Top 4 Sites to Keep Up With Your Hobbies!

Here's something you probably don't know about me: I love keeping everything organized. I love lists. I love managing lists... and I love doing so easily. I'm a busy woman; I see TV shows, anime, manga, foreign drama and read books in my spare time. And I don't have the ability to keep everything sorted out on my own.

There are a few sites I use in order to easily keep track of my different hobbies, making it possible to effortlessly and seamlessly switch back and forth between them, even after taking long breaks. Took a three years break from anime? Pssssh, don't worry, you can slide right back into it with minimum hassle and bustle!

So without farther ado, here are four sites I would lost my mind without!!

Goodreads - Keeping Up With Books

So, this probably comes as no surprise at all because this is a bookish blog and Goodreads is the site for keeping up with your reading, but I figure I ought to include it in here in case someone is not in the know.

Although Goodreads has some issues that I can discuss very passionately, it's still the best site that I've been able to find for book lovers to keep up with their reading. It allows you to mark what you've read (even down to the precise edition), what you want to read, what you're currently reading, what you dropped, as well as write reviews, create shelves, update where you are precisely in a book, vote on lists, take quizzes, interact with other book lovers, and more!

This is one of the largest databases for books out there, and it's constantly updating.

Without this site, I'd be absolutely lost, and it's what opened my eyes to the reading community on the internet.

My Anime List - Keeping Up With Anime & Manga 

More often known as just "MAL", My Anime List is a site that literally defined my life. As a young girl, I watched Inuyasha, Digimon and some other anime on TV, but I was not exposed to the large and incredible industry of anime and manga until I found this site.

This is basically Goodreads for anime and manga - you can mark anime as "watching", "completed", "on hold", "dropped" and "plan to watch". The site constantly updated with the newest anime news, allows you to interact with other reader/watchers through reviews, groups, recommendation and community posts, and it's just generally a great place to keep up with what you're reading and watching.

It literally saved my life as I just returned to anime after a couple of years of hiatus, and I'm picking up exactly where I left off instead of fumbling and trying to figure out where the heck I was.

Sidereel - Keeping Up with TV Shows

Sidereel is not as developed as Goodreads or MAL and doesn't allow you to categorize shows into "watched", "to watch" and the likes, but instead allows you to "track" shows, thus showing you when new episodes come out and enabling you to mark episodes as "seen".

You can also start lists (thus creating a "to watch" list instead of tracking the shows), write reviews, comment on news and the likes.

Sidereel is also a great database, covering the upcoming shows and telling you when a show you're tracking has been renewed... or worse, cancelled! I'm kind of uneven when it comes to watching TV shows (I can watch 10 episodes of a show in a single night, then watch nothing for the next two months), so Sidereel is a great tool for me to keep up with what I'm watching.

My Drama List - Keeping up With Foreign Drama

Life Sidereel, MDL is also slightly less developed than MAL or Goodreads.

The site allows you to keep track of foreign shows and movies by marking them as "Currently Watching", "Completed", "On Hold", "Dropped" and "Plan to Watch" but not much else. Like Sidereel, you can create lists, read articles, find recommendations, see the top shows/movies and even participate in forums.

My main issues with this site is that it's a bit clumsy when it come to the shows; you can't mark new episodes seen from the shows page easily, and on a personal level it's just not as comfortable as Goodreads or MAL, but this is honestly very subjective.

This is a good place to keep track of your dramas and find new stuff to see!!

Did I Introduce You to a Good New Site To Keep Up With Your Hobbies? Do You Know of a Similar Site for Movies?? I've Been Looking!

How to Make the Most of An Unplanned Hiatus

Hello, it's me... I was wondering if after all these months you'd like to meet to go over everything....

For the past couple of months I've been pretty inactive on the blog front, doing only the occasional bargain post as, while I wasn't blogging, I was still reading. In fact, the only thing I wasn't doing for the past couple of months is blog. Aside for that, I've been surprisingly... prolific. 

As everyone who loves blogging knows, sometimes... you just don't feel like doing it. At all. You sit in front of the computer, and you think to yourself "ahhh, I really need to write a post today. I'm falling behind". And then you click on a new tab and drown yourself in another 4 hours of watching anime instead. Because, why not?

I doesn't start because of some big event. There doesn't need to be some internet troll to take the blogging fun out of things and push you into a place where you don't love blogging anymore. It's like a reading slump, or a watching slump, it something that happens.

Well, you know what? I believe in taking that slump all the way. If I already don't feel like blogging, no point in worrying and trying to force the mojo to come back. It will do so on it's own, in it's own time. In the meantime, why not spend that time you're not blogging doing other things you love? 

You love reading? Then read. Don't think about reviewing those books, don't let yourself feel guilty. Just read. That's how you find yourself two months later with 16 books read and having one of the most prolific reading month of the last year ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

You love watching anime? Then go crazy and watch all the anime your free time allows. An episode is normally around 20 minutes long, so you can jam in 3 episodes in an hour, and four hours later you have finished a 12 episode season! Banazi! And if you feel like tackling longer anime, there are some great ones out there too. Personally, in this hiatus I focused on short anime and I've had the time of my life with 13 anime that were a ton of fun to watch, and felt like they took zero time out of me! \(^_^)/

You love foreign drama? Then find one that doesn't make you crazy with just how dramatic those dramas can be and immerse yourself in 16 hours of it because dear god their episodes are soooooooo long it feels like you're watching three seasons instead of one series but they can also be soooooo good. o(^o^)o 

You like knitting? knit. You like drawing? draw! Rid yourself of the ridiculous sense of guilt and do what you love until you feel like you can return to the love of blogging! 

I'm not sure I'm there yet, but I have reached a point where I want to talk to you guys about the things and shows that occupied my time in the last two months, so this is what I'll do. That's the plan. The whole plan. Does it suck? Maybe. But am I having fun with it? Heck yes! 

Introducing #PAP: The Popular Anime Project

For those who don't know, I am a huge anime fan. My love for anime started years ago (ten? Twelve?), but has taken a blow since I started properly reading again in high-school. It seems I can't binge watch shows when I binge read instead lol 

Anyways, one thing that has always been true about my anime experience is that I tend to shy away from popular anime. I am just so... scared of them, I guess? I have the same trouble in books, but with books I usually crack and just read them.

Lately, I've been wanting to really get back to anime, especially since my brother got into it and won't shut up about it.

And what better way than to try all those A list anime?

The Popular Anime Project (or PAP for short) is fairly simple. On the site My Anime List there is a list of the top popular anime. Every time, I'm going to pick an anime from the top 50 (not necessarily by order, because some of these are sequels and continuations) and then review it.

I will not necessarily finish every anime. I may even review the same anime more than once as I move farther into the episodes. 

At the end of the day, you'll have a fairly good view on how I fare with popular anime, get quite a few recs (I would assume) and I get to finally be able to say "yes I watched it" when people ask me lol

Musical Obsessions: Wolf's Rain Soundtrack

Hey guys! I'm taking a short break from the blog-related posts to do something a bit different. Lately, I finished the awesome (yet heartbreaking) 2003 anime Wolf's Rain. Aside for being a beautiful, thought-provoking anime, it has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard - It's mostly in English, sang by Japanese, Canadian, Brazilian and american singers, which is by far the most diverse soundtrack I've ever heard.

And it sounds great. I simply can't stop listening to it, and I can't recommend it enough! 

Here are my five favorite songs from the anime, for your enjoyment. For those who rather just melodies, don't be afraid to check them out on YT - they're often haunting and  always gorgeous.

Opening Song - Stray / Steve Conte

Ending Theme - Gravity / Maaya Sakamoto

Heaven's Not Enough / Steve Conte

Strangers / Raj Ramayya

Run, Wolf Warrior, Run / Joyce

So... did you like the songs? Which one is your favorite? Does this possibly make you want to watch the anime? :) 

Anime Review: Asura Cryin' | Less Boobs, More Plot Please!

Asura Cryin'
6 out 13 Episodes, dropped

Aired: Apr 2, 2009 to Jun 25, 2009
Followed by: Asura Cryin' 2

Action, Mecha, Supernatural

Rating:

Natsume Tomoharu is a normal high-school student in every way with one exception: he's being followed by the ghost of his best friend, Misao.
After moving into his brother's old house, Tomoharu expects to continue living his normal life but is one day left with a mysterious and locked briefcase without any instruction. At first he plans to leave it in storage; however, his house is soon invaded by multiple groups of people after the briefcase. Although still not knowing the purpose of the briefcase, Tomoharu and Misao attempt to escape with it.
From there on, Tomoharu tries to learn the secrets behind the briefcase, the connections between it and Misao, and why it has the power to change the world.

The main trio, wearing their best face imo

Once upon a time, I used to religiously watch anime. And by that I mean I watched at least six full anime a month. You could say that's all I did the years I took a break from reading. And then, I re-discovered books and took a step back from anime.

One of my goals in 2016 is to clean my currently-watching list of anime (some of them all the way back from 2011). In order to do that, I'm basically re-watching the anime because god help me but I remember absolutely nothing of some of these.

The first one I'm reviewing is Asura Cryin', a fantasy/sci-fi/rom com type of anime. That I didn't even finish because there is so many better things to do with my time than force myself through pointless episodes of a pointless anime.

Both in my original attempt to watch it and this re-watch I ceased my attempts at episode 6, which is halfway into the series. And if by halfway into it I still have no idea what it's supposed to be about, then that says something.

This series opens up with Tomoharu, our protagonist, moving into a new house with his friend Misao. The ghost. Just another day in the household, I guess. Then we meet an assortment of characters (from Takatsuki to Shuri), none of which stand out in any way. They're all very one dimensional.

Then, the first episode ends with a high-note of what appears like it's going to be an epic battle with machines and firearm and fire powers and--Nope, the second episodes starts the next morning, all chill and relaxed, opting to let the tension fizzle into nothing and let everyone be all calm as if nothing even happened. What?

Looks cool, right?

The series had a tendency to troll us this way often; ending episodes in an exciting cliffhanger (usually one that has to do with fighting) just as someone is about to shoot a gun (metaphorically or not) in order to make us watch the next episode, but then basically say "Oh, yeah, that was no big deal. Just kidding". I didn't like that.

But, had there been some kind of plot, I would've over looked it. But the point is, there is none. Oh, it raises plenty of questions in the six episodes I've seen, but no one is actually looking for an answer. 

Imagine one day, someone gives you a suitcase. That evening, you're attacked from three directions by people who want that case, and in order to survive you open that case and out of it comes a monster, that you can control (eventually) with the help of your ghost friend. Are you going to accept it, or investigate what the fuck is it, and why and where and why you and ton of other shit?

Huh, I guess you accept it and ask nothing at all of anyone because, life.

And, being the type of series this is, if you don't ask... then no one's going to explain. Hence, by the sixth episodes, we have more questions than patient and no foreseeable answers in our futures.

So we just kind of have to accept the fact some humans are apparently "demons" in this show because... fire powers? And machines just come out of shadows and unite with ghosts because it's awesome? And everyone knows something about Tomo is going to bring destruction unless (dot dot dot) but hey, guess it doesn't matter why. Or how. Or to even share it with Tomo to prevent it. Because... err.... just because?

And on top of that, ton of time wasting on stupid sex-jokes (and I say stupid because c'mon, boob and pantie jokes are so third grade. Get a hold of yourselves, seriously). It's not funny and it's time consuming when you're already not spending enough on progressing the plot somwehre.

Random forced boob grab is random!
Especially when the next thing that comes is an exclamation that the world has already ended once before. wtf. 

Yes, when I realized I just wasted 120 minutes of my life on virtually nothing, I had to take a step back and decide this might be better as a dropped series after all.

I'm sure at one point the series gets to the point. But if it hadn't even taken some steps towards that by the half mark, it's not going to be satisfying either way because time-limits will ensure it will be rushed and confusing. 

Plots need time to build. So, less boobs and more plot would've been good. Alas.

At least it's not on my currently-watching list anymore.

What to Expect When You're Expecting... a New Blog

Thank you for coming back if you've already been here before, and hello there if you've not!

This time I would like to tell you what you can expect to see on this blog, in order to help you decide whether you'd like to stick with me or not (I hope you'll choose the first)

Starting with what I'd like to get out of the way first:

#1: Recycling Old Content 

Yes, that's right. For some people, reusing old content is a big no-no, but I don't agree with that outlook. My old content is not something to be forgotten and ignored, or be embarrassed by. I love and I'm proud of all of it.

And... I kinda want all my stuff to be in one place.

I love revisiting old reviews and giving them a face lift, rewriting them to fit my current style and the reviewer I have become. I love bringing up old discussions and seeing new ideas and answers to them. I love tracing back to my origins.

But don't worry, none of the old content is just going to be copy-paste. All of it will be re-edited, so in a way it will also be new and shiny.

And I promise - no more than two "recycled" posts a week! That way there will be a good balance between the old and the new.

You can easily recognize the recycled content by looking for this Oldie hashtag on a post. If you don't, it means it's new and original content. 

#2 Bookish Reviews, Tags, Special Features and Discussions 

Obviously, as a blog mostly about books, there are going to be book reviews and book discussions. A lot of them, actually, in all genres and age ranges.

here are going to be young adult, new adult, adult and occasionally even middle grade. There are going to be fantasies, contemporaries, mysteries, historicals and occasionally sci-fi.

There is going to be something of everything!

And when I'm not doing either of those two, you can expect me to do bookish tags (mostly without being tagged 'cause I almost never am lol) or special features. Some more well known, some unique to Afterwords! 

#3: Posts About My Life 

In my other blogs, I always felt... guilty... when writing about my life. I had defined them solely as "book blogs", and therefore anything that wasn't about books seemed to me out of place. It wasn't something my readers came for, after all.

But not with Afterwords.

This blog is for everything I want to talk about. If something big happened in my life - I might talk about it. If something political happened that I want to bring up - I'm going to do it without shame. If there is a celebrity I want to shamelessly fangirl over or publicize because they kind of saved my life by existing... you are going to hear about it. Loudly.

So be warned: this isn't always going to be about books.

#4: Bargains

One of my favorite things on the internet is finding BOOK BARGAINS. I mean, seriously, is there a better feeling than finding a book you've been lusting after at a discount price on amazon / The Book Depository? I dare you to think of one.

So, more often than not I go on deal-searching rampages, and I will share the fruits of those with you guys.

You can thank me later--or sue me for contributing to your bankruptcy. whatever.

#5: Everything I love - Including TV, Movies, Music, Manga and Anime

Same as shamelessly talking about my life when I need it, I'm also going to do the same with everything I love. I'm going to review shows, movies, anime and manga. If there is anything I feel like gushing about--or ranting about--I'm going to do it.

I'm going to recommend my favorite artists, my favorite shows, my favorite anything. I'm going to make this a place where I'm comfortable discussing everything freely.

I am going to make this my home.

So if you'd like to sit down with me around the table or something like that, stick around. Everyone's welcome for as long as you want to be here. Like an open house of something. The door's always opened, and you don't even have to knock.