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Friday, February 27, 2015

Review: A Study In Silks

Alright. After reflecting on my last post, I decided to try posting my book reviews here and see how that goes! If not, I'll rethink bringing back my other blog and doing them exclusively there. Obviously these won't be in the same format, but they might evolve that way. By all means, share your critiques.


Novel: A Study In Silks
Author: Emma Jane Holloway
Series: Yes

So I finished A Study In Silks last night, and right off the bat, I am quite disappointed.

I loved the cover of this book, loved the idea of the book, but ultimately I found it confusing. Which I am sad about because I'm not a steampunk fan, but I picked this one up hoping it would help me transition into the genre. 

Alas, it was not meant to be. I found the characters hard to grasp. I don't know if it was because it was told from multiple view points, but I didn't get a sense of WHO they were. Not a single one. And they all seemed really weak, like they couldn't stand behind their decisions - especially Tobias near the end.

I also felt like I had come in through the middle of the book and had missed all relationship building between the characters. And some "relationship building" throughout the book was needed. Two people falling in love within a week without barely speaking to each other? Come on.

Two big questions that still plague my mind:
  • How did Nick know where to find Evelina?
  • Is there really a point to having Sherlock Holmes in the story?

I really wanted to like this series, but I don't know if I will be continuing on with it or not.

Have you read it? What did you think?

-M

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Motivation Frustration

I'm a little...deflated this week.

I have a notebook (the black Moleskine Evernote) that I keep all my blog ideas in. From what widgets I should add, to idea posts, to things I need to think about updating. The problem I am finding is that no matter how much I write in that notebook, I don't seem to be doing very much of it.

I will admit that part of the reason is because I'm a little torn. I have this blog, and a book review blog that I previously ran on wordpress but didn't end up keeping up with (lack of motivation all in itself). The book review blog was fun and I thought it was a great idea, but I started it on a whim and couldn't keep up. The issue I had with it is that it is very limiting. I can't necessarily start posting about the soaps I made last week.

With this blog, I have a lot more free reign. I can post whatever the hell I choose to share (like my lack of motivation!) and it's a great way to let the creative juices flow. The downside to this blog is, I don't have a clear focus of where I want it to go. What is the point of this blog?

So my lack of motivation comes from not knowing where to start. Do I continue this blog, or switch back to my review blog? And if I continue with this blog, what is my plan for it?

All great questions that I need to seriously start thinking about. I should start working more on this and less on watching Grey's Anatomy.

Has anyone struggled with this conundrum when they first started out?

-M

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

This Week's Addiction



I am the very first to admit that I tend to become obsessed with things very easily. From paper, to shoes, to bands to fashion, if I find something I love I can spend a good two weeks Googling/ purchasing / fantasizing about it.

So this week I thought I would share my current addiction, which even I admit is a weird one: Planners.

That's right, planners. I've been watching videos, following blogs, looking up different planners on the internet. Anything I can do to look at a planner, I am doing. Thankfully I know myself well enough to stay away from any stores that sell planners right now.

I currently have two planners; one for work and one for personal. Both are moleskine. My work one is a bright yellow graph notebook (which I can not find at Chapters anymore except in black) and one is the Evernote notebook. I love the moleskine, although I am starting to wonder if I could find something a little better.

Since this addiction has started, I've seen a lot of people with Filofax types of planners, and I am wondering if that might be a bit better. The moleskine is great for having at work, but I often find my personal one gets left out. I've started to wonder if it would be easier to combine them into one, which I would prefer a ring binder for.

So, those of you have a planner addiction, which types of binders/notebooks do you tend to gravitate towards? And how do you set them up?

-M