Well hello there beautiful reader folk. Life has been all kinds of hectic lately. From papers to write, internships to apply for, and sleep to have, it's safe to say that I'm only slightly overwhelmed. It's fine! Since I need this reminder sometimes, I thought maybe y'all would as well: Self care is important.
Drink water. Read a book for the hell of it. Go out and get coffee with friends and talk about nothing and everything. Go exercise. Make sure you get good sleep. Take a moment to stop and listen to music.
(for music suggestions: 6LACK, One Way and Victor Oladipo, One Day)
(both are on my feb 2018 spotify playlist)
One of my self care to-dos is to re-read old favorites. I find that, as much as I love reading, I don't let myself go back and love my favorites all over again. I'm stressed when I think about all the books I have to read for the first time.
As such, I'm never really around to read things for a second, third, fourth, hundredth time. Last winter break I decided to take all that. I just came out of a 20-hour semester with a 4.0 and I WAS GOING TO CELEBRATE OKAY? And I was going to celebrate the best way I knew how: books.
Without further ado, here's a list of the favorites I decided to read again.
Running Barefoot by Amy Harmon: Amazon || Goodreads
Okay, babes. Here it is: Amy Harmon is one of my auto-buy authors. Running Barefoot was the first book of hers that I read. Way back in 2012, this was a Kindle freebie. I had oodles of time to spare (or at least I liked to pretend that I did) and this book was calling my name. Safe to say that I wasn't disappointed. Thanks to the six year gap in my reading of it for the first and the second time there were SO MANY things that I didn't remember...not even a little bit.
It was like reading it for the first time all over again. Yeah. I'm swooning and tearing up thinking about it. Whaaaat a great read, y'all.
The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata: Amazon || Goodreads
Holy sweet baby jesus christ on a cracker. This book is loooooooooooooooong. It could easily be two books. I even have a suggestion as to where it could be divided. That being said, I am SO GLAD that it's all in one convenient package.
I love this book because 1) it's full of people making mistakes, and 2) IT IS SO FREEEAKING CUTE. Oh my gosh. I remember reading it the first time thanks to a Twitter suggestion and falling head over heels. Both times I read this book in a single sitting. There simply isn't any other way to read it.
Touch Me Not by Apryl Baker: Amazon || Goodreads || Review
Touch Me Not is one of those books that are almost better when they're being re-read. Like spaghetti on the second day...sort of. With this book, unlike Running Barefoot, I remembered everything. There was only a couple years between reads with this one, so that's so be expected.
I didn't expect it to be literally all the feels all over agin. Falling when you weren't supposed to fall, losing and gaining friendships. Learning to deal with trauma and forgive yourself. Touch Me Not hits all of those pretty notes.
AND NOW I WANT TO READ IT AGAIN. It's fine. Not like I don't have infinite time or something like that.
Cinder & Ella by Kelly Oram: Amazon || Goodreads
If you want a book that will literally screw with your psyche and whatever healthy emotional balance you've grasped at over the years, this is the book for you. Y'all know I don't cry. For some unknown reason, my tear ducts just don't work super well.
This book had me sobbing at chapter two. Never before have I felt this kind of acute rage with a book. Especially a young adult. Especially one that I thought was going to be a quick, fluffy, cute read. Maybe that's why it hit me so hard...the first time...and the second time. I'm still grieving. But isn't that what the best books are supposed to make you do?
Feel everything all at once?
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