My Details

About This Blog

This blog, The Cuddly Teapot, is the latest incarnation in a blogging adventure that began in 2012. I started out on WordPress at Bibliophilia: A Love Story, which later became The Bibliotaph (both book blogs). I took a break from blogging in 2016 after the death of someone close to me, but tried again in January 2017 on Blogspot. I realized somewhere along the way that I wasn't happy blogging just about books anymore and doing what every other book blogger was doing, so I fell into a rut and stopped blogging again until August 2017. 

During my rut, I discovered other types of blogs outside of the book blogging world, including lifestyle and beauty blogs. I was particularly fascinated by lifestyle blogging, and decided to make this newest blog about my own bookish, librarian-ish lifestyle. I decided to spread my blogging wings and talk about interests other than books, though that is still the main point of this blog, and discuss other things that I like, including pop culture like music and my personal life. This blog is my outlet to discuss everything a queer twenty-something librarian-in-training might be interested in, from pop culture to librarianship to books, especially critiquing those that feature diverse representation. Queer issues, feminism and mental health are of special interest to me, and will be discussed openly and freely on this blog in relation to both the pop culture I consume and my personal life.

Review Policy

I only review kidlit on this blog. I do not accept review requests except from mainstream publishers. Books are either from my own collection, library checkouts, ARCs from publishers, or eARCs from Edelweiss and NetGalley that I will review honestly. I DO NOT participate in blog tours.

Career Goals

It is my hope to gain experience in a variety of aspects of librarianship including adult programming and reference, but I ultimately hope to end up in youth services. My particular interests and main experience lies in teen and tween services, but I also love working with little-littles, and hope to become the head of a youth services department one day. I look forward to the day when my job is to make slime, read and sing to toddlers as they dance around, and encourage ornery teenagers to find the cure for their angst in books.

Library-Related Interests

Youth services (esp. teen and tween), reference and research, technology and social media, community outreach and engagement, publicity and marketing, kidlit, collection development, community informatics, services for diverse audiences, makerspaces, music-based programming

What I Like to Read

YA lit, MG lit, contemporary realistic fiction, romance, fantasy, magical realism, poetry, diverse lit, #ownvoices books, books in quirky/unusual formats in any genre

Some of my Favorite Books

This is All - Aidan Chambers

The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson

Twenty-Boy Summer - Sarah Ockler

Hold Still - Nina LaCour

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer

Lullaby and Diary - Chuck Pahlaniuk

My Heart and Other Black Holes - Jasmine Warga

Furthermore - Tahereh Mafi

Dangerous Angels - Francesca Lia Block

No One Belongs Here More Than You - Miranda July

Salt - Nayyirah Waheed

What Else I Like

Horror movies, fashion reality shows, writing, blogging, baking, cooking, bullet journaling, indie music, playing flute and violin, feminism

Things I Don't Like

Tapeworms, when sushi gets stuck to the roof of your mouth, tsunamis, not having chocolate readily available, running out of tea, hot weather