September 2018: All the Books I (Re-)Read this Month & Am I Joining BookTube?

September 30, 2018October 3, 2018 bookspoilsLeave a comment

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoWXi7Lgzl7/?taken-by=bookspoils

The month of Tishri (or, September) was full of Jewish holidays, from Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot to the Fast of Gedaliah and Yom Kippur, granting me all the rest days to just sit down and devour these books in single sittings. Surprisingly enough, I delved mostly into rereads this month, save for three, given that those are all my physical copies of books. In total, I read and reviewed seven books:

https://bookspoils.com/2018/09/20/review-to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before/

https://bookspoils.com/2018/09/16/in-depth-bookspoilery-review-p-s-i-still-love-you-by-jenny-han/

https://bookspoils.com/2018/09/18/always-and-forever-lara-jean/

https://bookspoils.com/2016/04/21/review-the-dream-thieves-by-maggie-stiefvater/

https://bookspoils.com/2018/09/09/the-storyteller-by-eshkol-nevo/

https://bookspoils.com/2018/09/02/review-old-men-at-midnight-by-chaim-potok/

https://bookspoils.com/2018/09/23/thirst-romance-review-the-hating-game-by-sally-thorne/

Movies that made my month:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bmq1ALyHOwi/?taken-by=bookspoils

This was pretty much the month of being in Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before universe. From watching the Netflix film adaption and reviewing it in detail here, to rereading the trilogy after craving more and more of the same cute, contemporary vibe.

My Patreon:

patreon bookspoils

After much deliberation, and upon watching Ariel Bissett’s vulnerable video on the topic, I decided to create a Patreon with the goal in mind to start creating BookTube videos in the near future. I’ve had the thought circling in my head for the past year, and I’m hyped that the idea is starting to formulate itself into a more concrete shape. I’ve already started noting down any exciting book-related topics to feature that I personally haven’t seen discussed before (aka the Jewish side of BookTube).

Before all that can happen, however, I need help in making this a stable reality. If you would like to participate in this creation, join me on this exciting new road and make a pledge through my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bookspoils

Screen Shot 2018-02-28 at 09.46.55

That was my reading wrap-up for September, thank you for reading! Let me know your thoughts down below in the comments. How was your reading month?

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July 2018: Books & Movies

August 1, 2018September 12, 2018 bookspoilsLeave a comment

July was full of various reads, including plays, parenting books, poetry collections, and a bunch of great library discoveries. The month felt incredibly satisfying reading-wise, which has been a long time coming this year. In total, nine books were read and reviewed:

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/07/19/bad-jews-bookspoils/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/07/05/mossad-by-michael-bar-zohar-nissim-mishal/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/07/24/review-exquisite-corpse-by-penelope-bagieu/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/07/17/rant-review-risk-by-kevin-allison-editor/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/07/10/review-cucumber-quest-the-doughnut-kingdom-by-gigi-d-g/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/07/15/review-soft-magic-by-upile-chisala/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/07/03/review-aquicorn-cove-by-katie-oneill/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/07/29/fly-already-bookspoils/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/07/08/review-how-to-talk-so-teens-will-listen-listen-so-teens-will-talk/

Books that made my month:

How to Talk So Teens Will Listen & Listen So Teens Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish.

How can I express my honest feelings in a way that will make it possible for the other person to hear me and even consider what I have to say?

As I mention in my review for the book, I wholeheartedly stand behind the belief that through our interactions with children we can learn how to behave respectfully to our surroundings; patience, kindness, and acceptance should be shown to all. So I’ve been diving into more books of the kind (and endlessly and unknowingly comparing them to this book), while listening to a bunch of lectures on the subject of gentle parenting, as well. They have been a fruitful source for my learning.

Circling back to the book, the comic illustrations really aide with visually representing the points. I included in my review some of my favorites that I make sure to implement in my personal life. The below idea, in particular, left quite the positive impression:

Instead of Angry Reprimands …

Movies that made my month:

July also being my birth month, I had the privilege to invite my younger sister along to her first-ever cinema experience by watching the Incredibles 2. She’s a huge fan of the first movie and with this much-anticipated release out in the world, it only seemed right to take her along. In the end, I felt so grateful that I got to partake in this memorable experience for her and can only hope and pray for many more to come and share together.

http://bookspoils.tumblr.com/post/176487706568/pixarsource-the-incredibles-2004-incredibles

In terms of the movie, we had a grand time watching the relatable family dynamic, especially with the siblings. There were many laugh-out-loud moments, which, funnily enough, became the ones to stay in my head the most from the whole film.

A few of my highlights:

http://bookspoils.tumblr.com/post/176522733473/ginasholt-incredibles-2-2018-dir-brad-bird

A play-by-play replica of something I’d tell my sister.

As well as Bob “Mr. Incredible” & Dash tackling “new math” together:

I so cherished family scenes showing the realness behind parenting with the trials and errors that Bob took on; it was weirdly comforting to watch.

Finally, I have to veer off a bit to give a quick shout-out to The Office for creating this epic birthday scene:

http://bookspoils.tumblr.com/post/176018617878

That was my July wrap-up, thank you for reading!

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May 2018: Books, Vines & TV Shows

May 31, 2018May 31, 2018 bookspoilsLeave a comment

Since I made it a reading goal of mine to be more meaningful and careful in the books I pick this year, the amount I read each month has been scaling down. Thankfully, May brought with it some much-needed binge-worthy books to consume. In total, I read six books:

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/05/21/review-tell-the-machine-goodnight-by-katie-williams/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/05/23/review-the-kiss-quotient-by-helen-hoang/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/05/03/review-born-to-dance-by-jordan-matter/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/05/09/dress-like-a-woman-working-women-and-what-they-wore-by-vanessa-friedman-roxane-gay-foreword/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/05/17/review-yesterday-i-was-the-moon-by-noor-unnahar/

Review: Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel’s Classroom by Ariel Burger https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/05/15/review-witness-lessons-from-elie-wiesels-classroom-by-ariel-burger/

Book Tags:

I jumped on the opportunity to answer the Vine book tag with its burning, must-know questions, and it resulted in experiencing THE MOST FUN doing so. Including my favorite combination of books and vine compilations with titles like: “ancient vines i watch with my grandfather,” “vines rarer than a good night’s sleep,” and “vines 2 trick you into feeling happiness.”

Check it out in full here.

BLANK:

After months and months of rewatching SKAM (season two, to be specific), watching all the reactions to said favorite season, and watching all the remakes (except for one*), I was beyond elated to find a new show that is genuinely on par with the iconic content produced in the aforementioned.

BLANK is a Norwegian online series that uses an identical format of releasing real-time clips throughout the week that are then gathered into a full episode on Sunday mornings, to quote from the site that translates the clips.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll start at the beginning by noting that I was a tad apprehensive when I was a couple of minutes into the show since there didn’t seem to be any driving point the main character was heading to. As well as having the plot follow nineteen-year-old Ella, unsure of her future after completing high school and letting life happen to her instead of participating, didn’t do any favors to the developing storyline.

The scenes oddly felt like I was watching one of those “A Week in my Life” videos with the everyday banal exchanges, like, getting home, sending emails, preheating the oven for pizza, accompanying a friend on a Tinder hook up, etc. But whereas those vlogs tend to end after ten-or-so minutes, this first episode was over forty… So just as I was wondering what this show had going on for itself, a certain hooded boy appeared on screen and changed the pace of Ella’s daily life.

http://bookspoils.tumblr.com/post/174430289998/blank-trash-watching-waiting

Just… I AM SO HAPPY THIS SHOW EXIST, AND I’M KEEPING MYSELF FROM SCREAMING OF JOY.

(Accurate visual of finishing the second episode and realizing I’ve finally found a new favorite show after nearly two years of watching and rewatching SKAM.)

BLANK excels at zeroing in on startling realistic scenes between two people overtly in sync with each another’s presence because CRUSHES TAKE EVERYTHING FROM YOU. Simen and Ella’s exchanges are mostly all non-verbal and there’s just so much power in their glances. Like, watching their every move like a hawk but making sure they don’t catch you looking, or walking by them and sneaking a glance and then channeling all your inner strength to not look back over your shoulder … Just utter happiness at soaking in their presence, not even having to talk. It’s these little moments that make everything so damn real and I am l i v i n g for it. This is exactly what I’ve been seeking: a romantic relationship I can vicariously live through.

Also:

I finished the second episode and punched the air from utter joy, like Amy from B99 below, because it ended on Ella walking away like a cool girl while Simen admired her move as he stood by, watching her move away.
I haven’t even mentioned the meta moment when Ella’s watching Skam Austin and starts discussing the show with Mats and comparing it to the original…

It’s just so nice to have a show that makes me feel passionate again because I was starting to feel terrified that it wasn’t going to happen again anytime soon. Same for the books I’ve been reading this year. But thankfully the month of May pulled through with both.

*Germany can piss off before I’d consider giving them views.

That was my May wrap-up, thank you for reading!