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The Bookish Fairy

Young adult, magical realism, and every book in between infused with fairy dust...

Why Beta Book Boyfriends Are Better

March 29, 2019

Featured on Frolic Media

Recently, I have been in a New Adult kick after reading Roomies by Christina Lauren. I wanted to dip into my extremely old TBR list on Goodreads back when I was adding New Adult reads during the heyday of the 50 Shades series. Most of the New Adult novels that I read six years ago had your cardboard cutout alpha males. I never really liked the alpha males, but I tolerated them and the outlandish love stories were more interesting to me than the alpha males themselves. Then when I picked up some old TBR New Adult reads I realized how much my reading taste had changed. I found myself cringing uncontrollably and DNF’ed both of those New Adult reads. These alpha men were complete misogynists, they exhibited signs of outright sexual harassment, and it was appalling to me how the women protagonists of these novels actually got off of these inappropriate behaviors!

My Appreciation for Beta Book Boyfriends

After DNFing these two New Adult reads I realized how much I appreciate my Beta book boyfriends. My beta book boyfriends are the complete opposite of alpha male characters. Beta book boyfriends have all the sex appeal and swoon without being sexually inappropriate and downright obnoxious! Fortunately, beta book boyfriends are starting to get hype and there are so many reasons to love them.

Betas Actually Take the Time to Get to Know You

Beta book boyfriends will get to know you as a friend first. They will get to know your likes and dislikes over coffee and they will give you the chance to get to know them. Beta characters will take the time to get to know you, they won’t move into your apartment without you knowing, or make sexually inappropriate comments about their member.

Betas Respect Women

Beta book boyfriends love women and they respect them the way they respect their mothers. They will never pressure women into anything they don’t want to do. Beta book boyfriends actually remember a woman’s name, use their name, and don’t resort to calling them names like “baby” or “pumpkin.”

Betas Are Not Controlling

Beta book boyfriends will not have their girl followed when they are out having a simple girls night, will not freak out when a guy looks at them, and will not be jealous of the guy friend they have had since high school. They let the women protagonists in the story live out their own lives, dreams, and ambitions. There is no designated wardrobe women have to wear to be around them and they can walk around in their sweats sans makeup and they still find them to be absolutely beautiful. The betas never control their women to be anything but themselves.

Betas Are Not Sexually Controlling

Although Beta book boyfriends love sex they are not all about what they want in sex. They actually ask you what you want instead of throwing you against the wall and having their way with you. There is nothing wrong with a passionate wall-throwing lover but when they think they know what you want without asking you it’s not that sexy. Sex for beta book boyfriends is all about pleasuring their women protagonists and that’s what gives them the most sexual satisfaction.

Betas Commit to You

Beta book boyfriends want commitment and despite any struggles, they may face they want to build a relationship with their lady protagonist. They openly communicate their feelings to you and they don’t play mind games with you. Beta men characters want to introduce their women to their mothers and are open about their past. Even though, beta book boyfriends have their own traumas they learn to be open about their past with the women they love instead of hiding them. Beta book boyfriends are the ones with marriage material, the ones to have kids with, and the whole white picket fence dream.

Beta Book Boyfriends are just BETTER

Now I am not saying that all alpha characters in romance novels are horrible but many of the alphas need to learn a thing or two about beta male characters. We are in need of more beta males and less of the hyper-sexual/hyper-masculine men that are depicted in romance. Beta males are the guys you can do everything with, they are not solely interested in just having sex for hours, and they are guys you can hang out with in your pajamas and watch Netflix and maybe chill with later if you know what I mean. (Wink wink.) After all, research shows that kindness and good-naturedness is actually the key to a long and healthy relationship so why not pick the beta book boyfriend as your happily ever after?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Catfairy Journal Tagged: Beta Book Boyfriends, Beta Book Boyfriends Are Better, Beta Book Boyfriends Do It Better, Six Reasons Why Beta Men Are Better

Rereading to Fall for Reading Again

March 18, 2019

Nowadays, with the pressures of Goodreads yearly challenges, Twitter challenges, Booktube, book subscription boxes with shiny new spray-painted pages, and new anticipated monthly book lists announced on blogs it’s almost impossible to consider rereading books. One of the worst things is when you start to pick up the beloved book you have loved since you were a teenager, then you hear that your new favorite author is coming out with a new book, and to top it all off they are coming to your hometown for a book signing! There is so much pressure in the book world to read all the new releases coming up and if you’re not reading them then the book fomo starts to settle in…

We need to get rid of the book fomo and remind ourselves to reread books again! My goal is to reread my favorite books especially the ones that have the paperback spine falling apart with the yellowed pages. I already read one of my falling apart paperback books Girl Goddess #9 by Francesca Lia Block and it brought me so much nostalgic joy!

Here are five reasons why you should consider rereading books again…

1…Rereading before the sequel…

Rereading books before the highly anticipated sequel is always a good idea. Being an officially registered book nerd, it is difficult for me to remember all the details, events, and characters in every book that I have read. If you want to be prepared for the sequel then it’s highly recommended to reread the previous books. When reading a fantasy there is so much detail and world-building, that getting into the sequel could be difficult if you don’t reread the previous books. The best thing about rereading a book before the upcoming sequel is that it builds the anticipation for the upcoming book and what is better than fangirling over a new book being released?!

2…Rereading before the movie…

This goes hand in hand with rereading a book before the upcoming book sequel. I am guilty of not rereading books before watching the movie and I tend to google the differences between the book and the movie. Next time, if I am excited about an upcoming movie adaptation I will definitely reread the book. Although the unfortunate truth is that all of us bookish folk know that nine times out of ten the book is usually better than the movie…

3…Rereading books brings back nostalgia…

One of the most amazing feelings is to read a book and be brought back to the times that were so much simpler and carefree. I remember when I was reading one of my favorite Francesca Lia Block books I was brought back to a time when I was fourteen-years-old, baking in the sun with that horrible 90’s trend called the sun-in, and my biggest concern was which Hanson brother I would marry. Rereading books can make you realize how much you have grown up and the best part is that it brings back the warm and fuzzy nostalgia again.

4…Rereading books gets you out of the dreaded book slump…

We all know that book slumps are the curse of the book world! Typically, I get into book slumps when I am reading books that are not holding my attention. One of my best book slump antidotes is to reread one of my favorite books and all is right with my bookish world again!

5….They remind you why you love reading…

Rereading your most treasured books makes you realize why you love reading in the first place. The reason why I reread books is because they are books that have made a profound impact in my life, have altered my life, given me a good laugh, or just simply made me smile so big my face hurt in the end. Rereading books is like an old best friend to remind you of how amazing they have always been. 

 

Chat with me and let me know if you have reread any books lately!

 

(This post was also featured on Frolic Media!)

 

 

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Filed Under: Catfairy Journal Tagged: Do we reread books anymore, Five Reasons Why You Should Reread Books, Rereading Books, Rereading to Fall For Reading Again

Writing Wednesday: New Years Writing Resolutions

January 30, 2019

Happy Writing Wednesday…

My New Years resolution for 2019 is to finally finish my first draft and tbh it was my last New Years resolution of 2018 too…

via GIPHY

The truth is that last year I accepted a college position in the fall semester and things became incredibly busy and erratic since I was juggling a full-time job as a first-grade teacher. Luckily this year, I have made the decision to leave the professor life for the summers only and so far it has been the best decision I have ever made. In addition, I scaled back on my book blog because I was trying to do five posts a week and now I am limiting it to three posts week and this schedule works perfectly for me!

My schedule is primarily focused on putting out blog posts during the week and working on my novel on weekends and this has been more manageable with my schedule. In a perfect world, I would love to schedule my blog posts and my writing for the weekends but that is not possible! Maybe if I didn’t have to bring work home as most teachers do then I could actually achieve a smooth writing schedule!

via GIPHY

My Word Count…

My word count this year for my wip is 2,000 words and this is amazing for me since it’s only the first month of the year! I am lucky if I could get to 1,000 words for a whole month in most cases! Currently, I have written approximately 15,535 words for my wip and my goal is to get to 20,000 words by early February! 

Girlboss Writing Goals…

My goal for this year is to finish the first draft of my novel by April and the latest May! The earlier the better so I can really start getting into the editing process! Luckily I have myself a writing critique partner who is my blogging buddy who I do guest posts for on By Her Shelf! 

We are going to send each other our chapters on a bi-weekly basis and give one another feedback! I am so excited about this because I haven’t had a critique partner since my college days! Also, I plan to try the much talked about YA website Get Underlined which gives a lot of writerly advice for primarily YA writers.

My Novel…

My novel is a YA magical realism story that is set in Miami and I have been working on this novel for longer than I care to mention. I never took it seriously until last year when I turned 34 years old and began to freak out over life passing me by and all those 30-something anxieties we typically get! 

Even though this first draft of my novel is a hot mess and I have to make so many changes to it it has brought me so much happiness! Writing is a part of who I am and I only feel completely fulfilled when I am writing! 

Chat with me and let me know how is your Writing Wednesday?!

 

 

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Filed Under: Catfairy Journal Tagged: New Years Writing Resolutions, Teacher Writing Schedule, Writing, Writing Schedule, Writing Wednesday

Leigh Bardugo Reading Schedule

January 24, 2019

Confession time! I have never read one book from Leigh Bardugo and this seems to be the literal year of Leigh Bardugo with her new book King of Scars and the recent Netflix announcement of the Shadow and Bone trilogy and Six of Crows. 

Now to top it all off, Bardugo is coming to Miami January 31st for a book talk and a book signing in Coral Gables! The book fomo that I am feeling is official and I have a plan to at least TRY to read the Grishaverse trilogy before the book signing and I am going to get through it with one magic word and that is audiobooks. 

I have exactly fifteen days till the Leigh Bardugo event and here is my TBR schedule…

January 17th-January 26th:

 

I am doing a mix of audio listening and e-read library reading with this book and so far I am intrigued by the synopsis! Initially, I was nervous about listening to this book since I haven’t had a good track record with fantasy books because they are generally harder for me to get into. Luckily this book has been easy to follow and I can’t wait to learn more about the world of the Grishaverse!

January 26th-January 31st

While the Shadow and Bone book has approximately 358 pages this book has a WHOPPING 435 pages! I thought I could attempt to fit in the third book Ruin and Rising before the January 31st book signing but that just isn’t going to happen. I am not the kind of reader that needs to read all the books by the author before I meet them. I used to put a lot of pressure on myself for wanting to read all the books but I accept the fact that life gets hectic and reading is supposed to be FUN! Not full of pressure! 

Either way, I will still feel satisfied if I at least read Bardugo’s first two books of the Grishaverse trilogy for the book signing and after meeting her I am sure I will feel more compelled to actually finish a trilogy quickly for the year of 2019! 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Catfairy Journal Tagged: Bardugo TBR Schedule, King of Scars, Month of Leigh Bardugo

TBR Goals for the New Year

January 11, 2019

 

The NEW TBR Shelf that Santa gifted me…#fangirlsqueal

In my end of year wrap up post, I discussed some of my reading and blogging goals for the New Year but this post will focus specifically on my TBR goals for 2019! I am excited to list this concrete but hopefully realistic action plan! 

Monthly Goals

1…Each week I plan to read three books a week which will more than likely consist of one physical book and two audiobooks with my busy schedule! I have already failed at this but I am trying to catch up to it this month!

2…Read a book from the actual TBR bookshelf before the neatly piled books turn into a jumbled mess with all the free books I will probably be accumulating this year from my book club! 

3…I am horrible when it comes to reading a series which is why I find myself reading more contemporary books more than anything. If you noticed, most fantasy books/sci-fi books are series books and I have horrible commitment issues with these books! 

Here is a run through of my commitment issues with series books for the year 2018…

I read Warcross and never finished Wildcard…

I read Cinder through audio (Which is freaking amazing btw!) and I just ignored the other five books that came along with this book…eeek…

Sarah J. Mass…sigh…major commitment issues with her books because ever since I started to get into YA, I keep saying I want to read her books. Finally this year I picked up Court of Thrones and Roses and I got distracted and DNFed it! 

So naturally, my next goal is to finish reading at least one series book a month!

Although to redeem myself I will proudly say that I have been keeping up with the Harry Potter series! I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix through audio this summer! Loved the book and loved to HATE Dolores Umbridge! That lady was vicious! 

via GIPHY

I have major FOMO issues with not finishing the Harry Potter series so I dusted myself off and got on the very old hype train. I loved the book but dang it was long! The audio length of The Order of the Phoenix was almost about 24 hours long! It has become a tradition for me to read Harry Potter during the summer since I also read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire last summer and that was long too btw! Two more to go!

Oh! And I finished the book series of the Creekwood gang and I give five fluffy hearts to Simon vs. the Homosapien Agenda but Leah on the Offbeat was three unfluffy hearts for me, unfortunately…

Ok, I need to stop my extreme tangentiality and get back to my goals!

Yearly Goals…

1…My goal for 2019 is to not buy ANY BOOKS! I know…this is against the book nerd rules! You can never have enough books! But I am not going to be too rigid when it comes to not buying books! There are some exceptions!

If there is an upcoming book event and I GENUINELY want to get the author’s autograph and I don’t own the book, then I will cave and buy the book! Book subscription boxes are also a huge weakness for me and I will probably buy one or two for this year of 2019. Other than that, I am going to utilize all my libraries as much as possible and stick to my free year of audible that I received for my birthday! 

2…My Goodreads challenge goal is to read 50 books or more this year. Although if I actually read three books a week that would add up to reading 156 books for the year which is INSANE! I barely ever even hit 50 books read for the year and my average number a year is about 34 books. This year I lowered my Goodreads goal to 35 books in order to not add unnecessary pressure to myself. After all, I read because I love to read not because I have to read a certain number to be considered a reader!

 

What are your TBR goals for 2019?! Chat with me about your book nerd action plan! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Catfairy Journal, YA Book Lists Tagged: Not Buying Books for 2019, read series books for 2019, tbr goals for 2019

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