https://notbel.la/ Recent content on notbella Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Thu, 18 Sep 2025 19:05:14 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/september25-books/ Thu, 18 Sep 2025 19:05:14 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/september25-books/ Summer is really truly coming to a close (well… Michigan hasn’t quite gotten the memo, on the day that I’m writing this it was just 85 degrees out) and I am excited for what this means for my reading habits! And nervous! Fall always makes me want to read scarier books, but reading those scary books also makes me need light gentle reads to break up the scariness so the more I’m thinking about it maybe my reading doesn’t actually chage much? https://notbel.la/reading/august25-books/ Thu, 07 Aug 2025 15:12:32 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/august25-books/ Feel free to skip ahead, I won’t be offended, we are officially back in a monthly hopeful reads era for August! I once again made a possibly (probably) too ambitious to read list for August, but at least it’s something! Will I stick to it or will I be distracted by all the Libro.fm ALCs, library books, friend recommendations, and new releases that I see over the next month? Only time will tell but I am choosing to be optimistic. https://notbel.la/reading/july25-books/ Mon, 07 Jul 2025 22:39:44 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/july25-books/ Helloooo reader pals. Reporting back after my first month in ages without a set TBR. My thoughts are…. mixed? I read a little less than usual in June but I think that’s less due to my lack of TBR than the fact that I was SILLY BUSY all month long. I helped out with several Twitch streaming events this past month, and hosted my own major fundraising event (it went fantastic btw) so reading was unfortunately not my top priority! https://notbel.la/reading/june25-books/ Thu, 12 Jun 2025 22:43:35 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/june25-books/ Fun fact I started drafting this post mid-June (already late) and then forgot to even post it until July so… pretend you’re reading this in June! First things first let’s start with the great things - it’s PRIDE MONTH and the Ann Arbor Library’s Summer Game has officially started! Truly my two favorite summer things! In one month! And now for the weirds - I’m in a reading… weird? I’m not calling it a reading slump because I’m still reading every day (and enjoying it, I simply refuse to force myself to read), but I’m struggling to focus on physical books and to work on my monthly TBR. https://notbel.la/events/bgdd2025/ Thu, 15 May 2025 12:37:06 -0400 https://notbel.la/events/bgdd2025/ Big Gay Dig Day is an annual event hosted on Bella’s Twitch channel and community Minecraft server during Pride Month. It’s a celebration of queer joy, a fundraising event, and most importantly a silly day spent digging a big huge giant hole in Minecraft. Together. For charity. During the event, players on the Cashew Town Minecraft SMP server join together in a designated location to dig up blocks of dirt, stone, and whatever else they find in a pre-determined circular spot. https://notbel.la/reading/may25-books/ Fri, 09 May 2025 22:58:41 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/may25-books/ April went by so quickly and I was in kind of a weird space with reading for the month?? In honor of Emily Henry releasing a new book I actually basically only wanted to read Emily Henry or Emily Henry adjacent books. And then a random nonfiction audiobook from John Green (which I absolutely loved, by the way). I felt super busy in April with my birthday, packing for a trip, and then spending the last few days of the month abroad. https://notbel.la/reading/april25-books/ Thu, 03 Apr 2025 23:52:45 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/april25-books/ March! My best reading month of the year (so far)!! Has come to a close!!! I didn’t expect it but I somehow had so much motivation to read this month. Between early spring vibes (my favorite time of the year), the readathon I hosted with my pal Bookie, continuing my Hunger Games reading, and the Trans Rights Readathon, there were just so many incredible reasons to read this past month. https://notbel.la/reading/march25-books/ Fri, 07 Mar 2025 18:50:23 -0500 https://notbel.la/reading/march25-books/ Oh hey - it’s March! This year is truly rushing by but I’m extra excited to be entering March aka “new Hunger Games month”. Wait I’m getting ahead of myself… February was an awesome month generally but kind of a weird reading month for me? I read a lot of books I really loved, including two from The Hunger Games series, another Kiley Reid book (so good) and a very spicy queer romance ARC from Meryl Wilsner (who also wrote Cleat Cute, a sapphic soccer romance I loved). https://notbel.la/reading/february25-books/ Thu, 06 Feb 2025 14:30:48 -0500 https://notbel.la/reading/february25-books/ Hey readers, it’s February already, can you believe it! January was such a lovely reading month for me. I started the month reading The Poppy War in Texas (which I finished after I got home, I’m not that fast) and ended the month reading Written in the Waters a memoir by National Geographic writer Tara Roberts. Both books made me cry, but I’m a softie so I guess that’s not a huge surprise. https://notbel.la/reading/january25-books/ Fri, 17 Jan 2025 13:28:27 -0500 https://notbel.la/reading/january25-books/ Ahh, happy new year and welcome to another year of reading with me!! 2024 was such an incredible year, I still can’t believe I brought y’all along on my reading journey for the entire year. I spent the last three quarters of the year reading at least a few pages (or minutes) every single day (I’m currently on a 288 day reading streak the day I’m posting this). I’m so proud of myself for doing so much reading but not losing any joy in it! https://notbel.la/reading/2024recap-books/ Fri, 17 Jan 2025 11:35:43 -0500 https://notbel.la/reading/2024recap-books/ What an incredible year of reading it’s been - and holy crap how cool is it that I can share a year-long recap for the second year in a row!?! 2024 was a phenomenal year of reading, thank you for joining me! Below is the presentation I made and shared on Stream to take you through some of my favorite or standout reads of the year (and some statistics). I’m so excited to continue reading with y’all in 2025! https://notbel.la/reading/december24-books/ Fri, 06 Dec 2024 18:01:32 -0500 https://notbel.la/reading/december24-books/ It’s the last month of 2024 and I’m torn on how to feel about that. Year ends are always so mixed for me because I both hate change and also need variety in my life. So on the one hand, I am so excited for a chance to embrace and create some change in my life. New habits, new goals, and new direction. But, on the other hand, that scares me! https://notbel.la/reading/november24-books/ Sat, 30 Nov 2024 17:54:26 -0500 https://notbel.la/reading/november24-books/ Happy November, readers! October was such an incredible reading month for me because I basically all of my reading time was spent in Spain. My partner and I travelled to Madrid, a small town just outside of Madrid, and then to Malaga Spain. And while there I read at least a little bit every day - a lot of that reading I did outside! On our travel day to Malaga, I read an entire book start to finish on the train. https://notbel.la/reading/october24-books/ Tue, 01 Oct 2024 23:25:00 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/october24-books/ Oh my gosh I forgot how incredible the cold months are for reading but AHHH I am so excited about my upcoming reads! Despite some travel and a whole lot of anxiety (hello TwitchCon was amazing but so draining haha) I actually got a lot of reading done in September! I even brought one book with me on my travels and did a little audiobook listening on days where I just didn’t have enough energy to read a physical book. https://notbel.la/reading/september24-books/ Fri, 06 Sep 2024 12:26:23 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/september24-books/ Summer is coming to a close but I’ve still got one or two warm weather reads before I fully settle in for the cooler weather reading season. I’m already getting so excited for scary books, dark academia, all the good fall vibes. But before we get to that, let’s talk about August! August was my best reading month of the year so far. Partly because of some beach reading time, and a little bit of time stuck in bed because of a neck spasm. https://notbel.la/reading/august24-books/ Mon, 26 Aug 2024 18:01:57 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/august24-books/ Oh it’s suddenly the end of summer? How did this happen?? I’m so grateful I got to spend time this past month reading at the beach. I absolutely devoured The Seven Year Slip during my long beach reading, and I also made tons of progress on the Petal Pages Summer Book Bingo! I’m looking forward to some really incredible reads in August and I have an ambitious goal to fully fill out the bingo board. https://notbel.la/reading/july24-books/ Mon, 15 Jul 2024 18:30:09 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/july24-books/ Ahh, summertime is one of my most favorite reading times of the year and I have SO MANY phenomenal books in store this season! I read some really incredible books in June and I want to say a massive thank you to the folks who offered up recommendations. I posted on Twitter a while ago asking for books to add to my Pride Month reading list and some of my absolute favorites of the month (like Homebody and Refusing Compulsory Sexuality) were recommendations from that. https://notbel.la/reading/june24-books/ Thu, 06 Jun 2024 20:41:18 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/june24-books/ 🌈 Happy Pride Month!! 🌈 I’m so happy it’s Pride Month oh my GOSH it’s one of my most favorite reading times of the year I absolutely love reading queer books. I’ve set a really ambitious TBR, classic, because I just want to read so much queer rep. But first - I did read six books in May!! It was such an awesome month for reading. I hosted the first Books with Pals steam and we yapped about Babel (and tons more) for sooooo long truly we could not stop talking about books. https://notbel.la/reading/may24-books/ Thu, 02 May 2024 15:50:28 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/may24-books/ Wow, okay, I’ve got to be honest, April flew by and I can’t believe I just had to write my May TBR..? But I’m back to my nonsense and have a way-too-big list of hopeful reads this month. I couldn’t stop myself. But before that - April reads! I had a somewhat ambitious TBR for April including one book club book and two Books with Pals books. And they were not short. https://notbel.la/reading/april24-books/ Fri, 05 Apr 2024 13:33:05 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/april24-books/ Hi pals, first things first my March reads were so minimal but I have a very good excuse!! I spent two weeks in March traveling throughout the UK with my partner for our first major vacation in such a long time. It was so lovely! I got to run through Hyde Park, see Hadrian’s Wall, say hello to some internet pals, hike up Arthur’s Seat, and so much more! I anticipated doing a lot of reading while away on vacation but honestly I was just so caught up in the travel my brain did not have space for books. https://notbel.la/reading/march24-books/ Fri, 01 Mar 2024 17:05:45 -0500 https://notbel.la/reading/march24-books/ I had some truly incredible books on my February TBR and I got through… not as many as I’d hoped! Haha, this seems to often be the case when I find too many great books to read in a month. But I know I’ll just keep making too-big TBRs, oh well! This past month of reading included some of the best books I’ve read in a while. I’m not always a fan of YA fantasy but Legendborn had me on the edge of my seat and I’m already so eager to read the second book in the series. https://notbel.la/reading/february24-books/ Fri, 02 Feb 2024 15:29:32 -0500 https://notbel.la/reading/february24-books/ It’s February which means it’s Black History Month here in the United States! This is a time to celebrate, uplift, and share Black voices, Black stories, and Black joy. It’s also a time that white folks (including me) should prioritize educating ourselves on Black History and listen up to the stories and experiences Black folks are sharing - and keep that energy going all year round! My February TBR is full of Black authors and I’m excited to continue prioritizing diversifying my bookshelf and my reading throughout the rest of the year and beyond. https://notbel.la/reading/2023-wrap-up/ Sat, 13 Jan 2024 15:42:42 -0500 https://notbel.la/reading/2023-wrap-up/ 2023 was such a phenomenal year of reading and I’m so glad I got to share so much of it with y’all through Twitch, YouTube, Discord, and this website! To say goodbye to all the books I read this past year, please enjoy the presentation I made for stream highlighting some of my favorites from the year, some that made me cry, and even some I really didn’t love (it happens)! https://notbel.la/reading/january24-books/ Thu, 28 Dec 2023 17:55:17 -0500 https://notbel.la/reading/january24-books/ We are SO back (I made it out of my reading slump). We came up with so many incredible ideas for how to get over a reading slump - re-reading old favorites, reading short books, listening to audiobooks, etc. But, incredibly, the book that got me out of it was one of the ARCs I read last month. I guess a little pressure helped afterall. Anyways, I did so much reading on vacation and was actually able to focus on my books for long periods of time (not a huge feat but idk it feels like it’s been a while since I’ve been able to read without distractions). https://notbel.la/reading/december-books/ Thu, 21 Dec 2023 01:25:12 -0500 https://notbel.la/reading/december-books/ Alright, it’s official. I have to admit it. I’m in a reading slump!!! I still read some lovely books in November, but I’m being extra gentle with my December TBR. Even though there are books I know I’m excited for, I’m intentionally keeping my TBR super short so I don’t get overwhelmed by it. I hope something inspires me out of this slump, I’ll let y’all know next month! November Reads Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune ⭐ 3 October Discord Book Club selection Something About Her by Clementine Taylor ⭐ 4 digital ARC - pub. https://notbel.la/reading/november-books/ Mon, 06 Nov 2023 14:21:19 -0500 https://notbel.la/reading/november-books/ October’s TBR got shifted around a bit so that I could prioritize some really important learning I wanted to do this month, but I’m so proud of all the books I was able to read! Lots of scary stuff, and lots of learning. A really really solid month. I will admit… I (for the first time) was way behind on our Discord Book Club pick but it’s fine! It happens! Anyways, happy reading y’all. https://notbel.la/sims/horse-legacy/ Thu, 02 Nov 2023 13:21:19 -0400 https://notbel.la/sims/horse-legacy/ A (mini) Legacy Challenge in The Sims 4 written by Bella (notbella8) contributors: Chloe (pearblossoms_) Years ago, as a child, our grandparent Sim lived on a beautiful ranch filled with gardens, horses, and treasured memories. Unfortunately, it’s been years since the family had to sell the farm and move away. Now, after a lifetime of saving, our grandparent Sim is ready to buy the land back. But there’s just one problem - the farm is in total disrepair. https://notbel.la/reading/reading-raidtrain/ Thu, 26 Oct 2023 13:45:25 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/reading-raidtrain/ This post is a little different from the usual, but I wanted to keep track of all the incredible books I’ve seen and been recommended lately. This started with my involvement in the Streamers for PCRF events organized by Sinarynn and Kyuneho. They created this incredible Reading Raid Train (among other events) to have two full days of streamers sharing and uplifting Palestinian voices by reading childrens books on stream. https://notbel.la/reading/october-books/ Fri, 06 Oct 2023 21:43:26 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/october-books/ Woohoo, we did it! I hosted the Summer or Fall Readathon with Bookie last month and it was such an incredible time!! We hosted two read-in events, one in each of our Discord servers. We just hungout with folks for a few hours and read together, it was truly the coziest vibes. It was so exciting seeing everyone share readathon progress, I’m still buzzing. Plus I got through four books!! https://notbel.la/reading/september-books/ Thu, 07 Sep 2023 21:29:39 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/september-books/ August was a big catch-up-on-ARCs month for me but boy howdy were the ARCs good! I finished Cleat Cute in about 24 hours during a power outage. And I flew through The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi switching between the physical book (which is beautiful) and the audiobook which was so phenomenally performed I’m still thinking about it. If you’re looking for an audiobook, get it! If you’re looking for some reading motivation and a community to read with, join my friend Bookie and I for our Summer or Fall Readathon taking place in our Discord communities and our Instagram accounts. https://notbel.la/reading/august-books/ Sat, 12 Aug 2023 21:29:39 -0400 https://notbel.la/reading/august-books/ The best part of July might have been spending time at the beach with a book. The worst part was definitely the extra long power outage but honestly having a book made that not so bad! I got through a ton this past month, including a few incredible audiobooks like Happy Place (Julia Whelan is such an incredible narrator) and Pineapple Street. I’m impressed with how many 5-star reads I had this month, but I can’t not talk about the first 1-star of the year.