Also, thanks to Yuki I learned that cats are people too. Well, not “people people”. Let me explain myself.

Growing up we never had cats at home. We had – and loved – dogs. Our dogs were always so playful and friendly! I admired their loyalty and their kind spirit.

So whenever I encountered a cat, I would see it as a dog inferior. They didn’t seem as friendly as dogs, or as happy to see me. They didn’t even let me pet them.

In fact, I thought cats were kinda scary (they almost-literally have razors in their paws).

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked I moved in with my boyfriend and we found a lost kitten in our backyard. He was so small and fluffy and scared! I swear my maternal instinct grew three times that day.

Sadly, the kitten escaped as soon as he saw an open door, so we couldn’t help him find his home. But that was the first time I interacted with a cat without feeling like he hated me. And I thought that maybe cats were not unpleasant. That maybe they could have different personalities just like people, and that maybe the problem was that I expected them to be dogs.

Some weeks later we heard from a friend that a coworker had found a 3 month kitten in her patio.

And that’s how we met Yuki!

I read a lot about taking care of a cat (some of  you might remember my questions on Instagram) and I’ve been raising Yuki with lots of love and a firm hand. This kitty turned out to be one of the most loving pets I’ve met.

She shares some traits with dogs, like going to the door to greet us when we arrive. She also licks my face to wake me up (unless I wake up first).

But she also has her own personality. She likes to collect the leaves that fall from the tree in our backyard. And if someone wakes her up she will meow until she gets her belly scratched.

It’s been really fun getting to know her. We honestly didn’t expect to love her so much!

So of course I had to bake her a cake for her first birthday!

I made 3 mini tuna cakes for Yuki and she loved them! Of course I only gave her one slice at a time. I also had one slice (from the cake that wasn’t licked by Yuki – I’m not that kind of cat lady).

It was okay. It tasted like baked canned tuna. 

I also made her a little birthday hat that she wore for about 3 seconds. And my boyfriend got her a new toy.

She also had a lot of fun playing with the string on the balloon while I baked her cake. So I would say this birthday party was a success

And well, that’s it. I hope you enjoyed this post. I still have some birthday cake left in case anyone wants to try it!

The post Cat Birthday Party! (And how I learned that cats are people too) appeared first on Pretty Geekery.

(P.S. There’s a Giveaway at the end of this post).

In fifth grade – when I was around 10 years old – the teacher asked us to read a book with more than a hundred pages, so we could write a report afterwards. Our school at the moment was so new (they were still building classrooms when I enrolled!) that we didn’t have a library, and at that point I had not a single book at home. I told my dad that I need a book for school, ANY BOOK, with at least a hundred pages. He told me he would ask his coworker if he had one I could borrow.

Two days later he came home with a book titled The Last Opportunity: A Novel on Personal and Marital Improvement.

That was the book his coworker lent him. For a 10-year-old girl. Who had to write a report afterwards.

My dad looked kinda uncomfortable when he handed it to me, but said that his coworker really liked that book so maybe I could learn something from it.

I didn’t really think much of it at the moment, as the only thing that mattered to me was completing my assignment. I grabbed the ugly brown book (which looked exactly like the one in the picture) and started reading it.

And you know what? I loved it.

I had never read a long story or a book without pictures. My only approach to books were those fables that come in textbooks from grades 1 to 4-ish. And there I was, reading a marital improvement novel about a guy who wanted to divorce his wife. And enjoying it like crazy.

The details are blurry now, but I remember how vivid and colorful and emotional I found it. I also remember a chapter where the main guy was in jail and how I found it so exciting! I could imagine his cell and his outfit just from his descriptions. That book had no illustrations but it contained long detailed sentences that woke my imagination.

When I finished that book, I was truly another person. Not only did I learn a lot about loving and caring for my wife, but I discovered the fun and excitement of reading. I told my dad that I had loved the book and went on to write the cheesiest book report ever. (This report might have sparked my love for writing).

My dad told his coworker that I had loved the book and he let me keep it. He said the guy was really happy about someone else loving his book. I guess it actually saved his marriage or something.

I told my dad that I wanted to read another book someday. But living in a kinda poor neighborhood without libraries or book stores, his only choice to find a new book was the supermarket. Also, being 2001 and without a computer with internet access, he didn’t know how to find recommendations. So my dad went to the small book section of the supermarket and found a table with books from the same author I had read. Score!

He got home late one day with a new book for me, some contemporary novel about teenagers and unethical debauchery (totally ignoring the fact that I was ten). My mom was really proud that I was reading a second book just for pleasure. And my dad said that I had picked a really good habit and that he would buy me another book every time a finished one.

Poor dad. He didn’t expect me to finish my books in two days.

After some months of going through all the too-adult-for-me novels from that same author, my dad came home with exciting news. There was a new movie coming out about a boy wizard. He didn’t know the name, but heard a coworker say that the movie was based on a book and that the author had been so successful that she went from being poor to being rich.

The next time we went to the supermarket, my whole family looked through the shelves trying to find a book with a young wizard on the cover. My dad found it. It was called Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It looked like it was fun!

Of course, as you might know, I fell in love with Harry Potter. It started my journey through countless fantasy novels, where I found my real niche. And my love for it pushed me to keep borrowing books, devouring them and begging my dad to take me to the library downtown, even if we had to take two buses.

So, any time someone asks me how I got into reading and I don’t have time to tell them the long story about the accidental marital improvement book, I just say Harry Potter.

I’m really happy I got to share the story of my first book! I would love to read everyone’s story, let me know in the comments!

And if you’re here for the giveaway, here it is:

Some awesome bloggers decided to team up (and invited me) to share our book love in a blog post. And also donate a book we loved to put it in a raffle.

The winner of this giveaway will get all the books we selected: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Caraval, My Lady Jane, The Sun is Also a Star, and The Next Together.

(My contribution was My Lady Jane because I wanted to add some humor to the book bundle. And also didn’t dare giving away the first book I read).

Becky Bedbug posted – The book that shaped me

Vicki in Neverland posted – The books that made us love reading

Two Different Worlds posted – The books that made us love reading 

Make sure to visit their blogs to read more inspiring stories about first books and the love for reading

To enter the giveaway use the form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post The book that made me love reading appeared first on Pretty Geekery.

That’s honestly one of the most difficult questions I’ve been asked.

What do you recommend to someone who has no previous experience with books? What if they don’t like the book you chose and decide to quit reading forever because of that? 

I know, whenever the question comes, that the future of the person who asked lies in my hands. And I know there are people out there asking o being asked this same question.

That’s why I’m sharing my most helpful tips on how to start reading books. From the beginning.

1) Don’t feel overwhelmed.

I know it’s difficult to pick a starting point. There are billions of book choices out there, how do you even pick one? Well, try to relax and think about it for a moment… You have been through this already: Long ago you watched a movie for the very first time. Probably you can’t remember, but there was definitely a starting point. Then you watched more movies. And you kept doing it, over and over again, until you learned what your tastes were; then you started picking your own movies. And even recommending movies to others. With books you’ll go through a very similar process (only slower, since most books can’t be read in 2 hours). It’s just a matter of getting used to books.

2) Pick a book about a movie, series or videogame you like.

This is the easiest way to find a book you will probably like. I think a BIG percentage of modern movies are based on books, so just pick your favorite and read it. Don’t worry too much about it being repetitive, books offer a lot more information than a movie. You will find complete scenes that weren’t in the movie so it’ll be like watching an extended version.

For a quick, easy read based on a popular movie I recommend The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, or you know, any movie you liked…

Many TV series and videogames have novels and novelizations, which is other great way to break the ice with books. A familiar universe will be inviting to you and you’ll get to know more about your favorite fandom. Some popular choices are the Doctor Who Fairytales, Star Trek novelizations, and novels in the Halo universe.

3) Once you find 1 book you like, look for similar books.

There are useful searching tools on the internet for that. You can visit What should I read next? or Your Next Read, simply type the name of the book you liked and you’ll find some recommendations. You can also join Goodreads to find more recommendations.

4) Try to read for free.

I imagine it would be discouraging if you bought a book for the first time and didn’t like it. That’s why I recommend not buying until you feel comfortable with your choices. You can go to a public library and get a couple of free books; if you don’t like one, you can discard it and start the other one immediately.

You can also read book samples on the Kindle app. If you have an Amazon account, download the free Kindle app and look on Amazon for the book you think you’ll like. For example, I looked for The Martian, since I really liked the movie. Most popular books will have a button to send a free sample to your Kindle device, that could be your computer, tablet or phone.

The good thing about samples is that you can read a couple of chapters without buying anything. It’s honestly a great way to decide if a book is worth buying.

5) Just read Harry Potter.

Okay, I’m –mostly- kidding. Even though I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t like Harry Potter after reading the first book…

What I mean with this point is: pick a really popular book that everyone and their dog is reading. Just make sure the genre could be for you, and go for it. If you don’t like Fantasy don’t go with Harry Potter. If you don’t like Science Fiction don’t pick Ender’s game… Of course, best sellers are not exactly known for being the most rich and enlightening books, but they are easy to read. Go with something popular at first. Once you find your niche you can look into the classics, the heavy books and the non-fiction categories.

I hope these tips were useful, either if you want to start reading or if you have been asked for advice. If you have more tips to start reading books, please share them in the comments!

The post How to start reading books appeared first on Pretty Geekery.

With the increased popularity of Young Adult, celebrity biographies and erotica books, many readers have raised their fists in defiance arguing that people should not read the so-called ‘guilty pleasures’, but instead choose a more rewarding and refined classic masterpiece.

What bothers me is the fact that we call some of our pleasures guilty.

As if there was something reproachable about being entertained by entertaining books. Should you be ashamed that you have had a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird on your to-be-read shelf since two years ago, but are re-reading The Hunger Games? Not really. Both books can be equally enjoyable. And if you are reading for the sake of being distracted, I don’t see why any book should be better than other.

I know there’s a reason why classic books have reached their mighty status. They have prevailed for decades, maybe a hundred years, and can still be found in any bookstore. Most of them were best-sellers in their time, can enrich us with the ways and traditions from past generations, and are generally filled with the author’s opinions on society. Classic books can be fascinating and I thoroughly recommend the ones I’ve liked.

But I’ve also read some classics that I found to be extremely boring (-cough- Wuthering Heights), and that certainly didn’t make me any wiser. And you know what I gained from finishing books I did not enjoy? The great satisfaction of bragging about how well-read I am.

Just kidding- I gained nothing. I just got bored during my valuable leisure time.

If you feel like reading a certain classic, one you found on those lists of ‘Books Everyone Should Read Before They Die’, go for it. But don’t do it because you feel pressured to read something more intelligent. Do it because the plot calls you. Because you liked William Shakespeare in that one episode of Dr. Who. Because you want to learn more about the 18th century or you want to know Huxley’s opinions on democracy.

Just don’t let reading feel like a burden. 

And if you want to read 50 Shades of Grey, go for it, too. There should be no shame in enjoying one’s favorite genre. Maybe someone likes fantasizing about dysfunctional relationships but wouldn’t like to be in one themselves, that’s why there are books in all genres. Maybe someone dreams about being the chosen heroine who will lead the country in a war against the dystopian government, that’s why there are books in all genres. Maybe someone wishes there would be robo-werewolf-vampires capable of falling in love, and I’m happy they could someday live their dreams through books.

Do not let anyone shame you about your reading habits. And do not shame yourself. You can read Divergent without making excuses because it doesn’t have the best writing, or the most sensible plot. Read Divergent and submerge yourself in the triteness of a YA dystopia. Who cares? (And if someone DO cares – be Dauntless!).

Reading to gain knowledge, reading to feel less alone, reading to have fun… they are all valid reasons to pick up a novel. Gone is the age when books were a privilege of sages and scholars.

Go have some fun!

Have you read something that you consider a guilty pleasure? Let’s take away the guilt! Tell me about that pleasure in the comments

The post Should you ever feel ashamed of your reading habits? appeared first on Pretty Geekery.

Many times in my life I have faced this dilemma. People have pressured me to talk more and to go out more, even if I would’ve preferred not to.

Introverts are more comfortable spending time alone, or with 1 or 2 friends. They usually prefer listening rather than talking. They don’t have the energy to be surrounded by people all the time.

I have expressed these feelings repeatedly. And yet, I still have to deal with the same kind of comments:

• “You are so quiet, you should talk more”
• “Why are you so quiet? Are you okay?”
• “You should go out more”
• “Don’t be so shy”
• “SAY SOMETHING!” (literally yelled at me while eating a taco – and I was chewing)

This might not come across as the harshest kind of criticism, but the constant reminder that something is wrong with one’s innate personality is exhausting.

If you have an introverted personality, you might have experienced something similar. And there might come a time when you are faced with the introvert dilemma.

You could give it a try and bring out your extroverted side. It’s okay if you want to become more sociable or if you want to be louder. It doesn’t mean that you are conforming to someone else’s standards. You are choosing what you think will make you grow.

Personally, I’ve never felt the need to change that aspect of my character. I decided that this is who I am and even if my decision is not set in stone, I live by it. If you are content on the introverted side but sometimes need support to embrace it, remember that introversion is a part of who you are.

There are a few other things that I would like to remark:

• If you are not hurting anyone and you are happy with who you are, you don’t need to change.
• You might be quiet, so what? That doesn’t mean you don’t have anything to say. The important thing is that you know it.
• It’s not rude if you don’t want to make small talk, most people would forget about it anyway.
• Maybe you’d rather stay home than go out. That doesn’t make you anti-social, you can still have a healthy social life.
• It’s okay if you need time to recharge after going out with people.
• It’s not okay if people harass you to be more social, even if they have ‘good intentions’. You can let them know that politely.
• Don’t be afraid to stand your ground when you are being pressured. But don’t condemn all attempts to get you out of your comfort zone either.

Hopefully you can find a balance between embracing who you are and accepting constructive criticism. I know it’s a difficult task; it’s been a constant challenge for me.

But ultimately, everyone has the right to make their choices. And it is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are.

(-Felt like Dumbledore for a second-).

I look forward to hearing other experiences. Do you ever get overwhelmed by social pressure? Do you wish you were more of an extrovert? If the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right, and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good and kind and brave because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort.

(-I’ll see myself out-).

The post On being an introvert and embracing it appeared first on Pretty Geekery.

1. Get DailyLit

DailyLit is a website that sends you short installments of literary classics to your inbox so you can read in your phone without downloading the whole book (perfect if you wanted to read The Count of Monte Cristo without actually carrying the 1200+ pages mastodon in your bag). This service is free, you just provide your email to create an account and you can start searching the catalog full of free books by authors like Mark Twain, Charles Dickens and Jules Verne as well as contemporary novels by new authors. DailyLit offers a great opportunity to those who want to read more classics but are discouraged by the huge size or are concerned about getting rapidly bored. Here you just open your daily email and read for 10-15 minutes every day.

2. Download Audible

Audible is an audiobook service by Amazon. Here you cand find a large selection of audiobooks from any category and download it to your phone or tablet so you can listen at the gym, while you run around the park or during your daily commute. If you want to try this service you can sign up anytime and get your first audiobook for free (just remember to cancel your membership at the end of the month so you don’t get charged for the next month – they’ll let you keep the free book!).
3. Make a to-be-read list

This one might seem obvious but I have learned that having a TBR list helps me recover from a book hangover way faster. Take all the books on your list that you were planning on starting (-like two years ago-) and pile them together in a visible place. That way you’ll be ready to take one as soon as you finish your current book (and MAYBE while you behold the ever-increasing TBR pile you’ll start working on your shelves’ read/unread ratio).

4. Read more than one book at a time

Have you read a book that you really wanted to finish but you got stuck in that chapter or in the middle of that boring never-ending scene? (-Who is John Galt’s speech?-) Reading multiple books allows you to jump into another one when you lose the inspiration to keep reading. The trick here is to combine different genres and sizes, if you are reading a big non-fiction book about science combine it with a light comedy fiction. If your hardcover of Don Quixote won’t fit in your purse (or the prose is too much some days), read The Time Machine or Rossum’s Universal Robots, both are short science fiction reads that you won’t easily mix with the region of La Mancha.

5. Look for inspiration

Sometimes it’s not that we don’t have the time or that we lack resources, it’s simply the absence of inspiration to start reading. You can love reading but maybe other activities are getting in the way (and with other activities I mean checking social networks and watching videos of puppies learning to walk -you’re welcome-). There’s a cure for that, though. I love following book-centered accounts on my social networks so they will load my timelines with book news, reviews and pretty images. If you are in need of some bookspiration I recommend checking out some of these accounts on Instagram, Twitter and Youtube:

• @abookishloveaffair, @sammyreadsbooks, @readsleepfangirl, twirlingpages and @librarycutie are some of the prettiest accounts I’ve found on Instagram, they post daily bookspiration, cozy images and book challenges that the whole community can take part in, just adding the #hashtag to your posts.
• Twitter is a nice platform to keep in touch with book bloggers and stalk their interactions with other bloggers so you can follow them all. Some recommended accounts that link to book reviews, giveaways and book memes are @Monica_Wilcox, @HowlingReviews, @Magic_Kitten and @startingtospark.
• If you would like to watch book reviews on Youtube here are some accounts to follow (most reviews are YA), abookutopia, LittleBookOwl and EpicReads.

6. Join Goodreads

If following strangers on social media wasn’t enough to make you read, you could join Goodreads and add your friends to follow each other and look at their TBR lists, favorite books and shared book quotes. This service is completely free and is compatible with Facebook and Kindle. Goodreads also offers thousands of book reviews written and voted by the users, annual book challenges and lists of recommendations on different themes.

7. Download the Kindle app 

If you don’t have a reading tablet but you have a smartphone, tablet or computer, this app is what you are missing in your life. The Kindle app can be used in almost any device, it’s free to download and it can sync between devices to keep your bookmarks and highlights. The Kindle catalog is almost as complete as Amazon’s itself, offers all the best-sellers at competitive prices and has a catalog of classic books going from $0 to $1. I use Kindle for desktop to read during my lunch break sometimes and also have the app on my phone in case of an emergency (looking at you, dentist’s waiting room).

8. Make a routine

Now, this one might seem like the most trite advice but hear me out, have you ever been in your bed all cozy and then remember that you forgot to brush your teeth? And then you hated yourself because you had to get out of bed to brush your teeth or it would be impossible to sleep? (-I hope I’m not alone on this-). The same happens when you are regular at the gym and then stop going, or when you watch a show every day after school and then they cancel it. Routine makes us comfortable and gives us control of something, go read every day or every other day, but do it. Always before bed, always on your way home, on your ten minutes before class starts or during your lunch break. If you power through the first few days the rest will be easy.

9. Get a subscription box

If you, like me, have a large pile of unread books and stare at them while thinking “I have nothing to read” we might have a lot in common. The best way to cope with this reading bump is to find a way to create a connection with a book and with other readers. You could join a book club (or create your own!), this will give you a deadline to finish the book and will generate interesting conversations and it’s also a great way to make new friends with the same interests. If you don’t have the means to join a traditional book club, you could get a subscrption box. If you subscribe to one of these services they’ll send you a surprise book and bookish goodies every month, which later you can discuss with other subscribers that got the same book. You can check UPPERCASE, Owl Crate and The Book Drop if you are interested in getting some book mail.

10. Make the most of your idle time

In engineering idle time is synonym of non-productive time, a.k.a waste. I’m a firm believer that time enjoyed was not wasted, but more often than not we spend idle time checking our phone or watching netflix just to fill out the gaps between activities. With a little help from the resources mentioned above you can make the most of your free time (and your non-thinking time). You can listen to Audiobooks or Youtube book reviews while washing the dishes, running on the treadmill or driving. You can read on your computer while eating your lunch or take out your phone during a long line at the grocery store and read a couple of pages. You can make it a routine to read one chapter of a book while drinking your breakfast smoothie and I promise that the next time you get to a bookstore you’ll recognize all the best-seller covers from all the bookish accounts on your social networks.

And that’s it. Hopefully some of these tips will help you achieve your reading goals, are there any other resources you would recommend? Let me know in the comments !

The post 10 tips on how to read more books appeared first on Pretty Geekery.