<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[readwithciara]]></title><description><![CDATA[Readwithciara]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2026 12:20:21 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[genuinely, I'm scared of my lack of ambition]]></title><description><![CDATA[I’m scared that I may have discouraged myself plenty of times that I simply learned not to want anything so strongly. My lack of ambition scares me because I see driven people everywhere. In fact, I consume media on the daily about people making their way into the world with their ambitions and passion, and I genuinely feel like I’m missing out on something huge. I don’t have big dreams, I don’t crave a grand life. I only want slow, peaceful mornings in my own peaceful space, with books,...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/genuinely-i-m-scared-of-my-lack-of-ambition</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69aefba2de5ad9153e0b358d</guid><category><![CDATA[Yours, C.]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 09 Mar 2026 16:58:31 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Importance of Being Earnest: A Book Review]]></title><description><![CDATA["I am sick to death of cleverness. Everybody is clever nowadays. You can't go anywhere without meeting clever people. The thing has become an absolute public nuisance. I wish to goodness we had a few fool left." 	The Importance of Being Earnest is an amusing read. It is a play about two friends, Algernon Moncrieff and John Worthing (Jack), who somehow found themselves both claiming to be Ernest. It basically revolves around identities, lies and social standards. 	(What is it about plays that...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/the-importance-of-being-earnest-a-book-review</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6976fa4ce611fcb487947034</guid><category><![CDATA[Book Reviews]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2026 06:04:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2e87fd_6cf25b1a19be4e9091a5abee1da8574d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Taming of the Shrew - A Review]]></title><description><![CDATA[William Shakespeare A play within a play. Sly, a tinker was passed out drunk and a Lord decided to pull a prank on him, going lengths to make him believe that he was a gentleman, or a lord himself, who went lunatic. The play then shifts to Padua, where Baptista is trying to marry his daughters off, Bianca and Kate. Kate, the elder daughter and "the shrew" must be married before Bianca, thus Bianca's suitor went on a search for someone who's willing to take on Kate. I loved the writing. The...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/the-taming-of-the-shrew-a-review</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69427b927aecebf9ca3f65e2</guid><category><![CDATA[Book Reviews]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:54:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2e87fd_27741d5ce48844468f8a554587b7680a~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hating Olivia: Quotations]]></title><description><![CDATA["I know why I write. I write because I must. I cannot stop. I'm driven by rage and insanity and crushing ambition."  - Dan Fante (introduction) About Life "The war was over. I'd managed to avoid it, but it didn't mean a thing." "The parade of forgettable days that made up the long hazy years have always seemed to be a matter of struggling to keep my head above water, and a roof over it. It was nothing much of a life." "Like a beggar who covets the palace of the kingdom, I wanted what I...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/hating-olivia-quotations</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6936db11b7392b88f3a1ee9c</guid><category><![CDATA[Book Quotations]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:51:17 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2e87fd_5b4d061939ef441b9fc38d1e6e780525~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hating Olivia: A Book Review]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hating Olivia explores survival and the unfiltered realities of life. The story revolves around Liv and Max, two people bound by their shared love for writing and a dream of publishing their own books. Yet, instead of chasing creative success, they found themselves barely staying afloat, juggling odd jobs, hitting rock bottom, and slowly growing resentful of each other. You'd witness two people who were once deeply in love gradually come to despise one another, driving themselves to madness...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/hating-olivia-a-book-review</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6936d581c8b0d2d201cc251b</guid><category><![CDATA[Book Reviews]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 08 Dec 2025 13:58:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2e87fd_fc0b6f4b3c1044b8b7b2716e6c56ebd8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Water Cycle]]></title><description><![CDATA[Round and round, this endless cycle of life mapped out my fate, my freedom's a jive The path is paved, well-trodden and bare I do it blind, going through without care. My fate is decided by something unknown It's how I was born, and how I have grown Deprived of my right to decide where I'd go But there were some days, I wish I could blow. Blow up and break free from these redundancies I'm more than this cycle, please let it cease Or I would cease to exist solely from loneliness Because for...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/the-water-cycle</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6905f539bb9a5281a8aabad3</guid><category><![CDATA[Creative Corner]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2025 12:17:20 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2e87fd_3ba15352c7c84cf0af9012d54e3c84a9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Thriving in Sadness]]></title><description><![CDATA[Thriving in Sadness I'm trying to get to the bottom of this chronic sadness. Why do I thrive in this agonizing sorrow? Miserably loving and romanticizing it even, letting it rule me like the tyrant it is. Indeed, happiness seems to elude me. Leading me on to this teasing dance of back and forth. Playing, toying, mocking this hopeful idiot. And so, I shamefacedly walk back to the eerie quiet Where the shadows wrap me in a comforting embrace How foolish of me to try to leave and wander When I...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/thriving-in-sadness</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68f3a63f6bef380dfdc9d895</guid><category><![CDATA[Creative Corner]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 18 Oct 2025 14:56:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2e87fd_9c99b10da939401d880c0166ad561724~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Shelf of Gold - Classics Collection]]></title><description><![CDATA[A while ago, I was in my room staring in awe at my humble shelf of classics. And it hit me just how much has happened over the years. If...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/shelf-of-gold-classics-collection</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68e0fc351bafb97a9dcb260b</guid><category><![CDATA[Bookish Stuff]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 04 Oct 2025 11:18:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2e87fd_210fcd3d15de4761a26fa71568352314~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Nightingale and the Rose, A Book Review]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Nightingale and the Rose - Oscar Wilde "Ah, on what little things does happiness depend! I have read all that the wise men have...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/the-nightingale-and-the-rose-a-book-review</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68dfe6a114943fa9111254e9</guid><category><![CDATA[Book Reviews]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 03 Oct 2025 15:11:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2e87fd_8dd8c8cda0a24a40a58dc3b29a9ef1b2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Jack of All Trades, Master of None]]></title><description><![CDATA[Fallen Angel There's this persistent question in my head. "What are you good at?" To which I answer self-deprecatingly, "Uhhh... mediocrity?" Unfortunately, I excel at being average in everything Drawing, writing, reading, living You name it, I've tried it all.  At some point, it becomes exhausting Not belonging in the polars, Just there, away from the extremes. Always on the middle of the spectrum Not good enough to excel, nor bad enough to fail "Jack of all trades, master of none But better...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68cd6e75860daee44b3292bf</guid><category><![CDATA[Creative Corner]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 19 Sep 2025 15:04:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2e87fd_685915ee3a4f42158717548d603e44fd~mv2.webp/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Something Poetic or Pathetic?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Something Poetic or Pathetic? It's 6 am, I am moving. Working. Existing. Blending into the crowd Mind and body in a constant state of...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/something-poetic-or-pathetic</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68c95563eb24891320b91b20</guid><category><![CDATA[Creative Corner]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 12:20:20 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2e87fd_11ded587ef774971a94026ac2da1da78~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[I Fell In Love With my Solitude]]></title><description><![CDATA[I do not know what sparked and fueled this raging feeling, maybe it was a long-time process, or maybe it happened so quickly I did not...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/i-fell-in-love-with-my-solitude</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68bee64dbac3da83e40df6d4</guid><category><![CDATA[Creative Corner]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 08 Sep 2025 14:45:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2e87fd_e0aee04c37614fad83c7805ee95d7b7e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Your body is Poetry]]></title><description><![CDATA[Your body is poetry, drawn from a poet's wandering mind. a muse of longing, marvel and desire A trembling sigh of thought and dream...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/your-body-is-poetry</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68b19e72b8f12081d55d37dc</guid><category><![CDATA[Creative Corner]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 29 Aug 2025 14:18:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2e87fd_c54205e702684db7b3a002a1dfb38766~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Moon is Down, A Book Review]]></title><description><![CDATA[John Steinbeck - The Moon is Down "I am a little man, and this is a little town, but there must be a spark in little men that can burst...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/the-moon-is-down-a-book-review</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6899e883b2187a6db308949f</guid><category><![CDATA[Book Reviews]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 11 Aug 2025 13:33:20 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2e87fd_3b14e130e6954c838471df1b76f5078f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[My Book Journey]]></title><description><![CDATA[Change is constant. And like everything else, my genre preferences changed over time. It is inevitable that we, humans will crave...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/the-one-thing-i-would-tell-to-my-16-year-old-self</link><guid isPermaLink="false">62557ccda816a43660e4f6e6</guid><category><![CDATA[Bookish Stuff]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 12 Apr 2022 13:21:17 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2e87fd_91124c554fee44459a6b6f4924dff909~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_720,h_720,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Get to Know Me]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hi! I am Ciara, a reader with a thirst to write. Having my own blog is a dream that's been haunting me from the very beginning, owing to...]]></description><link>https://readwithciara.wixsite.com/readwithciara/post/detoxing-my-social-media-feed</link><guid isPermaLink="false">62557ccda816a43660e4f6e1</guid><category><![CDATA[Bookish Stuff]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 12 Apr 2022 13:21:17 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2e87fd_b9b3cb78ec6d43559bf0e9e2c74a484f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ciara</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>