The CoHo “Curse” Posted on February 9, 2022 This one’s for all the Book Tok readers out there. Over the past year I have been swimming in book recommendations, with screenshots of book covers cluttering my camera roll and titles written in random notes. But a couple of months ago I decided to try one of the ones that I had been seeing the most on my For You page, It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. The pink cover I had seen over and over again being recommended by hundreds of book tok readers was seared into my brain.

Mikyla Grant-Mentis: The Next Big Name in Toronto Sports Posted on February 8, 2022 On October 23, 1993, Joe Carter hit a walk-off home run in game six of the World Series, to clinch the Blue Jays second straight title. This is possibly the greatest moment in Toronto professional sports history, if not Canada as a whole. The clip of the home run with Tom Cheek’s iconic “touch em all Joe” line is played all the time on sports programs and for years it was “the” Blue Jays moment. But until recently, there was always this weird feeling I had

English Readings That Changed My Life Posted on February 5, 2022 If you’re in university like me, chances are you’ve had to do some readings for class. Actually, chances are you’ve had to do a lot of readings for class, most of which you probably forgot about shortly after completing them.  I’m minoring in English, which means that I’ve had to get through a pretty large reading list during my degree. I definitely struggled to get into (or even really get through) some of those readings, and they have faded from my memory. But there are also certain readings that

The Journey of Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Record-Breaking Success Posted on February 4, 2022 Image Credit: Sony Do you know that feeling of being with a group of people that share a passion for the same thing? Whether it’s at a concert or in a classroom, you know that everyone is drawn there because they truly love it. You feel a sense of community一almost unification一and there’s an innocent joy to being a part of it. At least that’s how I’d describe the feeling when I watched Spider-Man: No Way Home in theatres this past December. Before I begin, don’t worry,

I Switched to The StoryGraph and You Should Too! Posted on February 3, 2022 If you’re like me, you too are someone who loves tracking down the media you consume, whether it be books, music, movies, and more. It’s a great way to look back at the past content that you have engaged with, recall any memories associated with it, and also connect with other people who share similar interests.  For the longest time, Goodreads had always been the number one, go-to website for avid readers. It’s a simple interface that allows users to track, rate, and review books that

Animated Movies that Aren’t Disney Posted on February 2, 2022 I love animation, in fact it’s probably one of my favourite forms of storytelling as the possibilities are limitless. That being said it can often feel like your only option to find good animated content is Disney. I mean they constantly sweep award shows with all the wins in animation categories and there’s rarely any buzz for an animation not created by them, and honestly it’s really frustrating. Sure there’s the odd animation that makes it through the cracks like, Into the Spiderverse, or, Fantastic Mr. Fox, but these are

My First Time Celebrating Christmas! Posted on February 1, 2022 I know it’s February but it’s never too late to talk about Christmas. And it IS important to talk about Christmas because I just had my first official Christmas during the winter break! I say “official” because I’m from Hong Kong and although we do hang Christmas lights, have Christmas dinner and exchange gifts sometimes, we don’t follow closely with the western tradition. In other words, we celebrate this festive season in the Eastern way. I remember when I was little, we would have spaghetti, chicken wings and spring rolls

Podcasts You NEED to Listen To Posted on January 31, 2022 Everyone knows that podcasts are becoming more and more popular every day. But, with thousands of different options, how can you know which you should listen to? Here are my top five podcasts that I’ve been loving recently and are worth giving a listen to.  1. “Anything Goes” – Emma Chamberlain Image Credit: open.spotify.com This one goes without saying. With Emma having over ten million Youtube subscribers, people want to hear more from her. Her comforting personality and young adult relatableness has given her an insanely successful platform at

Playing Where’s Waldo with the new Andrew Garfield film, Tick, Tick … BOOM! Posted on January 27, 2022 Tick, Tick … BOOM! Lin-Manuel Miranda, has done it again. As a playwright and actor, Miranda’s work in Hamilton was wildly successful and well-loved. But it’s not only the stage he has a knack for, because now that he has moved to the big screen in his directorial debut, he once again has blown people away. As I watched this film for the first time, I was immediately drawn to Andrew Garfield’s singing voice and stage presence. But the thing I loved

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

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

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)

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