personal

Becoming more body positive is a journey, here’s how mine is going

Dalindcy Koolhoven3 Comments

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We’ve all heard the stories of people who go through terrible self-esteem issues in middle- and high school. I can add my story to the pile. Not only did I cover my mirrors because I was disgusted how I looked, I was also constantly obsessing over how others perceived me and how to look better.

weight loss and weight gain
I have lost and gained a bunch of weight in my life. For a long time I suffered from disordered eating. In a way, I still do. There are days where I feel like I can’t trust the hunger cues my body gives off and I feel guilty after eating something ‘bad’. I don’t want to get into the morality of labeling some foods as good or bad, but the fact that this language around food is normalized at all says something about the state our society is in. Continue reading “Becoming more body positive is a journey, here’s how mine is going” →

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Books

Reread Review: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Dalindcy KoolhovenLeave a comment

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For years, my new years resolution has been to reread Harry Potter. This year, I finally committed! Or.. to the first book at least.  I will let you know right off the bat, I ended up giving the book (only?) three stars. Continue reading “Reread Review: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” →

Bookish posts

Let’s do a library haul

Dalindcy Koolhoven8 Comments

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I love love LOVE my local library. I became a patron again last year and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made. I have the ‘plus’ membership, which means I get to keep the books for a year if I want to (which I never do, but it’s nice to not be on a time crunch constantly).

I never really do library hails, but since 2019 is about blogging more (for me), and I enjoy reading these posts at other people’s blogs, why not do one?

schermafbeelding 2019-01-19 om 18.05.48Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
I’ve never read a Brandon Sanderson book (yet!) I’ve also heard great things about his books. I’m someone that looooves character-driven stories and extensive world building, so his books are always recommended to me. I’ve heard that Warbreaker is a good place to start (before diving into the mistborne trilogy) so that’s the one I got from my library. Super excited to dive into this one!

 

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We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
In 2017 and early 2018, this book was all the rage on Goodreads and Booktube. Not that crazy, considering it has a GORGEOUS cover. I saw this in my library and picked it up, because I wanted to see what this (old..) hype was all about! A lot of people whose reviews I trust have rated this book high, so I’m excited to try it.

 

Continue reading “Let’s do a library haul” →

Book reviews

Book review: Becoming by Michelle Obama

Dalindcy Koolhoven3 Comments

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I was never hugely into audiobooks, but I have finally found a kind that I like: autobiographies narrated by the person the book is about. ‘Becoming’ by Michelle Obama is exactly what I was looking for.

This story, told in chronological order, starts when Michelle is just a kid. Of course, I knew a little bit about the former first lady before I listened to this, but not a whole lot. I loved the portrayal of the south side of Chicago, and learning how Michelle dealt with a world that was – and is – divided in so many ways. I loved hearing about her father and how his disability was handled in the family.

I was hoping to also learn about how Michelle handled law school, as I’m currently in law school myself. Unfortunately, she kind of skipped over this part. It’s funny, because Michelle never wanted to be a lawyer. It was super interesting to hear how her career went as she steered away from law as someone with a law degree. In that way, I still got something out of that portion of the book. Continue reading “Book review: Becoming by Michelle Obama” →

personal

Celebrating three years on this blog & a thank you

Dalindcy Koolhoven5 Comments

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I made this blog somewhere in January 2016, after not loving the blog I was writing before. I have since learned that this is just something that I go through, loving and not loving my blog. It’s part of my creative process and just something I have to deal with.

I’d say my blog definitely grew a lot over the years . I started out writing little anecdotes about my life, about life lessons I learned or funny conversations I’ve had. I then started to write more about personal development as I was entering adulthood. Reading is something I’ve always loved, so I started to enjoy writing more about that. These days my blog is about books, but definitely also about my personal life. A healthy balance. Continue reading “Celebrating three years on this blog & a thank you” →

Book reviews · Bookish posts

Should we stop writing negative book reviews?

Dalindcy Koolhoven10 Comments

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It seems that the bookish community has had a shifting opinion on the idea of book reviews and what they should be. It might just be my tiny Twitter bubble, but it seems to be that more and more people think that writing negative book reviews is rude. And that if you didn’t like a book, you shouldn’t write about it, or even rate the book at all.. Continue reading “Should we stop writing negative book reviews?” →

Bookish posts · personal

My 2019 Reading Goals

Dalindcy Koolhoven10 Comments

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After updating you on how I did on my 2018 reading goals, I thought it would be only fitting to let you know what I’m planning on working on during 2019. I loved holding myself accountable through the blog posts I have written about my goals. Here’s to 2019. 🙂

Goal 1: read all the books I still have on my physical TBR
Right now, I have about ~23 books on my shelves that I haven’t read yet. In 2019, I finally want to read most, if not all of them. Of course, I will probably also buy a bunch of books this year. I’m not counting these as part of the physical TBR, however, I do want to end up with less books on my physical TBR at the end of the year than I started with.

Goal 2: diversify my reading even more
In 2018, I think I did a pretty good job diversifying my reading. But at the same time, I think I started to see some holes into the diversity I did read. So, in 2019, I want to focus specifically on the following:

  • Read more books by black authors and with black main characters
  • Read more books with disabled characters
  • Read more books set in Australia and Africa.

Goal 3: read more classic fantasy
Here’s a confession for ya: I have never read a Brandon Sanderson book in my life. I want to get more into fantasy in 2019. I always see those ”top 100 best fantasy books” lists online with the same books on them. So yeah, I think it’s time to read some of those. Continue reading “My 2019 Reading Goals” →