books

i loved books long before i fell in love with photography…

they were my treasured presents. i would get small stacks for my birthday every year and i couldn’t read fast them enough.

i’d spent days upon days laying on the couch, in my bed, wishing to be nowhere but inside the story i held to my face.

my love for reading never went away. it only diminished with the reduced free time that comes from attending college, university while working part-time and trying to have a social life, then working LONG HOURS (7am-9pm~11pm~1am) at a big four public accounting firm, then a public software company.

however, ever since i left that world and lifestyle behind me, i’ve had more free time. Most of which has been spent in the realm of film photography. shooting film, learning about film, developing film, scanning film, creating youtube videos, engaging in the community, writing about film photography, etc.

but this year changed that. i started to spend less time sitting with film photography and the community and more time reading, especially this autumn. i tried to create more balance with my spare time and not only obsessing with one thing.

because as i’ve learned many times over, this leads to burnout.

so what am i reading?

what am i reading? well, currently fantasy and sci-fi are my favorites, especially stories infused with magic, and especially stories featuring a strong female protagonist leading the charge against evil or conquering something. something like this.

in 2024, so far i’ve read 39 books.

my favorite series i’ve read so far this year has been the skyward series by brandon sanderson. now, sanderson is the only male author who writes female characters that i can stomach reading. he’s actually one of the few male authors that i’ve known (and i do need to broaden this experience) to write strong female protagonists in a way i find enjoyable.

blog update

i’m planning to blog more about books here, but also still about film photography. blogging has been a great outlet for me, but i’ve never stuck to one thing, because i’m always heading towards something different, changing left and right, going back and forth, etc.

and i’ve past the stage for now of thinking to make anything of what i put out there on the internet. my life goals have changed significantly this past year and i no longer see myself working so hard for so little on youtube and social media.

now, it’s simply fun again. and whenever i feel like it.

i don’t want to make promises anymore or commit myself to something because my mind is as changeable as the wind sometimes, though oddly on some things it’s as constant and immovable as mountains. i’m done pressuring myself to do things i think i should. i’ve accepted my changeable nature and work with it now rather than trying to mold it into something that it will inevitably want to break free from.

that being said, i’ll sign off for today and see ya soon.

*also, don’t come for my spelling/grammar… ;p

~M