A Guide to Viral TikTok Books: Which Books are Worth Reading? Posted on January 26, 2022 While mindlessly scrolling through my for-you page, I stumbled upon a side of TikTok called BookTok. As the name suggests, BookTok is devoted to everything and anything related to books – reviews, recommendations, hauls, etc. Certain books even went viral on TikTok and lead to popular book chains such as Indigo creating “Trending on TikTok” sections in their stores and online. Like many others, I became intrigued and wondered if these books were really as good as people were making them out to be.

Mikyla Grant-Mentis: The Next Big Name in Toronto Sports Posted on January 24, 2022 Image Credit: @TheTorontoSix/Twitter This past December, Forbes released their 30 under 30 for North American sports. This included some of the biggest names in the industry, and in the past has featured some of the biggest names in sports. This year it featured PHF (Premier Hockey Federation) superstar for the Toronto Six, Mikyla Grant-Mentis. The 23-year-old Brampton native is the reigning PHF MVP and has continued to tear up the league to the tune of 23 points in 13 games, 10 points ahead of the next

A Streamer’s Hot Takes on the New Pokemon Games Posted on December 18, 2021 Gotta Twitch’em All. Fans of the Nintendo DS have been rejoicing as beloved 2006 Pokemon games Pokemon Diamond and Pearl have been remade in stunning HD for the Nintendo Switch in Pokemon Shining Diamond and Brilliant Pearl. I sat down with long-time Pokemon fan and up and coming streamer Afrodiaq to discuss what the remakes mean to him, how that reflects in his streams, and what he foresees is the future of the franchise. So how long have you been a fan of the Pokemon series?I’ve been

The Importance of Travelling (plus my experience and tips) Posted on December 17, 2021 With COVID-19 restrictions finally lifting somewhat worldwide right now, the opportunity to travel is here again. Whether you want to travel internationally or within Canada, there has definitely been an increase in ways to travel safely and responsibly while still having a great experience. Travelling has always been one of my favourite things to do because of how many benefits it has. Apart from getting the chance to see and experience beautiful places, I’ve discovered the importance of travelling for my mental health. Travelling is extremely important for

Poetry For Dummies (Like ME!) Posted on December 16, 2021 What do you think about when someone mentions poetry? Complex language? Big and lengthy words that you’ve not seen before in your entire life? Complicated metaphors of some philosophical concepts that you’ll never understand? Or maybe boring Shakespearian sonnets that you learnt in your English class in high school? Some poetry can indeed be very difficult and trying to understand them can be daunting. But contrary to the common opinion about poetry being boring, I find them really fun to read! To help you get into poetry (as you should) and

When the Movie is Better Than the Book - Howl’s Moving Castle Posted on December 15, 2021 Like most readers, I tend to find that adaptations pale in comparison to the original work. There’s just no perfect way to adapt a full-length novel into a maximum 2-hour screenplay, to condense hours of detail and reader experience into the film format in a way that is completely satisfying is nearly impossible. That being said, it can be done and one of my favourites is Miyazaki’s adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’ novel, Howl’s Moving Castle. Now, is it perhaps a tad tacky

An Introduction to Horror Posted on December 14, 2021 Horror is one of those genres that is definitely an acquired taste. I completely get it- not everyone wants to go to bed at night right after having just watched something scary. But, like many other fans, I welcome anyone who is interested in getting into the genre for the very first time with open arms. Horror can be an incredible, cathartic experience for the viewer, which is why I personally enjoy it. Whether it be books, movies, television, and more, I believe that horror is so beloved by audiences because it

Brutta Figura e Bella Figura Posted on December 13, 2021 Please tell me you’ve stayed up all night thinking of that one sentence you shouldn’t have said at a dinner five years ago, because I know I have. Way too often.From wearing the ‘wrong’ shoes to picking a major not suited for us, mistakes are constant in our lives, big or small. How do we overcome feeling the shame and guilt of messing things up, and not waste hours dwelling over it? The brutta figura, as Cristel Carrisi says in her TEDx talk, “to lose face” in Italian. Across cultures,

How To Make Budget-Friendly Crocheted Gifts This Holiday Season Posted on December 12, 2021 Happy December, everyone! While this time of year is exciting and nostalgic, it can also be extremely stressful for students. Not only are we stressing about final exams, but on top of it, we need to worry about gift shopping for our friends and family! For those of us with smaller budgets, this can be an added challenge. When money is an issue, a great option is handmade presents. They show your friends and family that you care, and they are usually much cheaper than buying something

A Guide to the 2022 Grammy Awards Nominations Posted on December 11, 2021 Image Credit: the Recording Academy From Jon Batiste to Doja Cat, to even BTS, big names in the music industry have been recognized by the Grammys for their 2022 awards show. But not everyone is satisfied with these nominations. Let’s dive into the 64th Grammy nominations together. Starting with the artists with the most nominations, we have Jon Batiste, Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, H.E.R., Billie Eilish, and Olivia Rodrigo. According to an article by Variety, Jon Batiste is the only person with 11 nominations, most of them for

5 Things You Never Knew About Ancient Egypt Posted on December 10, 2021 I’ve always been super interested in Ancient Egypt. You wanna know why? It’s full of secrets and mysteries! There are a few things that really surprised me about Ancient Egypt when I studied it last semester. Here are the most interesting, weird facts about Ancient Egypt that you probably were totally unaware of: 1. Only the rich people were mummified Image Credit: Ttatty from discovermagazine.com Yes, that’s right! Only the elite bothered to mummify themselves. They believed that in order to wander around the afterlife, you had

MLB Free Agency: Why Choose Toronto? Posted on December 8, 2021 Despite taking a huge step forward in the 2021 season and winning 91 games, the Toronto Blue Jays missed the postseason by just one game. Entering 2022, the Jays seem primed to make a playoff push but will need to make some moves in the offseason to help get them there. Toronto has historically never been a big free-agent destination, but recent signings of all-stars like George Springer and Hyun-Jin Ryu have shown that more and more players are willing to come north of the border to play baseball.

The Wonderful World of Sally Rooney Posted on December 7, 2021 Like many others, over the past year the Tik Tok algorithm has led me into the depths of Book-Tok. Leaving me with countless saved videos and screenshots of books to add to my Amazon wishlist. Among titles such as The Song of Achilles and Where the Crawdads Sing was the small romance novel Normal People. This novel written by Irish author Sally Rooney had me stuck to my couch from the moment I opened it to the moment I closed it. The first thing I noticed about this novel

Everything You Need to Know About Journaling Posted on December 3, 2021 When I was making my New Years’ resolutions last year, I wrote “make journaling a daily habit.” I had seen a lot of videos about it and thought I would give it a try. It has now become something that I do regularly and with exam season right around the corner, I think it is more important than ever. Image Credit: verywellmind Why You Should Journal Journaling is beneficial in a variety of ways. First, it is good for our mental health. Journaling is a way to get

An Evening With Silk Sonic - Album Review Posted on December 2, 2021 After over eight months since the release of the duo’s hit single, ‘Leave The Door Open’, pop icon Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak have come together for, ‘An Evening With Silk Sonic’, narrated by the legendary 70s Bootsy Collins.If I’m being honest, I don’t know if I would have been excited for, or have even listened to this album if it were made by anyone else. When it comes to more straight up throwback projects as opposed to experimenting on a genre or period in music, I