Stats:
How Many Books I Read in 2019: 115
Most Popular Reading Format: Audiobook (69/115)
Number of Books I Read From the Library: 44/115
Number of Review Copies I Read: 3
Continue reading “THE ALLONSY 2019 BOOK AWARDS // The Best & Worst of Last Year!”
Hi everyone! Welcome back to my blog! Today I’m coming at you with the categories I’ll be using in January to summarise my reading throughout 2019! Why January? I hear nobody ask. I’ll be posting my Book Awards in January so I can make sure that I’ve definitely finished reading all the books I plan to in 2019.
So, this is something I’m doing just for myself, but if you wanted to do it too, please do ! (you don’t have to call it the Allonsy awards, just replace it with your name or the year, but please tag me so I can read your post!!). I also made a rule that I only talk about books I read and finished in 2019.
If you decide to do this with me you don’t have to answer every category and please add and change the challenges based off your own reading tastes, also please pinback to me so I can see your posts!
Continue reading “THE ALLONSY 2019 BOOK AWARDS – INTRO & CATEGORIES!”
This year May over @ Forever and Everly is hosting the book Blogger Awards so I’m back nominating my faves! You can find May’s original post here – Nominations close July 20 so you’ll have to get in quick if you still want to nominate your faves! (And there is a Google doc here if you don’t want to make a post!)
Today I have been blessed by Belle over @ BelleCanRead to do The Sunshine Blogger Award. I really enjoy reading the questions you guys ask me so, I hope you enjoy reading my answers too!
THE RULES
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
2. Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
3. Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
4. List the rules and display the sunshine blogger award logo in your post/or on your blog.
I have been blogging since June 2016 and now I feel old! I started my blog when I was 16 years old and now I’m 18, what is my life???
Usually I would say any kind of recommendations post, but lately, discussions are my favourite to write. I love recommending books on my blog, but I have had so many ideas to talk about lately!
Uhhh, baking I guess?
I am currently reading a library copy of Bad Romance by Heather Demetrios. I’m only 30ish pages in but I am really really loving it, the writing is fantastic!
I think the best book I read lately would have to be The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I managed to read this in a couple of hours a few weeks back and I absolutely loved reading it!
I didn’t really make any new years resolutions this year, but I think I’ve done pretty well with my general goals.
Hell yes! Women hating each other + Readers hating on other readers’ habits (annotating, folding pages, genre choice) & book choices.
If I could go anywhere I would go to:
Wow, I have no idea. Maybe George and The Jungle??? This is the most stupid movie in the world but it is also hilarious. Just in general, anything Brendon Fraser is in because his humour is my favourite thing.
Ooh, I’m starting Uni for the first time literally tomorrow?? That’s vaguely exciting and pretty darn terrifying (can’t wait for those 2-hour trips to and from school).
HAVE HAVE 
I was tagged by Malanie over at Malanielovesfiction. You guys should all check her out because she writes one of my favourite blogs! She does the Top 5 Wednesday segment all the time (which I love) and has a beautiful blog design and we should all bow down to her!
1. Put the award logo on your blog.
2. Thank whoever nominated you and include a link to their blog.
3. Mention the creator of the award and provide a link to their blog as well. (Maggie @okoto enigmas blog)
4. Tell your readers three things about yourself.
5. Nominate 10-20 people.
6. Notify your nominees.
7. Ask your nominees any five questions of your choice, specifying one weird/funny question.
8. Share a link to your best post(s).
THREE THINGS ABOUT ME
1 I believe that The Princess Bride is one of the best movies in existence and I will never be convinced otherwise.
2 I think the place Neverland is really interesting and I would love to be able to (over)analyse the story, Peter Pan, one day.
3 My last fact, according to my brother, is that I suck. Oh, what a joy it is to have younger siblings.
Honestly, I’d either let it sit in the bank (aka. I’d let my mum use it at her leisure) or I’d use it to get a head start on my Uni loans.
I don’t hate it, but I wasn’t overly fond of Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody. But, more recently I disliked To Kill A Kindom and Dead Girl Gang.
Worst – I’m going to go with my pride??? I can hold a grudge like a very angry pro.
Best – I’m loyal to a point. Like, I said, I’m prideful so if you cross me or someone I’m loyal to, we’re done, loyalty badge revoked.
Uhhh, I just started reading Legendary by Stephanie Garber and I’m really enjoying that?? So far, it’s pretty different to book 1, but it’s still got that great Stephanie Garber Caraval vibe.
I think they would assume I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m a stickler for rules and I always have been. In fact, story time! I have only ever had to leave the cinema once, and it was when I was a lot younger and I was seeing the live action version of The Cat of The Hat with my mother. And the movie got to the point where the cat is screwing everything up and breaking all the rules and jumping on couches and such and long story short, I was so upset that the kids were breaking rules that I had to leave the cinema, and to this day I still feel uncomfortable watching that movie.
Today I have been spoilt again by Rebecca over @ BookishlyRebecca. She nominated me for the Mystery Blogger Award back in May but my blogging schedule has been so packed that I have only been able to get to it now, whoops.
So without further ado let’s get into the tag!
1 I am currently snacking on a bowl of frozen strawberries, banana and chia seeds with a dash of greek yoghurt. It’s my go-to snack and I definitely recommend it!
2 I prefer audiobooks to physical books, but am slowly starting to love e-books too!
3 So far this year I have managed to read at least one 2018 release every month and I know that’s not a big accomplishment for everyone, but I’m still pretty chuffed with myself.
Okay so I’m writing this back in May but my current favourite song would have to be either Proud of Your Boy from the Aladdin Broadway Musical soundtrack or The Middle by Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey.
I think that while I’m reading the actual book I have a pretty clear idea of what it will end up being, but with some books, I will have to wait a few days and then rate it. But, I mean ratings change and sometimes we go back a year later and change something from a 5 to a 2, so it’s an ongoing and evolving process I guess.
I think I’ve written a blog post about this but I would really love to see an Alex Rider tv show and I would really love to see an animated mini-series based on the I Hate Fairyland comic series because that series is one of my absolute favourites!
Yes! He’s one of my favourites, I know that one of his main criticisms is that all of his songs sound the same because his voice doesn’t change much when he sings, but his lyrics are amazing so I’m not even mad. Also, I recommend Niall Horan’s album if you like Ed Sheeran’s music.
Hogwarts House Recommendations
The World Doesn’t Stop and Start with Stats
Why Do We Hate Book-To-Movie Adaptations?
The Pros & Cons of A Styled Shelf
1 Kiss, Marry Kill using your three favourite characters.
2 Besides reading, what’s something you like to do to pass the time?
3 What was the last movie you watched?
4 What was the last popular tv show you ditched/ stopped watching?
5 Which book do you plan on picking up next?
I tag all of the bloggers I mentioned above in question 3!
HAVE HAVE
So, I have been blessed by Rachael over @ Beach Bookworm and Destiny from the lovely blog HowlingLibraries and they have both been kind enough to tag me in the Blogger Recognition Award. I have no idea why, but I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth (Gosh, that’s a weird saying!)
THE RULES
1 Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
2. Write a post to show your award.
3. Give a brief story of how your blog started.
4. Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
5. Select 15 other bloggers you want to give this award to.
6. Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created
My story is pretty plain, I tried to start blogging a few years ago this May and I found I was either too busy and overwhelmed or I just wasn’t in the mood or right mindset. So, I put the idea aside and picked it up again in June 2016. My mental health was going to hell and I was really stressed by my home life and school so I knew I needed a distraction. And, now it’s May 2018 and I’m still here so yay? My blogging career started as a way for me to get out of my life and to just talk about books and now I am here reading arcs, talking to publishers and I even have blogger friends. I really don’t know where I would be without you guys and my blog!
Firstly: Make a schedule. This is pretty hypocritical coming from me because I pretty much have no schedule this year. But, from that experience, I can tell you that not having a schedule is, in my opinion, horrible. You don’t have to post the same thing every day each week, but you should at least plan to post things on specific days or every x number of days. For me, next year (when I’ve kicked my ass into gear) my schedule will be Monday, Wednesday, Friday with spare posts going out on Saturdays.
Having a schedule shows consistency in your blog and helps to relieve stress if you’re into that kinda thing.
Secondly: Make friends. Talk to other bloggers, it doesn’t matter where! You can chat on Bookstagram, Book Twitter or just by commenting on blog posts! Making friends with other bloggers, or even just chatting with them is a really great way to feel supported around the Blogosphere and the community. It’s a great feeling to know someone’s got your back, and book blogger friends are some of the best friends!
HAVE HAVE
Hey guys, today I’m coming at you with the Unique Blogger award. I honestly never expect to be tagged in these so this was a big surprise. A surprise that I have to thank Malanie @ Malanielovesfiction. Malanie is one of my favourite bloggers and I love her and her blog look so you guys should hop over to her blog and check out her posts, particularly this one and this one!
I read The Rig way back in like 2013??? and I’m still thinking about it??? I have no idea why to be honest but I just love this book. It’s really interesting and I found it to be a really fun and creative novel. I have honestly never heard anyone (ever) talk about this book but I really loved it when I read it. I am hoping to re-read it again in the next couple of years and see if I would still enjoy it 5 years later.
Oh, oh my gosh. Thank you for asking but I have no idea. Maybe tomatoes? Or apples? All the foods that make me want to throw up apparently? Uhh, of the foods that are safe foe me to eat, probably strawberries? I don’t really eat much throughout the day but something that I like to snack on throughout the day is a bowl with some frozen strawberries (good for headaches) and some chia seeds (a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, fibre, antioxidants, iron, and calcium). I have a lot of stomach issues (mostly relating to my anxiety issues) so this sort of calms me down and it’s a simple way for me to try and help my stomach out and to make sure I’m actually taking care of myself because I’m actively thinking about what I’m putting into my body.
If I could only save three books? But Malanieeeeee that’s too much pressure!! Honestly though, we all have such different tastes and we don’t all speak the one language? Can we guarantee that it will automatically get translated? What if I pick the first book in a series? Do they get the rest of the books with that first book? I really want to say Stalking Jack The Ripper because do you even know me, but honestly, it is not accurate in the least and I kind of would want it to be accurate if I was going to save a book based on a real person and real murders.
Soo.. I’ll take the big leap and say…
I feel so bad for not including any of my faves but I feel like these are a given. And this may be a stretch but I’m assuming that people are saving their phones too (so like their Audible and Kindle accounts would survive, righttt???). And I’m also going to go ahead and assume that people will write books in the future, so hopefully, these books are somewhat inspiring to the future humans.
1 What is your Hogwarts house?
2 What are your comfort foods/drinks?
3 Which book are currently reading. Do you think it will be a new favourite?
FRIDGE ANTS
Thank you to Avery & Malanie for nominating me, you guys made my day!! Avery nominated me for the Best Teen Blogger and Malanie nominated me for Best Genre Blogs in YA so thank you so much, guys!
I’ve only been blogging for just under two years, but I only really started taking it seriously in the last 6 months or so, so thank you to guys for nominating me, it means so much to me!
The Annual Book Blogger Awards was created by Joce @ Write Through The Night. I’m really cutting my timing to the bone with my nominations, but you guys still have until April 30th to support your favourite bloggers by nominating them by writing your own blog post like I’ve done, or by commenting on Joce’s post (linked above). This is a wonderful way to support your favourite book bloggers so I hope you guys will consider going and nominating people!
You don’t have to have been nominated to nominate other!
Kay @ Hammock of Books – I just discovered Kay and I already love her so of course, I had to nominate her!
Jamieson @ Jamishelves – Jamieson is a fellow Aussie blogger and she deserves all the love. She has a wonderful blog and has fantastic content on her blog and you should definitely check her out!
The Green Onion Blog – I have been following The Green Onion over the years and find their blog really different to most of the other bloggers I follow so of course, I had to nominate them!
Malanie @ MalanieLovesFiction – Malanie is a gem and we don’t deserve her.
Dana @ Dana and The Books – Dana’s blog is wonderful and total goals. Her blog looks fantastic and she writes really brilliant advice posts which are really interesting to read and very helpful.
Avery @ Red Rocket Panda – Avery’s blog is fantastic. Avery is Transmasculine/ Genderqueer and also has Fibromyalgia. Avery is one of the nicest bloggers I’ve ever had the pleasure to chat to and I hope you all check out his blog!
Lia @ Lostinastory – I love Lia’s blog, she is one of my favourite bloggers and she is one of my go tos for ya recommendations!
Marie @ DrizzleandHurricaneBooks – I have been following Marie’s blog since the start of my blog and I regret nothing. Marie writes fantastic discussions and advice posts and writes fantastic YA reviews.
I don’t think many of the bloggers I follow really read middle-grade, or at least if they do they don’t talk about it. But, I think I remember Kelly @ Kelly’s Rambles talking about her middle-grade tbr for this year back in January and that gave me a good idea of a bunch of books I might like to read with my brother this year, so I’ll nominate Kelly!
Charlotte @ Charlotte Annelise – I’m not big on romance novels myself, but I do love reading about other people love for them and Charlotte did recently talk about some of her favourite romance novels (which I have linked).
Beth @ Reading Every Night – I nominate Beth because she’s a gem and I love her blog and all the fantasy books she reads!
Sarah @ BookHookedNook – I recently discovered Sarah’s blog and found that she reads a lot of the same fantasy as me so I had to include her here!
Melanie @ NovelDescent – Melanie reviews a lot of middle-grade and YA but, she also loves adult so I’m nominating her for this one!
Laura @ Bbliophile – I don’t really read much poetry and my last experience wasn’t all that great but, Laura’s post has convinced me to give it another go and add some to my tbr.
Mikaela @ The Well-Thumber Reader – I think we’ve all accepted by now that Mikaela is the queen of discussions posts but what about her thriller recommendations? Mikaela is pretty much my one stop shop for Mystery/Thriller recommendations so I figured she was perfect for this category!
Zuky @ Zuky The Bookbum – Zuky is one of my favourite bloggers and she deserves all the love. If you love mystery/crime or horror you should check out Zuky’s blog!
Chelsea @ Romweasley – Not only does Chelsea’s blog look fantastic but her reviews are actual goals!
Chelsea @ TheSuspenseIsThrillingMe – Chelsea is one of my favourite blogs and I adore her. She writes fantastic reviews and I wish I could write them as well as she does!
Destiny @ Howlinglibraries – Meet Destiny, she’s the queen of Top 10 Tuesday & Down The TBR Hole and I love her (and her blog).
Nia @ Shades0fPaper – I had to nominate Nia for this one! She does so many different weekly memes and is so much more dedicated to them than I could ever be which I think is so admirable!
Emma @ Emmareadstoomuch – As soon as I saw this category my mind immediately went to Emma – the way she talks about the books she loves always convinces me to pick them up. It’s absolutely all her fault that my tbr is so big!
Briony @ Missbriony – Briony’s blog is beautiful to look at but, I love her book recommendations too! She recently recommended Autistic writers for Autism awareness month & I also enjoyed her magical books recommendations!
Lara @ Words With Lara – I love Lara’s blog and I really love her advice and recommendations posts so you guys should definitely check her out!
Emma @ ReadingThroughTheNight – Emma is a genius and I love her discussion posts. ‘Nuf said.
Insidemylibrarymind – I aspire to be this good at blogging! Insidemylibrarymind is so on top of the game, it’s ridiculous!
Erin @ ARedHeadsRambling – Erin is a master blogger! I found her blog earlier this year and I’ve been a happier person ever since! Erin is so creative and her discussions are always really interesting and she has such a beautiful looking blog!
Isla @ @WhisperOfInk – ISLA’S BLOG IS LIFE, I AM IN LOVE! ❤️❤️ Isla’s blog look is pretty simplistic but her blog post headers are always to die or so I couldn’t not nominate her for this category!
Ayla @ Books & Babbles – Ayla’s blog is beautiful and I am 100% jealous. Not only is Ayla’s blog content wonderful, but when I click on her blog I don’t want to look away because it is absolute goals!
Becca @ Becaandbones – Beca’s blog is to die for (hehehe, because there’s a skull in her logo). Her theme is so bright and beautiful and I am, and forever will be jealous.
Samantha @ RedHeadWithABook – I nominate Samantha because she’s a gem!
Shanah @ Bionic Book Worm – Shanah’s blog is fantastic and she is such a lovely human so I had to nominate her!
Analee @ BookSnacks – Analee is my Diviners reading buddy and I think her blog is amazing!
Rebecca @ BokishlyRebecca – Rebecca is amazing and I love her very much. Somehow I’ve only become friends with her this year and I won’t lie, it’s changed my life just being able to flick over to Twitter and talk to Rebecca about blogging. She’s always game to talk and listen to me moan if I want to talk about my blog and I love her for that.
Sydney @ Fire and Rain Books – Sydney is my soon-to-be book buddy! Apparently, there’s a theme with these bloggers – I love buddy reading with them! Sydney is one of my new favourite bloggers and I hope you guys all check her out!
Daja @ThoughtfulBlackGirl – I know Avery already nominated Daja but I find out about her blog through that post and believe that she should be nominated again!
Austine @ NovelKnight – I, of course, have to nominate Autine for this category! Austine writes so many helpful blogging posts that I have found really helpful and have helped me to understand blogging more. She also hosts the Beat The Backlist Challenge!
Hey guys, today I’m coming at you with an award tag! I was tagged by the lovely Erin @ Aredheadsrambling to do the Unique Blogger Award. This was such an honour so thank you so much Erin, it means a lot to me to have been nominated!
Noah Czerny is the ultimate best friend and I love him. He is my ultimate Hufflepuff friend and I totally want to hang out with him.
He is my favourite (but not most relatable) character. I totally think he’s a Hufflepuff – he is loyal and always thinks about his friends, which to me encompasses a Hufflepuff. I know that he also does some stupid (but fun) stuff with Ronan but you know what, who ever said Hufflepuff’s had to just be nice and follow the rules? Let them live and actually have personalities, please.
1 She Used To Be Mine – Waitress Musical
2 Pray – Sam Smith
The Marvel theme. No, I’m kidding, though it would totally explain my obsession with superheroes.
3 On my Way – Brother Bear soundtrack
Honestly, I think I’m going to have to go with Brother Bear. I recently did a post about my favourite movies and when I first saw this question I did immediately think of The Age of Adeline but the more I think about it now, I don’t think it properly has enough in it for me to watch it for the rest of my life.
So… *drum roll even though you’ve already seen the poster lol*… Brother Bear is going to be my answer for this one. It ticks all my boxes and I’ve pretty much been watching it for my whole life so far anyway.
✓ Brilliant & bingable soundtrack
✓ Humour
✓ Bears
✓ Family movie
✓ Fantastic animation
✓ Warm colouring
✓ Life lessons galore
✓ Animals (those moose istg)
✓ THAT SOUNDTRACK
✓ A movie that adults and kids will both enjoy and get something out of
FRIDGE ANTS
Hey guys, today I’m coming at you with The Blue Cat Blue Sea award. I was tagged to do this by my blogger friend Rebecca @ Mylifeasasportsfangirl. I’ve never seen this tag done before, but nevertheless, I am honoured to have been tagged so thank you, Rebecca!!
WHAT KIND OF UNJUST QUESTION IS THIS REBECCA LET’S BE REAL YOU ALREADY KNOW MY ANSWER.
No question, Hunting Prince Dracula takes the cake. 2018 is cancelled because the only thing that will top this is book 3. This was the cherry on top of the 2018 cake and September needs to come immediately.
Aside from my Goodreads challenge (52 books) this year I will also be participating in the Beat the Backlist Challenge.
I didn’t really read too many terrible books last year but there are definitely some authors I just don’t care about so I think I will go with Rainbow Rowell.
I just… so many people love her because of the anxiety rep in Fangirl but also she mocks anxiety on Twitter so what’s her end goal in all this??? Also, I know next to nothing about her other books but doesn’t one involve stalking for “love” and isn’t another one racist??
No thanks. Not my cup of tea.
Becca @ BECANDBONES
Cam @ CAMILLEA READS
FRIDGES ANT
allonsythornraxx 