Top 5 Favorite Non-Fiction
I’ve only in the past few years developed a taste for non-fiction and actually use them as a way to break reading slumps as they require less brain work than fiction. But, I also like them because they stimulate my brain in the learning way and I do love to learn. I’ve started taking more time with my non-fiction books and almost treating it like schoolwork, taking notes or marking the pages to note for later. That also helps me remember better and really drive in the lessons or knowledge of the book.
Top 9 All-Time Favorite Stand-Alone
So in 2021, for National Reading Month (March), I posted a series of all my favorite books from series to poetry. But, two of them have changed so much in the past two years that it seemed time for a redo. Some books will be the same, some will be different. I hope you enjoy them regardless.
Best Books of 2022
Now let us get on to my top 9 reads of 2022. This was definitely the hardest year to narrow down. Oak King Holly King, Dark Rise, Tentacles & Triathlons, The Wisdom of the Shire, Prince of Sorrow, In Deeper Waters, Loki and Sigyn, King of the Immortal Tithe, Let your Hearts be Light
New Blog, Same Stuff
If you guys have been with me a while, you'll know for years I ran a blog on Weebly called Dream Me the Word (after a quote from one of my favorite books). I thought I could turn this blog into my author website while still posting about my other interests as well. But, the site didn't have the features I needed to grow my author platform and provide the content I wanted to.
Look Back on 2022
This year was unexpected. I, this time last year, wouldn’t believe where I am right now. Though, right now I still feel behind, I am miles ahead of where I thought I would be. Sky Heart, Tattoos, a corgi, and a special announcement
My Wheel of the Year
In 2020, I did an intuitive tarot study, the highlights of which I posted on my Instagram story and have recently made into a Reel if you want to check it out. It helped me come to a deeper understanding of the meanings of the cards and my own interpretations of them. This year I feel I have unconsciously done that with the sabbets and my own personal Wheel of the Year.
Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag 2022
We’re at the mid-point in the year already. I feel like I’ve fallen in love with reading again this year by both making the habit to read almost everyday, having days I just binge-read and embracing my mood-reader personality. I have read 13 books so far this year (plus 2 rereads) which puts me 2 books ahead in my yearly goal of 25 books. I have read from quite a few new authors (even one classic) and have many books still that I am excited to get to.
Best Books of 2021
Well when I said last year I would make reading a priority again…I lied. I did try, but I still haven’t found the perfect place to fit reading into my everyday routine so that is definitely a top goal for this coming year. Though I did not achieve my yearly goal of 25 books, the few I read I really enjoyed.
Look Back on 2021
This was definitely a year… as bad as the last, not to me, but it presented its own challenges so I think I am more tired from 2021 than 2020. But, I also feel more sure about my goals and dreams and more determined to do them.
Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag:2021
Can you believe the year in already half gone? What better way to track the passing time than reviewing the books we’ve read so far this year. Currently I am at 11 books, putting me one book ahead on my goal. I have completed two series (almost three as I’m currently reading Ruin & Rising), two non-fiction, a collection of short stories and a collection of poetry. Some of these I will review below and also talk about some of the books I want to get to before the end of the year.
Shopping Local: An Essay on Farmer Markets
I started going to a farmers market since I was six months old. Every Saturday morning, me and my Dad, and later my sister, all walked down the street to our local farmers market to get produce for the week. I stopped going in my teens when my riding lesson interfered, but now that I’ve moved out and am making food in my own home, I really miss going in person.
Affordable Ways To Hygge All Year Round
Every season has its own traditions and its own perfect hygge moments. Here is a list of affordable hygge ideas that you can fit into twelve months. I split them up by month, but this is just a guideline, you can do any of these at any time.
To Live like a Hobbit: Embracing Hygge
When I think of hygge living, my mind goes to the hobbits from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit books. Literally the first paragraph gives you that feeling: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.”
Top 6: Favorite Poetry
It took me a while to get into poetry so if you think you don’t like it, you haven’t found the right collection yet. Poetry is a lot like music, it puts raw human emotions into words which can be either beautiful or cringe-y. I’ve noticed I tend to like shorter, sweeter poems than long verses, but you could be the opposite. Either way, I highly recommend you give these ones a try and I’ve included pictures of my favorite poems so you can get a little taste.
Top 9 All-Time Favorite Series
Happy National Reading month! For someone already behind on their reading goal for the year (25), this month brings the perfect motivation to catch up on my TBR (to be read). Also a great excuse to talk about some of my all-time favorite books. Each post this month with be a list of my favorite books in different categories. Today, it’s going to be series. (No particular order)
My New Zealand Bucket List
Though I have already been, New Zealand is still at the top of my travel list. I will be revisiting the places I have shared with you as I will be taking the trip with my lovely partner and want to share them with him, but here are some new adventures and places I want to explore together when we go. Pelorus River, Hawke’s Bay Food Trail, The Library bar, Cinema Paradiso, Micheal O’Brien Bookbinder, Castlepoint, Mount Sunday, Cathedral Cove, Redwood Treewalk, Onsen Hot Pools
Top 9 New Zealand Destinations
Top 9 New Zealand Destinations-All the places I listed below are only a few of the amazing places we got to visit, but these were the ones whose memories stuck with me and I feel really capture New Zealand. Rainbow Fairy Springs, Te Puia, Paradise Wildlife Park, Orana Wildlife Park, Pete’s Sheep Farm, Speight’s Brewery, Nelson, Omahu Boulders, Dart Stables, Wellington LOTR tour
Tour of Hobbiton
If you somehow didn’t know, New Zealand was the filming location for the Lord of the Rings movies and later on, The Hobbit. I will talk about all the different filming sights I visited, but Hobbiton is definitely the most popular, located on the North Island and still set up just how it was for filming.
Witchcraft and the Lunar New Year
One of the best things about living with my partner are the conversations we have when we’re tipsy. One night this past December, we were talking about New Years resolutions and I was taking about doing my tarot year-ahead spread when Kyle asked me if most modern witches focus on the moon so much in their craft, why don’t they follow the Lunar New Year? I had never thought about that before.
Best Books of 2020
Despite the trying year, I did read some very good books. Though I didn’t reach my GoodReads goal of 30 books, I got pretty close with 27, technically 28 as I reread and annotated the Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien.