Pixie's Bookish Resolutions for 2015

Hello! 

As you all know, 2015 is fast approaching. Was it just me or did this year go by a lot faster than it ever has before? Maybe it's because I had such an insanely busy year, I don't know, but I really hope that things are a bit slower for not just myself, but others as well, in the coming new year. I'm sure we could all use the time to slow down just a tad, right? :) 

This week, I wanted to change things up and post a Bookish Resolutions list for myself before the rest of the year slipped on by instead of doing a Top Ten Tuesday post. I was going to wait until next week to put this post up, but after checking on the topic for TTT, I wasn't too interested so I decided to go on and put this post up now. I also happened to notice that one of the TTT topics is also a Resolutions post, and I'd had no idea until hopping over there earlier-- but still, I feel the necessity in linking back to The Broke and the Bookish before I get into my own post anyway. 

So, what are Bookish Resolutions? Well, we all know what New Years' Resolutions are, right? They are exactly that, except in relation to books and blogging. Simple enough. I'm not really a big believer of resolutions in general. They get broken so often. I haven't made any proper ones in years. But I guess I will try to go for them this year and see how well it turns out. 

(They must be laughing at my attempt of making resolutions for the coming year. They're not that hard to keep. Geesh. I can do it! Haha!)

* My biggest bookish resolution for the 2015 year is to blog more. --

2014 was a hard year for me keeping track of everything--writing, reading, blogging. I fell into some rough slumps with all of them. I was late on a book release. My writing was off. A reading slump had me in a funk and caused me to have the worst reading year ever (I barely hit twenty-five books this year) and this depressed me deeply. I didn’t want to do much blogging because I was ashamed, and quite frankly, didn’t have much to put up because of the slump. 

With all that whiney mess out of the way, the good news is I feel myself already changing for the better. My slump has slowly gone away already with a few good reads--and the desire to read again--and all I want to do is get back into the swing of things. So yes, the most important resolution for 2015 is to build myself back up and blog more. Some of you may not remember, but there was a time when I once blogged several times a week before this bad year struck, and I’d like to see myself get to a point of that again I hope. I want to love my passions again properly.

* Read the older, unread books on my shelf. --

I have a fairly large TBR shelf. Who doesn’t, right? But I think it’s time to stop ignoring the many books that have been sitting on my shelf for quite some time, either gifted to me or bought because I’d really wanted them to begin with anyway, and read them as I’d intended. I’m going to reserve a month in 2015 to read them. A special “knock out those TBRs” month. I’m pretty sure I won’t get to them all in one month, but it would give me time to take care of a lot of them. 

* Participate in more challenges/read-a-thons --

I loved doing these anytime I could. I hope to be able to get around to doing more this year. 

* Read more genres/categories I don’t normally read --

Mostly I would like to pick up more MG and more Adult Fiction (sometimes this would include erotica, but when I say ‘adult’ it does NOT mean always sexy times.) 

* Only request ARCs I know I really want and will read/review --

I’ve made mistakes in the past before and would take on too many ARCs, which then caused too much pressure on me. I would still read/review them, but it became exhausting and chore-like after a period of time. I’d end up with a good portion of dislikes, too. I don’t want to take this process anymore. I don’t, either. But this is going to be a continued  resolution to remind myself I can’t let myself take on more than I can handle. 

* Get to know other bloggers/Get social --

I’m already pretty social on Twitter (I hope?), but I’m always up for chatting and getting to know other bloggers anytime. I’m horrible at commenting sometimes I know and I plan on working to make that a bit better for 2015. 

* Read some of the great classics I should have already read by now --

I turned thirty back in September. There’s that whole “books you should read by the time you’re thirty” thing, and I know I haven’t exactly, so I’m going to start getting to some of those. Maybe I’ll have them read by the time I’m thirty-one at least.

* Watch and compare more book adaptations --

If I Stay, The Maze Runner, Horns, The Giver, etc.. There are actually many books I haven’t read that have movie adaptations (and I haven’t seen the movie either) or instances where I’ve read the book and haven’t seen the movie or vice versa and would love to take the time out for both. I like to look at the movies with a different viewpoint, but it would be fun either way to sit and do a comparison review once a month or something. 

* Get to at least one or two book signings in 2015 --

Living out in the middle of nowhere makes it incredibly hard. If it hadn’t been for BEA earlier this year, I still wouldn’t have been to any yet. This was my first year ever meeting any of my favorite authors and going to signings. It was EXCITING! I’ve made it my life mission to constantly check on schedules for particular authors, even if it means a bit of a drive and stay in a hotel or something, so that I can get around to some more meet and greets over the coming years. This year I’m really really really hoping to get the chance to meet Stephen King-- which is a life-long dream in general. This isn’t just a resolution, but part of the bucket list. So keeping fingers crossed he’ll make a stop somewhere, sometime. 

* No more excuses for not reading everyday! --

I will always make it a point to set aside a time to read at the very least 25 pages from a book every single day so that I can say I’m reading something. Even if it’s that minimal page count, it’ll count for something, though of course if I’m enjoying the book I’m sure I’ll read much more than that. 

* I plan to read no less than 70 books in 2015 --

This is important to me. 2014 was so shitty to me as far as reading that I feel like I have a lot of making up to do in 2015. I only read 25 books this year. That is barely a quarter of what I normally read each year in the last decade. So I’m buckling down in 2015 and making myself a promise: No less than 70. My goal is at least a hundred. But I’ll be okay if I don’t get there, as long as I make it to my intended seventy mark to make up for this year’s horrid number. Lol. 


And these are my bookish resolutions for 2015! 
Do you have any? 

Don't forget this will run as a Top Ten Tuesday topic as well later this month, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

ARC Review & Discussion: The Darkest Part of the Forest (Read-A-Long)

Title: The Darkest Part of the Forest
Author: Holly Black
Category/Genre: YA, Contemporary, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Release Date: January 13, 2015

See it at Goodreads

Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?



Lyn of Great Imaginations and I recently read The Darkest Part of the Forest and then had a fun discussion review on it! Today we are sharing our thoughts on the read, and as you can see had slightly different experiences. I always love having read-alongs like this and sharing our discussions since it gives an edge to the review process and changes the pace sometimes. :P

From my perspective, you can tell that I really loved The Darkest Part of the Forest. It was one of my favorite reads of the year, and I was so excited after finishing it. I will be highly recommending it to many!

Lyn: Alright! Pixie and I did a co-reading of Holly Black’s The Darkest Part of the Forest. Now we’re co-reviewing the book together!

Alright, Pixie! You seemed very whipped up over the book. What was your overall take of the novel?

Pixie: I was immersed into the story from the very first page! I seriously could not stop reading this book. Haha.

Lyn: I LOVED that the book started with a glass casket. That is one of my top attention-grabbers: anything that sounds like it could be ripped right out of a D&D game. Big plus there.

Pixie: Yes! There were some very easy visuals because the descriptions were amazing.

Lyn: This was my first Holly Black novel, so I was very nervous about picking up this novel, since I had no previous exposure to her writing. Is this your first HB book?

Pixie: No. I’ve been a big fan of hers for years. She was one of my first YA authors after I picked up Melissa Marr in my early twenties. :)

Lyn: How did it compare to her other books?


Pixie: DPotF had a more contemporary vibe to it. I liked that. Despite the fantasy elements, it felt as if she gave her characters (and world) a more modern approach.


Lyn: I do love some contemporary fantasy. I suppose you could label this urban fantasy.

I suppose I should come out and be honest - I wasn’t crazy over this book. I gave it three stars. :( Womp Womp. The descriptions were beautiful and I really loved the plot, but the characters were very dull and flat for me.

Pixie: LOL, don’t feel bad. I gave it four stars. I don’t think it was her best (Coldest Girl in Coldtown still wins, I’m almost sure), but I liked the story and world-building for the most part. My biggest complaint were the characters also. I felt they could have used more. Especially in the romance.

Lyn: The romance REALLY killed it for me. I am very critical when it comes to pairing, and I seemed to get side-tracked by the constant “Who does s/he like more/the best?” The whole “let’s play fantasy pairing!” issue really killed a lot of my enthusiasm. I know it sounds horrible, because I so loved the whole GLBT angle, but it just didn’t end up working for me. I wanted more fae and court life.

Pixie: Oh I agree! I almost want to say that if it were longer or more detailed in some areas to better explain some things, it’d be even better for that area. It can be difficult for stand-alones in my opinion to gain some perspective for romances. I think I could’ve done without a romance and would’ve loved the whole general story.

Lyn: I have to give props to the author for writing a stand alone. I love my series, but it seems that a multi-book series is all the rage right now. I think it would have helped if the book was longer. There was quite a bit going on for such a short page count.

Pixie: Major props to her. I’m the same way. I love stand alones. :) I always find myself going to Holly Black’s books because that’s what she writes a lot. Fantasy and stand alones. But I agree, would’ve been nice seeing more. Or maybe I’m just selfish and wanted more of that pretty writing. Lol.


Lyn: I am excited to read The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, so I have a basis of comparison. The descriptions were awesome, but the writing left something to be desired. It almost felt like this was a short story that the publishers pushed to become a novel, so the writing felt a bit forced. Maybe it was just boredom setting in, but I really didn’t feel the heart of the writer in this one, you know?

Pixie: I understand what you’re saying. I have seen her writing through the course of the years and it does come off a bit differently here. I’m excited to see what you think of Coldest Girl!

Lyn: Same here! Is there anything else we want to cover?

My take away from this is flat characters that i wanted to like in the worst way, but the plot was awesome and the description of the fae and the magic of the forest was very dazzling.

Pixie: That is almost my same take, except I think I was a bit more enchanted than you by the book. :P Other than that, I don’t think there’s really anything else I have to discuss without
putting in spoilers and I don’t want to go doing that. Lol.

Lyn: So agree!


 

Pixie's Rating: 4



 

This is my community and I love you.

Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong somewhere? That maybe you didn’t just quite fit in right? Or maybe you weren’t doing something the “right way” and you were the awkward thing sticking out like a sore thumb?

Essentially, I’ve learned that many bloggers relate to these types of feelings-- most giving this as a reason as to why they started blogging in the first place. For that release of social awkwardness… To interact with other like-minded peers… Etc…

But what if these feelings are coming at you right inside your own community? How does a blogger handle this?

(Also, I remember seeing a post once some months back about blogging cliques & interaction or something along those lines and I can’t quite remember which blog it was I saw it at now. To whomever it was, if you’re seeing this post and get back to me, I will gladly give you credit where credit is due for the inspiration to this post idea if necessary--thank you.)

This isn’t necessarily a post anything feeling clique-ish or rejected. To be fair, this is more about when a blogger has hit a hard bump in the road and is feeling discouraged. Sometimes it comes from “blogger block” or a reading slump or just simple feelings because it’s such a large community.

Here’s the thing:

I know I haven’t been as active with my blog the past few months as I once was. I don’t really want to cough out a bunch of excuses because I keep feeling like that’s all I ever give and then it just makes me feel worse. I’ve been blogging for over three years now, and it doesn’t feel that way sometimes when I look at my blog compared to the big success of others who have been around for even less time than mine. But can I put any blame on anyone other than myself? Am I jealous? Certainly not. They deserve that success for all the hard work. But I’m still not afraid to admit that it does hurt my feelings at times when I’m working on my own and it’s just… well, hardly a blip on the radar after all this time.

These last few months I’ve been in not only a reading slump, but in a writing one as well. It put me in a funk. And every time I logged on, thinking I was ready to finally blog again, I became discouraged, out-of-the-loop feeling, and just logged right back out again. There’s a pressure feeling at times when blogging, I don’t know if others would agree with that, but I’ve noticed it through the years. You have to think about schedules, upcoming releases, reviews, interviews, tons of emails, tours, etc.. and the pressure can be overwhelming. I believe I’ve felt it moreso than usual lately on myself, but the reading slump really hasn’t helped because it’s also put me far behind in reviews. As well as keeping up the blog. Then I circle back around to the discouragement all over again with the entire blog.

I became withdrawn from much of the community due to a lot of this-- stepping back from Goodreads and Twitter-- and became a bit of a hermit on my social activities, especially after BEA. When I returned, I felt awkward trying to jump in on conversations. Sometimes I would feel like I shouldn’t even bother with that again, too. Like no one was really caring if I was around or not… and I feel really ashamed to even be admitting this. These are my friends. I shouldn’t think for one second that they’d not care. But this is what happens when you get into one of these “funks” and sometimes you can’t help it. :(

This year there have been changes to The Bookaholic as well. If you haven’t been around much (partly because the blog has been so quiet throughout the year and sporadic in posts), you may not have noticed that I got a co-blogger back in January. It took us some time to work out a decent posting schedule, but I believe we are working it out now. I’m thinking by start of the year, things will be flowing properly again.

Taylor wanted to contribute to the post as well, so here’s some questions & answers from her:


　
What makes blogging so difficult at times?


I think one of the biggest struggles I have had with blogging would be TIME. Between working two jobs and all of the everyday things there are to get done, I often find myself wishing for more hours in a day. Becaus ethere are so many books I want to read and blogs I want to stalk/comment on but I seem to run out of time, and not to mention my Twitter interaction has sadly become pretty non-existent. But I'm working on getting some set time everyday to work on my blogging so I can get semi caught up. If I could sucessfully become a zombie it would actually be much easier because it would eliminate the need for sleep and free up a good 6-8 more hours everyday. Although the brain eating part would be a little bit of a downside lol.



You quit once too, but came back to join me. When you were blogging on your own, what was the hardest thing about it?


Like I mentioned before time has always been a struggle. But aside from that, when I was blogging solo I think one of the things that contributed to me taking a hiatus from the blogging world was me getting discouraged by not having as much success as I would have liked or at least me thinking I wasn't having much success. And now looking back I'm sure everyone has gone throughtthat feeling when they started blogging, and I probably could have gotten more advice if I had reached out to some other bloggers about how I was feeling but I tend to be tight lipped at times lol.



And now that you're co-blogging?



As far as co-blogging goes I don't think there's really been any hard things. I think I've still struggled a little with my time and the scheduling of posts and such. But I think I've gotten a good idea going with me making set time a few days out of the week to get my posts/half of posts typed up and scheduled and to have some time for reading. So that I can be a good asset to our blog and not make Pixie wanna stab me with a spork for not pulling my weight! lol.


And It is nice having a co-blogger now so that I have someone to bounce ideas off of and share the bulk of posting and whatnot. It does take some getting used to, because me and my ditzy brain tend to forget lol. But I do think it'll work out better than it did when I was blogging on my own.



Do you feel the blogging community is competitive?


I do think there is an element of competition between bloggers in the blogging community. Maybe not intentionally but it is there. Speaking for myself I do feel intimadated sometimes by other blogs/bloggers. But NOT by any actions of those bloggers mind you. But for the simple fact of how awesome some of these bloggers really are, I look at these blogs and I'm in awe sometimes of how great they are and how wide of a following they have. And I'll think to myself, "How can I compare to that?!?" But in all honesty I know I shouldn't compare myself to anyone else but I think we all have those times where we do and then you wonder, "Is it even worth my time?", "Will I ever been even close to as good of a blogger as they are?" But if it's something you love to do it shouldn't really turn into something that feels like a competition and I just try to remind myself of that if I'm having a down day.

　

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Taylor’s answers made me feel better. I know there are days when I feel like I have to watch the follower count or keep up with the reading/reviews or my blog will not be “as good” because the community can have a sense of competitiveness (even though I know it’s not really that intentional, in my opinion). But I have to remind myself that it’s just not that important. It’s not worth the stress.

Why am I REALLY blogging? Because reading is my passion. I want to do this because I need to share my love of reading and meet and discuss with other like-minded people. It should never get to this point of making me sad or feeling unwanted or discouraged. This is my community and I love you.

Forgotten Fridays (#2): Vampire Academy

This week I joined Forgotten Fridays with the lovely ladies of Great Imaginations!

What is Forgotten Fridays? It’s a fun feature that was created to give attention to the older books (published a year or more ago) that we review and discuss together! Check out more on this feature by visiting Great Imaginations! (The above image also belongs to Great Imaginations)


 

(See it at Goodreads)

We were reading and discussing Vampire Academy-- which happens to be one of my favorite series ever, so this was a fun re-read for me, and a first time for the others. After re-reading Vampire Academy (probably my fourth time haha) for the first time in a couple of years, I saw it in a slightly different light. Have we ever discussed how as a blogger, I’ve noticed my reading tastes changing through the year--me becoming more critical at times? Yeah well it happens.

Not to say I didn’t still enjoy reading, of course. I just realized how much different things have changed since the last time I read it. VA is great for its mythos and unique characters, but I did see where it was a little cheesy. And the slut shaming I never really paid attention to before. Overall, I still enjoyed going back into the world and characters. Especially being reminded how great Dimitri was at his job. Haha.

I love group discussions and read-a-longs though. Here’s why, the fun sharing of the conversation between some very different readers. I think we all liked it really--and the analyzing of the story and characters we each had.

Hey check out the discussion we had, which is also seen over at Great Imaginations!


Bekka: Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m really excited to talk about this book.

Lyn: I have to admit, it was better than I thought. There were just a few things that bothered me, but overall, it was promising.

Pixie: It’s always been a bit of a funny first book to a series for me. The first time I’d read it, I almost didn’t want to continue the series. A little cheesy.

Kara: I mostly liked it. Ultimately, I had a few issues *coughs* the writing and the infodumping. But as far as the story itself, I liked it. Also liked the vampire mythology and thought it was unique.

Bekka: THE WRITING. So painful at times. It could have used some tightening, especially in the weird way the author phrased things, like “I arrived at the cafeteria.”

Lyn: I had issues with the world building. Why would the stronger vampires not take over the weak, non-breeding vamps? Did I miss something?

Pixie: I always wondered about that with the vamps, too, Lyn. But I’m with Kara on really enjoying the mythology.

Lyn: It was a different take. Kara, you are right about the info dumping. I felt sort of lost most of the time. Confusion was a large part of the story for me.

Bekka: Totally agree. There were times, especially during the explanation of the breeding system that it all went right over my head and I just kinda had to roll with it.

Lyn: I agree, Bekka. My brain was on overload at times.
I know it sounds like I am knocking the book. I did really like Rose quite a bit.

Kara: Yes, I LOVED Rose. For the most part. There were a couple of times where I was a little irritated by her recklessness and found it to be a bit much, but I really did like the evolution of her character and her devotion to protecting Lissa.

Lyn: It was really nice to read about a strong-bonded girl-girl relationship.I found that so refreshing, and I miss that in YA fiction at times. I loved the theme of friendship and loyalty.

Pixie: Rose is probably one of my favorite female characters of all-time. And I love the bond her and Lissa share because we don’t get to see many best friend relationships in books.

Bekka: Rose made this book for me, all the way. I don’t really understand what it is, because I feel like if you put all of her characteristics together (physically attractive, funny, confident, sarcastic, etc) you would come out with a “Mary Sue” type character, but it SO WORKED for Rose.

Kara: You know what I didn’t understand? The Dimitry fangirling. Maybe he gets better in later installments, but I thought his character was supremely flat. I don’t understand the big deal and wondered the whole time while I was reading when he would get more of a personality. I just didn’t see anything unique to swoon over.

Lyn: I….fangirled. I love the whole stoic, ice-cold male prototype. I like to try to win over my book crushes. I think it might be a personality thing. I didn’t like how he shamed Rose about her sexuality, but I just really felt attracted to his character.

Bekka: I fangirled over the relationship, but not necessarily the character. I loved Rose’s crush on him and her unabashed flirting that sometimes crossed the line into Totally Hitting on Him territory.

Kara: Okay, maybe it was my issues with the writing because I found all of this flat. I do believe this was the author’s first YA book, right? Maybe that’s it. I just feel like everything was all on the surface and I didn’t connect with a lot of it, including the relationship. Just when I would start to get into it, she would summarize or infodump and yank me out of the story. There was SO MUCH summarizing. It was brutal for me. Especially towards the end. Major telling instead of showing. The amateur quality just stuck out at me.

Bekka: Amateur is exactly the word I would use to describe the writing, which is a shame because I think the story underneath is awesome.

Kara: Yeah, SO awesome. I agree. But the writing quality declined, and now I wonder if her adult book was the same or she wrote on a more amateur level because she doesn’t think teens need it. O_o

Lyn: I really want to read Gameboard of the Gods and see if her writing has grown. It feels like something the author wrote at the start of her career (which, I see, is true). She has a very detailed mythology in her story, and I would love to see if the writing matches the world building.

Kara: I have not heard good things from others about that book. A lot of people I follow either DNFed or didn’t like it because they found it boring. If you read it, I would be interested for sure to know how you felt. As for this one, I am rating it 3 stars. Normally this would mean I am probably not going to continue on, but in this case, I think it might get better a book or two into it, plus the mythology has me intrigued.

Bekka: I’m gonna rate it a 3.5. I just really loved Rose, I don’t know. As for the rest of the series? Hell yes, I am continuing. I kind of want to drop everything and just read read read Vampire Academy.

Lyn: 3 stars. I want to continue because I invested in the UK version of the books. The covers are to DIE for. Dearly Departed Pixie said she rated it 3.5.

Kara: We are reading Jellicoe Road next which is Lyn’s pick and I don’t know about you guys, but I am excited. I have wanted to read this FOREVER but could not find the time.

Lyn: I DNFed the first time around, but Jessie convinces me to push through and read it. I am thrilled to give it another shot.

Bekka: Same. I made it about twenty pages in, but it was soooo confusing. But everyone is NUTS for this book so I am going to give it a real shot this time.

Kara: I hope it doesn’t go the way of Going Bovine for me. LOL. Okay, are we finished?

Lyn: Yes, good, done, in the can.


As you can see, I wasn’t around long… and sadly we missed Jessie from Ageless Pages Reviews, which read it with us but didn't get to make the discussion. But it still worked out. :)

Also, my original rating of this book has went from a 4.5 down to the mentioned above, 3.5. It’s not that I liked it any less than before, I just noticed that I was being a bit too generous as a reviewer with the rating. Book two is a must. That’s when we meet Adrian! Yippeee!

Have you read Vampire Academy? Would you agree with some of the points made? Are you thinking of reading this one? What about the movie?? (Which I could probably write a separate review for on its own--I did at my entertainment blog when I first saw it. Had so much to say.)

See you again soon, lovely readers!

Characters That Should Get Their Own Book/Series

Every so often, we meet characters in books that we find ourselves wanting more… And I don’t mean those little novellas/e-novellas that some characters do get at some point. I mean a full-length novel or several-book series with them as the main character, featuring their story. Personally, I’m not fond of those little e-novellas most of the time. Today, I’d like to feature a list of my own picks that should get their own book or series. It’s not a particularly long list, though I probably could’ve listed more than this.

Now onto my choices!



1. Hanna (Delirium Trilogy by Lauren Oliver) -- I felt like her character was so much more complex than the story gave and would love to read more on the character. I would really like to read an after piece also because she felt incomplete.

2. Wolf (Shadows -- The Ashes Trilogy by Ilsa J. Bick) -- Wolf was one of the many characters in this trilogy, not introduced until book two, but my favorite. His back story was a story in itself and could easily be another novel… and I just want so much more of him.

3. Haymitch (The Hunger Games) -- Who else wouldn’t want a HG spin-off/prequel of the time when Haymitch was in the arena??!

4. Zuz and Mik (Daughter of Smoke & Bone) -- In the beginning, they’re a bit of a plain, but cute and adorable couple. Until they’re thrown in the middle of Karou’s world… And while I know there’s a novella that features a story of them, I just feel like there could be a lot more surrounding these two eccentric characters I’ve personally come to love. Also, there’s several other characters in this series that would make great separate books. Brimstone, for example.

5. Max (The Book Thief) -- Maybe I want to torture myself… but I kind of want to read Max. And what he went through and his journey/survival before finding Liesel again. With a box of tissues handy, of course.

　

　

　

Would you read these? Which characters would you pick? Sound off in the comments!


 

If Lyrics Were Book Summaries

So here's something I've been working on for quite a while and finally getting around to posting. I'd been surfing the net one evening when I happened across another blog (thebookladysblog.com) and saw inspiration for this idea (slightly different and with use of only specific genres) that matched up a bit with my previous Sound Effects posts. So I sat on the idea for a bit and worked through inspiration on a rough draft post until I was ready to share.

Ever see a lyric/lyrics and think "wow, that kind of reminds me of a book or show or movie..."?

I present you my list of five books and their song counterparts I thought were perfect matches.

P.S. I did not present music videos. But I do recommend listening to the song if you've never heard it. :P

P.P.S. This is not a meme or an activity or anything of that sort, but please feel free to create your own book-song pairings and provide me your links for me to see if you want!


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1. Splintered (too easy?) paired with Her Name is Alice by Shinedown

I invite you to a world where there is no such thing as time,
And every creature lends themselves to change your state of mind,
And the girl that chase the rabbit, drank the wine, and took the pill,
Has locked herself in limbo to see how it truly... feels.


2. The Delirium trilogy paired with Paradise by Coldplay

When she was just a girl
She expected the world
But it flew away from her reach so
She ran away in her sleep
And dreamed of
Para-para-paradise, Para-para-paradise, Para-para-paradise
Every time she closed her eyes

When she was just a girl
She expected the world
But it flew away from her reach

And the bullets catch in her teeth
Life goes on, it gets so heavy
The wheel breaks the butterfly
Every tear a waterfall
In the night the stormy night she'll close her eyes
In the night the stormy night away she'd fly


3. Daughter of Smoke & Bone/Days of Blood & Starlight paired with Angels in Everything (Blue October)

Only you can see the true me,
Through all the right, and wrong.
Take hold, the best has yet to come.
(Yeah)
You've given me the strength to believe in my heart again!
And now we're here to share this faith.
Stand together through it all.


Can you feel my heart,
Beating underneath these stars?
You're the Angel that came, and took these clouds away.
You made me believe!
Never be weak, be strong.
Live every moment like an Angel,
Flies...


4. Romeo and Juliet paired with Tragedy by Christina Perri


If you could envision,
The meaning of a tragedy,
Ooh, you might be surprised to hear…
It’s you and me.
But when it comes down to it,
You never made the most of it.
So I cried cried cried…
And now I say Goodbye.
And I won’t be made a fool.
Don’t call this love.


5. The Immortal Rules paired with Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace


I can’t escape this hell.
So many times I’ve tried.
But I’m still caged inside.
Somebody get me through this nightmare,
I can’t control myself!
So what if you can see the darkest side of me?
No one will ever change this animal I have become.




Would you agree with these song choices? Have you read the above titles? What songs would you think you'd choose for the ones above? Feel free to create your own list at your blog (but please link back and share your link with me as well!) :)


 

Discussion: How Mood Affects Our Blogging

There probably comes a time in every blogger’s path where we just don’t feel like it. We don’t feel like logging in, typing up that review, sitting down to read that book, going around blog to blog to comment, and the various other activities we do. Hey, it’s normal. We can get bogged down with work, whether it’s work from the blog or real-life work, and become just plain tired. Things can start to feel very chore-like and to simply put it: screw that.

So, we take our much needed mini-breaks when these little crap times sneak up on us. Being part of the community, I’ve come to understand this and have even had to take my own a few times.

But what do you if you start noticing it’s something a bit more serious than just the usual? Is that when you have to start considering leaving the blogging community permanently, even when it breaks your heart at the thought?

Things have not been well for me. Thanks for noticing.
Until I finally got a co-blogger (hiya, Taylor), I was contemplating leaving the blogging world behind later this year if I still couldn’t get things together. Honestly, I’m still not too sure. I will have to see how it all turns around soon as I begin picking things back up over the coming weeks. But it does seriously hurt to think about that, mostly because I rarely have anyone to talk books with and this is my place to vent and gush… I don’t think I could not leave reviews at least.

The start of my year had a lot of personal issues and illness that I care not to discuss publicly, but it was enough to put my writing on hold for weeks. Enough for me to not even care about the computer at all much as I worked through things. I’ve hardly even picked up any books since the year began, and now that I’m looking at the calendar to see the date, I almost want to start crying all over again for the hundredth time. I’d had goals this year with my reading, ones that were going to be special to me since I turn the big 3-0 in September (ya know, the whole ‘need to read before thirty’ thing, I guess)…and I doubt it’ll happen now. Sigh.

And I missed my three-year blogoversary as well, which was about two weeks ago around Feb. 18. I’d had plans to do something pretty big, but can’t afford the expense now that I’ve looked things over. There’ll be a mega giveaway later this year and we’ll just make it a late celebration. So sorry about that. When it comes to those things, I often feel like the outcast blogger since I don’t have them so much. Personally, I always feel like a bit of a loner in this community and I don’t know why…

I didn’t write this post to boo-hoo though.

What I’m trying to get at here is it can be tough. A lot tougher than I think we are given credit for… Most people tend to forget bloggers have real lives outside of blogging, and when it gets them down, it can get them down and get in the way. It was in my own recent experiences that I had to finally just say “I need a co-blogger or I’m going to quit this community right now” when I decided to go on the hunt for extra help around here. Sometimes you need one of those simple mini-breaks. Sometimes you need one of the major changes like me.

On a personal level, my mood really affects how I blog, read, write… even review. If I’m in a down or bad mood, my reviews will reflect that because I feel like they won’t be written as well as they could’ve been--usually short, not much emotion or explanation to them. The desire to blog or read is a no go as well. I’m basically a big couch potato watching TV and sleeping A LOT during these types of moods. My health has been pretty crappy lately as well so that hasn’t helped much. But a change in dosage on my thyroid medication and additional migraine meds, etc. should be helping to improve that side soon at least.

I know when I’m in a great mood, I’m working at things constantly, with never-ending ideas and bouncing around all over the place. I’ll also tend to read 3-4 books at a time, within a matter of days, if the mood and books are doing well. Forcing myself to read can put me from a good mood to a bad one quickly though. I have to WANT to read a particular book.


How about you? How do you feel your mood affects your blogging/reading/etc. And have you ever been in such a bad slump you almost gave up completely?




 

Discussion: What Is It That Makes A Person A 'True Fan'?

We all have things we love and gush about. Books, movies, actors, singers… whatever. We’re crazy about them. People we know may even call us obsessed at times. We are fans.

But what is it that puts someone under the label of a ‘true fan’? Is it the amount of time a person has been part of it? The knowledge they possess? Or when talking about book-movie adaptations, would you slap this label on anyone that read the book first… but snub your nose at those who read it after watching by saying they’re bandwagon-ing?

I’m prepared to fully admit I’ve been a bit of a snob in my past with book-movie adaptations. I was agitated for the most part when people would watch the film and become obsessed, think they’d try to outsmart me only to be wrong because films change details in most cases anyway, and then read the books later. Now I’m not as bothered by it because HEY, whatever… it gets a person to pick up the book still, right?? I just can’t argue this logic. (Also, thank you Hunger Games for getting my oldest girl to read last year *fist pump*)


But recently, I’ve been seeing a larger problem. Statements made by fans in various fandoms, and more recently even a producer of an upcoming film of a book I’ve been waiting for as a movie for over three years, and they’re not setting well with me. Example:
"Furthermore, having now shown this film to over 1000 fans, the results are in. They LOVE IT! and I promise you, if you are a true fan of the series, you will too!” --Mike Preger, Producer (Vampire Academy)

Wait...

What?

 

The first time I read VA was when I was around twenty-two I believe if I’m not mistaken (22-23 was a good year for books for me--VA, Hunger Games, The Book Thief, Wintergirls). It wasn’t heard of much at the time. Blood Promise wasn’t even out yet. The first three were only available on paperback. But this doesn’t matter. Couldn’t someone that’d just read and loved the series in the last month be as much of a fan as I am? I would think so, right?


The other issue to address here is that not every fan is going to like a movie adaptation. No matter how well done it may be. To make a statement that basically puts any person in a position of feeling as if they’re not contributing to the community or not a true fan if they don’t like it is not right. I personally think Mr. Preger didn’t mean anything harmful by his comment and he likely didn’t realize how it sounded perhaps, but things should’ve been worded differently for sure. At least it made me think, which led me to this discussion post.

 

We have to remember what’s important as fans though: the connection. Not just a connection with a book/series or authors we eventually become fans of, but the characters, their world, and other fans. There shouldn’t be any concern over who’s a true fan due to X reason. If you’re a fan, you’re a fan! How hard is that, really? And if you don’t like a movie adaptation of a book you love, it doesn’t make you any less of a fan. Nor does reading a book after seeing the movie (though us book-nerds do prefer you try to read before because the books are always better anyway, just saying). ;)

So, how about it… Be just a fan with me? Or do you use the ‘true fan’ label (if so, please let me know how you work it out?)?


 

Re-Tellings: What is the appeal? (Discussion) (Re-Telling Reads Month #1)

Welcome to the first official posting for Re-Telling Reads Month! In case you don't know what this is about yet, you can check out this post for more information on it. I hope you enjoy!

To kick-start it, I had a few thoughts on my mind really about the whole idea of re-tellings in general. I also think it's best to go ahead and give what I think is the best definition before continuing to take away any confusion.

A "re-telling" is a story that tells another in some form or style again. This isn't to be confused by the numerous amount of stories, etc. inspired by others. Re-tellings use the characters of the story they are recreating, but may change names, gender, ages... A re-telling is commonly a modern version of a classic or a retold fairytale. This is about the best way I can sum it up. If you have a question though, feel free to ask! :)

Today's topic of discussion (and the first discussion for the RRM feature!):

Re-Tellings: What is the appeal?


There are many variations of just one piece of literature I can think of off the top of my head immediately re-told in ways from continuations to modern to monster mash-up: Romeo & Juliet. Not to mention the countless others just simply inspired by the work, telling their tales in ways so similar that it can almost be classified as a ‘re-telling.’

But we can’t just look at Romeo & Juliet as the only work of literature through history to go through this constant pick-up and re-tell in different ways. There are many other classics, as well as some infamous fairytales and historical figures with their life stories, taking on this approach through books, movies, and television--and many of us seem to not have any objections at all.

Oh Leo. It was this quirky movie re-telling when I first saw you and said to my friends, "DIBS."

Personally, I think the appeal is there because it is in our DNA as human beings. Our ancient ancestors passed stories down through generations by words, and at times liked to change them up to give them more oomph or a new style through the years. In a way, I feel that we’re only doing the same. Even if we do not like how a certain re-telling turns out sometimes. I know I don’t always like them, but I’m always curiously attracted to them either way. They are characters I know deeply on most occasions. I like seeing how they’re treated in different settings, situations, time periods, and such.

…And sometimes I like ranting about them also after a bad experience. This usually seems to happen with me and Shakespeare re-tellings more than other types. I have my obvious preferences.

Is it a trend? I don’t think so. Re-telling a classic or original fairytale has been around for too long. I remember being a small girl and hearing the original stories of Little Mermaid and Cinderella and Rapunzel after I’d already seen or read the Disney versions. Ha. And in recent years, I’ve enjoyed a couple monster mash-ups (Ex: Wuthering Bites and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, to be discussed later during this feature), and a Hamlet re-telling called Falling For Hamlet by Michelle Ray. One of my very favorite books to end up in my hands in the last three years is New Girl by Paige Harbison--a re-telling of Rebecca, a classic I hadn’t read or heard of before, but rushed out and bought after reading the modernized re-telling because I wanted that original so I could see how much they compared. I figured if the re-telling was that damn good, I’m going to very likely love the original.

So no, I don’t believe this is a trend that’s around for a period of time. I think that no matter what the latest trend may be, re-tellings will always be around with a curious audience. There’s so much that can be done with so many different stories. And as time passes, the list can just keep growing, right?




Whether you’re a fan of re-telling classics/fairytales and other types of stories or not, do you see it ever going away? What do you think is the appeal for readers who love picking them up?

 

Blogger Trick-or-Treat: A Discussion and Halloween Event Hop

Today I’m happy to be taking part in the Trick-or-Treat Blogger Halloween event with Lyn and Kara from Great Imaginations. When Lyn asked for me to join in, of course I couldn’t pass it up because Halloween is my fave holiday and I love all things related to this time of year. The main reason I love it so much is because it was the only time as a kid I felt like I could be myself. That probably doesn’t make much sense, but I was a bit of an outcast at times, and I loved dressing up in the costumes and being my little eccentric self. I started watching horror movies when I was around six years old. Though I’m personally not a huge fan of the genre nowadays (well, with a majority of horror movies I mean), I do still enjoy the tradition of watching a lot during the month of October at least. Trick-or-Treating also got me out of the house for awhile. Ha. And the candy. As an adult, I don’t eat a lot of sweets anymore with the exception of my moments and only particular kinds, but it’s admittedly hard for me not to steal the Twizzlers from my kids when they get in from their own trick-or-treating at least. Haha.



For my part in this event, and in the spirit of Halloween, I have an interesting question and discussion for you:

　

What if THAT book had been a horror novel?

　

Imagine if one of your favorite romantic reads was in the Horror genre instead. Or say you’re not much of a fan of contemporary romance… How about a comedy? Or a fantasy? Well, that’s today’s fun activity. Please feel free to join in at the end of the post in the comments. ^_^

　


Let’s start with Anna and the French Kiss for example. This is one of my favorites, btw, for the simple romance and characters and beautiful setting. But traveling overseas to a new boarding school and leaving your fam can be a scary thought, also. Then there’s Mr. French-Guy Mysterious with his sexy smile and Oh la la’s. This situation could’ve been easily reversed though to turn it away from the sweet romance it was into something out of a traveling nightmare. In the horror version, maybe Anna only thought her parents were sending her off to boarding school, only to discover when she gets there that she’d been shipped off to a cult.

That's a cult I'd probably join, just sayin'.

The leader is a young man, and though charming at first, quickly hates Anna for not wanting to convert to their way of life there. Or perhaps he starts stalking her? Or takes her into a lab to try and implant some chip into her brain that would try to make her be a “good member/student.” A good horror story doesn’t have to always have blood and gore, and if this book had been written in the genre, I think it would be more psychological. A slow-build up of tension and gasps.

And what of Dystopias? I feel they’re not far off from horror already as they are most of the time because of the usual bleak future and realism they present to a reader. The idea that any one of these worlds--The Hunger Games, Wither, Ashfall, Blood Red Road, etc.--could become a reality is a frightening thought, but a slight change could make something even more terrifying perhaps.

For example, Wither (Which is probably more strange potential reality than scary). In a horror version of this, maybe the women are required to get artificially inseminated and have one child before the required marriage. That child is taken away by doctors as soon as its born. The scientists only started doing this in the last decade or so--but after Rhine is married to Linden and trying to get used to that whole polygamy thing, the rebellions begin. It’s the forgotten lab kids and there’s something strange about them. I think that’d make for an interesting horror twist, or something like that anyway. Ideas? Thoughts?


Of course these are only examples. I’d never tell an author how to write and that isn’t my intention here. This is a just-for-fun idea for Halloween, and would also love to know what kind of ideas you all would have if one of these would have been a horror novel. Zombies? An innocent kiss that spreads a new plagues across the continent? Rhine finds out Linden isn’t human… In fact, none of the males are because all the human ones actually died several years before from that strange virus…


　

What book do you think could be rewritten as a horror novel and how would you do it?



Have a fantabulous, freaky Halloween!



 

Review: Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone (Group Read-A-Long Discussion Review)

Title: Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone
Author: Kat Rosenfield
Category/Genre: YA, Mystery, Drama, Contemporary

Amazon


Becca has always longed to break free from her small, backwater hometown. But the discovery of an unidentified dead girl on the side of a dirt road sends the town--and Becca--into a tailspin. Unable to make sense of the violence of the outside world creeping into her backyard, Becca finds herself retreating inward, paralyzed from moving forward for the first time in her life.

Short chapters detailing the last days of Amelia Anne Richardson's life are intercut with Becca's own summer as the parallel stories of two young women struggling with self-identity and relationships on the edge twist the reader closer and closer to the truth about Amelia's death.



Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone was a slow mystery/melodrama surrounding the events of a teenage girl and her small-town life. Alongside this, there was also the story of Amelia, the tragedy of her and her death after her body was discovered on the side of a back road in Becca’s hometown.

I’d received a copy of this book thanks to Wendy Darling after it being on my wish list for the longest. Funnily enough, I hadn’t read much into the reviews, or even focused heavily on the blurb before I came across the book and just knew I wanted it badly. So maybe I had different expectations or ideas of how I thought it was supposed to be, but once I began reading I found I wasn’t exactly reading what I thought I was going to be reading.

Also, at the end of September, I’d done a group read-a-long with Jessie from Ageless Pages Reviews and Lyn from Great Imaginations and we had a lot to discuss regarding the title when finished. So this is a group review as well, by sharing some of the discussion below so you can get the general idea of how I (and they) felt about the book. And I’ve only shared a part--not the whole conversation.

A Portion of a Spoiler-Free Discussion

 

Jessie: So, Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone. Or Amelia Anne Is Dead and Becca Has Boyfriend Problems.
Lyn: That is...the greatest thing I have read.
Lyn: I was a little miffed when the honest-to-Gods good story cut away so we had to read about a high school graduate and her boy issues

Pixie: That's how I felt Jessie. I liked Amelia Anne, but my expectations going into it was at a really high level.. and I was so bummed.

Lyn: I had a high bar set as well.
Lyn: It felt like two different books in one novel.

Jessie and Pixie: YES.

Jessie: I wanted more from each storyline. The switching back and forth helped to make Amelia more of a character, but Becca was left feeling less developed.

Lyn: Becca's part wasn't bad, it did hold a level of beauty, but I liked Amelia's story much more. I think if we had seen the same level of backstory from Amelia, it would have made a much better book.

Pixie: I really liked (though it was so sad) Amelia's story. Wish the whole book would've been THAT and Becca’s would've been cut.

Jessie: I would love to read that book. Amelia was a pretty great character. And Luke had some definite potential as an antagonist. More than Craig anyway.

Lyn: I agree with Pixie that Amelia should have been the focal point of the book - Becca should have been the back burner.

Jessie: And though the storyline wasn't as much as I'd hoped.. I admit I LOVED the writing. From the first page, I thought Rosenfield was talented.

Pixie: I do agree.
Pixie: I’d def read more of her work.

Jessie: Especially if she continues to write like that.

Lyn: The writing is BEAUTIFUL! It was haunting and it had a beautiful flow.
Lyn: If this is what the author promises for the first book, then I am excited to see what else she has to offer. Her prose is lovely and chilling.

Jessie: So, this book was a mixed bag. Some I really enjoyed and some that could use some more work.

Lyn: I think this author shows a lot of promise. I am going to add her to my list to watch. This wasn't a bad book, but I think it would be fair to make a side note

Jessie: I wanted to love it, but I admit I do feel rather lukewarm about it.

Pixie: I'm also lukewarm.


We agreed on some major points--- the biggest things being that the three of us were really taken by the beautiful writing of this book. This author is going on our watch lists for sure, and I already know that I’m looking forward to reading more of her work. It was clear throughout that she was talented at telling a story and creating a cast of characters. Another was that while we’d been slightly let down by the overall story, we did still enjoy it by the end. Mostly because of Amelia’s side of things. So... it didn’t end up being a favorite, but I’m sure I’d still recommend it to someone even the slightest bit interested in this dramatic tale of loss, small-town life, moving on, and mystery.

With that said, I give it a decent 3.5 rating!

Also, I just adore read-a-longs and group discussion reviews, don't you? =D