Welcome to another TTT! In honor of Halloween being this Friday, this week’s topic is a Halloween freebie! I thought it would be fun to share ten Halloweeny things I’ve never done before! Spoiler alert: almost all of the things on my list are there because I am a scared and anxious person. lol. I love Halloween for the pumpkins, the spoopy (cute spooky fun, not spooky scary) vibes, and the candy. I can’t wait to see what topic you came up with, so I’ll be visiting many blogs this week!

1. I’ve never bobbed for apples.
Even as a child, I guess my fear of germs was strong. Or maybe my fear of drowning? lol.

2. I’ve never gone to a “haunted” attraction.
I’d probably die if a went to a haunted house, haunted corn maze, haunted hay ride, etc. I almost died on the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland, so it’s just never going to happen.

3. I’ve never gone to a real haunted place either, like an old house or hotel known for ghost sightings or a spooky town ghost tour.
Truthfully, that would be a million times worse than a fake haunted place!

4. I’ve never gone apple picking.
Now this, I would do. This sounds like a lot of fun! I see no reason to be afraid of an apple orchard unless it’s haunted or has a major bug infestation.

5. I’ve never had a pumpkin spice flavored beverage.
I don’t drink coffee, so it’s not like I’m against the PSL because it’s pumpkin spice. I actually love pumpkin spice, just only in baked goods.

6. I’ve never gone to a murder mystery dinner.
In theory, this could be fun… but my friends know my very well and would do what they could to scare me at least 10 times. lol. These are the friends who sat me in the middle of the couch, covered me with blankets and pillows, surrounded me with their bodies (for protection, naturally), and then watched me watch a scary movie (it was What Lies Beneath, for those wondering. I do not recommend it if you enjoy sleep at all.).

7. I’ve never read a horror novel.
I mean, I’ve read scary books, but my threshold for scary reads is so below average that pretty much nobody I know would think I’ve read a scary book.

8. I’ve never told ghost stories by flashlight.
It will just never happen. Ghost stories keep me up at night no matter how outlandish they might sound.

9. I’ve never participated in a séance.
It’s too scary! I won’t even look in the mirror in the dark because I’m scared Bloody Mary will show up uninvited.

10. I’ve never used a Ouija Board
I will not be inviting that energy into my house, no thank you!

So basically, I’m a major chicken. I’m scared of my own shadow or if the toast pops up out of the toaster before I’m ready. I’m scared of little noises. I’m scared of no noises. I’m really just here to find out when I can start decorating for Christmas.

Ok, so give it to me. I’m excited to hear who is just like me and who thinks
I haven’t actually lived yet without doing some of these things!

What is your number one favorite thing to do at Halloween?

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is a non-bookish freebie, which means you get to come up with literally any topic you can think of… that’s not bookish. lol. Last time we had this topic I wrote about the amazing places I’ve visited. Today I’ve decided to focus on another hobby of mine: crochet. I love making amigurumi, and today I’m going to share pictures of my top ten favorite crochet creations. I do have a crochet instagram, @JanasCozyCritters, if you’re interested in seeing more!

 

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Do you have any hobbies outside of reading and bookish content creation?
Do you crochet, too? I’d love to find more crochet friends!
What topic did you choose to write about this week?

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is Ways in Which My Blogging/Review Style Has Changed Over Time, and was submitted by submitted by Susan @ Bloggin’ ’bout Books. I decided to tweak this a little because there’s no way I can find 10 ways my style has changed. But even this tweaked topic is still a bit of a tricky one for me, as I’m not sure I’ve changed much since I started reviewing books waaaaaay back in 2011. But I’ll see what I can do!

*30 minutes later* Ok, I’m changing this to five ways my blogging habits have changed because this is too hard. LOL

1. I am pickier about the books I accept for review. I used to accept almost anything I thought I might like because I wanted to get some experience, show that I’m trustworthy, and build a name for myself in the blogging world. I’m pickier now, which helps me keep my reading schedule under control and allows me more freedom to be a mood reader.

2. I am more willing to DNF books, which means I write way fewer negative reviews than I used to. I used to make myself finish every book in the beginning, even if I wasn’t enjoying it, so I ended up writing more negative reviews. Now that I DNF (and sometimes quickly), I get to spend more time gushing about the books I love and promoting authors rather than talking about why a book didn’t work for me. I love this, and it’s what kept me reviewing all these years later.

3. I’ve switched up the kinds of books I review! I used to read YA almost exclusively. My reading habits changed, and so did my review habits. I now focus primarily on adult romance, with the occasional mystery and historical fiction novel thrown in here and there.

4. I quit summarizing the book in my reviews. I actually quit this very soon after I started reviewing. It takes forever and why not just use the summary the publisher paid someone to write in the first place? It helps avoid spoilers, it saves time, it avoids redundancy, and it’s allowed my readers to find my thoughts easily without having to slog through a synopsis they most likely don’t need since they already read the official one (or one written by another reviewer). I really don’t love it when I go to read someone’s review and 95% of the review is their own summary of the book (which is often too detailed and gives away the entire book), followed by a couple generic sentences saying that they either liked it or didn’t. I’d much rather know what you liked and what you didn’t like and why you felt that way than read another summary.

5. I’ve allowed myself to write shorter reviews. I used to think that long, detailed reviews were preferred but then I realized I didn’t like reading long, detailed reviews from other people! And I don’t like writing them myself! Now that I’ve shortened my reviews it doesn’t feel like such a chore to write them… and I’m writing more. Imagine that!

How have your blogging/reviewing habits or style changed since you started reviewing books?

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is “My Unpopular Bookish Opinions”. Differing opinions is a good thing! If we all agreed on everything, life would be so boring. Unpopular opinions are not necessarily bad or controversial or negative. Some of them are, of course, but that’s only because of the nature of the opinion and not because it’s unpopular. Maybe you think a super unpopular book is the best ever. Maybe you really, really love a character that many people you know couldn’t stand. Or maaaaybe there’s parts of your reading life or your habits that are unique to you. Whatever the case may be, I want to hear your thoughts!

1. For the most part, bookish social media is not a fun place to be. 
When I first joined the online bookish community 13 years ago, it was contained in a very small corner of the Internet and most of us were friends! I don’t remember seeing drama. I feel like every time I log in now there’s something negative happening. I miss how things used to be!

2. I don’t care about special editions of books.
It’s really fun if the first edition is special or limited to the first print run, but if I buy the book when it comes out and then months/years later a new edition comes out with a fancy cover and bonus content I really couldn’t care less. It feels like a a money grab.

3. Bonus chapters confuse the original narrative. 
And sometimes they change a major part of the story. If you wanted something in the book, put it in the book! I’m not going to jump through hoops (buy another edition, preorder the next book from a specific place, etc.) to read an extra chapter from someone else’s point of view.

4. I avoid books where the title is essentially a 4-5 word summary of the book’s synopsis. 
For example: Dating My Baby Daddy, Married to My Billionaire Boss, Tempted by the Werewolf Overlord, Stranded with My Sexy Barista, Flirting with My Best Friend’s Older Brother Firefighter, etc. Just please be more creative than that! (Yes, those are Jana original titles. I don’t know if these books exist or not. lol.)

5. Publishers need to stop marketing books as read-alikes of super popular, well-loved titles. 
Just because a book is about fae doesn’t mean it’s just like ACOTAR. Just because a book is regency romance doesn’t mean it’s for lovers of Julia Quinn, Tessa Dare, or Lisa Kleypas. Every historical romance does not need to be compared to Bridgerton. Every spicy book does not need to be for lovers of Tessa Bailey. I think it hurts a book so much to compare it to a viral title or author. It almost always leaves readers disappointed. Let the authors and books shine on their own without forcing the reader to go in with expectations!

6. The A ___ of ___ and ___ titles should have stopped 10 years ago.

7. I don’t enjoy debating about books with people. 
I will not fight someone who hates my favorite book, and I will not feed the trolls who come into the comments of my reviews and tell me my opinions are wrong. I respect you even if your favorite book is one I hate with the fire of a thousand suns! I see a lot of arguing about books, and I don’t know why people find that fun!

8. I love illustrated book covers. 
When done right, they are stunning. They can truly showcase a graphic designer’s talent and creativity. But they have to be detailed and follow the elements and principles of design. Don’t just throw some generic, faceless bodies onto a colorblocked cover with no other details and say it’s good enough.

9. My books and bookshelves are not decorations. 
I will never be the person who organizes her books by color, or who displays them pages out. I don’t care what height they are. I don’t buy books just because they’re pretty or cheap or would look good in a pic. My series go together, and books by the same author go together on my shelves regardless of paperback versus hardcover, size, or color. I need to be able to find things! And I love the look of a crammed-full bookshelf.

10. Romance is different than steam. 
I love romance novels so much. Opened door, closed door, love them all. But I don’t go into a romance hoping for steam. I have read many extremely romantic, closed-door books. I care more about the story and the characters and the swoons. If the steam is there and it works, great. Love it. These scenes can really enrich a romance. But if the steam is thrown in just for the sake of making a book spicy, that’s cringey for me.

Please no tomatoes!
Do you agree with any of my opinions?
What’s one of your unpopular bookish opinions?

Girl reading image credit: depositphotos.com