Looking Back at the Letter

Back in February, I participated in the absolutely wonderful Book Blogger Love-A-Thon and wrote this letter to myself for when I've been blogging for one year. And I'm not going to lie, writing it, I wasn't even sure I would be blogging for a year. At the time, those few months had felt so much longer than they actually had been, but in an amazing way. I was unsure of the future and what it would hold, but that event made me love blogging even more and really appreciate the book blogging community. So, here's my letter to my One Year of Blogging Self - 
Dear Future Self,

Hello! How has the blog been going? I can't believe it will have been a year of blogging once you read this! Right now, I'm writing this for the Book Blogger LoveAThon, and so far I've participated in several blogging events. I stayed up for 24 hours reading, I've done Bout of Books, and I'm so excited for everything else that's to come. 

What's been your favorite read of the year? Have you had a good reading year? I know that I'm excited for more of blogging; meeting other bloggers and making friends, as well as sharing my love of books. So, I hope you enjoy your blog anniversary, congraulations on having come so far, and I wish you more happiness to come.

From the paper world several months back,
V

Looking back at this, it reminds me of all the fun blogging things that had happened in just those few months. I'd been lucky enough to read for hours on end with other bloggers, and to have read some wonderful books (even back then I knew I wouldn't be able to pick one favorite, but a few of my favorites have been Jellicoe Road, Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, Anna and the French Kiss, and these books from My First Half of 2014 series). In general, I've had a good reading year, with some big life changes but a persisting love of books, albeit reading much more slowly now. I've also had so many wonderful opportunities to talk to other bloggers and do readalongs together. 

So, there's my letter to myself, a few months later, and one year later of blogging. What are your thoughts on how your first year of blogging went? Or, if you're still a newer blogger like myself, how has blogging been for you thus far? And if you're interested in the Book Blogger Love-A-Thon, Katelyn and Alexa hosted it in February and it was a lot of fun!

From the paper world,

V

Books I Want to Reread - Top Ten Tuesday

Rereading books is something I've been enjoying more recently, so today's Top Ten Tuesday is especially appropriate! Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature by The Broke and the Bookish, with a new theme each week to pick 10 books for. I've always been a fan of taking books back off the shelf and rereading my favorite parts, and lately I've been starting to reread books in their entirety, so I thought I would give 5 books I pick up to reread parts of, and 5 I would reread the whole book of.

5 Books I Would Reread Parts Of -

City of Glass, City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
These are two books but they're from the same series so... *shrugs* close enough. City of Glass and City of Lost Souls are my favorite books from the series. These two, to me, had a lot of character and story arc development.

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
This is a book where everything comes together into a huge finale. Rereading this brings back a lot of fond memories of the series, and I thought it would definitely be a nice addition to the list.

Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

I love how unique this series is! This book explores the wonder of the Theatre Illuminata, and the writing style and world are incredible. I love the characters' wit and dry humor as well, and how the entire novel reads as this intricate tapestries of playmaking and storytelling.

Fire with Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
I was considering adding Ashes to Ashes onto this as well, but the last two books of this series are filled with plot twists and character development. I definitely reread parts of Fire with Fire often as I waited for Ashes to Ashes, and now I can reread parts of both!

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

This book is like a trip to Paris for me. I loved exploring the nooks and crannies of the city with Anna, and of course meeting her wonderful friends. I think this is the sort of story that swept me away with its writing, and I love reading back through parts of it from time to time.






5 Books I've Reread Completely or Want To Soon

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
This was a Jenny Han book I really loved. The narrator is awkward yet not in an overly exaggerated sense- she's funny and quirky, and I loved reading her perspective. Also, this whole adventure is really fun, and I think I've reread this book, if not in its entirety (which I probably have), then almost, and I probably will reread it again before the sequel comes out!

Unhinged by A.G. Howard

The plot definitely thickened in this sequel! I've reread most of Unhinged numerous times, and so I think by now I've definitely reread the book. I cannot wait for Ensnared!

Endless Knight by Kresley Cole
Another sequel where character development and story lines are expanded upon. Things are definitely more than they appear, and this is a sequel that I enjoyed even more than the first, and made me very excited for the next book in the series.

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

You may have seen in my recent book haul that I picked up a copy of this book. It's my favorite from the Gemma Doyle trilogy, and I think a reread will be in order soon!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
This is actually a book I'm currently rereading along with my other current reads. This series is one that means a lot to quite a few people, and I'm excited to be going back through and rereading the books. I think I'll sporadically continue on rereading it and possibly go on to the rest of the Harry Potter series, or just reread my favorites.






So, there's my Top Ten Tuesday! Let me know your picks for this week.


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

Stacking the Shelves - The 'How Long Has It Been Since My Last Post' Edition

Apologies for my sporadic posting lately! I'm getting a few behind the scenes things in order for celebrating Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink's One Year of Blogging Celebration! Anyways, in the meantime I wanted to include a mini book haul today! 
Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and it's an opportunity to share some of the books you've picked up recently! My book buying has definitely been on the decline lately, but I did find some really wonderful books recently and thought I'd share them with you all!

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
This is the sequel to The 5th Wave, which I read last autumn and really enjoyed the book. It was thrilling, fast paced, and very unique and so I was super happy to pick up the sequel. You can read my review of The 5th Wave if you haven't yet picked up this series- I think it's a sci fi post apocalyptic with some thriller elements mixed in.

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

This is the final book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy, which I read several years ago. I definitely enjoyed the series, but The Sweet Far Thing was by far my favorite book in the series by far. It really moved me, especially by the conclusion. So, I was really happy to pick up a copy.

Brazen by Katherine Longshore

I don't think I've ever mentioned it before on the blog, but I do enjoy history, and the Tudor era of English history has always been especially interesting to me. It's a time of huge changes within the time, and I knew a lot about Henry VIII and his different wives. However, I'm really excited for this book set during the Tudor court of the time because it focuses on figures I know relatively little about, and having read a chapter of this months ago while browsing a book shop, I loved the writing style. Lately, I've been wanting a historical fiction read too, so I'm very excited for this!

There is my book haul! Let me know if you've read any of these and your thoughts on them, and if you picked up some books feel free to let me know about that as well!

From the paper world,

V