A Recap of My Fourth Year of Blogging in 2022
This month marks the fourth anniversary of Laura’s Books and Blogs. I started it at the end of 2018 as a sort of new year’s resolution. It always takes me
Category: Essays
Essays on a variety of topics. Included are favorites lists, health, product reviews, personal essays, nostalgia, and more.
Making the Most of Retrenchment by Shashikala Shanmugasundaram
Let me start with the obvious — no one likes to be retrenched. Especially when it blindsides you. In 2019, I had just secured the job of my dreams. I
9 Great Vampire Tropes
When you think of horror, the creature that is always front and center is the vampire. Vampires are the ringleaders of the monsters. They’re apex predators who can hide behind
5 Lessons I’ve Learned from Reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Books
The world is a messy, scary place. And when you’re as intimidated by it as I am, you look for ways to help make it less intimidating – or at
How I Choose Books to Review on My Blog
Writing is such a fickle activity. You spend all of this time crafting the perfect story to the best of your ability, dreaming and hoping that a large audience will
Thoughts After Attending My First Comic-Con
In April of 2022, I attended my first comic-con. Late to the party, it’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and this time just felt like
Using Child Narrators in Fiction
One of the main benefits of writing is that it gives a voice to the otherwise voiceless. Literature is filled with stories about outcasts, the oppressed, and the silenced. Writers
10 Philosophical Story Elements in the Batman Mythos
There are so many fictional characters that fans love to study, dissect, and discuss. Comic book characters are particularly susceptible to this due to their longevity and the fandom that
Why I Avoid Reading Long Books
On Christmas Eve, I started reading Little Women. It felt like an appropriate choice because the story opens with a Christmas scene. I’ve read Little Women before, or so I
Should I Remember What I Read?
I’ve read books where I can remember the story but not the title. I’ve read books where I remember the title and not the story. There are scenes from books
The Evolution of Believing in Santa Claus
There’s a home movie of me at 20 months old in my white Christmas dress and patent leather shoes. It’s 1987, and I’m holding my mom’s free hand as she
8 Great Ghost Story Tropes
Ghosts. Like most paranormal entities, they are not just one thing. Yet, they are immediately recognizable. Many believe ghosts to be the spirits of the dead. Others think of them
Don’t Lose Your Identity Trying to be Someone Else by Vinod Balan
By: Vinod Balan The importance of knowing your strengths and weaknesses I used to play a lot of football/soccer as a kid. Most kids were obsessed with playing in the
5 Ways to Get Through Winter in Quarantine
The home stretch of the COVID-19 pandemic is going to be a tough one. No matter what the situation, everyone is worn out from this germophobic, isolated, divided way of
Experience Essays by the Blogging Community
This collection of essays below is a mixed bag of experiences from four different bloggers who detail common yet personalized moments that you may or may not have experienced as