books – Alyssa Lost in Space

Book Chat: The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

February 29, 2020March 5, 2020Alyssa Flynn

I love to over-analyze the heck out of a good story, whether it’s a movie, a video game, or of course, a novel. It might be because I’m an English major, or because I’m myself a writer, or because I’m such a huge nerd, but there is something deeply satisfying about unpacking the events of a novel and peeling back those layers to understand the narrative on a deeper level.

I’ve posted lengthy, rambly analyses before for trailers and movies, and in 2020, I really want to write some word nerdy analyses for amazing books, but I’ve also mentioned that I don’t like ‘reviewing’ books. I can only give my thoughts and impressions, and I certainly don’t like assigning them a rank. So if you were looking for a review, this might not be quite what you’re looking for. Still, I hope that I can find and discuss great books, and maybe you’ll want to read them too.

We’re starting the bookish fun with The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski.

One Year, Twelve Books

January 12, 2020January 22, 2020Alyssa Flynn

No, that doesn’t mean I’ll be writing twelve stories over the next twelve months though that is definitely an interesting idea. I’ll save that for another time.

I’m on a mission this year, to knock off some of the books on my TBR that I’ve wanted to read for ages and have just never ‘found the time’ or had the courage to dive into.

I have a terrible habit of taking out books from the library and neglecting the stuff I actually own. So I figured I’d assign a book to each month, and divide it evenly between my science fiction and fantasy.

2020 Most Anticipated

January 10, 2020January 11, 2020Alyssa Flynn

A new year means new content, and I love taking a look at all the books, games and movies that are going to be coming out over the next twelve months.

Compared to previous years, however, there isn’t as much capturing my interest. There are a lot of sequels coming out for series I haven’t read and there aren’t any big games I’m really excited about. That being said, there are a few books and games coming out this year that I’m hyped for even if it isn’t as much as in previous years. Movies are the one area that looks pretty lacklustre this year, so I’ve skipped that category this time.

Onwards, to my most anticipated books and games of the year 2020!

A Look Back at 2019 (Stats, Recaps & Things Learned)

December 31, 2019December 31, 2019Alyssa Flynn

Goodbye, 2019!

It’s the last day of the year, and much like yesterday’s list of favourites, I wanted a chance to reflect on my accomplishments and where I’ve spent my time in the last 365 days.

19 Favourites of 2019

December 30, 2019December 30, 2019Alyssa Flynn

I love these posts. I love seeing people narrow down the best of the best and attempt to distil their favourite content from everything they’ve seen, read or played throughout the year. It’s fun to look back at, and it’s great if your looking for more recommended reads or games. It’s that sort of end-of-the-year staple content that I always look forward to. And I also enjoy taking the time to go through my own year of content consumption to see what I would consider a favourite.

But I’m also a lazy woman. I could have broken this up into a few posts – one focused on my favourite books, one about my favourite games, and another for any other random favourites I’d found throughout the year. But honestly, I didn’t consume as much as I have in previous years to make for very large lists, and I thought it sounded catchier if I wrapped up 2019 with 19 favourites. So I’ve lumped ’em all together.

Anyway, enough about my process. It’s been a weird and busy year, but there were still some gems that I want to talk about. Here are 19 of my favourites from 2019.

Minimalism for Book Lovers

November 16, 2019January 23, 2020Alyssa Flynn

If you’ve been around a while, you might have guessed that I am something of a minimalist. I don’t like clutter and I don’t like excess.

I wasn’t always this way, of course. Once upon a time I used to hoard. I loved owning movies and tv shows on dvd. I would buy an overwhelming number of books, especially after Book Outlet became a thing. Every day I would check for sales and I was constantly looking to add to my growing collection.

At my peak I had three full-sized bookshelves, stuffed to the brim with books. Everytime I bought new ones I’d have to rearrange those shelves to find the space.

I know why it got so out of control, too.

In trying to discover new books to read, I found this thing called Booktube, and one of the conventions of such a channel was this thing called the ‘Book Haul‘, where booktubers would show off all of the books that they purchased that month. So I began to do the same. I wanted to own a lot of books, because maybe then I would feel like a true reader. That it was something I was supposed to do. I bought into hype and bought books I might not have been as interested in because they looked pretty or because someone on Youtube managed to pursuade me.

Thus the collection started. And it continued to grow until about 3 years ago.