Category: Discussions

The Vampire is a Metaphor

The Vampire is a Metaphor
Posted October 20, 2022
Discussions, Ramblings, Spooky Month

Hi friends! 👋🏻 Vampires have been officially declared to be ‘back’ (as if they ever went away) and with that comes a lot of discussions and conversations about what vampires and horror as a genre ‘inherently’ is. I am not a fan of things being labelled as ‘inherently’ something or another, especially when it’s something as far-reaching, flexible, and historical as the horror genre and monsters. These things have been around for a very long time and have been interpreted in so many different ways that it’s difficult to count all of them. If you didn’t know (but you likely do), I have both a BA and an MA in English Literature and my biggest focus was on Gothic fiction and vampire literature. I have done a lot of research in my studies and I write my own vampire stories so I feel like I’m qualified enough to talk about this. I say as I unofficially and undemocratically declare myself the Vampire Queen of book bloggers… If you’re curious to do some digging yourself, here are some resources that helped me a lot in my dissertations many moons ago: Our Vampires, Ourselves by Nina Auerbach (1995) Children of the Night: Vampirism as Homosexuality, […]

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Why I Love Horror

Why I Love Horror
Posted October 4, 2022
Books, Discussions, Movies, Spooky Month

Hi friends! 👋🏻 When looking through my past Spooky Month schedules, I noticed that I’ve done posts about why I love monsters, vampires, and also horror subgenres, but I’ve never made a post talking about why I love the horror genre as a whole. I haven’t been a lifelong horror fan because I was an absolute weenie as a child (I blame the undiagnosed autism) and really eased myself into the genre as a teenager. Weirdly, coming up with my reasons for being a horror fan was harder than I expected it to be because once I think of things, my mind goes blank. horror is cathartic Admit it, we all love seeing bad people get what’s coming to them, don’t we?  That feeling of relief once all the scary stuff is over and the day has been saved is one of the best ever and nothing can beat it for me. Even if we know that the bad guy is going to come back, at least they’re gone for now so we can get ready for the next time we end up going through the wringer to get to that relief. horror can be deeper than just blood and […]

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5 Reasons to Use Your Library More

5 Reasons to Use Your Library More
Posted September 6, 2022
Books, Discussions

Hi friends! 👋🏻 I recently saw a screenshot of a TikTok telling people to sign up for library cards and then not use them because it makes the numbers look better, but I want to somewhat counter that by sharing some library love, which is always welcome. There are millions of reasons to use libraries, but I managed to round it down to five reasons that I think are pretty solid. Libraries rely on footfall and the services being used to stay afloat so it’s not enough to just sign up for a card and then not use it! Before I get into the meat of this post, I just want to say that library workers know that not everyone has access to good libraries and some people don’t have access to them. We are aware of these things, and the unfortunate reality is that library funding depends on how many people use libraries in the first place. If more people use libraries, the better funded we are. Also, I can only comment on how the libraries in my area are run. 1) it’s free I mean, duh. 2) libraries have more than just books Books are obviously what make up the vast […]

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Why I Don’t Read Reviews

Why I Don’t Read Reviews
Posted August 11, 2022
Discussions

Hi friends! 👋🏻 I haven’t been actively reviewing books or movies for about six years ago, and it’s unlikely that I’ll ever return to that outside of doing joke reviews on Goodreads and Letterboxd. One of the big reasons for me not reviewing anymore is the fact that I don’t read reviews for anything that is entirely subjective. If it’s a piece of technology or clothing I’m more likely to take a look since those are objective things, but art is subjective and something more personal, so I tend to stay away from reviews of that. reviews just don’t interest me. Plain and simple, I just don’t care for reviews. I don’t find them entertaining to read, so I don’t seek them out and I don’t click on them. i prefer to go into something without any expectations at all. I know that I’m not alone in this because I’ve known people who don’t even want to hear a simple “I liked it” about things they want to read or watch. I personally don’t go that far, but I still don’t want to have my experience altered by anyone’s biases, especially since we live in a time where if something […]

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Book Blogging Then vs. Now: How Blogging Has Changed

Book Blogging Then vs. Now: How Blogging Has Changed
Posted August 2, 2022
Blogging, Discussions

Hi friends! 👋🏻 So, I disappeared again but I have been so busy with work things that I think it’s completely justified. The beginning of summer turns out to be a very busy time for library staff, especially those who are part of the team that is planning things related to the Summer Reading Challenge. Hopefully I’ll be able to figure out a good schedule for blogging, but we shall see. If you didn’t know already, I have been a book blogger for almost eleven years. And in those eleven years, I’ve seen a lot of things and a lot of changes. Most of them are good changes, and I have yet to see any catastrophically bad changes and I hope I never do. Reflecting on how book blogging used to be is a fun thing because sometimes it’s nostalgia but I can also look back and see how things have changed for the better. posts Then: When I first started blogging, pretty much every book blog focused 95% on reviews. Some blogs only posted reviews and hauls and nothing else. There were obviously memes thrown into the mix like Waiting on Wednesday and Top 10 Tuesday (which are still going strong) but the […]

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