Happy 2024! We are so happy you’re here. If you have followed along since the beginning, thank you. If you are just joining, welcome! We are happy to be back and sharing with you all. The break was refreshing and allowed us to make some goals, which we will be discussing with you as well….
Category: Misc.
10 Fantastic Book-Related Holiday Traditions
With Christmas being only a week away, I thought it would be fun to look at some potential Christmas traditions you could start with your family. Specifically, literary traditions. I love starting new traditions or doing something new each year and here’s some ideas I’ve compiled. Some may be better to do earlier in the…
Gift Ideas for Avid Readers
Do you have any avid readers in your life and not sure what to gift them for Christmas this year? We all know at least one book worm, like ourselves, that we are not sure what to get them. Here are ten Christmas gift ideas for people who love to read. A book on books…
Umbra Ex Libris: A Year in Review
November marks our one year anniversary of the official launch of Umbra Ex Libris! This year has been a great learning experience for all of us. We still have a lot to learn and much more to write about. We have enjoyed every second of it. Thank you to our dedicated readers and to those…
The 7 Major Forms of Literary Conflict
As unfortunate as it may be, we all love to read about human struggles. Without these struggles, there would be no books, no movies, or no stories worth telling. When we read a book we are reading to find out how the protagonist will resolve all of his problems. Problems arise due to conflict. Someone…
Seven Major Story Elements Used in Every Story
All great stories contain the same basic story elements. From Shakespearian literature, to children’s imaginative daydreams, to the next big Hollywood movie, to story based video games, the same building blocks are used in all story creation. Oftentimes, we don’t focus on the individual pieces or why each piece is important to the story. If…
Passive Voice Versus Active Voice
In high school English, a lesson I struggled with talked about active versus passive voice. I thought to myself, why is this important, and when will I ever need to use this. Maybe those thoughts lead me to not care about the subject matter taught. However, in college I discovered a passion for writing. This…
7 Entertaining Ideas for a Snow Day
Apologies for the lack of posts this week, and a late one today. Jonas and I have officially been christened in our little town with a giant snow storm this past weekend. From power outages, falling trees, more snow than we’ve ever experienced and countless hours spent shoveling it, our hands have been rather full….
5 Creative DIYs for Valentines Day
I don’t know about you guys, but Valentines Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. Prior to dating Jonas, I always enjoyed celebrating love and friendship. It was always a time for me to be creative and think about ways to show my friends and family I cared about them. Even now, I…
How to Have Productive New Beginnings
For last year’s words belong to last year’s language And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning . T.S Elliot, Little Gidding Happy New Year! I’ve always been a fan of new beginnings, fresh starts, and blank pages. There is something so enticing about staring at…