Shoutout Sunday // The Last Shout Out Sunday – Are You Ready?

It’s Been a Good Run

I started doing Shout Out Sunday earlier in the year as a way to share the love with other bloggers and to make sure that I took the time to sit down and read up on everyone’s posts.

It’s been a success so far so why am I changing it?

I’ve decided to bring all of my monthly posts, except Ancient Archive, to one place so I have a little more room to try out other posts!

I promise I’ll still be shouting out other people’s posts, it just won’t be in a Shout Out Sunday post anymore.

I want to try doing new things but I’ve found that with the posts I already have, there isn’t much room unless I want to get rid of some of my series or post more than four times a week.

Four posts a week is enough for me and I think trying to do any more than that might make my blog feel less like fun and more like work and I already have a job. I’ve done the working multiple jobs at once thing already. It sucks enough when you’re actually being paid for them all, let alone when you’re only paid for one job.

I really like the series I am already doing so I don’t want to change that either!

Putting my TBRs, Wrap-Ups, Hauls and my Shout Out Sunday all in one place just makes sense to me!

However, since I’ve been gone so long, I had to split them up a one last time in order to not have you reading the same post for an hour. And then I decided to combine everything starting in the new year but next month Shoutout Sunday will be part of the Month in Review post under Posts I loved.

This one is going to be quite long because I spent the last two weeks playing catch up on everyone’s posts for the last four months.

When I went on hiatus I had planned to still read and keep up with everyone else’s blogs but that just didn’t happen!

I’m all caught up now so it’s time to share the love and tell you about all the posts I loved reading and thought you might too!

Reviews

1.│Krystin @ Here’s The Fucking Twist│Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone│
Kystin’s review made me want to pick this book up immediately!* And her critique of Christianity? Here for it!

2.│Krystin @ Here’s The Fucking Twist│Any Man by Amber Tamblyn│
If you can’t tell already, I love Krystin’s reviews A LOT but OMG this one, in particular, I felt what she was saying in my bones!

3.│Destiny @ Howling Libraries│TO BE HONEST — MAGGIE ANN MARTIN│
This is an #ownvoices book with fat rep and Destiny’s review made me fall a bit in love the main character I haven’t even picked it up yet!

4.│Elise @ The Bookish Actress│How To Write a Great, Not-Boring, Interesting Review│
Listen, writing reviews can be hard! When I get into a reviewing slump I dread writing them but I also want to write them. You see my problem???
And that added pressure of actually making them interesting and coherent? Impossible!
Unless you have Elise’s very helpful review guide and then nothing can stop you!

5.│Avery @ Red Rocket Panda│NEGATIVE REVIEWS│
Everybody loves a good rant review, I know I do! I enjoy reading them and writing them. But Avery wants to talk about when negative reviews can become harmful.
Avery does a great job of discussing the nuance of negative reviews in his post. 

6.│May @ Forever and Everly│Do Book Ratings Have Anything to Do with Critical Reading??│
May discusses her changes in her rating averages over the last few months and if becoming a more critical reader has had an influence on that!
Should we judge people on what their average rating is? What are all the different things that can have an impact on your average rating? 

7.│Aimee @ Aimee, Always│How to Style Your Book Reviews│
Let’s face it, looks matter. No, I’m not talking about how you, as a person, look on the outside, I’m talking books! I know I’m more likely to visit a post based on how it looks. I am here admitting that I am a shallow person when it comes to what I read online.
Aimee does a great job of explaining why including certain things in your review is important AND some useful coding to help you out! 

*I mean I won’t because I have a TBR so long I can’t see past it but I will get to it ASAP!

Recommendations

1.│Krystin @ Here’s The Fucking Twist│Mystery and Thriller Releases for Fall 2018!│
If y’all love creepy reads that keep you on edge this time of year then keep your eye on the books Krystin talks about that have just come out/are about to come out because she has tastes and is an expert in the genre at this point. 

2.│Destiny @ Howling Libraries│HORROR RECOMMENDATIONS, PT. I + HORROR RECOMMENDATIONS, PT. II│
Okay, so technically Halloween has been and gone but I know that there will be many of you who are sad about that so why not keep the festivities going??? I’m sure as hell not going to judge you for it!
What’s the best way to do that? visit Destiny’s posts and read it up! 

3.│Laura @ Green Tea & Paperbacks│DON’T WATCH INSATIABLE; READ THESE BOOKS WITH FAT MAIN CHARACTERS INSTEAD│
Why oh why does media seem to always get it so fucking wrong when it comes to fat rep????
If you are feeling all of these things too, you should definitely check out Laura’s post and read any of the books on her list! 

4.│Elise @ The Bookish Actress│Favorite Slump Reads // A Rec List│
Slumps proper suck ass so if you’re in the middle of one and are beginning to lose hope then this post is for you! If you’re not in a slump, YAY!
But maybe save this post just in case, I’m sure future-slump-you will thank you! 

5.│Marta @ The Cursed Books│READING SLUMPS 101│
Marta gives us the lowdown on reading slumps and how to trick your brain into reading!
She’s got some great tips in there so if you’re suffering from a case of the slumps check it out! 

6.│Kat @ Novels & Waffles│How to Get Your Hands on English Books While Living Overseas│
As an expat, Kat has some really great tips on how to read books in English while living overseas! She includes ways to buy your own physical books as well as sources for reading books free and legally! 

7.│Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books│HOW CAN BOOKS COMBAT THE STIGMAS AROUND MENTAL ILLNESS│
Marie is hosting the Shattering Stigmas event on her blog last month and for this post, she had Marta @ The Cursed Books on to talk about how damaging stigmas on mental health can be from a psychology student’s perspective.
She also shared what books she recommends people read to help combat any internalized stigmas they might have personally. 

8.│Vicky @ Vicky Who Reads│Combat Biphobia with These Awesome Book Recs!│
Want to celebrate bi-ness in all its gorgeous glory? Want to see yourself represented as a bi individual then look no further than this great list of books with bi rep! 

TBRs

1.│Destiny @ Howling Libraries│READING SCHEDULES│
So one of Destiny’s previous posts spurred me on to start scheduling my reading and OMG it helped me so much?? I highly recommend giving it ago and checking out Destiny’s post to see how she schedules her reading! 

2.│Jamieson @ JamiShelves│SEPTEMBER TBR – Return of the Structured TBR│
On the back of scheduled TBR reading, I also have a problem where I get carried away at the library and leave with TOO MANY BOOKS!!!
I think if I start doing structured TBRs then maybe I’ll be able to refrain myself and actually read the ARCs that have been sitting in my Kindle app for months. 

ARCs

1.│Jamieson @ JamiShelves│The downsides of ARCs│
Jamieson wants us to be more open about the downsides of receiving ARCs and I totally agree with her.
I’m all about a more transparent community and as great as getting ARCs are, it is still a very much flawed system that can be better and the only way to make things better is to talk about the not so nice parts of a system. 

2.│May @ Forever and Everly│All About ARCs│
May also discussed the downsides of ARCs. In her posts, she covers the pressure, privilege and issue of payment that bloggers that read and review ARCs are faced with.
She also touches on how important, and yet harder it is for marginalized bloggers to get ARCs for books that represent them!

3.│Marta @ The Cursed Books│EVERYTHING YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ARCS│
Marta has made up a great post with information all things ARCS, from what they are, to how to get them she even includes email addresses for publishers that work with international bloggers and what to include in your email! Guys!!! How great is that???
Marta also created a spreadsheet with international bloggers contact information to send to publishers and authors interested in working with us specifically!
How great is that?

4.│Laura @ Green Tea & Paperbacks│A BLOGGERS GUIDE TO REQUESTING PHYSICAL ARCS│
Laura shares her brilliant guide to requesting ARCs as an international author! She shares some great tips, as well as including some email addresses for publishers and an email outline for you to take away some of the anxiety that can come from emailing someone about something for the first time! 

5.│Inside My Library Mind│All You Need to Know to Start Using Edelweiss│
Inside My Library Mind shared an extensive post about how to navigate and make the most of Edelweiss for requesting EARCs and guys this is the post I’ve been waiting for!

Discussions

1.│Silvia @ Silvia Reads Books│book piracy, representation and international readers│
Silvia did a great post about book piracy and why the solution isn’t as clear-cut as “just go to the library”. She really captured everything I wanted to say on the topic! 

2.│Amber @ Ambsreads│Are Trigger Warnings Spoilers?│
Amber chats about why she thinks trigger warning should be included and also why they should be included in books as well and YES YES YES I 100% AGREE!
I’ve been very slack with including trigger warnings in my reviews and I could give every excuse under the sun but the bottom line is that I just couldn’t be bothered and I don’t want to be that person anymore so this is basically me announcing that I will not be lazy and will include trigger warnings in my reviews to the best of my ability, and you should too!

3.│Cait @ Paper Fury│IS IT BETTER TO READ ABOUT CHARACTERS WHO ARE LIKE YOU…OR DIFFERENT?│
I loved reading Cait’s post because it shares just how important it is to read both types of characters, at least in my opinion! 

4.│Fadwa @ Word Wonders│WHY ASEXUAL REPRESENTATION IS IMPORTANT│
Fadwa does this incredible series called #DiverseBookBloggersDiscuss and I love it! She gets other book bloggers to do a post for her blog about diversity to share the voices of people we might have missed otherwise.
In this post, she has Jill @ A Book Nerd Reads to share why asexual representation is important and I think it’s a great post that people should check out! 

Writing

1.│Michelle @ The Writing Hufflepuff│Why I Often Don’t Write Even Though I Love Writing│
Michelle shares about the war we can sometimes have with ourselves when it comes to writing!
This is a great post to read if you’re struggling to find the time to write or just can’t seem to sit down and do it! 

2.│Michelle @ The Writing Hufflepuff│Some Snippets! // Part I + More Snippets // Part II│
I’ve read basically every post Michelle has done on her current WIP and I am already very much in love with it!
In this two-part series, Michelle shares some bits from her WIP with us and OMG!!! It’s sooooo good! Go read them! Please! 

3.│Michelle @ The Writing Hufflepuff│My WIP As Incorrect Quotes And Memes│
I love incorrect quotes and I love Michelle’s work in progress so I absolutely adored reading this post and you should read it too! 

4.│Vicky @ Vicky Who Reads│What NOT to Do When Describing Race in Novels│
Vicky gives some great tips on how to not describe race in your own writing!
Writing as a white author who wants to help bring diversity to the book world can be daunting but if you read this post and really take in what Vicky is saying then you’re at the very least on the right track (and like, actually put what she says to use)! 

5.│Fadwa @ Word Wonders│ARABS & MUSLIMS IN YA LITERATURE│
This is another #DiverseBookBloggersDiscuss post and this time around it’s Angel @ Invisible In Ink at the helm!
They share how to respectfully write Arabic and Muslim characters in YA and why it’s important to include the not-so-little things that people outside of those identities might miss. 

6.│Aimee @ Aimee, Always│5 Things I Want to See in Contemporary Books with POC Representation│
Aimee shares what she wants to see people include in their contemporaries that have POC characters!
It’s a great post to read if you’re writing exactly that and I’ll for sure be referring back to it in the future! 

7.│Abbiee│How to Write a Hate To Love Romance that Feels Natural, Believable, and Brilliant│
Abbiee shares how to write the much-loved trope, hate to love romances, that actually feel believable!
I love Abbiee’s how-tos because she really gets into it and explains everything for you so you’re not just lost and confused! 

8.│Abbiee│How to Write a Strong Opening for Your Novel│
Abbiee shares how to get readers to invest in your book from the get-go and how just having a good opening sentence isn’t always the key, it’s so much more than that! 

9.│Abbiee│How To Effectively CUT WORDS From Your Novel│
Ouch. It’s the thing that all writers dread but it’s also an unavoidable inevitability if you want to have your work published and make it the best version it can be!
Abbiee takes us through how to effectively cut words and also when its good to break your English teacher’s rules of using “weak words”. 

10.│Abbiee│How to Include All That BACKSTORY in Your Novel│
Knowing when and how much backstory to include in your novel can be confusing and difficult! You don’t want readers to wonder “WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON” or think “I AM SO BORED WHERE IS THE EXIT” and putting your book down and never picking it up again!
Abbiee shares some super great tips on how to avoid both of those scenarios! 

11.│Abbiee│How to Write a Gripping Contemporary Novel that Readers Can’t Put Down│
Read Abbiee’s post for tips on how to make your contemporary interesting and action-packed so you don’t lose your readers! 

12.│Cait @ Paper Fury│HOW TO KEEP WRITING WHEN YOU HAVE A MENTAL ILLNESS│
Doing things while battling mental illness is hard!
Cait shares her tips on how to beat the voices back so you can do what you love: write! 

13.│Cait @ Paper Fury│HOW I GOT AN AGENT AND A BOOK DEAL│
Cait has a real life book! Like out in the world, on people’s bookshelves and everything!
She shares her journey to get to that point, including how to get an agent and book deal! Bask in her knowledge and wisdom and use it for yourself! 

14.│Cait @ Paper Fury│5 THINGS I DID TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER│
Being a published author DOES NOT happen overnight! As much as the industry sometimes likes us to believe that, it just isn’t true.
Cait shares her tips on how she became a better writer before being published! 

The Book Community

1.│Destiny @ Howling Libraries│BLOG/SOCIAL MEDIA SHOUT-OUTS!│
Want to know who in the book community to follow on all their social media platforms? Look no further than Destiny’s Top Ten Tuesday post!
There are loads of great content creators in there and I found some new people to follow myself too! 

2.│Elise @ The Bookish Actress│MY FAVORITE BOOKTUBERS│
Need more great booktubers in your life?
Here’s a list of great Booktubers! I love Allie @ Hardback Hoarder and Emma @ EmmmaBooks but I also found a lot of people new to me to follow! 

3.│Julianna @ Paper Blots│Things I Want to See in the Book Community│
I love the book community but it’s not without its problems and it definitely has room for improvement!
Julianna tells us what she would like to see a change in the community and I have to admit, I very much agree with her! 

Books in Other Media

1.│Jamieson @ JamiShelves│FILM ADAPTATION FRIDAY SERIES – The Foxhole Court, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo + The Rave Cycle│
I love a good screen adaption of a book and it seems that Hollywood is starting to really do them justice?? Is that just me??
Anyway, I was very excited to see Jamieson’s new series and OMG it’s so good! Her vision for these adaptions are sooooo spot on for me. I need them now! 

2.│Inside My Library Mind│Bookish Podcast Recommendations│
I love books! I love podcasts! I am yet to find a bookish podcast that grabs me though. That makes me very sad but I am yet to lose hope, especially now that Inside My Library Mind has posted loads of recs for me!
I am most excited to try out Ravin’ Girls, a The Raven Cycle podcast when I reread The Raven Boys next year! 

Media

1.│Elise @ The Bookish Actress│WHY THE CANCELLED HEATHERS REBOOT MATTERS│
I am yet to watch the OG Heathers film. I will get to it eventually, I swear.
I was interested when I saw that they were doing a remake. Unfortunately by the sounds of it…It’s not good, like at all. And thanks to Elise, neither I or you, need to waste our time giving it a watch! You can read Elise’s review of the series instead!

2.│Steff @ Little Booky Nook│Sierra Burgess is a Terrible Movie│
I was really looking forward to Sierra Burgess is a Loser. A teen rom-com with a fat MC??? When do we ever get that???
Well turns out that the rep is…not good. Surprise! I really did set myself up for disappointment, didn’t I?
Anyway, if you’re unsure if you want to watch Sierra Burgess or watched it and are feeling things you can’t seem to put into words, check out Steff’s rant! 

Personal

1.│Steff @ Little Booky Nook│My Body Battle│
Steff opened up about the battle she has with her body, how she continues to overcome it each and every day and guys…I cried reading this.
It breaks my heart that people everywhere are made to feel like this and I hate it so much.
This was such a brave post and I truly believe that sharing our stories put us on the road to recovery, as well as helping others feel less alone and dismantling the structures that make us feel this way, to begin with. 

2.│Elise @ The Bookish Actress│TEN BOOKS THAT DESCRIBE ME│
Books have a fantastic way of making us feel less alone, seem like we’re not totally fucking crazy for all the thoughts and feelings we keep hidden in our deepest and darkest crevices.
Elise shares the books that connected with her the most on a personal level and I think it’s such a great idea for a post! It’s a really great way for subscribers to get to know you! 

3.│Fadwa @ Word Wonders│HOW BOOKS HELPED ME ACKNOWLEDGE MY TRAUMA│
Along the same lines of Elise’s post, Fadwa shared how books helped her acknowledge her trauma and !!!!!!
Fadwa opens up in her post and shares the books that did this for her and I urge you to read it. It’s not easy to lay your cards out on the table like that, so it deserves recognition. 

4.│Abbiee│How I Organize My Time to GET STUFF DONE│
I am convinced that Abbiee is the most got-her-shit-together person to ever exist and this post only supports that.
If you need help getting shit done, feeling a little lost because your life is always a fucking mess or you just want to find new ways to organize your already tidy life then look no further than this post! 

5.│Krystin @ Here’s The Fucking Twist│My Hometown Murder│
Krystin does these really epic True Crime Tuesday posts, a la My Favorite Murder, where she takes a murder and shares all it’s gory details with us to help keep us up at night and ensure we never trust another human being again. They’re great!
No, really, they really are amazing and I love them!
In September she shared her very own hometown murder!
Nothing like hearing that one of your neighbours was murdered to keep you up at night and regularly attending a therapist for your anxiety! There’s a reason I don’t watch local news guys.
As always, Krystin gives us her spin on the terrible things that can happen around the corner. Her posts are always super interesting and keep me on the edge of my seat, so go check it out! 

Blogging

│Kelly @ Another Book in the Wall│Blog Designs And The Influence They Can Have│
Looks matter when it comes to blogging. No, not how your face or body looks. But how book covers look and more importantly, how your blog looks.
Kelly shares how blogging designs can affect your traffic and how to give your blog the best chance at being seen! 

│Aimee @ Aimee, Always│5 Free Blog Design Resources│
When you start your blog it can be overwhelming, its hard to even know where to start!
Aimee is here to the rescue, supplying great resources so that you get the look of your blog right! 

│Inside My Library Mind│All About Blog Organization & Aesthetics│
Inside My Library Mind shares how best to organise your blog in a way that’ll keep your blog looking good and functional! 

│Shealea @ That Bookshelf Bitch│Tools for book blogging│
Shealea put together a list of great tools for book bloggers! My personal favourite is Grammarly. 

│Abbiee│7 Awesome Tools And Resources Every Blogger Needs│
More great blogging tools and resources I had no idea about until I read this post!!!
I tried out IFTTT and I will never look back! 

│Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books│ORGANIZE YOUR BOOK BLOGGING LIFE│
It’s easy to get lost and lose track of time and find yourself very very behind in life, let alone in blogging. Marie shares her tips on how to get ahead and stay there! + She shares her super handy spreadsheets. I love a good spreadsheet. 

│Aimee @ Aimee, Always│How To Make a Blogging Schedule That Works For You│
If you’re someone who struggles with that, look no further than Aimee’s post.
Bonus! Aimee shares her spreadsheet for keeping track of her ARCs and I stole it, you can do by following her handy link at the end of the post.  

│Destiny @ Howling Libraries│NEW BLOGGING GOALS│
Sometimes the only way to encourage yourself to do better is to set realistic goals and then stick to them!
I really need to do that.
If you want to set yourself some realistic goals then check out Destiny’s for some inspiration! 

│Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books│HOW TO GAIN FOLLOWERS AND INTERACTIONS│
“TALK TO ME!!!!!!!” Us bloggers scream into the abyss on a regular basis, begging someone to talk to us because “I promise I won’t bite” and being behind a screen can get lonely.
If you want to learn how to get more people to interact and follow you then check out Marie’s post! 

│Aimee @ Aimee, Always│Blog Engagement Tips│
Aimee shares even more tips on how to engage with your followers and get people to support your blog! 

│Abbiee│How To Make People Stay On Your Blog LONGER│
Want to learn how to hold your blog visitors hostage and never let them go???
Then this post is for you!
The best tip, I think, is linking back to your old posts to keep your readers falling further and further into the dark hole that you’ve created in your corner of the internet. I do not endorse actual kidnapping. 

│Inside My Library Mind│How to Blog When You’re Not Reading│
It’s easy to think that if you’re not reading then you can’t blog if you’re a book blogger but that’s not true in the slightest!
If you are unable to read for whatever reason (all valid) but still want to continue blogging then check out Inside My Library Mind’s tips on how to do so! 

│Aimee @ Aimee, Always│A Masterlist of Bookish/Book Blog Posts and Topics│
Everyone talks about the dreaded Book Slump. But rarely do I see talk about blogging slumps and yet they’re so real and very frustrating when they happen!
Aimee shares her Masterlist of posts to write if you’re struggling for content!

│Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books│HOW TO SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL BOOK BLOGGERS│
Being an international book blogger comes with an extra set of hurdles. It is a fact. I won’t fight you on this.
We could use all the help we can get so if you want to help support the international book bloggers in your life, read this post and do the things. I thank you on behalf of us all. 

What great posts have you read lately?
Have a post you’re really proud of?
Maybe you have a post you think could help people in some way?
Link me them! Tell me all about them! I’ll check them out! 

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