A Bibliophile's Fictional Bucket List

“Besides the alternate universe offered by a book, the quiet space of a museum was my favorite place to go. My mom said I was an escapist at heart . . . that I preferred imaginary worlds to the real one. It’s true that I’ve always been able to yank myself out of this world and plunge myself into another.” 

― Amy Plum, Die for Me

I have spoken again and again of the magic found between the pages of a paperback. The kind of magic that happens every time you read an exceptionally brilliant novel. Inspired by Jesse the Reader's Fiction Bucket List Tag vlog, I have compiled my own fictional bucket list.

DISNEY

• Spend a fortnight in Beast's library with Bella.

5 Lankan Book Bloggers You Must Meet

Three years ago when I first started my book blog, Say It with Books I was looking for local book bloggers who might be interested in collaborations and whatnot. So of course, like all normal people I reached out to our trusty friend Google with a quick 'Sri Lankan Book Bloggers' search.

ZERO. That's how many bloggers I found.

A Letter To (Magical) Readers

Dear Unicorn,

At the time I was drafting this letter, there were 7,383,852,034 people on this earth. Among these roughly 7 million people, there's a bunch of people that I consider my tribe.

They are a weird bunch. Some would call them crazy. Some would shake their heads at them. 

I call them magical.

By day, some of they are quite ordinary. You might encounter one on your daily commute. At your workplace. At your school. Even in your very homes. They are everywhere. 

But by night (Some do manage to sneak in during the broad daylight - How Scandalous!) they are wizards, superheroes, debutantes, super sleuths, dragon slayers, vampires, undercover agents, soldiers, werewolves and even villains. 

They are time travelers - twirling into the Regency Era, spying their way through the World War II, volunteering as a tribute beside Katniss, whipping up love potions and charms, immortalizing the French Renaissance in their paintings, falling in love in space, racing around on hover cars in 2056 or saving the universe from hostile alien life forms.

Blogger Positivity Campaign

The Blogger Positivity Campaign hosted by the lovely Jillian of Jillian's Books kicks off today and I'm incredibly excited to be a part of this uplifting campaign! To kick of the event, the participating bloggers are doing an introductory post so here we are. I hope there's a little something for both the new and old readers of Word Contessa! ;)

HEY, DARLIN'

For those of you who are visiting for the first time, my name is Nuzaifa and I am the blogger at Word Contessa (previously, Say It with Books). I am a 20 something feminist working in branding and communications at a local fashion retailer. When I'm not reading, I can found binge-watching Empire, HTGAWM or The Mindy Project, gushing over pretty typography, or volunteering.

I blog from Sri Lanka, a tropical island in South Asia. Think gorgeous beaches, stunning forests, magnificent wildlife, super friendly people and drool-worthy spicy cuisine. Don't take my word for it, check it out here.

Blogging Rituals That Make Me A Better Blogger

I'm a slave to my moods. 

This makes me an inconsistent blogger despite my best efforts to stick to a schedule. From planners to apps, I've tried everything to beat this inconsistency with no luck. Coming back from my hiatus, something I learnt was that writing was not the hard part. The hardest part for me, was starting. 

“I couldn’t write. I grew tense. I was strangled by my own ego, by my petty desire for what I perceived to be the literary brass ring. I was missing the point, of course. The reward is in the doing.”

Once I do start writing however, it's like a massive endorphin rush. That feeling of contentment and accomplishment is unlike anything I've felt.

“To forget oneself-to lose oneself in the music, in the moment- that kind of absorption seems to be at the heart of every creative endeavor.” 

I  have always scorned writing rituals as something for the eccentric [never mind, that I'm pretty eccentric myself ;) ]. But this realization that my problem lies at the commencement and not the actual process of writing, motivated me to look more closely at blogging and writing rituals. Writing/blogging rituals are those small feel-good acts that help you write without much conscious thought - The small acts that eliminate the self-doubt, crush the writer's block and spur one to start writing. Today, I'm excited to share a couple of rituals that I adopted to make my blogging life a little easier.

10 Truths No One Tells You About Blogging

Starting a blog is possibly one of the best decisions I've ever made. 

Over the years, I picked up and dropped a variety of hobbies but the most life changing one is blogging. It started out on a boring afternoon as  an effort to entertain myself during my first job. Two years later, it has evolved into a platform to meet and inspire people across the globe while growing as a person. Not only has blogging forced me to become a better writer but it has also opened up countless windows of opportunities for which I'm thankful. Waking up to a positive comment on the blog or a simple word of encouragement on Twitter is undoubtedly the highlight of my day. But like everything else in life, there are definitely some less than amazing aspects to blogging. 

Today's post is an attempt to give aspiring bloggers a peek behind the curtain while also sharing how bloggers can embrace these daily struggles.

Spoiler: Blogging is not for the faint-hearted.

Literary tattoos for the logophile in you

I am as fascinated by a beautifully done tattoo as much as the next person. For a logophile this fascination is easily doubled when it's a literary tattoo.

“...books change lives, in big ways and small, from the simple desire to spend a few quiet hours in a comfy chair, swept away by a story, to the profound realization that the reader is not alone in the world, that there is someone else like him or her, someone who has faced the same fears, the same confusions, the same grief, the same joys.

Word lovers all over the world would agree with Roxanne J. Coady and would attest to the fact that some words and some stories are simply unforgettable. Because of this, it is hardly a surprise that some would choose to immortalize this profound feeling with a tattoo.

24 lessons learned + A special something for you!

Two years. That's how long I've been blogging.

It has been the most extraordinary journey. Every glorious milestone, every false start, each stumble, every jump and each glorious adventure - I'm grateful for all of it.

There were a multitude of lessons learnt in both blogging and life. So today I'll be sharing a few with you...

1. Open yourself up to new possibilities and adventures.

Say yes to opportunities - Before I started blogging, I spent MONTHS procrastinating preparing for it. When I finally made the leap it was terrifying and that was how I knew that I had made the right choice. Life happens outside that comfort zone so move!

2. Know your worth.

Work on that self-love. Believe in yourself and embrace your strengths, weakness and quirks. Love yourself and others will follow.

3. Cherish your friends.

You are the company you keep. Be loyal to your your BFFs, renew old acquaintances and reach out to create new ones.

4. Let go.

Toxic relationships/habits weighing you down? You need to hit CTRL + D, girl.

5. Not everyone agrees.

Voice your opinion, don't ever stop standing up for what you believe but open your mind to other views.

6. Listen.

It's a loud world, both online and offline. Sometimes you just need to pay attention, listen and learn.

Confessions, Favorites and Peeves

The "20 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Me" tag has been going around the blogosphere for some time and I was even tagged to do it. 

Since all the cool kids are doing it, I couldn't resist! ;) So here we go...

How tall are you?

I'm around 5 '3 and among my friends that's pretty tall so I mostly stick to flats. But there are days when I just need a pair of sky high heels! ;)

Do you have a hidden talent and if so, what?

I'm naturally thin and will not gain an ounce no matter how much I binge eat. So I guess my super power is an insatiable appetite? 

What is your biggest blog-related pet peeve?

Currently ... August

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Hey guys! Another month just flew past and here we are. July was a blur so I'm hoping that August is a bit more relaxed. 

So here's what I am currently... 

MAKING lists with Any.Do - So addicted to this app!

WATCHING Teen Wolf. Missed a couple of episodes so I'm going to binge watch and catch up.

READING very little! Found it very difficult to fit in some reading time so more of that in the upcoming weeks. Loving J R Ward's The King now though!

LISTENING to Fall Out Boy's Sugar, We're Goin Down. I love their new sound but there old stuff is still epic!

Currently... July

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Hey there. Is it just me or did June just fly by? 

Speaking of time flying, 2014 is half over! I've been looking back at my blogging bucketlist and my to-do lists-sooo many things to be done!

So here's what I am currently... 

MAKING time to do the things I love.

WATCHING to Attack on Titan. Anime newbie here but damn, I'm loving it!

READING Claudia Grey's Spellcaster and a few regency romances by Lisa Kleypas. 

LISTENING to Clean Bandit's Rather Be. Classical violins + club music ? Gimme.

Chasing that elusive inspiration

Inspiration is a funny and elusive thing. One day it's there and the next it's gone. 

We put on some tunes, grab a cup of coffee, park ourselves in front of laptops and try to create something beautiful. 
After a hour of aimlessly scrolling through our twitter feed we are left with fingers hovering our keyboards and staring at a blank white screen.

We all need something. Something to keep us moved. Something to us fill us with the need to create something wonderfully awesome. Something to inspire us.

During my one month offline project I learnt a few things about inspiration that I want to share with you. Cause you know, I'm awesome like that. ;)

What going offline taught me

So I'm back. 

After one whole month of no blogging, no reviewing, no blog-related tweeting/e-mailing and most importantly a month of doing exactly what I pleased I'm back.

So settle in because in this half blogging lesson/half life lesson post I'm going to tell you about my experience on going offline and why I decided to take the plunge.

With exams coming up and a reading/blogging slump looming I was forced to take a break. And with a little help from Miranti's post at Pen & Peplum on Planning for a time offline I was able to make this sabbatical a great one.

Taking a step back made me look at things in a different perspective. I started realizing that blogging had become a chore for me because I was continuing do things that I didn't really enjoy doing. 

Everyone were doing so many amazing things on their blogs and I was feeling just stuck in this rut. 

Then it  hit me-I needed a time out ASAP.

So now that I'm back all I can say you HAVE to give it a go. Going offline may have been the best thing I ever did this year. 

And here's what I've learnt-

Roadtrip Madness, Free Fonts, A Mixtape and Other Wonderful Things

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Free Fonts Used:        Matchbook       SerialSue

“I think you travel to search and you come back home to find yourself there.” 

― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 Have you ever thought of throwing your plans out of the window, packing up, hoping into a car and hitting the road?

Open roads, unexpected detours, alluring new places, new experiences and new faces. Tell me, I'm not the only one who loves the idea of a spontaneous road trip! :D 

This is probably why I love road trip books. So here are some of MY favorite road trip books:

Colleen Hoover, free fonts, mixtapes and other wonderful things

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Fonts used:              Ringbearer                   Amadas     

The above quote is from Colleen Hoover's Slammed and I absolutely adore it! Slammed was the book that first introduced me to New Adult category and it has ruined me for all the NA books out there because I have yet to read one that outshines Slammed.

The rest of the quote goes like this:

 If you don't have questions, you'll never find answers.

Mixtape: A whimsical and vaguely eclectic list of songs that I've been listening to lately

Now and Then

I saw this totally cool post over at Milk and Crown and I knew I had to try it! Now and Then is a fun series that was started by Miranti at Pen & Peplum. 

Looking back at your life can be a funny thing. Some things have changed drastically and some things have remained stayed the same even after all this time so this post has definitely been an eye-opener. So here are my results...