Aless

https://www.goodreads.com/alesstheintrovert

Aless’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (93)
currently-reading‎ (3)
read‎ (374)
did-not-finish‎ (70)
read-at-a-later-time‎ (19)
audiobook-listens‎ (93)

addictive‎ (51)
favorites‎ (42)
school-reads‎ (35)
unexpected-favorites‎ (35)
netgalley-arcs‎ (17)
2019-favorites‎ (13)

2022-favorites‎ (12)
2020-favorites‎ (8)
2024-favorites‎ (8)
2021-favorites‎ (7)
annotated‎ (6)
unreleased‎ (5)

gifted-for-review‎ (4)
2023-favorites‎ (2)
beta-read‎ (1)

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Aless is Currently Reading

Aless is currently reading

1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round

by Jami Attenberg (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: unexpected-favorites, 2024-favorites, favorites, currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in August 2024

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Aless said: " The only time I pick up nonfiction is for writing craft books. This is the first craft book since Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels, that I did not skim read or get bored while reading. I read this on the recommendation of Kate C The only time I pick up nonfiction is for writing craft books. This is the first craft book since Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels, that I did not skim read or get bored while reading. I read this on the recommendation of Kate Cavanaugh Writes latest video where she tried the 1000 words bootcamp challenge.

I enjoyed this more than I expected. I love that it was written as a conversation instead of this is how writing should be or how you should attack. It was written for a modern audience who has access to a greater writing community that is searching for advice and experiences from other writers. I appreciate that all the authors and Attenberg referred to authors and writers I have never heard of, including ones who wrote a letter. Now, I am like 30 years younger than Attenberg, but one of the ways that I think the U.S. education fails us is by showing us artists of a certain status and background. The examples and authors mentioned are still likely of a white background, but there was something more interesting that the author writing the letter found so impactful. (I'm not sure if that made sense, but I can't think of a way to reword it right now.)

Also, having this reflect on the time between 2018-2021 was interesting. That time feels like a blur and as if 2018/2019 was the end of the world as we thought of it. So hearing how all these creatives went from finding a routine to rediscovering creativity while put into a bubble was enjoyable.

ALSO! As an art student going into her senior year, there were so many quotes that I will be taking with me into my approach as an artist who is struggling to create art for herself. I write what I want and tell the stories I want. But I make art works that I think other people will enjoy. I have maybe 4 pieces from the last 3 years that I am so happy with and proud with because I made them for my enjoyment. Not the grade or critique of my peers and professors.

I have found this summer that writing to a word count does not work for me. I write a scene(s) until I don't have anything left to say for that day/session. I have surprised myself with the word count I have by the end of the day. I still track it, just to find the pattern in when I write and finding my flow. I struggled to write a chapter yesterday but I sat with it all day and I like what I ended with. Today, I feel like my brain is mush. I wanted to read a fiction work, but I was so intrigued by this craft book so I read it first. I didn't even listen to the audiobook. I sat with the text and the words from all these authors. I have so many ideas as a writer, artist, person, for my current project, my last project, future ones, and so many things.

I finally found a writing craft book that made me think and appreciate art and life. This book doesn't gatekeep the writing community or writing. ...more "

progress:

(page 36 of 272)
"time for a reread" — Jan 01, 2026 06:33PM

Aug 13, 2024 04:26PM · see review

Aless is currently reading

The Once and Future Queen (The Lives of Guinevere, #1)

by Paula Lafferty (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: audiobook-listens, currently-reading

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progress:

(45%)
"This book is funny. I legit can't tell what's gonna happen tho. Like yes she'll probably get those mems later but like what then. She stays? She actually goes back?" — Dec 12, 2025 10:04AM

Dec 12, 2025 07:15PM

Aless is currently reading

The Hexologists (The Hexologists, #1)

by Josiah Bancroft

bookshelves: currently-reading

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progress:

(page 223 of 318)
"Ngl some of these descriptors are going over my head. I got my loan back so I hope this didn't put me in a slump. I need to finish it before I can really tell" — Nov 21, 2025 09:32PM

Nov 21, 2025 09:32PM

Aless’s Quotes

“If you want me obedient, prince, kill me and carry my corpse.”
― Hafsah Faizal, We Hunt the Flame

tags: fantasy-young-adult, funny, humor, inspirational, sassy

71 likes

“You need to have a way to take care of yourself. A way to recharge. Otherwise the world will get you down so fast, you won’t be able to hold your head up. I learned this the hard way.”
― S.K. Ali, Love from A to Z

5 likes

“I just wanted the right mix of being with someone I connected to, who cared, but also let me be.”
― S.K. Ali, Love from A to Z

10 likes

“Even the biggest tigers grow old, Hilo had once said. But even the oldest tiger was still a tiger.”
― Fonda Lee, Jade Legacy

11 likes

“Sinners who were led astray,
Wandered through the woods one day,
Stumbled right into the Gray,
Never to return.
Hear the lies our gods will tell,
The prison the Four wove so well,
But listen to us when we say,
Branches and stones, daggers and bones,
Will meet their judgement day.”
― C.L. Herman, The Devouring Gray

tags: curse, prayer, song

7 likes

More of Aless’s quotes…