Tag: new year

2020 Has REALLY Been a Year

~ Eve @ Twist in the Taile ~ 2 Comments

OK, so I guess it’s been so long since I’ve been on WordPress that the editor has changed now? When did that happen and also I hate it?

Yeah, so. I didn’t write a single post in 2020. I still have one sitting in my drafts from halfway through the year; the gist is ‘I definitely haven’t had it the worst in this pandemic, and I’m very grateful for that, but also I’m very sad and scared’. Right now I am back to being sad so! I opened WordPress for the first time in ages!

I think it’s fair to say that this blog is now reaching its natural end. I’ve been here for, what, seven years now? I felt myself drifting away these past couple of years and that’s just continued to grow. Blogging isn’t the main way I communicate or make friends online anymore. I don’t really ever feel like writing posts. I’ve even sort of fallen off my blog social media. This might be my last post, or I might come back to write more. I don’t know. We’ll have to see.

I’ve just had a good old cry so probably not a great moment to write a post for public internet consumption but anyway! Whew, 2020 really has been a year. Although some good has come of it – and don’t get me wrong I’m incredibly grateful to have a stable home and to have not lost anyone very close to me to COVID – it has also sucked. It’s probably been my worst year, personally. I’d rather not go completely into it but there’s definitely been some big low points.

Looking back at my goals which I wrote on 31 December 2019 feel so far away – like, technically I completed my A-Levels but I could never have imagined it would have played out like I did. (And, just to be clear: fuck the Tories. They’ve screwed a LOT up. But don’t they always?)

What the heck is going on with the groups in the WordPress editor? I literally don’t care about or want to use groups??? I’m so confused?

Yep. I don’t really know what this post is here for except to say: this year has been kind of rough, as I’m sure it has been for many of you. I’m sending you love. I’m not feeling that hopeful for 2021 at this exact moment but…I guess I can try?

See you around, readers. ❤

2019 Has Been a Year

~ Eve @ Twist in the Taile ~ 9 Comments

The year is nearly over! I haven’t written a year in review post yet and it’s 4:30pm on New Year’s Eve! I’m really living life on the edge here.

This year has been kind of tough, but also exciting. I’ve had some rough mental health patches and I’ve really been feeling the pressure from school. To be honest, I would say the main theme of the last year year has been academic work. A-Levels have been taking up more and more time, and this year I’ve gotten a lot more into academia through thinking about what I want to do with my future. I’m sad that some things have had to suffer for this — like, for example, this blog, let’s not lie — but education is very important to me and I don’t regret it. I just hope that in the future I’ll be able to balance both school and life.

Let’s do a bullet-pointed list for the year, shall we? I henceforth also refer to my 2019 goals.

Looking back at 2019

  • I turned 18!
  • I played D&D!
  • I fulfilled my goal of continuing to do theatre tech — I visited Edinburgh for the first time and worked on a show at the Fringe, as well as helping with my school play.
  • I started driving lessons, although I’m not very good.
  • I voted for the first time.
  • I saw Lauren Aquilina, one of my favourite artists, in concert for the first time.
  • I met some wonderful blogging friends! Shout-out to Em and Elly!
  • I didn’t blog once a month, as I’ve already touched on, but I’m okay with that.
  • I actually have prepared for my future. I’ve submitted by uni application and hopefully I’ll be studying classics this time next year. I’m super excited!!
  • I mean… I’m not sure if I fulfilled my goal of taking care of myself. I’ve tried but also sometimes you just feel not great and there’s no getting around that. I think that next year I should learn how to ask for help sooner rather than literally at the point of crisis.
  • Eh…I didn’t really spend less time on social media, oops.
  • I’ve come out to more people but I’m pretty sure they’ve all forgotten because people just revert to calling me a girl and I never correct them because I hate confrontation, so.
  • I think I did get into some new music this year! Go me!

Looking ahead to 2020

  • I want to complete my A-Levels and get a place at university.
  • I want to play more D&D and board games with my friends.
  • Maybe stop just browsing Youtube all the time, lol.
  • I’d like to keep up my clarinet and actually enjoy it rather than making it a chore.
  • I want to continue eating less meat — I’ve definitely cut down on this (I have done so mainly for environmental reasons) so I’m just keen to keep that going.

Not gonna lie, I probably had some more goals but I am tired and I have a head-ache right now! I guess I can update you later or something. I have also used so many exclamation marks in this post. Happy new year, friends!

 

Monthly Mixtape #10: Beginning

~ Eve @ Twist in the Taile ~ 4 Comments

A cassette tape with the words 'monthly mixtape' in a brush script above and below.

Monthly Mixtape is back! We took a little break from Monthly Mixtape but we are BACK and READY with a rebrand. If this is your first time here, Monthly Mixtape is a music feature created by me, Eve @ Twist in the Taile, and Evi @ Adventuring Through Pages. Here’s how it works: each month, we give you a one-word prompt, and you make a playlist. We welcome you to interpret the prompt however you want and with whatever music you’re into.

This time around we’re going to be trying a new style of prompt! Instead of giving a definition this time we picked a broader theme (because you know, new year and all, I do like a bit of renewal). Please do let us know what you think of it 🙂

Please link back to the original Monthly Mixtape prompt whenever you make a playlist. We welcome you to use the title image for your blog post if you wish. You can create a playlist in response to any of the previous prompts as well if you like. The next Monthly Mixtape will hopefully be up in the first week of February! And this month’s prompt is…

#10: beginning

Add or view playlist links HERE

I had a lot of fun making this playlist! I kind of decided to go for a bit of reflection by picking songs about the past and also songs that I listened to obsessively some time ago. Is it a law that I am drawn to include a Mitski and Ted Leo song for every playlist I make? I guess so. There’s something in there about using the past to make a new beginning… But anyway. I hope you enjoy.

Sunlight streaming out through a tree in the mountains. The word 'beginning' in a script font.

listen on spotify / youtube

this year – the mountain goats
someone new – darwin deez
if i’m being honest – dodie
every time i hear that song – brandi carlile
old friend – mitski
plea from a cat named virtute – the weakerthans
new year’s day – u2
biomusicology – ted leo and the pharmacists

I’m looking forward to listening to more of your wonderful playlists! And if you fancy sharing any music recommendations or what you’ve been listening to lately, I’d love to hear it. (I’m not gonna lie, I’m still obsessed with Thank U, Next; I’m sure it’ll be coming to a Monthly Mixtape soon haha.)

2018: Year in Review

~ Eve @ Twist in the Taile ~ 8 Comments

2018 year in review.jpg

Image description: The text ‘2018 year in review’ over a firework.

We’ve almost made it through 2018! Hurrah! Let’s DO THIS THING. This year feels like it’s been one of the longest years of my life. The other day I genuinely thought that something I did over summer happened in February, so I guess it’s like 2 years have passed instead of 1? Like, what even. Anyway, I’m here with a good old yearly recap post, because I do like to be able to have this as a point of reference and it’s fun to see everything I’ve done over this year. (If I can even remember them.)

Looking back at 2018

  • Firstly, let’s recap my 2018 goals. Doing things with love? I mean, KIND OF. I do think that I’ve spent more time on friendships and on making new friends which is great! And I’ve also met some wonderful internet friends in real life! (This ties in with my other goal about meeting friends.) I’m getting better at looking critically at the things I love but I definitely have a long way to go with that process.
  • Caring for myself… Well, GCSEs sucked a LOT, I have to say. That whole experience and the culture of public examinations is still negatively affecting my mental health now. The first half of the year was really difficult for that reason and I haven’t always been amazing at taking care of myself, but part of that includes letting myself off for that, too? I’ve literally tried to block out all of that because it was just grim, tbh.
  • However, I can say with certainty that I have enjoyed so much amazing art this year! From excellent books to theatre to new TV shows I’ve started… it’s been a great one. A big part of this has been helping out with the sixth form musical at my school, where I worked as the sound operator. I was so proud of that production, and although it was stressful, I had an amazing time and I know that it’ll stay with me forever.
  • I have also for sure experienced new things: I got my first job! I travelled to South America with Guides! I went to prom! I did make it through my first public exams! I started sixth form! I got my nose pierced! I DMed for the first time!
  • I want to expand on starting sixth form because Year 12 has been FULL. ON. I’m studying Maths, Spanish, History & Latin and I’m really glad that I picked those subjects. (Especially Latin because I’m maybe enjoying it the most and it was a last minute switch from Chemistry.)
  • I blogged much less in the second half of this year. My stats are NOT thanking me, lol, but sometimes that’s the way life goes. I do have a whole bunch of post ideas so I REALLY hope I can get some more posts up.
  • One thing that I actually was good at keeping up was my bullet journal. I’m so glad I put in pictures of what I was up to from throughout the year because it was really nice to remind me when I looked through.
  • Also, I took my last ever clarinet exam which was kind of trash but THANK GOD IT’S OVER. Now I just have to spend another 6 months re-learning to love the clarinet after that deeply stressful experience, I guess.

Looking ahead to 2019

  • I’m going to turn 18!! WHAT! I’m just going to make that its own bullet point in itself because I don’t feel like I’m ready to be a legal adult at all.
  • I want to do some preparation for my future: learning to drive, improving at cooking, maybe applying for uni/deciding what I’m going to do keeping on with my job.
  • More blogging! I miss it a lot! I’d like to blog at least once a month.
  • In addition to blogging, I want to continue with theatre tech, because that was really fun and fulfilling this year. In summer I’m going to be helping on a production at the Edinburgh Fringe which I’m super excited about! I hope to make the most of that experience!
  • Again, I want to better take care of myself. Some concrete ways I’m going to do this are making sure I exercise, getting back into meditation, keeping a regular sleeping schedule and allowing myself to sometimes just hand in work that’s good enough, if not perfect.
  • I want to use my time on the internet and my phone in better ways. Spending a lot of time mindlessly scrolling social media has been REALLY bad for my brain. Instead, I want to spend more time interacting with people and building relationships.
  • I would like to come out as non-binary to more people? Maybe? And also to just tell people when they misgender me because people still do that a lot but I feel awkward correcting them (even though it’s not my mistake). Also, to just not read the transphobic articles that cross my path because they do not exactly help.
  • I’d like to listen to more new music, since I love finding new bops and I didn’t get that much opportunity to do so in 2018.

I’ll probably think of something really good after I’ve posted this but, ah well. That’s how it goes. I hope you enjoyed this focus on my personal goals.

how was your 2018? do you have any goals or resolutions for 2019?

2017: Year in Review

~ Eve @ Twist in the Taile ~ 15 Comments

Photo of a hand holding a lit sparkler, with the words '2017 year in review'

It’s that time again when everyone posts their yearly round-ups… That’s right folks, I am here with yet ANOTHER new year themed post! And slightly late! Oh well. 2017 has been a weird one for me. Even Photoshop was being weird whilst I was trying to make this picture, so clearly it agrees.

Looking back at 2017

  • To  begin with, I want to recap my goals from 2016… Firstly, I think I’ve definitely succeeded at doing more LGBTQ+ related things! I can see this concretely in that: I attended my first ever Pride parade, starting going to school LGBTQ+ society, and generally just felt a lot more positive in my queer identity. 2016 was a year of discovering myself, and I feel that 2017 has been me actually kind of living that. I mean, I still have a LOT of stuff going on (especially re: my gender which is CONFUSING) but, yeah. I’m so happy about this.
  • Secondly, I feel that I have made some strides forward in making positive changes in the world. This year the podcasts Witch Please and Secret Feminist Agenda were SUPER important to me; I really do feel that they have given me hope and inspired me to strive to be a better person and ally. I also continued with my Action for Change project on LGBTQ+ history which I enjoyed a lot. 🙂 I still have a long way to go (I mean it’s kind of an eternal process) in being a good ally but I hope that I’ve educated myself more this year.
  • In terms of self-care and mental health, this year has been pretty rocky. To be frank, I’ve experienced some of my biggest lows ever in 2017. I’ve had several breakdowns and even this holiday I’ve been feeling very sad. I’ve tried to take care of myself, but I want to do this even more going forward in 2017.
  • Blogging has also been patchy. Year 11 has been hitting me harder than I’d thought, leading to me taking a hiatus, and I also haven’t been great at commenting. But you know what? That’s okay. Sometimes we don’t achieve our goals, because things change, and it doesn’t make us terrible people.
  • My most popular posts this year were LGBTQ+ History in Schools, Yes, I Love YA, and The Spring Has Sprung book tag. My collab post Les Mis v Hamilton (with Evi @ Adventuring Through Pages) from last year was also pretty popular, which is cool to see. Bonus posts: queer girl media recs and 7 #relatable clarinet things.
  • However! I have consumed some WONDERFUL art this year: I’ve continued to read many great books, got way more into podcasts, also got into comics, and of course kept listening to rad music. I am so grateful for all this art because, honestly…it keeps me going. I need art so much.

Looking forward to 2018

  • I want to do things with love. I don’t want to do some crappy ‘love saves everything’ thing because that’s just wrong, but personally I want to bring more love and care into my life. By this I mean: bringing a sense of love to caring for myself, putting in time and effort in my relationships, criticising things I love because I love them and not in spite of it.
  • Further elaborating on the theme of self care, I want to look after myself better. The next year is going to be hard and I need to practise self care ESPECIALLY when I feel bad to stop me spiralling into terribleness. I’ve designated specific phone-free times because constantly scrolling through social media does not really help me. But at the same time I don’t want self care to be a chore, so. UGH it’s hard!
  • I want to keep enjoying art! I’m super excited to be able to experience new things in 2018 — I’m seeing both Hamilton and the Cursed Child which I am EXTREMELY excited and grateful for. I hope to read some wonderful books — I am currently very excited for Alice Oseman’s book 3, hopefully out in spring — as well as comics, movies, podcasts, music, TV and so on. This also includes making my own art, which has rather been put to the back burner due to school & mental health, but nevertheless I hope to continue with it.
  • I want to make new friends & meet old ones. I hope to be attending YA Shot and YALC in 2018 and I want to meet up with bookish friends! I’d also love to make some new friends, and if possible meet some internet friends in real life because I think that’d be super cool. 🙂
  • This one is rather vague, but I want to experience new things. I have a lot of ~new and exciting~ things coming up in the future, like going to sixth form, big exams, prom, a bunch of people leaving school, my trip to Ecuador with Guides (!!), turning 17… It’s gonna be a WILD TIME, y’all.

wow that was a deep dive into my brain! how was your 2017? do you have any goals for 2018?

My 2017 in Books

~ Eve @ Twist in the Taile ~ 21 Comments

Background of many open books, with the title 'My 2017 in Books' written on a banner.

Hey everyone! I enjoyed doing my 2016 in books post so much last year that I am VERY excited to be doing my yearly bookish wrap-up here today. 😀 I feel like I’ve read so many great books this year, as well as getting more into comics which I’ve been wanting to do for AGES.

overall summary

According to Goodreads, this year I read 134 books at the time of writing, which is the highest number since I started using Goodreads. However, I think this might be due to the aforementioned fact that I read way more comics this year which are faster than books! (Especially if it’s a single issue.) I completed my reading challenge of 100 and then later 125 books which I’m really happy about.

Diagram showing all the books read in 2017, arranged by star rating, with a pie chart of shelf names at the side.

I didn’t rate a bunch of books this year because I’ve sort of been feeling a bit ‘meh’ about rating… I dunno. I went through a phase of that, anyway. I can’t quite decide where I stand now — I feel like it would be best for me to write a short review for every book but that’s probably never going to happen so, who knows.

In terms of genres, Young Adult is still my most popular shelf — no surprises there for me. Within that contemporary actually rates ahead of fantasy, with comics right after, which I was a little surprised by. Although I’ve read some excellent contemporary and comics so maybe I shouldn’t be.

favourite books

I am a little nervous about saying this since I am indeed planning to read more books before the end of the year, but, alas, this has to be posted at some point. I can always add them to next year’s. 😛 These are the ten books I read this year which I feel I enjoyed the most, and gained the most from. I haven’t put comics in here, but you can check out all my posts about comics here.

 

 

I love Everything Leads to You so much! It’s such a cute soft queer girl read and it REALLY  needs to be a movie okay. I love the Shades of Magic series so A Conjuring of Light is probably no surprise here; it was such a thrilling conclusion. I don’t read much non-fiction but The Good Immigrant, an anthology of essays by BAME writers, has really stayed with me. Strange the Dreamer took a little while to get into — I was intimidated to begin with — but then suddenly I was utterly absorbed. The Hate U Give truly deserves all the success it has had; it was one of the most beautifully written and powerful books I have read, like, EVER.

 

 

 

Oops, two VE Schwab books in here? What can I say. Our Dark Duet dazzled and destroyed me. Release is one of my favourite Patrick Ness books; he’s one of the only (mainstream published) authors I’ve read who can ROCK third person present tense. Wild Beauty’s beautiful magical realism & sisters was SO SO GOOD; Anna Marie-McLemore is one of my favourite authors writing today. I read all three of Adam Silvera’s books this year (he’s excellent) but History is All You Left me struck me most in the heart. Finally, The Loneliest Girl was a pacy, gripping read with lots of science and space and a twist I totally didn’t see coming.

hidden gems

These books are lesser-known ones which I’d love to see people discussing more, or in a genre/style which was new and exciting to me.

 

 

Openly Straight is an awesome book set in boarding school which is super cute and also looks at the pressures of being openly gay as a young person. I really think that I should read more m/m books by actual queer men, and this is a great one!

Margot & Me surprised me as I sped through it way faster than I thought I would; it’s a wonderful story about the power of women and family. Also some history! See, I read historical fiction too, promise…

Wild is a Deaf/hearing romance which features lots of running. (Yikes. As in, I could never do that much running. But a great book.) Hannah Moskowitz continues to be excellent and in my opinion very underrated.

Truth or Dare was such a cool concept and beautiful physical design, but that’s not all — I adore Non Pratt and she’s written another gripping story here.

The Diviners is a mash-up of fantasy, mystery and the occult in 20s New York — and I can’t wait to read the next book! It’s super cool and I love everyone in it.

Y’ALL, I JUST READ SO MANY GOOD BOOKS THIS YEAR. I can’t wait for all exciting books out next year! (Maybe that’s a post idea. *winks*)

were your top books of 2017? have you read any of these? what books are you excited for in 2018?

 

2016 in Blogging // that yearly round up post

~ Eve @ Twist in the Taile ~ 25 Comments

2016 new year in blogging.jpg

Phew, 2016 has been a capital-Y Year. Last year I said that I was so young and innocent the year before… 2015 ME DID NOT KNOW WHAT I HAD COMING. I said in that post that I’d look back and laugh at myself, and I don’t really feel like laughing. I almost feel a little sad. UGH, WHY WORLD.

I mean, whilst I know we all joke about how much we want this year to be over, some good things actually have happened. The annoying thing is that this year has basically been really crap in terms of politics and wider-scale events, but it’s been pretty good for me as a person? Or as good as it could be, considering the whole situation. Let’s go through it all.

Looking back at 2016

  • Some pretty crap things happened in the world. The refugee crisis continues, acts of terror continue, dying continues. A bunch of famous people liek David Bowie and Alan Rickman also passed away. Trump was elected President and here in the UK we voted for Brexit. I guess right-wing nationalism including a loot of hatred is on the rise.
  • Yeah so…not wonderful overall. But I think I have learnt to be happier with myself this year. I feel a lot more able to do what I want, and to care less what people think of me. (I still care a little.) I know it’s a small thing, but I stopped shaving my legs since I was only doing it because people were always like ‘ew, hair’. I ACTUALLY DON’T CARE. I feel good about saying that. Now sometimes I can talk about queer things to my friends, and that feels nice.
  • My most popular posts from this year were Les Mis v Hamilton, an awesome fandom battle which I wrote with Evi @ Adventuring Through Pages, my original Les Mis Book Tag, and that one where I talked about webcomics. (I’m liking the Les Mis theme year. You guys obviously have good taste.) I think I’m supposed to get a round-up from WordPress, but I’m scheduling this post so hopefully I’ll add it in. THANK YOU TO EVERY ONE OF YOU WHO HAS READ AND/OR COMMENTED ON MY POSTS. I love you all. ❤
  • I did some Guides stuff! I went on a county trip to Slovenia & Croatia which was just AMAZING and I absolutely adore my team. *feels mushy and huggy* It felt pretty cool to have fundraised for my whole trip… We did a lot of cool stuff and the bants were real. (Ha.) Now I’m doing a campaign-y thing which is really cool!
  • I read some good books! Most notably Radio Silence, I think, which I still ADORE, but also: A Gathering of Shadows, Crooked Kingdom, Salt to the Sea, A Tale for the Time Being, This Savage Song, Wild Swans, The Handmaid’s Tale… A LOT OF GREAT BOOKS. I was using my Goodreads Year in Books for this so if you feel like checking it out then please do.
  • Just in general, I flailed about things a lot. See: the wonderful musical Fun Home, the Doctor Who spin off Class which I have talked about AT LENGTH, webcomics. (I know I linked that earlier, but.) OH AND HOLY MOLY I JUST REMEMBERED: Lauren Aquilina released her LP! (It was called Isn’t It Strange? and because I seem to be doing a fun linking thing there, here’s a co-review I did.) I’m still flailing about that, to be honest.
  • I went to more bookish events. This included the wonderful YA Shot literary festival, as well as some author panels and a VE Schwab signing. 😀 This was actually one of my goals from last year, so yay!
  • Once again, I didn’t finish a writing project, but I did take part in NaNoWriMo and get to work on my WIP. I still have a long way to go, but hopefully next year. (Probably not. But I’d like to try.)
  • I started a new year at school, and I’m actually…really enjoying it so far? Although the work is a step up, I’ve got some good teachers and I’m interesting in what we’re doing.
  • I did keep learning Japanese, although it’s been difficult to continue with school and I definitely need to work more at that.
  • Despite the Brexit result, the EU referendum got me a lot more interested in politics. I felt really passionately about that, and obviously the result was pretty crushing, especially considering it was the first political thing that I cared about a lot? But yeah, it has motivated me to learn more about politics and our world and to keep fighting against the bad stuff.

Looking forward to 2017

  • I want to care for myself more. Sometimes I feel liek I get swamped in all my commitments, so I really want to try and set more time aside for myself when I don’t have to do stuff. We did some meditation as an RS homework and I found it really nice, so…maybe that?
  • I want to keep writing. Maybe I won’t finish a project, but that’s okay! Just writing a little bit adds to my improvement, which is what really matter.
  • I just…really want to do something for Pride month next year? Like go to the London Pride parade, if I actually can. And in general I want to do more LGBTQ+ related things; the LGBTQ+ society at school just opened up to some younger years so if I can work up the courage I’ll hopefully go?
  • Earlier on in this post I talked a lot about bad stuff happening in the world, so I want to do something that will actually make a change. I don’t know what that is yet, but. Hopefully.
  • I want to get better at reading and commenting on other blogs. I feel like I did let this slip, especially over the last 6 months or so, and I miss knowing what’s happening in the blogging community and making new friends.
  • I also want to be more organised on my own blog, I guess — I was starting to get a bit stressed by needing to post and that wasn’t really fun. So that’s starting this holiday with me just writing some posts that I can schedule whenever I get swamped with schoolwork and can’t write something for the blog. 🙂

Phew, this post ended up being a lot longer than I was expecting it to be! But I do think I have grown a lot more as a person this year, and I did a lot of cool stuff, so I suppose it’s not that crazy. Once again, thanks to all of you who support me and my blog/ Hopefully 2017 will be a little brighter for all of us.

how was your year? do you write yearly goals? and do you have anything you want to do in 2017?

My Year in Blogging // time passes too quickly

~ Eve @ Twist in the Taile ~ 9 Comments

2016 recap

My favourite  of recap-y posts is getting to look at your old goals. OH GOSH. I was so young and innocent then. *shakes head* (I wanted to figure out the school system in the US. And Carry On was still a distant dot on the horizon.) I do feel like I’ve grown a lot this year — and I’ll probably look back at this post and laugh at my clichés, but it’s true. SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED IN JUST A YEAR.

Looking back at 2015

  • (Damn. I still think it’s basically 2012. I have no idea how I’ll get used to writing the new date.)
  • Both of my top posts were somehow Rainbow Rowell posts? (The one where I talked about the Eleanor & Park movie, and the one where I talked about Carry On). Obviously the people searching Rainbow Rowell books have come to the right place: WELCOME, FRIENDS. I am here to flail with you.
  • Some other posts I’m proud of are my 7 British words that aren’t ‘bloody’ — which ironically I now say a lot! — and my discussion of parallels between Harry Potter and real world issues. You can see the WordPress report of my year in blogging here!
  • I changed my blog theme. I mean, I do need a new photo after my haircut. 😉 But I’m really happy with the design itself, and I hope you guys are liking it!
  • Well. The UK General Election happened. I don’t talk about current affairs very much on here, but…eh. I wasn’t that impressed with a lot of the new actions. So that was all a bit of a downer.
  • Last year I said I wanted to complete a writing project, which I didn’t, despite doing NaNoWriMo twice. (Don’t worry, you didn’t miss a second November. I speak of Camp NaNo!) Completing that would have been nice, but…hopefully in 2016? I also do feel like I spent time growing my poetry, so. My excuse. 😉
  • I joined SO many fandoms. I fell in love with Les Mis in April and…yeah. Now I talk a lot about dead French revolutionaries. And through that I discovered other great musicals like Hamilton and Rent! Plus, I got super into Alice Oseman’s Solitaire, and I’m really excited for the release of Radio Silence early next year.
  • THE SIMON SNOW FANDOM HAS EXPLODED. I think the release of Carry On totally deserves its own bullet point, right? The fandom has basically gone from a few familiar faces where everyone reblogged everything in the tag to a lovely community of people excited by Simon and Baz and Agatha and Penny and Ebb.
  • I did complete my Goodreads challenge, but I feel like I’ve read a lot less this year. You can see my year in books here. 🙂 I’ve been reading so slowly since the start of school in September… I’m kind of considering the possibility that I read the same amount of fanfiction as books? I have read a lot of fanfic. *coughs*
  • I went to my first ever convention, as well as two more! I’M SO HAPPY I DID. I’ve enjoyed all my cons massively, and I’m hoping to go to as many in the future as possible! Although sadly I’m missing YALC — I chose to go on my Girlguiding trip instead, which should still be fabulous. 🙂

Looking forward to 2016

  • I want to improve my cosplays! And generally do all the fandom things. But I’d really like to learn more about the sewing aspect of cosplay, and maybe cosplay a character with a more complicated costume. (In May I’m hoping to cosplay Jehan from Les Mis! Right now I’m attempting to make a pattern for the waistcoat oh gosh. XD)
  • MOOOORE WRITING. Always. I have so many ideas that I’d like to write. And I really haven’t been doing much poetry recently so…I want to get back into that.
  • I want to continue learning Japanese — so far I’ve basically just learnt a few basic phrases and the hiragana characters. Um. Yeah. I’d love to get a little more decent at that.
  • I want to watch all the things I’ve been itching to watch. Old Doctor Who episodes. Once Upon a Time. Star Wars. Mr Robot. SO MANY MUSICALS.
  • I’d love to attend more bookish events, hehe. Seeing authors speak is amazing.

Thank you to all the lovely people who’ve read my posts, commented, talked to me —  Evi, Michelle, Alyssa, Nirvana, Elly, An Overthinking Teenager, Bridget, Elm, and so many more — I APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH. Thank you for all the fabulous blogs I’ve been reading over the past year. (I might have to do a whole list. There’s a lot.) ❤ I hope that 2016 will be a good year for all of us.

Fanmix Yourself: the wanderlust of inertia

~ Eve @ Twist in the Taile ~ 11 Comments

Is it narcissistic fanmixing yourself? I don’t know. Maybe. 😛 No, I’ve actually been wanting to do this for a while — I thought it would be kind of nice to tie in with all the New Year reflections. The hope is that I do one next year and see if my choices change.

I recently spotted a fanmix yourself tag going around Tumblr, but that didn’t feel right… If I’m making a playlist to tell a story, then I like the whole playlist to tell a story. (Rather than each song on its own.) (Also, I like cohesive playlists a lot more.) So this ended up being, um, pretty difficult. Character playlists are laborious anyway, and that’s when you have a better judgement of the character. — I probably have skewed judgement of myself.  So I was pretty pleased that I actually finished this playlist!

Are the songs I like different to the songs that describe me? I don’t know. I think so. There’s a fair bit of…angsty dark electronic stuff in my music library, and I’m not actually that angsty and dark. (Maybe angsty. Sometimes. XD) And my music taste is also ridiculously varied — it doesn’t tell you that much about me, probably. I’m not sure. It swings between electronic pop and sweeping soundtracks and things with loud guitars quite frequently.

I didn’t really realise when I was putting it together, but this has a lot of my favourite songs. Songs that make me feel things more than other songs. Basically: SONGS I LIKE A LOT. So, um, this is making me a little nervous. But I hope you like it!

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the wanderlust of inertia

for when you no longer know what you’re waiting for. for the ache of souls contorted into the bones you built them from. for screaming up at the stars and expecting an answer back.
listen on spotify

counting down the hours – ted leo and the pharmacists
lost that easy – cold war kids
paris – magic man
i stand corrected – vampire weekend
deeper than love – colleen green
here – alessia cara
forest fires – lauren aquilina
new constellations – ryn weaver

I’m using Spotify for my playlists now, and I’m finding it way easier than Soundcloud. (And I keep putting obscure songs in that it didn’t seem to have. *laughs awkwardly*)

What songs would you have chosen for yourself? Have you discovered any new music in 2015?

The Start of a New Year

~ Eve @ Twist in the Taile ~ 19 Comments

newyear2

I can’t believe we’re almost coming to the end of this year! I know it sounds clichéd, but it really does seem like only yesterday that I was writing the same kind of post last year. I don’t want you to bombard you guys with stats, since you’ve probably been getting a ton of these posts coming into your inbox, but ‘ve noted down a few achievments for the past year and stuff I’m excited about for the future.

Looking Back at 2014

Click here for a wonderful infographic of my stats produced by WordPress!

    • This year, I rekindled my love of words.. The library came into excellent stock, and I came across excellent books. This was the year I discovered Rainbow Rowell, The Mortal Instruments, The Grisha…the list goes on.
    • Not only did I fall back in love with reading – I also fell back in love with writing. I wrote and read stories far more frequently, and I even started a project during NaNoWriMo. My love of poetry was rekindled by the wonderful Topaz Winters (no, I’m not going to stop mentioning this!) and from there I’ve been bewitched by other beautiful poems. I’ve written a few of my own, too!
    • I read my first comic…ever? After much bugging. I was finally convinced by my friend to read the webcomic Nimona, and I am SO GLAD I DID. I binge-read all the available pages on a Wednesday afternoon and then had to suffer the next few months on just two pages a week. TORTURE. Anyway, I’m feeling a bit bereft now that it has ended, so if you guys have any recommendations then those would be great to hear.
    • I’m the same height as my mum. FINALLY. I don’t think I’m going to be a tall person exactly, but my one goal is to be taller than my mum. And we’re the same height!
    • I discovered the fandom. It’s a really fun community, but sometimes it bugs me that people tend to forget the flaws in books/movies.

Looking Ahead to 2015

    • I want to learn how the American school system works. It is just SO DARN CONFUSING. Even after reading all these books about kids in high school (?) I still do not understand which age corresponds with which year. (And honors classes?? What are they?)
    • I want to do a Goodreads reading challenge. I only just got my GR account, but I’m going to start at 60 books for 2015 and see how I go.
    • I want to finish a writing project. Preferably the one I started during NaNo, but you never know! I don’t want to block myself in 😛 To be honest, I just want to keep writing – as long as I keep practicing and improving and enjoying, I don’t want to stop
    • I want to watch some of the older episodes of Doctor Who on Netflix. I came onto the bandwagon way too late, and now I’m suffering.

And of course, there’s a whole load of books and movies like:

    • Nimona! In paperback!
    • Frozen Hearts, by the aforementioned blogger and teen writer Topaz Winters
    • ACOTAR and Throne of Glass #4
    • Fairest and Winter
    • CARRY ON SIMON GUYS IT’S HAPPENING OH MY GOSH
    • Insurgent, Mockingjay Part II, Big Hero Six, The Scorch Trials
    • News of Paper Towns and Eleanor & Park movies?

And, finally, I want to keep blogging and I want to keep happy. 🙂

Happy New Year! How was 2014 for you? Do you have any goals for the coming year?