A Discussion of Shades: Heroism, Villainy, and the In-Between ft. Novels & Marvel Films // I’m Back?!

Hello friends! It’s been a while hasn’t it? How have all of you been? I’m back after my biggest gap in posting (6 months), and was going to blame it on school, but really I was feeling uninspired and stuck in a reading slump, and looking at everything I was behind on, it became a vicious cycle.

But because I love my baby blog and you all, and admittedly finding fresh motivation from stumbling into the whirlwind that is book twitter (come find me!!), I couldn’t resist popping back in to publish this post which has been sitting in my drafts for a few months, and one that’s getting me excited about storytelling again.

So I made a promise to myself and posted a poll a long time back, about expanding the kind of content I write about. It’s been staunchly book reviews and wrap ups for a while, and I’m hoping to shake up the monotony with more discussion based and recommendations post!

To start it off, I’m here with a little discussion post (more so, thought dump) about one of my favourite devices in storytelling: heroes and villains and anti-heroes. (see: my constant recommendation of the genius that is The Poppy War, and also the latest Dr Strange movie !!)

Without further ado, let’s talk heroes and villains!

2021 WRAP UP | Reflections and Stats!! ft. Rating books based on Disney References

Hello friends!!

ONE DAY MORE. ONE MORE DAY TO REVOLUTION 2022.

I’m echoing everyone’s sentiments: How is it already the 31st of December, with 2022 being… tomorrow? Well regardless, there’s one last day of closure for 2021, and I’ve a record for being notoriously late to blog milestones and all, so for once here’s a wrap up that’s just in time. I’m excited to review 2021 in all its bookish, Poppy-War-ish glory!

My Top 10 Books of 2021 | Raw, Radiant and Resonant Reads that shaped my year!

Hello friends!! Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas yesterday if you celebrated, if not a restful weekend as we hurtle towards the end of the year?

Despite being in denial about 2021 being over, I’ve come out of my hibernation with my favourite post yearly, on the best books of the year. I’m not hyperbolic at all in claiming that books have been my sanity-anchors throughout this hectic year, but more on that kind of reflections during my yearly wrap up! For now, it’s time to scream about these books for the umpteenth time with as much vigour as the first!!

2021 Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag | Relishing the chance to scream about my favourites (again) + Showcasing a fraction of my huge 2021 TBR!

Hello friends!

Has the realisation that the middle of the year has dawned and past shattered your mind, soul, spirit yet? Because it certainly has for me.

However, instead of morning and mourning the supersonic speed of time, allow me to instead freak out over how much I loved my reads this year, as well as how my TBR pile towers over those that I have read!

Spoiler alert: I’m being dramatic, but not hyperbolic. (And yes, that was a reference to The Poppy War, ah the wonders of foreshadowing!)

JUNE WRAP UP | My first Five Star Read of the year – New favourite series incoming! (no prizes for guessing)

Hello friends! Hope you all had a lovely June though ah it’s already about mid year where has time gone? Ignores the fact that I question time Every. Single. Wrap up.

For me with school break June was definitely a more restful month though I still had so much studying and projects to be done, and I’m thrilled to report that I’ve managed to catch up on my Goodreads Reading Challenge of 60 books. June was a month filled with many anticipated reads and they did not disappoint, and it also granted me my very first five star read of the year and I couldn’t have been more happy with what it was.

Enough rambling, let’s talk books, blogging & life!

FEBRUARY & MARCH WRAP UP | In which I disappeared from the face of the blogosphere

Hello everyone, happy end-March!

I’ve become more and more convinced that time is a social construct, that it doesn’t exist, as two months off the blogosphere just flew by in a series of hectic schedules and crazy workloads.

Thankfully, things have eased a little (or rather I hope) and I’m popping back here to share with you all about these past 2 months, where I didn’t read much (I’m a couple of books behind my GR goal, yikes!) got to some priority TBR reads and found favourites in them!

5 books I want to squeeze in before 2020 ends (JSBT #5) 📚 | Character Chat #2

Hi everyone! We are officially nearing the last 3 weeks of 2020, the year that will forever be notorious. Today, I’ll be sharing 5 books that I want to squeeze in before this year ends, thanks to the prompt from the weekly feature: Just Some Bibliophilic Things, that Riddhi @ Whispering Stories hosts!

🌷 November Wrap-Up || a splendid month with ½ of this year’s 5 star reads?! 🤩 || ft. GIF-y Love #3 || Character Chat #1

Hello everyone! I somehow dread and love writing these wrap-ups at the same time. It gives me great pleasure to look back on the month and talk about some of the highlights with you all, but it’s scary as it flew so fast… 2020 is *wild wind whooshes in*.

But nonetheless, I truly enjoyed my month of November, and it was one of many great milestones for blogging for me. I changed my site name from “cherelle the bibliophile” to “a bolt out of the book”, something I always wanted to do but was apprehensive, you can learn about the new name here!

Furthermore, I set up a book club with Ashmita @ The Fictional Journal on Goodreads: BOOKS GO BOOM!! You can learn more about it here (my post) and here (Ashmita’s post). We just decided on the Book of the Month for December which is SET FIRE TO THE GODS by Kristin Simmons and Sarah Raasch, I am so excited to read it with you all in the club!

Okay without further ado, let’s see November!