Author Archives: worldofbai

I have a new found love for reading and photography. I am here to share all my book reviews and other bookish things. Hopefully we can be friends along the way!

Top 5 Tuesday: 5 Tropes I Can’t Get Enough Of

Top five Tuesdays is hosted by Meeghan Reads. Each Tuesday there is a new topic based around your top 5 for each prompt. I enjoy participating in these because I feel it helps readers connect to the bloggers. I started my blog to not only keep track of my reading journey but to also make connections with my readers. I am excited to share my favorite tropes with you, lets go!

Top Five Book Tropes

  1. Enemies to Lovers
  2. Magic School
  3. Fake Dating
  4. Cults
  5. Twins With a Twist

Lets Deep Dive

Enemies to Lovers

“Red, White and Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston is probably my favorite example of this trope.

The Presidents son Alex Claremont has never really gotten along with Prince Henry but when pictures are taken and threatened to be released publicly these two nemesis have to act all buddy buddy. One ting leads to another and these enemies become long distance lovers.

This is my second favorite LGBTQ read, with my first being “One Last Stop” also written by Casey McQuiston. If you haven’t read these books yet make sure to check them out!

Magic School

“A Deadly Education” by Naomi Novik matches this description perfectly!

El is a magically gifted girl who attends the Scholomance School for gifted children. This school is particularly strange because the only way to leave is if you graduate or die. Follow some simple rules and just maybe you can leave with your body still intact. The most important rule is never to walk the halls alone and to always be on the lookout for rogue monsters.

I loved this book because the world was so well built! I felt like I was actually attending school with El. I am very excited to read the second book here soon!

Fake Dating

“The Dating Plan” by Sara Desai was one of my favorite romance reads ever!

Daisy and Liam couldn’t be more opposite. A software engineer who is very detail orientated and a Venture capitalist who has something of a bad side. However, both Daisy and Liam need to get their families off their backs. They come up with a fool proof plan and start “Dating” leading towards an engagment.

I loved this story because neither of them really wanted it to end in a relationship but throughout the course of the book they fell in love and it felt very natural.

Cults

“A Deadly Influence” by Mike Omer was the first book I have ever read regarding cults and I fell in love with this plot instantly!

Abby Mullen works for the police department as a hostage negotiator. When a child goes missing and an old friend requests for her help memories come rushing back!

Abby and the childs mother were in a cult together when they were children and Abby was the lucky one who made it out. Where is the poor child? Could the cult have something to do with this?

I really enjoyed this book because occasionally there would be flashbacks regarding her time as a child in a cult. I was not expecting to love it as much as I did but the way the author portrayed Abby’s character and her past trauma it really pulled me in and felt very tasteful.

Twins With a Twist

“The Girl in The Mirror” by Rose Carlyle was the first thriller book I have read where I didn’t guess the twist at the end.

Iris and Summer are identical twins but what lies on the inside is very different. Iris has always been jealous of Summer especially ever since Summer married a very handsome and rich man. But when a sailing trips go wrong Iris jumps at the chance to finally walk in her sisters footsteps.

Like I said the twist in this book had me screaming! I know some people said they could see what happened from a mile away but for me I was shocked till the end.

Final Thoughts

There are so many different tropes out there these days but most of them that I could think of were romance based. Is there a reason why I couldn’t think of tropes other than romance and thriller? Possibly because that is all I ever read? Oh well, I just know these are tropes I always look forward too. I am currently reading “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood which is a fake dating trope!

What are some of your favorite tropes? Did any of yours make my list?

How I Annotate My Books

Hello bookish friends and family! Today I want to talk about how I annotate my books and why I started doing it. I know a lot of people do not like to annotate because it reminds them of being forced to do it in school. Honestly I didn’t have to do this in school so maybe this is why I have actually enjoyed the process but I can see why some people wouldn’t want to do this.

Do you annotate your books? Why or why not?

Also just a heads up, I will be using direct quotes and examples from books I have previously read. If you are worried about reading a possible spoiler please just beware.

Why I Started To Annotate

I actually only started annotating a few months ago back in June when I started to read “Pet Semetary’ by Stephen King. I read this for a book club and I wanted to make sure that I had a reference to come back to for our discussion at the end.

I started off with little sticky notes which I really liked because I could write my thoughts on each thing I marked so I knew better as to why I marked it when I came back.

Now I was these highlighter ones that are see through so I can mark the exact spot in the book without covering any of the words. I just wish I could write on them to be honest.

I probably excessively mark my books compared to most people, as you can see the middle book is covered in markings! Sometimes I mark a lot because a book was a bit confusing so I marked to come back and remind myself of certain important things, sometimes the book has a lot of really good quotes or other times the author put a lot of emotion into the book. I don’t think I mark excessively though, I just mark what feels right to me.

How I Mark

Each color represents a different feeling or important aspect in the book

Follow this link to order these tabs from amazon

Annotation Tabs on Amazon

Red: These are typically things that make me angry or upset while reading

Example:” “Don’t Stutter!” Jack suddenly screamed into his face. Danny cried out in shock, his body going tense, trying to draw away from his father, and then he collapsed into tears.” – Direct quote from “The Shining” by Stephen King Page 181. This made me very upset! there was no need to yell at the poor boy!

Light Pink: These are typically things that represent love as in relationship, family or even friendship. However in the shinning I used this color for anything that was scary.

Example: “Thank you, I guess. You didn’t have to help me, but you did. August huffs out a laugh. “I just did it because I thought you were hot.” ” -Direct Quote from “One Last Stop” by Casey Mcquiston page 354. This made me feel the love and connection between the two characters and I thought it was really sweet and so it deserved to be marked.

Example: “And suddenly he found that he didn’t like the Overlook so well anymore, as if it wasn’t wasps that had stung his son, wasps that had miraculously lived through the bug bomb assault, but the hotel itself.” Direct quote from “The Shining” by Stephen King page 198. I felt like this was the turning point in the book where things started to actually get scary.

Orange: This color is for anything that makes me happy or can make me smile.

Example: “With that the guy was gone. And Olive never got his name. But a few weeks later, When the Stanford biology department extended her an offer, she accepted it. Without hesitating.” Direct quote from “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood page 8. Only 8 pages in and I am already so happy for Olive!

Yellow: I use this color for anything that makes me laugh or is just generally funny.

Example: “I… Oh my God, I didn’t- I am so sorry-” “Just Kidding.” “I really had no idea that you-” “Olive. I was Joking. I’m not married. No Kids.” Direct quotes from “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood page 44.

This was funny because Olive truly thought she kissed a married man and thought that she made people believe he was having an affair, when really he just made a quick joke. I find it funny because of how awkward that situation would have been!

Lime Green: I use this one for all my favorite quotes.

Example: “But to kiss and be kissed. To be wanted. That’s a different thing from love. And maybe, maybe if she tried, they could have something. Not everything, but something” Direct quote from “One Last Stop” by Casey Mcquiston page 210. I love this quote because it stands true in every day life.

Blue: This color is reserved for anything that makes me cry, sad or just feel down.

Example: “And Gage, who now had less than two months to live, laughed shrilly and joyously. “Kite Flyne! Kite flyne, Daddy!” ” Direct quote from “Pet Semetary” by Stephen King page 209. This is sad because it was foreshadowing for the first time when Gage was going to pass away, but yet he was a happy little boy.

Dark Purple: These are things that I can personally relate too or at least feel relatable.

Example: “All I listen to are podcasts about murder. I don’t know who half these people are.” Direct quote from “One Last Stop” by Casey Mcquiston page 49. I find this quote relateable because I only listen to true crime podcasts and have no clue who any famous people are or even what songs are popular these days, but I can sure tell you all about the latest murder victims.

Hot Pink: These tabs are for all my steamy reading moments!

Example: “Just like she didn’t didn’t need to turn to know that the large, warm weight suddenly steadying her, a firm but barely there pressure applied to the center of her lower back, was Carlsen’s hand. About two inches above her ass.” Direct quote from “The Love Hypothesis’ by Ali Hazelwood page 27. This is not the most steamy sentence I could have put, but to keep this blog appropriate I decided on this one. I think you will understand though.

Light Purple: I use this color for all of my important markings. Things that seem important to remember for the books plot.

Example: “Although he had gotten only the barest glimpse over the top of the deadfall before the shifting sensation had made him nervous, he could have sworn there was a path beyond, leading deeper into the woods.” Direct quote from “Pet Semetary” by Stephen King page 86. This was marked as possible foreshadowing.

Dark Green: This is used as my extra color. Just in case I have something pop up that isn’t covered by any of the others this one will be used.

Conclusion

Even though I recently started to annotate my books I have seen a huge improvement in not only my reading comprehension but also in my reviews. I feel like my book reviews have gotten a lot better in the past few months because I can go back and see what I marked and How I felt while I read the book.

I think I will continue to annotate my books for the foreseeable future. I find it very helpful for when I do buddy reads and to be honest I love the colors. I also really love playing with the tabs while I read. I may have way too many tabs for some people but I think that is what makes annotating so beautiful, you can make it all your own!

What do you think of my annotations? Any tips and advise?

Book Review “The Shining” By Stephen King

It is basically the end of October and I am finally posting a book review for this month. This will be my first and probably only book review coming this month unfortunately. This month was so busy that I had no time to read at all! In fact I actually only read half this book before I had to buy the audio book so I could get this finished. I am just happy I finally found some time to sit down and do the thing I love, which is writing this blog!

About The Book

Author: Stephen King

Publish Date: January 28th, 1977

Publisher: Anchor Books (Random House Division)

Page Count: 659 pages

Genre: Horror

Goodreads Rating: 4.24

“It seemed that he might be able to find peace here. At last. If they would only let him.”

Page 398

Synopsis

A new job for Jack Torrence leads the family of three to a picturesque hotel high up in the Colorado Mountains. As the family arrives, the hotel is slowly emptying of guests and workers due to the closing of the hotel for the snowy season. Jack and his family will be left alone for several months in the empty hotel. This can give Jack much needed time to work on his play and make plans for his family’s future, but as the days pass the seclusion sets in and things aren’t what they might seem. How can something that seems like an amazing working vacation turn so wrong? What power do our minds really have?

“Now you’ll find out who is the boss around here. You’ll see. It’s not you they want. It’s me. Me. Me!”

Page 629

Rating

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Review

This is my second Stephen King book, the first one being “Pet Semetary”, and I have given them both three stars. I Had heard mixed reviews about this book, like you do with every other book, and this just didn’t fully live up to my standards. This had a very slow build so it took me forever to read because I didn’t have a desire to pick the book up. Like I said at the top of this blog, I had to buy the audio to finish this book.

Speaking of the audio book, the audio was done very well! I really enjoyed listening to this book and I felt it was even spookier listening to it.

The story building was really good just kind of long and boring at times. This was a very long book and it doesn’t start to pick up till about 300 pages in which is what lost me. However, this book is the scariest book I have read/listened too and I can appreciate that.

I have seen the movie and I did really enjoy it but to be honest I was so confused while watching it. The book and the movie have a lot of differences so I don’t know that it is very fair to compare the two but reading the book helped me make sense of what was actually happening in the movie which is very nice!

Do I recommend this book? Honestly, no, you can skip this one and be ok. Like I said it is very long and can get boring more often than not. If you are someone who likes very long detailed books then sure, why not? Personally I don’t think you are missing too much, but hey, Now I can say I have read the book!

The art work shown in the above picture was created by a local Utah artist whom me and Noah loved seeing at our art show and farmers market this summer! Follow her here at her Instagram.

Top 5 Tuesday: 5 Books That Scare Me

This weeks top 5 Tuesday is all about 5 books that scare me. I haven’t read any books that really scare me so I am going to take this as 5 books that I think will scare me. Honestly I feel like they are all going to be Stephen King because he is the king of Horror but let’s see what happens. Top 5 Tuesday is hosted by Meeghan Reads.

5 Books That I Think Will Scare Me

“The Shinning” by Stephen King

I am currently reading this book and I am a little bit short of half way. I haven’t ran into anything too scary yet but I feel like that is because the story is still just starting out. I have ran into some parts that I have noticed my heart rate creeping up and my body feels tense, so I think this book could be the first book to actually scare me!

I watched the movie a little while ago and I wasn’t exactly scared but probably more confused than anything. I am finding that now that I am reading the book I am understanding the story better and I think that will help get me to the point that I will actually be scared.

“IT” by Stephen King

I absolutely hate clowns and the fact that I have see both the old and the new film along with the sequel of this movie astounds me! I first watched this back in 2016 when here in Utah (maybe the whole country… IDK) there were people dressing up as clowns and hurting people, I remember at work we couldn’t walk outside without someone always with us for fear we could die, not great timing, it probably made my fear even worse!

If I ever read this book I don’t know if I could even finish it because I would be way too scared! I have heard it is a good book though, so it is very tempting to try it and just see what happens. Someone talk me into this!

“The Exorcist” by William Peter Blatty

Once again this is a movie that really scared me! I can’t even look at this cover without feeling uncomfortable.

I really am not someone who likes to watch horror but I will give it a try around Halloween. I get scared really easily and I just do not think this book and I would get along too well.

I like to read my books at night and this would probably give me nightmares and I really can’t be having that right now.

“The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson

This was the TV show that actually convinced me that maybe one day I could enjoy watching horror movies. I thought the TV show was very well done. Since I’ve watched the show though I have been tempted to read the book because the books are always better. However, if the book is always better does that mean the book would be scarier?

The TV show scared the crap out of me so if the book is scary I am not sure I can handle it! The monsters my head creates can be scary enough let alone with a little guidance from a book! It would be worth the read though because I am sure it is a great read.

“Rosemary’s Baby” by Ira Levin

I guess there is a movie for this book (shocker) However, I haven’t seen it yet. While I was reading the synopsis of the book though it really did sound like an interesting horror tale.

I have heard a lot of great reviews about this book however, children and babies in horror films I feel like are always the scariest part! I couldn’t imagine reading about it!

Have you read this book? Would you recommend it?

Conclusion

I am not a horror fan. I think I will continue to read my thrillers and mysteries, that is as far as I need to take it! I leave all the horror reading to people who truly enjoy it!

I am currently reading “The Shinning” and I have already read “Pet Semetary” and I am sure I will read more of Stephen Kings novels but maybe only on special occasions. It was funny because as I was looking through scary books online “Pet Semetary” Kept popping up very high on the lists but I really didn’t think that book was scary. I hope one of his books can give me a good scare.

QOTD: What is the scariest book you have read?

One Year Bookstaversary!

One whole year on Bookstagram is a dream come true! I never stick with something for too long without getting bored or starting a new project but I can officially say I’ve done it! I heard somewhere that if you do something for a whole year you know that you will stick with it from here on out! What an accomplishment! I want to share some of my favoroite moments from this past year with you all. Also don’t forget to join in on my Giveaway before it is too late!

About Me

Hello, My name is Bailie and I am a bookstagrammer and book blogger! A year ago from today I picked up my first book in years and actually fell in love with something I thought was pointless while growing up. I went from reading one book once in a blue moon to finishing 3-5 books a month!

Starting my bookstagram and now my blog have been my greatest accomplishments for awhile and I am so excited I am able to share my passion with others and be able to make connections with other bookish people. Thank you so much for all the amazing support over this past year!

Book of the Month Club is what actually got me into reading! I give them all the credit! I saw the box one day and just decided to give it a try and all of a sudden I was hooked! They offer so many different genres for you to pick from and all of them are great choices! Here I am with all my BOTM picks and my top six reads from this past year! And no I haven’t read all of these yet.

If you are interested in giving BOTM a chance hit the link below and get your first box for a really good price!

Book of the Month Club referral Code

Things I have accomplished in this past year

Books Read: 43

Rep Positions: 4

Instagram Followers: 2,050

Instagram Posts: 170

Blog Followers: 56

Friends Made: Way too many too count!

I have made quite a few goals for myself when I started this journey and I am so happy to say that I have surpassed my own expectations and it is all because of my friends, family and followers! I am so thankful for all of the support I have received over this past year.

One of my main goals recently was to reach 2,000 followers on my Instagram by my bookstaversary and I did it! I even got it done a month early back in September! I don’t really worry too much about the followers but more so about making friends with the people I share my content with. I want to thank all of the wonderful people I have met through bookstagram and all the friendships I have made. To Court, Lily, Cam, Belinda and Ivy, you all have been my number one booksta supporters and I wouldn’t be where I am without you all.

Starting this blog was a random idea that turned into a burning passion and I personally think it has been one of the best things to happen to me. I have been able to keep myself ,motivated to actually find a passion in life and work on it to turn it into a main part of my life. One day I hope to be able to make it my full time job. I have plans to start a YouTube series and a podcast and hopefully start getting a merch line going as well, but that is all a ways down in the future so stay tuned!

Last Shout Out (I Think)

This goes out to my number one supporter, Hype man, and love of my life Noah. You have no idea how many times I pull him away from what he is doing to take pictures for me or even just to make dinner because I need to get a blog posted. However, he never complains, I think he is more excited about my blog than I am!

Without his support I don’t think I would have made it this far along in this journey. So thank you so much for all you do for me. I love you!

Top Five Reads

First Place
Second Place
Third Place
Fourth Place
Fifth Place

Honorable Mentions

This is written by a 17 year old who knows how to bring a story alive!
This book made me sit on the edge of my seat the whole time!

Wrap Up

This year has been a rollercoaster for sure but one thing that has always been here is my books! Books are such a beautiful thing because they all offer different worlds to travel too. I have no clue how I lived my life without reading until recently, my life has changed so much since I picked up my first book! I never thought in a million years I would be where I am today, writing a blog (that people actually read) and making friends who actually have the same hobbies as me.

Thank you once again for your growing support and I can not wait to see what next year holds! Don’t forget to enter my giveaway I am hosting through Instagram!

Giveaway Information

Bookstaversary Giveaway!

My bookstaversary is tomorrow, October 8th! Gosh I can’t believe I have been on my reading journey for a full year! When I was growing up I absolutely HATED reading and now I have over 2,000 followers on my bookstagram and over 50 followers here on my new blog! I have had such an amazing journey here so far and I am excited to share more about my journey tomorrow. However today I am opening up my 48 hour giveaway! This giveaway will be hosted on my Instagram. Head there now to enter the giveaway!

What Can You Win?

I have three authors who are kindly participating in this giveaway and will be signing a copy of their book for 3 lucky winners! Each winner will receive one book of their choice from the three books. The First place winner will also receive a book off of their amazon wish list! This is such a fun giveaway to participate in and it also helps support smaller authors.

About the Authors and Their Books

Bree Moore

Bree is an Urban Fantasy novel writer who loves to write female led books. The”Lost Souls” Series being her longest running.

She lives in Utah with her husband and their six children whom she homeschools.

Other than writing she has a passion for child birth, shopping and Celtic music!

Interview with Author Bree Moore

“Raven Born” by Bree Moore the first book in the “Lost Souls” Series

As a half-raven, half-woman shifter, Harper’s very existence is illegal. Rumors of a hidden community of raven people draw her north, but she won’t go without her brother.

When she’s captured by a government task force and taken to a camp for illegal paranormals, she’s threatened by a fate worse than death: the loss of her wings.

Now Harper must find a way to evade the magical spells that imprison her. To succeed, she’ll have to trust someone who could betray her in an instant.

Can Harper escape Camp Silver Lake and find her brother before her wings or her life are taken from her?

Lily Kathleen

Lily Kathleen is a 17 year old high school senior who lives on a farm. Her farm has roughly four hundred goats, how cute! She has a love for music such as; Playing guitar, piano and singing!

Her passion for romance started when she was only twelve years old which helped her to start writing her own stories to share with everyone.

She self-published her first book “The Intellect” June 14th, 2021 But she has other books in the works! I can not wait to see what else her beautiful mind creates!

Author Interview with Lily Kathleen

“The Intellect” By Lily Kathleen

Fifteen-year-old Jessica Adams moves to a small town in South Dakota at the beginning of summer. Moving is normal for her, but this time seems to be a bit different. She isolates herself from the outside world as she begins to question her whole life. Her parents never give her the freedom her older siblings have, nor can she even be left at home alone without her parents constantly texting and calling her. She begins to feel alone, as she spends her whole summer cooped up in her room.

But things quickly start to turn around when she meets a mysterious guy, named Aaron Conners, on the first day of school. No one looks at him, nor talks to him. So why is he always hiding?

He has a seriously huge secret, but so does she. Her secret can lead her into much danger. The only thing is that she doesn’t actually know what her secret is.

Will she make a massive mistake in trying to figure out what her big secret is? And will it lead her and those she loves into more danger than ever before?

Belinda Lei

Belinda is a managing director of an anti bullying campaign called Act to Change and she also takes a stand for AAPI Hate.

She is a lover of all genres from thriller to fantasy. However her book is a Young Adult novel filled with drama, tears and laughter. This book will take you back to your high school years and spark some memories!

She has a lot of accomplishments under her belt including being a Yale MBA candidate, proud Georgetown Hoya, software engineer, and a former strategy consultant.

Find this information and more on her website and check out her anti bullying campaign as well.

Author Interview with Belinda Lei
Act to Change Website

“Not That Rich” by Belinda Lei


Hunter and Trisha Wang, like the majority of their classmates, are trying to balance AP classes, Ivy League applications, numerous extracurriculars, and tumultuously juicy social lives, all while living in their affluent, suburban bubble. Will Hunter get into Stanford and still be able to maintain his relationship with the “it girl” Sierra Jones? Will Trisha find love with outsider Ray Martinez and figure out what’s going on with her influencer best friend, Pamela Shah? Will billionaire newcomer Jack Zhou figure out how to fit in? And who exactly is The Stranger? Welcome to Winchester High, a prestigious college preparatory school where students live seemingly perfect, privileged lives.

Giveaway Rules

  • Must be following me on Instagram and please stick around.
  • Must be following All three of the authors Instagrams as well. Please also stick around, they all have such great content!

Bree Moore

Lily Kathleen

Belinda Lei

  • Please like and save the post.
  • Comment which book you would like to win.
  • Tag three bookish friends.

Extra entries

  • Share my blog post (make sure to tag me or link back)
  • Share the Instagram post (make sure to tag me)
  • Tag more friends! Each comment with a tag will be an extra entry.
  • Buy one of the other authors books and you will get 10 extra entries! (Must be able to prove purchase) whether it is an ebook copy or physical it counts! Links are in their Bio’s

Legal stuff

  • This giveaway is not affiliated with Amazon or Instagram
  • Must be In the United States due to shipping (So Sorry for international people, I will host another giveaway soon for all!)
  • Please be over the age of 18 or 13 with parental approval
  • Must be willing to share a link to your amazon registry and address for shipping purposes only.

I hope you all have fun! This Giveaway will close on October 9th at Midnight MST.