Reading as an Escape

One of the most common reasons I hear for why people love to read is that it allows them to escape the stress of our real world and escape into a fantasy. Escapism is a powerful tool for releasing the stress that builds up over time, and it also serves to let us view worlds,…

15 Books I’d Like to Re-read

I love rereading books that I previously enjoyed. It's not something that I do often because there are so many new books coming out every week, and it's hard to prioritize rereading a book when I've got ten brand new ones that I want to get to. There are certain books that I make sure to…

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco – A Review

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco The Bone Witch #1 Dark Fantasy | Witchcraft | Young Adult Published by Sourcebooks Fire Released March 7th, 2017 Goodreads | Amazon Rating: The young adult fantasy genre is oversaturated, but there's always room for dark fantasy. The Bone Witch is just such a novel, following a young teenage girl named Tea after…

Star Ratings: Are They Fair or Necessary – Let’s Talk Bookish

While I was snacking on some hard-boiled eggs this afternoon (which are 100% the best snack), I was reading some of the WordPress blogs that I follow and came across Books on the Brain and specifically the Let's Talk Bookish post about star ratings. I followed her link back to the creator of the Let's…

Children’s Books I Grew Up On – Reviews & Reflections

I've mentioned many times on this blog that I grew up in a house of readers, always surrounded by books. I'm so thankful for that upbringing because I've loved books as far back as I can remember. Recently, I decided to re-read a few of my favorite children's books and wanted to provide some brief…

Interview with Vicky from What Vicky Read – Friday Favorites

I know it's been a few weeks since I've done an interview for Read Yourself Happy's weekly Friday Favorites feature, but now we're back with a great interview from one of my favorite fellow book bloggers, Vicky from What Vicky Read. Before starting this blog, I wasn't even aware that book blogging was popular. I…

Today is National Read a Book Day!

In case you didn't know, September 6 is National Read a Book Day! I'm definitely planning on spending pretty much the entire day reading, especially since I live in an area impacted by Hurricane Dorian and as of this writing the winds are blowing at around 50 mph and I imagine our power won't be…

August 2019 Wrap-Up

August has been a strange month. I've had a lot of ups and downs with my anxiety and bipolar disorder. I ended up missing a lot of work because I mentally couldn't do it. I didn't read or blog quite as much because I had trouble concentrating. Things are looking much better, though. My boyfriend…

May 2019 Plans & TBR

I can't believe it's May already. 2019 is moving by at an extraordinary pace. This month, I want to focus on reading books I already own. I have a tendency to max out my library card constantly, which means I'm practically always reading a borrowed book while I have hundreds of books that sat unread…

April 2019 Wrap-Up

Although autumn will always be my favorite season, spring is beautiful as well. I love the thunderstorms we've begun having in the mid-Atlantic, and the blooming flowers are beautiful, even if I'm having trouble breathing as a result of the pollen. April has felt nuts to me, and like it flew by in a flash.…

Why You Should Embrace DNF-ing Books

I understand the desire to finish every book you start. I was one of those people for so long. I felt a sense of failure when I put down a book without finishing it, even when I disliked every moment of reading it. Sometimes, too, I would start reading a book that everybody else seemed…

Trigger Warnings: What are they, and do we need them?

Requesting trigger warnings for content is nothing new, but I've seen it discussed more often lately than I had before. It's not something I've discussed on Read Yourself Happy before, so I wanted to give my thoughts some space here. A trigger warning is intended to let readers or consumers know ahead of time if…

My Love/Hate Relationship with Audiobooks

Until recently, I only read physical books or ebooks. The few times I'd attempted to listen to audiobooks were disastrous, and within a few chapters I'd give up on it entirely. It baffled me a bit - after all, I love podcasts and audiobooks aren't that different. For whatever reason, however, I found that I…

GUEST POST: 7 Chinese Books in the Last 70 Years from Meonicorn

For the #readtheworldchina challenge, the amazing Meonicorn of The Bookish Land has written a guest post about 7 Chinese Books of the past 70 years. I love Meonicorn's blog and Youtube channel, so definitely go check her out for some amazing content and book recommendations.  The Bookish Land YouTube Twitter Instagram 7 Chinese Books in…

Should You Read Multiple Books At Once?

Here is a list of books that I'm currently reading: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson Tales from the Warming by Lorin R. Robinson The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland (because, yes I am!) various…