Hey, guys! There’s so much to talk about, so many things to think about… ugh, and when I just caught settled on the couch to type everything out, I realized I need my phone and it’s all the way in my room…. *sigh.* Is it lazy to not want to get up and go to the other room for my phone? Especially when I just ate myself full of pizza and cookies? Aye, aye, aye…. okay, I’m back. I got off the couch, went to my room, looked around for my phone… and found it in my back pocket.
Several things happened/are happening this week…
1.) Yesterday was my mom’s birthday! We went to Best Buy to get her a new phone, then to Chick-Fil-A for lunch, and for dinner we went to a Japanese/Hibachi place with my cousins. =) I also tried out a new hair style yesterday – I did a ‘milkmaid braid’ (here’s the tutorial I used – I love Cute Girls Hairstyles!) and I loved it! I took a picture to send to my cousin, and I had a photo-bomber…
2.) I baked home-made chocolate chip cookies! I was going to do a recipe from a MDBC book, but since my cousin is borrowing my copy of the 1st book, I didn’t use one from the books. (And I didn’t find a recipe I had the ingredients for in the other books.) But I did find a recipe on Pinterest (you can find that here). I made the cookies kind of small, so I had a good bit of dough left. The recipe said it could be frozen for up to 3 months, so I froze the dough and I’m going to make some more today!
3.) Later today my family and I are going to the movies to see Do You Believe, and I’m so, so, so excited to see it! It looks super good!
4.) I finished Ida B by Katherine Hannigan this week! It was so cute and really good. I’ll probably be posting the review in a few weeks. (All of my reviews are posted at least a week after I’ve finished it.) Ungifted by Gordon Korman and One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullay Hunt are coming your way soon!
5.) For the Bookish is turning ONE in twelve days! I’m still figuring what to do to celebrate. (A celebration is in order, of course.) At first, I was going to twelve posts everyday for twelve months of blogging. But I don’t know if I would be able to pull it off, and it was very last-minute. There WILL be some really cool posts, though, including an interview with my little sister, a guest post from one of my favorite blogger (Audrey @ The Measure of a Book), my very own tag, a year of bookish-ness in review, and TWO 5-star reviews! So get ready for some of that headed your way!
How was your week? Are you looking forward to For the Bookish’s one-year blogoversary celebration? Tell me below!
Suuuuper exciting stuff today. I was tagged by one of my favorite bloggers, Audrey @ The Measure of a Book for the Share the Love Challenge, her very own tag created to spread the love around the blogosphere! When you’re tagged, you don’t just thank the blogger who tagged you (though I’m gonna do that, too!), but you share the love by following your favorite bloggers (Pinterest, Bloglovin’, the likes!), commenting on their blogs (they always make my day!), etc., etc.
Sounds like fun? It is! Makes me think of “I love you, you love me. We’re a happy family…” Hahaha! Anyone?? SO. Now onto the rules…
1. Display the tag on your post along with the instructions. (Check!)
2. Display the link to the blog whose author tagged you. (That would be here!)
3. Insert their ‘about me’, biography, or profile text (unless they don’t have one). And if you wanna go all-out, add their picture too (if they have one)!
4. List or talk about some things you LOVE about their blog.
5. Mention your favorite post by that blogger.
6. Tag as many bloggers as you can! Share the love! (And remember, the more you tag, the more people will hear about you and your blog.)
7. And don’t forget to let the bloggers know you’ve tagged them.
About the blogger: According to Miss Audrey’s about page… She is a reader, writer, chocolate addict (aren’t we all!), and an old book smeller. She loves rainy days and thunderstorms, living in pajamas or yoga pants (when she does get dressed, skirts and dresses), she’s a farm girl, she belongs in the 40’s, and most importantly, a follower of Jesus Christ. =)
Things I love about this blog!: I love the fact that Audrey is a Christian, and so all of her book reviews are clean and I can trust her opinion. I know that we have a lot of the same favorite books in common, so I love her posts about books and her reviews most of all! One thing she does that most of the other blogs I follow don’t do is her writing prompts. Ohhh my goodness, but the writing prompts!! She has a whole category for them, and whenever I need to get my creative juices flowing, I check our her latest prompts.=)
My favorite post(s) by this blogger: I really liked Audrey’s post in February with resources and ways she picks out names for her characters in her writings. The first thing I do before writing a story (besides coming up with the plot, of course), is look for character names, so I thought that was really helpful and neat to see how other writers find names. I also LOVED another post in February that was, albeit strange, a really cool writing tip… obviously, I love Audrey’s posts about writing! =)
I am a total re-reader. I go back to books time and again. That’s partly why I have a shelf dedicated my to my favorite books on my bookshelf – so I can easily find my old friends and read them again. But lately, I’ve been so focused on reading new books to reach a certain goal or post a review, I haven’t re-read a book in a long time.
Every time I re-read a book, my family always asks me why I re-read them. My little sister once told me re-reading books was a waste of time unless you really love the book. “Of course, Anna,” I told her. “That’s why I re-read books.” Because I really love them. After all, if a book isn’t worth the re-read, was it worth the read?
Sometimes, though, I re-read books when I’m in between books I’m currently reading. If I don’t have a book I want to read or haven’t read, I pick out a book to re-read. This way while I figure out book I haven’t read I’m going to read next (there are sooo many to choose from! I never know what to read next!), I can still re-visit an old friend I haven’t read in a while.
I like to re-read books because I notice things I didn’t before. I realize “Ohhh, that’s what she meant in the prologue!” or “What? That character actually appeared as a minor character in the beginning??” And I feel like I get a better appreciation for the author, especially being a writer, and wanna-be-author (haha!) myself. It’s like re-watching favorite Disney movies. You notice Rapunzel and Flynn at Elsa’s coronation, or a wanted poster for Hans in Big Hero 6, and it’s really exciting because it’s the little things you notice the second time around.
For me, books hold memories as well. When I think of The Babysitters’ Club books, I think of the summer my family and I went to Charleston, South Carolina, and I read four books in one weekend. When I think of Interrupted by Rachel Coker, I think of my first year of middle school and how nervous I was the first couple of weeks, holding my copy of Interrupted by me as I walked down the halls or got off the bus. When I think of The Main Street series, I think of the third grade and tearing up in class and my teacher asking me what was wrong and I told her about the two girls who had just become orphans and how sad it made me. So re-reading books, for me, at least, is almost a little nostalgic.
I promised this last week, but unfortunately didn’t get to it… so finally, I present to you… my bookshelf!
There it is, in all its glory! It’s probably my favorite part of my room. (Right next to my bed. Quite literally, in fact. Ha!) On the very top of my bookshelf, I’ve got my four American Girl dolls, who sit up there watching me blog, write, read, and sleep 24/7. They live the life up there. But I couldn’t get them in the picture, so just imagine them. 😉
On the first shelf way up there, I keep all my tall books that won’t sit anywhere else, binders, journals, and all my bibles and devotionals. And also magazines, how-to books, my writing tips books (is that what they’re called? I don’t know, I can’t think of a better term for them), and just some random books.
The second shelf down is my favorites shelf! These are the books I’ve read again and again and again, and most of them have tear stains and dog-eared pages! You can see a list of all my favorites on this post here. All of the books on my favorites shelf are on the list. I have quite a few books by Ann M. Martin, Heather Vogel Frederick, and Rachel Coker.
On the third shelf down (the top shelf in the picture right above), I have all of my historical fiction and classics. I have some historical fiction books on the shelf beneath it, and on my favorites shelf, as well, but because they’re either a) one of my favorites or b) a love story/Christian fiction historical and they fit into another category. A couple I really love are Countdown by Deborah Wiles, The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez, and The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine. Of course, books like Anne of Green Gables and Little Women and Pride & Prejudice are givens on my classics shelf. If you notice in the picture, on the far left of the top shelf, I’ve got quite a few books that spines look the same! That’s because I’m trying to collect all of my classics in the Barnes & Noble classics! 🙂
On the fourth shelf down (the second shelf in the picture above), are my contemporary Middle Grade books and my Christian/Historical/Romance Fiction – those being books like Melanie Dickerson’s medieval times/fairy-tale type books, Love on a Dime by Cara Lynn James, and A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner. Then on the left are my contemporary MG’s. You may recognize a couple of them – Destiny Rewritten, The Gossip File, Stargirl, and a book review I keep meaning to write – The Other Half of my Heart by Sundee T. Frazier. =)
The last two shelves are really just random miscellaneous that either won’t fit on the other shelves or just didn’t have a place on the shelf for it. To the left of the basket are books I haven’t read or I need to take into a used bookstore (in exchange for different books!) because I started them and they weren’t my cup of tea. I also have some notebooks that I use for writing inspiration or I’ve filled in the past few years, and then a couple of devotionals I couldn’t fit on the top shelf. To the right of the top shelf in the picture above, I have some Babysitter’s Club books (I went through an obsession with those a couple summers back!), and then on the bottom my grand collection of American Girl books and the Mandie series and Holly’s Heart books. Oh, and if you’re wondering, in the basket is some electronic stuff – headphones, chargers, etc. 😉
So that’s my bookshelf! A few of my books are in my sister’s bedroom on her bookshelf, but those are all of my books! How do you organize your books? Do you have any of the same books as me? 🙂
Hey, everyone! First of all, I apologize for not posting the past couple of days, and this post being sort of late in the day. Wanna know why I’ve done this weekend/in the past few days I haven’t posted? SQUAT. I’ve been really lazy lately, and procrastinating nearly everything, but today was actually pretty productive.
Anyway, today I thought I’d talk about my favorite books, but a little differently. I thought I’d talk about why my favorite books are my favorite books. (Because if I shared all of my favorite books, this post would be a five part series, ha!)
You see, I’ve loved books since I didn’t even know how to read. In fact, there’s a whole page in my baby album with pictures of me reading books – with my parents, grandparents, by myself. When I got older, I’d make up the story to go along with the pictures in books and “read” them to my parents and stuffed animals! I’ve been a story teller even before I could read words. You could say I was born with a passion for stories.
I especially love stories about people. That doesn’t mean I don’t read the occasional book about an animal every now and then… (Like Janette Oke’s Animal Friends books or Charlotte’s Web, and my all-time favorite, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?) But I love reading books about young girls like me, or their grandmothers and great-grandmothers. I like books where a person goes on a long journey or adventure – not like outer space adventure, like a personal, deep adventure to find out who they are. Books like Coutdown, Out of my Mind, Counting by 7’s, Interrupted, Waiting for Normal. I know I sound rather dramatic, but I yearn for books like those.
I also know this sounds silly, but I LOVE, love, love books that make me cry. Because life is full of tears. (When your friend hurts your feelings, or when you get an unfortunate white elephant gift and you have a meltdown over not getting chocolate… lol!)
I love reading about experiences and people I haven’t met or experienced. Of course, I still hope to experience new things and travel to new places and meet new people. Like Benjamin Franklin says, “Either write things worth the reading or do things worth the writing.” 😉
Here’s a list of my favorite books! I definitely recommend them all!
Interrupted by Rachel Coker
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield
Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards
The Family Tree series by Ann M. Martin
A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin
A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
Penny From Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Countdown by Deborah Wiles
Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
The Mother/Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
The Candy Makers by Wendy Mass
The Fences Between Us by Kirby Larson
Faith, Hope, & Ivy June by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Hi, guys! News flash: I am broke. Really broke. Like, I-barely-have-50-cents-in-my-wallet-right-now-broke. And to top it off, I don’t have any books to read! (This does not include school required reading. I’m talking about fun books here, hello?! (Hahaha, just kidding! …)) So I was wondering: how in the world am I going to survive on an average $7 book per week when I barely make $10 a week?
So I searched “cheap books” in Google and LOOK WHAT GLORIOUS THING POPPED UP!
In case you can’t tell, in my shopping cart on thriftbooks.com, I have THREE BOOKS for a grand total of $10.70. Now, now, because I am a smart Emily and you are a smart person (you’re reading my blog, so of course that makes you smart), I know you’re thinking, “Oh, Emily, but you’re ordering the books online! What about shipping, silly goose?” And my smug, glorious, wonderful answer?
Shipping is free! Yep, you read that right. Do not second guess yourself, dear blog reader.
Never again shall I buy a new book from Barnes & Noble. (Weeeell… do not hold me accountable for that, okay? New books are nice. They smell good.) Thriftbooks.com has saved me.
The library is nice, too, but I personally love building my own library – on a book shelf, not a Kindle Fire.
What about you guys? How do you buy/read your books?
Hi, everybody! Today, Daisy over at Estrella’s Trendy Teen tagged me in The Christmas Tag!
Pretty fun stuff.
Of course, I couldn’t say no, now could I? Christmas is the best time of the year! It’s my savior’s birthday! (and the presents don’t hurt, either… hehehe.) So, thanks a million, Daisy!
And now… the rules.
Post the picture on your blog. (Check.)
Answer the questions.
Tag up to 12 bloggers.
Make up questions for the bloggers to answer!
Alrighty… these are the questions that Daisy came up with, and I will now answer:
1. What is your favorite Christmas tradition?
Every year, a few weeks before Christmas, my mom and dad host a “greens party.” My grandma started doing hers several years back with my great-aunt, and it wasn’t long before my mom started doing her own. Basically, my parents begin collecting greenery and stacking them in piles in our yard. On the day of, we set tables and clippers and baskets and such out in our driveway and invite all of our friends and friends of friends over to make wreaths and greenery arrangements! We have soup and yummy treats inside and the kids run around and play. It’s a blast! =)
2. What is the best holiday memory?
I remember one memory that always makes me bust out laughing! About two or three Christmases ago, when my cousin Sawyer was two or three, my whole family was sitting in our living room while we all took turns opening presents. When it was Sawyer’s turn, he tore open the wrapping paper and said… “I got a box!” He was tickled pink! Of course, he was even more excited when we opened the box and he got a train set!
3. If you could give one present to someone less fortunate what would you give or do for them?
Oh, tough one. I guess it depends what sort of situation the person is in. Every Christmas, my family helps a family in need or buys Christmas presents for some kids who live nearby. My old elementary school has a “dolphin tree” (the mascot is dolphins =) ), and my family still gets a dolphin to buy presents for the kids in the school, even though my sister and I don’t go there anymore. If I knew of someone who needed help, I’d try to do whatever was in my power to do for them.
4. What is your Favorite Holiday Song?
I love “Mary, Did You Know” and the Glee version of “Up on the Rooftop.”
5. What was the best present you ever received?
Oh, now this is a tough one! =) I’ve always been so blessed every year with everything I want (and more), but I can think of several big presents I’ve gotten over the years… a cell phone, a tablet, a bike, several American Girl dolls, a “cottage play house” … and so many more.
6. Do you decorate your house for the holidays? How about your room?
Oh, absolutely!! Our living room has a really high ceiling, so my family always puts up a ten-foot-tall tree and deck it out in our ornaments. I always love going through the homemade ornaments! My mom hangs mistletoe, we have stockings, and Christmasy-smelling candles, and snowmen figurines, and Santa pictures everywhere… my sister and I put mini Christmas trees in our room and I hang up pictures from past years in my bedroom.
7. Favorite Christmas Movie?
ELF! Is that even a question?
8. Do you stay at home for Christmas day or does your family go out to parties?
WELL. On the 23rd, my family and I go to my grandparents’ house a few hours away for a family get together at some distant cousins’ house, and cousins and distant, distant cousins and great-aunts and all of my extended family on my dad’s side gets together. My sister and I also get our presents from my grandma and grandpop and aunt. Then on the 25th, my cousins and grandparents on my mom’s side and some close family friends and sometimes my cousin’s grandparents come over in the afternoon. Somehow, we always end up having quite a group. This year will be a little different, though, because my cousins are going to Minnesota for Christmas. So my parents were thinking we could go see a movie in the afternoon or invite some friends to hang out!
9. What was your most embarrassing gift?
Hmmm… I don’t usually get embarrassing gifts. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten underwear! 😛 When I was younger, however, I hated getting clothes! 😉 (It’s definitely different now, haha!)
10. Post your favorite Christmas Gif. or picture!
Here is a picture of my cousin (and best friend =) ), taken today, actually:
See our matching sweaters? Jealous? 😉 I also worked some of my magic and curled both of our hair…
(My other cousin caught that one!) Just thought I’d share those two with you 😉
Now, are ya’ll ready for the bloggers I’m going to tag? I nominate Ana @ Butterflies of the Imagination, Cait @ Paper Fury (previously at Notebook Sisters!), and Rachel. =) (Sorry, I couldn’t reach 12! On a side note, any blogs you guys reccommend reading?)
Go check out those lovely ladies’ blogs! You sure won’t regret it!
Here are the questions for the three bloggers I tagged:
What is your favorite Christmas treat?
Are there any special traditions that your family has to celebrate Christmas?
What’s on your Christmas list this year?
Favorite Christmas carol?
How do you normally celebrate Christmas?
Do you enjoy getting presents for your friends and family? Do you buy your gifts or go the homemade route?
What is your favorite Christmas movie?
Do you decorate your house for Christmas?
Is it cold where you live? Have you ever had a white Christmas? =)
What is something nice someone has done for you around Christmas that made you smile?
So those are the questions! I hope that the bloggers I tagged can join in! =)
Merry Christmas!
xoxo,
Oh, and one more thing! I joined Pinterest! Maybe you can check me out! (I’m kind of obsessed…) =)
Do you take books with you on vacations, little bloglings? I should hope so. There is nothing like relaxation while reading a good book.
Today, every person reading this post shall receive, quite possibly, the most IMPORTANT vacationing advice: never the leave the house without at least one book. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve freaked because I’ve walked out of the house without a book, and that’s when I’m going to run a few errands with my mom. Imagine the horror, the longing, the frustration, of leaving the house for days on end without a book.
SO, bloglings, I tell you now: the first thing on that packing list when you go on vacation should always be BOOKS.
Today I will be talking about the books I’m taking with me on my vacation this coming week…
LOOK AT IT, BLOGLINGS! BREATHE IN THE AWESOMENESS. Today I bought Heather Vogel Frederick’s Absolutely Truly, which I’ve been DYING to read since, like, Tuesday, when Heather celebrated its wonderful little book birthday on her blog. That’s almost one whole week, peoples. Seriously.
My mom told me I couldn’t read it until Wednesday, however, when we leave for Florida, since I’m already reading one book. ARGH. I have to wait a whole day, with it sitting on my desk, calling my name… read me, Emily, read me. And there it will sit in its glory, the magnificent book smells of it wafting to my nose… the gorgeous cover waiting to be opened… *sigh.* Good thing I’ll have eight whole hours to eat it up!
Look at this one! It’s so cute and it smells awesome. I bought it in August at a book sale in South Carolina, and this little gem’s been waiting to be opened for, well, practically forever. The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet is anything but a tragedy. I’m eating it up! I’m half way through in one day! It smells so good! It’s hilarious!
I LOVE IT! I don’t know why I waited since August to read it. It’s adorable – and I can totally relate to Hamlet. (Honestly, Hamlet’s a pretty cute name. I might consider it for my kid one day if they didn’t get made of for it!)
And now, dear bloglings, BEHOLD. My first free book from a fantastic author who sent it to me for FREE. It’s called “Countryside: The Book of the Wise.” (I know, intriguing name!) The author, J.T. Cope IV, emailed me and everything, and it was all professional and business-like and it was FREE. I’ve been reading it to my sister and basking in the incredibleness that I got a FREE book from an author. For FREE. But other than the fact that it was a free (did I mention that already?), hard-back copy of a signed book, it is a pretty great one. I haven’t gotten very far into it, but I’m loving it so far. It’s so mysterious, and my sister keeps begging me to read more to her. (It takes a lot to convince my sister to read a book she didn’t pick up on her own.) I can’t wait to post my review, because I realllllyyy like it!
So those are the books I’m taking with me on vacation! Oh, and for those of you wondering, I’m going to Florida to visit my Aunt Tina first, and then my family and I are going on a Disney cruise! WHOOOO-HOO! We’ve been waiting since January, and the date’s crept upon us soooo fast. I won’t have internet access on the cruise (I’ll be in the middle of the ocean, heelllooo), so I won’t be posting for quite a while. However, once I get back, be prepared for lots of pictures and gushing and just… awesomeness, probably not related to books. (Thought it’s verrry likely I’ll get my hands on one and bring more than three back with me!) Until then, bloglings!
Hello, all! Today I decided (completely on a whim), to talk about my favorite author: Heather Vogel Frederick.
She’s a timeless favorite, really. I read her Mother/Daughter book Club series when I was ten (Three years ago, when her characters, two years older than me, was such a leap, and they were so grown-up. 😉 ) , and her book Once Upon a Toad last year. I’ve loved her from the beginning – and one of the biggest things that made me adore her is that she treasures her readers.
Sometime last year, I sent her a letter, hoping for a response but not expecting one. Such an incredible author like herself could never have time to answer little nobody-big-dreamer me! But, lo and behold, months later, having forgotten the letter completely, I got a letter in the mail from Miss Frederick! (With two signed book marks that I have laminated so as not to get them bent!)
Her books are the sort I’d like to write someday. They make me feel happy all over. They’re realistic, and relatable. (Which I know is such a cliche reason for liking a book, but it’s so true.) Her girls are just like any other middle-school-age, teenage girl. The reason why? They’re real. Heather based the girls on herself, and young girls going through some of the same things Emma, Jess, Cassidy, Megan, and Becca go through.
I love her because Heather is authentic, and genuine to her readers, her girls all over the world who read her books.
Happy belated book birthday to Heather, and many more! (Seriously, many, many more!) =)
Mine is going GREAT, particularly because I’m so crazy excited about a current story I’m working on for National Novel Writing Month. I’m in love with the characters, I’m in love with the plot… everything about it. I was sitting here writing this scene where one girl is crying because she and one of her best friends are drifting apart, and I’m trying my darned hardest not to pound the keyboard in tears myself.
WHY ARE MY CHARACTERS SO MEAN TO EACH OTHER?! Don’t ask me. They have a mind of their own.
… Meanwhile, my family is cracking each other up while they play board games. (I played a round of Clue with them and WON! That almost NEVER happens! 😀 ) And since I’m roughly 1,000 words ahead of my word count goal for the day, I decided to share a small excerpt from my NaNoWriMo novel with you. Enjoy! (By the way: I’ve tentatively named my main character ‘Allie,’ though I’ll probably change it later.)
For the whole duration of the service, as Pastor Paul droned on, I thought about Pippa and Stacey, and what was wrong with Stacey. Something was definitely up. I knew it wasn’t my business to go poking around, but I couldn’t help but wonder.
“And Jesus said to the crows, ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted…’” Pastor Paul read from the pulpit, and my ears perked up at what he read. “‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
Meek. I made a mental note to look the word up after the service. “‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.’” Righteousness. Do I hunger and thirst for righteousness? Do I want to be filled? Several minutes later, the pastor was ending the service in prayer and dad and I stood.
Making our way out the door, dad stopping to chit-chat with people along the way, I thought about what the pastor had been reading; being hungry for righteousness and comforted when you mourn. The words rang in my ear. Mom hungered for righteousness everyday. She talked about God all the time. Talked to God.
I knew there had to be a God; my mom wasn’t crazy, but she was definitely crazy about God. Even dad, over the years, had begun to love God and read his word. I’d learned about the bible for years now, but it always went in one ear and out the other.
There just had to be something more.
So that was that! I don’t have a set-in-stone synopsis yet, but I’ll tell you more as I get deeper into the story. =) I hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you all think! Are any of you participating in NaNoWriMo? What’s your novel like?
Oh, and if you are, add me on the Young Writer’s Program for NaNoWriMo here. =)
