Author Archives: Rio

A Love Letter to Notebooks (and 5 Ways to Use Them for Writing)

Notebooks are your unjudgmental friends. They’re a silent partner in creation, allowing you to freely consider your thoughts and ideas and cringe at them later. Notebooks merely watch as some ideas sink and others float, only to resurface later looking renewed, and their unbiased acceptance is exactly what you need to organise your writing life.

What is there to Like about Writing?

For me, as with so many others, writing is a reflex. It’s not that I don’t actively make myself do it, it’s that I find it hard not to when I get the urge. Whether in my mind, on my phone, laptop, tablet, notebook, or scrap of paper, I’m always writing something. Like this blog. I try to upload weekly as a habit, but I was seduced by writing fiction last week and could not think about anything else, so I missed a week, but that was okay. It’s not like I wasn’t writing anything at all, I just focused my energy on something different.

I Ranked my Most Read Genres

The books I gravitate towards are mostly from the same genres: Crime fiction, Classics, Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction, Young Adult (YA), and Literary Fiction. I oscillate between which of these I enjoy the most, but I thought I’d rank them based on which ones I go back to the most for their common tropes, elements,Continue reading “I Ranked my Most Read Genres”

5 Books I’m not Currently Reading but Should Be

Sometimes, wanting to read a book is not enough to get me to read it. In fact, that desire does the exact opposite. The higher my expectations for something, the less likely I am to bite the bullet and read it in fear of being disappointed. Writing about the things I’m struggling with usually helpsContinue reading “5 Books I’m not Currently Reading but Should Be”

Why You don’t like Reading Classics and How to Start

Sometimes it can feel like you need higher education to unlock the ability to read classics, but I’m here to tell you that you don’t. Though the frequency with which you read classics during a literature degree necessitates that you are able, it also demonstrates that the only way to get better at reading and dissecting classics is to read classics, which you don’t need a university to do.

Why I Love Annotating Books

Annotating books can seem like a daunting task, potentially because we’re encouraged to do it the most in an educational environment, but beyond the realm of the classroom, the process is what you make of it. You get to decide what to highlight, underline, and comment on. Whether it’s a stylistic technique, a literary device, or just something that drew a laugh from you, anything is fair game for your pen, your highlighter, your colourful tabs or—if you’re like me—your tiny post-it notes.

10 Fun Ways to Pick your Next Book to Read

When your TBR (to be read) stretches too long, or you’ve fallen into a reading slump, or you just can’t decide what you’re in the mood for, it can be hard to answer the question ‘what book should I read next’? Whether it’s something entirely new or an old book collecting dust on your shelf, this list will help you find the perfect method to pick your next read.

10 Books You Should Read (Because they’re my Favourite)

Somehow, after a long time of blogging about books, I’ve never written a post about my favourite books. Or at least the top 10, which I think is a narrow enough margin to make sure they’re my most loved. So, without further ado, let’s look at some of the books I read that I will never, ever stop thinking about.

Note to Self: Perfection is the Enemy

If inspiration is a summer fling and motivation a spouse, perfection is the enemy, the professional seductress that thrives on breaking up happy and settled relationships. At one time, you are so in love and then your eyes—almost without you noticing—begin to stray, your attention to falter. Seeking perfection makes you think of what could be. It is the harbinger of writer’s block, of self-doubt, of giving up.