I recently read the summer book hit We Were Liars by E. Lockhart and I loved it – enough to record this long, rambly, superfun review of it. Join me for what one commenter lovingly described as “more of a chat about a book with a good friend than an official review”. I’m into that description.

What did you think? What were your favorite “hints”? Tell me in the comments – I just can’t stop thinking and talking about this book!

As summer is winding down, all I can feel is the impending knowledge that life is about to get a lot more busy. That can be both a good or bad thing, but either way it makes finding time to read a bit more difficult. That’s why I’ve made this video!

Have any other good tips for how to fit in some reading time when your to-do list is stacked against you? Leave a comment!

Raise your hand if you’re a fan of Stephanie Perkins, the author of Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door! Now raise your hand if you’ve managed to sink your teeth into Isla and the Happily Ever After!

This book came out on August 14th – which was also the day I posted my video review of it. I decided to wait a little while to post it over here, to give you all a bit of time to catch up and read it, since my video is bursting with spoilers.

Please let me know your thoughts about the book down in the comments! Did you love it? Did you like Anna or Lola better? I’m dying to find out.

I’ll hopefully be doing a lot more book reviews in the future, so please let me know if you’re enjoying them.

I read the Selection series a little while ago (made up of The Selection, The Elite and The One) and it was equal parts frustrating and life ruining as well as amazingly fun. I’m not going to say it was the most exquisite piece of literature I’ve ever read, but it was definitely a journey – and a fun one, at that.

In honor of the news that we’ll be getting not only another set of supplemental novellas but also MORE BOOKS, I figured I would make a post sharing the review I did of this series back when I first read it. You have until next summer to get caught up for the new books, but there’s no time like the present when it comes to Prince Maxon, am I right?

Have you read The Selection? Did you love it? Did you hate it? Sometimes I can’t decide either, but it’s still one of my favorite series regardless of that fact. I know. I’m a mess.

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.

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 so. The July Reading Challenge. This is just a little idea I had yesterday while thinking about making time for reading. I pitched the idea on Twitter and when the reaction was positive, I kind of got carried away with it.

The premise is simple: Just read every day. But the idea is to really pledge to do it, and to hold yourself accountable for it. I’m organizing a little support group for readers on Twitter, so if this idea sounds interesting to you, join in! Use the hashtag #JulyReading and respond to other readers whose posts you find! Encourage each other, share favorite lines from what you’re reading and recommend books to others.

I was going to make a whole list of questions to answer each day on twitter, but maybe I’ll do this challenge again sometime with more rigid rules. For this first run at it, let’s just keep it casual.

Make sure you’re following me on Twitter to follow along – I’ll be asking for check-ins each day, asking questions and sharing what I’m reading. I’d love it if you’d respond as well!

Let me know in the comments if you pledge to read every day in July. We’re going to get so much reading done!