My Bookish Resolutions (2023)

This blog post was written by a human.

Hello readers and writerly friends!

If you’re a returning reader, thanks for coming back and if you’re new here, welcome to the blog! This week, we’re discussing my 2023 bookish goals and resolutions. What are your goals for 2023? Leave me a comment below!

Some of these are repeat goals and some are new. Last year, my only goal was to read 22 books and I nailed it! This year, I decided I wanted to do more than just read, but I wanted to keep them simple and SMART—specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. I’ve given myself 5 goals to strive for in 2023

My bookshelf filled with more knick-knacks than actual books. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Read All of the TBR Books On My Shelf

In 2020, I went through a book purge and got rid of almost 200 books! As a result, my bookshelf seems to be filled more with rocks, figurines, and knick-knacks, than actual books, but oh well. This year, my primary goal is to read all of the books on that shelf. I started chipping away at it in 2022, and as I completed a book, I either kept it or donated it to the library. There’s 36 books to be read on my shelf. If I can read 34 books in 2022, then this year, I can clear the shelf!

Finish the Wingbound Trilogy by Heather Trim

As you can see from my #shelfie, the series is waiting patiently on my shelf. In 2023, I plan to finish this series, starting with Wingspan in January!

Set Up a Cozy Corner or Reading Nook

My partner and I just moved into our apartment back in August 2022, and we don’t yet have our living room furnished. In 2023, I hope to get some big furniture pieces that are comfy, cozy, stylish, and together make for a great reading spot as well as watching our favorite films.

Get A New Bookshelf!

Part of the furniture plan for 2023, is to get a new bookshelf. I think we’re going with a mid-century modern or industrial themed living room with cozy accents, so this shelf has got to go. Besides, I want to use this shelf to store our towels in the bathroom. Our current shelf is flimsy at best.

Read An Early Release For 2023

This may be tricky to get my hands on, but I definitely want to try and read Yellowface by R.F. Kuang asap! I have never read an early release and it didn’t seem possible to get my hands on a copy at the end of 2022, so maybe once it’s out I can snag a copy and write a review on it as early as possible! Keep your eyes out for that!

That’s all for my 2023 Bookish Resolutions! I hope you enjoyed reading this post! I know this goal list was far shorter than 2020 and 2021. It’s been a crazy couple of years! But now that I’m back in the practice of reading and writing daily, I hope I can achieve these goals and I am certainly looking forward to trying! What are your 2023 bookish goals or resolutions? Did you complete or make progress towards your 2022 goals? Let me know in the comments below and as always, thanks for reading!

Bibliography

• Hayes, Payton. “My bookshelf filled with more knick-knacks than actual books.” January 2, 2023 (Blog post & thumbnail photo).

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• 21 Bookish Resolutions for 2021

• Bookish End of the Year Survey (2021)

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Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

How to Read More Books in 2022

A stack of books I want to read in 2022. Photo by Payton Hayes.

This blog post was written by a human.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

Welcome back and if you’re new thanks for popping in! This week in Bookish Things, I’m going to be sharing all of my tips and tricks for knocking out those reading lists and other bookish goals!

Just to give you guys a little bit of backstory and help remind you that despite all of my bookish content and strategizing I do here, I am still human and I also struggle with finding time to read and keeping up with my yearly reading goal. I also catch myself falling into reading slumps from time to time so don’t feel like you’re alone, because there’s millions of readers out there who have to actively work towards their reading goals!

In 2018 I did not meet my reading goal (2/12) 😬 but in 2019 (22/20) 🎉 and 2020 (15/12) 🥳 I did. In 2021, I fell way short of my extremely ambitious goal of reading 52 books, of which I only read 16. I look back at these recent years and my reading goals, and the life events I experienced stick out very clearly to me. This reflection serves as a great reminder that sometimes life does get in the way of reading and that’s okay. Don’t feel bad if you’ve been slacking in your reading goals. Let’s get back on track together!

Start by creating a reading plan

Why do you want to read more? Considering this question will help you firmly define your “why” and make it easier to keep on track with your reading throughout the year. Perhaps you’re reading for educational purposes or to better yourself? Maybe you want to read more novels to escape from stress and practice self-care. Maybe you want to be more well-read and explore the written word over modern media. No matter your reason, its always a good idea to read regularly as long as you’re doing it for you and you know why.

Additionally, you may want to ask yourself a few more questions to help clearly define your reading goals for 2022. How long will you read for each day? How many books do you have on your To-Be-Read (TBR) list? Is there a series you’ve been meaning to get into or a classic author you want to check out? How many books a month do you want to shoot for? What genres most interest you right now? What genres do you find yourself shying away from? Do you want to schedule your reading and plan out each months books? I personally prefer making an annual loose TBR list and choosing I can what to read as I go. Other readers enjoy making a reading schedule with specific books for each month or planning seasonal reads as the year goes on. I always try to read horror or spooky-themed books in October! Map out a book timeline that makes sense for your lifestyle, interests, and reading goals.

1. Keep track of your books by using Goodreads

This tip isn’t new, especially around the bookish community, but its worth mentioning to start, especially for anyone new to the reading scene or anyone just getting back into it! You might also be a reader who has never kept track of their reading habits before so this might be a great strategy for you to remember what you’ve read, keep your eyes out for new books, and stay focused on your yearly reading challenge.

Goodreads does a yearly reading challenge which can be a great resource for reading inspiration and motivation. Sign up, add a few books to your “Want To Read” shelf, set a reading goal for yourself, and get reading! You can also share your reviews and recommendations with other readers and authors on the app!

2. Make your reading goals public for external accountability

To make use of external accountability, consider joining a local book club or reading group, joining online reading communities, and sharing your reading goals, updates, and reading lists to your own social circles. Having a tight-knit group to share books with and discuss stories can be just the thing to get you back on track with your reading goals!

Kindles are also great for cutting down on book storage and readers can make use of the “Read Sample” prior to purchasing digital copies of books they’ve yet to read. Kindle Unlimited also offers access to millions of books every month.

4. Use a designated device solely for reading

I understand some bookworms here are still ballin’ on a budget, but if you can afford to, splurge on a tablet purposed only for reading. This separation of activities can be crucial in helping you rewire your brain for reading time. Avoid reading on your phone to eliminate distractions from social media and texts.

5. Multitask with audiobooks

You do not have to physically read a book to absorb the important and useful information contained within its pages. Many readers make use of audiobooks for the convenience, portability, and multitasking ability they have. Read a book while you cook, read a book while you walk, read a book while you clean or workout, read a book during your commute to and from work and on your lunch break —there’s a number of activities you can do while listening to an audiobook!

6. Read more than one book at any given time.

Now don’t let your “Current Reads” list get too full of unfinished books, but it can be refreshing to read more than one book at a time, especially if you alternate between fiction and non-fiction and read from different genres to avoid reading slumps! I personally enjoy having an e-book and audiobook, as well as a hard-copy on hand at any given time. This is especially useful in keeping concepts, themes, and characters separate across multiple novels.

7. Put down any books you’re not enjoying anymore.

If it’s no longer serving you or bringing you joy, feel free to let it go. Everyone can rant and rave about how good a book is but you don’t have to like it just because everyone else does. If you’re done with a book, feel free to move it to the “Read” shelf in Goodreads, leave a review if you’d like, and move on to the next read. Don’t let your disillusionment of a book you had high hopes for put you in a reading slump or worse, ruin your love of reading and learning.

8. Read for 15 minutes a day

Set a short timer to go off at the same time everyday and read for 15 minutes. This could be a really effective strategy for making regular reading a successful and sustainable habit.

9. Bring a book with you everywhere you go

Find yourself bored standing in line at the store or waiting on your oil to be changed? Bringing a book with you can help you avoid awkward queues and chip away at your TBR.

10. Get the main points of the book without having to read for 5+ hours

If you’re wanting to get into the reading scene but are feeling held back by your reading ability or lack of time for reading, consider getting the bare-bones content, main information, or essential ideas from an app like Blinkist. (If you’ve ever heard of Sparknotes, or Cliffs Notes, this app provides similar content.) Blinkist offers key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours. While its debatable how much material you’re actually absorbing via condensed methods such as this, its certainly a low-barrier-to-entry option and might work better for busier readers with less leisure time on their hands.

11. Enroll in a library membership

Much like joining book clubs and reading groups, signing up with your local library can be a great reading resource and method of external accountability, especially if you can find others to read and discuss books with. Library memberships are usually free to the public

12. Romanticize reading and make it a ritual

Not only should we be romanticizing reading, but we should also make it a ritual rather than a chore. If you enjoyed reading in the cozy chair by the window with a cup of coffee beside you, you might want to make that part of your reading ritual. Some daily readers will opt to get their 15 minutes in just before bed, making it a nighttime ritual that helps them wind down and relax, while other readers will avoid reading in the bedroom altogether. Designate a time and space for reading and it will be easier to get into the practice of reading daily. Ensure your reading environment, snacks, music, and other possible distractions or reading aids remain consistent throughout your reading practice to help further reinforce the habit in your daily life.

13. Organize a reading list that you will actually enjoy reading

As mentioned with the first step in this guide, it’s incredibly important to get a strong sense of what you enjoy reading, what your reading goals are, and what you want to read for 2022 to help you get started with your reading plan. Think about which authors and genres you’d like to read from. Consider diversifying your reading list so that its not all fiction, non-fiction, a single genre, or books from the same author.

14. Gather book recommendations influential people and other authors

Still not sure what to read? Follow your favorite authors and influencers on Goodreads and see what they’re reading each month for some inspiration. You can also check out BookTube and Bookstagram for thousands of book recommendations from other readers. Some of my favorite reads were recommended to me by the people I follow, so don’t limit your reading content to what you’ve heard of —take suggestions too! Whenever I am looking for recommendations, I ask my friends and Bookish Facebook groups what they’re reading and that usually gives me a pretty wide variety to pick from. You can also check out the New York Times Best Sellers List for the hottest reads.

15. Broaden your bookish horizons

Reading isn’t just good for intellectual growth; it can be a great avenue for personal enrichment in many areas of your life. You might not enjoy every book you read this year but you can learn at least one thing from them. Read from authors you normally don’t gravitate towards, explore genres you’ve never read from before, pick up a craft book, zoology book, a book about how to build a computer, or how to do your taxes yourself for practical reading, or read a hefty tome of a novel and lose yourself in the world-building —the options are endless!

16. Pick up a daily reader

While daily reading isn’t for everyone, its a surefire way to make steady, measurable progress towards your reading goals. Daily readers such as the Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, or The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz are all great examples of popular books with a page-a-day reading pace. Check out more from the Daily Readers Goodreads shelf here.

17. Set up a rewards system

Yes, Bookish People, this is your permission slip to go buy more books. (But only if you’ll actually read them!) Set up monthly incentives to help motivate you to pick up your current read each day! This could include a new book for every book you complete, an afternoon at a local Bookish coffee shop, cute bookish socks for each completed read, or a new bookshelf at the end of the year if you complete your challenge! Whatever you decide to implement as a rewards system, ensure that it is sustainable and makes sense for your lifestyle, environment, and budget. I like to check out books from the library and for every 3 I read, I’ll get a new book. This helps me keep from overbuying new books and it helps me tailor my personal library to only the titles I truly love and will reach for again.

18. Don’t compare your reading progress to others

It can be fun to have a little friendly reading competition, but don’t let someone else’s reading challenge overshadow your own reading progress. Read for you, celebrate the completion of your goals, big and small, and make sure you’re reading for your own enjoyment and enrichment and not for the opinions of others. In the long run, the former is more fulfilling and the latter will leave you stuck in a reading slump.

19. Visualize your reading goals with a habit tracker app or printable reading tracker

If you’re not into Goodreads, that’s okay! You might find keeping a reading list in your planner or a cute printable reading tracker taped to your fridge is the way to go for you! You can download my free printable tracker by clicking the image on the right. Pintrest also has tons of printable reading trackers and book lists too!

20. Be flexible and leave room for more reading

Don’t overwhelm yourself with an overly-planned reading list if you’re just getting into reading or getting back into it after a while. Be gracious with yourself and remember that its okay if you don’t read every single book on your list cover-to-cover or if you miss some of your reading goals this year. If you manage to read one book a year, you’re still learning and growing, so try to take it one book at a time. Leave spaces open throughout the year for new books to join the rotation and be prepared to “Do-Not-Finish” (DNF) a book if its not meeting your expectations.

Those are my 20 tips for reading more in 2022! Are there any other bookish tips you have for reaching your reading goals? What books are you planning to read this year? Let me know in the comments below!

Bibliography

• Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations, London: Penguin Classics, 2006. Goodreads. 

• Blinkist. “Homepage.” Blinkist.com, accessed April 6, 2022. 

• Cliffs Notes. “Homepage.” CliffsNotes.com, accessed April 6, 2022. 

• Goodreads. “2022 Reading Challenge.” Goodreads.com, accessed April 6, 2022. 

• Goodreads. “Daily Readers Books.” Goodreads.com, accessed April 6, 2022. 

• Holiday, Ryan. The Daily Stoic, London: Portfolio, 2016. Goodreads. 

• Ruiz, Miguel. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book), California: Amber-Allen Publishing, Incorporated, 1997. Goodreads.

• Sparknotes. “Homepage.” Sparknotes.com, accessed April 6, 2022. 

• The New York Times. “The New York Times Best Sellers.” The New York Times Website, accessed April 6, 2022. 

Related Topics

• Active Reading Vs. Passive Reading: Using Psychology-Based Critical Reading Skills To Increase Information Absorption & Retention

• Read Like A Writer: What Analytical Reading Can Teach Us

• Questions You Should Ask Yourself As A Reader or Critic

• How I Read A Book: My Book Reading Routine

• How I Got Started Reading When I Hated It

• Get Immersed in Your Reading: Writing With All Five Senses

• Reading Slump Emergency Kit: 15 Surefire Ways To Break Out of a Reading Slump!

• Self-Care Tips for Readers and Writers

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

Book Review: Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

This post was written by a human. This is a spoiler-free review.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager reminded me of American Horror Story’s Hotel season, where patrons of the hotel go suddenly missing under mysterious circumstances. The Bartholomew was an entity and character of its own and I couldn’t help feeling like I simultaneously wanted to visit the spooky hotel and stay a million miles away from it forever. The unsettling events that occurred behind closed doors were absolutely chilling to the bone. I found myself wishing I could shake the main character and tell her, run Jules, run!

This heart-pounding, breath-catching, page-turner of a thriller kept me hooked start to finish. I listened to the audiobook version of this novel and I was completely enthralled the entire time.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager follows a young woman whose new job apartment sitting in one of New York’s oldest and most glamorous buildings may cost more than it pays

No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan's most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.

As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story . . . until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.

Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew's sordid past and into the secrets kept within its walls. What she discovers pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent (Sager 2019).

The entrance to the Dakota where John Lennon was shot. Photo by Encircle Photos.

The Dakota as seen from Central Park west. Photo by Michelle Young.

Something Riley Sager is known for in his books, is the central plot twist—a storytelling element he does very well. I didn’t see the major twist coming and when my original theory was flipped on its head, I was astonished. However, the twist made sense, once all the clues he laid out beforehand were explained.

Sager employs a history, both real and invented to weave a thrilling tale that feels equal part as urgent and realistic as present-day and equal part ancient and enchanting as The Dakota, the upscale apartment building in New York upon which the elegant Bartholomew is based! Lock Every Door is an intoxicating tapestry that is every bit as disquieting as the bizarre wallpaper in Jules’ apartment in the Bartholomew and the unsettling events it has witnessed.

“I wanted the building to be seductive yet sinister, elegant yet also creepy…I wanted people to really want to live there but at the same time, to be terrified while they’re living there.” —Riley Sager on Lock Every Door.

The Bartholomew, the setting of the story, a character as much as the people in the story, evolves as the story progresses, observed initially as sophisticated and whimsical, and eventually becoming increasingly more sinister and mysterious. From elegant, gilded cage elevators that carry patrons from the top floor to the bowels of the building, to watchful gargoyles perched on the exterior, elements of the setting grow more and more unsettling and oppressive as Jules uncovers one dark secret after another.

This story is a gripping read cover-to-cover that teeters precariously between thriller and horror and stupefies readers with a chilling plot twist that doesn’t come completely from left field.

“There’s plausibility in a thriller. No matter how weird they may get, it’s something that could potentially happen in real life… It never gets otherworldly, so to speak…it is always grounded in some sense of reality. With horror, it seems like there’s a tear in the fabric of reality and that inexplicable things are going on and that just makes it even more frightening...I like to walk that fine line between the two.” —Riley Sager on Lock Every Door.

The quotes from Riley Sager about his book is from the “Interview with Best-Selling Author of Lock Every Door: Riley Sager” on the No Thanks, We’re Booked Podcast Hosted by Mollie from Mollie Reads and Katie from Life Between Words. Check out the rest of the interview here.

“Move over Rosemary’s Baby, urban paranoia has a deliciously gothic new address.” —Ruth Ware

This book makes me want to a) read more of Riley Sager’s writing, b) read Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin, and c) get into more urban paranoia.

In July of 2019, Paramount Television, Sugar 23, and Anonymous Content announced plans to adapt Lock Every Door into a television series, and I am so stoked to see how it turns out. I cannot wait to draw comparisons between the film adaptation and AHS: Hotel.

And that’s it for my review of Riley Sager’s Lock Every Door. Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Have you read any of Sager’s other works? I cannot wait to check out Final Girls by Riley Sager to see more of Jules’ story and where it goes from here. Will you be watching the film adaptation? Let me know what you thought of this book and this review in the comments below!

Bibliography

• Encircle Photos. “John Lennon Murdered at The Dakota in New York City, New York.” Web article, (Photo) accessed September 19, 2021. 

• Hayes, Payton. “Lock Every Door Audiobook on Google Pixel.” (Thumbnail photo), September 19, 2021. 

• Sager, Riley. Lock Every Door. New York: Dutton, 2019. Amazon. 

• Young, Michelle. “The Top 10 Secrets of NYC’s Iconic Dakota Apartments.” Untapped New York article, (Photo) accessed September 19, 2021.

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• How to Read More Books

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• Get Immersed in Your Reading: Writing With All Five Senses

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Before You Go

• Looking for your next read? I've got you covered. See my Reading Recommendations and Reading Challenges for ideas about what to read next!

• Oh, and don't forget to Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

Book Review: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

This blog post was written by a human.This is a spoiler-free review.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week, in Bookish Things, I’m doing an in-depth review of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and ooh-hoo-hoo do I have so much to say about this book. So, let’s dive right in!

Station Elven Paperback by Emily St. John Mandel with votive candles. Photo by Payton Hayes.

For starters, I must admit that reading this pandemic dystopian fiction in 2020 has absolutely influenced my opinion of it. The subject matter and premise felt more tangible and less like words on a page after existing during COVID-19. Station Eleven book will forever hold a special meaning for me because it represents a lot of my worst fears about how the pandemic could potentially spiral into a full-blown apocalypse scenario. This severity doesn’t seem so far-fetched. I think, if everyone read this book when the pandemic began, we’d be in a much better state right about now.

This is your friendly reminder to stay home and wear a mask if you have to go out. Trust me, we don’t want things to play out like they did in the story.

I’ll try and wrangle all my complicated feelings about this novel, but truly I feel awed and speechless. Reading Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is a lot like slowly peeling back the layers of a yellow onion— tearing it away, bit by bit until you’ve reached the center. It’s a little savory, a little sweet and it lingers, but oh, it stings, that tiny sun in your palm. The layers of this story seem to unfold all at once, past and present interwoven together like the wedded roots of a great tree—the way the overlapping storylines finally, finally click into place with the final page.

On page, 144, in paragraph 3, Mandel writes:

Hell is the absence of the people you long for. (2015)

Woof.

Station Eleven is a story thick with nostalgia both for what once was and for what could have been. It’s a painfully realistic image of what life might be like thirty years after a devastating pandemic, and an economic collapse, people all over the globe desperate to survive. It’s a story of longing, sorrow, isolation, remembrance, and grief, but it’s also a story of preservation and perseverance—hope buzzing like the spark of electricity humming to life in a city just over the horizon, like a well-kept secret unleashed after decades of silence. It’s a story about survival, resilience.

On page, 233, in paragraph 1, Mandel writes:

These taken for granted miracles that had persisted all around them. (2015)

Naturally, the most poignant theme in this story is who and what we take for granted. With the parallels of the COVID-19 Pandemic, it was impossible to read this book and ignore it’s impact. During the pandemic, I came face-to-face with the ordinary people, places, and privileges I’d taken for granted—grocery stores and overnight stockers and bag boys. Before, I was never one for braving the crowds during peak shopping times or travelling in rush hour traffic, but I’ve found whimsy and respite in the short, yet essential outings to my local grocery store. Few and far between, those brief stints out into the world, following quarantine have renewed my appreciation for the little things—like clean water, electricity, modern medicine, microwavable dinners—and instilled in me an overwhelming sense of respect and gratitude for all those folks that compose the backbone of America.

On page, 178, Mandel writes:

On silent afternoons in his brother’s apartment, Jeevan found himself thinking how human the city is, how human everything is. We bemoaned the personality of the modern world, but that was a lie it seemed to him; it had never been impersonal at all. There had always been a massive delicate infrastructure of people, all of them working around us, and when people stop going to work, the entire operation grinds to a halt. No one delivers fuel to the gas stations or airports. Cars are stranded. Airplanes cannot fly. Trucks remain at their points of origin. Food never reaches the cities; grocery stores close. Businesses are locked and then looted. No one comes to work at the power plants or the substations, no one removes the fallen tress from electrical lines. (2015)

Chills. Absolute. Chills.

I think of the grocery store clerks and nightly stockers “masking up” to make sure we’ve got access to food despite our collective isolation. I think of my dad who— recovered from a high-risk surgery in one of the biggest hospitals in Oklahoma during the peak of the pandemic—was a member of the “society’s most vulnerable” club, yet quarantined alone in his hospital room for more than a month, without ever getting COVID-19. I think of the healthcare workers with breakouts on their jawlines and angry, red indentations where the elastic on their N95s wore a rut in their cheeks. I think about what pictures play on the screen behind their eyes when they go to sleep at night. I think of the refrigerated trucks.

On page, 178, Mandel writes:

No one comes to work at the power plants or the substations, no one removes the fallen tress from electrical lines. (2015)

The last line hit particularly close to home for me. It was during the 2020 ice storm and literally as I was reading this book, the power all along our street went out—a rogue tree limb had fallen over on one of the main powerlines in our neighborhood. The dreary winter afternoon paired with the power outage, isolation, and pandemic in the periphery, I felt like a forgotten dweller of the Undersea, longing for light and warmth where it seemed none was promised.

Station Eleven book cover photo. Found on npr.org.

The scariest thing about this story overall is most certainly the way Mandel explains how the collapse happened— how the pandemic spread across the globe like wildfire, consuming entire cities, and leaving crumbling civilizations in its wake, how phones and the internet went down and then electricity, and finally how gasoline staled and left people with zero communication and zero transportation. But then again, where could they go? The entire world was affected. It’s a very real possibility— a horror story rooted more so in reality than in the fantastical.

It's a story about what we leave behind, what we carry with us—baggage from a life and world before, and new beginnings and just what else this awakening world might contain.

And then there’s the unwillingness to comprehend the outbreak and the severity of it, even as it is presented by the news, the unwillingness to comprehend what it meant. The panic. After getting an alarming phone call from his nurse friend Hua, Jeevan rushes to the local store and fills seven shopping carts with groceries before pushing them miles through the snow to his brother’s apartment where they hole up there for weeks. Sound familiar?

On page, 239, in paragraph 2, Mandel writes:

He woke at 3:00 in the morning, shivering. The news had worsened. The fabric was unraveling. It will be hard to come back from this, the thought, because in those first days it was still inconceivable that civilization might not come back from this at all. (2015)

Station Eleven is an impeccably cleverly written glimpse into the not-so-far-off future of modern society following a terrible pandemic. The way Mandel lays out the puzzle pieces before the reader so that as the pages turn, the parts fall into place is beyond exceptional. I can typically see plots like this from a mile away and usually have the story figured out by the time I reach the last page. Mandel kept me guessing and wondering what all the interconnecting pieces meant. When it all came together, I was astonished.

And that’s it for my review of Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven! Have you read this book? What are your thoughts on it? How does it make you feel after the COVID-19 pandemic and everything that’s happened in 2020? Let me know in the comments below!

Bibliography

• Hayes, Payton. "Station Elven Paperback by Emily St. John Mandel with votive candles." January 1, 2021 (Thumbnail Photo).

• Mandel, Emily St. John. Station Eleven. London: Picador, 2015.

• Mandel, Emily St. John. Station Eleven book cover. Photograph. NPR..  Accessed January 1, 2021. 

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• Looking for your next read? I've got you covered. See my Reading Recommendations and Reading Challenges for ideas about what to read next!

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Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 31, 2025

The “Do I Have That Book?” Challenge

This blog was written by a human

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week in Reader Life, I decided I’d take it back a few years to the “Do I Have That Book?” challenge and try it for myself. I didn’t really use social media and I sure as heck didn’t have this blog when the challenge took the bookish community by storm but I’m not missing out, even now!

Do you have a book with deckled edges?

I do! My first run-in with deckled edges consisted mostly of confusion because I thought it was just some overlooked print error, but no! They come like that! Now, I have a tender appreciation for the quaint, uneven edges.

The book I chose for this question is my hardback copy of Tell Me One Thing, by Deena Goldstone, a book that caught my eye in Dollar Tree with it’s unravelling orange on it’s front cover and charming deckled edges.

A photo of Tell Me One Thing, by Deena Goldstone against a black backdrop. Photo by Payton Hayes.

A photo of the World of Warcraft Mage graphic novel against a black backdrop. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Do you have a book with three or more people on the cover?

Yes! This one was actually pretty tricky to find a book on my shelf with 3 or more people on the cover. At first I wondered, do statues count? And decided no—no they don’t. Then I wondered, do reflections count? And also decided no. Finally, I found a book with three characters on the cover—Mage, a World of Warcraft graphic novel written by Richard A Knaack and illustrated by Ryo Kawakami—which had two spellcasters and two dragons on the cover. I wondered, do dragons count? And decided yes—yes they do, because in the Warcraft universe, dragons have humanoid forms as well.

A photo of the two books in the White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter against a black backdrop. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Do you have a book based on another fictional story?

I do! Well, technically I don’t own them, but I’m borrowing the White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter from my good friend Gary. It’s inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll. It totally counts! 

Do you have a book with a title 10 letters long?

I actually had to count titles for this one, how fun! As it turns out, Shadowland by Alyson Noël fits this criterion! Shadowland is exactly 10 letters long!

Do you have a book with a title that starts and ends with the same letter?

Hmm. Let me check.  Nope! Not a single one! I tried to think of any I’d read that started and ended with the same letter and still nothing. The closest I got were The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and The Slayer Chronicles by Heather Brewer coming up short only because of the articles in their titles.

A photo of my old bookshelf filled with books, trophies, and trinkets. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Do you have a mass market paperback book?

Do I ever? Absolutely. Most of my books are mass market paperbacks!

Do you have a book written by an author using a pen name?

Does the Angel Trilogy by L.A. Weatherly count? Technically her first name is Lee, but she publishes under L.A.

Do you have a book with a character’s name in the title?

I do! The entire Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson. All the books have a character’s, name in the title—Maximum Ride in the first, second, third, eighth and ninth books, Max in the fifth book, Fang in the sixth book, and Angel in the seventh book—except The Final Warning, which contains no name in it’s title. Man, why did it have to break the pattern?

Do you have a book with two maps in it?

Yep! The Mooncallers series by Leda C. Muir has at least three maps in each book!

Do you have a book that was turned into a TV show?

I have the City of Bones by Cassandra Clare which the rest of the series was not only turned into the movie, The Mortal Instruments, but also the Shadowhunters tv drama series.

Do you have a book written by someone who was originally famous for something else? i.e. celebrity, athlete, politician, TV personality, etc.

Yes, I have Channel Kindness: Stories of Kindness and Community by Lady Gaga, and both of Amy Landino’s books, Vlog Like A Boss and Good Morning Good Life! (Check out my GMGL book review here!) I used to have an autobiography written by Jennifer Lopez but I donated it to the Midwest City library a few years ago.

Do you have a book with a clock on the cover?

Nope! I have one with gears on it which is giving me some very steampunk vibes, but no clocks.

Do you have a poetry book?

Oooh, I’ve got this one!  I have two poetry collections from the Poetry Foundation, four consecutive years of Pegasus from Rose State College (2016-2020—all of which I’m published in!) Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur (If we can really call that a collection of poetry).

Do you have a book with an award stamp on it?

I have a couple actually. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, for one. Looking for Alaska by John Green, for two. I’m sure there are more but I cannot remember them all. (Check out my Station Eleven book review here!)

Do you have a book written by an author with the same initials as you?

P.H.? Nope.

Do you have a book of short stories?

Yes! I have a paperback copy of Kiss Me Deadly, a collection of 13 paranormal romance short stories from authors such as Diana Peterfreund, Becca Fitzpatrick, Maggie Stiefvater, and Michelle Zink, to name a few.

Do you have a book that is between 500 and 510 pages long?

Do I?

Do you have a book that was turned into a movie?

Yes, I have a ton of books that were adapted into films. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Maximum Ride by James Patterson (possibly the worst adaptation ever), The World of Warcraft novels and graphic novels, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald, Dracula by Bram Stoker, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (definitely the best adaptation ever), Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Ulysses by James Joyce, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Atonement by Ian McEwan, and Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier.

As you can tell, most of my books that have been adapted for the screen are classics!

Do you have a graphic novel?

I do! Do comics count? I have various World of Warcraft comics and the first installment of the Haunted Youth comic, by Alister Dippner. I also have some stellar World of Warcraft graphic novels and some Maximum Ride graphic novels. Beyond that, the only other novels I own, that have any artwork are my many fantasy novels with their maps, the Dragonriders of Bresal by Salamanda Drake, which has illustrations scattered throughout the duology, and the Mooncallers series by Leda C. Muir which has intricately drawn chapter headers.

A photo of the upper shelves of my bookcase brimming with YA fantasy books, figurines, crystals and more. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Do you have a book written by two or more authors?

Yes—The House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast, Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings.

And that’s it for my take on the “Do I Have That Book?” challenge! This was actually a really fun challenge! I had a lot of fun looking over my shelf and trying to answer the questions! I wish I could have said yes to all of them, but that just goes to show—I need more books! Let’s start a discussion below! What is your favorite book-to-film-adaptation? Which one is your least favorite? Do you have/enjoy reading graphic novels?

Bibliography

• Pixabay. “Books in Black Wooden Book Shelf”(Thumbnail photo). Pexels photo, uploaded on August 29, 2016. Accessed December 25, 2020.

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of Tell Me One Thing, by Deena Goldstone.” December 25, 2020.

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the World of Warcraft Mage graphic novel against a black backdrop.” December 25, 2020.

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the two books in the White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter against a black backdrop.” December 25, 2020.

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of my old bookshelf filled with books, trophies, and trinkets.” December 25, 2020.

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the upper shelves of my bookcase brimming with YA fantasy books, figurines, crystals and more.” December 25, 2020. 

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Before You Go

• Looking for your next read? I've got you covered. See my Reading Recommendations and Reading Challenges for ideas about what to read next!

• Oh, and don't forget to Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 5, 2025

7 Fun, Useful, Quirky, and Cute Non-Book Bookish Items

This blog was written by a human

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week in Current Faves, I’m showing you a bunch of fun, weird, bookish things that you may or may not have heard of before! Some of these have been recommended to me time and time again while others I only recently discovered and now that I’ve got a pretty good stack of quirky bookish objects, I figured I should share them with you!

Bookly App

You might not have expected an app to make it onto a weird bookish things list but it was so good I couldn’t not put it on the list. If you don’t know, Bookly is a gorgeous app that helps you track your books, read more and improve your reading over time. You can scan your books or simply search for them online to add them to the app, from there you can track to whom you lend them, add favorite quotes and thoughts, and see insightful data that can help you improve or read even more.

Gorgeous book sleeves by Love You More Studio. Photo by @fablesandwren on Instagram.

I personally love this app because it really gets me motivated to read more books and it keeps me reading regularly because I don’t want to break my reading streak!

Book Sleeves

Does anyone remember using the paper book sleeves or the 99c spandex book sleeves to protect their textbooks back in middle school? No? Just me? Okay.

These book sleeves from Love You More Studio are absolutely stunning. They even come in holiday prints and everything! I’m going to have to snag myself a few of these!

Goodreads App

Okay, I promise this list isn’t all apps. But I had to put this one on the list too, because I recently discovered a surprising amount of my writerly friends had never heard of Goodreads even though its basically been around forever. Goodreads is an American social cataloging website that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and reading lists. Similarly to Bookly, I really like tracking my reading progress, read, currently reading, and to-read book lists, and engaging with other readers on Goodreads.

Clear panel booklight from Shein. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Clear Panel Booklight

While this booklight is more of a necessity than a quirky object I had to include it as well because it’s amazing. If you read my Bookish Things blog post for this week, How I Read Books/ My Reading Routine, then you might remember this little gadget from that post. I raved about how awesome it was to have when the power went out last month during the Great Oklahoma Ice Storm of 2020. It was an absolute lifesaver. I found my light on Shein, but you can get them just about anywhere.

Home decor for book lovers.

Bookish Home Décor

I found these items on the ebookfriendly.com blog where Ola Kowalczyk put together a list of bookish home décor that was just too cute to ignore!

Kowalczyk says,

“In times when most of the books can be stored on a single e-reader or tablet, there comes a problem book lovers haven’t experienced before: how to express the love for books? Hundreds of books on the Kindle means you won’t need a classic floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, or, at least, you won’t need a bookshelf that large. But it’s good to have things at home that remind you of the evening you will spend with the book and a cup of delicious tea.”

—Ola Kowalczyk, Eboookfriendly.com

You can read the full blog post here.

While I personally enjoy physical copies of books, I can certainly see the appeal of keeping all of your favorite reads stored in the cloud. From book-shaped cutting boards to ceramic pencil-holders, these cute, practical, bookish home décor items are sure to serve as a warm reminder that your next read is only a swipe away.

Peter Pan Book Pillow by biseyhandmade on Etsy.

Bookish Pillows

What’s cuter and cozier than a book sleeve or cuddling up with a good book, you ask? Book-shaped pillows! These adorable and surprisingly soft bookish throw pillows on Etsy make a wonderfully whimsical addition to every book lover’s reading nook.

Solid Wood Book Shape Coasters by Cutting Boredom on Etsy.

Wood Book-Shaped Coasters

Not the cozy type? That’s alright! Maybe you’re into entertaining or you’re a craft brew aficionado? Next time your friends come over games and booze (post-pandemic of course!) whip out these beautifully made, handcrafted wooden book-shaped coasters. They have some hilariously witty twists combining the classics and alcohol which are sure to entertain.

I hope you liked my list! Please let me know in the comments what quirky and fun non-book bookish items you’ve been into lately and make sure to check out my other posts in Reader Life!

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1, 2025

20 Bookish Facts About Me

This blog was written by a human

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week I wanted to bring things in a little closer to home and share a bit about myself here on the blog. I thought sharing twenty bookish facts about me would be a fun, on-brand way to do that so without further ado, lets get into the list!

1. I am not an escapist reader but rather a mood reader. I am not the kind of person who reads to escape reality and especially not when I am stressed or busy. I don’t read to procrastinate or anything like that. I am what you’d call a mood reader because I have to be in the right headspace to sit down and become meaningfully engrossed in a book for any period of time.

2.  Certain songs remind me of books and books remind me of certain songs. Like for instance, I think the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson pairs really nicely with any of Juliet Simms’ work from when she was in the band Automatic Loveletter, namely her song “Let It Ride.” I mean how on-brand is that? Likewise, in middle and high school I used to listen to music while I read (don’t ask me how I did it, I couldn’t do that now) and so now, some songs transport me back to that time when I listen to them and I can still vividly remember how whatever I was reading made me feel.

3.  I’m a chronic book-starter and I’m typically reading about five books at any time. In 2021 I want to be better about this and hopefully try to read more than one genre at a time because it seems like I just keep starting fantasy books and slowly chipping away at them as my TBR pile grows in the background.

4. I’m better at finishing a series than finishing stand-alone books but its harder for me to get invested in a series because I know it will take longer to finish.

5.  I cannot read horrors or thrillers before bed or I will not sleep. I save the scary stories for daylight reading.

6.  My bookish beverage of choice is usually black tea, but sometimes I’ll spring for a coffee or if I’m feeling really fancy I will have a glass of rose’. I will also welcome the occasional Thai bubble tea.

7.  I don’t like reading in public because someone always interrupts my reading by asking me what I’m reading and proceeding to have a conversation about it even though I try to make it quite obvious that I want to get back to my book.

8.  I’ve never read Harry Potter. I know, I can hear the angry mob with their pitchforks coming for me as we speak. The thing is, as a kid I wasn’t a super strong reader and I also wasn’t into mainstream media. I just didn’t want to get into it because everyone I knew was obsessed and I wanted to be different.  I know, I was a rebel from the start. I would like to read it sometime soon, though because I am almost done watching the movies and I’d like to see how the movies compare to the books.

9.  I am a HUGE book crybaby. I cry during happy and sad scenes. I cry when characters die or when lovers break up or even when the book ends if it was particularly good.

10. I don’t like to know much about a book before I start it. I really love the idea of having a blind date with a book. (Not the actual book buying service, but that too!) If a book is spoiled for me, I will avoid reading it for years to try and forget whatever spoilers I read/heard.

The Hush, Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick audiobook and paperback. Photo by Payton Hayes.

11. I love audiobooks. Some people will say they are hit or miss or that the narrator will make or break a book for them, but I personally have loved every audiobook I’ve ever listened to. I might just be lucky but still, I think I don’t really have a preference unlike most readers. I’m a really auditory person—I love music, nature sounds, ambient noise, ASMR, and podcasts so it makes sense that I’d love audiobooks as well. They’re so great for multitasking when you want to read and do menial tasks around the house or listen to a book while driving. However, if I am listening to a fantasy audiobook, I must be reading a hardcopy along with it or the story will just not stick in my brain.  

12. I am not a car reader. The aforementioned audiobook is great because I cannot, for the life of me, read in the car. I get dizzy and carsick and it’s just not a fun time.

13. I am not a journal-keeper. Though I am planning to change that. I have never been one to keep a journal or diary. There was a brief stint in middle school when I wrote my heart out about your run of the mill angsty teenager stuff but other than that, I’ve really not done much chronicling of my life and I think I’d like to start doing that. I’d really love to be able to look back on more than just ticket stubs and photos.

14.  I will read in the bathtub and in the pool. I ain’t scared! There’s something so relaxing sitting in the pool on a warm summer day with a good book and a mimosa or just chilling in the bubble bath with a nice rose’.

15. I have to put my phone away while reading because I will just get too distracted. Ironically enough, I usually just end up on bookstagram or booktube.

16.  I primarily prefer reading adult/young adult fiction. Paranormal romance, romantic thrillers, horror, psychological thrillers, motivation/entrepreneurial advice, and fantasy are my favorite genres to read.

17.  I love well-loved books. Granted that they’re still in good condition, I love books that have been dog-eared, written in, highlighted, etc. It’s so fascinating finding out what stuck out to other readers as they consumed a story. I actually paid the difference for one of my rental textbooks in college instead of returning it because there were so many interesting notes in the margins. It just fun seeing how books take on new lives and to be able to connect with other readers through the notes they’ve left behind.

18.  I love reading at night or while its raining.

19.  My bookshelf is a mess. I mean it might be due to the fact that I only have one bookshelf and over a hundred books, but still. There’s some organization going on, such as with series—I like to keep series together—but other than that, there’s no real rhyme or reason. Not even by genre or book cover color scheme. :/

20.  I absolutely judge books by their covers. :D

And that’s it for my twenty bookish facts about me! What are your favorite genres to read? What’s your bookish beverage of choice? And do you judge books by their covers? Let me know a little bit about you and your bookish quirks in the comments below!

Related Topics:

• 3 Bookish Things Tag

• I Did The "Do I Have That Book Challenge?"

• 20 Bookish Resolutions for 2020

• 2019 Book Wrap-Up: All The Books I Read In 2019

Thumbnail photo by Kaye RD.

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1, 2025

I Visited The Full Circle Bookstore In Oklahoma City

Full Circle Bookstore’s Storefront inside of the 50 Penn Place Mall. Courtesy of the Full Circle Bookstore Website. Click here to visit the site.

This blog is written by a human

Hi readers and writerly friends!

 I took my bestie on a bookish, friend date to the Full Circle Bookstore in OKC…

And we loved it.

Yeah, we’re hitting the ground running in Reader Life this week, because I just cannot wait to tell you all about it.

Disclaimer: Yes, we went while the pandemic is still going on, but we went early in the week during a time when hardly any people where there, we wore masks and we kept our distance from people while we were browsing the store. We tried our best to keep ourselves and others safe but it was a nice little treat for us to go and spend time together and enjoy a wonderful, bookish place we’ve never been before.

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

An inside peak into the Full Circle Bookstore where guests can get lost in the seemingly endless shelves of books. Courtesy of the Full Circle Bookstore Website. Click here to visit the site. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Neither me nor my best friend Allie have ever been to Full Circle before and needless to say, we a first-time FC converts, if there is such a thing. When we rolled up to the shop at the bottom of the 50 Penn Place building, we were greeted with a quaint little storefront, painted mint green and black with chalkboard signs and jazzy music playing softly from an outdoor speaker. We were already so excited, and we hadn’t even entered the building.

Then, when we did go inside, we were greeted for the second time, only this time it was by a very friendly employee named Brent who told us all about the bookstore—some of the events they have on weekends, the different types of books they had available and where to find them, and where to find the café in the back of the shop. Did I mention they had a café? Hello—book nerd/coffee addict heaven!

The inside of the store was much like a Tardis from the hit series, Doctor Who, in that it seemed much larger on the inside than it did on the outside. And on the other hand, it was also like a hobbit hole, in that it had all these wonderful little winding hallways and hidden alcoves tucked within one another. It was like and endless maze of books and I wanted to get lost in there forever. I was constantly enchanted by all of the books there were, all of the fun little bookish knick-knacks, and even the signed first edition copies and box sets of some books. It was everything I’d ever dreamed it would be.

And can we just take a moment to talk about the incredibly vaulted ceilings, the enormous floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled to the brim with books of every size, shape, and color, and the ladders scattered all throughout the bookstore so a book can never be out of a guests reach? It was incredible. It reminded me so much of the Hogwarts library, only it was a little less dusty and a lot more modern. Also, there weren’t screaming faces coming from the pages of the books…

Bookshelf with a ladder at the Full Circle Bookstore. Photo by Payton Hayes.

So, we stopped for coffee first, and I must recommend the toasted marshmallow latte—get it hot or cold, either way will be scrumptious. Allie and I shared a chocolate mouse and a cheese danish, both of which were delicious. We would have stayed for lunch, but the kitchen officially closes at 2pm every day, so we’d just barely missed it when we arrived around 3pm.

Then we made off for the books.

Stack of the books I bought from the Full Circle Bookstore. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Like I mentioned, the shop was seemingly endless—I found myself drooling over the fantasy books one second and suddenly, I was in the classic literature drooling over the books there too. They had just about every book you could imagine, and we certainly snagged a few for ourselves. I think Allie ended up with a few classics— A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, and The Call of The Wild by Jack London. I sort of went overboard and ended up with six books—Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Ghosted by Rosie Walsh, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, and  The Languages of Tolkien’s Middle-earth by Ruth S. Noel. There were so many more books I wanted to buy but I was reminded by that little voice in my head—my TBR Conscience, if you will, who kept reminding me that I had over a hundred books at home, most of which I still have not read yet. So, I figured I’d take what I could carry and come back later, because I am absolutely coming back again later.

When we got to the checkout, the cashier gave us a bunch of bookmarks, a pamphlet that described upcoming events for October 2020, and stamped a couple of rewards cards for us to use when we inevitably returned (every $10 spent contributes to a total of $200 spent which rewards customers with a $30 off coupon to use in-store when they’ve met that goal).

Suffice it to say, we had a truly wonderful time, and hopefully we can go back again once things are back to normal. It would be really fun to attend a live reading from one of our local authors or stop in for a concert from one of the regular bands that play every couple of weekends or so. If you’ve never been to this book store before, be sure to check it out next time you’re in Oklahoma City and say hi to Pearl the Buffalo for me!

The Full Circle Bookstore is Located in 50 Penn Place, 1900 NW Expressway, Oklahoma City, OK 73118
Phone: 405.842.2900 or 800.683.

Visit the Full Circle Bookstore’s website here. Hours are located on their home page and events can be found here.

Neither this website, nor Payton Hayes are affiliated with The Full Circle Bookstore. I just really enjoyed my first trip there and wanted to share my experience with all of you. There are Amazon affiliate links present in this blog post.

Check out more posts in Reader Life!

Have you ever been to the Full Circle Bookstore in OKC? Where is your favorite bookstore? What bookstore should I visit next? Let me know below! Thanks for reading!

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1, 2025

Series Review: Wildefire Trilogy by Karsten Knight

This blog post was written by a human.This is a spoiler-free review.

Hi readers and writerly friends! Below is my review of the Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight! Check out my other book reviews here!

A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight in a gold wire basket. Photo by Payton Hayes.

This book review starts with my first-ever book hunt in my Midwest City Dollar-Tree. I was shopping for some containers and noticed the store had an awful lot of books and many of them I’d either seen before, heard of the authors before, or the covers were just so gorgeous that I couldn’t help myself. I think I left the store with 20+ books. And guess what book just happened to be amidst all those tomes I scurried out of the store with? That’s right—the aforementioned Wildefire by Karsten Knight. I had no clue what this book was about. I’d never heard of the author or the title and the only reason I bought it was because the lovely cover sucked me in, and the punchy writing kept me hooked. It’s true, I totally judge books by the cover.

It’s been on my to-be-read list for quite some time now, and I fear I might not have seriously picked it up if it weren’t for COVID-19. But I am so glad that I did, because once I got into it, I couldn’t stop. I binged the series in less than a week and found myself highlighting passages because the writing was just. that. good.

A photo of the paperback copy of Wildfire by Karsten Knight in a gold wire basket. Photo by Payton Hayes.

As per the Wildefire Goodreads page:

Every flame begins with a spark.

Blackwood Academy was supposed to be a fresh start for Ashline Wilde. A secluded boarding school deep in the heart of California’s redwood forests, three thousand miles from her old life—it sounded like the new beginning she needed after an act of unspeakable violence left a girl in her hometown dead. But Blackwood is far from the peaceful haven Ashline was searching for. Because terrifying, supernatural beasts roam the forests around campus. Because the murderer from Ashline’s hometown—her own sister—has followed her across the country. Because a group of reincarnated gods and goddesses has been mysteriously summoned to Blackwood...and Ashline’s one of them. (Knight)

A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight laid out flat on a white bookshelf. Photo by Payton Hayes.

A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight stacked atop a white bookshelf. Photo by Payton Hayes.

A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight leaning in a gold wire basket atop a white bookshelf. Photo by Payton Hayes.

I can confidently say, that if you enjoyed reading any of Rick Riordan’s mythological fiction, you would likely love this series. I would categorize it as a mythological thriller because it revolves around reincarnated gods and goddesses from all different kinds of mythologies including Norse, Greek, Roman, Polynesian, Japanese, Mayan, and Aztec, and it was an absolute page turner! Without spoiling, the YA fiction is centered around the main protagonist Ashline Wilde and her newfound friends at Blackwood Academy in Southern California. She and her friends find themselves face-to-face with some unsettling foes—the seemingly nefarious cloak, inky, black creatures with singular blue flames for eyes. They are all given unique quests to carry out as they familiarize themselves with their own newly realized god/goddess abilities and struggle to fit in with their mundane, human classmates. However, school life quickly becomes the least of their worries when Ashline’s treacherous older sister appears out of the blue, other gods force Ashline and her friends to go on the offensive, and schoolmates end up caught in the crossfire.

A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight shelved with other YA books on a white bookshelf. Photo by Payton Hayes.

I of course, don’t want to give too much away because I implore you, dear readers, to please give this series a try. The pacing was fantastic (and kept me turning pages into the wee hours of the night), the characters were compelling as all-get-out, and the prose was simply exquisite.       

I can only describe Wildefire by Karsten Knight, through the title—a ruthless wildfire that swept through me, a ravenous hunger to breathe, sleep, eat, and drink in the entire story until I’ve had my fill. Unfortunately, now that I’ve actually finished it, I can’t help but want more. This story was a whirlwind of romance, mythos, angst, and a deep desire to belong. It was a wild ride and I enjoyed every second of it.

Every one of the characters are carefully constructed. You can clearly tell that Knight took his time fleshing out each character from the names down to their personality traits and compelling developments over the course of the trilogy. Everything was intentional. At times, I saw myself in Ashline Wilde, and at others, she felt like my best friend—as if we’d known each other forever and I was just now embarking on this insane journey with her. Books that achieve this level of relatability in the character-reader relationship can hard to find. Each and every character is meaningful and when some of them leave the story, it comes like a punch to the gut.

If you need more reasons why I loved this series, I’ve left a few below:

• The writing—duh! Fantastic, believable, well-written prose laced within an excellent premise that upsets me for the sheer fact that I had not come up with it first.

• Compelling, relatable characters that make you swoon, cry, and grit your teeth.

• Knight’s expert ability to weave and interweave plots within plots to create a constantly enthralling and complex storyline that is guaranteed to keep you turning pages.

• The mythology. Like I said, if you enjoyed Percy Jackson or any of Rick Riordan’s prose, you would likely enjoy this series simply for the employment of many different kinds of mythologies. The mythos used in Karsten Knight’s Wildefire is well-researched and expertly infused within believable character development. It doesn’t seem forced at all and where creative license is used, it is minimal and justified.

• While it’s a paranormal YA fiction, set (initially) against the backdrop of a boarding school, Knight’s take on centuries’ old mythology and paranormal romance is new, interesting, and refreshing.

And that’s it for my spoiler-free review of Karsten Knight’s Wildefire trilogy. It honestly means the world to me. If you enjoyed this post, please consider signing up for my newsletter below! Tweet me or comment below if you decide to read this book and let me know what you thought of it!

Bibliography

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight in a gold wire basket.” September 25, 2020 (Thumbnail Photo). 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the paperback copy of Wildfire by Karsten Knight in a gold wire basket.” September 25, 2020. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight laid out flat on a white bookshelf.” September 25, 2020. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight stacked atop a white bookshelf.” September 25, 2020. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight leaning in a gold wire basket atop a white bookshelf.” September 25, 2020. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight shelved with other YA books on a white bookshelf.” September 25, 2020. 

• Knight, Karsten. Wildefire. Goodreads. Accessed September 25, 2020.

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This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1,, 2025

3 Bookish Things Tag

A photo of a stack of my favorite romantic thrillers including The Hush, Hush Saga, Black Ice, and Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick. Photo by Payton Hayes.

 This blog post was written by a human.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

Welcome back to my blog—and if you’re new, thanks for stopping by! This week I’m doing the 3 Bookish Things Tag!I didn’t come up with this idea and in fact, found it first on Instagram and then saw it on another bookish blog! It’s the perfect tag for those of use who love the perfect aesthetic of things that come in threes! (Or for those of us who can’t count very high, whichever applies, maybe both.) I’ve got books to read and review, manuscripts to edit, and stories to tell which means three items per category is perfect for me—the editorial do-it-all person that I am. Call me an editorial renaissance woman or jack of all (written word) trades, but all I’m getting at is that I’ve only got a little time to accomplish everything and if you’re the same way, then this tag is awesome for both of us! Let’s get on to the tag, already! Of course, I have some honorable mentions in this list because I just can’t pick favorites, apparently. What can I say? I love them all.

3 Favorite Authors

• Richard A. Knaak. Of course, I adore everything he’s done in the World of Warcraft narrative universe —the game has such a special place in my heart and his incredible, fantasy writing does as well.

• J.R.R. Tolkien. I don’t have to read a series more than once to know it will be a favorite. I’ve treasured the Peter Jackson films since I was a little girl and I always knew when I finally sat down and read the novels, I would love them just as much, if not more. 2019 was my first year reading the Lord of The Rings Trilogy and while I am still working on it (yes, in 2020) it already is a favorite of mine and will be for years to come.

• Becca Fitzpatrick. I love every. single. book. she writes—especially The Hush, Hush Saga, with standalone novels Black Ice and Dangerous Lies making for very close second and third choices. I just wish she’d write more because I absolutely adore her paranormal romantic thrillers!

A photo of my childhood hardcover copies of the The Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Honorable mention: James Patterson. I knew this one would be swapped out for another author eventually, but before I discovered Fitzpatrick, Patterson was my all-time favorite author, with Maximum Ride being my all-time favorite series. I’d read it several times, and while I do still enjoy the series, I don’t again see it being a forever favorite.

A photo of Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings with a receipt used instead of a bookmark. Photo by Payton Hayes.

3 Weirdest Things You’ve Used As a Bookmark

• Okay, seriously? An empty KitKat wrapper. Or was it a Hershey’s? I don’t remember. All I know is that the book still smells of chocolate, even though I got zero candy in the pages.

• A faux tortoise shell bracelet. Okay, maybe this isn’t an uncommon household item, and well, neither is chocolate, but it’s still a pretty strange bookmark, if you ask me. It was just laying on my desk, and when I needed a bookmark, it seemed a likely contender. Of course, that was until I put the book back and lost the bracelet until I reopened the book and it fell out. Oops!

• Receipts. Yes I, like every other stylish, bookish girl out there, go shopping on occasion and I may have a few receipts laying around at any given time. So, I just used one of those! It was likely a Taco Bell receipt though, let’s be real.

You think bookworms use actual bookmarks? Haha, you’re joking. Right? I don’t even remember the last time I used a proper bookmark. I know this all sounds unhinged, but readers are unhinged, sometimes, okay?

3 Series Binged

• The Hush, Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick. If you read the first part, then you already know what I am going to say. This is my absolute, indisputable, all-time favorite series and I devour it every. single. year. I love this series and it never gets old.

• The Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson. Although it’s been a few years since I’ve reread the series, every time I do, I burn through all nine books in about two weeks’ time. The books are so action-packed, and the pacing is so good, I can’t not get stuck in them and neglect my adult responsibilities until I’ve finished the novels and have nothing else to do with my life. It’s the obvious reaction.

• The Percy Jackson & Olympians Series by Rick Riordan. I read this series around the same time I’d discovered Maximum Ride (in early high school) and I blew through them so fast, and somewhat out of order, oops! I hardly remember what happened and in what book. It’s about time to reread this series as well because everything is a sort of Percy-shaped blur.

3 Characters You Love

• Patch Cipriano from The Hush, Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick. Duhhh. Tall, dark, brooding, and handsome? Angsty angel of my dreams? Helloooo. of course, he’s my all-time favorite novel character. Truth be told, I wish he was real.

• Ares Lavrenthea from Mooncallers by Leda C. Muir. I’m sensing a theme going on here, but I don’t even care. Ares is dragon daddy and honestly one of my favorite book characters. He’s such a dynamic fantasy character and when he’s not sipping tea or smoking roseleaf cigarettes, he’s out on an adventure with Luxea and I love both his personality and their relationship. Besides, his backstory is so good. If you haven’t read this book, you must.

• Tom Bombadil from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien. I absolutely adore this guy. He is such an enigma. Tom’s lighthearted, charismatic, and benign demeanor was so fun to read in the series. I love all of his little songs and dances and I just want to spend a day with him because he’s essentially the Bob Ross of Middle Earth. How can you have a bad day when you’ve got someone like that at your side?

A collage of book covers and character art found online. (Left) Patch Cipriano from the cover of The Hush, Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick, (middle) Tom Bombadil by Hildebrant from J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of The Rings Trilogy, and (right) Ares Lavrenthea from The Mooncallers series by Leda C. Muir.

3 Unpopular Bookish Opinions

• The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth. Genuinely did want to like The Divergent Series and can fully see why they’ve been so successful. I just wish it was done better. The first chapter seemed promising, but it sort of went downhill from there and I just couldn’t get into the books.

• Bookish Subscription Boxes. I just don’t understand these. Why would I subscribe to a book box subscription when I can just buy books I know I’ll love. And if this blog post has taught you anything, it’s that I definitely don’t need the subscription for the bookmarks. I wouldn’t use them anyway.

• The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins. I had a hard time figuring out this once, primarily because I didn’t even have these books on my shelf anymore! I donated them to the local library last year, and while I am probably going to get some hate for saying this, I can’t say I miss them. I read the first novel, and it was alright, but I just didn’t think it warranted all the hype. I tried to get into the second book and didn’t. When I caved and watched the movies, I realized I probably wasn’t missing out on much. For the record, I am not really a fan of the dystopia genre anyways.

3 Popular Bookish Opinions

• Hyped books. I love hyped books, just like the rest of us, and I tend to jump on the hype train along with everyone else. Sometimes the books suck, and I’ll be the first to point it out, but most of the time, hyped books are popular for good reason.

• Hardcovers are better. In my Unpopular Bookish Opinions blog post, (linked in the More Like This section toward the end of this blog post) I say I like both hardcovers and paperbacks, but I will concede that the hardbacks are the superior of the two. They’re durable and they stand on their own like strong, intelligent, independent, bookish creatures. The only problem is that they cost more. :/

• Spin-off Series. I actually really love spin-offs. They’re awesome! My favorite spin-off is Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus. Spin-offs are a delicate balancing act between overdoing a story and not doing enough to it, but Heroes of Olympus is an example of one that does this balancing act well. I think The Harry Potter Series has had enough spin-offs though. I can respect authors getting their bag, but I think it’s nearly time this series comes to a close.

3 Favorite Book Covers

I won’t even pretend to behave here. These are all my favorites. It was so hard to even narrow them down to 14.

A collage of fourteen of my favorite book covers. Photo by Payton Hayes. (Individual artwork attributions provided in the Bibliography.)

Do you see what I did there with the color scheme? Just because I don’t follow the tag rules doesn’t mean my graphic can’t still be pretty. Truthfully though, I do love all of these covers. Another truth? I haven’t read most of these—Gasp!

3 Bookish Goals for 2020

Okay, I already have an entire blog post about this, but I think I’ll put my top three here anyways.

• Read 30 books. I truly do want to read 30 books and I think that goal will be easily surpassable this year. I figured out a way to get myself out of reading slumps quickly and I even beat my goal for 2019—23/20 books! I think I am ready to kick it up a notch.

• Join an IRL Book club. I know there’s a psychology book club at my school but this might be the year I charter and star up the official book club there, or at least join a club if I can find one. I’ve always wanted to be part of a book club and be around like-minded individuals where we can just nerd out about books and reading.

• Review more books. If you’ve been around this blog for any period of time, you can tell my book review section on the book blog is severely lacking. In 2020 not only do I want to read more books, but I want to  review them as well. I think thinking critically about novels is important to understanding the bigger picture part of them and not getting completely wrapped up in the little parts of the story.

And those goals bring me to the end of the 3 Bookish Things Tag! I broke some of the rules, but can you really blame me? I think some of these are almost too hard to pair down to three and to those of you who can do it—I both applaud and envy you. I just have too much bookish love to give to all of my wordy babies. (Shhh, it can be a thing—like fur babies. It’ll catch on, right?) Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and I’d also love it if you did this tag to let me know so I can check out your 3 bookish things!

Bibliography

• Alsberg, Sasha, and Lindsay Cummings. Zenith.  (Book cover photo used in Collage 2). Harlequin Teen, 2018. Amazon. Accessed March 6, 2020.

• Ameriie, editor. Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy.  (Book cover photo used in Collage 2). Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2017. Amazon. Accessed March 6, 2020.

• Belleza, Rhoda. Empress of a Thousand Skies.  (Book cover photo used in Collage 2). Razorbill, 2017. Amazon. Accessed March 6, 2020.

• Donne, Alexa. Brightly Burning.  (Book cover photo used in Collage 2). Clarion Books, 2018. Amazon. Accessed March 6, 2020.

• Donne, Alexa. The Stars We Steal.  (Book cover photo used in Collage 2). HarperCollins, 2020. Amazon. Accessed March 6, 2020.

• Dzedyshko, Marta. “Assorted-title Books Collection” (Thumbnail photo). Pexels photo, uploaded by @marta-dzedyshko, on March 27, 2019. Accessed March 6, 2020. 

• Fitzpatrick, Becca. Hush, Hush.(Book cover photo used in Collage 1). Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Amazon. Published on September 22, 2010. Accessed March 6, 2020.

• Goodman, Carol. Blythewood. (Book cover photo used in Collage 2).  Speak, 2014. Amazon. Accessed March 6, 2020. 

• Hall, Linsey. Ancient Magic. (Book cover photo used in Collage 2). Bonnie Doon Press LLC, 2016. Amazon. Accessed March 6, 2020.

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of a stack of my favorite romantic thrillers including The Hush, Hush Saga, Black Ice, and Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick.”

• Hayes, Payton. “A collage of book covers and character art found online.” (Collage 1). March 6, 2020. 

• Hayes, Payton.  "A collage of fourteen of my favorite book covers.” (Collage 2). March 6, 2020. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of my childhood hardcover copies of the The Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson.”

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings with a receipt used instead of a bookmark.” March 6, 2020. 

• Hildebrant. “Bombadil010607a.”  (Character artwork used in Collage 1). Heroes Wiki, Tom Bombadil Page. January 15, 2017. Accessed March 6, 2020.

• Muir, Leda C. “Ares Lavrenthea.” (Character artwork used in Collage 1). Instagram. Uploaded by @theledabunny on April 20, 2018. Accessed March 6, 2020.

• Muir, Leda C. Shadows Burn. (Book cover photo used in Collage 2). Self-published through Amazon KDP, 2018. Amazon. Accessed March 6, 2020.

• Muir, Leda C. Stars Wake. (Book cover photo used in Collage 2). Self-published through Amazon KDP, 2018. Amazon. Accessed March 6, 2020.

• Revis, Beth. Across the Universe. (Book cover photo used in Collage 2). Razorbill, 2011. Amazon. Accessed March 6, 2020.

• Roth, Veronica. Carve the Mark. (Book cover photo used in Collage 2). HarperCollins, 2017. Amazon. Accessed March 6, 2020.

• Thomas, Rhiannon. Long May She Reign. (Book cover photo used in Collage 2). HarperCollins, 2017. Amazon. Accessed March 6, 2020.

• Thomas, Sherry. The Immortal Heights. (Book cover photo used in Collage 2). Clarion Books, 2015. Amazon. Accessed March 6, 2020.

• White, Kiersten. And I Darken.  (Book cover photo used in Collage 2). Ember, 2017. Amazon. Accessed March 6, 2020.

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Before You Go

• Looking for your next read? I've got you covered. See my Reading Guides,  Reading Recommendations and Reading Challenges for ideas about what to read next!

• Oh, and don't forget to Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes. | Originally published on March 6, 2020. | Last Updated: September 5, 2025.

The Top 10 Worst Romance Tropes EVER

Hi readers and other bookish creatures!

This week wraps up our romantic February 2020 and with such a wonderfully romantic month, I’d like to throw a monkey wrench in everything by bringing the romance down just a notch (or two, or three). This week, in Bookish Things, we’re discussing the 10 Worst Romance Tropes EVER! And you better buckle up because this is going to be a spicy take, I can assure you. We’re spending a little time with my reader brain today, so the opinions, sass, and spice are in full force and my kind, communicative, editor brain will have to take a backseat for today. (Also, I’m hoping the pretty heading text will soften the blow for some of these. (Good luck, readers.)

We’re going to cover, in my opinion, the top 10 worst romance tropes but for this rant (and for the sake of saving time,) I am going to avoid the most common tropes such as cringey insta-love, the overdone love-triangle, and alpha-douches because 1) you probably already know all about them since they’re so overplayed, and 2) they’re sort of implied and any reader worth their salt would likely dislike these tropes. (Of course, I am not speaking for EVERY book out there, and there are always exceptions to the rule.) These tropes came up in some of my recent reads from last year and I really wish they hadn’t. I won’t be naming names, but if you know, you know.

Trigger warning: This blog post discusses difficult topics such as sex slaves, abusive relationships, manipulation, graphic virgin sex, rape/non-consensual sex, age gaps, and other dark topics often present in mainstream adult romance. If you are offended by these topics, please understand I am in no way advocating for these topics or their presence in fiction. I am only highlighting their cringe-y nature and giving my own opinion as to why they should be removed from future works. Also, this post contains mature language. Typically, I air on the side of omitting swears from my writing, but since this work is satirical in nature and is not meant to be taken seriously, I figured I would keep the personal touch.

Lust that just needs to calm the F down

Of course, in any adult romance novel, you’re going to find lust, and some scenes can get really steamy, really quickly. However, some writers really just need to take a step back and calm down when it comes to lust in their writing. It’s not always the long, obnoxiously lusty descriptions either—sometimes it’s the little things that really take me out of the story. For instance, if a character has to physically restrain himself from mounting another character, maybe there’s more going on than physical attraction, and it’s definitely not self-control. Or another one is when character emit a sexual response to a non-sexual event, such as various body parts growing hard when one character gets close to another. What the heck is even going on?

Slave fics - Slaves falling in love with their masters. (Really?!)

Yeah, I had to write that line, and you had to read it and now we’re both in this ugly situation together. Hooray for mutual awkwardness.

Believe me when I say I REALLY don’t want to have to explain this. But here we go.

If Stockholm syndrome in fiction is romantic, then nails scraping a chalkboard, the act of licking spiders, and stepping barefoot on broken glass are romantic too. I’m sorry that this is an unpopular opinion, except that I not sorry—like not even a little bit.

I totally understand the appeal for BDSM fiction, but what I really don’t get is the prominence of romance stories where the main character starts the story out as a slave and ends up becoming the love interest of their master. This trop can often be observed in BDSM fiction, but miss the mark —by a landslide, I might add by forgetting one of the biggest elements of  good BDSM love stories, both in real life and in fiction, and that’s that the overall relationship must be built on a foundation of love and trust.

Stories where the slave falls in love with his/her master is just wrong on so many levels and it one of the reasons the BDSM community get such a bad rep. I find it so uncomfortable and pretty gross, honestly, when a character is treated as property and then falls in love with the character that treats them as said property. I seriously don’t think that’s the most obvious course of action in any given slave story.

Next time you find yourself reading or writing a story with this trope, ask yourself, “Should I be contributing to the complete inaccurate depiction of an entire community by writing/reading this?” If the answer is no (and it is) then just don’t do it.

Condescending pet names

I just love pet names—between family, friends, and especially romantic partners. One of my all time favorites (you guessed it) is when Patch calls Nora Angel in Becca Fitzpatrick’s Hush, Hush Saga. It’s a name that has layers of meaning and initially incites annoyance in Nora before they’re an actual couple.

However, I just cannot stand it when the love interests gives the main character an annoying pet name, just to be a douche. (notice that I spelled out “cannot” and that’s how you know these are genuine, spicy emotions  I’m feeling, here.) Even though Patch calls Nora Angel, the name isn’t particularly, annoying or offensive to her or the reader and she eventually grows to love the name. I know writers tend to taunt readers with this trope because it instills intimidation and an unbalanced power dynamic in their MC’s romantic relationships, but it comes off as annoying, condescending, and downright rude. Well-adjusted people just don’t go around giving pet names to strangers just to piss them off.

Omitting the first kiss altogether

I really don’t understand why some writers chose to omit the first kiss from their romances when it’s a really important moment to any relationship, real or fictional. Whether or not I have to trudge through two whole books to get to the first kiss between the love interest and the MC, I want that kiss. I don’t care if you include 1, 10, or 100 kisses throughout the course of your novel, but you better include the first kiss, because if you don’t, I will find you, and it won’t be pretty. (Unlike your lovely romance novel that HAS the first kiss scene present.) 😊

Bloody, painful, virgin sex

Newsflash, uneducated, male writers, that’s not how female genitalia works. Just sayin’. Anyone with a vagina will tell you this trope is old, overplayed, and absolutely inaccurate. I’ll spare you the inaccurate, gory details, but when you’re writing virgin sex, remember that it doesn’t need to be a horror show. A hymen is not a sheet of flesh that needs to be broken through, like a damn fortress wall, so can we all agree to stop writing it that way. Let’s all just get a better understanding of basic human anatomy, shall we? What’s more is if the MC’s love interest has any human decency and regard for their partner’s pleasure, bloody, painful virgin sex should be negligible. It’s not romantic, it’s not accurate, and it’s not fun for either party involved, so just leave it out.

The naïve girl (stupid girl)

Just imagine me scrubbing my hands down my face as I write this one, because I am.

The trope that seems to be present in every single badly-written romance I’ve ever read is the one that takes place between a heterosexual paring of a man (that typically fits at least three of the tropes on this list) along with a woman who somehow is always described as Naïve. For whatever reason, many writers like to use the word, “Naïve” to excuse or explain away idiotic decision making in order to drive the plot forward. (Of course, they have to find something to move the plot forward and that’s obviously where the alpha douche comes in to save our MC from the shit-show she’s gotten herself into. God forbid, a woman thinks for herself.)

Why do we keep calling characters like this, Naïve? The word Naïve refers to someone who lacks experience or wisdom and is not synonymous with being a fucking idiot. It’s absolutely possible to write a romance story with a woman who has at least half a brain. Additionally, we’ve been using the word Naïve for so long, we’ve forgotten the proper context of it and truthfully, at this point it seems like it would be a refreshing take on the whole trope if writers were to start using correctly.

The word, my reader friends, is STUPID. She is stupid. If she has screwed up her life so badly and requires the aid of a bumbling brute of a man to save her from her own actions, she is stupid. I’m not sorry, I don’t take it back, and I don’t care what you have to say in response, it’s just stupid.*Mic drop* 🎤

Okay, I’m picking the mic back up, because this list isn’t over. Oh no, far from it, in fact. Oof. Let’s just keep it moving, shall we?

Please go get help if you do this one

Piggybacking on the trope of slave fics (*shudders*) so many writers like to include sexy assaults in their writing. I am only going to say this once, so please listen up:

blurring the line of consent IS NOT OKAY AND NEVER SHOULD IT BE CONSIDERED SEXY.

Like ever. Some people think it’s okay, and I seriously worry for them. All the time in romance, I see sayings like “He’s the kind of guy who takes what he wants” or “He doesn’t take no for an answer.” You know what? These sayings sound exactly like the kind of thing a rapist would say.

I’ve heard that some writers excuse themselves for writing characters like this, by saying that they feel ashamed of their desires and by funneling them into their characters, they rid themselves of the shame and fault. However, this type of writing only further perpetuates toxic stereotypes and extends the cycle of shame for future generations. Let’s put it out of our misery already, okay?

Also, (and I am going to blow some of y’all’s minds right now by saying this) what if I told you it is in fact, possible to write a steamy, believable romance scene with an assertive partner, without them being a predator. Huh? Huh? I know it sounds tricky—that’s because it is. But any good writing is tricky and what any good writer will tell you is that cutting corners is not the way to go. If you want your writing to be good, don’t write shitty love scenes between a helpless protagonist and a predator. Just take the time to do it right. And if you’re a proponent of this trope, please just do us all a favor and see therapy instead.

Redeeming the abuser

Proponents: “Okay, look, I know he raped/ abused/ assaulted /manipulated her, but trust me it all works out in the end and he really makes up for it.”

Me and literally everyone else: “What the hell?”

I don’t understand people like this. I mean, you do hear what you’re saying, right? Like, the words coming out of your mouth aren’t an accident. I know when it comes to fiction, we’re allowed to give way to fantasy, but I genuinely want to know who is fantasizing about this. (On second thought, keep them far, far away. Thanks.)

Of course, I am all for abusers bettering themselves and becoming good people, but can they please get the help they need, away from their victims? Calling back to the previous item on this list, therapy works wonders and I totally support you, but please just work on yourself in a different city, zip code, and especially a different book than your victim.

I’m just really tired of this cliché and it makes my stomach turn when I continue to see it in 2020. The reason this, and most of the other tropes on this list are just awful and should be done away with is because they are sending really unhealthy messages to impressionable, young readers.

Age gaps in supernatural romances

I totally get having age gaps in romance—heck, it’s a part of real-life romances as well. YouTubers Jenna Marbles and Julien Solomita are like seven years apart. My own mother and father have like six years between them. And some age gaps (although a bit unwieldy) can span 10-20 years, as long as everyone is of age, then it’s all above board.

 But what I don’t get and really don’t like are the age gaps that tend to happen in supernatural romances, where the love interest is hundreds of thousands of years older than the main character. Twilight much? I mean, I just don’t understand what an eighteen-year-old girl would have in common with a 60-thousand-year-old dude. Like, let him go, hon, you’re young, vibrant, and fresh, and he’s ancient.

I’m 23 and even I look at eighteen-year-olds like they’re babies. Eww. How does some old and crusty ancient dude look at a barely legal woman and think, “she gets me”? I think you mean, she get’s you hard. Besides, what would she want with the old dude anyways? What could the two possibly have in common together? Oh? None of that matters because he’s somehow super hot and super rich and common ground and personality have no meaning anyways? Well, why didn’t you say so? All good! 👍

No idea who the love interest actually is

Lightening things up for the end, here I’d like to talk about another bad romance trope and that’s when I have no clue who the love interest even is. If I am a hundred pages in and I don’t even know who the MC’s love interest is, and it’s a romance novel, we’re going to have some issues. Even harem romances give us some idea of who the MC’s got their eyes on. I just can’t get on board with a character who has been in love with this guy, and then has sudden, compelling sexual attraction to the next guy, and then realizes this girl is flirting with her, and then this other guy out of the blue, ends up proposing to her. Like, what???

Basically, what happens here is too many potential love interests are introduced and the lines become blurred. It’s okay to have love triangles (that’s a rant for another day so for now, let’s assume the love triangles are well-written) but we have to (going with the metaphor) clearly see the sides of the triangle. I want to be able to clearly and easily understand who is in love with who and what is happening, even when the characters don’t.

Additionally, if I don’t care who the love interest is, then you might as well just give up on writing romance. Readers care about ships because they pick up on chemistry between the characters, but if they’re not vibing then it means your characters are boring and one-dimensional, and not romantic (which if you asked me, sort of defeats the purpose!) 

How are writers supposed to write chemistry, we all failed that class, yeah? Please believe me when I say good chemistry can be done, and I don’t mean the science-y kind (although that’s is pretty fun too!) It takes time to hone your writing skill and gain enough experience to effectively write compelling romance. Your first book will never be your best, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn and grow throughout the writing process. All snark aside, I truly do think good writing is possible, and it can and should be done without these awful romance tropes.

Whew! *wipes forehead* Somehow, we made it through that list. Of course, this is all meant to poke fun at some of the cringiest romance tropes in all of fiction. (And highlight problematic ones too, obvi) and I mean no harm to anyone reading this. This is all meant to be light-hearted and funny and in jest. For most of these, if you do them, I don’t think you’re a bad person—just a bad writer! 😉 (Just kidding, calm down. Jeez.)

But all of these cringy romance tropes are the worst and are definitely overplayed. I think we should start ridding our writing of them in order to exterminate them forever. Trust me, we have enough to last us a lifetime (or two).

What did you think of this list? Do you agree with any of the items? What do you think is the absolute worst romance trope ever? Do you like any of these tropes—be careful admitting this because I’ll come for you in the comments! (Again kidding, maybe.) Let me know down below and as always, thanks for reading.

Further reading:

• How To Write The Perfect Meet Cute

• How To Write Best Friends to Lovers Romance - That Feels Realistic

• The Top 10 Worst Romance Tropes EVER

• 5 Supernatural Romance Reads for February 2020

• 5 Contemporary Romances Everyone Should Read

• Classic Romance Reading Challenge for February 2020

—Payton

5 Supernatural Romance Reads for February

Hiya reader friends!

This week in bookish things, I am discussing my top five supernatural romance reads! If you’re tackling the Classic Romance Reading Challenge, then you might have to start this list after February has ended, but it’s definitely worth checking out!

Hush, Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hush, Hush is a page-turner of a romantic thriller filled with fallen angels, Nephilim, and humans who are caught in the balance of forbidden love and the consequences angels face for falling for those humans. It’s fast-passed, action-packed, and well-balanced. Throw in compelling characters, villains you love to hate, and unfair universal rules, and you’ve got all of the elements of an amazing supernatural romance. It’s so perfect, I reread it ever single fall, and usually within a span of four days—one day for each book!

Nora finds forbidden love with her fallen angel, in the first installment of the New York Times bestselling Hush, Hush Saga.

Nora Grey is responsible and smart and not inclined to be reckless. Her first mistake was falling for Patch.

Patch has made countless mistakes and has a past that could be called anything but harmless. The best thing he ever did was fall for Nora. .

After getting paired together in biology, all Nora wants to do is stay away from Patch, but he always seems to be two steps ahead of her. She can feel his eyes on her even when he is nowhere around. She feels him nearby even when she is alone in her bedroom. And when her attraction can be denied no longer, she learns the secret about who Patch is and what led him to her, as well as the dark path he is about to lead her down. Despite all the questions she has about his past, in the end, there may be only one question they can ask each other: How far are you willing to fall?.

The Hush, Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick.

The Immortal Series by Gillian Shields

This was one of the very first books I’d ever read, and my first supernatural romance at that! The story revolves around Evie who is shipped off to Wyldcliffe Abbey School after her grandmother dies. She makes friends with some of the other girls and enemies with others. One her first day of school, her taxi driver only takes her so close to the school and she must make the rest of the way on foot. On her way, she runs into a spectral horserider who is surprised she can even see him in the first place. He realizes she looks strikingly familiar and the familiarity draws him closer to her. I’ve always loved these books, not only because it got me into supernatural romance, but because of the enchanting story kept between their pages.

Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, housed in a Gothic mansion on the bleak northern moors, is elite, expensive, and unwelcoming. When Evie Johnson is torn away from her home by the sea to become the newest scholarship student, she is more isolated than she could have dreamed. Strict teachers, snobbish students, and the oppressive atmosphere of Wyldcliffe leave Evie drowning in loneliness.

Evie's only lifeline is Sebastian, a rebellious, mocking, dangerously attractive young man she meets by chance. As Evie's feelings for Sebastian grow with each secret meeting, she starts to fear that he is hiding something about his past. And she is haunted by glimpses of a strange, ghostly girl—a girl who is so eerily like Evie, she could be a sister. Evie is slowly drawn into a tangled web of past and present that she cannot control. And as the extraordinary, elemental forces of Wyldcliffe rise up like the mighty sea, Evie is faced with an astounding truth about Sebastian, and her own incredible fate.

Gillian Shields's electrifying tale will dazzle readers with suspense, mysticism, and romance.

The Immortals series by Gillian Sheilds.

Angel Trilogy by L.A. Weatherly

This series hooked me from the moment I’d read the synopsis—I mean hello!—angels gone rogue!—what’s not to love? (Especially for a Hush, Hush fan girl) The story throws you right into the action from the first page to the last and the action rarely stops. The story is definitely a page-turner and an action-packed romantic thriller.

When Alex finds himself falling in love with his sworn enemy, a half-angel with links to dark and dangerous forces, he discovers that nothing is as it seems, least of all good and evil. In the first book in a red-hot paranormal romantic trilogy, L. A. Weatherly sends readers on a thrill-ride of a road trip — and depicts the human race at the brink of a future as catastrophic as it is deceptively beautiful.

The Angel Trilogy by L.A. Weatherly.

House of Night by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Take Oklahoma, Vampyres, highschool students, and forbidden romance, throw them all in a pot and stir them up and your get the House of Night series. Though I am only four books into the series, I can tell you know its fast-paced, action-packed, and filled to the brim with drama—both good and bad. As a fantasy enthusiast and Mythology buff, it was really refreshing to see the goddess Nyx done differently. In this story, she’s very much an active part of new, fledgling vampire, Zoey’s life and I love what P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast have done their twist on elements, mythology, and vampyres.

Enter the dark, magical world of the House of Night, a world very much like our own, except here vampyres have always existed.

One minute, 16-year-old Zoey Redbird is a normal teenager dealing with everyday high school stress: her cute boyfriend, Heath, the school's star quarterback who suddenly seems more interested in partying than playing ball; her nosy frenemy, Kayla, who's way too concerned with how things are going with Heath; her uber-tough geometry test tomorrow.

The next, she's Marked as a fledgling vampyre, forcing her to leave her ordinary life behind and join the House of Night, a boarding school where she will train to become an adult vampyre.

That is, if she makes it through the Change - and not all of those who are Marked do. It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx.

Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint with Heath, who just doesn't know how to take no for an answer.

To add to her stress, she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers: When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny - with a little help from her new vampyre friends.

The House of Night Series by Kristin and P.C. Cast.

The Darkest Powers Trilogy

One of the most gripping and thrilling supernatural reads from start to finish, The Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong, centers around Chloe Saunders a 15-year old girl who’s life is about to change forever, from the first page of the novel. She likes the idea of being ordinary, only her life is far from it—she get shipped off to the Lyle group home after the label “schizophrenic” becomes synonymous with her own name and some unfortunate incidents. It’s up to her to unearth dark secrets and put together a past that will have readers running for the hills in terror.

"My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.

"All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost - and the ghost saw me.

"Now there are ghosts everywhere, and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a 'special home' for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on?

"It's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House...before its skeletons come back to haunt me."

The Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong.

And that’s it for my top 5 Supernatural Romance Reads for February 2020! Have you ever read these stories? What do you think of this list? What is your favorite story mentioned here? Let me know your thoughts in the comments and as always, thanks for reading!

Further Reading:

• Classic Romance Reading Challenge for February 2020

• 5 Contemporary Romances Everyone Should Read

Thumbnail photo by Jess Bailey.

—Payton

How To Write Romance: 10 Heart-Warming and Heart-Wrenching Scenes For Your Romantic Thriller

Hi writerly friends!

Welcome back! This week, we’re talking about five heart-warming and 5 heart-wrenching scenes to write into your romance novel! I can’t remember where I first heard of writing different/alternate scenes to get you unstuck from a difficult scene, but I figured I’d put my own spin on it! You don’t actually have to include these in your story but they’re excellent writing prompts to set within the realm of your own story and it makes a great writing exercise if you’re stuck in the middle of a scene.

Lock them up ❤️😂

While this sounds more like a heart-wrenching scene, I have seen some pretty funny scenes come out of characters being locked in a room with one another. Consider what dialogue you could use here and how this memory will help build their character prior to the story.

Kill someone 💔

I don’t mean literally! But kill your characters to see how their leaving the story changes the outcome. Consider how the other characters would react if the main character died. How would the story go from there? How would it ever get told?

Photo by Rodolfo Clix.

I wouldn’t exactly do this if the story its told in first person and in the POV of the character you chose to kill, but consider how the story would be different if he remaining characters had to carry the story to completion after the death of your MC.

What could go wrong? ❤️😂

As yourself this question when writing a scene you’re stuck in the middle of and then write exactly what can go wrong. I did this in one of my short stories and it worked wonders. This is especially great for best-friends-to-lovers stories where comical situations only bring the friendship even closer.

Their pet escaped 💔

This can go either really well or really badly depending on how you write it. Pretend as if of your characters pet has escaped and they enlist the help of their best friend of love interest to rescue it. This can come out very Cheetah Girls, or dog runs away for good. The point of this is to put your characters in an emotionally demanding situation to see how they’ll react under pressure.

It’s their wedding day ❤️

If you know two of your characters will end up together, write out their wedding day down to all of the nitty gritty details like dress sizes, color palettes, types of flowers, menu and everything in between. Vividly write it out and include the character’s stress of trying to have a perfect wedding day along with the immense joy of getting married to their soulmate.

Kidnapped or runaway? 💔

Write an entire chapter where your main character gets kidnapped and its up to their friends, family, or love interest to find and rescue them. This can be an especially heart-wrenching scene if the kidnapper gives them a ransom or time limit. This can be an especially heart-warming scene if the character in question isn’t in fact kidnappe, but rather they run away and their love interest is the only one who can convince them to come back. If the love interest runs away with them to make sure they’re safe, it will be extra sweet!

They’ve been drugged ❤️😂

Again, this sounds like a heart-wrenching scene, but I promise, it’s not. Remember the part of Stranger things when Steve and Robin were drugged by the Russians and they were so loopy and useless to their friends? Write your characters into the exact same situation and see what kind of hilarious dialogue comes out of it and how they get to know each other better. One rule though, don’t re-watch Stranger Things until after you’ve done this so that you won’t accidentally plagiarize! Not cool!

They’ve been framed 💔

Write an entire scene where your main character just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and they were framed for a terrible crime in their hometown. Write everything from their emotions and thought process to how their friends and family would prove their innocence. If they have any enemies, write how they’d help stack the cards against them. If you want, you can even write them going to jail and document their experience.

Talent show contestants ❤️😂

Write your characters into a good old-fashioned high-school-style talent show. Write out their process for figuring out their talents and deciding what they’ll do for the show, the actual show, and everything afterward. Consider what would happen if they messed up on stage and if their friends or love interest would step in to save them from embarrassment, or if they’d run off stage, sobbing. What would it take your main character to win the talent show?

Dreams and nightmares 💔❤️

While this works for both heart-wrenching and heart-warming categories, write what kind of dreams your characters would have. Write about what their subconscious shows them and describe them in vivid detail. If they have nightmares, write the wild things they see and if they have happy dreams, show us what kind of dreams would make them stay in bed longer.

And that’s it for my five heart-warming and five heart-wrenching scenes to write when your stuck in the middle of a scene. What did you think of these prompts? Do you like writing about other scenes to get yourself unstuck? Are there any other prompts I could have included? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and as always, thanks’ for reading!

—Payton

10 Tips For Planning Your Reading Challenge

Not into New Years resolutions? Think you’d do better with a challenge? Well the good news is there’s something that works for everyone! This list of 10 tips will set you on the right track for you 2020 reading challenge!

Photo by Ann Poan.

Make time for reading

First and foremost, carve out a special time each day to read. Even if it’s for only 30 minutes at first, you will find yourself more interested in reading that you initially thought possible. Us the Pomodoro technique to read in 25-minute intervals, to break the looming task down just a little. The easy part is setting the goal and doing the planning, but the follow-through is where it really counts, and unfortunately that part isn’t quite as easy. Set alarms to go off when you’re supposed to start and stop reading and make sure your reading area is conducive to relaxation and enjoyment.

Pro tip: Don’t forget Audiobooks! They totally count as reading and are a multitasker’s best friend! You can listen to audiobooks at the gym, in the car, or doing little chores around the house, to name a few activities.

Outline your own reading challenge

Reading challenges appear in many different forms: monthly Bookish bingo challenges, pre-made monthly lists, or like the Goodreads challenge, a set number of books you will try to read by the end of the year! Pick an existing challenge to participate in and figure out which books you want to read in 2020. Make them their own little list or shelf and be sure to leave room for extra books that you might need to get you out of reading slumps.

Pro tip: I always read romantic thrillers or horror novels to get me out of reading slumps! Usually it’s fantasy that puts me in a slump (even though I love the genre to death). Figure out what your go-to genre is and line up an reading slump emergency kit!

Get creative with your goals

Just because Goodreads has the yearly reading challenge and helps you keep track of the amount of books you read, doesn’t mean your goals have to strictly be a number. Consider what other goals would be helpful for your growth as a reader or writer. For example, one of my goals this year is to write a review for every book (or series) I read. I want to get into doing book reviews regularly and this is an excellent way for me to build the habit while challenging myself in a new, fun way. Another couple of examples is to only buy a new book when you’ve read one you currently own, join and IRL book club, or to get into reading audiobooks by reading one each month!

Organize your TBR

I’m sure we all have or have had that one shelf where we stash all genres and topics of books that we may or may not have the intention of reading. Whether you’ve got an actual bookshelf or your Goodreads virtual bookshelf, your amazon wishlist, or a handwritten list of books, keeping your TBR organized is key to accomplishing your reading goals in 2020.

Join a read-a-thon in 2020!

Read-a-thons are reading challenges that happen year-round and are hosted by book bloggers, booktubers, bookstagrammers, and bookish brands such as Owl Crate and Book Box! Joining the bookish fun is a great way to get involved, stay motivated, and make new friends along the way!

Photo by Content Pixie.

Prep your shelves

If you are in fact hoping to reach your goal of reading a certain number of book in 2020, you’re going to need to not only plan out your reading list, but also your shelves. See if you can find a reading challenge you’d like to participate in and pair the books on your shelf to the prompts in the challenge. You’ll get a good idea of your reading challenge this way and if you’re having trouble matching books to the challenge, it might be a good sign it’s time to pick a different challenge.

Track your progress effectively

Find a tracking method that works for you. I find the Goodreads reading challenge to be a great motivator and a great way to keep track of the books I’ve read. Plus, it gives you all sorts of statistics at the end of the year , like what books you read, longest to shortest in page count, most and least popular from your books, and it even keeps track of your reviews! However, you don’t have to use Goodreads. You can take the old-fashioned route and design a pretty progress tracker for 2020 that will inspire you to complete it!

Pro tip: Pintrest is a fantastic resource for finding any kind of habit tracker out there! Just type in “reading tracker” or “book tracker” in the search bar and you’ll be met with a plethora of fun designs you can use to track your own reading progress!

I always look forward to this goal all year long and it continues to motivate me each year, even when I find myself in reading slumps or lacking motivation.

Connect with the bookish community

Reading brings people together! Get involved in the bookish community online and in real life to build strong connections with like-minded people and keep yourself motivated throughout the year and the reading challenge. Having a bookish BFF is an awesome way to keep yourself reading all year long! There are all kinds of fun, bookish things you can do in real life as well. You can start a book club together, buddy-read, host silent reading parties, or trade book recommendations!

Pro tip: Bookstagram and reading groups on Facebook are both great ways to get engaged with the online reading community! See if your local library or community college has a book club you can join or start!

Set up a rewards system that works

If you read my guide on how to cure writer’s block for good, then you might know what I am about to say. Don’t neglect your other goals (saving money, losing weight, quitting smoking etc) by rewarding your good bookish behavior with toxic behavior. Set up a sustainable rewards system that doesn’t interfere with your other goals.

For instance, I am trying to cut out sugar AND stop impulse spending. So, what kind of reward can I set for myself? Weekly watch time for my favorite shows, nights out with friends, and every time I hit a major milestone for my reading challenge, I’ll allow myself to get ONE new book. This doesn’t interfere with my goals of consuming less sugar or saving money because my smaller rewards such as the nights out or TV time, effectively get me to my bigger milestones and better rewards.

By setting up a tiered rewards system, you keep steadily increasing motivation to finish out your goals and reach those rewards, all year long!

Pro tip: If you chose to track your progress with Goodreads, they show you all sorts of fun statistics at the end of the year! This on it’s own is pretty exciting for me!

Check in an evaluate your reading challenge

Keep your reading challenge flexible and open to change if needed. Set monthly reminders or as often as you need them, to check-in and reevaluate your reading challenge. Don’t be afraid to raise or lower your book count goal accordingly, if you realize the current one just isn’t a good fit. Sometimes I just don’t meet my goal and instead of feeling sad about it, I just scale it down to something more pragmatic. Sometimes I easily surpass the goal, and likewise, I have to scale it accordingly. Remember the main goal of the challenge is to have fun so don’t get hung up on goals and deadlines, and just enjoy reading.

If you made it this far, I have an awesome freebie for you in the Further Reading section of this blog post! Sometimes reading slumps are inevitable, but you can pull yourself out of your next reading slump with these surefire tips!

What are your reading goals for 2020? Did you make your Bookish New Year’s resolutions yet? Comment below and let me know what you thought of this list and if there’s anything you’d add to it!

Bibliography

Further Reading

• Reading Slump Emergency Kit: 15 Surefire Ways To Break Out of a Reading Slump!

More Like This

• How to Read More Books

• How I Read A Book: My Book Reading Routine

• How I Got Started Reading When I Hated It

• See all Reading Guides.

Related Topics

• Self Care Tips for Bookworms

• Immersion Reading: Audiobooks & Ambiance

• Get Immersed in Your Reading: Writing With All Five Senses

• Active Reading Vs. Passive Reading: Using Psychology-Based Critical Reading Skills To Increase Information Absorption & Retention

• Check out more of my Bookish Things and Bookworm Life blog posts!

Before You Go

• Looking for your next read? I've got you covered. See my Reading Recommendations and Reading Challenges for ideas about what to read next!

• Oh, and don't forget to Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 4, 2025

Book Wrap-Up: All The Books I Read In 2019

 This blog post was written by a human.

2019 was the first year I participated in the Goodreads reading challenge, and I met my goal by reading 23 books (My goal was 20 books this year)! Below are the books I read with a few of my thoughts on each one. Comment below what you read this year and click the link at the bottom of this post to add me on Goodreads!

The Night Circus by Eric Morgenstern

I found myself craving caramel corn the entire time I was reading this book, and I don’t even like caramel! I loved reading this story because it was so enchanting and played on the childlike wonder of the reader. There is something so dreamlike and marvelous about this story that goes far beyond magic and romance; it’s so much more than that. I love the use of the theme of breaking the cycle and moving on from family history in such a new and refreshing way. I highly recommend this read to anyone who likes to feel magically transported into a fantastic and magical romance.

The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins

I read this story because Amy Landino references it all the time and now, I understand why. Mel Robbins’s breakthrough in rewiring the human decision-making process is incredibly effective and has even helped me eliminate doubt and procrastination. The 5-Second Rule is brilliant, and the book is even more so. I enjoyed reading this novel because Mel is just so sociable and personal and connects with the reader on another level as she explains her thought process and how the rule helped her put her life back together.

Ghosted by Rosie Walsh

This story was so painfully thrilling, from the very first page to the last you’re wrapped up tight in a story of passionate love, unexplained disappearances, dark pasts and even more. It’s wild start to finish and is really telling of modern society and how it feels to be ghosted, excusable or otherwise. I really enjoyed this read and couldn’t put it down. The characters were easy to connect to and it genuinely hurt to understand why some things happened the way they did. The only thing I could think was: Oh yeah, I get it. 

Will it Fly? by Pat Flynn

Because I apparently couldn’t get enough entrepreneurial inspiration and self-motivation from the second and third books I read this year, I turned to Pat Flynn’s novel, Will It Fly, and was not disappointed. The story uses the comparison of paper planes to stat-up success and the metaphor continues throughout the story. This is a great read for anyone who needs to remember their Why.

Girl sitting with a cup of coffee, eyeglasses, notebook, and Brother by Ania Ahlborn on the floor. Photo created by Mockup Generator.

Brother by Ania Ahlborn

Absolute chills. Enough said.

Okay, I’ll give my thoughts on this read, briefly because I have an entire review here. This story is insane, and that’s the only way to describe it, really. The dark themes, harrowing events, and deeply saddening realizations are horrifying and enthralling simultaneously. I couldn’t put this book down and sped-read it through the span of two days and it left me gaping in awe for a third day, afterwards. This story is not for the faint of heart, but those eager to brave their next horror story—you won’t regret it. But you might have to bleach your brain to get some of the grotesque imagery out.

Seed by Ania Ahlborn

After reading Brother, I knew I had to read more from Ahlborn, but I didn’t think she could blow me away again, and she did. Seed is truly terrifying and absolutely not the kind of reading you do just before bed. Think of the sleep paralysis demon on steroids—yeah…nope! While this story wasn’t quite as thrilling as Brother, it was definitely scary from cover to cover and once again, Ahlborn nailed the twist at the end.

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

This was the first time I’d read any of Martin’s work and I’m definitely hooked. I watched the TV show, Game of Thrones before I read this and I don’t think that was a mistake since this 835-page, high-fantasy beast of a book took me a couple of weeks to get through. I’d recommend watching the show before reading the novels and since they’re still being written, you won’t completely spoil yourself. I read the first book this year, and I’d like to read more of the series in 2020!

A pile of books on a woven bedspread. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick

Because I couldn’t get enough of Fitzpatrick’s writing, I grabbed Dangerous Lies, which did not disappoint. The story reminded me of James Patterson’s Confessions of A Murder Suspect, but it was much better and even more thrilling. I read this book whenever I could and finished it in a few days. Also, I so did not see the twist at the end.

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

After I finished Dangerous Lies, I devoured Black Ice in two days and now, in January, I’m thinking of rereading it again, already! Black Ice a brilliant romantic thriller that truly kept me at the edge of my seat. Page-turner, indeed. It’s a story of unexpected love, survival, humans versus the elements, danger and dark pasts that swirls altogether in one big mess beneath a blizzard, bears and, badgers. This story is full of suspense and perfectly timed tension.

Stormrage by Richard A. Knaak

If you know me, you know I’ve been a player and big fan of the online MMORPG, World of Warcraft and its even greater Blizzard Universe with its extensive lore and backstories. I genuinely do love the characters and stories and Stormrage delivered. I’ve only read a few of the books from the WoW storyline—The War of The Ancients Archive (The Well of Eternity, The Sundering, The Dragon Soul) written by Richard A. Knaak and Before the Storm by Christie Golden. The stories surrounding Malfurion Stormrage, and his brother Illidan, Tyrande Whisperwind, Sylvnnas Windrunner, and the dragons are all my favorites and Stormrage only deepens my love for this massive tale.

Kiss Me Deadly: A Collection of Supernatural Romance Short Stories

I read this collection just for the section from Becca Fitzpatrick that is set just before the Hush, Hush Saga and found some new authors I’d like to read more from, particularly Diana Peterfrund after reading her short story, Errant (Killer Unicorns 0.5). I didn’t complete this novel because I found some of the other short stories a bit lackluster, but Fitzpatrick and Peterfrund delivered thrilling, expertly crafted stories and compelling characters.

Various books and trinkets on a woven bedspread. Photo by Payton Hayes.

 The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

(Fellowship of The Ring, Two Towers, and Return of The King (not yet completed))

I started this series at the beginning of the summer with high hopes that I’d finish it by the end of august and while that held true for the first two novels, I didn’t quite meet that goal, and likely won’t finish it by the end of the year. I blew through the first two novels and then the third one threw me into a reading slump just because of the pacing of the story. Don’t get me wrong, I genuinely do love the Lord of The Rings, but you can’t deny the books are a tough read sometimes. This was my first time reading the series and I’d seen the movies plenty of times beforehand but reading them has been a special experience for me. This is one of, if not my favorite story of all time. I read the books along with the audiobook which only made the reading that much more immersive and special, especially with all of the songs!

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

Imagine a horror at Hogwarts but with creepy, crawling wallpaper. Lock Every Door by Riley Sager is an enchanting, thrilling story about what people will do for money, the sacrifices one will make to keep their job and the consequences for looking too closely at the hotel Montgomery’s dark past. The story is jam-packed, suspenseful, and intense. I couldn’t put the book down and the twist at the end just made me think, whaaaaat?

Blossom In Winter by Melanie Martins

Blossom in Winter is a thrilling story of forbidden love, desire, dark pasts, and the lengths one will go to protect everything that matters most to them. This romantic thriller deals with the incredible satisfaction and happiness that comes with falling in love and the consequences of forbidden relationships. The story is fast-paced, engaging, and heart-wrenching from start to finish. The characters are all so unique and compelling and they really tug at the readers heart. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel -so much so that I devoured the entire 391 pages in less than two days. I honestly cannot wait for the sequel to come out so I can see what happens next to the character and where their choices take them.

Don’t forget to check out my interview with Melanie Martins. It’s linked in the Further Reading section at the end of this blog post.

Sins of the Son

This year I also read a book from one of my clients, Frank Lucianus, Sins of The Son and while I am not really at liberty to discuss the details of the project, I’d like to say that the story was  a brilliant wedding of 1990’s mafia madness, forbidden love, bad blood, and opulence. I couldn’t put the novel down and now I can’t wait to read the next book in his series.

Short Stories From Wattpad

I don’t want to go into too much detail about the books I read on Wattpad since you can read them for yourself, but I wanted to include them because they were pretty long-form and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Below are the short stories I read for 2019.

• Off Script by @ashleymariefiction on Wattpad

• Jake the Panty-Ripper by @KanyeInterruptedMe on Wattpad

• Cruel Temptations by @matemenot on Wattpad

Cruel Temptations isn’t finished yet, so it’s safe to say that I’m still reading that one for a while, but of the three, my favorite was Jake the Panty-Ripper. It’s a steamy tale of two unlikely lovers—one a struggling, hardworking girl—and the other a motorcycle riding, panty-ripping, murderer. It’s thrilling start to finish and multiple parts moved me to tears. This digital short story rivals Hush, Hush for my number one read.

And that’s it for my 2019 Book Wrap-up! What books did you read this year? Have you read any from my list? I’d love to hear about it so, comment below!

Bibliography

• Hayes, Payton. “Various books and trinkets on a woven bedspread.” (Thumbnail photo). December 15, 2019.

• Hayes, Payton. “A pile of books on a woven bedspread.” December 15, 2019.

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the book, Brother by Ania Alhborn laying on a gray carpet next to a girl wearing gray socks.” (Image created with Mockup Generator.) November 27, 2019. 

Further Reading

• Author Interview: Melanie Martins (Author of Blossom In Winter)

• Book Review: Brother By Ania Ahlborn (My Book Of The Year For 2019)

• Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

• Book Review: Ghosted By Rosie Walsh

• Book Review: Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

More Like This

• My Bookish Resolutions (2023)

• Bookish End of The Year Book Survey (2022)

• Book Wrap Up & Rating All The Books I Read This Year (2022)

• 21 Bookish Resolutions for 2021

• Bookish End of the Year Survey (2021)

• See all Bookish Year-End/New Year’s blog posts.

Related Topics

• How to Read More Books

• 10 Tips For Planning Your Reading Challenge (2020)

• How I Read A Book: My Book Reading Routine

• How I Got Started Reading When I Hated It

• Self Care Tips for Bookworms

• Active Reading Vs. Passive Reading: Using Psychology-Based Critical Reading Skills To Increase Information Absorption & Retention

• Reading Slump Emergency Kit: 15 Surefire Ways To Break Out of a Reading Slump!

• Check out my other Book Reviews!

Recent Blog Posts

Before You Go

• Looking for your next read? I've got you covered. See my Reading Recommendations and Reading Challenges for ideas about what to read next!

• Oh, and don't forget to Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 5, 2025

Disability and Spectrum Representation in Books

Girl standing next to a person in a wheelchair. Photo by Josh Appel.

This blog post was written by a human.

Hello readers and writerly friends!

If you’re a returning reader, welcome back and if you’re new to the blog, thanks for stopping by! In this blog post we’re taking a peek into the world of representation in the publishing industry. One incredibly world-changing element of reading is the ability for readers to connect with and imagine themselves in the shoes of the main character. Readers absolutely must make these crucial connections to the main characters to find a deeper immersion and foster a more enriched reading experience.

Unfortunately, not everyone can make these connections so easily. Accurate and respectful representation of both physical and mental disabilities in books is not nearly as prominent as it should be. In fact, that’s an understatement. The majority of books out there, are usually set in the viewpoint of a non-disabled individual, so, readers with disabilities may not find these characters easy to build a bond with. This should be concerning for everyone, because not only do accurate and respectful portrayals of disabled people help educate and inform the readers, it also helps to teach them about compassion.

We begin teaching kindness and sharing at a very, very young age and nurture those values all the way into adulthood, so, why shouldn’t we also be teaching compassion and understanding, especially for those with disabilities. Inclusive stories provide an incredible sense of joy and providing children with these works is critical in fostering an empathetic, compassionate and understanding new generation.

While inclusiveness is incredibly important, it is likewise important to look beyond the disability and see the person. This way of thinking is often referred to person-first, where people don’t simply identify disabled individuals with their disability. Disabled people are people too, and should be treated with respect and dignity, no matter the situation.

This isn’t all to say that accurate and respectful representation of disabilities don’t exist, but in the vast amount of books that we have, there should be way more representation and way more inclusion. As I mentioned before, inclusion provides a great sense of joy and is vital to the way readers experience a story. It’s imperative that these representations find their way into more books.

Likewise, most of these representations are found in non-fiction or informative books, but those books aren’t for everyone, and don’t provide readers with a main character to connect with. We need to see more fictional stories where disabilities are accurately and respectfully portrayed. A few that come to mind are listed below. Please comment any that you feel should be added to the list.

Books that have successfully and accurately portrayed disabled individuals in a way where readers can connect with the characters:

• Wonder by R.J. Palacio

• Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

• An Oath of Dogs by Wendy N. Wagner

• Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner

• Lupine Road by Cal Matthews

Bibliography

• Appel, Josh (@joshappel). “Woman standing near person in wheelchair near green grass field.” Unsplash photo, October 24, 2017 (Thumbnail photo).

Further Reading

•  Check Out The Disability Themes Books Shelf on Goodreads.com!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1, 2025

Alternative Book Buying: Build Your Home Library With These Affordable Options

Woman standing on a ladder in a vintage bookstore. Photo by Noémi Macavei-Katócz.

This blog post was written by a human.

Hello readers and writerly friends!

If you’re a returning reader, welcome back to the blog! And if you’re new here, thanks for stopping by! In this post, we’re taking a look at a few different ways to acquire books secondhand so you don’t have to pay full price to fill your bookshelves. Libraries are always great. Well, except for when they don't have that one book you've been looking all over for! Someone has had it checked out for weeks, or maybe your library just doesn't have the book anyways. Sometimes you have to pick up the book, yourself, but books can rack up quite a bill if you're a prolific reader.

If you're looking to get great reading material at low cost or maybe you're building your personal library, here's a few places to go book shopping for less:

• Dollar Tree. This one might not seem like much, but depending on the Dollar Tree near you, it could have a wide selection of books. I've found books from best selling authors, and decorative books as well. And for a dollar, these books for certainly worth checking out!

• Half-Priced Books. There's tons of these kind of stores around. The best part is at most of them, you can trade your old books in for a value towards new books!

• Amazon & eBay. Sites like these carry a huge selection of books. They come in both new and used conditions. On Amazon, you can even find books for less than a dollar!

• E-books. These aren't tangible copies of books, no, but they're still readable, nonetheless. Usually e-books are considerably cheaper than their physical counterparts.

• Thrift Stores. This isn't always reliable if you're looking for something specific, but you can bet they'll be cheap. You can find filler books for decoration in your growing library, or find used books you've never heard of before. I once found the entire Warrior Cat series, most of the Harry Potter series, and several Alyson Noel books in one trip to my local thrift store!

• The Library. Sometimes libraries do book giveaways when they’ve have books that sit on the shelf for too long without being check out on occasion. Check with your local library to find out if they do free book giveaways and when their next one is expected! Some of these ideas may seem obvious but are often highly underrated. Not only are these great ways to purchase books for a fraction of the cost, but stores such as half-priced books, libraries and thrift stores are a more sustainable way to collect books. If you know of any other alternative means for collecting books, comment below!

Let me know what your thoughts are on this list! I’d love to know any new tips or tricks that I didn’t mention! Comment below and let’s chat!

Bibliography

• Futalan, Denniz (@denniz-futalan). “Person Holding a Brown Old Book.” Pexels photo, July 16, 2020 (Thumbnail photo).

• Macavei-Katócz, Noémi (@noemimk). “vintage bookstore 2.” Unsplash photo, October 14, 2019. 

Related Topics

• I Visited The Full Circle Bookstore In OKC

• How to Read More Books

• How I Read A Book: My Book Reading Routine

• My Bookish Resolutions (2023)

• Book Wrap Up & Rating All The Books I Read This Year (2022)

• Bookish End of The Year Survey (2022)

• Bookish End of The Year Survey (2021)

• 21 Bookish Resolutions for 2021

• 20 Bookish Resolutions For 2020

• The Do I Have That Book? Challenge

• 3 Bookish Things Tag

• 20 Bookish Facts About Me

• How I Got Started Reading When I Hated It 

• Questions That Readers or Critics Should Ask Themselves 

• 10 Tips For Planning Your Reading Challenge (2020)

• Reading Slump Emergency Kit: 15 Surefire Ways To Break Out of a Reading Slump!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1, 2025