2021: a year to remember || i’m feeling ’22 ✨

20th Jan 202220th Jan 2022 maya rajesh39 Comments

Glossing over the fact that I’m nearly twenty days late in this recap, 2021 is gone already. How?!

2021 was a great year in so many ways – I have nothing but good memories. I got to go to school again, I revamped my blog, I learnt to play the piano… but mostly I think it was a better year than 2020 because we’d sort of come to terms with the pandemic.

This year got off to a not-so-great start, considering my family contracted the virus and we were stuck quarantining for the longest time. I haven’t gone outside my house in more than a month and still haven’t. Sometimes I’m just sick of the whole thing, but isn’t everyone?

To write this post, I went back to Google Photos and relived every moment of last year and it was so special and also odd how quickly we can forget. And that’s part of the reason why I write because it helps me remember and I cherish memory like nothing else.

my 2021 bookshelf || the best books of the year || life & literature ep. 10

30th Dec 202119th Jan 2022 maya rajesh41 Comments

2021 can be marked as the year I fell in love with reading again – the year I realised how much impact books can have on your life. From setting myself a goal of reading 70 books earlier this year to actually finishing all those books ~~well I’m still reading the last one, but there’s~~ ~~time~~ I’ve enjoyed the entire process of reading them.

It actually started with my Cassandra Clare obsession in late 2020 – where I binge-read the entire Mortal Instruments series. I remember being in my grandmother’s house and just reading all. day. long. By early January, I’d finished the series and started on the other three trilogies and was done by the end of February.

It sort of marked the beginning of new reading ‘era’ for me – after my middle-grade fantasy phase and I have read so many good books this year. Obviously, credits to all the book bloggers out there who put out amazing recommendations, and thank you to Goodreads and StoryGraph for all the stats.

I won’t be able to mention all 70 books I read this year, but I will be mentioning the biggest surprises, some books that literally changed the way I look at things, and books I absolutely adore. Let’s get to it!

finishing my first draft || nanowrimo ’21 recap || life & literature ep. 9

6th Dec 202119th Jan 2022 maya rajesh56 Comments

On November 22nd 2021, at 3.32 p.m., I finished the first draft of my novel.

It still feels surreal to finally finish it; I wanted to scream from the rooftops, but I had to settle for yelling into a pillow, running around the house while my sister stared at me oddly. This is the book I’ve been working on since early April this year, and I got to about 134k in November. (I have created a monster.)

But, regardless of its many, many flaws and imperfections, I love it with all my heart, and I’m SO pumped to have finished it!

As the year comes to a close, I’m planning to put it aside for a week or two and focus on other projects before I get back to editing and writing a little more. I wrote a whole chunk of the book this NaNoWriMo – let’s get into all the details!

red (taylor’s version) album review 💔 || sad girl fall || life & literature ep. 8

15th Nov 202119th Jan 2022 maya rajesh23 Comments

Last Friday, the 12th of November, the re-recorded version of Red by Taylor Swift was released. She now owns her music and that’s the reason she recorded the songs again – with better vocals, extra songs, and improved music and instrumentals.

The world’s only been waiting five months for it.

I was utterly destroyed by some of the songs, the short film, and the incredibly beautiful lyrics that she included in the new All Too Well. I’ve not actually reviewed an album before, so when Red was released, it was the perfect opportunity!

Today’s post is a review and a discussion of all the songs on the album. It might as well be the longest post I’ve ever written and it would mean the world if you’d stick around till the end. I’ve included some of my tweets from the thread I made when I was listening to the album for the first time containing my unfiltered thoughts so don’t wonder. And before we start, if you haven’t listened to the album already – it’s a literal masterpiece, so do immediately!

travel diary – hiking through the himalayas || trekking sandakhphu || life & literature ep. 7

3rd Nov 202115th May 2023 maya rajesh42 Comments

Hi, there.

It’s definitely been a minute.

In August, life spiralled into a tornado of exams, competitions, performances and worse: deadlines. Since then, I’ve deserted this space, but don’t worry – I’ve got no intention of leaving.

Two weeks ago, my exams finally ended (time. won’t. fly.) and the next day, we left on vacation. Of course, my parents were vaccinated and my sister and I needed to test negative to leave the state, but up in the mountains, there are little to no coronavirus cases.

It’s the best time I’ve had since, well, last year. This March will mark the second anniversary of the virus and I’m glad to say things are looking up. Even simply being in the airport was such a novel feeling – the lines, the security checks. Today’s post is a travel diary and chronicles the entirety of my trip – so enjoy!