Welcome to Litassociate!

2020. It's both a number and a year that will give the current conscious generations war-flashbacks to the unnecessary intensity and insanity of it all: the COVID-19 outbreak; the Black Lives Matter movement; the fascistic response from both the American armed forces and the federal government; the economy crashing due to the coronavirus, leaving millions of Americans filing for unemployment; America's general response to the quarantine/social-distancing measures to keep the coronavirus cases from spreading; and who could forget the deaths of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, Australia being on fire, the day-by-day fear and anticipation that we would be launched into World War III, and the murder hornets.

Do you remember the murder hornets? I almost forgot about the murder hornets. It was only eight months ago, but it's honestly felt like ten years. I had to look up what's happened since New Year's because I'd forgotten half of the stuff that's happened since this dumpster-grease-fire of a year started, and this list doesn't even cover everything that's happened since then, and that's not even including everything else that's happened in the past few years...

Needless to say, it's understandable that we've all needed something to distract ourselves. For some, it's been through drawing or writing. For others, it's been through watching Netflix day and night. For others, it's been through becoming the best Minecraft gamer the world has ever seen. For others, it's been through trying to solve the world's societal problems or to start an online business.

For me, it's been through reading. It's always been there for me whenever I needed an escape from the sometimes-hectic world around me, an excuse to go on an adventure where I didn't even need to leave my house, a chance to view the world through certain perspectives I never thought would have existed before I stepped into the narrator's shoes, an opportunity for someone or someones to keep me company whenever I felt alone, which this quarantine has made quite the task of feeling mentally happy and healthy. I've always felt at home whenever I've read books, no matter how old I was or where I was in my life when I read them, and I'm so glad that I've found that home again after all this time, especially now that I have nothing better to do other than avoid people more than usual because of the coronavirus's asymptomatic nature that might potentially kill me. (´∀｀；)

After several months of reading more than I had before I started high school, I thought "hey, maybe I should make a blog out of this...?"

So, here we are.

Welcome to Litassociate! Here, you can find reviews on the books I've been reading and find some books that make you forget that 2020 exists for a while. If you're looking for recommendations in young adult literature, this is the place for you. If you're looking for a hot take on classic literature because you're interested and don't want to read it for yourself or have a paper to write for school, then you'll be in luck. If you're looking for reviews on political thrillers, fantasy, science-fiction, adult fiction, historical fiction, mysteries, or romance novels with steamy covers of a shirtless man passionately embracing his partner in front of a beautiful sunset...

I mean, maybe I'll cover those genres someday, but it's not going to be part of the main course...

In each review, you may find valuable bits of information to your litassociation experience, such as a book summary, positives and negatives about the plot, characters, representation, etc., Reality Checks (or aspects of the book that may bring you out of the comfortable, reality-free bubble that reading provides), and my final analysis and rating. My rating system for books follows along these guidelines:

One star: I hated it
Two stars: it was boring
Three stars: I liked it fine
Four stars: I liked it a lot
Five stars: not even God can touch this masterpiece

If you follow this blog long enough, maybe you'll see more than just reviews on Litassociate...

Now, let me tell you a little bit about the person behind the blog. No, this is no corporate-entity speaking: it's Katie, your resident Slowpoke! I'm a 24-year-old Seattle local with a B.A. in Creative Writing who has been reading and loves being read to ever since I was a conscious, potato-sack baby. I've probably devoured a thousand stories since I learned how to read, but my Goodreads account says otherwise. If you may have guessed that I typically read YA fiction, then you would be correct! I also find myself occasionally consuming classic literature that I suddenly realized sounded interesting and modern memoirs. I've been passing the COVID-19 quarantine by reading (what a surprise), trying to write (you guessed it) young adult fiction WIPs, rewatching the entirety of Parks and Recreation, The Haunting of Hill House, and Into the Spider-Verse on Netflix for the 15th time, cruising social media to the point where I need to take another social media detox from one platform or another, taking care of my slowly-growing collection of houseplants, and fantasizing about the day that I adopt my first cat, getting one step closer to becoming a certified "Crazy Cat Lady."

Unfortunately, we've reached the end of this post. I'm very excited to start experimenting and see where this literary journey will take us. It's feels like jumping into a chasm where you can't see the bottom, but instead of having the usual existential anxiety in the pit of my stomach, I'm feeling unusually confident and ready to take the plunge into the unknown.

This blog is still a "newborn baby" blog, but if you stick around and like what you see, feel free to become a Litassociate!* In addition to this website, follow Litassociate on Instagram (@litassociate) and follow my personal Goodreads page to see what I'm currently reading and what I'm planning on covering next.

I hope you're ready to Litassociate with me. :)

Sincerely,

Katie

*/ˈlidəˈsōSHēət/; noun. a person who subscribes to "Litassociate," the blog; a person who follows the ongoing literary pursuits of "Litassociate"; an associate of "Litassociate"

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