No, I'm not returning to blogging. But I wanted to let you all know I'm not dead. In fact, I'm REALLY not dead. I have something to show you:



What do all these pictures have in common? ME! I've really started to make a name for myself in the cosplay community. I love honing my craft. I don't read a lot anymore, but I do listen to A LOT of audiobooks while I sew, so books are still a part of my life.

I just wanted to reach out and let you guys know that you can follow me in my costuming journey now if you'd like. In the costuming world I'm known as "Renna" instead of Enna. My personal cosplay page is RENNAgade Cosplay.


So... Hello! I'm still alive. And I've missed you all a lot. But I'm loving costuming as well. I hope to see you around my new page!

Okay, this shouldn't come as a shock to anyone. It's not coming as a shock to me. I've been in semi-denial for the last year, thinking that I was just going through a blogging slump. But the truth is, it's not a slump. I'm done. And it's a good kind of done. I accomplished all the goals I wanted in blogging. I made new friends, new connections, and read a lot of great books.


I am going to continue to review books, however it will exclusively be on GoodReads and Amazon now. I haven't been writing reviews either of those places recently because I've been thinking "Oh. I should review those on my blog." And that's silly. Because I don't end up doing EITHER.

I'm currently going through a culling of my GoodReads friends; so if I don't recognize your name you're probably gonna be gone soon. If you'd still like to see my reviews, I'd recommend "following" me on GoodReads instead of "friending." (The event invitations and book recommendations are just becoming too much!)

I thought I would be really sad when my blogging finally came to an end, but like I said: I've gotten everything I wanted out of blogging. My life is in a really great spot right now. Many people quit blogging because they are crazy busy, and I guess I'm busy, but I'm busy with stuff that I LOVE. Two weeks from today I start my first day teaching high school, something I've wanted for over ten years. I'm preparing to enter a world-wide cosplay competition. And I'm surrounded by great friends.

Life is good, friends. Life is good.

So even though I won't be on blogger anymore (except maybe sporadically? I dunno). I will still be on Twitter and GoodReads. So I hope we can stay in touch. Maybe I'll even share my FaceBook cosplay page with y'all some day. If I'm feeling brave. ;)

Keep reading, my friends! You're the best!

I have more books for sale! Here they are in picture form. Nearly all are in like-new condition (if you request one that isn't, I'll let you know before you purchase). I'm just running out of space and it's getting way too hard to store all of these books. So I had to go through all of them and ask myself "Will you read this?" If the answer was no, out it went! I just don't have time to read everything!

Request books via this Google Form. Prices are as marked on the google doc. Shipping is $3 for the first book and $1 for each additional book. US only. I accept payment in the form of Paypal and Amazon Gift Cards. ARCs are available to for trade or GC only. Also, if your order is above $20 (before shipping) then you may choose an ARC for free (plus $1 shipping). Shipping costs may be adjusted for larger orders (don't worry, it'd only go down, not up).

I'm offering discounts if you buy multiple books from the same author, too!

And... I think that's it. There are nearly fifty books! I tried to link to the correct GoodReads edition below, so check 'em out and then fill out the Google Form to let me know which ones you'd like! First come (meaning first paid) first serve! No holds. I will be at work until late this afternoon, so please be patient with me in replying to your requests.

Thanks!

AKA Review ALL THE THINGS!

I want to get back into reviewing, but I'm SO far behind on reviews that it seems daunting. Whenever this happens it's time to cue the mini-reviews! Just some simple one-paragraph reviews of the books I've read in the last couple months. That way I don't feel like I'm buried in unwritten reviews and can get back to writing them!

This time I'm going to feature all of the books I've read since February that are sequels. Whether book two, end of a trilogy, etc. The rating for each book is in (parenthesis) next to the title and author name.

Prodigy & Champion, Marie Lu (4.5 flowers)

This series surprised me! I loved that it went in directions that you wouldn't expect, especially when it game to bad guys. Are the bad guys really bad? Are the good guys good? I still don't know! And that's how I like it. Also, I want to live in Antarctica now.

Perfect Lies, Kiersten White (4.5 flowers)

This book is like an episode of Law and Order before bed. Now... if you're me, that sounds like the perfect nighttime plan. Seriously. I love Law and Order before bed. And this book fit that bill perfectly. Full of mystery, a little bit of romance, some tense moments, but nothing that would scar me or even get my blood pumping very hard. A simple, easy, fun read.

Infinite, Jodi Meadows (5 flowers)

Holy crap. What can I say about this book except that IT IS AMAZING. I have adored this whole series, but this one really took the cake. There were certain things revealed that just... whoa. Blew my mind. I'm STILL processing them. And that ending! GAH! That ending gave me so many mixed emotions that my brain still feels backwards. If you haven't read this series, DO IT.


Split Second, Kasie West (5 flowers)

I have no idea why I like this series. I shouldn't. It's primarily a contemporary romance, which as you know I am NOT a fan of. And yet, I love this series. I guess that little paranormal flare is just enough to make it amazing. Or maybe I do like CR and just don't know it... regardless, even though there were moments in this book where I thought things like "Well that's convenient" it was immediately coupled with "But I don't care, because I LOVE IT!" This is another series that I see as primarily fluffy, but not without depth and intrigue. Plus I love the characters!

Dreams of Gods and Monsters, Laini Taylor (4 flowers)

Just finished this one yesterday. Honestly, I found this book pretty slow. Felt like not a lot happened. But also honestly, I didn't really care. The writing is beautiful. The characters are beautiful. The story is beautiful. So a little slowness couldn't hurt.

At first I was like "You're going to end there!? THERE?! Are there going to be four books in this 'trilogy'?!"

But then I was like "Oh. Okay. Actually. This is a super fantastical awesome ending. I am happy. And so is my imagination."

Okay. Fine. I'm biting the bullet. I'm posting pictures of me dressed as a weirdo. Mostly to explain my current absence. I am desperately trying to finish THREE costumes (one for me, two for other people) in the next two days. So.. fine. I might delete this post, but here I am dressed as fictional characters. I'll even post reference pictures for y'all.

What have I done?!

Lan Fan Reference Image. This is Fan-Art, and the black/silver is actually inverted. Mine is correct. ;)

This is Lan Fan. She was my first ever "official" cosplay. She comes from the anime, "Fullemtal Alchemist: Brotherhood" I made everything, including the robotic arm, which is made from thermally molded plastic.

River Song Reference Image

This was my second ever cosplay, and my first dress. This is River Song, from Dr. Who, who is my favorite fictional character of all time. Yes, even more than Enna. Not a lot more, but more. Honestly, I'm not very proud of this costume. It was my first time making a dress, and it turned out big and bulky and awkward. But it was fun. And I like that wig.

Crona Reference Image

I actually had a couple costumes in between River Song and Crona, but... I'm not quite sure I'm ready to share those yet. Crona was actually thrown together last minute just as a joke. My roommate dressed up as Ragnarok and I carried her around piggyback. But We were very popular at the convention!

Midna Reference Picture

Finally, here's Midna! This is probably the costume I'm now most well-known for, and she's definitely my favorite to wear (though it takes about 2 hours to put it all on). I've also won several awards for this costume. Pretty trophies. Midna is from the video game The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess which is my favorite game of all time. I feel so pretty when I get to step into her skin.

All of the white detailing on the cloak and skirt was appliqued on. Which means every piece of that MONSTER design is SEWN on. Just the cloak took me nearly 50 hours. It's about 8-9 feet across and 6 feet tall. The heels that I wore in this costume made me about 6 feet tall as well. It's quite the feat to move around it.

So... there I am in all my nerdy glory. Now, back to sewing! I've got three Amestrian Military uniforms to finish before Saturday! Eeps!