Taylor Fenner's Bookish World's 5-YEAR Blog Anniversary!

Hey Bookdragons! It's my 5-year blog anniversary! 

Five years ago I posted my first book review and changed my blog name to Taylor Fenner's Bookish World. The blog has had a few facelifts over the years and I've tried different memes and even dabbled in a couple of my own. 

Right now I'm on a hiatus but I had to pop in and commemorate the day. Here are a few fun facts...

10 Fun Facts About Taylor Fenner's Bookish World...

1. First Review:

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

2. First ARC (Advance Reader Copy)

3. First Physical ARC

4. Most Popular Post to Date:

My first time as an author doing the Young Adult Scavenger Hunt in 2017

5. Favorite Genre in 2015:

Fantasy

6. Favorite Genre in 2020:

Horror/Thriller

7. Average Number of Books Read Per Year:

92

8. Favorite Authors: Wendy Higgins, Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo, Jay Kristoff, Lisa Jackson, Dawn Kurtagich, Helena Hunting, Penelope Ward, Tyffany Hackett

9. First Audiobook Listen:

10. Current Read/Listen

In the past two months I've decided to take a hiatus and learn to enjoy reading again and I feel so much better. I'm enjoying reading what I want to read, when I want to read it without having to adhere to review schedules, monthly TBRs or being influenced to read what someone else thinks I should be reading. I no longer feel the need to finish a 500 page book in 2 days either.

I also, when I'm done with my hiatus, want to move into blogging about other things... tv shows I love, movie rankings, seasonal things I want to try, etc. So be on the lookout for things to come from Taylor Fenner's Bookish World!

On Hiatus

Hey Bookdragons! It's July! Today is moving day for me so I'll keep this short and sweet...

Five years ago this month I started using this blog/platform for book blogging. It's been a great run and I've discovered a lot of new authors to love and grew to love genres out of my comfort zone. 

But like all good things, Taylor Fenner's Bookish World blog has reached an end... for now. What started out as sharing something I loved (reading) with the world and recommending books to people has drained away my love for reading and replaced it with ARC reading schedules, deadlines, and requirements. 

Reading doesn't feel fun anymore and I want that escape back. So I'm taking a hiatus. I'm not sure at this point for how long. I have a couple review obligations I may pop back in for over the next few months but I definitely plan on taking the summer off. I'd like to say I'll be back to doing weekly memes and reviews come fall, but I'll see where I'm at and how I'm feeling about social media. 

This isn't goodbye forever, just for now.

I'll be seeing you.

- Taylor @ Taylor Fenner's Bookish World

March Wrap-Up

Happy Easter! It's April already and March brought a lot of personal changes to my life which screwed with my reading, blogging, and writing schedules. I did manage to get a few things done...

READING

Books I Reviewed In March:

- Gentleman Nine by Penelope Ward

- The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

- One Week Girlfriend by Monica Murphy

- See How She Dies by Lisa Jackson

-Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

- The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco

Books I Read In March: 

- Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

- One Week Girlfriend by Monica Murphy

- See How She Dies by Lisa Jackson

- Chaser by Kylie Scott

- Furyborn by Claire Legrand

- Song of Blood and Stone by L. Penelope

- Second Chance Boyfriend by Monica Murphy

Books to-be-read in April:

- Heart of Ash by Kim Liggett

- Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

- Moonlight Sins by Jennifer L. Armentrout

WRITING

March started strong writing-wise and I hit 25,000 words in what was previously known as The Endgame and has since become Who I Am With You. Unfortunately due to unforeseen events I haven't had time to write over the past couple weeks so I'm pushing back my deadline to complete the first draft until May 1st.

BLOGGING

Despite the challenges I faced later in the month I was able to meet my obligations to participate in my usual cover reveals and release day blitzes.

PUBLISHING

No events for March

January Wrap Up

It's February and 2018 is already passing me by faster than the blink of an eye. I did a lot of reading in January and a little writing, not to mention my latest novel, CurseBreaker came out just after the beginning of the year. Here's what I got up to last month...

READING

Books I Reviewed In January:

- The Great Pursuit by Wendy Higgins

- There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

- Bonfire by Krysten Ritter

- Ryan's Bed by Tijan

- Say You'll Remember Me by Katie McGarry

- xo, Zach by Kendall Ryan

- Secrets of Bennett Hall by Jordan Elizabeth

Books I Read In January: 

- By A Charm and A Curse by Jaime Questell

- There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

- Say You'll Remember Me by Katie McGarry

- Ryan's Bed by Tijan

- xo, Zach by Kendall Ryan

- Broken Beautiful Hearts by Kami Garcia

- Bonfire by Krysten Ritter

- Secrets of Bennett Hall by Jordan Elizabeth

- The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco

- Darkest Night by Tara Thomas

- The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Books to-be-read in February:

- Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

- Boy Heaven by Laura Kasischke

- Uprooted by Naomi Novik

- Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout

- Alpha Goddess by Amalie Howard

- Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh

- The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

WRITING

January was an odd writing month. I started writing a New Adult Sports Romance, tentatively titled The Endgame (not really happy with the title) and I'm just over 7,000 words in. I've also rethought a few ideas in Monsters and Mist, my YA Fantasy novel, and began working on a top secret project that I'm really in love with but haven't had much time to work on. I hope to get about 10,000 words added to The Endgame and work more on the top secret project while I let Monsters and Mist stew a little in February.

BLOGGING

 In January participated in my usual cover reveals and more than a few blog tours and I'm starting to feel burnout so you'll have noticed my post on blogging changes coming this month here.

PUBLISHING

In January my latest YA Fantasy Fairytale Retelling CurseBreaker arrived in paperback and ebook and it has done really well so far and been really well received. In February I'm going to pursue trying to get the rights for The Haunting Love back from its publisher, editing and writing onto Headless (I picked a cover in January thanks to amazing input from my bookstagram friends!), and looking into getting an audiobook edition of CurseBreaker.

July Wrap-Up

July was a good and bad month for reading and blogging. As you probably heard I had a slight set back from typing and blogging due to a sprained thumb but I'm much better now! In case you missed anything on my blog or social media last month, this is what I got up to: 

READING

Books I Reviewed In July:

Sublime by Christina Lauren - I still can't stop thinking about this book and I'm not exactly sure whether I loved this book or was afraid of it.

Ruined by Amy Tintera - It was okay, but it wasn't really a stand out in a sea of YA Fantasy novels. 

Because of Lila by Abbi Glines - A new favorite by one of my favorite authors!

Trust by Kylie Scott - Absolutely loved the YA debut of another of my favorite authors!

Caraval by Stephanie Garber - finally finished listening to the audiobook but it was definitely worth it in the end! 

Riot by Jamie Shaw - back to a series I fell in love with last year. A great second book!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 

Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry - OMG why didn't I read this book sooner???

Chaos by Jamie Shaw - second favorite book in this quartet! 

Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry - review coming later this week!

Books I Read In July: 

Ever the Brave by Erin Summerill - Started but haven't finished yet.

Sublime by Christina Lauren

Ruined by Amy Tintera

Because of Lila by Abbi Glines

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Riot by Jamie Shaw

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry

Chaos by Jamie Shaw

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo - wasn't loving this so I stopped listening

Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - haven't had the chance to finish listening to this amazing audiobook yet!

Books to-be-read in August:

A Map For Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor

Can't Hardly Breathe by Gena Showalter

Long Way Home by Katie McGarry

Unforgiven by Lauren Kate

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

WRITING

In July I started developing the characters and plot of my next writing project, Monsters & Mist, a YA Fantasy novel I plan to write during NaNoWriMo in November. See some of my inspiration here.

BLOGGING

In July I participated in multiple cover reveals and release day blitzes as well as doing obviously a lot of book reviews and other posts for my blog. I've kept a heavy schedule, posting nearly once a day all month!

PUBLISHING

This month, I purchased the ISBN number for the print version of CurseBreaker, obtained the barcode, added CurseBreaker to Goodreads, and brainstormed some marketing ideas for pre-order incentives and more. Read my publishing timeline outline here.