Writing for the sake of Writing| CarenzaOnBooks

Over the past few months, I have been writing blog posts for the sake of getting something up on time on with my crazy upload schedule. I have been forcing myself to write half-arsed, rushed posts just so I can say "I wrote a blog post today". While that may be the way some people approach it, it doesn't work for me. I want to make content I am proud of and comfortable to share with strangers on the internet. At the moment I am not happy with the content I am posting.

Blogging is a hobby. I started blogging because I wanted something to do in my spare time and here I am two years later. I love blogging, it allows me to be creative and start conversations with people who have similar interests to me. Blogging, for me, was never about how many page counts I could get or how many followers I have. It was about finding a creative outlet that worked for me.

I pride myself on being a creative individual. Throughout my life, I have tried many different creative mediums including dance, acting (whether this be traditional acting or musical theater), art and crafts and now social media. It is rare for me to stick at something for an extended period, I am forever wanting to try new things (activity wise) and so blogging was a huge decision for me to make.

I was and am still in full time education. I have to prioritize my education, but lately social media has taken over my life to a unhealthy degree. I would get stressed and occasionally depressed if I didn't put out a new post that day. I let it take over my life and this is me, reminding me that blogging is a hobby. Maybe one day, in the near distant future, blogging could be my job, but right now, I don't gain any revenue from making these posts. I do it because I want to. But want turned into have to and that is never how you should feel about a hobby or something you enjoy.

The same thing has happened with reading. I am reading books because I have to so I can complete my GoodReads challenge. Reading is something I should do for fun, but now it something I do because I feel I have to. I want to go back to the days were I can sit down and read a book because I want to. The pressure of putting high quality reviews out frequently is very stressful. It's why I stopped doing Book Review Monday. They were low quality posts that I am not proud of.

I am a full time student, studying three separate courses that require 15 hours contact time per subject and 15 hours independent study (overall) a week. I live between two houses, meaning I don't get to see part of my family that often and when I do I want to make that time good quality. I am volunteering at two places to gain credentials on my CV. I want to make good memories and do things I'll enjoy and yet with all this pressure I'm putting on myself, all I spend my time doing is watching YouTube because I'm afraid of how much I have to do. I have been off college for three weeks now (it finished for the academic year, I'm not ill) and it doesn't feel like I am off college because I am spending so much time working, whether that be on college work or blogging.

This month (July) is Camp NaNoWriMo and because I want to be a writer in the future, I thought it would be a smart idea to challenge myself to writing 50000 words this month. I may be enjoying it, but finding time to fit everything else in has become chaotic.

The point of this rambly post is that I put too much pressure on myself with my commitments. From now on, I am only going to post when I feel like it and not stick to a crazy upload schedule. I could post one really good post and then not post something for a couple of weeks and that it okay. Blogging is still a relatively new career option and competition is scary, yet exciting. I am so happy to be a part of this community, but I need to remember that by forcing myself to create content I am not making content I am proud of and as a creator, I am failing my audience and myself. Today the pressure lifts ever so slightly and I remind myself that this is something I do for fun, not for a job.
Carenza x      

How to Survive the Edinburgh Fringe| CarenzaOnBooks

As someone who has visited the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 3 years in a row, I have learnt a lot about how to "survive" the festival. I personally only went for a day each time, meaning there was some travelling involved. But, if you are planning on going to the festival this year, then here are some tips I have learnt over my 3 years of visiting.

1) Sensible Footwear

A slightly obvious tip is to wear sensible shoes. The festival is spread across the entirety of Edinburgh (which is very hilly) and there will be times when your events are quite far apart. I have fond memories of running across Edinburgh and my feet killing the next day. I would not recommend wearing sandals, but I have survived by wearing shoes I find very comfy. 

2) Plan Ahead

In my very first trip, my family and I didn't plan anything before we arrived. We just walked up and down the Royal Mile collecting leaflets (which is a really good place to find out if anything is on). Get the catalogue and see what is on when you are there. I would also recommend printing a map of Edinburgh if you are not familiar with it. Another thing I would recommend is writing a list of what you are going to see with times and venue numbers down so then you don't have to haul the catalogue with you.

3) Travel Light

If you are only going for a day, then I would advise you to travel light. Running around Edinburgh is tiring. When I go, my family takes 1 rucksack between us. All we pack is food for lunch and a big bottle of water. We take a rucksack because usually we get something from the Fringe pop up store and we almost always go to Forbidden Planet (but that's just us). It's also good to take a rucksack because if it's hot, then you have somewhere to store your coat which means it will be easier to run across Edinburgh. 

4) Take a Coat

Scotland is famous for being a little bit on the rainy side and as someone who has visited Scotland before and grew up in the North-West of England, I know how much it can rain. You don't need to take a big rain coat, you can just take one of this little ones that curl up into a pod to be travel efficient. There is nothing worse than being caught out in the rain and spending your time being grumpy and soggy. Trust me, I have had to stand outside venues waiting to be let in while it is bucketing it down, it's not a nice feeling.

5) Have Fun    

And finally, have fun! The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is an amazing experience and I have thoroughly enjoyed each of my trips. There is such a lovely atmosphere at the festival, you get to meet lots of people who are interested in culture. There is something for everyone at the festival and the tickets aren't that expensive. You get a good value for money. I have met people from all over the world because of the festival. People travel from all corner's of the globe to come to this festival and rightly so. 

I am unbelievably excited to go back this August. I'm actually going twice this year, once for the Book Festival part (which I have never been to before) and once for the Fringe itself. I am going to make posts about both of those trips and I can't wait to share them with you.

Carenza    

June Favourites 2017| CarenzaOnBooks

Another month over means another favourites post. June went so unbelievably fast that I don't know if the favourites I have for this month (June) are actually for June.

Books

My favourite book for June is obviously Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. My review is still in the making (I know I've said that in the last few posts, but it is taking me a while to write it). I have Lord of Shadows 5/5 stars. I can't believe that we have to wait till 2019 for the next book. Also, can we appreciate how gorgeous this Waterstones exclusive edition is? Cassie has been blessed by the cover gods.

 Culture

I have quite a few TV show favourites for June. The first being Versailles series 2. I wasn't the biggest fan of series 1, but I loved series 2 so much and am very excited for series 3. If you interested in learning about the building of the Palace of Versailles as well as the King who built it, then you will love this. It brings back all the memories of my trip to Versailles in 2011 and I would love to go again.

Another TV show that returned was Poldark. I love Poldark so much and I'm so happy to be back in this world. I'm pretty sure it's already been commissioned for a fourth series, which would take them up to book 8. I love the music, the cinematography, the actors and the plots. It makes me very happy when Sunday's roll around and I get a new episode.

I began re-watching the Legend of Korra for what must be the fourth time since 2014. I love this show so much and it makes me happy every time I watch it. The episodes are only 20 minutes long, which means you can get through quite a few at a time. I need to get it on box set, but for now I am  very happy watching it on Prime.

Bits'n'Bobs 

I'm not sure if I got any new bits'n'bobs in June, but I did reorganise my candle shelf in my bedroom which made me very happy. They had been very cluttered, but now they look beautiful. I probably have more candles than I need, but they make great props for Bookstagram photos and they smell great.

I'm very excited for what July brings at I have a few trips planned as well as it being Camp NaNoWriMo and Game of Thrones coming back. It also means that next month is my birthday month, which I am a bit too excited for.
Carenza x

June Wrap Up| CarenzaOnBooks

Now that it's officially July, I can share my June Wrap Up. Compared to May, I had a very good reading month. I haven't been in a reading mood since April for some reason, which is very frustrating when your main passion revolves around reading. On a complete tangent, I feel that my reading has simply become to complete my reading challenge on Goodreads and so I have books to review on here. I want to go back to the time when reading was something I did for fun and didn't feel like a chore. But, in June I read 6 books, which I'm proud of. I have reviews up for some of them and reviews coming for others.

The first book I read was City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. This was actually a reread and I think I started reading it in April as well. I gave it 5/5 stars, but if you read my review, then you'll know I only gave it 5/5 stars because of sentimental reasons. I do plan on continuing my reread of the Shadowhunter Chronicles then at some point in the future, I'll have reviews for all the books in all the series.

At the end of May, I discovered Anime and with the discovery of Anime has come the discovery of Manga. I read my first Manga and it was Attack on Titan Volume 1 by Hajime Isayama. I have a review of the Anime, which you can read here. I also gave this 5/5 stars as it was so beautifully drawn. It was a challenge getting used to reading from left to right, but I will be reading more Manga in the future.

I then read my most anticipated release of the year, which was Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. My review is coming together very slowly as it is taking me a while to write (this is because I want it to be the most detailed review I've written to date). I obviously gave Lord of Shadows 5/5 stars. I loved it so much and am now beginning my patient 2 year wait for Queen of Air and Darkness. I'm actually meeting Cassandra Clare in August at her Edinburgh event and I am beyond excited.

I finally finished The War of the Worlds by H.G Wells, which I started way back in February. I gave it 3/5 stars and that's because it wasn't for me. I really struggle reading sci-fi books, which is odd as I love sci-fi tv/films. I can appreciate that this is a good piece of literature and I understand why so many people like it, it's just not for me.  

I was sent a copy of When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon via NetGalley and I flew through it. I gave it 4/5 stars because while I enjoyed it, I did have some issues which I go into detail about in my review. I am going to purchase a physical at some point and I am looking forward to her next book.

The final book I read in June was Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh. I had to read this for one of my classes in college. I gave it 3/5 stars. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't life changing. It's a book that is very much of its time and some of the things in it are quite shocking. It's rare for me to say this, but I did enjoy the TV series to the book.

I hope I have as good a reading month this month, but I do have a lot of things planned which may mean reading will have to take a backseat again.
Carenza x