school which was really weird?? He only taught me for like half a year so I don’t think he recognised me and I felt too awkward saying hi.

I was going to meet up with a friend after work on Tuesday, but the meeting was shorter than anticipated so I had to wait for her for an hour or so. But the weather was nice and I had brought Crooked Kingdom with me so it was fine (tbh I really like my friend but I was a bit disappointed when she showed up since that meant I had to stop reading – I’m sure a lot of you relate right?) We just sat in the sun, looked at dogs playing in the water, caught up and then once we got to my house watched Pretty Little Liars. We still haven’t finished it and with school starting again I guess we’ll finally finish it during winter break. I’m kind of amazed I haven’t seen any huge spoilers yet? Really hope I didn’t just jinx it 

Oh I’ve also been listening to Keiynan Lonsdale’s Good Life nonstop and obviously I need to spread the love so give it a listen:

💛 I freaked out about books in the Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag
💛 I wrapped up August already and freaked out about school
💛 I reviewed Snow White and the Seven Angels, a cute transgender retelling

💛 Analee made beautiful aesthetics for The Book Aesthetics Tag
💛 Marie talks about her WIP and shares some lines!
💛 Cátia reviews Her Book Boyfriend which has quite a few problematic aspects
💛 Sinead talks about glasses (or lack thereof) in books
💛 May shares 9 things you should never say to bookworms
💛 Amber made her own Ravenclaw book box
💛 Vivian shares bookish pins that you need 
💛 Sarah shares seven empowering books
💛 A.J. has a helpful post on how to prepare for a book festival
💛 Bridget talks about hype and the fear of missing out
💛 Juliana talks about mood readers vs scheduled readers
💛 Mikaela talks about blogging burn-out

And that’s a wrap! I’m really worried about how I’m going to be able to combine blogging and school, but I’m determined to make it work and not let school dictate my life. I’m going to take my advisors’ advice from last year and work a little less hard. I need to think about my health (both physical and mental) and blogging really helps my mental health. You’ll probably see a little bit less of me, but I’m hopeful that I’ll stay around

Anyway, how was your week? What have you been reading? Listening to? Should we start a support group for all of us who are not ready to go back to school (or are already back in school don’t worry you’re all welcome too) 

The Weekly Hufflepuff #56 | Beautiful Library, Art and ‘Cool Japan’

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Don’t mind me I’m just freaking out over the fact that I only have one week of vacation left and I still have so much I need to do before school starts hahaha

Last week I said that I found Six of Crows a bit slow – probably because I’ve been reading a lot of contemporary lately and thus had to get used to that fantasy pace, but I ended up really loving it and already started on Crooked Kingdom, which I’m using for the Grind side quest for The Reading Quest. So far I’m at 40 EXP and 83 HP.

I also read the latest Lumberjanes and Hi-Fi Fight Club issue 1, but since it’s only the first issue I can’t say much about it yet, apart from the fact that I really love the art.

THE COLD IS GONE WOOP WOOP

On Tuesday my mom and I went to the Rijksmuseum, because we both hadn’t really been in a while (apart from two temporary exhibitions back in May). We only had a few hours and the museum is huge, so we definitely need to go again at some point, but at least I finally saw the library!

You’re not allowed to take pictures downstairs, so I had to settle for this

You are however allowed to take pictures upstairs

LOOK AT ALL THOSE BOOKS

Honestly pictures can’t do it justice. If you’re planning on going to Amsterdam and Rijksmuseum, I definitely recommend checking out their library

On Wednesday we went to the city center to do some necessary shopping and get ice cream at Van der Linde – if you’re ever in Amsterdam, get ice cream at Van der Linde. In my opinion it’s the best ice cream in the city.

On Thursday (I need to start these paragraphs differently rip) we finally went to the ‘Cool Japan’ exhibition at Museum Volkenkunde, which was a lot of fun. I had never been to this museum before, as it’s in Leiden (not that it’s that far from Amsterdam, I’ve just never been) so we did take a look around the museum a bit, especially since before you get to the ‘Cool Japan’ exhibition (which is temporary) there’s an exhibition on Indonesia as well. Since we’re Indonesian we had to check it out. We’re thinking of going back and bringing my grandfather with us.

Anyway, the Cool Japan exhibition was about both the hystory, myths (specifically yokai), more traditional art and of course manga, street fashion, music, etc. While the entire exhibition was interesting and fun, my favourite (and my mom’s) was the final room where they had built a small arcade. You could also read manga, there was a big screen showing some music videos and there were a few cosplays on display. Oh and there was a little bit about fan culture back in the old day which was really cool to see.

The robot (called Pepper I believe?) was so cute! Except then it was like ‘Do you want to talk? Come closer if you dare’ Is that a threat Pepper??

I used to play fighting games like Street Fighter and Tekken all the time, but on one of those arcade machines is a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY I SUCKED (though I did win one round I’m 99% sure that was dumb luck)

The biggest reason the last room was my favourite – THIS GAME WAS SO MUCH FUN AND SO ADDICTING I WANT ONE OF THESE IN MY HOUSE

I also had to work and will have to work quite a bit the coming week (haha there goes my last week of freedom) While I did do some fun things, I unfortunately also struggled with my mental health this week, though I’m feeling a lot better again today.

💛 I talked about characters that get a lot of hate, but I would definitely fight you for
💛 I turned some art into memes for this month’s Artsy Hufflehoe
💛 I reviewed It’s Not Like It’s a Secret and spoiler: I have a lot of mixed feelings 

I was really bad at keeping up with posts this week, so basically I spent hours today catching up (I still have a few left to read but oh well) Really hope this is not foreshadowing for when school starts again

💛 MARIE IS BACK
💛 May talks about how to deal with bookish disappointments
💛 Lia did The Book Aesthetics tag and her aesthetics are beautiful
💛 Jasmine talks about her trip to Liverpool
💛 Lauren talks about characters she wishes were her friends
💛 Dev talks about why we need more shows like Brooklyn Nine Nine
💛 Hannah talks about recent YA cover makeovers 
💛 Mikaela talks about book-to-movie adaptations
💛 CW has some book recs for invisible narratives in historical fiction
💛 Lauren talks about comics and graphic novels for beginners 
💛 Em explored London

And that’s a wrap! What have you been up to? Been to any cool exhibitions lately? Let me know in the comments!

The Weekly Hufflepuff #55 | I CAN BREATHE AGAIN

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GUESS WHO CAN BREATHE AGAIN

I only have an annoying cough left but oh well I CAN BREATHE

The Reading Quest started so I started Six of Crows. So far it’s been a bit of a slow read for me, but I think that’s also because I’ve been doing (and reading) some other stuff. I did finish Snow White and the Seven Angels, because it was really short. Right now I’m at 30 EXP and 31 HP.

On my way to work and I continued Anne of Windy Poplars and found myself so close to the finish line that I really wanted to finish it this week, even though I could’ve read Six of Crows instead. As much as I love Anne, I was so done with this book. So I wanted to be literally done with it. I had been reading it for two months!! I thought this was one was longer than the others, but only by a few pages? (I read it as an ebook thus why I didn’t know) There were certainly some good moments, but the old characters barely appeared and there were so many new characters omg. I didn’t care for most of them, though some of them were definitely charming and fun. Anne herself definitely still is.

Other than that I’ve been catching up on some comics: Lumberjanes, Giant Days (I’m finally all caught up but that means I can no longer binge read) and I finally continued Squirrel Girl by starting volume 3. While I did like the first two volumes I wasn’t in a hurry to continue, but I definitely fell in love with it during volume 3! Oh and Giant Days is SUCH A JOY. It’s so funny and charming and just afsdfg. I’ve already talked about Lumberjanes here but I’m still loving it.

Had to rest because of my cold that I wanted to get rid off ASAP (no way am I letting this cold ruin the last two weeks of my vacation as well) so besides going to work I stayed at home. I don’t even remember what I did? Wow my life was so boring this week. Obviously I read. I also watched the usual shows (Shadowhunters – THAT FINALE, The Fosters, The Bold Type) besides Teen Wolf. As I mentioned last week the first two episodes really bored me so I didn’t really feel motivated to watch. I only have so much time left before school starts and I didn’t want to waste it on a possibly  boring episode. I’ll catch up probably once school has started and I’ll be too tired to do anything else anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I also started to rewatch my favourite K-drama, Dream High, because why watch any of the 21487635 K-dramas you haven’t seen yet when you can rewatch your fave instead (I’m happy to inform you that I’m still absolutely in love with it)

Oh and I blogged? I think? Or did I schedule these posts. Oh yeah I did. But I read other people’s posts! So there’s that. I didn’t just lie on the couch and read Klance fan comics all day hahahaha

Help me I’m in Voltron hell and we’re not getting season four until October

OH AND I WROTE! I actually wrote almost 1400 words? Considering I haven’t written anything since Camp NaNo ended I’m proud. I don’t have much to say about it so I decided to put it here instead of adding my separate writing section

💛 I created The Book Aesthetics Tag in which I made some aesthetics for books and characters
💛 I made a tutorial on how to make aesthetics
💛 I talked about studying journalism with an anxiety disorder and worrying that my anxiety will get in the way of my goal of becoming a journalist and how my writing/character eased my worries a bit
💛 I reviewed Heroine Complex which you need in your life ASAP. Female Asian superheroes should be enough to get you to read it right?

💛 Eve talks about their experience at YALC
💛 Ilsa talks about why she started to hate book genres
💛 Em has some DIYs to stay organised
💛 Kat did my Book Aesthetics Tag and her aesthetics are beautiful
💛 Jordyn talks about what determines when she reads a book
💛 Holly wonders if there’s more to Jane Austen than romance (spoiler: yes)
💛 Ellyn wonders if we should recommend books we haven’t read in a while
💛 May talks about how blogging can help with social anxiety
💛 Lia talks about cover judging and compares Dutch and UK/USA covers 
💛 A.J. talks about what Percy Jackson meant to her as a kid with ADHD
💛 And also gives you 5 reasons why you should add Wild Beauty to your TBR

And that’s a wrap! I have no posts scheduled for this week

yes I’m repeating gifs but honestly,, constant mood

This will be fun (I’m currently screaming on the inside). I DO have a review written, I just need to take a picture for it and inspiration needs to strike. OH WELL. We’ll see what happens.

How was your week? What’s your favourite K-drama that I MUST watch once I finished rewatching Dream High? If you’re doing The Reading Quest, how is it going? What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!

The Weekly Hufflepuff #54 | More Period Talk Still Not Sorry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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GUESS WHO CAUGHT A COLD IN THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER

I wish I could say ‘not me!’ but alas it’s me. I have really bad luck lmao

I finished Heroine Complex and hope to write my review later today, though I’m not sure if that means I’ll have it up sometime this week. It all depends on when I’ll be able to take a picture of the book. I also started and finished Ps. I Still Love You by Jenny Han and It’s Not Like It’s A Secret by Misa Sugiura so I need to step up my reviewing game haha. I finished the latter last night, just in time to get started on my tbr for The Reading Quest.

On Monday I went out with a friend so I could take a new profile picture for her (I’ve become everyone’s private photographer lol) and to catch up of course. She also needed return something she had ordered online – whenever we meet up she has to return something so it has become an inside joke haha. The weirdest thing happened though – as we were walking down the street I suddenly noticed a girl who looked like one of our other friends, and then I realised it was her. And then I noticed the other girl who was our other friend haha. Back in secondary school it was always the four of us, but while I’ve kept in touch with all of them and still saw them from time to time, it’s been a little over a year since we were all together. And then later in the day we ran into one of them again!

On Tuesday I went out to work and write some articles for work’s Tumblr, feeling really energised until the next day I woke up with a sore throat. I was really, really hoping it was just hay fever, but when I still had it the next day I knew it probably wasn’t. And sure enough on Friday I woke up barely being able to breathe. At this point I had also gotten my period so I’m really starting to think my body hates me. The weather here is constantly changing here though (like always) so it’s really easy to catch a cold, especially when your resistance is bad like mine is around the time of my period. I’ve been taking medicine and nose sprays regularly though, and I’m feeling a lot better today, at least in the cold departement haha.

I also worked a bit on Friday, but that was really short so when I got home I immediately laid down and watched The Bold Type. Which is so good!! Definitely recommend it. Other than The Bold Type I’ve only seen the newest Teen Wolf – I still need to catch up on Shadowhunters and The Fosters. Am I the only one who’s not really enjoying Teen Wolf 6B so far?? The first two episodes were so boring (though there were things that I liked!) and I hate how it barely focused Scott, Lydia and Malia.

💛 I talked about the four main characters of my WIP and all of you made me cry. You guys loving them?? Fangirling over them?

Me as I read all the comments:

💛 I signed up for The Reading Quest and shared my TBR
💛 I did the Blogger Aesthetics tag and as the aesthetics hoe I am I shared more than 1
💛 I confessed some reading related sins as I did the Reader Confessions tag. And I just realised I posted two tags in a row woops. I originally wanted to post something else, but since I wasn’t feeling so well yesterday so since I already had this in my draft I decided to post it

💛 A.J. talks about books vs their tv/movie adaptations
💛 Fadwa reached a 1000 followers so go increase that number
💛 Amber talks about hate towards YA
💛 Em shares her blogger aesthetics
💛 Juliana talks about reasons why blogging is useful
💛 May shares a peak behind the scenes and talks about her post-planning and writing process
💛 Marie wonders what makes a book blogger a book blogger
💛 Analee shares 9 reasons why she has trust issues with WordPress. Honestly same
💛 Kat talks about her characters for this month’s Beautiful People
💛 Holly debunks the mythical ‘beach read’
💛 CW made motivational corgi wallpapers which you need in your life
💛 Lia did the You’re Not Good Enough Book Tag which looks like a lot of fun
💛 Mikaela wonders who book reviews are for
💛 Emily shares 4 stories to watch/read while you wait for the next episode of The Bold Type
💛 Adalyn shares book recommendations based on your Hogwarts House
💛 Emily shares some of her writing projects
💛 Aila talks about her love for non-European fantasies
💛 Kizzy talks about her trip to the Harry Potter Studios
💛 Cait talked about what her writing process looks like and did a vlog with her sister

Ohh before I forget: WordPress deleted a bunch of unread comments from my notifications. I tried to reply to all the comments I found on recent posts that I hadn’t replied to yet, but if I didn’t reply to your comment (which could also very well be on your own post(s)) I’m really sorry! I’m going to try and reply to comments asap from now on before WordPress deletes them again

Aaaanyway that’s a wrap! How was your week? What have you been reading? Are you participating in The Reading Quest? How do you feel about Teen Wolf 6B? Any great blog posts I MUST check out? Let me know in the comments!

The Weekly Hufflepuff #53 | I Talk About Periods So… Sorry Not Sorry

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THE NETHERLANDS WON THE EUFA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP

At all the sexist men who said women can’t play football, they wouldn’t even be able to beat amateurs etc etc… EXCUSE ME WERE WAS OUR NATIONAL MEN TEAM LAST YEAR OH YEAH NOT EVEN QUALIFIED

I was really tired and not feeling well this week, so most of the time I didn’t feel like reading. Until yesterday, when I suddenly made a lot of progress in Heroine Complex. I’ve read a lot today too, and maybe I’ll finish it tonight. Depends on whether I’d rather read or blog. While I don’t want to get too far into it until I’ve finished it, I’m really enjoying it!

In other reading news, I’ve been clearing my Goodreads to read shelf. There are quite a few books I have no longer any interest in, but also books that I have no idea why I added them in the first place? I don’t see past, present or future Michelle interested in these? I am confused, but also like a weight lifted off my shoulder with all those books gone *she says as she adds 10000 more books*

As I already mentioned, I was tired and not feeling so well. First I ran out of my hay fever medicine during the weekend, meaning I had to order them on Monday and didn’t have them until Tuesday. Cue not being able to breathe while walking even a few steps outside. Which really ruined my trip to Stedelijk Museum with my mom. Though the exhibition we went to (it was the last week and neither of us had seen it yet) was… really disappointing? Not our thing at all. I love photography, but I guess Rineke Dijkstra is not for me *shrugs*

I also had the brilliant idea to continue taking my birth control pill three months in a row, thus skipping two periods because I really wasn’t feeling it and now my body is punishing me. I’d say don’t be like me but I know people who do this all the time?? A friend of mine just continues to take the pill for six months, gets her period and then continues to take it for another six months. HOW. I AM IN PAIN. MY BODY IS CONFUSED

So basically I haven’t been doing much rip. BUT I’M SEEING A FRIEND TOMORROW SO I’M EXCITED

I’m also hoping to actually go out more this week but who am I kidding I’m not even on my period yet and I’m already suffering

💛 I talked about Zanele Muholi, a photographer and visual activist from South Africa who photographs the LGBTQI community in South Africa
💛 I wrapped up July
💛 I shared some snippets in which one of my characters teaches you how to flirt and another one is a blue cow 
💛 I reviewed The Upside of Unrequited which I’m honestly falling more and more in love with?? I might change my 4 star rating to a 5 star rating? As much as I loved it once I had finished it, I still didn’t love it that much but,, now?? Lads I think I’m going to change it

💛 Savannah talks about what makes a good book blog and shares some of her favourites
💛 Alice has tips and a tutorial for using Edelweiss Plus
💛 Inge teaches you how to fold your book into a heart or in ‘home’
💛 It’s Angel’s fifth (fifth!!) blogoversary and she looks back on these past few years
💛 Shannon shares her weird (but wonderful) bookish habits
💛 Mia talks about why unhauling 30 books was the best decision she ever made
💛 CW reviews Want by Cindy Pon so let her convince you to read it because it sounds really good and important
💛 Em shares some LGBTQ+ music that she loves
💛 And talks about all the art she saw in Bristol
💛 Kira isn’t only celebrating her blogoversary, she’s also celebrating 100 followers so go increase that number because she deserves it
💛 Hannah wonders if using good grammar is worth it
💛 Ilsa interviewed Cait which was of course a really fun and hilarious interview because it’s Cait 
💛 Holly wrote a discussion post on the phrase ”well, at least you’re reading something”
💛 Mikaela shares 10 of her most secretive bookish confessions
💛 May celebrated her 6-month blogoversary (HOW HAS SHE BEEN BLOGGING FOR ONLY 6 MONTHS) and answered some questions 
💛 And she shared 9 reasons why we bookworms shouldn’t be trusted which is a genius way for non-bookworms to leave us alone so we can read all our books in peace and quiet 

And that’s a wrap! Any great posts I missed this week? What have you been reading? Have you cleared your Goodreads tbr shelf and thought ‘…why’? Let me know in the comments!

The Weekly Hufflepuff #52

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Woop I finally reached 52 Weekly Hufflepuffs! I started this feature almost two years ago, yet I only reached a year worth of weekly wrap ups now haha #isuckasablogger

I made slow progress Anne of Windy Poplars again. I am enjoying it, but it’s so long and such a slow read. Plus I miss all the old characters and none of the new ones really jump out. I also felt the sudden urge to reread Anna and the French Kiss last night, which I finished this morning. Finally, I started Heroine Complex, but I can’t really say anything about it yet. I’m not far enough yet.

Last week I said I was planning on spending more time at home, which I did! I only went to work for a bit on Friday, but other than that (and doing some grocery shopping) I spent some well-deserved time at home. The last few weeks had been so busy, I really needed to just… not go anywhere lmao. That sounds incredibly lazy but I just needed to lie around, watch some tv shows, read books, write and blog.

Since I didn’t do much, I don’t have much to share here either haha.

Wow this section was completely unnecessary

BUT THIS SECTION IS NOT UNNECESSARY YAY

LOOK

Though I changed my goal again, this time to 10.000, I’m happy with the fact that I wrote, wrote a little more than 10k and with what I wrote (which is obviously really important too). While I initially set out to write 25k, there was no way I would’ve been able too. Sure, I technically had the time or could’ve made it, but it would’ve tired me out (physically and mentally), and how would that do my writing any good?

I might share some snippets later this week depending on how I’m feeling. I just hope that I’ll be able to finish this novel this year. I’m going to need to come up with a plan haha

💛 I finally got my review for Queens of Geek up (which reminds me I need to take a picture of The Upside of Unrequited so I can get that review up too ahhh)
💛 I talked about the behaviour of some of the Supergirl cast members and why I had already stopped watching the show
💛 I talked about why you should watch the Disney Descendants movies
💛 And I also talked about why you should read Zodiac Starforce – lot’s of me trying to convince you guys to love the things I love haha

💛 Marie shares her book blogger bucket list and honestly… same
💛 Ilsa talks about 10 awkward blogging moments #relatable
💛 Julianna talks about blogging organisation (and is actual blogging goals omg I want to be that organised)
💛 Analee talks about 7 things all us bookworms wished we had known before becoming a bookworm
💛 Lia did the 777 Challenge and thus shared some lines from her WIP
💛 CW’s love for The Epic Crush of Genie Lo shines through her wonderful review
💛 Elly talks about the next Doctor being a woman
💛 Balie talks about 4 unique tropes she’d like to see more of
💛 Fadwa talks about reviewing books outside your lane
💛 Kat did The Writer’s Tag
💛 May talks about reasons for unfollowing blogs
💛 A.J. talks about what to do with problematic books you own
💛 Beth talks about managing your expectations for hyped books
💛 Mikaela wonders if you too get tired of seeing the same books around the blogosphere

And that’s another wrap! I don’t have anything scheduled for this week which makes me sliiightly nervous, but I’m definitely getting an Artsy Hufflehoe up tomorrow. I mean, it’s the last day of the month. I have no choice. Anyway, I doubt I’ll disappear, but I may not post three times which is my usual minimum. If I do disappear I hope I’ll be writing haha (watch me waste my time by marathoning shows instead).

How was your week? Any great blogposts that I didn’t list here? How’s Camp NaNo, or writing in general going? Let me know in the comments!

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The Weekly Hufflepuff #49

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Since I wrapped up June last Saturday and didn’t do much that week anyway because of my neck and back pains, I decided to skip last week’s wrap up. This means I have even more blog posts from the community to share though! I have this kind of insane idea of wanting to read all the posts I missed, which I know is impossible but I’m gonna try anyway haha. Wish me luck

These last two weeks I caught up a bit on DC Bombshells (I’m still very behind even though I love it a lot? There are just so many other things to read and do though!), read the newest issues of Brave Chef Brianna, Ms. Marvel, Gotham Academy and America, finished Kindred Spirits, Queens of Geek and The Hate U Give and started The Upside of Unrequited.

Sooo I didn’t really do anything last week since I was in so much pain that it gave me a headache and made me nauseous. I felt much better this week though! On Tuesday I finally bought a new camera with my birthday money and I’m in love.

This also led to me making a new instagram account and blog. Obviously I’ll continue to blog here, but that blog is for my photography.

On Wednesday my mom and I went to the Efteling, a fairytale-themed themepark which was a lot of fun. I might write a separate Travelling Hufflepuff on it.

This week I also finally got around to cleaning up my room. I’m usually a pretty organised person, but my room was a mess this last term, as I was either too busy with school or too tired because of school. I also got around to re-organising my shelves and I’m thinking of maybe doing a bookshelves tour post.

Today I went to the Stedelijk Museum with my mom, to check out the Zanele Muholi exhibition. I talked about her before in my Artsy Hufflehoe Pride Edition and I most likely will talk about her again in this month’s edition haha.

I’m doing Camp Nano again this year and it’s going… umm.. *nervous laughter* So I didn’t write at all last Saturday as I wasn’t really feeling well, but I did write on Sunday and Monday. After that… I did have the time to write technically, but I just ended up doing other stuff that I wanted and needed to do instead? Oh well the month isn’t over yet and I may still write tonight. Right now I’m at 2913 words and my goal is 25,000. Jeepers.

Here are some Tweets from when I was writing:

I’m so happy that I get to share some amazing posts from the blogosphere again! Time to spread some love:

Are there any posts you read this week that I MUST read? Let me know in the comments!

And that’s a wrap! How has your week been? Are you reading, writing, enjoying your holiday? What are you all up to? Let me know in the comments!

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