I know, I’ve been away for quite a while. Last week was a blast though. My cousin and I (we’re five months apart, so we’re super close. I am the older one. She likes to act like she is, though. Just kidding!) went to youth camp together – our fifth year in a row! It was awesome. Our camp counselors were awesome, our cabin was awesome, the church service every night was awesome… phone service was horrible. Three bars was, like, a miracle. Thus, not being able to post last week.
I didn’t get to read a whole lot either! (Noooo…) I need to go to the library… SOON. I brought the book I bought last weekend, The Lucy Variations, with me and barely made it through three chapters. (I know. How can I dare call myself a bookish person? That’s just sad.) I did read some, every chance I got. This one girl in my cabin goes, “OMG. You’re reading a book?” She was like…
“This isn’t a touch screen. Where are your apps?!”
Then… yesterday afternoon… we went to a local farm my dad built a website for to get some milk and such, and… they had a litter of four kittens!!! (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) They’ve been there for a while – in fact, Mrs. Hammond said they were born late at night on Easter! How sweet is that?! And, since my mom can’t say no to the lip from my sister, and the pleading eyes from me and my dad… we got a kitten!!!!!!!!!!
We named her Maisy. Well, my mom named her Maisy. Since she was on the fence and my sister and dad and I fell in love with all four of her and her brothers and sister, she had the final say. So now we have Mittens, our big orange fur ball, and Maisy, our tiny gray fur ball. I am soooo happy. Tomorrow my little sister is off to youth camp so I get the new tiny little fur ball all to myself next week =)
Until tomorrow! I’m going to post a review I’ve had in my drafts for a while now… in the meantime, I’ll be working hard on some fun posts for the upcoming week and making my way through The Lucy Variations. Let me know in the comments how your week has been so far! Ciao! (Or should I say, meow!) Time to feed my kitty. Bye!
Skylar over at Life of a Random has nominated for a Liebster award! Thank youuu!! (My second one in only two months of blogging. Two months! Can you believe it?! It seems longer than that…) Liebster awards are always so fun, I love doing them and I love reading them. Plus Skylar’s questions are awesome. And I get to nominate nine of you fabulous bloggers myself. SO LET’S PARTY CAUSE WE BLOGGERS ARE FABU. Seriously. Where’s the cake?
But fiiirrssst…. the rules.
Soooo, first, I must list 11 facts about myself. Okaaayy, let’s see…
I don’t like sea food.
I was born on 9/11
My favorite season is Autumn
I sniff books. All. The. Time.
I am *slightly* obsessed with Taylor Swift
My new favorite food is frozen yogurt. (cake batter kind with cookie dough and strawberries)
I really began blogging at 8 years old, and it was kind of a personal blog (with my last name and location and basically I just blogged talking about myself and what I ate for lunch).
I loooove cats. I have an orange cat named Mittens who likes to sleep like this….
My favorite cereal is Cheerios. Except my family eats mostly all organic foods and we love going to our Farmer’s Market so I eat
Cascadian Farm Organic Whole Grain Oat and Barley cereal.
My phone case is a teal color with little white turtles all over it. My friends named one of them Timmy (underneath my camera) and one Headless (because he’s on the very edge and has no head.) Sometimes I remember to say hello to them, Timmy and Headless. Good turtles.
I want to visit Bath, England one day because it’s where Jane Austen grew up.
And noooowww for Skylar’s 11 (awesome) questions!
1. How did you come up with your blog’s name? Funny story (:D) I was coming up with names for my future bookstore (which will, as a fact, be awesome), and I thought about creating a book blog. Inevitably, one of the names for my bookstore was For the Bookish, and I loved the name for a “bookish” blog. 2. Given the choice between having blue hair forever or a dragon tattoo on your arm forever (duh), which would you choose? Dragon tattoo. I really love my hair. It’s a pretty auburnish-brown color with natural blonde and red highlights that really come out in the summer… plus, if you really needed to, you can cover the tattoo up with shirt sleeves or like, a band-aid or something. 3. Do you like reading book blogs or watching booktuber videos better? Book blogs. Booktuber videos, in my opinion, tend to get cut really short and clipped, and they’re never as fun or sarcastic, I think, and you can’t include GIF’s and it’s kind of odd (again, this is just me), to see someone and hear their voice. I mean, I’ve had the opportunity to skype with people I’ve met on the internet, but I really love getting to know someone first (via their blog!) and then seeing them and making up your mind about them. 4. Do you have a bucket list? Yes! I want to visit Bath, England, and have a food fight! 5. I couldn’t live without my computer…or books, obviously. BUT, excluding your computer, books, and cellphone/phone (you know, the essentials), what is one thing you couldn’t live without? Excluding books? … tough one. But I’d have to say my family. (And my cat.) They’re always there for me, and no matter how much they get on my nerves (including my cat. He’s very whiny), I love them. And my parents pay for my computer usage, *some* of my books, and my cellphone and everything else, sooo. Yeah, without them, I wouldn’t have any of the other stuff I can’t live without. 6. What’s your least favorite food? Sea food! Tuna! Fish! Blech. (Except Salmon, by the way. I can deal with Salmon.) 7. Do you make up new endings in your head for books or movies that stunk because they were so sad? YESSSS! Miss Potter and Becoming Jane are two of the worst. Mostly, what makes them the worst, though, it that THEY’RE TRUE. Miss Potter is the true story of Beatrix Potter and Becoming Jane is Jane Austen. (The WORST love stories.) 8. What does your handwriting look like? Picture, please. Well, I said please. Okaaayyy…
Here it is!
9. What do you want to accomplish in five years? (Like major goals, etc.) In five years, I hope to have graduated high school a year early. I want to get college credits and get a degree in Library Science and English Literature. I also want to have been on a missionary trip to another country to spread God’s love! 10. Hardcover or paperback? Hardcover. Is that a trick question? 11. What is your favorite sound? Thunderstorms. And also bacon sizzling…
Phew! That took a while. But look – all nine! I did it! 😀
Now here’s the 11 questions each blogger I nominated must answer…
Do you have a pet? What’s your favorite animal?
Have a favorite childhood book?
Favorite pastime, besides reading or writing?
Favorite color? Would you die your hair this color for a million bucks?
Is there a song that could be the soundtrack to your life?
Could I see a picture of your handwriting?
What is your favorite social media site? (Links, please?)
What is your favorite word?
What’s your favorite food? Do you like ice cream??
Have you ever read a book you absolutely hate?
What are a couple of your major life goals?
So that’s that!! I hope you wonderful bloggers I nominated can participate in making a post, I can’t wait to read your answers! Thanks again, Skylar, for nominating me! I had a ton of fun with this. Until next time!
Stacking the Shelves in a book meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. It’s all about sharing the books you’ve read/gotten this week, virtual or physical. This week, I read two historical fictions (both I loved!) and two YA Contemporary that have been on my TBR for awhile. Actually, yesterday – Friday – I posted this thinking it was Saturday!! I was slightly confuzzled… I couldn’t find any other bloggers’ STS. Then I looked at my calendar and remembered it was Friday. Silly me! 😀
The first one I read, Sarah’s Key, by Tatiana De Rosnay,was… incredible. It made me cry more than once. I was really impressed with it =) The Red Umbrella, by Christina Diaz Gonzales, was okay. It was MG, which is fantastic, but I thought the the plot and conclusion was kind of cut short. It could have gone on a bit longer, in my opinion, but I still enjoyed it.
I’m currently reading To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, by Jenny Han, (on my Kindle) and I’ll be honest, it wasn’t at all what I had expected it to be. But I really like it thus far =) I also bought The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr yesterday morning, and I’m going to take it with me to summer camp next week, after I finish the one I’m currently reading.
So, on a random note, when my mom and I went to Barnes & Noble Friday morning, we also stopped at Starbucks!! I’ve recently discovered the Starbucks Secret Menu, and decided to try the cotton candy frappuccino – which is a Vanilla Bean frap with rasberry syrup. I just showed the barista the recipe on my phone and she said “Oh, sure!” I was slightly surprised at how easy it was to order it – but it was delicious!! Next time I want to try the cookie dough kind…
Until tomorrow! I’m going to be making a post and nominating some fabulous bloggers for my second Liebster award =)
Blurb: Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family’s apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France’s past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl’s ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d’Hiv’, to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah’s past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.
Even if I disliked this book, I’d still hate to criticize it because the story is so beautiful. Basically, it’s a story inside a story – the main story follows Julia Jarmond, an American who lived half her life in Paris, married to a husband she begins to question her love for. But then, after doing an article for the magazine she works for on the Vel D’Hiv roundup in July 1942, she finds a connection to a Sarah Starynzki, and she starts piecing Sarah’s untold story together.
Sarah’s story… it was really hard to… I don’t know, process. Digest. That this kind of thing, this story, this history, is real. It REALLY happened, and just because she was a Jew, a little girl like Sarah and thousands of other children were sent to hot, bare, dirt-floor sheds with no food or water to suffer for days and then to gas chambers. To die. For no reason at all. And, the thought that scared me the most as I read this – who’s to say history can’t repeat itself?
Going back to Julia, the main character’s story, her passion for finding the missing links to Sarah’s escape and life after the war, is so touching. Despite marriage problems, her 11-year-old daughter, a child she doesn’t want to “get rid of” but her husband does… she completely devotes all of her time, all of her little energy, to finding Sarah’s family and helping her father-in-law, who plays a small role in Sarah’s life as well, find a sense of closure Sarah herself never had. It’s so beautiful.
And this was a really sad, depressing book (My mom says I read too many sad books!) I mean, seriously, I hadn’t even anticipated how deep and depressing it would be – and it’s a WWII story, I normally do prepare myself for the worst.
But, really, this was an incredible story. I highly recommend it…. and I can’t wait to see the movie!
You read that right. I have nothing. I know my side widget (okay, I officially love that word. Widgets), says “Currently Reading…” Paper Towns by John Green, but, um…. confession: I only have the sample on my Kindle. And I haven’t even finished the sample.
Pooh Bear has an excellent question. If we could do that, I WOULDN’T HAVE TO BUY ANY MORE BOOKS. BUT. I just came to a realization while typing my mini-capitalized-rant. NEVER FEAR! The library is near.
Yep. Arthur and Pooh. I really like children cartoons. Wait… Pooh was a book first. Was Arthur a book first? OMG! I just googled it and I feel horrible…. Arthur was a book first. Because if my books were turned into cartoons, I would be so angry if someone couldn’t remember if my characters were a book series or a TV show first. Now I feel really bad.
Anyway… I tend to rabbit trail here… but seriously, I have no books. I finished Sarah’s Key and The Red Umbrella recently, and have yet to post their reviews. I meant to post reviews for The Elite and The One by Kiera Cass, but I haven’t even written those. Plus I’m going to a summer camp Monday and won’t get home until Friday, and even though I’m bringing a book with me, I really don’t get a lot of reading time.
WHAT AM I GOING TO DO????
Maybe I should get some sleep. Yeah, sleep is always good. I’ll just get my mom to drive me to the library… WAIT. I FORGOT TO PUT MY BOOK ON HOLD.
Guilty as charged, I’ve abandoned blogging for several days. (I feel so bad!) I had to miss yesterday’s TTT because my day was so busy and exhausting, by the time I thought about it I was too tired to even look at a screen. Monday my mom and I were out all day long, and Sunday my family decided to have no electronic devices or computers or TVs or anything of the sort, and we just enjoyed the day together.
(We really did have fun :))
Sooo, I figured it would be a fun day to have a bookish quiz! It’s all about the type of reader you are, and my results were pretty accurate. Share your results below and go here to take the quiz.
My Results Were… “The All-Rounder”
Involved Reader: You don’t just love to read books, you love to read about books. For you, half the fun of reading is the thrill of the chase – discovering new books and authors, and discussing your finds with others. Exacting Reader: You love books but you rarely have as much time to read as you’d like – so you’re very particular about the books you choose. Serial Reader: Once you discover a favorite writer you tend to stick with him/her through thick and thin. Eclectic Reader: You read for entertainment but also to expand your mind. You’re open to new ideas and new writers, and are not wedded to a particular genre or limited range of authors.
No Stacking the Shelves today, since… I pretty much covered the books I’ve read this week (all of the books in The Selection series and still making my way through Sara’s Key. That one’s gonna take me a while. Meep.) Instead, I’m linking up with Sky @ Further Up and Further In and Cait @ Notebook Sisters for the Beautiful People meme. The meme is designed to help writers learn more about their characters. The hosts will give you ten questions to answer on my blog every fifth of the month and the meme is open all month. I, for one, definitely need to get to know my characters. (I like to skip to the writing part and totally disregard the planning part.)
SO. This month’s character is going to be Maisie, my newest character for the story (no title yet!) I’m working on for July NaNoWriMo. Without further ado… the questions! (WHOO! GO MAISIE!!) Okay, okay, that’s enough. Settle down now.
1) What is their full name and is there a story behind why they got it? Maisie Rose Reed. I wanted a classic, feminine, sweet sounding name that was still not quite as known as Emma or even Ellie, which were my first choices. Her mother is kind of… crazy. (I’ll leave it at that, lol), and so I also wanted a name that sounded kind of rough around the edges. (Similar sounding to Macy, or something, except you pronounce it with a z, not a c.) Rose is her aunt Eleanor’s name, who ends up raising her and her older sister, Carmine, and Maisie adored aunt Eleanor. Reed is so pretty, I just really fell in love with it when I discovered it. 2) How old are they, and when were they born? So, in the present day, Maisie is 25. There’s no actual year set or anything, it’s just kind of present day, but her birthday is in October. But the chapters take you back to when she was 6, then 7, 8, 9, and so on until she’s 19 and kind of shows you how she ended up with her aunt and then her best friend, Zander, ends up falling in love with her, they get in a fight, break up when she’s 19 and never see each other again. (Something like that, okay? I’m still working out the kinks.) So yeah. In present day, she’s 25. 3) Describe their physical appearance. (Bonus questions: 1. What is their race/nationality/ethnicity? 2. Do you have a picture of them? If so, include it!) I imagine Maisie to have dark brown hair and blue eyes. I imagine her to have some Mexican roots on her father’s side (her father never makes an appearance in the book, but she does have some fatherly influences), but it’s not really said much in the book. I tried to find the best picture possible for Maisie, but this is pretty darn close: 4) Describe your character’s personality first in one word, and then elaborate with a few sentences. Strong. Very strong. Not like, the muscular type (I hope you didn’t assume that, lol), but very strong in the way that in the beginning of the book, she loses her aunt Eleanor, her mother pretty much left her on her aunt’s doorstep when she was six, and she lost her best friend and first love. Plus she and her older sister are growing apart, and that kind of makes her sad, especially because she still loves her nieces. She carries a lot on her shoulders, but she keeps going and works hard in school and at work and everywhere else. 5) What theme song(s) fit their personality and story arc? (Do you want to reword that or does that work? I’m not sure…) Probably All Too Well by Taylor Swift (it actually kind of makes me cry because it reminds me so much of Maisie’s story), and Strongerby Kelly Clarkson. 6) Which one of the seven deadly sins describes your character? Pride. 7) If they were an element (fire, water, earth, air), which one would they be? Air. 8) What is their favourite word? Hmmm… tough one. Get back to you on that one? 9) Who’s one person they really miss? (It could be someone who’s passed away, or someone they’re not close to anymore, or someone who’s moved away.) Her aunt Eleanor. And, at first, when she was younger, her mother. (She eventually lets go.) 10) What sights, sounds, and smells remind them of that person? Well, for her aunt Eleanor, the sweet perfume, Crimson Plum, she wore. And chocolate malt milkshakes. With a cherry on top.
Blurb: For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks. Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself—and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.
Okay, so can I just say WOW?!! WOW. W-o-w wow. It’s weird, too, because when I was looking at getting it and looked at the reviews on Amazon and GoodReads and such, the reviews were all anywhere between 1 star and 5 stars. (Whaaaat?) I guess this book is for some people and not for others, but it was definitely for me.
Okay, so first thing’s first: I really connected to the characters.
Aren’t America and Maxon gorgeous?! At first, I was all for America and her childhood first love, Aspen Leger. But then when he gave up on her, I was like blech. Then I noticed his name sounded a lot like Aspirin. I was pretty much a full-fledged Maxon + America shipper since the beginning. (No spoilers here, though, promise!) Aspen eventually came around too, and I was kind of mad at him because he kept ruining America’s feelings and making her doubt how much Maxon really liked her. On the surface, all of the characters seemed shallow and cliche, but then they went a lot deeper than I expected for this type of book. Two thumbs up, and three if I had an extra!
More than the love story (which is, of course, the main thing going on in the book), was the relationships of the girls competing to be the next queen of Illea. (And wife to Prince Maxon.) Some of the girls I clicked with, especially with Marlee, America’s closest friend. But most of the time I was just like…
By the end of the book, I was like “NOOO IT CAN’T END NOW I HAVE TO PAY FOR THE NEXT BOOK!!!” But of course, I did. I had to know what was to happen next. Writing this AFTER I’ve read the entire series is hard, too, but I truly did adore this series. However it had ended, I probably would have been happy. I LOVED it though. The next two reviews on the next books will go more into detail, but I just… I loved this book. Loved it.
So if you’re looking for a book to throw across the room, this is the one. No, not because it’s a horrible book. In fact, Second Chance Summer is a really great, light summer read. It still made me sob and angry because sometimes characters can be so stupid. (Just saying!) But I loved it!
The first thing I loved is how Morgan Matson tells the story – why Taylor, the MC, didn’t want to return to Lake Phoenix in the first place – by going back a little at a time in between chapters to when she was 12, and what happened between her and her best friends, and why she didn’t go back for five years. I kept wanting to read more chapters about when she was 12 so I could figure out what horrible things she did that made her closest friends, Henry and Lucy, hate her so much.
Then, once that semi-problem was solved, there was her dad. The whole reasons she and her family returned to Lake Phoenix was to spend their last summer with her dad, who had Stage 4 Cancer. The whole book I kept getting know her dad, and I loved him. His puns, his understanding ways, and when he takes Taylor out for ice cream behind her mom’s back. I loved the way he loved his work and was dedicated to work, but still made time for each of his kids. In fact, he reminded me of my own dad. (Who made time with me by helping set up this blog. Points for dad!)
I liked how the setting was generally around the same place, and how everything sort of clicked back into place in the end. Taylor learns even with obstacles she must face and her biggest fears becoming real, you have to face them headstrong and not run away from them. The whole premise of the book was a very clear message and intriguing plot. I loved it!
So this was a great summer read! (Even though I went through half a roll of toilet paper. We were out of tissues.) You’ve been warned: “light” summer reads doesn’t mean they can make you cry… but go read it, okay? Seriously! I LOVED IT. Okay now stop reading this. Go pick up that book. Now.
Top Ten Tuesday is a book meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s prompt is about books that will be in my beach bag this summer or books that should be in one’s beach bag this summer. This is just sort of a mix of books that should be in your beach bag and books that will most definitely be in my mine. I had a tough time deciding for this one!
#1: The Selection series by Keira Cass.
I haven’t even finished the first book and I love this series! These books will definitely be in my beach bag this summer! (EDIT: I wrote this post before I finished the series. But ohhhh cheese. Just. Don’t get me started, okay?)
#2: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
I think I already gave you an ear full over how much I loved this book in Stacking the Shelves Saturday, but seriously – best book ever!! I can’t wait to post my review for it on Wednesday =)
#3: This Star Won’t Go Out
I really want to get this one; I kind of looked through part of it at Barnes & Noble the other day, and I definitely will be adding it to my beach bag.
#4: Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout
So first off, the cover is just gorgeous, and really beautiful. So is the blurb, and I really think this will be an awesome read! Hopefully this will also be in my beach bag this summer!
#5: Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay
The cover is… incredible, the blurb made me want to cry… I have this book sitting on my bookshelves, waiting to be read! I will definitely be reading it before I even have a chance to put it in my beach bag.
#6: Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor
I’ve wanted to read this one for a very long time, so I really want it to be in my beach bag. I hope I’ll get a chance to read it soon!!
#7: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Yeah, okay, my first Rainbow Rowell experience wasn’t all that great. But I’m willing to give second chances! And I’ve heard great things about this one from several of my good friends. Going in my beach bag.
#8: The Minnow by Diana Sweeney
Okay, so really, the cover is what first caught my eye. But LOOK AT IT. It’s so fabulous!! Plus I’ve read many reviews on it, and it sounds interesting. Too bad I can only find the Kindle Edition. (Well, Kindle, looks like you’re going in my beach bag, too.)
#9: The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson.
I read this last summer and loved it! It kind of gives you a medieval times romance type feel, and it’s a really fun summer read. You should really consider adding this to your beach bag!
#10: Paper Towns by John Green.
Definitely. Just… I have no words. I just really want it in my beach bag since I got so many raving recommendations from several of my best friends =)
This was a fun TTT =) Tomorrow I’ll be posting my review for Second Chance Summer, so until then!
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