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

A Bit of a Life Update

Hello, friends! I know it's a bit of a break from the usual bookish talk, but today I just wanted to share a little bit with you all about me, and maybe why I've seemed a little more absent lately.

I just recently moved, and I'm in the midst of settling in and adapting. This was something I knew would put me behind on responding to comments and tweets, so I apologize about that with utmost sincerity. Talking with you all is the reason behind this blog, to share and discuss our love of books. So while I've been able to share new content with you, I haven't been able to interact very much, and I'm sorry about that. 

As I settle in, and even in the time before the move, I found that I wasn't picking up any books. I'm not sure if it was nerves about the upcoming changes, maybe some of you have felt that way, or some sort of slump, but hopefully my reading will be back on track and I'll be finding books I love. 

I'm definitely very busy right now, and still working on balancing blogging and life changes, but I hope that you're still enjoying the posts and I do still click around and read some wonderful posts, even if I don't have time to comment back and forth as much as I'd like. I hope you all are doing well, and I will continue to update the blog and hopefully get back on track with the commenting shortly.

From the paper world,
V

My Reading - An Update

Hello again, lovely members of the paper world! I thought I'd do another more discussion type post to talk to you all today about my reading and how it's evolved. Simply put, my reading has fallen off of my list of priorities recently- I've been so busy and distracted by everything going on that suddenly taking the time to read and open up a book seemed like an impossible task that could make me lose time that I didn't even have.

My to-do list has filled up pretty quickly as of late, and while I definitely won't complain about it, this does mean that in the past few months I've read...one book. I know, I know that's very unfortunate to see, and in addition to that I don't even have a current read. That never happens to me; I honestly can't remember the last time that was true.

However, as I'm going through this change, I'm wondering if I was perhaps losing opportunities to balance out reading and my other hobbies and social life in the past. How much reading is too much reading? That's not to say I ever ignored people or had no social life, but I was always more of an introverted reader. Now, I'm definitely still of the introverted ilk, however I've become so busy that by the time I'm done with the day I want to rest and relax. And sleep. So my reading gets put to the wayside. 

I'm also trying to branch out with my reading- read cultural works, famous works that I've not yet encountered, and maybe reread a few old favorites as well. If you have any recommendations for this I am definitely interested to hear your thoughts! And, in addition, if you have any thoughts and ideas about how your reading has evolved and if you've ever been in a similar situation, please feel free to let me know your thoughts on that as well down in the comments. I hope you all are doing well, and happy reading!

From the paper world,
V