The Nameless Book Blog: Shania

Showing posts with label Shania. Show all posts

Friday, September 2

This or That Tag | Shania

Unknown September 02, 2016 3 Comments

My oh my has it been long since I have participated in one of these. I personally really love reading tags, but I love writing them even more. This tag was created by Ayunda and even though I haven't been tagged by anyone to do this, I am doing it nonetheless. I hereby tag my co-writer on this blog, Amber, to do the same.

Reading on the couch or in bed?

I am a bed reader for one big reason, I need to completely isolate myself from the rest of this world because if I get distracted I get really annoyed. Therefore my bedroom is the place to be. And who doesn't love cuddling up on their bed with a blanket? Even when I am not reading, drawing perhaps or playing video games, I prefer to be between the four comforting walls of my room.

Male main character or female main character?

I think I am one of the few girls who prefers reading from a male perspective. Honestly, I mostly read books with a male main character rather than a female one. I don't even have an explanation for it. Maybe because I can get irritated with girl characters their behavior more easily than with that of a guy. I don't really know to be honest. Don't get me wrong, I love a book with a strong headed female character!

Sweet snacks or salty snacks?

Oh god, I think this is one of the hardest questions for me. I love food, so to be fair I appreciate sweet snacks and salty snacks equally. But when it comes to reading I think I before sweet snacks because my fingers won't get like orange dorito dust on them. Consider it my secret to keeping books fresh and

Trilogies or Quartets

I uhm, I don't know. I don't have a prefference between these though. I guess you could say I don't really care but because I have read more trilogies I am going with that one.

First person POV or Third Person POV

I prefer third person POV because it makes your writing look a lot better. I can enjoy first person pov on some occasions, for instance Sarah J Maas' A Court of Thornes and Roses, purely because you don't notice it that much. But I really cant stand when a book keeps going like I, I, I. WE KNOW IT

S ABOUT YOU STOP MENTIONING IT.

Read at night or in the morning

I'm not at all a morning's prerson so reading in the morning is the last thing I'd do. Hell I don't even think I have time to read in the morning since I like snooze my alarm clock 15 times and end up having only half an hour to shower, eat, dress myself and do my makeup. Anyone feeling the struggle?

Libraries or Bookstores

I most definetly prefer the bookstore. When I was a little younger I would borrow books from the library and never took the time to return them. I know, how can you dare to be so cruel, someone else might want to read it. I just happen to have a thing for forgetting stuff. And beside that, I love the feeling of returning home with new bought books.

Books that make you cry or books that make you laugh?

Oh, I love a good book that can make me sob like a little baby. Although they tend to scream their lungs out when they're crying. The thing is... I cry quite easily. You can really label me as a cancer because yes, I cry in the corner of my room at least once a week. However, I think I prefer books that make me laugh.

Black book covers or white book covers?

Just so you know, I own a lot of black clothing. So for my book to match my outfit is like the ultimate dream am I right? No? But forreal. Black book covers is my prefered option. But white book covers do look more elegant.

Character driven or plot driven stories?

I prefer to have character driven stories. It's very easy, you can have the best plot ever written, but with a good book comes characters that are loved. If I fail to connect with a character I will not attempt to read the rest of the book. So focus on them instead of what might happen in the last few pages.

Thanks for reading. If you decide to do this tag as well, please send me a link because I would love to see the different point of views!

Monday, May 23

How We Make Our Headers

Unknown May 23, 2016 1 Comments

Some of you may have wondered this, some of you may not have cared as much. But as you can see, header designs are quite a big thing on The Nameless Book Blog. Besides, we love creating them. If you are one of those people who have seen our earlier posts, you might have noticed that we made a huge improvement when it comes to our headers. So I came with the idea of sharing how we make these headers with you guys. Maybe you are aspiring bloggers, maybe you can use them for something else entirely. Today, our secret will be revealed.

We don't use Photoshop, believe it our not, we make no use of the Adobe software. We use something that is free and very easy to use and it goes by the name of Canva. You can sign up with whatever email adres you have, but if you have an email you use for your blog, I'd recommend using that one because it's just easier to keep everything neat and organised.

On Canva there are numerous of design types that you can pick. These are basically sizes, you can also make a customary size of the canva you'd like to use. Amber and I always go for 'Presentation (16:9)' which is closet to the perfect size for our blog. The original size is kind of huge, but if you use blogger like us, the X-large photo size works really well.

Canva allows you to use a lot of free text designs which are honestly sooo gorgeous. However, do make sure that your text is readable. It matters more than the cute background picture you decided to take. We like to add the same text in a darker shade behind the original and shift a little left or right or up or down so it almost looks like your text is 3D. I myself, find this the best looking because your text will really jump out of the background and into the spotlight.

(Can't believe I am basically promoting this website omg lol)

Lately Amber I tend to use a lot of patterns as backgrounds for our headers, which I like better than pictures if I am being truly honest, and when I do use a photo I use the blur tool in Canva. Because like I said, your text needs to be the center of the header. It's the call to attention.

If you wanna play on the save side you can get free stockphoto's from unsplash.com, they have gorgeous pictures in high quality and you can even type what you are searching for into the search bar and you'll get a bunch of pictures that are relevant to that search therm.

That is basically all we do! It's not that hard and just a lot of matching the colours together so that everything looks cute. I would however, recommend that you keep your blog in the same shades, so if you use a lot of pastels, stick to pastels.

~ Shania

If you have any more questions, make sure to leave them down below!

Monday, May 9

A-Z Bookish Survey | Shania

Unknown May 09, 2016 0 Comments

Author you’ve read the most books from:

Michael Grant probably, he is my favourite author after all.

Best Sequel Ever:

Pft, okay this is kind of a hard decision but Imma have to go with Pretties!

Currently Reading:

I am currently reading the last few pages of 'A Court of Thornes and Roses'

Drink of Choice While Reading:

Thee!

E-reader or Physical Book?

Physical books most definitely!

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:

I would probably have been to shy to even talk to the guy but I would have definitely crushed on Simon from the Darkest Powers

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:

That would be Newsoul by Jodi Meadows

Hidden Gem Book:

I WANT EVERYONE TO READ SHADOWMAGIC BY JOHN LENEHAN!!

Important Moment in your Reading Life:

The moment I realised I wanted to become a writer so I could entertain people with books as much as books entertain me.

Just Finished:

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read:

Super cheesy romance stories... Basically John Green.

Longest Book You’ve Read:

I have honestly no idea...

Major book hangover because of:

SHADOWMAGIC BY JOHN LENNIE

Number of Bookcases You Own:

I have no idea.. again. I have books shattered everywhere.

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban

Preferred Place To Read:

My room when it's not that warm..

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read:

Check out the blogpost we made right freaking here. Beware for feels.

Reading Regret:

I honestly don't have any. No Regratz..

Series You Started And Need To Finish(all books are out in series):

The Gone Series

Three of your All-Time Favourite Books:

The Hobbit - Shadowmagic - The Brothers Lionheart

Unapologetic Fangirl For

Drake Merwin the sexy sadistic psychopath

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:

Uhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Worst Bookish Habit:

Stop reading mid book and starting another one which I will stop again mid book.

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

Uhmmm..... I'm at school right now I'm terribly sorry.

Your latest book purchase:

I forgot the name because it's an underrated book gehehh...

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):
Shadowmarch - Tad Williams

Thursday, January 28

25 Bookish Facts About Me | Shania

Unknown January 28, 2016 2 Comments

#1: I could read at a very young age,
I'm not entirely show how old I was when I could read, but I can remember that I was the first of my class. I even owned little children's books, my ultimate favourite used to be 'Pinkeltje'.

#2: I am unable to read dutch books,
Ever since I picked up my first English book getting into a Dutch book has become extremely hard. Perhaps because I tend to think that when a book gets translated a lot of the atmosphere gets lost.

#3: Books are my to go to present,
Even if the person is not a big reader, I will do everything in my power to buy a book of interest. I think it should just become my trademark and the people will have to deal with it. Kekekekeke.

#4: I don't really have a bookshelf,
SHAME! I know but the thing is, I have divorced parents and I tend to share my books along their different locations. Which occasionally sucks because when you wanna read that certain book, you find out it's at your other home.

#5: Books and tea are my favorite combo,
I just love drinking tea while reading. It makes that moment extra cosy. And I of course purposely put in a little too much honey so it's extra sweet!

#6: When I'm reading no one is allowed to talk to me,
I am one of those persons that can't concentrate when there is too much happening around me. So don't ever talk to me when you see me being caught up in a book! Please for your own safety, DON'T DO IT!

#7: I always fall for the bad guys,

Always. And most of the time it doesn't even matter if he or she killed one of the other characters I adore. I will probably just see passed it and say, 'Aww, he's such a cutie. Look at him killing all those people. Such a cute puppy dog!'

#8: I tend to read a lot of things on my phone,

Whether it's a fanfiction on Wattpad or whether it's an Ebook. I sometimes just really like reading on my phone. Especially when I'm on my way and it tends to become a little busier in public transfer or wether I have forgotten to bring a book that day!

#9: Doggy earing pages makes me feel uneasy,
It just. I don't know, I've never felt comfort with bending my own book pages so when I see somebody else do it, I want to hit them with one of my hardcover books and teach them a lesson how to be kind to your precious books.

#10: I wish there were waterproof books,
once I was taking a bath in Serbia (my grandfather lives there) and I had one of my books positioned at the corner of the bathtub because I wanted to read it in the bathtub. Then my mother came in and bumped the book in the water and I'm still upset when I think about the bend pages and faded letters.

#11: I hardly ever ship people,
It's like I am unable. I cannot ship people, it just hardly happens. There are but a few couples I like, but I still wouldn't say I really badly ship them. Destiel however, is an exception.

#12: My little niece of nine is exactly me,
meaning that she is an extreme bookworm. I even bought her an English book because she wanted to try it because I always read in English. So I bought her a cheap Narnia book that I found at a triftbookstore. She loves it!

#13: The Nameless is one of the first books I actually continued writing,
I always started certain stories and wrote down ideas. Sometimes I even came up with ten or so chapters but I never really finished any of those stories. So I am actually really glad that there is finally a book that keeps having my attention, may there come many more!

Curious about our book? Check the page above, you can't miss it!

#14: When I like a character I will most definitely search for a fanfiction,
My Wattpad library is full of still unread stories, but when I fall in love with a character, I just need to search for fanfictions. I don't know why.. but it has started to become quite of an.. addiction.

#15: I always get book vouchers for my birthday,
there will be either two or three people to give me one, and those people I will praise the most.

#16: Most of the time I'm a nighttime reader,

I can literally still be reading when it's around 2am. I even tend to pick up my book before bedtime. This occasionally causes me to disturb my sleeping schedule kekekekek.

#17: I am a big poetry nerd,
I love it. I love it. Love. Love. Love it.
Michael Faudet must be my favourite poet and I am dying to own poetry books, there's this massive Edgar Allen Poe book at Waterstones but it's so expensive..

One day.

#18: I have my eyes on a stunning The Hobbit hardcover,
And I need it! The cover is so gorgeous but the book is quite expensive and I haven't gotten myself to buying it yet. One of the reasons I need to become a billionaire.

#19: I haven't read the LOTR yet,

but I really want to and most definitely will. So have patience.

#20: I am very new on Booklr,
And I recently made my blog with the help of Amber. I already have more than 30 followers which I already find a lot kekeke, don't be shy and give me a follow. Self advertisement at it realest.

#21: I never really read contemporary books,
Somehow I always tend to stick to reading series. The only contemporary book I have willingly read was 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Mark Haddon. Which is a book I really enjoyed reading. Who knows, maybe I need to read some more contemporary books.

#22: I tend to stay away from hyped books,

I've always preferred books that were a little more unknown. And I do read hyped books as long as they are not too hyped like the Hunger games for instance.

#23: I've never listened to an audio book,
And I am not planning on doing so. I think reading just.. I just prefer reading it myself.

#24: I feel like we need more books with male main characters,
Just because female main characters have been a big thing nowadays, I would love to see more male characters. Hence why Simon is Simon and not Simone.
This is a reference to our book.

#25: My favourite genre will alway remain to be,
Fantasy. And it fudging rules.

Wednesday, January 27

Let's Talk | Starting a Book Blindly

Unknown January 27, 2016 0 Comments

Okay, the title might not make any sense to you at all, but what I mean with starting a book blindly is that point where you just buy the book without any detail of what the story is about. All you know is what the summary on the book says. And you know what? It's probably the best way to pick up a book.

So, I found myself in the Bruna, a Dutch shop that has a small book section including English, and gazed at the three rows of books I could pick from. There were many books of my interest, even ones my friends would recommend yet I picked out a book I had never heard of before: The Finisher by David Baldacci. The first thing that appealed to me was the stunning cover, it called for mystery. The second thing that appealed to me was the fact that I haven't heard of it in my little book community. So I thought to myself why not?

So I personally find it easier to read very unknown books. Why? Because I have no expectation of it whatsoever. When people tend to talk about a book that was really good in their own opinion, I immediately get excited. Many of you may have had this experience yourself, but then it comes to the point of you actually purchasing the book and reading it. And then it is just NOT what you expected it to be. And let me tell you something (you probably already know, but) that fudging sucks!

Another reason on why starting a book blindly is so amazing, is that you can really leave it up to your own fantasy. You haven't seen the movies or the fan cast or the hundred-thousand pieces of fan art so the characters are from your imagination only!

However, a lot of people expect that you end up reading a lot more books you tend to dislike when you go into it blind. But the truth is, you will always end up reading books you don't exactly like from time to time. It's the same as trying a new food without any idea if you will love it or not.

Now my question for you, have you ever gone into a book blind?

~ Shania

Sunday, January 24

Let's Talk | Bad Fanfictions

Unknown January 24, 2016 0 Comments

Fanfictions. Every fangirl her secret pleasure. We love to read them as much as we love reading the precious books they are based on. Though to really enjoy a good sappy fanfiction, we need to get rid of the bad seeds.

BAD FANFICTION NUMER 1
You Got No Grams Fanfictions: The ones with a lot of grammar mistakes. One, can happen. Two, must be coincidence. But when there are a thousand grammar mistakes in a sentence of twelve letters, I'm starting to doubt the fact if I should really continue using my spellings check? Okay, I'm not a grammar nazi, I make a lot of grammar mistakes myself. But when a fanfiction is written like this:

"She walked 2 the bathrom to check on weather or not her boyfrend was alife or not"

BAD FANFICTION NUMBER 2
Netflix and Chill Fanfictions: The ones where the girl meets the boy and on the same day they sleep with each other and declare their undying love. WE NEED A LIL PUSH AND PULL. It's much more enjoyable when you let the characters dance, not in a literal way although it would be cute. What I mean is, it's cute when the characters bond over more than one thing. Grow closer throughout the story. Always remember, Rome wasn't build in a day and neither is a relationship.

BAD FANFICTION NUMBER 3
Taste The Rainbow Fanfictions: The ones where the created character is casted with different ethenicy from the canon character they are to be related too. It happens rarely, but it happens none the less. To me, it shows that the writer didn't put any effort into a background check. It's like giving Jace Wayland and African-American twin. It are just details your fanfiction depends on.

BAD FANFICTION NUMBER 4I Dont Actually Add Any Lines Fanfictions: The ones where the story line is completely the same as the book and there are no extra details added to alter the story. It's not fun to read something we have already read before, or seen before. So when you write a fanfiction, please don't just follow the book or show strictly. Let your character alter the plot a little make it fun!

My biggest tip to avoid writing a bad fanfiction: get a beta reader with an honest opinion! They don't bite, I swear. That was my opinion on Bad Fanfictions, please leave a comment if you would like us to do more with fanfiction. I myself write them too so I could give a few tips ;)

Now I got a question for you:
What bad fanfictions have you experienced?

Leave your answer in the comments!

~ Shania

Thursday, November 26

Let's Talk | Slow Reading

Unknown November 26, 2015 5 Comments

There are numbers of research studies that tell us that kids who tend to read slower than other people have a lack of fluency, meaning they could just have Dyslexia. But guess what? I love being a slow reader, I will never be a fast reader and here are some reasons why.

I have probably been a slow reader my whole life, that however, doesn't mean I don't enjoy reading as much as fast readers do. It just means that I take a much longer time to finish a book. While for me that is no problem at all. I can read quick but when I do so, I forget half of the stuff I've read. So when I look at my TBR list, it will only get bigger and bigger with every trip I take into the city. And you know what? It doesn't bother me one single bit.

First of all, If a book is enjoyable why hurry through it? As a slow reader I take my time to read the book in peace. It does mean that I'm pretty incapable of reading more than 40 pages in one hour and maybe even less, after that I need to take a small break, but that break helps me with processing the information I just received. So, you could say that reading slower helps me remember the content of the book better. That break might also be because someone decided to distract me again. Person with very low attention spawn here...

You won't see me doing a lot of reviews however, and I'm terribly sorry for that because I do like sharing my thoughts on a book that I really really loved, but it takes me more time to finish a book than it does with Amber. Amber even told me that she is a slow reader as well, and I believe her, that would just make me a super slow reader hehehe.

Reading slower doesn't change my book experience. You'd say that fast readers get so caught up in the story that they rip through the whole book in just a few hours and that slow readers don't. I personally believe that we actually experience more of the book but when I read, the world around me slowly changes. I see everything that happens in the book, I find myself going along on adventures and when I look up from my book find out that so much time has passed and that I didn't even realise when it was getting dark inside.

I came across a lot of articles showing tips on how to improve your speed while reading, but you shouldn't want that. Slow reader or not, you should always stick to your on pase, never let anyone tell you to do other wise. Reading is for fun and when we need to do something, it's no longer something we do with our hard.

So, my question to you, Are you a slow reader? If yes, why do you like/hate it?

~ Shania

Friday, October 30

Book Talk | Uglies

Unknown October 30, 2015 0 Comments

Uglies is a dystopian story about Tally Youngblood. At 16 every Ugly will get the operation and is turned into a Pretty. It's all Tally has wanted since her best friend Peris turned Pretty. With the agony of missing him came the curiosity of seeing new pretty town. And on her trip to New Pretty Town she met Shay, an Ugly who doesn't want to be pretty and yanks Tally into a much more dangerous journey.

Wat I found so compelling about this story is the fact that it is a reflection on what is happening to us teens in real life. We all dream of being pretty, not seeing the beauty in our own ugly faces because that is what we were made to believe. People gave us a definition to beauty and perfect even though that definition is different for everyone else. And even though we all know that no one is perfect, we still crave to be. I find that these books puts a strong perspective to that longing and how we would do a lot to achieve it. Much like the leisures in the book being pretty could change us. It could change us into thinking lower of other's who are not pretty. Hence how the Pretty's think of the Uglies.
Q: Would you have preferred to stay true to your 'Ugly' form or would you turn 'Pretty'

Tally, I think I have never felt a character's emotion as that of her. The moment the Special attacked the smoke and she realized it was her fault, I could just start bawling up in the corner of my room. She finally found something that she never had, love, she didn't got that from her parents or her teacher. He also showed her that she was in fact pretty and didn't need an operation and they kissed and I just FEELS. But that emotion Tally must have felt when she couldn't bare to tell him that she gave up the smoke!
Q: Did you think Tally made the right decision by not telling David from the beginning?

Now another thing I loved about this book was the love line. Scott Westerfeld showed us that a book doesn't need a love triangle to differ from that cliche relationship. David and Tally showed us just that. It was beautiful, in my perspective, how Tally chose love over being a pretty. It had been her dream since she was a Littlie, it had been all she ever looked forward too. Until David showed her that she, she was pretty. In his eyes and every other.
Q: What do you think about Tally's and David's relationship? Do you ship them? Why? Why not?

The ending was so epic! Perfect end line if you ask me. Tally giving up her Ugly face that she had grown to love for Shay. Her best friend who changed so much because of that stupid operation URGH! Shay was in my opinion a great character. Like, I loved that girl. Her wild and rebellious side and the operation took that away. Such a shame. But thanks to Tally there is hope.
Q: What did you think of the ending

Make sure to leave a comment where you answer the Questions, This is a book discussion right? So I want your opinion :)!

~ Shania

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