Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life REVIEW

It happened y'all.

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life released on Netflix on Friday and it was so glorious. I thought it would be great to do a review and put my thoughts out into the universe in blog form and I have a LOT of thoughts. There will be many spoilers in this blogpost so if you haven't had the chance to watch it yet and don't want to know what happens before you have the time to sit down with your coffee, pizza, and Pop Tarts, stop reading now and come back at a time when you're done visiting Stars Hollow. Without further adieu, let's get on into it!

November 2016 Book Haul! Classics, Nostalgia, and a Secret Book Swap!

Recently I went onto Book Outlet and found that they were doing a huge 50/50 sale on classics! I really want to have a great classics collection in my personal library so I thought I'd splurge a bit and buy a whole bunch of them. Here is my haul from that order! I also have a few titles that I'm very nostalgic about in this haul, a highly-anticipated sequel that released at the beginning of the month, and a bonus unboxing from a secret book swap that I participated in this month. I hope you enjoy!

Thankful in 2016

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Let's face it - this year has been rough - very, VERY rough - for a lot of people. That's what makes it extra important to take the time to be thankful and grateful of all the things that I have in my life. I have many things to be thankful for in my life this year and what better time than Thanksgiving to share those things with you?

I'm thankful for...

My friends, colleagues, and students that are constantly challenging me intellectually, encouraging me to engage politically, and being genuinely awesome people that I can learn from each and everyday. Ever since I started working at Mount Holyoke I've become much more politically engaged and much more focused on issues of injustice and oppression, which of course has become exacerbated by the narrative of this past election cycle, the acts of hate committed since the results of the election, and human rights violations happening right in our faces without much opposition to those that are in positions of privilege. I have become increasingly confident in my political views and have been developing my political voice and while I never considered myself to be a political person before this year I'm continuing to realize each day the importance of political involvement in order to shape the country in a positive way. I have my friends, colleagues, and students to thank for that and I am eternally grateful for them.

My family and Brett for being a constant source of support and love throughout the year (and always). This goes without saying but it is ALWAYS important to say it - my family and my partner are unwavering sources of support for me through good times and bad times. I am very fortunate to have the comfort of knowing that these people are always there for me for whatever I need help with. I never have to feel lost or alone all that long with my parents, sister, and Brett by my side and it's important for me to acknowledge how thankful I am for them.

The discovery of BookTube and throwing myself back into my love of reading. After grad school, I admit that I was feeling a bit lost, a bit off, a bit not like myself. It was this summer that I realized what was missing - books. I was able to read for fun during undergrad but when I started graduate school reading for fun was put on the back burner. I've always read here and there but this summer when I discovered the online bookish community, readathons, and so many great titles that I had never heard of before, I kicked up my reading to another level and it has felt awesome. I am so happy I am back in he groove of reading regularly and it honestly feels like I've rediscovered a piece of myself that I forgot that I was missing.

Advancing professionally and feeling comfortable and secure enough financially for a change. This year I was promoted to a 12-month position at Mount Holyoke, I moved in to a smaller place, and kind of hit a groove in my financial balance for the first time ever. I can save money without feeling like I'm struggling for a change. Just this week I was able to do simple things like get a haircut and get my car's oil changed without feeling like it totally has broken the bank and I can't think of a time when it hasn't felt that way. I am so happy that I'm finally starting to feel more comfortable financially and I'm looking forward to continuing to move in this direction.

The home and life Brett and I are building for ourselves. While we definitely aren't in the situation we want to be in forever, I am so thankful that Brett and I have found a way to live together, to continue to build our lives together, and really just be happy together no matter how much or how little we have. We constantly are reminded how lucky we are that we get to see each other each day, that we have a roof over our heads and don't have to go hungry, and have a bright future ahead of us. I wouldn't trade that for the world.

What are you thankful for this year?

#ReadORama Fall 2016 Round | Vlog & Wrap Up

Over the weekend I participated in #ReadORama! I just decided to hop in and read the books that I was already planning on reading over the weekend, but it was fun to also vlog the weekend! I managed to get through two books, played a bit of the new Pokemon game, and hung out with Brett a whole bunch! :) I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and if you're celebrating Thanksgiving this week that you enjoy the holiday!

Library Book Haul! {#001}

Hello all and happy Friday! While I have a Book Outlet haul filmed and ready to be posted, I figured the most appropriate video post-BorrowAThon would be a LIBRARY book haul! I wanted to talk a little bit more about the importance of using a library and promoting financial inclusivity within the online reading community and kind of practice what I preach a little but with a haul from my library! I'm so excited to read all of these books! If you've read any of the books mentioned in this video let me know what you though in the comments! :)

#BorrowAThon Round 1 Wrap Up & Thank You!

The first round of #BorrowAThon has come to a close and you guys - it. was. AWESOME. There was such a great crew of people joining in on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram - all people who LOVED reading, LOVED supporting their libraries, and LOVED building an amazing community of readers on the internet. Every chat was a wonderful opportunity for us to connect with one another, discuss books, reading, and libraries, and to get to know each other on a more personal level. There were people from all over the world joining in on the readathon which was just so cool to see that the importance of using your local library and the message that you don't need to spend money to be a reader reaches far and wide.
I want to send out a big THANK YOU to all who participated in the first round of #BorrowAThon! Thank you for being active and chatting on Twitter. Thank you for participating in the Twitter chats/parties and daily sprints when your schedule allowed. Thank you for taking part in the social media challenges every day. THANK YOU for helping to build this awesome community of people and sending the message that all you need to be a reader is to read. YOU GUYS ROCK and this readathon would not have been a success without you! <3
There will be a round 2 of #BorrowAThon in the spring at some point. All the details will of course be announced on the @BorrowAThon Twitter page, my YouTube channel, and right here on the blog so keep an eye out for more details! I will announce them as soon as I have them! To wrap things up, I'm going to share a few links for you to check out to enjoy more #BorrowAThon Round 1 content and you can see what we all got up to during the week of the readathon! I hope you enjoy. :)
My #BorrowAThon Daily Vlogs for Round One  All of my daily vlogs are in this playlist. Just hit play to see them all!

All #BorrowAThon Round One Videos These are all the videos I can find on YouTube that are #BorrowAThon related, whether that's a TBR, a blog, or a wrap up! We have over 40 videos and counting on this playlist!
#BorrowAThon on Twitter Everything that was tweeted during the week in relation to #BorrowAThon!
#BorrowAThon on Instagram All the lovely #bookstagram photos taken during #BorrowAThon!

#BorrowAThon Day 8 Schedule

#BORROWATHON DAY 8 - WE DID IT!!!!

It's finally here - the last day of #BorrowAThon!!!! Nice work this week everyone!! I hope you had a fantastic week of reading and can end the readathon on a strong note! Today, just focus on finishing up some of your final pages and BE PROUD of all you have accomplished! Even if you only made it to one book or even one page this week, that is a SUCCESS!!!

Social Media Challenge: Complete-pile selfie!

Once you are done reading for the day, snap a selfie with your completed stack of books! If you weren't able to necessarily complete any books, just snap a picture with any books that you read a portion of! It's time to be proud of any progress you made no matter what the size is! Make sure to post your photo to Twitter, Instagram, your blog, or all three and use the hashtag #BorrowAThon so we can see it! :) <3

Make sure you're following @BorrowAThon on Twitter for continuous updates and post along with the hashtag #BorrowAThon!

#BorrowAThon Day 7 Schedule

#BORROWATHON DAY 7!

We're here folks - we're in the final stretch of the readathon! We're almost there! Keep going!!!!

Throughout the week I will be posting one of these schedule blog posts a day so you will know what will be going on each day. These posts will be going live at 1AM EST*, but if you want to know the overview of the week ahead of time, check out the #BorrowAThon schedule blog post. These daily schedules will have more detail and direction for each of the activities but you can pretty much gather enough information in order to get an idea solely based on the original schedule. 

Social Media Challenge: Character Relationships Challenge

For this challenge, all you have to do is answer a handful of questions about the characters in the books that you've read so far this week and the relationships you have with them! Make sure to share the answers to these questions on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, your blog, or all four, and use the hashtag #BorrowAThon so we can see your answers!

1. What character have you related to the most in the books that you've read so far this week?

2. Who has been your favorite and least favorite character?

3. What has been your favorite character relationship in your readathon books so far? (This can be romantic, familial, friendship, etc.)

4. If you could have one of the characters in your #BorrowAThon books interact/develop a relationship with a character in one of your favorite books, who would you pick and why?

Final Twitter chat @ 5PM EST*!

We will be coming together for the final hour-long Twitter chat at 5PM EST* this evening! This chat will allow all of the participants to get to know each other a little bit because the whole point of a readathon is to read as a community! If you're unsure how Twitter chats work or if you've never participated in one before, check out this article for more information. I hope to see you there!

Make sure you're following @BorrowAThon on Twitter for continuous updates and post along with the hashtag #BorrowAThon!

*All Twitter chats and daily schedule posts are scheduled in EST as that is the time zone the host lives in. Make sure you're looking into the time zone difference for your area so you do not miss out on the fun of the chats! You can find a time zone converter here to help you figure out the difference.

#BorrowAThon Day 6 Schedule

It's Saturday and DAY 6 of #BorrowAThon!

I hope everyone has a wonderful start to their weekend and can find some time to read through all of the fun activities I'm sure you have planned!

Throughout the week I will be posting one of these schedule blog posts a day so you will know what will be going on each day. These posts will be going live at 1AM EST*, but if you want to know the overview of the week ahead of time, check out the #BorrowAThon schedule blog post. These daily schedules will have more detail and direction for each of the activities but you can pretty much gather enough information in order to get an idea solely based on the original schedule. 

Social Media Challenge: Story Environment Challenge

Today you will be recreating the environment of one of your #BorrowAThon books! Take a photo that captures the setting or world of one of the books that you've read this week and share it on Twitter, Instagram, your blog, or all three and tag it with the hashtag #BorrowAThon so we can all see! I'm looking forward to your creativity with this challenge!

Twitter chat at @ 2PM EST*!

We will be coming together for an hour-long Twitter chat at 2PM EST* this afternoon! This chat will allow all of the participants to get to know each other a little bit because the whole point of a readathon is to read as a community! If you're unsure how Twitter chats work or if you've never participated in one before, check out this article for more information. I hope to see you there!

Make sure you're following @BorrowAThon on Twitter for continuous updates and post along with the hashtag #BorrowAThon!

*All Twitter chats and daily schedule posts are scheduled in EST as that is the time zone the host lives in. Make sure you're looking into the time zone difference for your area so you do not miss out on the fun of the chats! You can find a time zone converter here to help you figure out the difference.

#BorrowAThon Day 5 Schedule

TGIF and Happy Day 5 of #BorrowAThon!

Now comes the best part of any readathon - weekend reading! Hopefully after you come home today you will have plenty of time to kick back and enjoy your books without interruption! Enjoy your Friday and Day 5 of #BorrowAThon!

Throughout the week I will be posting one of these schedule blog posts a day so you will know what will be going on each day. These posts will be going live at 1AM EST*, but if you want to know the overview of the week ahead of time, check out the #BorrowAThon schedule blog post. These daily schedules will have more detail and direction for each of the activities but you can pretty much gather enough information in order to get an idea solely based on the original schedule.

Social Media Challenge: #StacksSelfie Challenge!

This challenge is fairly simple - go to your local library and take a selfie in the stacks! Libraries are beautiful places and they deserve to be shown off and visited! Make sure you post your photo to Twitter, Instagram, your blog, or all three, and use the hashtags #StacksSelfie and #BorrowAThon so we can see your beautiful faces among the books of your library!

Make sure you're following @BorrowAThon on Twitter for continuous updates and post along with the hashtag #BorrowAThon!

*All Twitter chats and daily schedule posts are scheduled in EST as that is the time zone the host lives in. Make sure you're looking into the time zone difference for your area so you do not miss out on the fun of the chats! You can find a time zone converter here to help you figure out the difference.

#BorrowAThon Day 4 Schedule

#BorrowAThon Day 4 -  OHHHH WE'RE HALF WAY THERE!

*wooaaahhhh* LIVIN' ON A PRAYER!!! I can't believe that after today we'll already going to be half way through the readathon! I hope everyone is trucking right along and feeling good! And most importantly, having so much fun reading their borrowed books!

Throughout the week I will be posting one of these schedule blog posts a day so you will know what will be going on each day. These posts will be going live at 1AM EST*, but if you want to know the overview of the week ahead of time, check out the #BorrowAThon schedule blog post. These daily schedules will have more detail and direction for each of the activities but you can pretty much gather enough information in order to get an idea solely based on the original schedule.

Social Media Challenge: Mid-Week Update Challenge!

As we come to the official half way mark of the readathon, it's time to check in and share where you are currently standing in your progress! On the social media platform of your choice, answer the following questions and update us all using the hashtag #BorrowAThon!

1. What is one part of the books you've read so far this week that has really stood out? (Favorite book? Character? Scene?)

2. Have you stuck to your original TBR so far this week or have you found something new that you wanted to read?

3. What are your goals for the rest of the readathon? (Page count? Book count? Just want to have fun?)

Make sure you're following @BorrowAThon on Twitter for continuous updates and post along with the hashtag #BorrowAThon!

*All Twitter chats and daily schedule posts are scheduled in EST as that is the time zone the host lives in. Make sure you're looking into the time zone difference for your area so you do not miss out on the fun of the chats! You can find a time zone converter here to help you figure out the difference.

#BorrowAThon Day 3 Schedule

Happy Day 3 of #BorrowAThon!

Can you believe it's already day 3?! It seems like we just started and we're already 25% done! I hope everyone is still feeling good about their reading and remember - any reading at all is a SUCCESS so keep going!

Throughout the week I will be posting one of these schedule blog posts a day so you will know what will be going on each day. These posts will be going live at 1AM EST*, but if you want to know the overview of the week ahead of time, check out the #BorrowAThon schedule blog post. These daily schedules will have more detail and direction for each of the activities but you can pretty much gather enough information in order to get an idea solely based on the original schedule.

Today we have both a social media challenge and a Twitter chat lined up for you all! I hope you're able to join in for both! As usual, my social media challenge will be located on my Twitter page, so make sure to follow me there if you'd like to see my post that will go up later today!

Social Media Challenge: Character Portrait Challenge!

For this challenge you will be channeling your artistic side! Choose a character in the book you are reading today and develop a portrait of that character. This could be anything - a literal drawn or photographed portrait of your character, a collage of words that describe your character, a photo of a collection of objects that represent your character.... as long as it represents your interpretation of your character you can really do anything! Make sure you share your portrait with us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, your blog, or all four and tag it with #BorrowAThon so we can see!

Twitter chat at 9PM EST*!

We will be coming together for an hour-long Twitter chat at 9PM EST* this evening! This chat will allow all of the participants to get to know each other a little bit because the whole point of a readathon is to read as a community! If you're unsure how Twitter chats work or if you've never participated in one before, check out this article for more information. I hope to see you there!

Make sure you're following @BorrowAThon on Twitter for continuous updates and post along with the hashtag #BorrowAThon!

*All Twitter chats and daily schedule posts are scheduled in EST as that is the time zone the host lives in. Make sure you're looking into the time zone difference for your area so you do not miss out on the fun of the chats! You can find a time zone converter here to help you figure out the difference.

#BorrowAThon Round 1 Daily Progress Updates

If you can't tell (which I don't see how you wouldn't be able to because it's literally all I'm talking about on the internet right now) it's #BorrowAThon time - a readathon I'm hosting! Per usual, I will be posting up my daily progress updates right here on this little blog of mine so you can see how I'm progressing through my TBR! I'm also daily vlogging, so be sure to check out my YouTube channel for video updates throughout the week and check out the BorrowAThon Twitter page for all readathon related updates! :D

DAY 1 - Monday, November 7th

Books read today: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Pages read today: 138

Books finished today: None

Day 2 - Tuesday, November 8th

Books read today: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Pages read today: 95

Books finished today: 1 - The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

DAY 3 - Wednesday, November 9th

Books read today: Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

Pages read today: 325

Books finished today: 1 - Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

DAY 4 - Thursday, November 10th

Books read today: Saints by Gene Luen Yang (170 pages) & In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park (20 pages)

Pages read today: 190

Books finished today: 1 - Saints by Gene Luen Yang

DAY 5 - Friday, November 11th

Books read today: In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park

Pages read today: 48

Books finished today: None

Day 6 - Saturday, November 12th

Books read today: In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park

Pages read today: 78

Books finished today: None

Day 7 - Sunday, November 13th

Books read today: In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park

Pages read today: 105

Books finished today: None

Day 8 - Monday, November 14th

Books read today: In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park (22 pages) & I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid (210 pages)

Pages read today: 232

Books finished today: 2 - In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park & I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid 

Total pages read: 1,182

Total books finished: 5

#BorrowAThon Day 2 Schedule

Happy Day 2 of #BorrowAThon!

How did everyone do on their first day of the readathon?! I hope everyone is having a wonderful time! I'm loving seeing everyone's posts and interacting with you all!

Throughout the week I will be posting one of these schedule blog posts a day so you will know what will be going on each day. These posts will be going live at 1AM EST*, but if you want to know the overview of the week ahead of time, check out the #BorrowAThon schedule blog post. These daily schedules will have more detail and direction for each of the activities but you can pretty much gather enough information in order to get an idea solely based on the original schedule.

Today we have a creative social media challenge for you all - the haiku challenge! I will be posting my haiku over on my Twitter page, so make sure you're following me there if you're interested in seeing it!

Social Media Challenge: Haiku Challenge!

For this challenge, create a haiku (a poem that consists of 3 lines, the first line containing 5 syllables, the second containing 7 syllables, and the third containing 5 syllables) that involves the book that you're currently reading. This could be your feelings about the book, a description of a scene that you've read, something involving the plot or characters... anything as long as you include your book in some way! Share your haiku on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, your blog, or all four and use the hashtag #BorrowAThon so we can see it!

Make sure you're following @BorrowAThon on Twitter for continuous updates and post along with the hashtag #BorrowAThon!

*All Twitter chats and daily schedule posts are scheduled in EST as that is the time zone the host lives in. Make sure you're looking into the time zone difference for your area so you do not miss out on the fun of the chats! You can find a time zone converter here to help you figure out the difference.

#BorrowAThon Day 1 Schedule

IT'S DAY 1 OF #BORROWATHON!!!!!

Welcome to everyone who is participating this week and thank you so much for joining! I hope you are all looking forward to a wonderful week of reading borrowed books! I know that I certainly am! :)

Throughout the week I will be posting one of these schedule blog posts a day so you will know what will be going on each day. These posts will be going live at 1AM EST*, but if you want to know the overview of the week ahead of time, check out the #BorrowAThon schedule blog post. These daily schedules will have more detail and direction for each of the activities but you can pretty much gather enough information in order to get an idea solely based on the original schedule. 

Today, because it's the first day and we want to kick off with tons of excitement, we're going to kick it off with BOTH a social media challenge AND a Twitter chat! I hope you're able to participate in both! <3

Social Media Challenge: Share your #BorrowAThon TBR!

This one is fairly simple - show off your TBR pile (to-be-read pile, or the stack of books that you're planning to read this week) for this week on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, your blog, or all four! Make sure you use the hashtag #BorrowAThon so everyone can see! If you're interested in checking out my TBR pile, you can find my YouTube video here (though it has changed ever so slightly) and follow me on Twitter where I will be posting a photo at some point today!

Introductory Twitter chat at 9PM EST*!

We will be coming together for an hour-long Twitter chat at 9PM EST* this evening! This chat will allow all of the participants to get to know each other a little bit because the whole point of a readathon is to read as a community! If you're unsure how Twitter chats work or if you've never participated in one before, check out this article for more information. I hope to see you there!

Make sure you're following @BorrowAThon on Twitter for continuous updates and post along with the hashtag #BorrowAThon!

*All Twitter chats and daily schedule posts are scheduled in EST as that is the time zone the host lives in. Make sure you're looking into the time zone difference for your area so you do not miss out on the fun of the chats! You can find a time zone converter here to help you figure out the difference.

November 2016 Goals

Happy November! We're quickly heading into the holiday season which is so crazy and I'm actually pretty excited for it this year! Of course it will be crazy and busy but I think it will be a lot of fun this year so I am definitely looking forward to it! I mean, what's not to love? Family and friends, new Harry Potter and Gilmore Girls, delicious food, amazing sales... It's going to be awesome. I have a quite a few goals for the month of November so let's jump right in!

1. Exercise 3x per week

After my marathon I EMBRACED THE LAZINESS and basically didn't move my body at all for three straight weeks. It's time to get my booty back in gear! I would like to exercise at least three times a week this month and the exercise can be anything - lifting, biking, running, yoga, etc. I don't think that is totally doable. Time to not be a lazy person anymore!

2. Get all TBR books read

I have quite a few titles on my TBR list for November and I'm hoping to get to them all this month! I have scheduled everything out on my Google Calendar and it's looking like if I give myself about 3 days for each title (save for the graphic novels which I can usually get through in one or two sittings) I can get through all of them! You can find my TBR on my blog here!

3. Register for all winter running events

I have a couple of running events that I want to take part in this winter - I want to attempt the Winter Wonder Miles, 200 mile challenge hosted by Will Run for Bling and my Mom wants to run the Hot Chocolate Run for her birthday (which I guess is technically fall but we'll pretend it's winter) so I will be joining her for that! I want to get all registered for these this monnth so I will be ready to go for the Winter!

4. Have a great #BorrowAThon

The first readathon I'm ever hosting, the #BorrowAThon, is this month and I am so nervous and excited about it! I hope everything goes well, those that are participating have a good time, and I accomplish reading a lot of borrowed books! Check out the BorrowAThon Twitter for more details if you're interested in finding out more! All updates will be posted to the Twitter page!

5. No book buying until Black Friday

I'm going to try my darnedest to hold back from book buying until Black Friday this month when there are crazy sales EVERYWHERE. I'm planning to spend November 25th by buying books and watching the Gilmore Girls revival and eating Thanksgiving leftovers. It's going to be amazing.

What are your goals for this month?

Click "Read More" for an update on how my October goals went!