Reading with Raya Introduction

Hi, I'm Raya, and I created this blog for all the book lovers out there who share my passion for reading. Whether it's my own journey or tips for making the most out of your reading experience, I'll cover it all here.

Have you ever found yourself lost in a book? You sit down with the intention of just reading a quick chapter, but before you know it, it's past midnight, you've skipped dinner, and you've finished a whole book. That's the power of good literature. Hi, I'm Raya, and I created this blog for all the book lovers out there who share my passion for reading. Whether it's my own journey or tips for making the most out of your reading experience, I'll cover it all here. As a book lover myself, I am always on the lookout for my next five-star read. I make sure to stay up to date with new releases, author announcements, and everything else book related.

I live in Minnesota with my husband, Gage, and our black cat Amren (yes, named after the character from "A Court of Thornes and Roses"). I've been an avid reader since my sophomore year of high school. Granted some years have been better than others.  The most I have read in a year was 114 books.  My lowest year was 5, but I had a VERY good reason.  My husband and I built our first home.  And when I say we “built it” I mean we BUILT IT.  From pouring the concrete to painting the walls.   

On average, I read about 75 books per year.  I love Romantasy, Fantasy, Young Adult, and Romance.  My absolute favorite trope is Fake Dating.  I am a character driven reader.  Without a compelling character to love, hate, or root for, a book simply won't cut it for me.  In the past year I have been exploring a lot more of Dark Romance and Cozy Fantasy reads.  I know, two complete opposite ends of the spectrum. I enjoy reading from many genres, so long as it has good characters and a compelling plot. 

The book that turned me into an avid reader was Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight" – and I make no apologies for it.  This series lived in my mind rent free, lingering long after I turned the final page. I remember feeling sad and empty when I finished it.  I looked around my room, knowing the next book wouldn’t be released for another year and wondered what do I do now?

I was on the hunt for my next great read. However, this was way before BookTube and BookTok.  GoodReads wasn’t even around yet. I’m not old!  I’m only 30, but this was 15 years ago.  I had to get recs from people I knew and cross my fingers they had a decent suggestion.  My oldest sister said that I should try Stephen King.  She loved horror books and I quickly discovered those were not for me!  I read “The Shining”, and I couldn’t take a bath for a month (showers only for me).   My dad was a fan of Westerns. I gave one a chance and while it wasn't terrible, it didn't capture my interest.

Thankfully, my mom had a love for thrillers, and her recommendations were spot on. I devoured one thriller after another for three years straight. The exhilarating plot twists, heart-pounding pacing, and jaw-dropping endings had me completely hooked. It was all I wanted to read.

Thriller after thriller after thriller.  But what started as a binge reading frenzy, slowly started to wear off.  I found myself predicting endings by like chapter four.  I recognized the thriller tropes and easily picked up on context clues that completely ruined the endings.  What was once my favorite genre, became something I could not bring myself to read.

By this point, I was in college, working full time, and was almost ready to declare that I wasn’t a book reader anymore.  Enter my wonderful little sister.  I was home on Thanksgiving break, and she would not stop talking about this book series she was reading.  She found a way to bring it up in every conversation.  As I was getting ready to leave, she ran at me waving a paperback and a warning.  I had to read this, or she would never speak to me again! And I better not break the spine or rip any pages!

A Court of Thrones and Roses came back to my dorm with me and sat on my shelf for 3 months.  I hadn’t read a fantasy book since Twilight. I was super intimidated!  It had a map and magic and these weird mythological creatures called Fae.  I read a few chapters and couldn’t get into it.  It was so different from what I used to reading. I put it down after chapter three, and it sat on my shelf again.  Thankfully, I picked it back up and after chapter five I could not put it down! 

ACOTAR is still one of the best book series I have ever read.  I recommend it to everyone I meet.  A Court of Mist and Fury was steeped in political suspense, romance, amazing characters, and just had everything I never knew I needed in a book.  You might be thinking this is where my love of Fantasy books began… but you would be wrong.  ACOTAR started my romance journey.  I had a new taste for spice. You know what you don’t get in many thrillers? Any romance plot line at all.  Now I wanted them all! 

Being in college gave me a whole new pool of people to get book recommendations from and it was only natural that my next literary obsession would be "Fifty Shades of Grey". After all, it's essentially Twilight fan fiction with way more spice. After that, I devoured Barnes & Noble's list of 100 books to read if you loved "50 Shades".  Even now as an “adult”, I still catch glimpses of Twilight in all my favorite books. I can't help it - I'm a sucker for the "stalker trope", always rooting for the "anti-hero", and drawn to any story involving vampires.

I still needed more book recs, enter the age of BookTube.  Was there ever anything better??  Watching BookTube has been a huge part of my life since it started. From the early days of following The Peruse Project, to watching Larry Reads and Daniel. I love diving into Tier Rank videos, TBRs, and seasonal recommendations.  My little sister and I were always sharing videos back and forth or new channels we had found. While I loved watching, I never had any desire to start my own channel. But then something new came along - BookTok.

How did a platform known for dances and cat videos… become the go to place for readers?  I’m not sure how it happened but I am so grateful that it did. The BookTok community is a whole new level! With its interactive features and the opportunity to build real friendships with fellow book lovers. It truly is the best corner of the internet. 

In consuming BookTok content, I realized that a lot of readers were struggling with creating TBRs, reading slumps, not knowing what to read next, and how to start becoming a reader.  As a reader of 15 years, I have picked up a lot tricks along the way that have greatly improved my reading experience and I decided to share them on BookTok. 

Joining BookTok was one of the best decisions I ever made as a reader.  There is nothing more fun or rewarding than hanging out with a group of people that love reading the same books as you.  Getting to go live and hang out with your own community, joining in with other creators, sharing what you are reading, authors you love, tropes you hate, and sharing in the struggles of having to put your book down. BookTok completely changed the game.  

TikToks that shared my best reading tips kept getting lost in my feed and you can’t pin them all.  My TBR Masterclass was one of my best series and I wanted this information to be easier to access for my viewers. Which lead to starting this blog!

Whether you are a seasoned bookworm or just starting out, I’ll share tips for choosing books, setting reading goals, and finding time to read in your busy schedule.  Even if our reading tastes don't align, my tips and tricks are universal for all readers. 

This book blog is a labor of love.  Everything was crafted with you, the reader, in mind.  Let’s hang out.  Join me live on Wednesday nights on BookTok.  Want to read a book with me?   I have book club on Fable.  Prefer to watch a vlog rather than read a blog… each Thursday I have a Book Vlog on BookTube.  

One of the things I hate to see in blogs are a ton of ads.  You won’t find any here.  While I know I might be leaving “a lot of money” on the table, I want you to have the best reading experience. If want to support me, consider sending me a book off my wish list.  Make sure to include your TikTok handle so I can thank you!  You don’t have to spend any money to give me support: follow me on my social platforms, like a video, leave a comment.

Thank you for joining me on this bookish journey and for being a part of this community.