Category + book haul

hello, it's been a while | an update

Oct 17, 2022

Hi friends, i hope you're doing well. so, it's been a while since i've been on the interwebs and even longer on the blog. let me explain...

if you've followed me on twitter (formerly @/genissa), you may have or not have noticed that i've not been on the bird app since the end of august. what happened was that near the end of august, i deactivated my account. however, twitter now only gives you 30 days to reactivate your account before it's gone permenantly, and i didn't reactivate it within the time frame. so... it's gone. 13 years' worth of tweets, photos, retweets and messages just gone. all gone. poof.

so hopefully some of my followers from there also follow me on here as well. please don't think i've blocked/unfollowed you bookish, blogging or activism friends. 😭 i still love y'all, and i miss y'all! y'all are stuck with updates from me on the blog from now on (if i can be consistent, that is). if you need to reach me, feel free to email me!

if you've made it this far and want to know where the heck i've been, keep reading, or scroll down to all the books and movies i've been consuming lately. ☺


In Life


🌱 on september 1st, i turned 30! it's so weird that i'm no longer in my 20s...

🌱 my 9th blogiversary was on july 22nd! i can't believe it's been 9 years already. well, i did take a year or so hiatuses so that's probably why it doesn't feel like it's been that long lol.

🌱 my twitter and snapchat accounts that i deactivated are both gone within a span of two months. obviously i didn't learn from when i failed to reactivate my snapchat in time because a month after, i lost my twitter account as well. i'm still so sad.

🌱 back in august, i finally bought a car that is newer and more reliable than my previous 3 cars, a 2017 honda civic.

🌱 i've recently began feeling pain in my left wrist, followed by my right, and it turns out that it is tendonitis. thankfully nothing serious as i feared, and the doctor said that it'll take 4-6 weeks to heal. 🙏

🌱 rip to my kobo. after accompanying me one night to the drive-in movie theater, it just stopped turning on despite being fully charged before the outing. my banging against it also didn't help, so yeah, it was time to retire my old friend of 6 years and buy a new one.

🌱 this summer, i joined a local banned book club with fellow readers, students and educators alike at the state library, which was fun and also eye opening. i've got tons of new books to read from this and i cannot wait!

🌱 still apartment hunting. some rejections, mostly silence, but we'll see about the waitlists i've submitted applications for.

🌱 my mild scoliosis has been persistent again. i still haven't been able to get a simple x-ray, despite the many complaints (and tears) i've made to my doctor. so i've just been wearing a back brace and sitting on lumbar support on chairs to help for now.

🌱 still going to decolonization therapy and it's the most beneficial and hardest thing, but so so worth it. it's the one thing i've been consistent about this year and i can't go back to what was. it's been so good for not only my healing but for my growth and mentality as well. i'm so grateful to have the accessibility to this kind of therapy and to have found trustworthy therapists/group (they are Indigenous people after all) to guide and mentor me through it all.

🌱 it's election season here in the u.s., so i've gotten back in touch with fellow volunteer friends and a couple of former poli-sci classmates to get out the vote by text banking and canvassing via indivisible guide and aclu of norcal. u.s. folks, please vote whether by mail, curbside voting or safely at a nearby polling place! utilize the following to help you with voting and your ballots: ballotready.org, ballotpedia.org, voternetwork.us, voteathome.org. save the date: november 8

🌱 during the summer season once a week, a couple of my friends and i volunteered at a local mutual aid org with free food and diaper distribution, as well as help with donation distribution for afghan and ukrainian refugees who've resettled in our community. this is what i love about our community and it fills my heart so much to see such kindness and generosity.


Books I've Read Lately


the art of prophecy wesley chu the final strife saara el-arifi the cheat code misba rust in the root justina ireland gods of want stories k-ming chang


Gold Mountain by Bett G. Yee ★★★★
In My Hands by Sathya Achia ★★★
People Person by Candice Carty-Williams ★★★★
How To Read Now by Elaine Castillo ★★★★
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng ★★★★★
The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi ★★★
Gods of Want: Stories by K-Ming Chang ★★★★
Marakit and the Ocean of Stars by Caris Avendano Cruz ★★★★★
Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah ★★★
Rust In the Root by Justina Ireland ★★★★
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez ★★★★
Let the Mountains Be My Grave by Francesca Tacchi ★★★★
Orphan Price by Joel Donato Ching Jacob ★★★★
You Made a Fool of Death with You Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi ★★★★★
Babel by R.F. Kuang ★★★★
The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu ★★★★
The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia ★★★★
Shutter by Ramona Emerson ★★★
Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia P. Manansala ★★★★
Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life by Alice Wong ★★★
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean ★★★
The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson ★★★
If You Still Recognise Me by Cynthia So ★★★
The Immortal King of Rao by Vauhini Vara ★★★★
Small Deaths by Rijula Das ★★★
Direwood by Catherine Yu ★★★
Making a Scene by Constance Wu ★★★★
The Cheat Code by Misba ★★★
Lucky Streak by Tif Marcelo ★★★★
Disoriental by Negar Djavadi ★★★

...watch out for my (belated) wikathon 2022 post to see more books i've read.


TV/Movies I've Been Watching


vampire academy show peacock 2022 spy x family anime she hulk attorney at law disney+ series end of the road netflix 2022 the invitation 2022 vampires


Vampire Academy series
Spy x Family
Maja Ma
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
Star Wars Andor
Love In the Villa
The Girlfriend Project Day 1
End of the Road
Do Revenge
The Woman King
On the Come Up
The Invitation
Reginald the Vampire
First Kill
Ek Ladki Lo Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
Atlanta
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Nope


Music in Heavy Rotation


all the answers mccone celestial ed sheeran better thangs ciara summer walker


Virgos Groove // Beyonce
Break My Soul // Beyonce
We the Best // Ex Battalion, Skusta Kee, Brando, Emcee Rhen, King Badger, John Roa, Flow G
I'm In Love with You // The 1975
All the Answers // McCone, Benedikte.
Don't You Worry (Farruko remix) // Black Eyed Peas, Shakira, Farruko, David Guetta
Sunroof // Nicky Youre, dazy, Manuel Turizo
Try Again // DallasK, Lauv
Shut Down // Blackpink
Baila // BNTH, Conor Maynard
Better Thangs // Ciara, Summer Walker
Super Freaky Girl // Nicki Minaj
Baby Boo // Muni Long, Saweetie
Celestial // Ed Sheeran
I'm Good (Blue) // David Guetta, Bebe Rexha
29 // Demi Lovato
Good Love // Usher, City Girls
uh oh // Tate McRae
La Bachata // Manuel Turizo
Betty (Get Money) // Yung Gravy



🌱 What books are your recent faves? 

🌱 What songs have you added to your playlist recently? 

🌱 Any shows or films that has you hooked in? Let me know in the comments below and include links to your posts if you've already posted about them!

strange the dreamer the novl box!

Aug 8, 2017





i came home to a pleasant and fun-filled book mail surprise from the awesome the novl team. the strange the dreamer box by the novl! i'm pretty sure that this was a giveaway? because i don't think there are other ways to attain their boxes, but don't quote me on that. either way, it's filled with a lot of fun and pretty stuff, and i am eternally grateful. their book boxes are so cool and different every month, so be sure to subscribe to their newsletters so you can enter to win a box!

of all the boxes of theirs i won, i'm so glad it was this one because strange the dreamer has been on my tbr for SO long, and now it's finally here. i've heard nothing but incredible things about it, so i'm even more excited to read it.


what's included in the box:
  • strange the dreamer by laini taylor (hardcover - signed) 
  • (4) strange the dreamer buttons 
  • the novl tote bag 
  • the novl uv-protected sunglasses 
  • the novel fruit-infused water bottle

many thank yous to the novl. ♥ check them out here.


♥ have YOU read strange the dreamer? without spoilers, 
let me know what you thought of it in the comments below! ♥

madly + pressed juicery

Jul 5, 2015



today was a day well-spent sitting by the bonfire pit at the fountains reading an arc of madly by amy alward that i picked up at ala last month, accompanied with a vanilla almond juice from pressed juicery.


add madly by amy alward to your tbr!


title: madly
author: amy alward
publication date: september 29, 2015
publisher: simon schuster books for young readers
genre: young adult fantasy

ala annual 2015 book haul

Jun 30, 2015





i experienced my first ever book conference: ala annual conference (alaac) in san francisco a couple of days ago, and as promised in my last post, here's my book haul!

books i obtained (in no particular order):


  • salt to the sea by ruta sepetys (bound manuscript)
  • everything, everything by nicola yoon
  • black widow: forever red by margaret stohl
  • walk on earth a stranger by rae carson
  • vengeance road by erin bowman
  • daughters unto devils by amy lukavics
  • when we collided by emery lord
  • first & then by emma mills
  • the scorpion rules by erin bow
  • hunter by mercedes lackey
  • madly by amy alward
  • tonight the streets are ours by leila sales
  • beastly bones william ritter
  • melt by selene castrovilla
  • naked by stacey trombley
  • modern monsters by kelley york
  • better when he's brave by jay crownover
  • risking it all by tessa bailey
  • more than music by elizabeth briggs

thank you to the publishers and folks working the booths. y'all were amazing and very helpful. thanks for getting the books out there to readers and educators. i can't wait to attend more conferences and meet more of my favorite authors.



♥ did you go to alaac15? or are there books that you cannot wait for?
comment your recaps or anticipated books below! ♥

when my heart was wicked

Feb 28, 2015



tricia sterling's when my heart was wicked signing was yesterday in el dorado hills at face in a book bookstore. despite this book being on my tbr for a while, it wasn't until meeting tricia that i learned she's a local author and the book is set in the city we reside in -- sacramento. this just made me even more excited to read it because i haven't read or heard of many books set here.


add when my heart was wicked to your tbr!


title: when my heart was wicked
author: tricia stirling
publication date: february 24, 2015
publisher: scholastic press
genre: young adult urban fantasy

jenny lundquist signing | roseville, ca

Oct 2, 2014




author of the princess in the opal mask, jenny lundquist, had a signing at our local barnes & noble yesterday for the follow-up novel the opal crown. it was a nice and small signing, so everyone who attended got to hang around and talk to jenny during her signing. jenny fittingly wore a crown the whole time, and she told me that it was her agents idea.

this signing was the second time i met jenny -- the first being last weekend at the california capital book festival in sacramento. it was there that we learned that she is local, so it was pretty cool to learn that we had some talented local authors.

happy book release to the opal crown! i've heard great things about the books, so i am excited to dive into this world.


title: the princess in the opal mask (the opal mask #1) + the opal crown (the opal mask #2)
author: jenny lundquist
publication date: october 22, 2013 + october 28, 2013 respectively
publisher: running press kids
genre: young adult fantasy, romance
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