Top 5 Wednesday | February

But, Azia, it’s not Wednesday. I know, know. My explanation: All the topics for February are pretty awesome, but I haven’t had the time to do ANY of them. SO, I’ll be doing two posts, each containing two topics to catch up. Needless to say, they have the potential to be pretty long posts, but I’ll try to keep ’em short. Let’s start with this post, shall we? The next post will actually be on Wednesday 😉

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February 1st: Current Favorites that Aren’t Books

“Sometimes it’s nice to take a break from books and talk about some other things you’ve been obsessed with. These all don’t have to be in the same category. Mix it up! What TV shows have you been enjoying, makeup you’ve been wearing, food you’ve been eating, etc.??“

BLUE EXORCIST

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I joined the anime club at my school recently so I could discover more shows. They showed the first episode of Blue Exorcist and although I’d already seen it, I decided that I wanted to watch it in its entirety. And so I did. I binged 24 episodes in about a day and a half and now I’m Blue Exorcist trash. Go figure.

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SWING DANCING

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I take ballroom classes at school and right now we’re learning East Coast swing. Now, it don’t look nothing like that GIF, but man, is it one of the most fun dances I’ve ever learned. I can’t stop smiling whenever the music comes on!

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JASMINE

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Usually I’m a coffee drinker (I still am by the way; I’m hella addicted), but lately all I’ve wanted is jasmine. Jasmine tea, jasmine tea latte, jasmine boba, jasmine flavored ice cream. Heck, I even want jasmine scented lotions and perfumes. Double heck, I even want jasmine rice and that doesn’t even taste like jasmine! I don’t know what’s going on. Send help.

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DISHONORED

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When I go back home, I look forward to playing Sims, which I have deemed my safe yet addicting game. I have three families to take care of, man. But for the past three months, the couple times I’ve visited home, I’ve played Dishonored, an M- rated stealth fantasy game that is just waaaay too much fun for my own good.

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CASTLE ON THE HILL by Ed Sheeran

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While everyone’s going crazy over Sheeran’s new song “Shape of You,” I’m over here listening to Castle on the Hill, his other new song, on repeat. It’s just so warm and nostalgic and gives me so many fuzzy feelings of goodness. Watch the official video here!

 

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February 8th: Book Trends You’re Tired Of

“What are some things you are tired of seeing that are trends in publishing? Maybe something that pops up on a lot of covers these days, or the popularity of certain tropes in a particular genre? Let it out!“

1) Insta-Love

Good lord, please stop with the insta-love. I can’t stand it anymore. Slow-burn romance. That’s what I want. A romance that is built up, yet not perfect from beginning to end. A burgeoning love story that is slowly developed throughout the book and maybe throughout a series of books. Please. Stop taking the easy way out and build up those relationships!

2) Love Triangles

I’ll admit it. I love drama. Love triangles are the PERFECT way to incite instant drama among the characters. But sometime they feel like a cop-out. I love it when characters find their somebody and then stick with their somebody no matter the situation. It feels more meaningful and authentic that way. I’ve had enough of this “I can’t choose” nonsense.

3) Clueless Heros/Heroines

For some reason, heroes and heroines have to be extremely naive (or just plain stupid) in the beginning for them to be able to learn from their mistakes and to grow as individuals. No. I think it’s entirely possible to have a very capable protagonist, both in mind and body, who still has the mental capacity to properly react to their surroundings and to recognize a learning experience when they see one.

4) Faces on Book Jackets/Covers

I really don’t like it when faces/models are put on book covers. It messes up my chance to see the characters as I imagine them to be.

5) Critical acclaim spreads in paperbacks

I don’t really know how to explain this one, but if you get YA books in paperbacks nowadays, most likely the front cover will be slightly shorter than the other pages to indicate that there is a list or an array of quotations from positive reviewers on the inside of the cover (i.e bonus content). And it bugs me. I love it when my pages are all aligned and the same color.

Here’s a visual so you can see what I’m talking about. See the difference?

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I know that was pretty long but thanks for sticking around anyways! What’d you think of my choices? Agree with some of my complaints? Disagree? Let me know what you think! 😀