Oh my FUCKING GOD OH MY GOD THIS IS THE BEST EDIT IVE EVER SEEN IM LITERALLY SHAKING PLEASE PLEASE WATCH AND GO FOLLOW THIS PERSON IM ACTUALLY SHAKING
I’ve been waiting a year to post this
chryseis asked:
Zahro do you have any recs for books that have come out in the past couple years that are must reads, I'm in a reading slump and I need inspiration!!
zahroreadsthings answered:
hannah we are FINALLY replying 6 weeks later!! i’m going for published after 2018
first off read the abyss surrounds us already
Girl, Serpent, Thorn - Melissa Bashardoust (2020). I think the author said it was a retelling of sleeping beauty but it felt more like rapunzel to me (also fun fact the oldest version of a rapunzel story is set in persia). But anyway set in historic Persia, a princess who’s poisonous to the touch is hidden away in the palace until she finds a way to break her curse, but she accidentally puts her entire family in danger doing so. Bonus romance with a nice demon lady.
Mexican Gothic - Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2020). A socialite receives a letter from her cousin saying her husband’s trying to poison her and there are voices in the mansion’s walls, so she packs up and heads over to a probably-haunted mansion full of people who actively dislike her.
Thorn - Anna Burke (2019). Sapphic retelling of beauty and the beast, with elements from both grimm’s and disney which I thought was neat. That’s really all you need to know about it lmao
Compass Rose - Anna Burke (2018). 26th century swashbuckler. Compass Rose’s uncannily accurate sense of direction lands her a spot on a mercenary crew deep in pirate territory.
Fire Country - Victor Steffensen (2020). This is a departure from everything else on this list but SUCH a fascinating read. Part memoir and part Indigenous land management. Delves into the role of fire in Australia’s history as a means of both cultural connection to land and the country’s health.
The Poppy War - R. F. Kuang (2018). If you see someone mark this YA just hit them. Inspired by 20th century China. Protagonist gets herself into an elite military school on a scholarship and life sucks. She discovers she has an aptitude as a shaman right about the time war breaks out.
The Midnight Lie - Maria Rutkoski (2020). Nirrim keeps her head down to stay safe in a part of the city that enforces sumptuary laws but begins exploring life outside her caste with a mysterious, sly traveller named Sid who asks to not be trusted.
Cemetery Boys - Aiden Thomas (2020). Yadriel performs a ritual to prove himself as a brujo and find the ghost of his missing cousin when his family has trouble accepting his gender. He ends up accidentally summoning the ghost of Julian Diaz, who won’t go away until Yadriel finds out what happened to him.
You Should See Me In a Crown - Leah Johnson (2020). Liz Lighty always believed she was too poor, too black, and too awkward to participate in the prom scene but takes a shot at the prom queen scholarship when the financial aid she was counting on for college falls through.
This Is How You Lose the Time War - Amal el-Mohtar, Max Gladstone (2019). Two rival agents in a sci-fi time travel war try to one-up each other but eventually fall in love. It’s my everything.
I keep forgetting what the differences are in the over the counter pain relievers, so I made a handy chart.
This Is Important.
I always had really really horrible growing pains as a kid. Like, I clearly remember being curled up on the floor crying because it felt like some evil person had stuck a fork in my calf and was twisting it around like spaghetti. Mom always had me take ibuprofen for it, and when that didn’t do anything, she just gave me more.
Now the stuff barely works on me, even when I take it for the things it actually fixes.
Please, please, double-check to make sure you’re taking the right medicines for your pain.
My mom always gave me tylonel for period cramps as a kid and it never did anything. It’s nice to know now that she was literally giving me the least effective option
And please PLEASE note that as the chart says, acetaminophen “can be taken with NSAIDs”, which means you can take Tylenol/acetaminophen AND one of the other listed pain-relievers.
My mom has been a doctor for 40+ years, and her standard advice for headaches is, take two regular-strength Advil, and then if that doesn’t work, ALSO take two regular-strength Tylenol.
THIS STUDYING THING WORKED WITH ME!!
I don't usually study a lot. Like I'd sit down for the whole day on my desk and get so little done, sometimes I even get nothing done at all, but today I weirdly did a lot... Since I knew my finals will be in a week, I sat down with one of my "most worrying" college mates and we planned out the whole week's study plan so we can get the most done a week before the exam. Yesterday was a bit messy as I didn't really have a day plan, so I decided I won't fall for the same shiz again Before I slept yesterday, I planned today's study schedule, and it worked because I knew there was a lot of breaks that allowed me to watch anime and and read a lot of my book and text my friends back without being in a hurry, and when I'd finish before the time I set, I'd add this time to my break.
the study plan/ schedule:
7:00/ 7:30 wake up
8:30 : 10:30 study session 1
10:30 : 11:00 break
11:00 : 12:30 study session 2
12:30 : 2:00 (pm) make food and eat (brunch)
2:00 : 4:00 study session 3
4:00 : 4:30 break
4:30 : 5:00 study session 4 (more of reading and organizing my thoughts on the part I'll study next)
5:00 : 7:00 make food and eat dinner
7:00 : 8:30 study session 5
8:30 : 9:00 break
notes on that: -study sessions can be replaced by assignments/ revising/ doing homework or a research or anything
- you should literally get better eating habits than mine, I'm not so healthy, I eat 2 meals only also and I don't usually have breakfast but I'd get snacks or yogurt or something light or some drinks in between - before I sit down to study I make sure I have all the tools needed so I don't get up (the notebooks, textbooks, planner, sticky notes, laptop, pens, highlighters, a bottle of water, a cup of something -so I won't get up to make something to drink- snacks, tissues, phone if needed)
-keep a note beside you and when you remember anything that you wanna do in your break write it down there
-more tips (that I didn't use much of today but helps me a lot) : =setting a timer
=listening to songs or music or something (when I'm down I play la la land's sound track)
=playing a movie/ cartoon or anything that you know well by heart so you wouldn't be so focused on it (actually worked- I did it before an exam)
=changing the place of studying (bed, balcony, kitchen, living room, at a friend's place, in a coffee shop, anywhere)
=video calling a friend or someone: you don't have to be studying the same thing
=keeping up with a friend to see what you both finished and what is left and give each other a push
=remember that progress is more important that perfection
=if you are tired you can just read the lesson and underline/ sort out the ideas in your head
=it's ok to not feel motivated, but know that if you waited for motivation it will never come .. also you can watch a motivational video if it works with you
=online study groups can be effective
-breaks (this is how I used my breaks):
=replying to certain texts
=checking on some people
=reading
=listening to music
=planning the next study session
=watching anime/ an episode of anything if its a long break =stretching or some kind of work out idk
=spending time with family (in my case I don't recommend much) =walk around
=clean/organize your room / do a chore
=spend it on your hobby
=learning a new language
=15/20 mins nap
=write down your thoughts
Hey look at the title for my school’s tube ensemble, where there are 9 tubas.
“Music Played On Wildly Inappropriate Instuments” is my favorite genre of music.
In case you’re wondering what this sounds like:
everyone was curious so here’s a version with sound
I am BEGGING you all to watch the video
