Rachael Arsenault's Blog - Posts Tagged "vlogging"
September & October 2022: The Good, The Bad, The Apocalyptic
Okay, so I didn’t update with my reading and writing from September. It’s not that I wasn’t reading – I just wasn’t enjoying what I was reading enough to be worth sharing. October was also a minimal reading month, in part because I had family visiting for a week and a half.
But I do have quite a bit of writing to share! And something a little new. 😉
What I’ve Enjoyed
Books
Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan
This book was equal parts sweet and heart-rending. Watching Karina struggle to balance her dreams for the future and the expectations of her parents was so difficult, and I can only imagine how hard that representation must hit for readers who come from a similar family background. On a lighter note, Karina’s best friends were a delight – I loved reading their group chats, which felt true to life. And Ace was a total sweetheart. The anxiety rep was also much appreciated; I could deeply relate to some of the scenes were Karina was on the brink of an anxiety attack and struggling to hold it together until she was in private. Overall, a super excellent book. Well worth the read.
Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon
Great little book. It was a quick read and super easy to follow – highly recommend to anyone who’s looking to learn more about trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming folks, and especially to those wanting to be a better ally.
What I’ve Created
Articles
How to Create a Style Guide for Your Novel
A style guide is one of those tools I didn’t realize I needed until I was basically halfway through my series, A New Age of Magic. But I swear by it now. It makes so many nitty-gritty details and elements of editing WAY easier.
Fall Book Recs for Readers Who Don’t Love Horror
I love fall, I love books, but I don’t often love fall book recommendations. The ones I’ve seen tend to lean pretty hard into horror – which I get; it’s Halloween season. But as a reader who isn’t a fan of horror, I can feel a bit left out of the excitement. So I decided to make my own book rec list!
Academia, Tradition, and Love: A Review of Braiding Sweetgrass
I knew from the moment I read this book that I wanted to write a long-form review and encourage others to pick it up. It was just hard to find the words to describe a reading experience that was honestly… kind of perfect? Robin Kimmerer Wall not only has an incredible wealth of knowledge when it comes to botany and traditional teachers, but she very clearly loves nature. I think everyone could benefit from reading this book.
Not Good Feminist Fiction, Not Good Apocalypse Fiction: An In-Depth Review of ‘Into the Mist’
This book, on the other hand, I immediately knew I would be writing a very lengthy, very negative review about. As has been the trend with this particular author’s works, Into the Mist is rife with harmful representation and misrepresentation, despite being praised and promoted as feminist fiction. I always think it’s important to encourage discussion about when and why certain media is harmful, and that’s what I aimed to do with this review.
Other
Not Good Feminism, Not Good Apocalypse Fiction | INTO THE MIST by P.C. Cast [Vlog Review]
But wait! There’s more! While reading this book, I had so many thoughts that I couldn’t wait until I was done reading to share them, so I vlogged my thoughts as I read. The result is this very long, ramble-y review, which hopefully gives a more off-the-cuff display of my first impressions.
And that does it for September and October. Keep an eye out for my next wrap-up, as I have high hopes for my two current reads. 👀
But I do have quite a bit of writing to share! And something a little new. 😉
What I’ve Enjoyed
Books
Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan
This book was equal parts sweet and heart-rending. Watching Karina struggle to balance her dreams for the future and the expectations of her parents was so difficult, and I can only imagine how hard that representation must hit for readers who come from a similar family background. On a lighter note, Karina’s best friends were a delight – I loved reading their group chats, which felt true to life. And Ace was a total sweetheart. The anxiety rep was also much appreciated; I could deeply relate to some of the scenes were Karina was on the brink of an anxiety attack and struggling to hold it together until she was in private. Overall, a super excellent book. Well worth the read.
Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon
Great little book. It was a quick read and super easy to follow – highly recommend to anyone who’s looking to learn more about trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming folks, and especially to those wanting to be a better ally.
What I’ve Created
Articles
How to Create a Style Guide for Your Novel
A style guide is one of those tools I didn’t realize I needed until I was basically halfway through my series, A New Age of Magic. But I swear by it now. It makes so many nitty-gritty details and elements of editing WAY easier.
Fall Book Recs for Readers Who Don’t Love Horror
I love fall, I love books, but I don’t often love fall book recommendations. The ones I’ve seen tend to lean pretty hard into horror – which I get; it’s Halloween season. But as a reader who isn’t a fan of horror, I can feel a bit left out of the excitement. So I decided to make my own book rec list!
Academia, Tradition, and Love: A Review of Braiding Sweetgrass
I knew from the moment I read this book that I wanted to write a long-form review and encourage others to pick it up. It was just hard to find the words to describe a reading experience that was honestly… kind of perfect? Robin Kimmerer Wall not only has an incredible wealth of knowledge when it comes to botany and traditional teachers, but she very clearly loves nature. I think everyone could benefit from reading this book.
Not Good Feminist Fiction, Not Good Apocalypse Fiction: An In-Depth Review of ‘Into the Mist’
This book, on the other hand, I immediately knew I would be writing a very lengthy, very negative review about. As has been the trend with this particular author’s works, Into the Mist is rife with harmful representation and misrepresentation, despite being praised and promoted as feminist fiction. I always think it’s important to encourage discussion about when and why certain media is harmful, and that’s what I aimed to do with this review.
Other
Not Good Feminism, Not Good Apocalypse Fiction | INTO THE MIST by P.C. Cast [Vlog Review]
But wait! There’s more! While reading this book, I had so many thoughts that I couldn’t wait until I was done reading to share them, so I vlogged my thoughts as I read. The result is this very long, ramble-y review, which hopefully gives a more off-the-cuff display of my first impressions.
And that does it for September and October. Keep an eye out for my next wrap-up, as I have high hopes for my two current reads. 👀
