BookNet Fest

BookNet Fest

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend the first annual BookNet Fest which was a bookish event created by Samantha from Thoughts on Tomes and Marines from Mynameismarines and I want to thank these ladies again for the wonderful job they did organizing it. 

They had a few panels with a variety of topics from Book Recommendations to Diversity (which was my favorite!) They had included a few guests such as booktubers like Jesse from JesseTheReader, Katy from Katytastic, Christine from Polandbananasbooks and a few more. 

The panels were very interesting, I was drawn to the topics they had that I had a hard time selecting which one to attend. One of the ones I attended was the 101 Workshop with Jenna in which she gave us advice on photography and videos. My favorite panel was the diversity which was the last one as I was able to realize how much our community wants a change to include more diverse character in the books we read. I was very impressed by Camila (@justabookeater_) when she discussed being born and raised in Puerto Rico as was I and not finding a character she can identify herself with completely in a book at the moment. I really liked her discussion about how Puerto Ricans are portrayed wrongly in films when not everyone from Puerto Rico is that way.

They also had giveaways and a mixer during which we had the opportunity to chat with other people from the community. I had the opportunity to take a picture and chat with a few of my favorite booktubers, I missed a few but hopefully I'll see them next time. 

Here I have a few pictures from the ones I got to meet, I really hope Samantha and Marines are able to do this event next year as I have always wanted them in Orlando since we do not get event like this too often. 

 With Jenna (jennaclarek) and Jesse (JesseTheReader)

 Katy (katytastic)

 Caitlin (Caitlinvanasse) She and I had chatted on Twitter before but it was nice to officially meet her.

 Samantha (thoughtsontomes) co-creator and panelist of the event

 Marines (mynameismarines) co-creator and panelist

 Maureen (maureenkeavy)

 Zoe (readbyzoe)

Christine (polandbananasbooks)

"Crazy is my superpower: How I triumphed by breaking bones, breaking hearts and breaking the rules" by AJ Mendez Brooks

I've known AJ due to her popularity during her time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). I enjoyed her performances and I related to her character and her personality since she made sure it was a reflection of herself: a total nerd.

Reading her story, I related to her on another level. First, being that we have a Puerto Rican background, also our love for wrestling more specifically her passion for women's wrestling.

I enjoyed reading the story of a young woman finding a future for herself despite the circumstances she lived through and experienced. I liked being able to get a different point of view when it came to her wrestling career and how hard she worked to earn her spot in WWE. I came to the realization of how much women in WWE had to work for the matches and storylines they currently have, a lot of progress has been made. "Suddenly, sexiness was not an option, it was a prerequisite." She describes a lot of her experience as woman to work in a sport dominated by men. "We already have so many obstacles to overcome just trying to be seen and treated as equal to men that it seems laughable that women would further try to tear one another down, instead of of unite to make the uphill club a little bit easier."

"All a woman needs to succeed is the guts to kick the door of opportunity open. All she needs is to be brave enough to be herself." AJ was not afraid to be herself on TV and work towards opening doors for other women in the wrestling industry. She credits Beth Phoenix, Layla, Michelle McCool, Eve Torres and Kaitlyn as women that made her feel welcome within WWE and were willing to work to create a new and different path for women while making a new for themselves as well. " It wasn't long ago classmates called me a 'nerd' in an attempt to hurt my feelings, and now that term is audaciously emblazoned on the front of t-shirts at Hot Topic. It is now a popular culture and it's suddenly cool to be a fan of all things 'geek'."

I was able to learn about her career, her marriage and her friendships that helped her along the way. She truly was able to work in the wrestling world and give fans a different and unique wrestler to cheer for. AJ came during a time when female fans were able to find someone they could relate to and find genuine. Herself and Paige (Saraya) were women that gave fans a different aspect of the word diva.

Overall, I found the book to be enjoyable and one I can relate to. I was able to understand the experiences women had to experience to be in the position they are currently in within the company. AJ and the women that have been in WWE have worked very hard for women to be highlighted within the sport and to show that women's wrestling should be recognized more often. Very glad I was able to pick up this book. Thank you for sharing your story, AJ!

Here is one of my favorite AJ matches - AJ Lee vs. Paige - Divas Championship

Jennifer Domenico End of Summer BOGO contest.

Jennifer Domenico End of Summer BOGO contest - http://bit.ly/2vlaAX1

Follow the link to the form for instructions to follow.