2015 Book Blogger Love-A-Thon! - Introduction and About Me

Happy 2015 Book Blogger Love-A-Thon!

*throws confetti in the air*

Seriously, you guys, I've been waiting since the end of last year's Book Blogger Love-A-Thon for this. Alright, so, if you're not a part of the Book Blogger Love-A-Thon, let me just share a little bit about this event. 

The 2015 Book Blogger Love-A-Thon is hosted by Alexa of Alexa Loves Books, and this event is an opportunity to interact with other book bloggers, authors, and bookish people alike, share our love of book blogging, participate in fun posts and Twitter chats, and just have an incredible two days celebrating blogging and reading. It's seriously an amazing experience, and sharing my thoughts here isn't doing the event enough justice. This is one of my favorite things I've participated in so far throughout my blogging, and I am so, so excited to be participating again this year! 

So, we're starting off the Love-A-Thon with a "Get to Know You" questionnaire. Here are the questions, and my answers:

no. 1 - What's your name?

I'm Violet of Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink! For more about me, check out my About Me page!

no. 2 - Where in the world are you blogging from?

My room. In the past. I'm actually writing this earlier on in February. Time travel! (Except not because I don't have a Time Turner.)

no. 3 - How did you get into blogging in the first place?

I followed several blogs for years, always loving reading the posts and such, but never starting one of my own, even though I had a Goodreads. But I would always give my friends recommendations and talk books nonstop, and then one day in late 2013 I was asked by an author if I would review a novella, and I realized that I wanted to share my thoughts about books with everyone. And talk about how much I loved books with everyone. Thus, Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink.

no. 4 - How did you come up with your blog name?

Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink is a line out of a poem I wrote for a class a long time ago. Basically, we were asked to write a love poem, and of course mine was to books and bookstores and everything bookish. So, I wrote an Ode to Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink, and the line stayed with me and it felt like the right fit for the blog.

no. 5 - What genre do you read and review the most on your blog?

For me, I read mainly YA literature of a variety of categories, although previously it was typically paranormal or supernatural type stories. That has been changing this past year and into the current one, as I've been talking about in my Reading in 2015 post. I've been reading more Adult Fiction, and in YA more historical fiction, sci fi, etc. But YA has always been the main focus of this blog.

no. 6 - What other types of posts do you do on your blog, aside from reviews?

I participate in some blogging events (like this one, of course!), some weekly features such as Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. I post discussion posts, I share what books I'm excited for that are coming out soon, and I also do several other types of series, some of which I'm hoping to change up a bit and continue on with in the new year.

no. 7 - Best blogging experience so far?

Book Blogger Love-A-Thon 2014. I am so excited for this year's Book Blogger Love-A-Thon!

no. 8 - Favorite thing about the blogging community?

I love talking with everyone, whether it's through comments on posts about our thoughts on a particular book or discussion, or if it's over Twitter, I really enjoy interacting with bloggers and talking about books!

no. 9 - Name the 5 books you're most excited for in 2015!

5? Ok. I can do this. I'm going to say books that are coming out and haven't already been released in 2015 to narrow it down a bit since I have about 30-ish books (My Can't Wait Books of 2015 post has all 30 of those). I picked two honorable mentions.

Top 5:

A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas

We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han, the sequel to To All the Boys I've Loved Before

The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May, the sequel to The Falconer

Winter by Marissa Meyer, the fourth book in The Lunar Chronicles

Honorable Mentions:

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

no. 10 - What's an underrated book or series you think everyone should read?

Hmm... I have plenty of recommendations so I should probably do a post on this. But some of my favorites are the Poison Study series, Splintered series, and His Fair Assassin series.

no. 11 - Which book boy or book girl would be your book BFF?

book boy BFF - Morpheus of The Splintered series by A.G. Howard

book girl BFF - Cress from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

no. 12 - Apart from reading, what are your other hobbies or interests?
I love to travel, to sing, watch Disney movies, watch Downton Abbey, spend some time with my family, friends, and wonderful pet cat. And sleep.

no. 13 - Apart from book shopping, what else do you like shopping for?

Not much, really. I've never been much of a shopper, but if I see something I like or know I need to get, I can go and find it pretty quickly and efficiently.

no. 14 - At a party, the DJ suddenly changes the song- and it's your song. What song would be playing?

I'm assuming a Disney song wouldn't work very well here. (It would totally be Belle from Beauty and the Beast if it could, though.) Classical music doesn't work either, probably. I love Sam Smith, Marina & the Diamonds, and The Hush Sound.

no. 15 - Pick out either a book you want turned into a film/tv show, or a film/tv show you want turned into a book.
Normally, I'm not a fan of the film/tv to book adaptations I've read, so if I could pick a book to be made into a movie, I'd want to see The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. That would be amazing. The Lunar Chronicles would also be an awesome film adaptation.

So, there's a little bit about me! If you're visiting, hi and welcome to the blog! I'm so excited to be a part of the Book Blogger Love-A-Thon, and thank you so much for stopping by!

From the paper world,

V

One Year

It's amazing to think it's been a year already since this post went live on Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink. One Year. I can't believe how a year has already gone by. I remember messaging my friend talking about how I'd wanted to start a blog like this but never had the gumption. Finally, one day I just made the blog, and a few days later posted a wrap up of the books I'd read in October. It's definitely not the fanciest post I've ever written, but my excitement and enthusiasm couldn't be contained. I was so excited to join the world of book blogging.

And what a wonderful world it is! This year with Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink has seen me through some big changes and some wonderful times. I've had the opportunity to interact with other bookish people, and share my love for books with others. It's been amazing to just have others who share this excitement for reading, and talking about our favorite books, recommending some to others, and discovering new books along the way. I've found some truly wonderful reads through interacting with others through the blog, so thank you for that!

I have many, many more 'thank you's to say, but I'm going to save that for later on this month. I'll just say now that there are so, so many people who have done something to make my day as a blogger, or been truly helpful and thoughtful. I couldn't have imagined how there would be so many wonderful things to come from this blog. I think that this community is something special. Weekly features allow us to connect and talk about things we have in common, we can talk about how we buy far too many books, but find ones that we truly love and really have meaning for us, set goals and challenges for us to meet. Blogging has allowed me to celebrate reading with others, and it's been such an amazing experience thus far. I did not know if I would end up blogging a week, a month, however long. But I've loved being involved in the book blogging community and one year later, I'm so happy to still be a part of it. 

I hope you enjoy celebrating One Year of Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink with me, and stay tuned for more posts to come! 

From the Paper World,
V

I Want to be a Disney Princess

I honestly have no idea where this post came from, but here we are! Today I'm going to share some random facts about myself, in light of it being October and Halloween is coming, in light of October being one of my favorite months, and... Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink is turning 1 soon! 1 year of blogging! I'm grinning like a fool and happy dancing in my chair as I type that. I can't even believe it. We're going to save the sappy emotional one year celebration post for Halloween/early November time, since that's when I actually created the blog. But anyways, let's talk about Violet, and a few things about myself that you may not yet know!


First...
I want to be a Disney Princess. It was my childhood dream, it was many a Halloween costume, and I would still be totally fine with an Alan Menken musical score narrating my adventures with my friends and perhaps a Disney Prince. Curious to know my favorite? It is absolutely, without a doubt Belle of Beauty and the Beast. Belle is my favorite because she's a reader and personality wise we are very similar. 'I want adventure in the great wide somewhere' is a quote I painted on to a canvas and have hanging, actually. Also, I love how she is patient and kind but not a pushover- Belle challenges people to be the best they can be. Yes, I am a Disney fan and sing along to all the songs and everything. If you ever want to know more about my love for Disney, I will definitely be able to do a post on it. 

Second...

My reading hasn't been the best it's usually been. Or good at all. I know I've done several posts on this, one from a few weeks ago and one from September, but I'm pretty disappointed about how far behind I've gotten on reading. I've just been so busy it feels like everything else fell to the side, including my reading. I haven't finished more than a book a month since August. So, if you have any tips about how to approach this, I'd love to hear them. My blogging has been affected as well, but sitting down and figuring out a few posts and coming up with something as random and spontaneous and fun as this post has helped a lot!

Third...

I love to travel and experience other cultures and languages. 'I want adventure in the great wide somewhere' is an apt quote to describe how I view travel. Some of my favorite stories come from random journeys with friends and family, and there's something about seeing a new place and being a visitor in another place that gives you more perspective on life, yourself, and the world. 

Fourth...

I love to bake cupcakes, pies, cookies, and try new recipes. I really love cooking as well. I find that trying new recipes is fun and a learning experience, and cooking really relaxes me. Whenever I get together with my mother and we cook, we play music as well (Michael Buble and Lorde have been two that we replay the CDs of) and so I like to do that when I cook on my own as well.

Fifth...

Art museums are wonderful places to explore and wander about in, and I love taking the time to appreciate something that can be moving and mean different things to everyone who walks by it. I think the beauty of seeing art and how the artist wanted to express their view of the world is an interesting way to spend the afternoon.

So, there are five random facts about myself, all starting with the idea to write a post about Disney princesses. So, who's your favorite Disney princess? Do you like cooking or exploring art museums or visiting other places as well? I'll see you all next time!

From the paper world,

V