Author Archives: Rio

6 Ways to Read More on a Budget

There comes a time as a reader/book collector when you consider the vast number of books you’ve amassed and realise that you’ve spent an eye-watering sum on (hopefully) artfully arranged sentences. This may do nothing to put a halt to your reading and/or book buying addictions, but unlike those issues, the amount you spend on reading can be controlled. It’s perfectly reasonable to want to read more without spending a fortune, so I want to offer a few tips I’ve picked up along the way on how to read more while spending less.

I Found a New Way to Pick My Next Read

Let me introduce you to Amazon First Reads, where you can discover recent releases by authors you may have never heard of with minimal effort. I have no idea how popular the service is, but it has been a staple in my reading life for over a year, allowing me enough time to develop a love-hate relationship with the service.

Hold That Thought – Are Bookmarks Really Necessary?

A pen, a post-it, an old receipt, a business card, a dog-eared page, a metal feather, a magnetic clip. What do all these things have in common? They can all reasonably serve as a bookmark. Whether you’re done reading for the night, saving a spot to return to later, or reluctantly leaving in the middle of a scene to do something pressing, bookmarks are the MVP of reading.

I Ranked Some of the Most Popular Romance Tropes

The Romance genre is one of my favourites when it comes to novels and I tend to read a lot of it, especially when I find myself in a reading slump or after a difficult read. When it goes well, it produces the kind of book I’ll devour in a couple of days. When itContinue reading “I Ranked Some of the Most Popular Romance Tropes”

The Pros and Cons of Fanfiction – Why I’m a Fan of Fanfiction

Fanfiction. If you liked reading or were (unhealthily) obsessed with something as a teenager and you have never so much as glanced at a piece of fanfiction, I implore you to let me know how it escaped you. On websites that offer the public an opportunity to share their writing such as the more generalContinue reading “The Pros and Cons of Fanfiction – Why I’m a Fan of Fanfiction”

I Made a TBR Jar (or Two)

Welcome to another edition of All the Reading-Adjacent Things I do Instead of Reading. TBR jars are nothing new to the reading community, nor is the concept new to me, but to ensure I read more of the books I already have rather than having my head turned by something new, I’ve made one. Well,Continue reading “I Made a TBR Jar (or Two)”

The Delicate Art of Judging a Book by its Cover

When was the last time you bought a book just because you liked the cover? My answer to that question is often, ‘…the last time I bought a book’. The appearance of a book might be far from the only reason you might pick it up—think recommendations, the newest book from your favourite author, aContinue reading “The Delicate Art of Judging a Book by its Cover”

The Confessions of a Serial Book Buyer: The Sequel

As it appears, I have been unable to cure my addiction to the purchasing of books. Foolishly, I believed that leaning into using my Kindle would lessen my desire to buy pretty books, or at the least introduce a new way of managing it. I could not have been more wrong.