Dec
2016

5 Tips For Writing a Cover Letter

categories: Career, College, Job Hunting Tips

I posted this before but I’m sharing again for anyone who needs cover letter help for the new year.

Notebook and pen

1) Personalize your letter for each application- even if you’re applying for the same position at different companies, it is important that your cover letter is tailored for each company. For example, your application for a fashion magazine and a newspaper should each mention what you could bring to the specific company and position.

2) Try to stand out- Standard introductions are boring. Remember that the person reading your letter goes through several other cover letters as well. Try to stand out in your letter to get their attention. For example, instead of starting with “my name is x and I am applying for y”, start with something out of the box like a quote or motto that you believe in.

3) Do not write an essay- a cover letter that is succinct is more successful that a three – page – essay.  Ideally a cover letter should say who you are, what you can bring to the table and briefly list your experience or qualifications for the job.

4) Show what you can bring to the job- I’ve stated this before. This is just to emphasis it. The company has hundreds of applicants. Obviously everyone wants the job. Obviously they have something to offer. But what do you have? Stellar social media skills? Writing experience? Show that you stand out from others with your unique skills.

5) Stick to the format- a cover letter is just that a letter. So stick to the usual format of a letter. Don’t know the format? Google it! And remember to ensure that you have no typos. Nothing spells unprofessional easier than a badly-formatted, typo – riddled cover letter.


Dec
2016

How to Find Time for Reading in College

categories: Books, College

Since this is a college lifestyle and book blog, it just made sense to combine the two in a blog post. Making time to read in college is difficult especially if your classes requires tons of reading for them. However I am stubborn and nothing, not even my education will stand in the way of me and another fictional universe. Here are my tips on making time for reading in college:

Girl lying in library

1) Use reading as a reward for your boring work- I hate some of the books we have to do for English so I balance it out with a chapter of a novel that is interesting. I usually read much faster when I know that there’s a book I’ll actually enjoy, waiting for me.

2) Read in between classes- Carry a book with you to read in your free time. I never read in high school because I had no time but carrying a book a day to campus made reading so easy for me.

3) Buy an eReader- Some people have really strong opinions about eBooks but I find them quicker and easier to read than print books. College is also when my ereading began.

4) Read a chapter before bed- When college gets really stressful and I’m unable to read on campus at all, I read for a while before bed. Just make certain that it’s only one chapter and you don’t end up staying awake until just before your 8AM class.

How do you find time for reading in college?


Dec
2016

Book Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

categories: Books, Reviews

FangirlFangirl by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book and was incredibly sad when it ended. This story begins with Cath moving in to her dorm at college. Things are frosty between her and her twin sister, Wren. While Cath is freaking out about leaving her father alone and all of the changes that college may bring along with it. Wren simply moves on with her new life at college. And Cath is not a part of this new life. While Wren parties and makes new friends, Cath refuses to leave her room and buries herself deeper in her fanfiction writing.
I could relate to this story as I also struggled with college at first. I especially enjoyed how much Cath and I were alike. Cath is a fangirl and it is her fanfiction that gets her through life. Atleast that is how it has always been until now. I loved the character of Levi. If I was the kind of girl who swooned, he would definitely make me swoon.
This was a cute light read that I would definitely recommend. I thought the characters were well-written, the writing was funny and I really liked the illustrations displayed on the inside cover of the book.

View all my reviews


Dec
2016

How to Make Time for Reading

categories: Books

As a bookworm, few things upset me more than someone telling me they have “no time” for reading. There’s always time for reading. ALWAYS! It’s just that sometimes finding the time is difficult. So here are my tips to help ensure you always manage a chapter a day.

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1) Have a specific time for reading- when high school started being difficult for me, I stopped reading. The only time I read was during the holidays or a chapter before bedtime. Having a regular routine helped me to get back to reading. Yes, a chapter a day is painfully slow but something is better than nothing.

2) Carry a book with you- be it a paperback or an ebook, carry a book so that you can read whenever you have the time. I have a Kindle app on my tab as well as a epub reader and they’re both full of books. Always having a book with you allows you to read anytime anywhere.

3) Don’t push it- if you’re finding it impossible to read a certain book, move on to another. Life is too short to waste on books that don’t excite you. Reading is supposed to be fun not something you HAVE to do (unless you’re a college student and I can’t help you there).

4) Choose a book you’ll like- if you like romance, you might not be interested in the latest murder mystery. Choose a book you know will interest you. You can even read the book that your favorite movie was based on. The Harry Potter movies are so much better for me now that I’ve read the books. I’m obsessed.

If it’s important to you, you’ll find a way. This is very true for reading. There’s always time for a book and making the time is so worthwhile. Why wouldn’t you want to travel to different world’s? What are your tips for making time to read?


Dec
2016

This is Where It Ends

categories: Uncategorized

I’m hours (five hours to be exact) away from writing my final paper as a college student. I know I should be focused on the paper but all I can think of is “How did three years pass so soon?”

It seems like only yesterday I was preparing for my matric finals and here I am hours away from my college finals. Time really does fly.

I’m dreading having to see family over the festive season and deal with the “What are your plans for next year?” questions but omg I can’t believe I’m here!

Also, once exams are over I hope to have proper blog posts lined up.


Dec
2016

Fiction Friday: Book Review- Raven (A Creepy Hollow Story) by Rachel Morgan

categories: Books, Reviews

Raven (A Creepy Hollow Story)Raven by Rachel Morgan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had my doubts about this book since a) I couldn’t really remember Raven from the Creepy Hollow series and b) I didn’t think any other character in Creepy Hollow would make a impact on me the way that Chase did. I decided to just read a few pages to see what I thought of the book and I was instantly sucked in.
Raven comes from a very wealthy family and is “practically royalty” according to her mother. What Raven’s parents don’t know is that Raven has a close (and forbidden) friendship with Flint, one of the guards.
When Raven is caught in the middle of a dangerous murderous plot, Flint is the only one around to help her.
This is a really fast read and I loved getting a look at a completely different part of Creepy Hollow. I would love to see more from the upper classes of Creepy Hollow.
I didn’t like Flint as much as Chase (will I ever like anyone as much as Chase? Doubtful) but I thought he was a great character nonetheless. I especially enjoyed seeing Tora as a kid. I would love if the next Creepy Hollow novella was about her.
This is a quick but entertaining read that fans of Creepy Hollow will love!

View all my reviews


Dec
2016

November Book Haul

categories: Books

I usually do my book hauls at the beginning of the month since I only buy books from the SPCA booksale. This month however, things were very different.

I did go to the SPCA booksale as usual and since Bargain Books was nearby, I popped in for a visit. I came across a section marked “on promotion” with pretty much every book I ever wanted. I literally stopped to hold a few of the books. The books didn’t have prices on them but the saleslady told me that they were all R69 each. So I bought a few. Bye-bye birthday money.

 

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Then there was the review copy of “Heartless” that Pan Macmillan sent me. I also got a copy of “The Unknown Journey” by S K Sewmungal.

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My copies of “A Court of Thorns and Roses” and “A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah J Maas were delivered from Readers Warehouse. I already read these books but I really wanted print copies. They’re so gorgeous!

How cute is the magnetic bookmark? I NEED more
How cute is that magnetic bookmark? I NEED more

 

My dad took a week off from work so I decided to drag him back to Bargain Books so that I could get the remaining books in “The Mortal Instruments” and “The Originals” series. If you can’t tell, I came home a very happy bookworm.

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I swore off books for the rest of the year. But then Exclusive Books had a sale for Cyber Monday- R199 for six to eight books. I don’t shop at Exclusive Books at all because their books are so expensive but this sounded like a really good deal. And it was SO worth it! One of the books I had in my mystery box was “The Chemist” by Stephenie Meyer. I was really interested in reading “The Chemist” but didn’t really like the price so this is so perfect!

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What was your book-haul for November? Have you read any of the above books? I’d love to know below!


Nov
2016

Fiction Friday: Book Review- Heartless by Marissa Meyer

categories: Books, Reviews

HeartlessHeartless by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cath dreams of opening her own bakery. It’s the only thing she wants in life until she meets the mysterious Jest. Soon Cath begins to imagine the possibility of a life with him. However Cath is a lady while Jest is only a fool. There is no way that Cath’s strict and controlling parents would accept him. In fact, Cath’s parents have already found her a husband- the King of Hearts- and they won’t accept no for an answer. While we all know how this book ends, the path to the end was so surprising and heartbreaking. I was in shock once I finished this book and all I could think of was “HOW???”
What I really enjoyed was how nonsensical this book was, much like the original Lewis Caroll work. I strongly suggest that readers brush up on “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Alice Through The Looking Glass” to get the full effect of the book. There are several characters and quotes from the original that appear in “Heartless” and it’s fun to see them again. This book fits in so perfectly with the world of Wonderland that it is almost as if this is a companion novel to “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”.
This book was incredibly well-written and I really enjoyed seeing all of the characters from Wonderland. I also liked how things that made no sense in our world, appeared to be totally normal in this book.
This was an excellent book and I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fairytale retellings.

View all my reviews


Nov
2016

Fiction Friday: My Five Favourite Retellings

categories: Books

I love love LOVE retellings. I don’t know why because how often can you read one story rewritten? (If you’re me then the answer is “very often”) Here are a few of my favourite retellings.

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1) The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: The Lunar Chronicles is a series of futuristic retellings of several fairytales. While I had my doubts about this series, I instantly fell in love once I started reading it.

2) A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas: This is a fae retelling of Beauty and The Beast and it’s impossible to put down.

3) The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh: This is a retelling of One Thousand and One Nights. Honestly I’ve never read One Thousand and One Nights but this synopsis was too compelling to resist.

4) And I Darken by Kiersten White: This is a story based on Vlad Dracul…except in this version Vlad is a kickass female named Lada.

5) Alice Takes Back Wonderland by David D. Hammons: This book gave me all the feels. This is mainly about Alice going back to Wonderland but there are several other fairytale characters in this book.


Nov
2016

Book Review: Rebel (Recoil #3) by Joanne Macgregor

categories: Books, Reviews

Rebel (Recoil Trilogy #3)Rebel by Joanne Macgregor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was so thrilling! Unfortunately life got in my way so I didn’t start this book as soon as I wanted to. Not being able to instantly dive into this book upset me so I ended up reading the ending first (and then spoiled the entire book for myself). Aside from that very stupid mistake on my behalf, I absolutely loved this book. I was so thrilled to see Jinx and Quinn again. There is so much of character development in this book. I started off hating characters and wishing them dead (I can’t help it. Some of the characters were really hateful) but by the end of the book I really liked them. This was a super-fast read that was difficult to put down. Fans of dystopian fiction will love this book! The characters are incredible and so very clever! The writing is great and the plot is unique. This book blew my mind.

View all my reviews

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