Month: November 2017

Calm Down 2018, I See You | End of 2017 Priority TBR

Posted November 28, 2017 in Features, Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Features/Memes / 18 Comments

Last year I did a post rounding up all of the books I really hoped to read/finish before the year came to a close, and I found it a fun way to keep me on track for my TBR, so I decided to go ahead and do it again this year! Writing the post also coincided quite nicely with this week’s TTT prompt over at The Broke and the Bookish (Top Ten Books on My Winter TBR). I’ve divided up the books I have left to read into three main categories, and while there are 11 books in total, I […]

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu | Review

Posted November 27, 2017 in Reviews / 8 Comments

It seems like no matter what social media platform I was on at the beginning of fall this year, Moxie was everywhere- Instagram, Twitter, news articles, etc. The punchy hot pink and black cover screamed feminism! in a way that I haven’t seen a YA book do in such a headstrong way before. I was thrilled to see Moxie was taking the internet by storm, and it took me back to my college days where I took several Women’s Studies classes and, like Viv in the book, truly understood what feminism was for the first time and learned about its […]

How I’ve Increased My Reading in 2017

Posted November 24, 2017 in Features / 16 Comments

It’s almost the end of November and I’ve hit a realization that’s pretty much astounded me: Not only have I surpassed my Goodreads goal, but I am on track to read more books than I EVER had in a calendar year (well, since I’ve been tracking the amount of books I’ve read via Goodreads, which I started doing back in 2011). My most ambitious Goodreads challenge was back in 2015 when I planned to read 70 books, and I barely surpassed it by reading 72. This year my goal was 60 books and as of today I’ve already read 70…and […]

My First Amazon Bookstore Experience

Posted November 22, 2017 in Features / 8 Comments

This month the highly anticipated Amazon Bookstore opened up in our local area. Ever since I heard about Amazon opening bookstores in Seattle (I think in a news article a few years ago?) I have been READY to visit one. We’ve been passing buy it for MONTHS, seeing the “Coming Fall 2017!” signs around the construction and just waiting for it to open (Mid November is a little late in the “fall” if you ask me!) Max and I eagerly visited the store the first weekend it was open, and I have to say, I think we were both a […]

Shades of London by Maureen Johnson | Series Review

Posted November 20, 2017 in Reviews / 13 Comments

The first book of Maureen Johnson’s paranormal series had been collecting dust on my “shelf of shame” for several years after I picked it up from a Scholastic warehouse book sale, not completely sure what it was about but remembering that the title sounded familiar. This fall I’ve been going through a bit of a “spooky” reading phase (spooky being a highly subjective term as I do not do horror) and decided to pick up The Name of the Star on a whim one October weekend. I was enthralled by the books and by this introduction to Maureen’s writing (which […]

What I’ve Been Watching Lately

Posted November 15, 2017 in Uncategorized / 20 Comments

Inspired by Lauren @ Bookmarklit, I’ve been wanting to incorporate some more non-bookish things into my blog. Since Netflix is practically a hobby in and of itself these days, I am tagging along on her feature on showcasing what I’ve been watching lately! So basically all of the shows we’re watching right now are CW shows, but Jane the Virgin is one I’ve been watching since it’s initial release that really resonates with me. I come from a Latin family, so Jane’s over the top family dynamic is honestly not too different from my own (minus the accidental artificial insemination […]

Black Dog Bay Series Review | My Obsession with Idyllic New England Coastal Towns Continues

Posted November 13, 2017 in Reviews / 8 Comments

I 100% blame Lauren for this binge read, as she recommended this series to me knowing my obsession with small, adorable New England Coastal towns (having lived my entire life on the West Coast, East Coast beach towns fascinate me). I found these books through my library’s Overdrive (hallelujah) and they proved to be the perfect books to binge toward the end of the summer, as a ridiculous heat wave (I am talking 113 degrees F) rolled through California and made the Labor Day weekend definitely feel like an extension of summer. The first book in the series started out […]

Beyond the Books: Holiday Beauty Haul

Posted November 9, 2017 in Makeup / 8 Comments

As much as I love reading and book blogging, I have a variety of interests outside of those hobbies that I love to chat about and share with others. I started Beyond the Books as a way to take a break from bookish content and feature some of my other favorite things! One thing you may not know about me: I LOVE the beauty blogging world. I was reading beauty blogs long before I knew book blogs existed, and to this day I still prefer watching a good beauty Youtube review rather than a book review. I love that for […]

Halloween Time at Disneyland | Farewell to Our Annual Passes

Posted November 6, 2017 in Features, Travel / 17 Comments

This fall Max and I took our annual fall trip to Disneyland to see the Halloween decorations. Traditionally, Halloweentime at Disneyland has been our favorite time to go since the park is decked out in holiday decor but kids are back in school so it’s generally much quieter than Christmastime. Unfortunately, that was NOT the case this year, as it was pretty insanely busy (we did go on a weekend, but still). Disneyland Resort has been doing a LOT to promote Halloweentime at the parks lately and it definitely shows with the increased number of guests, especially with all the […]

October 2017 Month In Review

Posted November 4, 2017 in Features, Month In Review / 6 Comments

Books I Read This Month: Ok so I know I’ve been TERRIBLE at monthly recaps the past year or so, but really I’ve been so exhausted with life in general and my life isn’t terribly exciting- I literally spend like 90% of my time working and the rest reading or watching YouTube makeup tutorials so you guys aren’t missing out on much, I swear! Books I Reviewed This Month: There’s Someone Inside Your House (4 Stars) The Wrath and the Dawn (3 Stars) The Becoming of Noah Shaw (5 Stars) From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess (5 Stars) […]