Here a couple more videos I’ve posted this week that never made it onto my blog if you happened to miss them on my YouTube channel!

First, a video admitting to a part of childhood I (apparently) missed out on: I Never Read Animorphs.

Next is a a book haul! I’ve gotten a lot of great new books lately and I am just itching to read all of them. If there are any books in particular from this haul that you’d like to see a review on, be sure to let me know!

I think I’m finally up to date again on sharing my new videos, so we’ll get back to our normal one video per blog post schedule next week. Thanks for sticking with me, and make sure you’re subscribed to my YouTube channel if you want to know when my videos go up right when it happens.

Okay, I’ve been slacking a little on this blog. It’s summer! I’ve been busy reading, traveling, etc. It just occurred to me that I’ve totally forgotten to post my videos on this blog, so here’s a few of my most recents to catch you up (if you’ve fallen behind).

This is the video that went live today, a little glimpse into the madness that has become my cosplay obsession. My roommates and I have been scheduling weekly work dates to sew costumes, make props, read tutorials, customize wigs, and so on. I thought it would be fun to give a little work in progress before I reveal the finished costumes at the end of the month:

Then I shared this past month’s favorite with you in a standard recommendation video. These are always some of my favorite videos to make, since I’m always obsessing over new TV shows and app games and products, so make sure to watch it if you missed it!

And the last video I wanted to share with you for this particular update is a fun little vlog I posted that was much more in my ‘older’ style of videos, musing on the idea of lost things and sharing a few of the items I’ve lost over the years. This one is a tag video, so feel free to make a response if you are so inclined!

That’s it for now! I’ll be back tomorrow with this week’s installment of Device Theft Awareness Month, as well as a few more video updates over the course of the week (I told you, I got pretty behind but I didn’t want to overwhelm you all in one post). Thanks for reading and I’ll be back soon!

I’ve had the pleasure of working with a number of different clothing companies recently, among which Sheinside, Choies and Dresslink. These are the three online stores featured in my most recent clothing haul video, the MEGA HAUL!

Not much else to say about it; click above to see a lot of pretty new clothes and my thoughts on them. Thanks!

So… I may have done something crazy.

What could you possibly done that’s so crazy, Kristina? you might ask.

I may have committed to attempting the Book-Tube-A-Thon starting on Monday, July 14th. For those who don’t know what the Book-Tube-A-Thon is (like me, 3 days ago), all the information about it can be found here. It’s sort of like NaNoWriMo, but for reading. This is scary for a number of reasons, but mainly because I already know I can handle NaNoWriMo, even if I undergo small amounts of insanity in the process.

But Book-Tube-A-Thon is terrifying. Book-Tube-A-Thon is the unknown. Book-Tube-A-Thon is gonna be GREAT.

The thing is – writing 1,667 words a day, in a vacuum, is pretty easy. It’s really the challenge of doing it EVERY SINGLE DAY that starts to make you lose your mind. But reading SEVEN BOOKS in SEVEN DAYS? Coming from a slow reader, well, let’s just say it’s going to be a challenge.

BUT I AM SO PUMPED.

I’ll be announcing my full TBR list in the first video check-in on Monday (oh, did I not mention? On top of reading seven books in seven days, there are also daily videos. With challenges. Sure, no big deal, next week is going to be a piece of cake) so make sure you’re subscribed to my channel if you want to witness the madness first hand.

I will end this blog post by revealing the first of my seven books, though:

The Selection by Kiera Cass! I’ve heard nothing but good things about this series, even if most of the people reading it were slightly ashamed by how much they liked it. Not gonna lie, I can be a total sucker for those kinds of books.

You’re probably wondering, after all this, why I am doing this. If it’s so scary, why do it? Well, I have a few answers for you.

1. “Because it’s scary” is one of my favorite reasons to do anything. It’s why this year will be Year 9 of NaNoWriMo, it’s why I have a YouTube channel at all, and it’s why cave hiking is one of my favorite new hobbies. Nothing helps you grow as a person quite like attempting something that terrifies you, and coming out the other side a victor. Or, alternately, failing miserably. Both are okay options! Both are good for you!
2. I’m really pumped on books lately, and the BookTube community seems amazing and welcoming and fun. What better way to try to assimilate myself with them than to tag along on their craziest adventure? I hope they like me. Fingers crossed they like me.
3. How ELSE am I gonna accomplish any of my reading goals this year when there are so many distractions everywhere? I love the idea of a militant reading challenge. I write the most during November and it really works for me. Why not try the same with reading?

I likely wont be blogging much (if at all) during the Book-Tube-A-Thon, but who knows. It’s only a week though, so be sure to check back after for my thoughts on the whole experience. And if it sounds fun to you at all… feel free to join in the fun! I’ll be talking about it a lot on Twitter, especially since it’s just perfect for #JulyReading.

See you on the other side! Two and a half more days before THE CRAZY BEGINS!!!

If you’ve spent this morning under a rock and haven’t heard the news – JKR PUBLISHED A NEW SHORT STORY THROUGH POTTERMORE THAT GIVES INFO ABOUT A DUMBLEDORE’S ARMY REUNION AT THE 2014 QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP.

A hem. Sorry, I’m quite excited about this news. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading this short story (which came to us in the form of a Daily Prophet article written by none other than good ‘ol Rita Skeeter) pop on over to Pottermore, or click here for a direct link to the text.

Also, since I started YouTube as a Harry Potter vlogger, it felt only right to film my reaction to reading the new story. I immediately turned on a camera and began discussing my thoughts, which you can watch below:

What did you think of the story? What else would you like to find out about? Personally, I was a bit affronted at the lack of Draco mentions, but I suppose he wouldn’t be very welcome at a Dumbledore’s Army reunion. I’m sure the Malfoys have a VIP box at the World Cup, though!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

1. It’s my first official “booktube” video.
2. Even though I’ve made bookish videos in the past (ie. book guilt, accio books tag, etc.) this is the first video I am making actively trying to join the booktube community.
3. I have forever wanted to incorporate reading back into my life in a big way. Like I learned with Team Hypercube… if you want to make time for something you love (video games, reading) — make videos about it!

So, a couple things. If you’re not already following my #JulyReading hashtag on twitter, you’re missing out on some awesome inspirational tweets encouragement, and an all around amazing support group for people striving to read every day. Even if you can’t commit to every single day, you should still follow the tag! It’s been a lot of fun so far.

Second is that I have a goodreads account! Follow me there for up to date info about what I”m reading, what I thought, and what’s coming next.

I hope you like the new video, and happy reading!

Okay, I’m a little late on this. It’s July 3rd already, which means I’m already well into figuring out what new things to get into for this month. I’ll chalk this delay up to being out of town for VidCon, and hope you’ll choose to watch the video anyway. There’s a lot of really great stuff in this one!

As always, let me know which new books, games, TV show, snacks etc. you’re digging right now, and maybe your suggestions will find their way into next month’s favorites!

I can’t believe how close we are to VidCon. Deep breaths, Kristina. Deep breaths.

I wanted to write up a quick little post to let you know everything I am doing at the con, since there’s a lot of it. From panels to meetups to running a convention-wide game — I’m gonna be busy! But as usual, I love meeting you guys, so please feel free to come up and say hello! And scan my QR code… but I’ll get to that later.

Here’s my official schedule:

 FRIDAY JUNE 27:

Striving to be Sustainable (206AB): 3:30-4:30pm
Making millions off your web series sounds nice, but for most creators, just the idea of making a living off your content — consistently, and without going crazy — is enough of a dream. What’s the secret to balancing life and work in the web video world on a long-term basis?

SATURDAY JUNE 28:

Job Hunters Cast & Crew (209): 12:30-1:30pm
 Join the cast of Job Hunters for a Q&A after a screening of not 1 but THREE episodes of the new season of their web series. Then stick around for announcements and fun surprises!

SUNDAY JUNE 29: (Disneyland Day!)

I’ll be hanging at Disneyland with everyone else, but what I really want to share with you guys is the Disneybound meetup I’m co-hosting with my friends Sarah, Leo and Joe. It’s going to be a lot of fun and I hope you’ll plan to join us if you’ll also be at Disney that day.

The last important thing to note is VidCon Arena — the convention-wide game Job Hunters is hosting. You’ll be receiving a QR code sticker in your VidCon bag once you get to the convention, and if you want to play you just need to stick it to your name badge. Then you’ll need to hunt down other players with their own QR codes, Job Hunters arena style. Rack up points and the top winners will get to play LASER TAG with the cast of Job Hunters on Saturday in official Maewin jumpsuits – and they might win some other great prizes!

I’ll just let this video explain it to you:

Please let me know in the comments if you’re attending VidCon, and hopefully I’ll see you there! I am nervous and excited and I CAN’T WAIT TO GET THERE AHHH.

It’s here it’s here it’s here! Season 2 of my web series Job Hunters has been a long time in the making and we’ve finally launched Episode 1! It’s a huge sigh of relief for our entire team, as we hate making you guys wait just as much we know you hate waiting. The episode has already been extremely well received, however, and we couldn’t be more excited to finally be sharing this with you.

We have a bunch of news regarding what we’re doing at VidCon (most of our team leaves for the convention tomorrow!) so keep an eye out for those updates in the very immediate future!

Thanks for sticking with me on this, guys. It means so much to me. I hope you enjoy episode 1.

I got the chance to play Tomodachi Life early, before the game was out to the general public. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s definitely become one of my new favorite games. It’s so silly and yet so addicting; I just can’t seem to leave it alone. Here’s my in depth review with game footage and everything. Hope you enjoy!