I’ve kind of been in a mood lately. I haven’t been feeling great, I’m so stressed about so many things, I’m anxious about other things, and now this Net Neutrality issue is making everything worse. I mean, what’s going to happen to our whole book blogging community if it gets repealed? (I know that’s not the only thing that would be affected, but the list of things and people that would be affected is too long for me to include them all.) Everything I’ve read leads me to believe emails/faxes/online services/etc. are easy to ignore and therefore not the best way to contact a Congressperson, but a phone call seems intimidating, so I don’t even know what to do. And none of it seems like it would even make a difference. Am I freaking out for nothing? I’ve read a bunch of articles and explanations to try and make sure I understand it correctly, but who even knows.
And speaking of internet, mine has been a mess lately. Taking 10 minutes to open a single page, wi-fi cutting off and on, only half-loading pages, etc. It’s driving me crazy and making my tennis elbow worse having to refresh pages 10 times to make them work. It has taken me like a full hour just to put the finishing touches on this post -_- So if I’m not doing a good job of bloghopping at the moment, this is probably why.
*sigh*
Anyway, let me know if you have any thoughts on this Net Neutrality thing. On with the bookish stuff now…
Blog/Bookish Updates:
Remember that giveaway I won but then months passed so I thought my prize was never going to come? Well it finally arrived!
Why yes, I do have a vase of dried flowers to match every book, why do you ask? 😛
Books I Received for Review:
11/19/17: I got Unbury Carol from NetGalley—wasn’t sure I’d get that one, so yay 🙂 Curses, Foiled Again is from NineStar Press.
11/26/17: Nothing.
Books I Finished:
11/19/17: Lovesick Gods was amazing; I loved it! The Vampire Lestat was great too, even though it did seem to take forever for me to get through. It’s going to another long “review” with lots of thoughts, just like my review for Interview was.
11/26/17: Curses, Foiled Again was a semi-dark but overall sweet and fun read. The Consumption of Magic was funny and sweet and great but also a little heavy, like the others in the series.
What I’m Loving:
This week, what I’m loving is…
“Let’s Face It I’m Cute” by 11 Acorn Lane
I discovered a new song, and a new genre (electro swing) thanks to my favorite webcomic, Bang! Bang! BOOM!
Link (in case the video doesn’t work)
In Case You Missed It:
11/19/17:
– I reviewed The Night Realm by Annette Marie, an interesting UF with really cool magic.
– I did the “Longest Book” tag and talked about long books.
– I reviewed Lovesick Gods by Amanda Meuwissen, an amazing M/M book with an adorable superhero-supervillain romance.
11/26/17:
– I reviewed Smoke City by Keith Rosson, a fantasy/literary fiction crossover w/ flawed but likeable characters.
– I reviewed Curses, Foiled Again by Sera Trevor, a fun, semi-dark M/M vampire romance.
The Sunday Post Link-Up:
Once again, I’m linking up to The Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer 🙂
Yay for the prize finally turning up! 😀
I hear you on crap internet, ours is worse than dial-up some days (since they started doing line works in our area a couple of months ago, it’s so frustrating). We’ll have to ‘upgrade’ to a nationwide network soon, I’ve heard mainly awful things about it so fingers crossed it’s not any worse 🙁
My understanding of Net Neutrality is super basic, it seems to be ‘pay more to access certain sites’, is that right? It sounds like bullshit, to be honest. We don’t have Net Neutrality laws, according to a news article I just read, but we do have consumer laws to protect us from ISP’s being jerks. And I also believe our government wanted ISPs to block certain websites, or they tried to make them (there was a big kerfuffle about censorship and Australia turning into China heh). But it’s ones that should be illegal anyway (abuse sites, piracy, etc). I hope they don’t repeal it – it seems to be the very worst of capitalism if they do.
I was happy surprised when the book showed up!
Ugh, this slow internet thing is awful. Takes an hour to do something that should take 5 minutes. Hopefully your upgrade won’t be even worse!
That’s my understanding too. And it does sound like BS. I don’t even what’ll happen with my blog if that happens. Well that’s good you have laws to protect you and that your ISPs aren’t doing crappy things. In the US, it just seems to be anything goes as long as someone can make money from it -_-
I haven’t really paid much attention to the Net Neutrality thing… I don’t know if it will affect me as much, as I’m in Europe and not in the US, which is why I haven’t looked into it. I hope it won’t make online life more difficult for you.
Sorry your wifi isn’t working correctly, that’s such a bother!
Your new books look good, though, so at least there’s that.
Have a wonderful week ahead and happy reading.
I mean, if it gets repealed and ISPs start charging more for access to certain sites, who knows what’ll happen with blogging communities. So it could affect other countries indirectly in ways like that.
Thanks, the wi-fi thing is so annoying.
Yes, at least there’s always books! You have a great week too 🙂
The Net Neutrality seems to keep coming back every few years. I only know what I’ve read a few years ago and some basic things from now as I am not in the USA. But I can’t imagine that even getting through. It is so scary to think this is what our world is coming to. But then again I couldn’t imagine Trump becoming the president either….
Hugs. I hope your anxiety settles a bit and you will have a better week.
Exactly. I would’ve said there’s no way they’d repeal it, but I also thought there was no way Trump would be president. So clearly any ridiculous thing is possible in the US -_- And it’s not the people voting on it, I think it’s just five people in the FCC voting. So it sounds like it IS going to happen :-/
Thank you <3
I’m shocked at the internet problems you’re having. I was always under the impression that folks in the US were well catered for – whereas here in the UK there are parts of this rather small island where it is all but unusable except for the occasional email. Sorry to hear you are having such poor service:(. On the plus side, it sounds as if you have had an awesome reading week. I hope this week is better online – I don’t feel qualified to comment on Net Neutrality as I haven’t been following the political argument, other than to say that anyone trying to dismantle free access throughout the internet is an enemy of free speech…
Nah, we got internet problems here too lol. But yes, I found some great books at least 🙂 And I agree, it does seem very anti-free speech to me too.
I haven’t followed the Net Neutrality thing, so I don’t know, but in Trump’s america anything can happen lol. Let’s hope it doesn’t suck too bad if it does happen. Typical… I hear you on internet too, I was watching a show on Hulu last night and I had to keep refreshing, was bugging the shit out of me ha ha. *grumble grumble*
Glad the prize finally arrived!! That’s a fricking long wait.
Ooh I like that song, and electro swing? Nice.
Yeah, I no longer think to myself, “That will never happen,” because I thought the same thing about Trump being elected -_- But this could really affect us bloggers. And ugh, yeah, these internet issues suck. I’d like to at least enjoy my internet while I still have access to everything lol.
Thanks!
I didn’t know electro swing existed, but I like it now!
Ugh, I hope they don’t repeal Net Neutrality either. What a pain that would be! And i hope your issues get resolved soon. Maybe you need a new wi-fi router? I’d look into it.
Seriously. I emailed my Congresspeople, so maybe that’ll help? It’s not the router, it’s just this computer. Other computers, phones, etc. are working fine, and I can’t figure out why this computer isn’t :-/
Boo for sucky internet. That is not cool as it’s so stressful when you just can’t get the internet to do what you want when it normally does it no problem. Hopefully, it was a temporary thing for you. And this net neutrality thing is confusing the hell out of me because I can’t figure out why it has happened. I mean I can, I’ve read the ins and outs, but the only people this would benefit is the big companies who have been pushing for it forever and who the FCC have repeatedly gone up against so I’m totally confused by the 360 the FCC has done. I know it’s something which predominantly will affect the US, but it will affect everyone in one way or another and it’s terrifying that it could happen. I know phone calls are scary but maybe give it a shot? If not, then anything you can do helps, right?
Love your prize picture, looks very cool. And if you do have dried flowers to match every occasion go you, they look good so why not, right?
The internet thing is super stressful, especially since I think it’s a problem w/ my comp specifically, and I can’t figure out how to fix it :-/ And yeah, it’s the internet companies that will benefit from repealing Net Neutrality, but I think the FCC chairman worked for one of them before? So… I didn’t call, but I emailed at least.
Thanks 🙂 I mean, I don’t really have a vase to match every book lol, but this is the second time that I have.
Sorry, I haven’t heard anything about the Net Neutrality thing but that’s not really a surprise as I’m very rarely on social media. I’ve been curled up in front of the TV on the cold nights in the UK this last week!
I’m glad someone has had a relaxing week at least! Curling up in front of the TV or with a good book sounds great right about now.
Sorry to hear you have been anxious and not feeling great, I’ve been very anxious about the Net Neutrality issue too. I find phone call very intimidating too so I rarely do it. I do love your dry flowers! So GOTHIC! You know me and anything Gothic 😉 And that cover of course is gorgeous! Congrats on winning it. Hope you have are having a better week
Yeah, this Net Neutrality thing is very anxiety-inducing. I’m wondering if an email/fax would even do any good since I’m still too intimidated to do the phone call. Thanks! I have four vases of dried flowers currently sitting on top of my book shelf 😀 Thank you <3
I’m sorry you’re not feeling well and are having internet problems, stress, anxiety…that stinks! I admit that this time of year sort of sends me into stress/panic mode and I hate that. But I haven’t figured out a solution yet. :/ So, you know I don’t watch t.v., right? I also don’t read the newspaper so essentially, I’m an ostrich for the most part. I get news from BBC on my phone and apparently I don’t have the alert checked for things like net neutrality. I had to go read a Fortune article on it so I could even discuss it here. It’s distressing, honestly. And interesting those companies in favor and those against. I have no real idea of what it’d mean to me personally but I live in the mountains and my internet service is sketchy at best. My cell doesn’t even have service 90% of the time in my house. So… Apparently I can’t discuss the topic intelligibly. LOL
Congrats on finally getting your giveaway goody! And kudos for getting so many books read. I’m off to check out Lovesick Gods. 😉 Have a great week, Kristen!
Thanks <3 It's weird how Christmas time is a nice time but also such a stressful one, although some of my anxiety isn't even Christmas-related. Yeah, not sure what will actually happen if it gets repealed, but I think it would hurt small businesses and freelancers the most, and it could hurt our blogging community. But if the internet just gets slower, maybe you won't even notice if yours is already that bad lol.
Thanks 🙂 Lovesick Gods is a great one! You have a great week too!
Congrats on FINALLY getting your book lol
I’ve emailed my congress people multiple times (for the first time in my life) this year. I have no idea if it helps but I feel like I can at least say I tried. I’ve gotten sort of canned responses but a few of these things have been stopped but the outpouring so I guess it can’t hurt.
Net Neutrality, humanity…it’s all pretty distressing right now. I can totally understand people being so anxious. It’s like a barrage of new anxiety every day.
For What It’s Worth
Lol thanks!
Yeah, I’ve never emailed Congress before but I want to do something about this. How did you email? Like, is there a website you used or something? I feel overwhelmed, and now my stupid internet problems are making it hard to even figure things out.
Seriously, this whole year has been anxiety-inducing. I feel like the entire country has chronic stress.
I am so worried about the Net Neutrality thing too. I wrote a letter to my email subscribers to encourage them to call Congress, sign petitions, etc. Still, I know it’s not looking good. I’m currently starting an online business and I’m scared shitless about how this is going to impact small online businesses like mine. If most websites are put in a slow lane, it could have huge impacts on profit margins. The whole thing just makes me so mad.
I’m also concerned about how this will impact our democracy. The Trump administration has been pushing authoritarianism and attacking free speech big time. I’m worried that certain news websites would be blocked or slowed so much no one can access them anymore.
It’s def worrisome :-/ I just feel like, do these emails and petitions and things do any good? I’m still considering trying a phone call but that’s intimidating and I don’t even know how that works or what to say. But yeah, it’s small businesses and freelancers who will be hurt the most, which will end up hurting me too because that’s what I’ll eventually be doing one day too. And I agree with what you said about it impacting our democracy too. This year has just been a shit storm since Trump was elected.
Well, Congress is the only thing that can stop this and a lot of congressmen have said that they’re not speaking out against right now because they haven’t heard anything from their constituents. I think it’s definitely worth the effort! You can send an email and call your representatives here: https://www.battleforthenet.com. The email is prewritten and their system will connect you with your representative’s office automatically. They even provide a script, which makes calling waaay less intimidating! I have huge phone anxiety, but I called today and it really wasn’t that bad.
Yeah, things are pretty rotten right now. But I have hope for 2018. Especially after this year’s special election!
Yeah, I guess it can do some good if enough people contact them. I suppose doing anything is better than doing nothing. But I’ve read that pre-written emails don’t work as well as personally written ones, and that emails in general are easy to ignore. That’s why I feel so unsure of what to do. But I will definitely check out that website, maybe it can help me figure out who to contact and what to say!
You can personalize the pre-written email. I did. It literally takes two seconds to send though so it’s worth it. And the call only took me about 60 seconds.
Ah, that’s perfect then 🙂 thanks for letting me know about the site!
You’re welcome! Just trying to spread the word and get as many people calling as possible. ?
I’m trying to spread the word too now 🙂
Unfortunately I’m another non US commenting here so I don’t know enough about the Net Neutrality thing to really weigh in. Personally I hope it isn’t repealed and I hope that the internet can remain a free and open space.
I hope you’re feeling better this week and that you enjoy that gorgeous book you received!
From what I understand, it looks like it will be repealed, and our best bet is for Congress to step in and counteract it. But somehow I doubt they will :-/ But yeah, I would like the internet to remain free and open too.
Thanks 🙂
Hope you get to feeling better. The whole Net Neutrality thing sucks and so does most of the news nowadays. I hopped over to read your review of The Night Realm and now I think I need to check out that series as well (figured I’d just leave one comment). This time of year tends to bring people up really high or really down. Seems to be little in between. I hope you have a wonderful week.
Thanks. Yeah, this whole year has been a shitstorm of awful news. Annette Marie’s books are great, I hope you like them if you tried them! Thanks, you have a great week too 🙂
I don’t really know a lot about the Net Neutrality, but it does sound scary. I’ve been seeing a lot of people posting about it, so i hope things stay the way they are instead of you having to pay more to visit some sites.
Sorry to hear you’re having trouble with your internet at the moment :(. That is frustrating.
That’s great your prize finally arrived and that you got approved for a book you weren’t sure you would get. I hope next week is a good one!
Yeah, I want to keep things the way they are with Net Neutrality too :-/
I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived! And also happy about the NG book. Thanks, same to you 🙂
Ugh, I know! I’m totally stressed about everything. This year freakin’ sucks and the pessimist in me is saying that it’s not going to get better. This Net Neutrality thing should not even be an issue! Internet should be a free place! Ugh…Let me just crawl into a hole right now…
Anyways, hope your own internet problems resolve and hope you enjoy your books. 🙂
I call that voice the realist in me lol. Seriously, this year has been a mess.
Thanks 🙂