Category: Guides & Advice
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Blogging: A Venture in Constant Improvement
Perhaps this website seems like the epitome of ‘newbie’ to you, but I assure you that it was once a lot more messy, directionless, and unprofessional. In my year or so of blogging, whether it be before the existence of this website or now during it, I have never stopped improving. This site, for better…
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My Most Used Reading White Noise Videos
If you’re like me, then it doesn’t take much to agitate you when reading. A slight murmur of someone in the other room, the muffled noise of the television downstairs, your phone going off, or even just the neighbour’s yappy dog – it’ll drag your mind away from the book before you. In many cases,…
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Five Great Japanese Books Under 200 Pages
I love to read books by Japanese authors, particularly those on the shorter side. Something about the way the Japanese write, regardless of whether the work was translated or simply wrote in English to begin with, doesn’t shake the way these authors can so easily convey a scene, an emotion, or their (usually) odd sense…
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Re-Read Your Childhood Favourites
Readers are creatures of habit, ones forged during our formative years. Anyone with an affinity for books in their matured years will, in most cases, have grown up with reading. Whilst many children were encouraged or ‘forced’ to read during the primary/elementary school days, it is unlikely that many of them ever carried on reading…
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It’s Fine to Give Up on a Book
Reading is something we do for many reasons, but the key motives behind reading (especially fiction) are mental stimulation and entertainment value. And when such things are lacking, that’s when you know it’s fine to give up on a book and never finish it. To keep it simple: reading is supposed to be a fun…
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Distraction-Free Writing Software
Some people work better with less, often holding a preference for minimalist setups and software with discrete user interfaces. For those types of people, namely writers, here are some pieces of software I personally recommend. FocusWriter FocusWriter is a nifty little program that allows for plenty of customisation. Many actions, such as text justification, heading/text…
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Tips for Writing a Book Review
Offering tips for writing a book review is hard. Advice can vary not only based on the book in question, but the style of review, the depth of analysis, and how much of the book will be directly summarised and mentioned within the review. All of these introduce or invert the dos and do nots…
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How to Combat Reader’s Block
Burnout, or reader’s block, can be a real pain. Here are some tips on how to conquer it!
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How to Track Your TBR Progress
Some of us have many titles on our ‘to be read’ list, sometimes dozens or hundreds we plan to get through. Successfully tracking everything on our wish lists, or what we have previously read and are currently reading, can be quite the pain. If you need a simple and effective way of tracking your TBR…
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Balancing Your Reading Habits
Have you ever found yourself with no time to read? Alternatively, have you ever found your procrastination tempting you back to your books, even though your responsibilities are looming? Don’t worry too much if you’ve experienced these, it’s natural. What isn’t natural is always living with one of the two extremes on a daily basis….