Who Is ACityofBooks?

Ah, yes, nothing like starting out with a slight identity crisis followed in quick succession by the onslaught of an existential crisis. 

Who is ACityof Books? Who am I?

Well, hi and hello, I'm Lauren. Although the only time I introduce myself like that anymore is to the likes of clients, media and the government, so for now, call me Lolly. It suits me a lot better. And ACityofBooks is who I've been on the internet for as long as I remember; special shout out to Cassie Clare.

Despite what my Official Est date is for ACityofBooks, I've been blogging since I was 15. For those who want to be rude and guess a gals age, that means I've been blogging since 2013/4. I've always been a big reader, haunting social spaces where people would talk about books and fandom and that soon turned into me discovering blogging and the rise of booktube. I wanted to write more about the books I was reading, what was I enjoying, connect to a community that had taken me in. Which coincidentally, this is also when I discovered what PR was, what it could do and despite my creative writing academics ended up leading me down the path of where I am now. 

So what does this mean? Why am I here now typing words into a world where maybe 3 people might see them?

Because I love writing. I love writing about other people's writing. I love tv and films and theatre and worlds that people have created and publishing granted me the ability to smell and touch and step inside.

It's been a long long long time since I wrote my own. And that's okay. Baby steps. 

Let's keep this casual - post when I feel like talking about something I've read or watched recently. Working full-time has been part of the reason I've stepped back completely, but my god! I have missed it. Missed just sitting down and letting my fingers fly across the keyboard. My recent read is what inspired me. 

I've been making my way through the Lockwood and Co. series by Jonathan Stroud. I could not believe I had never thought to have picked these up before. In truth, I may have committed sacrilege and watched the Netflix adaption first. If teen Lolly could see me now, they'd be attempting to cleanse my sin with sage whilst grasping a worn copy of The Screaming Staircase. But these characters? Oh these idiots - they've very quickly become comfort characters. My heart has never ached so much in years at three lost teens finding home within each other - its exactly what I had needed. 

From here I'm not sure where I will go. Will it be reviews? Weekly updates on what I've been enjoying? I'm not sure. I've got some exciting things coming up personally; like my first trip abroad! But I'm making this promise to myself: it's going to be whatever and whenever I feel like and I kind of like having that.