tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22998381842073284512024-02-20T15:45:57.177-05:00The Runaway Readera literary + lifestyle blogAnniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.comBlogger228125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-43507672727672754932016-02-29T20:34:00.002-05:002016-02-29T20:37:20.552-05:00I've Been Thinking...I've been thinking lately... Maybe it's time for me to call it quits in blogging.<br />
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Not only have I not been posting at all, the more time I spend away from blogging and recently, even reading and commenting on other blogs and interacting with other bloggers, the less motivated I am to return. The more I feel like a failure. The more I feel sucked dry of ideas. The more I hate my blog.<br />
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These aren't unfamiliar feelings. I went through a similar period back in 2012 when I, all of a sudden, decided to pack up Random Reads and start a new book blog - the one you're reading right now. But this time around, these feelings FEEL more deeply rooted. And it's got me thinking about this blog but also...<br />
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How I'm so grateful for the conversations I've had with so many interesting people all around the world from different walks of life. How I love that I've been able to build friendships simply over our mutual love for books (and don't let anyone tell you internet friends aren't real - that is FALSE). How I'm so appreciative for being able to have this space to freely talk about my emotions and thoughts and have people who care enough to read and sometimes even chat with me about my thoughts after.<br />
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I am so so grateful for ALL OF THIS. For the entire book blogging community. I can't even imagine life now without my book blog, without this community. And so it's been difficult for the past few months, really, trying to deal with the idea that <i>maybe this isn't for you anymore</i>.<br />
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The truth is, though, I don't know. I don't know if blogging is still for me. But I also don't know if I'm ready to give it up. Even with all the pushing and pulling I've done with myself over the past few months to try, JUST TRY, to get a few more blog posts out each month and each time failing miserably, I still DON'T KNOW if I really, truly can call quits on this blog. Especially since I feel like I haven't given it my all. There's still so much I want to accomplish and I've barely even scraped the surface.<br />
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I feel like I've been going back and forth on this same question - <i>is it time to stop blogging? </i>- for the past four months now and each time, my answer is as unsure as the last. And while I still can't say with certainty what the future holds, I think the time I've taken off has really given me space to sit back and reflect. This week, I started checking my Feedly again. I started commenting on blogs again and interacting with other bloggers on Twitter more. And today, I'm writing this post.<br />
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I know better now than to promise anything as more often than not, my promises - at least in regards to this blog - go unfulfilled so I'm not going to promise. But can I be at least a little hopeful? Even though I've been hopeful each time I've raised this exact same topic in the past but it feels more genuine this time. And I know this has been a super melodramatic pile of WORD POO but I just needed to get my thoughts out somewhere. And where else but my blog?<br />
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Maybe this will be the start of something new.<br />
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See you guys around :)Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-90216233286770147072016-01-10T14:14:00.003-05:002016-01-10T14:14:46.751-05:00Revelling in Being Busy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>random tidbits from my life.</i></div>
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Hi guys, it's Annie (and this is the second post of 2016, woo!). Since I haven't really made any progress on the posts I have planned for this month, I thought I'd write a more casual post so as to not leave this blog deserted. Better to have something than nothing, right? One of my resolutions this year was to blog more and I am DETERMINED to achieve this resolution no matter what. Last year was a shitty year for blogging so I want this year to be better. <br />
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January has always been one of my favourite months simply because I love the feeling of possibility and not knowing and also anticipation. I love sitting down and writing down my goals and resolutions, reflecting on the past year and thinking of all the endless things I could achieve in the new year. Januarys just make me so happy and this January (even though we're 9 days in but knock on wood, hopefully nothing awful happens) has been no different.<br />
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I mean, nothing really EXTRAORDINARY has happened but I feel like my outlook and mental state has improved that my life, even in all of its mundanity, feels exciting and new and cool. Take school, for example. Even though I've only been back for a week, my life has already gone from 0 to 100 and while there have been a few rough patches, in general, I've felt more excited to go to school and learn than ever before. Of course, I don't necessarily love having to get up before 12 but I do like having my days structured for me and interacting with others and learning. I think there's something to be said about the joy of being busy. Like truly. I love lazing around doing nothing as much as the next person does - probably even more honestly - but lately I've also discovered how great it feels to be productive and kick ass every day.<br />
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And here I have to give a shout out to the few things that have kept me sane through all of the chaos of the past week because as much I've enjoyed the business of my life lately, it can also get hectic so these are the things that have helped me stay on track and keep my shit together:<br />
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<li><b>my bullet journal.</b> I started bullet journalling last May and have been doing it on and off since then. This month is maybe really the first time I've actually done it consistently every single day and it helps me so much. I've finally decided on a layout that works for me and it has been a lifesaver for the past week. I love waking up in the morning and planning out the tasks I need to do and then crossing off those tasks throughout the day. (PS. not sure if there is interest for this but I have been thinking of writing a bullet journal post, as I know a lot of my bloggy friends have taken it up and a bunch of others are starting. Maybe something to look forward to later this month or next?)</li>
<li><b>flat tomato. </b>This is an app that follows the Pomodoro method of studying which if you don't know is basically when you study in 25 minute segments (studies have shown that after we are more focused in short spurts rather than a large chunk of time and somewhere around the 25 minute mark, our focus wavers) and then take a break for five minutes after each segment. After 4 segments or pomodoros, you take a longer 15 minute break. I have major problems with distraction and focus and I find this method works super well for me so give it a shot! There are a bunch of apps for tracking pomodoros but I find that Flat Tomato is the best I've come across so far.</li>
<li><b>spotify. </b>I've been using the heck out of my Spotify lately for taking out some of the monotony of homework, for having a little dance break or just to relax. Some current favourite songs: American Money by BØRNS, White Iverson by Post Malone, If I Ever Feel Better by Phoenix, Red Eyes by The War on Drugs, Devil In Me by Anderson East (also might make an Annie's Ultimate Playlist post soon because I haven't done those in a while!)</li>
<li><b>youtube videos. </b>I've been watching Youtube videos again like crazy. I watch while doing my math homework or before bed as a way to unwind. No commitment (unlike television shows which I've basically completely given up on because I really don't have the tenacity to stick to a television show right now) and short enough for my very finnicky attention span.</li>
<li><b>twitter, snapchat, pinterest, instagram, tumblr, messenger. </b>Social media has given me a much needed break this week whenever I've needed it whether it's during my pomodoro breaks or just in general when I feel a bit stressed and need to take a step back. Messenger, Twitter, Snapchat are apps I use to talk to my friends which of course, always makes me happy and destresses me and Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest I use mostly to inspire me and calm me with the beautiful and VERY aesthetic pictures.</li>
<li><b>human interaction! </b>Very important obviously to have human interaction and talking with my friends, family, stuffed rabbit Beatrice, etc have been really helpful for me. </li>
<li><b>shower time + bedtime. </b>Probably my two favourite times of the day.</li>
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There is a downside to being back at school and even though I didn't want to mention this, I HAVE TO: my reading has very rapidly gone from avid to nonexistent which makes me sad. Any one have tips on how to counteract this? Because I think I finally have a handle on how to blog more consistently while my reading has pooped. The only book I'm reading right now (and at a snail's pace) is Frankenstein which is for English. TELL ME HOW YOU SUPER BLOGGERS DO IT. How do you read and blog and school and work and extracurricular and other interests at the same time??</div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;"><b>today's post was a little more on the casual (and not book-related) side because my planned posts have not been completed yet. hopefully you guys enjoyed this! i'm really trying to post more so fingers crossed, let's see how my goal pans out. in the comments, tell me what tools you use to help you when your life gets busy and tips for a very sad reader right now.</b></span></div>
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Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-74663583631015224992016-01-03T14:08:00.001-05:002016-01-10T12:09:06.221-05:00The 2016 Challenge MasterlistI've been doing reading challenges for the past two years and while my progress always starts petering out towards the latter half of the year, I do find I really enjoy partaking in challenges. And when my reading starts to lag, as it is BOUND to happen throughout the year, challenges are a great way to ignite my excitement and eagerness to read once again!<br />
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I'm generally very lax about my challenges in the sense that I never make lists of books to read specifically for each challenge. I pick the books I want to read like always, without much more thought than this is what is available right now and what I am in the mood for, and if it counted to one or more of my challenges, BONUS but if it didn't, I didn't really stress about reaching my goal. Mostly, I used challenges as soft guidelines to motivate me to not only read more but also read more diversely and that has worked and also not worked in the past. This year, I'm planning on taking a similar approach but I do want to set some more concrete goals for myself. Nothing too crazy but for example, instead of saying "I just want to try for as many as possible like maybe book x, y, z" I'm going for something like "I am planning on reading 10 books for this challenge and my list of prospective books are book x, y, z" this year. I've only picked 5 books for each challenge for now just to give myself a starting point but will probably add more depending on how the challenges go! Hopefully, if I have a clear vision of what I want to achieve, it will increase my motivation to complete these challenges. But also at the same time, I am okay not completing these challenges or reaching my goal for all of them because the only thing I really want out of this is to have fun and branch out with my reading? I don't know, I am just a whole bunch of contradictions and paradoxes always. I feel like it is a little like cheating to sign up for these challenges and then not really participate with all the giveaways and reviews and see the challenge through but also I just want it to be chill???<br />
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ANYWAY. Here we go, another long list of challenges I may or may not stick to. But since it's (almost) another year and another fresh blank slate, I'm going to err on the more positive side. 2016 has just started, it's definitely way too early for cynicism and skepticism, right? SO YES, I will CRUSH these challenges. CONGRATS ANNIE IN ADVANCE.<br />
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Also, if you want to follow my progress throughout the year, check <a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.ca/p/challenges.html">my Challenges page</a> where I will be posting updates!<br />
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<b>The 2016 TBR Pile Reading Challenge</b></div>
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<b>Hosted by <a href="http://evie-bookish.blogspot.ca/2015/12/2016-tbr-pile-reading-challenge.html">Bookish Lifestyle</a></b></div>
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<b>Idea: </b>To read as many books in your TBR pile as possible!</div>
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<b>Goal: </b>I am aiming for the second level: 11-20, A Friendly Hug. I feel like that's a good number and should be achievable. I probably read more than 20 books off my TBR this year but one thing I've learned in life is to aim low so you always come on top when you (inevitably) exceed your goal! Also random but I just realized I can't read any 2016 books on my TBR for this challenge? I don't think this stipulation makes a difference to me as I probably didn't read very many 2015 books on my TBR this year but still *whispers* I don't think I like that limitation so I'm probably going to be sneaky and cheat and count any 2016 books on my TBR towards this challenge too. I mean, I'm not going to enter any giveaways so it doesn't really matter, right??</div>
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<b>Books to Read?: </b>Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon, The Storyspinner by Becky Wallace (plus a billion more but these are mostly books I already own that I REALLY need to get to ASAP)</div>
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<b>The 2016 Debut Author Challenge</b></div>
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<b>Hosted by <a href="http://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/2015/11/2016-debut-author-challenge-sign-ups-giveaway/">That Artsy Reader Girl</a></b></div>
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<b>Idea: </b>To read books from 2016 debut YA authors</div>
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<b>Goal: </b>I don't know the exact number but I know my count for last year was awful (not surprised if it is under 3 honestly). I am just not good at reading new releases in general, not to mention debuts! So for this challenge, I'm going to aim for 5 books. I know this probably seems really stupidly low but I think it is a reasonable goal for someone who really doesn't read debuts at all.</div>
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<b>Books to Read?: </b>The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye, The Heir and the Spare by Emily Albright, Summer of Sloane by Erin L. Schneider, Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch, This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp</div>
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<b>The 2016 Diverse Reads Book Challenge</b></div>
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<b>Hosted by <a href="http://www.readsleeprepeat.org/2015/12/announcing-the-diverse-reads-2016-book-challenge/">Mishma of Chasing Faerytales and Shelly of Read. Sleep. Repeat.</a></b></div>
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<b>Idea: </b>To read books that are diverse (represent different demographics and cultures, etc)</div>
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<b>Goal:</b> I'm going to go with 7 books! There aren't any levels for this challenge either and I think 7 is a good number for me to aim at. Like if I read 70 books (which has been my average over the past few years), 7 books would be 10% of the total number of books I would read which is not bad for someone who - and I am so ashamed to admit this - definitely doesn't read very diversely at all. But I really want to make an effort to change that and hopefully this challenge will help me do so!</div>
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<b>Books to Read?: </b>Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, Simon VS. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth, Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed</div>
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<b>The Reread Challenge</b></div>
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<b>Hosted by <a href="http://belleoftheliterati.blogspot.ca/2015/12/re-read-challenge-2016.html">Belle of the Literati</a></b></div>
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<b>Idea: </b>To take the time to go back and reread some older books!</div>
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<b>Goal: </b>Though I didn't end up rereading the two series I had planned on rereading this year for this challenge (Harry Potter and Anne of Green Gables), I reread basically every single OTHER series and my total rereads by the end of 2015 is somewhere around the 20 range? WHICH IS CRAZY, definitely way more than I was anticipating! So I would definitely say I CRUSHED this challenge last year and exceeded my expectations. Keeping that in mind, I'm going to go into 2016 with a goal of 10 books. 2015 was a great year for the reread - I was just in the MOOD for revisiting some old faves - but I'm not sure what 2016 is going to be like for my reading so I feel like 10 is an achievable goal whether I'm still in the rereading mood like 2015 or am craving for new books.</div>
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<b>Books to Read?: </b>The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series by Ann Brashares, Magic in Manhattan series by Sarah Mlynowski, Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, the Cherub series by Robert Muchamore, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern</div>
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<b>The Flights of Fantasy Challenge</b></div>
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<b>Hosted by <a href="http://www.alexalovesbooks.com/2015/12/flights-of-fantasy-reading-challenge.html">Alexa Loves Books and Hello, Chelly</a></b></div>
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<b>Idea: </b>To give fantasy books some love by reading as many as you want!</div>
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<b>Goal: </b>I read 13 fantasy books last year but the majority of them are probably considered, like, BORDERLINE fantasy. Like it could be but barely? (I don't know, I go off how Goodreads classifies each book because I am too indecisive to categorize them myself). I'm predominantly a contemporary reader but I have enjoyed the fantasy books I've read although honestly, it's like PULLING TEETH to get me to read fantasy and any fantasy book I read is after very long consideration. But I want to get into fantasy! So I'm aiming for 10 fantasy books this year. LET'S SEE IF I CAN DO IT?</div>
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<b>Books to Read?: </b>Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (because yes, I STILL HAVEN'T READ IT), Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (I want to start the series again!), Graceling by Kristin Cashore, The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor</div>
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<b>The Backlist Books Challenge</b></div>
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<b>Hosted by<a href="http://www.prettydeadlyblog.com/announcement-the-backlist-books-reading-challenge/"> Pretty Deadly Reviews</a></b></div>
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<b>Idea: </b>To spread some love to backlist books (published before 2015) that might be forgotten with new releases pouring in every day<br />
<b>Goal: </b>I predominantly read backlist books because I am terrible at keeping up with new releases so I don't bother trying. But I'm not exactly sure how many of the backlist books I read this year were from 2013 and before? I feel like in terms of my backlist reading, I still pick up books that are fairly recent like in the past year or so. I did have a lot of rereads this year so that probably boosts this year's number to quite a bit. I'm guessing somewhere in the 30 range? Maybe 40? For this challenge though, I'm going to go for 25, to be on the safe side in case I set something too hopelessly high. And 25 feels like a good number, you know?<br />
<b>Books to Read?: </b>Audrey, Wait by Robin Benway, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, Even in Paradise by Chelsea Philpot, Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick, Pivot Point by Kasie West<br />
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<b>The Contemporary Romance Challenge</b></div>
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<b>Hosted by<a href="http://www.loveatfirstpage.org/2015/12/02/sign-up-contemporary-romance-2016-reading-challenge/"> Love at First Page and Gone with the Words</a></b></div>
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<b>Idea: </b>To read as many contemporary romances as possible (either YA, NA or adult)</div>
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<b>Goal: </b>Contemporary romance is probably my favourite genre and would be my most read genre if I didn't feel like I'd already read every single (YA) contemporary romance under the sun so I know I would CRUSH this challenge without even making an effort to do so because I love contemporary romances! So I'm going to be a little ambitious with this one and aim for 16-20 books (aka 3rd base). The only reason I'm not aiming for 21+ is because I go off of Goodreads' classifications and not all books I consider to be contemporary romances are considered to be so on Goodreads and like, I don't know... my genre categorization is just really wonky. It makes no sense. But anyway THAT'S why I'm not aiming for 21+ (also keeping expectations low, you know). </div>
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<b>Books to Read?: </b>Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland, The Trouble with Destiny by Lauren Morrill, A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker, Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally, One of the Guys by Lisa Adlin</div>
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<b>The Contemporary Challenge</b></div>
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<b>Hosted by <a href="http://thebookbelles.blogspot.ca/2015/12/2016-contemporary-challenge-sign-up.html">The Book Belles and Jillian's Books</a></b></div>
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<b>Idea: </b>To read as many YA contempoarry novels as possible </div>
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<b>Goal: </b>I don't really need any more motivation to read contemporary but I'm still so excited for this challenge. Maybe because I know this is a challenge I'm going to pass with flying colours and it feels good to know that if all else fails and goes to shit, at the very least, I'll be able to proudly say I finished this challenge (unless 2016 sees me totally ditch contemporary and turn to fantasy instead? Which is unlikely but a possibility?). I'm aiming for 26+ books (the rose level). CAN I DO IT? (Yes, probably, I read 41 contemporary novels in 2015)</div>
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<b>Books to Read?: </b>I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella, I Was Here by Gayle Forman, Emmy and Oliver by Robin Benway, Famous in Love by Rebecca Serle<br />
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<b>The Retelling Challenge</b></div>
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<b>Hosted by <a href="http://thedailyprophecy.blogspot.co.at/2015/12/retelling-challenge-2016-sign-up-post.html">The Daily Prophecy</a></b></div>
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<b>Idea: </b>To read retellings (fairytale retellings, myth retellings, etc)</div>
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<b>Goal: </b>I think I only read two books for this challenge last year so I'm setting my goal low this year as well. I'm aiming to read 1-4 books this year for this challenge (the "Enchanted Moura" level).</div>
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<b>Books to Read?: </b>Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen, Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge, Valiant by Sarah McGuire, Splintered by A.G. Howard</div>
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<b>The 2016 Classics Challenge</b></div>
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<b>Hosted by <a href="https://theprettybooks.wordpress.com/2015/12/27/2016-classics-challenge/">Pretty Books</a></b></div>
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<b>Idea: </b>To read classics (or books deemed as "classics)</div>
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<b>Goal: </b>Before I announce my goal, can I get a drum roll please...because I aiming to read two books for this challenge. Yes, two. I didn't do so well at this challenge at all last year and I'm awful at reading classics in general so I know it'll be off-putting for myself if I choose a number too high. Honestly, I'd consider it an accomplishment if I even read ONE classic of my own accord so if I can get to two this year (not counting school-mandated reads), I will consider it a huge success (but the fact that Roald Dahl books can count towards this challenge might help me reach my goal).</div>
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<b>Books to Read?: </b>The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, Matilda by Roald Dahl, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen</div>
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<b>The 2016 Discussion Challenge</b></div>
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<b>Hosted by <a href="http://feedyourfictionaddiction.com/2015/12/2016-book-blog-discussion-challenge-sign-up.html">Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Starts at Midnight</a></b></div>
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<b>Idea: </b>To encourage bloggers to write more discussion posts by participating in this challenge for motivation</div>
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<b>Goal: </b>So this is not a reading challenge but I participated in this last year and while I FAILED majorly, I'm excited to get back at this this year. I'm so terrible at writing discussion posts and while I think that's fine - everyone has their own niche and things they are good at and discussion posts just aren't what I enjoy writing / what I'm best at - I do know in the past, my discussion posts have been well-received and that people in general prefer to read discussions so I would like to write more! I'm aiming for one every month (12 discussion posts in total aka Discussion Dabbler), which was my goal last year. I failed at it in 2015 but hopefully, second time's the charm!</div>
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<b>The 2016 Around the World Challenge</b></div>
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<b>Hosted by <a href="http://itsallaboutbooks.de/2015/12/challenge-around-the-world-2016/">All About Books</a></b></div>
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<b>Idea: </b>To visit as many places as possible through the books you read (ideally, places that are spread all around the world, not just concentrated in one area)</div>
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<b>Goal: </b>I'm not setting a particular numeral goal for this challenge because I think it works better if I just go about reading books like normal and see how many places I end up "visiting" through the books. I did this challenge last year and it worked really well for me (until I got too lazy to track my progress any more) so I'm excited to participate in this again! It was one of my favourite challenges last year!</div>
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That's about it for my 2016 Challenges masterlist! Some other challenges I'm participating in but didn't include here are <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/3890-2016-reading-challenge">the 2016 Goodreads Reading challenge </a>(in which I'm aiming for 85 books), <a href="http://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading-Challenge-2016-39126431">the 2016 Popsugar Reading Challenge</a>, and <a href="http://the-girlygeek.blogspot.ca/2016/01/2016bbchallenge.html">The Girly Geek's 2016 Book Bingo Challenge</a>. And of course, if you're interested in seeing my progress for these challenges as the year goes by, make sure to visit <a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.ca/p/challenges.html">my Challenges page</a> at the top of the page in the navigation bar. I also usually recap my monthly progress in my monthly recap posts!</div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;"><b>now to you: what challenges are you participating in this year? let's cheer each other on! also hey, first post of the new year! here's to hoping 2016 goes well for all of you! </b></span></div>
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Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-357072798073137482015-12-25T17:36:00.000-05:002015-12-25T17:41:13.187-05:00Merry Christmas + Happy Holidays 2015!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>important updates and news regarding the runaway reader</i>.</div>
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Hey guys,<br />
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Just wanted to pop in really quickly to wish you a merry Christmas or if you don't celebrate, a happy December the 25th and a great holiday season overall! Can you believe that 2015's already coming to a close? It feels like just yesterday I was watching the New Year's Eve broadcast in New York on my television for 2015 so to think we're six days away from 2016 is crazy. Hopefully everyone's enjoying the downtime and spending some quality time with friends and family! There won't be any more scheduled posts for 2015 on this blog but I've been coming up with some cool ideas for posts in 2016 and am hoping to start actively blogging again (ie. not taking a two week hiatus in between each post I publish) so look out for that!<br />
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Before I leave you though, my guest post for <b>Veronika & Ruzaika over at The Regal Critiques</b> went up today so <a href="http://reading-is-dreaming-with-open-eyes.blogspot.ca/2015/12/5-sweet-treats-i-love-for-holidays.html">click this link to see what 5 sweet treats I look forward to indulging in this holiday season</a>!<br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>merry christmas + happy holidays everyone! see you all in the new year xoxo</b></span></div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-43780914956977671562015-12-23T08:00:00.000-05:002015-12-23T08:00:00.109-05:00Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23492282-nowhere-but-here?ac=1">Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry</a></b><br />
<b>Thunder Road #1</b><br />
<b>Published May 26, 2015 by Harlequin Teens</b><br />
<b>Hardcover, 496 pages</b><br />
<b>Borrowed from library</b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;">the premise</span></b><br />
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Emily Jennings live a nice, unencumbered life in Florida with her mom and her dad so when her biological dad in Kentucky sends an obituary for her paternal grandmother and her parents decide to go to Kentucky for the funeral, Emily isn't excited. In the least bit. She doesn't know much about her biological dad except for the fact that he's a biker and while she is a little curious, she isn't willing to give up her perfect life to dredge up the past that she and her mom both agree are better off being ignored. But then Emily gets to Kentucky and slowly, slowly, finds herself settling into life there and opening up to all the people part of the biker club who she's come to love. But tension is in the air and there could be a very real threat that will tear Emily away from everyone she loves.<br />
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This is probably one of the most ridiculous books I have ever read but I loved EVERY MOMENT OF IT. Katie McGarry is my SHIT, you guys. I cannot get enough of her. Although I find that her books do tend to get a bit formulaic, it's a formula that lures me without fail every single time so you know, how can I complain? When it comes to YA romance, there is no doubt that Katie McGarry is one of the BEST.<br />
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Nowhere But Here centers around our main character named Emily who's a very straight-laced, stick to the rules type of gal and on a trip back to Kentucky, where her biological family is from, she gets caught up into the "family business" of sorts which is the biker club and it's through the club that she also meets Oz, her dad's best friend's son. Who's been raised with the club and cannot envision his life without the brotherhood of a biker club. And then obviously, they meet... sparks fly... but also DANGEROUS BECAUSE BIKERS AND MOTORCYCLES AND GANGS AND STUFF.<br />
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I think one of my greatest hesitations going into this book was the whole inclusion of a biker club. I probably shouldn't have been so quick to judge as I know next to nothing about them but when I think biker club, I think Hell's Angels, Sons of Anarchy and usually some illegal activity? And I feel like after reading this book, my opinion has changed slightly? I understand the idea of wanting a brotherhood and having people to back you up who you know you can trust but also there were other parts that I still didn't love. Like the objectification and over-sexualisation of women which made me uncomfortable. But despite that, I still thought McGarry offered a new and enlightening perspective on biker clubs.<br />
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And now about that romance... I actually really liked Emily and Oz together. I didn't love Emily as a main character, thought she was a little frustrating but I really liked Oz! In all honesty, I'm still not sold on, like, the tall, leather jacket wearing, sorta brutish dude who rides motorcycles (why Noah wasn't a favourite either) so Oz won't be one of my favourite boys out of all the McGarry novels (that probably goes to Ryan or West) but you know, I really admired him. And OBVIOUSLY Oz wasn't ACTUALLY a bad boy. Obviously he was the bad boy who's a secret softie which you know, by now, I should be tired of but I'm not? Because Katie McGarry is damn good at writing and at writing romance in particular. There are some scenes in this book which, if anyone else had written, I WOULD HAVE PEED MY PANTS OFF AND NOT TAKEN THE REST OF THE BOOK SERIOUSLY AT ALL but because it's Katie McGarry, the casual fall into hot boy and I am holding you close to protect you but then oh my god my breathing's stopped / hitched what!!! still makes me laugh, I admit, but also makes me really antsy for like THE BIG MOMENT when the main characters finally kiss or get together. REALLY GREAT ENTERTAINMENT VALUE HERE THOUGH. The entire time I was reading this book I think I was frantically oscillating between FITS OF LAUGHTER and SCREAMING and SQUEALING. You will get laughs and swoons so what's not to love?<br />
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Besides Katie McGarry works in some really lovely side characters as well. Honestly I think I was MORE in love with the side characters. I adored Olivia and Eli. THOSE TWO ARE MY JAMS. They were so well-developed and done so thoughtfully and in all honesty they made the book so worth reading in addition to the romance.<br />
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So another successful Katie McGarry! Even though this wasn't one of my favourites, I still really enjoyed it. I think no matter what Katie McGarry's books will ALWAYS be addictive. Even though I feel like I'm borderline exhausted of the good girl meets bad boy from the ghetto storyline, I also love how her books deal with a different sort of reality than I'm used to? I think it makes her stories incredibly interesting and entertaining.<br />
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Definitely have started noticing a certain formula Katie McGarry uses for her books but it hasn't stopped my enjoyment whilst reading any of her books yet so I'm okay with it. Nowhere But Here isn't a book I would typically go for but because it's KATIE MCGARRY, I enjoyed wholeheartedly even despite not being sold on our protagonist, Emily. I enjoyed the romance and loved the side characters. The writing was great as always and I enjoyed the dual POVs. I think in Katie's books, they're actually very useful and helpful. Will definitely read the next book in this series!</div>
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if you enjoy romances along the lines of Miranda Kenneally or if you enjoyed I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios, you will enjoy this! Perfect for someone who's looking for a well-written YA romance that also touches on themes of family, friendship as well as has excellent side characters.</div>
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<a href="http://willasramblings.com/book-reviews/book-review-nowhere-but-here/#disqus_thread">Willa @ Willa's Ramblings</a> says: "Nowhere But Here is yet another remarkable book from Katie McGarry, one of my all-time favorite authors. It’s worth not only a read, but also a reread, and another reread."</div>
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<a href="http://chasingfaerytales.blogspot.ca/2015/05/nowhere-but-here-katie-mcgarry-review.html">Mishma @ Chasing Faerytales</a> says: "Overall, Nowhere But Here is a wonderful read with beautiful moments of family, hot romance and great characters!"</div>
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<a href="http://whatsarahread.com/2015/05/05/book-feels-nowhere-but-here-by-katie-mcgarry/">Sarah @ What Sarah Read </a>gives it 4.5 stars: "As I mentioned before, Oz and Emily have amazing chemistry, so it’s only natural that we get some feels-filled moments."</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-12671713608294378852015-12-13T08:00:00.000-05:002015-12-13T08:00:03.046-05:00Light Up Bracelets, Awkward Dancing and Eavesdropping on Strangers: A Taylor Swift Concert Recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>random tidbits from my life.</i><br />
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In honour of Taylor Swift's turning 26 today, I'm going to be finally posting my Taylor Swift concert recap! Yay! </div>
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If you've been following me for a while, you might / probably know that I love Taylor Swift. She is one of my favourite artists for a number of reasons:</div>
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<li style="text-align: left;">Her songs are all SO good and catchy, perfect for shout-singing along to</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">She is a lyrical genius (see State of Grace, Clean, All Too Well, Sad Beautiful Tragic)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Her outfits are SO CUTE (honestly Taylor Swift in her autumnal attire is what I ASPIRE TO)</li>
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Plus she seems like a genuinely nice person? Like I know that's her brand and it's what she's known for and she's probably spent a LOT of time cultivating the image of being girl-next-door and relatable but I also feel like that's a tough act to sell if you aren't at least mostly a nice and relatable and charming person, you know? And from watching interviews and seeing her in concert, I just think she's really intelligent. She's very articulate and obviously knows what she's doing and takes control of her business in a very savvy way and is obviously very musically gifted so YOU KNOW. Major admiration for her.</div>
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1989 came out last October and honestly? I don't think I've stopped playing it since. I feel like it HAS to be my favourite album from her just by virtue of how many times I've played it but also Red so I don't know but it really is a damn good record okay. So anyway, when she announced she was going on a world tour for 1989, I was like I NEED TO GET TICKETS. I saw her during the Red Tour when she came to Toronto and it was absolutely FANTASTIC so I just knew I had to get tickets for 1989.</div>
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I ended up going with my friend Paige. We went on night 1 of her dates in Toronto which was the first Friday of October (October the 2nd). The day before, I had somehow contracted a really bad case of the stomach flu and literally puked my stomach out all day. Ended up going to the hospital where I stayed until 3 the next day (so Friday). Took the day off school and was MIRACULOUSLY healthy enough to at least walk and not have to sit down every 30 seconds. My vomiting had subsided which was FANTASTIC and all I really had were stomach cramps which were manageable. </div>
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So I ended up taking the subway to Union Station where I then waited for my friend Paige. And for some reason, I always way underestimate how big Toronto is and it isn't until I go to like a concert or a play or something like that when I realize holy shit there are so many people in Toronto. Literally SWARMS of people of all ages dressed in Taylor gear. Which was very helpful because, as I joked to Paige, it was kinda like follow the ants. If you've ever been around Front St / Wellington in Toronto (like Union Station vicinity), you know that it is literally the WORST and MOST CONFUSING part of Toronto. There are literally no signs to tell you how to get from point A to point B and if you don't know where you're going, tough luck. But because there were so many people all going to the concert and it was easy to discern who's who, even if we didn't know where we were going, we could have literally just followed the crowd all leading to Rogers Centre.</div>
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Once we actually got to Rogers Centre, it was probably around 6 but we hadn't eaten dinner yet so we decided to walk around and find a place to eat. We were going to go to this really nice Italian restaurant but there was a LINE so we ended up going to this Japanese sushi place across from the TIFF Bell Lightbox. It was basically like a make-your-own-sushi place which was so cool! I ended up getting a sweet potato tempura and avocado roll with barbecue eel sauce. SO GOOD. And then we walked back to Rogers Centre at which point it was maybe around 6:50 and SHAWN MENDES WAS GOING TO START PERFORMING but the lines were soooo long. Like at least 1 km and a bit more so we ended up budding in line which obviously is wrong but also like I kinda feel like at that point, it's kinda fair game for everyone? Because the line was SO long and if I was in line, I would have totally welcomed people budding because dude, I UNDERSTAND. Or maybe I'm just saying this to make myself feel better?<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(excuse the quality of my pictures, took them with my crappy camera but this was the view of the stage from our seats)</span></div>
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But anyway, we ended up getting into the stadium maybe a little bit after Shawn first came on. AND WE HAD REALLY GOOD SEATS. For the Red concert, I was like all the way back in the 500s, like maybe 520? LITERAL NOSEBLEEDS. TAYLOR WAS LESS THAN AN ANT TO ME. SHE WAS A SPECK. But this time, we got seats in the 113s which were pretty solid! I kinda think floor seats are only good if you're literally right beside the stage but otherwise they're kinda shitty because you have to look over everyone's heads which is a dealbreaker for me because I'm 5'2" so you know.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(my seats at the Red concert two years ago, way up in the 500's - obviously zoomed in with my camera a LOT)</span></div>
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But yeah we got good seats and Shawn was really good. I remember watching his Vines ages ago and though I've never been a huge fan, it's nice to see someone from Toronto make it big! And truth be told, I've definitely morphed into a Shawn fan since the concert. LIKE NEVER BE ALONE AND STITCHES AND NO STRINGS ATTACHED ARE SUCH JAMS.</div>
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And then Vance Joy came on! Who was really charming and came out with a Blue Jays cap. He sang a few songs and a cover of Stay With Me. Honestly I only vaguely remember his setlist because I'm not super familiar with his album (although I've listened to it a bit since the concert and I can't say I'm the biggest fan of it as a whole? Though there are some songs I definitely love) but he for sure performed Riptide, Georgia and Fire and the Flood.</div>
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One tiny thing: SAD THAT HAIM WASN'T PART OF THE OPENING ACTS BECAUSE I LOVE HAIM AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AWESOME.</div>
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There was probably forty five minutes from when his setlist ended and Taylor was about to come on so me and Paige ended up walking around. We walked to the floor just to see what it was like and then visited the Blue Jays benches and then went back up to the concession stand area for food and that was also where they had the Taylor Swift Nation photo booth and Taylor's display cases of her clothes which was really interesting because it means she actually probably buys a lot of the dresses she wears for events and such. Which is so cool? So we got to see her Blank Space Ralph Lauren costume on the horse, the EW! Natalie on Fallon costume, the Zuhair Murad she wore to the AMAs (I think? Or Billboard Awards?) from a few years back and her Shake It Off costume!</div>
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We got back to our seats right as Taylor came on stage and opened her concert with Welcome to New York which was SO GOOD. I took one picture and then gave up trying to document my evening because my camera sucks.</div>
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She was so good and I had so much fun dancing and singing along to her but the ONLY downside to the concert was that I was sitting next to a girl I feel was probably a little drunk or maybe just clueless because she kept on WHIPPING ME IN THE FACE WITH HER HAIR and NEARLY GOUGING OUT MY EYES FROM HER ARM WAVING. And at some points she actually like grabbed me by the shoulders and started to sing with me which is like, okay I don't mind strangers and I'm sure you're really nice and I don't mind this as much as I do you nearly hitting me in the face but still personal space!! And then she like started to talk to the guys sitting in front of us and I was eavesdropping on their conversation and it was weird but also very interesting. And then at one point she just yelled FUCKING SIT DOWN and I'm like okayyy. BUT IT WAS ENTERTAINING and made my night more memorable so that's gotta count, right?</div>
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But anyway, I had a lot of fun, jumping and dancing even though I said I wouldn't because of my stomach cramps. Taylor was fantastic and put on a great show. Red was awesome but 1989 was maybe even better. Her dancers were fantastic and there were such cool props and you could probably google all of this if you wanted to but yeah it was fab! Also the light up bracelets were so cool! They lit up automatically during the entire show, switching colours and it was just the coolest thing and so smart. Also I loved how during her transitions (by the way, such fast costume changes!!), she had little videos of each of her friends talking about their friendship and stuff like that and also the graphics during some of the songs were so great like Clean and WANEGBT (by the way, HER CLEAN SPEECH. ICONIC) I loved her renditions of I Knew You Were Trouble, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and Love Story and also when she looped Blue Jays during Blank Space, that was AWESOME. She sang You Belong With Me for her surprise song and then brought out Keith Urban! Who I was excited about because you know, anyone famous is exciting but I was hoping for Drake even though that would have been unlikely and obviously even if she could, she probably wouldn't have brought out The Weeknd or Alanis Morisette out again (even though I WOULD HAVE DIED FOR ALANIS) but Keith Urban was still so cool! And he sang Someone Like You and John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16.</div>
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And then she sang a few more songs, ended with Shake It Off and that was it. AND I WAS SAD but I also had such a fun time. Was hoping to hear her sing All You Had to Do Was Stay though because that was one of my favourite songs off 1989 but obviously time restraints but anyway SO GOOD. It made me wish I had gotten tickets to night 2 as well so I could relive the magic although obviously I would never have been able to afford both of them and obviously I'm grateful I got to see her at all. Also side notes / reflections from the concert: some fan costumes were SO GOOD. Honestly it's so cool how much effort people put into them! There was this really cool looking Bad Blood style poster two people made and it's hard to explain but it was fantastic. Also Taylor is such a great performer obviously but I think her strength is in making a giant concert still feel very intimate and like she's connecting to each and every one of us individually. ALSO SHE WORE MY FAVOURITE STYLE OUTFIT.</div>
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<b>Nearly two months later and I'm still reminiscing about this concert by replaying 1989 over and over. Hopefully you enjoyed reading my recap although I think you deserve a prize if you even read the entire thing because wow that means so much to me that you'd put up with my rambling for so long.</b></div>
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<b>Tell me in the comments if you've ever seen Taylor in concert or what your favourite song off of 1989 is! And then also, who's the best person you've ever seen live in concert just for fun! </b></div>
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Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-11588451220057055412015-12-03T08:00:00.000-05:002015-12-03T08:00:01.613-05:00The Throne of Glass Book Tag<br />
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Any excuse to celebrate the brilliance of Throne of Glass and show my support and love for the series is welcome for me, which is why today I'm going to be doing the Throne of Glass Book Tag as created by <a href="http://www.soobsessedwith.com/2015/10/the-throne-of-glass-book-tag.html">Hannah</a> and <a href="http://www.alexalovesbooks.com/">Alexa</a> (even though I wasn't tagged but it looked like too much fun to be passed up on!).<br />
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I picked up Throne of Glass for the first time this year and it's still crazy to me that before January, I had no idea the sheer magnificence that lay within Throne of Glass. It's now one of my favourite series and that's pretty high praise from someone who typically doesn't venture into fantasy. I fell FAST and HARD for this series, guys and since I'm planning on finally pulling on my big girl panties and starting Queen of Shadows this week (YES, I am finally doing it!), I thought this tag would be a perfect way for me to get myself reacquainted with the world of Throne of Glass.<br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>the throne of glass book tag.</b></span></div>
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<b>Lysandra | A book with a cover change you loved</b><br />
Lysandra who? I know nothing about her besides the fact that I'll meet her in Queen of Shadows but thankfully, I do know what my answer for this question is going to be: <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25373.Nick_Norah_s_Infinite_Playlist?from_search=true&search_version=service">Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan</a></i>. Not to be mean but every single edition of this book was honestly hideous until the anniversary edition released recently. It is the cover for this book I have been WAITING FOR. It's not my absolute favourite cover on Earth but man, is it a step up from the other covers. I'm a huge typography nerd so I love that the main focus of this cover is the font which I happen to really like. I also find that the overall feel that this cover conveys aligns with how I felt reading Nick & Norah and it always makes me happy when covers reflect what I felt while reading the book through colours, images, etc. Definitely a successful cover change!<br />
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<b>Abraxos | A book that's better on the inside than it looks on the outside</b><br />
Open Road Summer was going to be my first choice for this but then I remember <i><a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.ca/2015/07/magnolia-by-kristi-cook.html">Magnolia by Kristi Cook</a></i>. A book I liked a lot but that, unfortunately, has a really dismal cover. Books with models on the cover are usually a hit or miss with me and this one is definitely a miss. I think the only thing I really like about this cover is the magnolia flower under the title - I thought that was a nice and appropriate touch - but everything else? Pass. Had this not been a book I had heard tons of prior praise for, I don't think I would have picked it up based on the cover at all which would have been a shame because Magnolia is so good.<br />
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<b>Erilea | A series with great world-building</b><br />
<i><a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-diviners-by-libba-bray.html">The Diviners by Libba Bray</a></i> is undoubtedly one of the best when it comes to worldbuilding. Both The Diviners and its sequel, Lair of Dreams, are MONSTERS but reasonably so when you read them and realize just how much detail is put into creating a realistic setting for the characters and the story to thrive in. I feel like everyone should just take notes from Libba Bray on how to successfully build and immerse a reader in a world. Reading The Diviners and Lair of Dreams made me feel like I had lived the 20's and when it comes to worldbuilding, for me at least, the only way I really measure whether it was done successfully or not is to ask myself if it feels familiar enough that I can imagine having lived in that world in that time.<br />
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<b>Rifthold | A book that combines genres</b><br />
The first book that came to mind was Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian but you know, that might be a spoiler for those of you who haven't read the series or past the first book soooo let's go with <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22929578-the-fixer?ac=1&from_search=1">The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes</a></i> which is a really fun contemporary, thriller (review to come soon!).<br />
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<b>Damaris | A book based on or inspired by a myth or a legend</b><br />
First book that came to mind: <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18798983-the-wrath-and-the-dawn?ac=1&from_search=1">The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh</a> </i>which I absolutely LOVED. It's a retelling of 1001 Nights which is something I haven't seen done until recently and it was fantastic. I loved the writing and loved the story and I can't wait for the sequel. Oh my god guys, you don't understand how BADLY I need that book.<br />
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<b>Kaltain Rompier | A book with an unexpected twist</b><br />
I am generally unfazed by twists in books which is a source of mystery for me. I have no idea why I am so nonreactive to twists, I just am? The one book that I do remember having a very intense, like literal OH MY GOD GASP WHAT JUST HAPPENED was <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16074758-dangerous-girls?ac=1&from_search=1">Dangerous Girls by Abigial Haas</a></i>. I know, you've probably heard about this book and its twist a gazillion times by now but truly when I read the book, it blew my mind. I COULD NOT get over it for two days.<br />
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<b>The Assassin's Keep | A book with an unreliable narrator</b><br />
No surprise here either what book came to mind first: <i><a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.ca/2014/05/we-were-liars-by-e-lockhart.html">We Were Liars by E. Lockhart</a></i>. I think it's probably one of the best known YA books with an unreliable narrator but you know, if there is one thing that is indisputable about We Were Liars, it's that the narrator (Charity? Clarice?) is very unreliable.<br />
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<b>Asterin Blackbeak | A book that's got SQUAD GOALS</b><br />
So many books I could list off for this INCLUDING Throne of Glass but ultimately, I think I have to go with Lena, Bridget, Carmen and Tibby from <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/452306.The_Sisterhood_of_the_Traveling_Pants?ac=1&from_search=1">The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares</a></i>. Honestly, to this day, I still try to strive to model my friendships after theirs because it is just so loving and accepting and MAKES ME CRY HONESTLY.<br />
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<b>Terrasen | A book that feels like home</b><br />
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8127.Anne_of_Green_Gables?ac=1&from_search=1">Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery</a></i> is a book that always feels like home to me even though I've read it once but the story is so special to me, made even more so because I was gifted a copy from my grandmother.<br />
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<b>Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | A book with the power to destroy you</b><br />
I'm gonna be honest here: <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18006496-queen-of-shadows?ac=1&from_search=1">Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas</a> </i>is most likely going to DESTROY ME. I still haven't read it yet but I will be right after I publish this tag (like literally I will be picking up the book straight away) and you know, even though I'm probably going to be a mess after I read it, I'M WELCOMING THE POSSIBILITY BECAUSE SJM YO. AND AELIN. AND BASICALLY THIS ENTIRE SERIES.<br />
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<b>Manon Blackbeak | A book that intimidated you</b><br />
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136251.Harry_Potter_and_the_Deathly_Hallows?ac=1&from_search=1">Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling</a> </i>took me three years to get to and basically two months to finish just because it was so darn big and I was so intimidated. It was probably one of the first books I ever read that was over 500 pages by quite a significant amount which was scary on its own but add to that the fact that it was the conclusion of one of my FAVOURITE series and that was enough to make me want to run the other way.<br />
<b><br />Rowan Whitethorn | A book that makes you swoon</b><br />
SO MANY BOOKS I COULD LIST FOR THIS. But honestly I have to go with the one and only Kasie West on this. If you want cute, swoon, you HAVE TO check out her books. They're all so fantastic and so cute but honestly I think I have to go with my favourite <i><a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.ca/2015/07/the-fill-in-boyfriend-by-kasie-west.html">The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West</a> </i>for this one. Because OH MY GOD FILL IN BOYFRIEND / FIB / NAME I WON'T REVEAL IS ALDSJFL.<br />
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<b><br />Chaol Westfall | A book that challenged you to see things differently</b><br />
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7824322-between-shades-of-gray?ac=1&from_search=1">Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys</a> </i>was an interesting book for me to read in 2013 because it was the first time I was really exposed to the fact that World War II was a greater string of events and not solely comprised of the Holocaust and Hitler, which WAS obviously very significant but also there were things happening elsewhere around the world like Stalin and the USSR. It was really the first time I had heard of that so reading the book was at once fascinating and horrifying but it definitely opened my eyes a lot to World War II.<br />
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<b>Fleetfoot | A book that you received as a gift</b><br />
My grandmother (same one who gave me Anne) gifted me a gorgeous illustrated copy of <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5659.The_Wind_in_the_Willows?ac=1&from_search=1">The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame</a> </i>which is one of my most prized bookish possessions because it is GORGEOUS but also because it was one of the first books I remember sitting down and reading together with my mom and at 5, it was also one of the first books that really taught me how to read by myself. (Also PS thinking of books for this question made me realize how rarely I get books as gifts now which makes me so sad? So hi friends and family, if you are reading this, my birthday / Christmas is coming up and if you were planning on getting a gift but aren't sure what to get, BOOKS would be super appreciated.)<br />
<b><br />Eye of Elena | A book you found right when you needed it</b><br />
<i><a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.ca/2015/08/wanderlove-by-kirsten-hubbard.html">Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard</a> </i>was a book I read right when I was having some sort of existential crisis and questioning everything and feeling highly insecure about my future and stuff like that and when I picked it up, I was mostly just hoping for a fun reread of a book I knew was going to be good. I definitely didn't expect something that would hit me so hard and I don't know... it's hard to explain but if you read my review (which is linked in the title of the book!), you'll get a better grasp of sorta how this book moved me so much and how it came into my life at the exact right time.<br />
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<b>Thank you to Hannah and Alexa once again for creating such a fun tag! I'm definitely in the mood to dive back into Throne of Glass and FINALLY read Queen of Shadows. Hope you guys enjoyed reading my answers as much as I enjoyed thinking of them!</b></div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-49792810259734951532015-11-30T08:00:00.000-05:002015-11-30T08:00:05.842-05:00A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16096824-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses?ac=1">A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas</a></b><br />
<b>A Court of Thorns and Roses #1</b><br />
<b>Published May 5, 2015 by Bloomsbury Children's</b><br />
<b>Hardcover, 416 pages</b><br />
<b>Borrowed from library</b><br />
<b><br /></b>(from Goodreads)<br />
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A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.<br />
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When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.<br />
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As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it... or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.<br />
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Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!<br />
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Feyre, a human girl living in Prythian, has been taught from childhood to fear and detest the faeries who live up north. They're monsters who have had a long history of terrorizing humans. Feyre has also been told to stay away from the woods as often as possible as faeries can sometimes pop up there and no human in the presence of a faerie ever survives. But one day in the woods, Feyre kills a wolf which unknowingly sets off a string of events that place her right in the grasps of the monsters she's been told to hate and fear all her life: faeries.<br />
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<b>WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD. PLEASE PROCEED AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.</b></div>
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Three words: what a disappointment. Yes, you read that right: I am disappointed and let down by A Court of Thorns and Roses. I don't even know where to start to begin to explain why I feel this way; there were so many things that just absolutely did not work for me at all. And I try to refrain from comparing two different works by the same author to each other and yet I can't help myself from wondering just how it's possible for me to love Throne of Glass SO MUCH - it's one of my favourite series - and also despise A Court of Thorns and Roses at the same time? SORRY EXCUSE ME JUST GOING THROUGH A BOOKISH EXISTENTIAL CRISIS HERE. Can I still consider Sarah J. Maas a favourite author? Is Throne of Glass really THAT good if I didn't like this book? (Ok the answer to this question is still yes.) Are faeries just not for me? Do I not like sexy romances? I DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYMORE.</div>
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The one thing I do know though - the ONE positive thing that's come out from reading this book - is that I should trust my own preferences over hype. I mean, the amount of hype a book gets is usually a decent indication of the quality of a book but that doesn't mean that every single book that gets a lot of praise is going to work for you. I don't like books about faeries (although I do like retellings) but I read this book anyway, got my hopes up for something great and ended up being sorely disappointed. Being honest here, I think I would've read this book even if it wasn't widely lauded by basically everyone because Sarah J. Maas, yo, but my point still stands: trust yourself over everyone else. I think if I had gone into this book with the fact that I don't like books about faeries taken into consideration, I wouldn't have gotten my hopes so high and thus, been let down so badly. In reading all those reviews, I feel like I convinced MYSELF that I loved books about faeries because everyone else loved them and this book AND I REALLY REALLY DIDN'T LIKE THIS BOOK AND IT'S MAKING ME REALLY SAD.</div>
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I think the first thing I had issue with in this book was the writing and the pacing. We all know by now Sarah J. Maas is a good writer and her writing in A Court of Thorns and Roses certainly couldn't be called bad but boring? I'd consider it. Unlike Throne of Glass, I never felt drawn in by the writing. Maybe it was the first person narration and the fact that Feyre annoyed me to no end and maybe it was the fact that the story just wasn't every strong but I just never felt interested. Up until maybe the last quarter of the book, I was bored out of my skull. Nothing happened except the detailing of every single thing Feyre did while living under Tamlin and NONE OF IT WAS EXCITING. Thorough and descriptive writing of literally every single detail is kinda Sarah J. Maas' M.O. but the difference between Throne of Glass and this book is that Throne of Glass had characters I cared about and a straightforward and clear plot that was INTERESTING and UNIQUE and EXCITING. Without any of that in A Court of Thorns and Roses, Sarah's writing ended up being really really bland and the pacing of the story didn't help AT ALL. </div>
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I think this is where A Court of Thorns and Roses runs into its next problem. So much happens in this book and often it was a jumbled mess. I failed to see the direction of the story while reading the book and even now having finished it, I still don't know where exactly this story is heading. Like, what is the point of this story? What is Feyre's purpose? I DON'T KNOW. I just felt like thing after thing after thing was happening and none of it really made any sense? None of it connected to m </div>
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And also I just think the story was very weak in general. Feyre kills a faerie so Tamlin comes to tell her that her payment is a life for a life. Okay, so far so good. But then he takes her to his mansion where she basically lives in luxury and has a better life than she did in human-land? And there's a curse that forces Tamlin to wear a masquerade mask 24/7? Like okay? Sure? I'm not convinced though? </div>
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And then the romance... OH MAN did I ever hate the romance. I just wasn't keen on Tamlin (or Feyre for that matter) as a character, as a love interest and though I knew right off the bat it was inevitable they'd end up together I still hated it. Talk about something else that didn't have me convinced... SO NOT BUYING IT. And then there were also scenes that kinda made me feel a little uncomfortable (the bonfire night for those who've read this book. YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT). But I have to be honest that some of the kissing scenes were kinda exciting to read because EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE BOOK WAS SO DULL. So even though I hated Tamlin and Feyre and the romance, whenever there was progression on that front, it was like AT LEAST SOMETHING IN THIS BOOK IS GOING SOMEWHERE. Although the fact he permanently has a mask on just totally killed the mood for me during their kissing / sex scenes like in one scene he just starts going to town on her and like yay that should be exciting and sexy right but then you remember he has a mask on 24/7 and I don't think that would feel very comfortable? So ha ha but no thanks.</div>
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The one thing this book DID have going for it though was Rhysand (even though UGH I had problems with his character as well but he seemed to have the most depth of all the characters and I feel like he could be really interesting) and Lucien. Both very very interesting characters who I desperately want to see more of. Apart from that? This book was a total bust for me.</div>
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Unfortunately, A Court of Thorns and Roses wasn't for me AT ALL. The plot and the writing were dull and made it difficult for me to stay engaged with the story. I felt like the story was also sorta jumping all over the place and lagged on for quite a bit. Wasn't a fan of any of the characters really except for Lucien and Rhysand and wasn't a fan of the romance either. In my opinion, this book could have worked very well as a standalone (but I could also just be saying that because I don't want to continue the series) and I really hope it was. But no such luck. Just an all around disappointment</div>
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Having such strong opinions on this book, I don't think I can really recommend it? But if this sounds like something you think you'd like, go for it. Everyone has different dislikes and likes and I always want to say this whenever I write my reviews, especially my negative reviews: TAKE THEM WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. Something I love may be something you hate while something you hate may be something you love so I like to say to give everything an equal chance. (I also feel super guilty whenever I write a negative review and get comments like "I don't think I'm going to read this any more" so hopefully by writing this I'll feel less RESPONSIBLE)</div>
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<a href="http://www.therewerebooksinvolved.com/arc-review-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-by-sarah-j-maas/">Nikki @ There Were Books Involved</a> gives it 5 stars: "I think I could literally talk about this book all day. Just writing this review has made me want to re-read it — to re-live the story and be with these characters again, ugh, they are so good."</div>
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<a href="http://yamidnightreads.com/2015/05/review-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-by-sarah-j-maas/">Celine @ YA Midnight Reads</a> gives it 1.5 stars: "The beginning was strong. I enjoyed Feyre and her stubbornness and I was ready for this. The writing was lush and imaginative, and I was immediately sucked into the story. But after that, things went downhill quickly."</div>
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<a href="http://effortlesslyreading.com/2015/05/arc-book-review-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-sarah-j-maas/">Kelly @ Effortlessly Reading</a> gives it 3.5 stars: "For people who were looking forward to reading A Court of Thorns and Roses because it’s a Beauty and the Beastretelling, I can tell you that on that aspect, it definitely doesn’t disappoint."</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-70106651948425454652015-10-10T18:07:00.001-04:002015-10-10T18:07:50.665-04:00Blog Announcement: Stepping Away Indefinitely<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>important updates and news regarding the runaway reader.</i></div>
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Hi guys, Annie here. I'm not quite sure what to say in this post besides the point of it which is that I'm taking a break from this blog indefinitely. And 'indefinitely', to me at least, always sounds a bit foreboding, like that something you think is going to happen but REALLY hope won't, will, in fact, occur. But in this context, I really do mean 'indefinitely' as in I will be making a return to this blog sometime in the future, I just don't know when yet.<br />
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Since returning from vacation in July, I haven't been active on this blog very much and recently I've tried to fix that but to be honest with you, I just haven't been in a great place physically or mentally lately. I feel like I just need a break from everything and take some time off for me to focus on feeling less stressed and less exhausted and less... everything. So needless to say, blogging is a part of that.<br />
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I wasn't initially planning on writing any sort of blog post to "announce" my break as I've practically been on a break since August but I guess it feels more comforting to me to make it official like this.<br />
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This is not the end. Just a break.<br />
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I'll be back. Love you guys and see you soon,<br />
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Annie xo</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-36720779689689958072015-10-03T23:49:00.003-04:002015-10-03T23:49:35.150-04:00September 2015 Monthly Recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>a look at how this past month went in my life, both on & off the blog</i><br />
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September's over and I'm not the least bit sad. Actually I'm REJOICING. September wasn't that bad for me but if you asked if I wanted to relive it, I would say no. It was that kind of month, you know? Not good but not the worst. It just felt like a trudge to get through. I can hardly believe that only 22 DAYS AGO I was still chilling at home on summer break. It feels like ages ago. My life since those first eight days of September has been essentially the exact opposite of relaxed. Oh and of course, to top it all off, I ended the month by catching the stomach flu! Yay!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;">what happened.</span></b></div>
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<b>1. School started.</b> This is obviously the big thing of the month. I started school! And while it's been great to see all my friends and teachers again, it's also been really stressful. I love all my classes and ended up with some really great teachers this year but just having to go through the ordeal of wondering who's in your classes, wondering where to sit, meeting new people again is always a little anxiety-inducing for me. I've also gotten a LOT of homework so far which of course isn't very fun. I definitely have a better organization system this year but I'm still very much a procrastinator so I'm trying to work on that. Overall though it really hasn't been that bad. Like I said, I've been enjoying all my classes (I'm taking math, english, biology, chemistry, ceramics, pre-AP french, world history to the 16th century and introduction to anthropology, psychology and sociology! I've been loving my biology, english, history and math classes which are all on the same day which SUCKS because then I have a great day and a shitty day when really it'd be so much nicer if they were equally good. The only one class I really regret taking though is pre-AP french. I feel like I'm in way over my head!) Plus, in a way, it is nice to get back into a routine and have something to do every day. For the last week of the summer break, I was basically DYING for school to start just because it was so monotonous to wake up and not have anything to do so in that way, it's been nice to return to school. But on the other hand, I've also had zero time to do anything but sleep, eat and do homework so there's that.<br />
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<b>2. Other things I did in September: went to Momofuku, bought Queen of Shadows, FINALLY sorted out our internet/wifi, did not buy a dress I really liked, attended the Maple Leafs fan fest, strolled through a park, ate out a lot and baked muffins. </b>So yes, I finally went to Momofuku and it was good! The cup they give you seemed a little small at first but they're actually quite generous with their soft serve so I found it was actually quite a decent amount. The only thing was the price which was SO expensive for an ice cream but I also wouldn't be opposed to buying it if I'm having it once every few months. I tried the milk soft serve with cornflakes (after reading <a href="http://www.twirlingpages.com/2015/07/31/to-all-the-ice-cream-ive-loved-before/">Alexandra's experience with it in her ice cream post</a>, one of my favourite posts of all time) but I would definitely be up for going back and trying their other flavours. And their cookies as well (slightly sad they don't have Klossies here though).<br />
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And I BOUGHT QUEEN OF SHADOWS. And it's a signed copy!! Let's not talk about how I still haven't read it yet (school OKAY) but at least, I own it which means I can find out any time I want what happens with Aelin and the gang.<br />
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We sorted out our internet which was great! I'm going to skip over this as it's not really interesting or exciting to anyone but me and my parents because we've been trying to get it done for SO LONG.<br />
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Major regret of the month: not buying a dress when I saw it on the rack. It was a dress I really really loved but I didn't get it the day I saw it and when I went back a week later, SOLD OUT. I can't even get it online because all the sizes are US only.<br />
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This next one is kind of a funny story. I was never really planning on going to fan fest but then a friend of mine got tickets so we went. And like it was fun but also not overly exciting? We didn't really get to meet any players but we got free tickets to a Marlies game which is cool so that's a thing I'll be looking forward to in October!<br />
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And yep, I went to a park that I'd never been to before and it was gorgeous. We also ate out a lot this month which is rare since usually we only eat out maybe 4 to 7 times a month? But we ate out a LOT this month so I had some really great food! And finally I baked muffins. Which probably very exctiing for most of you but I can't and don't bake so the fact that I made muffins and they tasted good is a breakthrough! Though I did bake them with a friend so maybe that's why they didn't end up horrible.<br />
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<b>3. Mid Autumn Moon Festival. </b>This month was also the mid-autumn moon festival and I don't know if it's strictly a Chinese thing or if other East Asians celebrate it as well? But yeah, we don't do a lot for the festival except for going out to dinner and eating mooncakes which are both fun things to do.<br />
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<b>4. Stomach flu. </b>Well this is definitely not fun. Technically speaking, it's October 2 and I still have it so it's not strictly a September thing but it started on the 30th and it has not been fun. I went to the hospital and they gave me Zofran so I've stopped vomiting which is VERY good but I still have a lot of pain and discomfort with my insides and am slightly dehydrated with a sore throat even though I've been drinking a lot of water. And I have the Taylor Swift concert tonight! Haha!</div>
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<b style="color: #674ea7; font-size: xx-large;">monthly playlist.</b></div>
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This month, I listened to a lot of RY X, The Arcs, Ben Howard (as his album I Forget Where We Were is perfect autumnal listening), Nic Hessler (Willa, if you're reading this, THANK YOU), Tove Styrke and Mamma Mia (since I watched the movie in FULL for the first time - I've only caught bits of it on TV but they've been from different moments in the movie so I've practically seen the entire thing out of order and in tiny snippets - and then my school insisted on playing a lot of Mamma Mia in the mornings which I'm not complaining about!).<br />
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<b><br /></b><span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>currently reading, just finished & up next.</b></span></div>
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Thanks to school and just being really overwhelmed with all the things I have to do, I haven't really been reading very much. The last book I finished was <b>Shopaholic to the Stars by Sophie Kinsella </b>which I finished over two weeks ago. So yeah, I haven't finished any new books in two weeks but I am currently reading <b>Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray</b>, the follow up novel to The Diviners and it's really good but also slow going because it's soo long. But I think it's a safe bet to say I'll be able to finish it by the end of this month!<br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>challenge updates.</b></span></div>
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Despite my best efforts, I've slacked off on all my challenges. I've stopped keeping track of what books count to which challenges so I can't tell you to save my life how far I've gotten into each challenge. I'll probably do a wrap up post near the end of the year and recount all the books I read that can be counted towards which goals but as of now, it's not really a top priority. BECAUSE SCHOOL.<br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>highlights of the runaway reader.</b></span></div>
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<li>I shared <a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.ca/2015/09/annies-wishlist-back-to-school.html">my back to school wishlist</a> two weeks late.</li>
<li>I talked about <a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.ca/2015/09/some-books-i-did-like-my-thoughts-on.html">some books I liked</a> + <a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.ca/2015/09/some-books-i-didnt-like-my-thoughts-on.html">some I didn't like</a>.</li>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>what to expect in october.</b></span><br />
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I don't know how October's going to go blog-wise but as of now I would not expect a massive turnaround from how things were in September. I'm still recovering from my sickness and having taken a few days off from school, I have SO MUCH work to catch up on and so much stuff to do in general that it's making me a little terrified. But I think I'm almost certainly going to recap my experience at the Taylor Swift concert on Friday on the blog so you can look out for that in the next few days / weeks / whenever I get my shizz together? And of course, the follow up post to my back to school wishlist!<br />
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<b>Do you guys have anything fun / interesting planned for October? How was your September? I haven't chatted with you guys in a while so talk to me in the comments!!</b></div>
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Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-84584199091716617502015-09-20T19:13:00.000-04:002015-09-20T19:13:02.995-04:00Annie's Wishlist: Back to School Essentials Pt. 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>things i would buy if i had an endless amount of money.</i></div>
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Going back to school is something I view with a mixture of apprehension and excitement. On one hand, I hate to give up all my free time lazing around in my bed to having to wake up at 7:40 again and have a highly regimented schedule from 8:50 to 3:15. But on the other hand, I do love seeing all my friends and favourite teachers again and having something to do with my free time (hmm so maybe I don't hate it all that much?) and of course, going to back to school gives me the opportunity to do the best thing in the entire world: back to school shopping.<br />
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Each year, there is only one thing I look forward to doing at the beginning of September and that is hitting up Staples to get all the school supplies I need. This year I was a little overeager and finished it two weeks ago so currently I have pretty much checked off everything on my stuff-that-I-actually-absolutely-need-for-school list which leaves me with only my list of things-I-don't-need-for-school-but-would-really-really-like-if-I-somehow-stumble-upon-some-more-money-one-day. There are quite a few items on that list as I really like to fantasize about things to buy that I can't actually afford but what I have pictured down below is the bulk of the list! Just some things that I would <i>like </i>to have for school but don't actually <i>need</i>. Although I do believe that everyone should have these items ready and prepared for going back to school in some form or another. Like maybe not a pack of Wopex pencils in particular because they're quite pricey but obviously if you're going to school, a pack of pencils would be useful! Okay I think I've gotten a bit sidetracked so I'll just stop dragging out this introduction...<br />
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(And yes I do know school has started for about two weeks already. In fact that is the whole reason why this post is so delayed. I HAVE NO TIME but even so, there is never a bad time to muse about all the cute stationery + school stuff you can buy.)<br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>annie's wishlist: back to school essentials.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.fjallraven.us/collections/kanken/products/kanken?variant=5719852933">1. fjallraven kanken backpack in ox red.</a></b></span><br />
A friend first introduced me to these backpacks and since then I have been OBSESSED. I love the simple design and am in love with the array of colours these backpacks are available in. I am partial to the colour red, especially a darker red which I find looks good with practically every single colour combination on this planet so it's versatile! Not that it really matters since a lot of my clothes are in the black, white, grey, navy blue range but like say I wanted to get a shirt in burnt orange, this backpack would also look good with that shirt. I've seen these backpacks in store and they don't look super big but they'd be the perfect size to have for school trips or just days where I don't have to lug my binders with me to school. Anyway I just really like the look of these so they're definitely at the top of my wishlist this school year.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?Sec=13&Sub=53&PID=5661">2. muji gel pens.</a></b></span><br />
Muji is one of my favourite stores EVER. You legit don't know how excited I was when a Muji opened in Toronto even though its selection is very poor but like, BETTER THAN NOTHING. I love the minimalist design approach that Muji has and how they choose to focus on function and simple, intuitive designs rather than something that has a complicated design and has horrible quality. Everything I've gotten from Muji so far has been GREAT quality. Their notebooks are decently priced and are so hardy. My favourite of theirs would have to be the A5 dotted notebook with the elastic around it. THE PAPER IS SO SMOOTH. Anyway yes I do love Muji a lot and their gel pens are something I've had my eye on for a really long time. I talked about my stationery obsession in my last <a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.com/2015/08/latest-obsessions-july-august-2015.html">Latest Obsessions</a> and these Muji gels are on my list of pens I want to buy. I've heard great things about them from so many people and from seeing them and testing them in stores, I find that they have really great colour and are really smooth when writing as well! Pens are so important for school OBVIOUSLY and if they write nicely and come in fun colours, I promise you'll be 1000x more motivated to take notes and do your work.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.jetpens.com/Zebra-Mildliner-Double-Sided-Highlighter-Fine-Bold-5-Mild-Fluorescent-Color-Set/pd/4866">3. zebra mildliners.</a></b></span><br />
I AM OBSESSED WITH THESE HIGHLIGHTERS. It's so hard to find cute highlighters you guys but THESE HIGHLIGHTERS FIT THE BILL. There are three different packages of these highlighters, each with a slightly different colour theme but all equally pretty. You definitely won't find the classic highlighter colours here! THEY'RE ALSO DOUBLE SIDED. (On a side note, if you would like a highlighter recommendation, I really really love the Staedtler Textsurfer Classics. They have great bright colours but they don't bleed through papers and they're not overwhelmingly bright. They also glide on paper super well. CHECK THESE OUT.)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.katespade.com/classic-nylon-lacey/PWRU4094,en_US,pd.html">4. kate spade classic nylon lacey wallet.</a></b></span><br />
I literally salivate over Kate Spade wallets every day. Initially I had my eye on their Cobb Hill from a while ago and their recent - but now not sold anymore - small green scalloped edge wallet as it was the perfect size for pocket change or just for when I don't want to carry a large wallet (like when I'm going to school or to a party, YOU KNOW) but BOTH ARE GONE NOW so I had another look around and I think this is my favourite wallet that they carry right now. I love how this one has a little zip inside for pocket change which is an absolute must for any wallet. I don't think I could live with a wallet that either just had one pocket or only billfolds. WHERE AM I GOING TO PUT MY LOONIES AND TOONIES? Also love how many card slots there are. Basically in love with this wallet in general. This would keep me so organized. I would never ever lose my money or my student ID or my library card ever again.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/paper/studio-oh-2016-softcover-planner/846307023751-item.html">5. studio oh! 2016 planner.</a></b></span><br />
As soon as I saw this at Indigo, it was pretty hard for me to stay away even though I get an agenda from school. BUT IT'S SO CUTE. I didn't buy one though and I don't think I will but I definitely think a planner of some sort is very important for school. Especially if you're in high school and even more especially if you're in grade 11+ when you start to get more homework. Things WILL go to shit if you don't keep track of what you have to do each day. I can't tell you how many times my agenda has come to my rescue. MORE THAN I CAN COUNT HONESTLY. I like to look for agendas that have a monthly view and have an interesting design. I also like it when the Saturday and Sunday sections are the same size as the other days. Honestly it pisses me off when they're half the size because honestly Sundays and Saturdays are just as busy for me. And of course if they're CUTE that's a bonus. This planner evidently checks off all the boxes.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.staedtler.ca/en/products/pencils-accessories/pencils/wopex-182-neon-premium-quality-pencil/">6. staedtler wopex pencils.</a></b></span><br />
I despise using graphite pencils - I'm a mechanical pencil through and through (but only 0.5 lead please) - but I make an exception for the Wopex pencils. They are BY FAR my favourite graphite pencils. They're made of a plasticy material which makes for such comfortable gripping. They are really solid and also write super nicely. I hate writing with graphite pencils because they dull so easily and I like sharp points and thin lines but I find these pencils last really well and write really great even when they do get a bit dull. Definitely my favourite graphite pencils!<br />
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I had no idea how long this post would get although WHY AM I SURPRISED so I've split this into two parts! Honestly I'm as ruthless with splitting posts into two parts as Hollywood is with splitting the last movie of a franchise into two. But I didn't want to post another giant wall of text again so instead of having ONE giant wall, I'm going with two slightly LESS GIANT walls of text.<br />
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<b>Now for question time! What are some of your back to school essentials? What do you absolutely NEED to have? Do you like stationery and pens as much as I do? What are some of the best pens and pencils you've used? Tell me in the comments!</b></div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-85390237976722024542015-09-06T22:29:00.001-04:002015-10-03T23:55:12.639-04:00Some Books I Did Like + My Thoughts On Them<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last week, I published a collection of <a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.com/2015/09/some-books-i-didnt-like-my-thoughts-on.html">four mini reviews on books I DIDN'T like</a> and this week, I thought it'd be appropriate to post a more positive post on books I did, in fact, enjoy. Since I'm still trying to TRIM DOWN the list of books I have to review, I'm going to be writing mini reviews again! It's been maybe two months since I've read these books so my memory is a little fuzzy which means I probably don't have enough to say about these books to qualify for a full-length review which means mini reviews = NEW BEST FRIEND. (on my standards, I guess? Because I know these mini reviews really aren't that "mini" compared to everyone else's mini reviews. I JUST LIKE TO TALK A LOT OK??). SO BYE NEGATIVITY AND BOOKS I DIDN'T LIKE because here is a POSITIVE post about books I DID LIKE (like, a lot).<br />
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<b>WARNING: THESE REVIEWS CONTAIN SPOILERS. PLEASE PROCEED AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.</b></div>
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<b><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16071745-someday-someday-maybe?ac=1">Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham</a></b></b></div>
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<b>Published April 30, 2013 by Ballantine Books</b></div>
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<b>Hardcover, 344 pages</b></div>
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<b>Borrowed from library</b></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">A charming and laugh-out-loud novel by Lauren Graham, beloved star of Parenthood and Gilmore Girls, about an aspiring actress trying to make it in mid-nineties New York City.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">Franny Banks is a struggling actress in New York City, with just six months left of the three year deadline she gave herself to succeed. But so far, all she has to show for her efforts is a single line in an ad for ugly Christmas sweaters and a degrading waitressing job. She lives in Brooklyn with two roommates-Jane, her best friend from college, and Dan, a sci-fi writer, who is very definitely not boyfriend material-and is struggling with her feelings for a suspiciously charming guy in her acting class, all while trying to find a hair-product cocktail that actually works. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">Meanwhile, she dreams of doing "important" work, but only ever seems to get auditions for dishwashing liquid and peanut butter commercials. It's hard to tell if she'll run out of time or money first, but either way, failure would mean facing the fact that she has absolutely no skills to make it in the real world. Her father wants her to come home and teach, her agent won't call her back, and her classmate Penelope, who seems supportive, might just turn out to be her toughest competition yet. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">Someday, Someday, Maybe is a funny and charming debut about finding yourself, finding love, and, most difficult of all, finding an acting job.</span></div>
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I haven't watched Parenthood or Gilmore Girls (although I have been told by many that I should start watching the latter!) so I didn't really know who Lauren Graham was before reading this book but now that I've finished, I am such a fan. Obviously this book isn't a memoir but Lauren's writing was just so charming and witty and so so delightful to read. A lot of what happens in this book isn't tremendously exciting. No one goes on a car chase here. There isn't any salacious relationship either. Most of it was just detailing Franny's day to day life, which admittedly did get a bit repetitive as there are only so many auditions and casting calls you can read about before it all starts to blend together, but that's just a testament to how good Lauren's writing is because even DESPITE the fact that what happened in Franny's life wasn't the most interesting thing ever, I was kept engaged and entertained and I wanted to read on. </div>
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Another thing I loved was the 1995 New York setting. I have never been to New York nor have I lived through the year 1995 but something about Lauren Graham's writing just made it so easy to picture myself right there with Franny. Also the side characters are AMAZING. And I thought the inserts from Franny's Filofax Lauren Graham included were so cute and a great way to show some more of Franny's personality. And speaking of Franny, I WAS SUCH A FAN OF THIS GIRL. She was charming and determined and witty and clever and someone I would totally want to be friends with. But most importantly, her situation resonated so deeply with me and I think that's the best part of this entire book. I was able to relate, even though I'm not an aspiring actor nor am I in my twenties which is so weird because those are two things that are so rooted in Franny's identity. And yet... I still had such a strong connection with Franny. Honestly I don't think I've had as strong a connection with any other character so far this year. Her insecurity and uncertainty about her future is basically exactly how I feel and there were some quotes in the book that just totally struck me like WOW that's a feeling I've always had but never knew how to put into words. </div>
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Okay now that I'm writing this review... I'm thinking I should boost my rating from a 4.5 to a 5. Like there are still things that irked me but they're so minor compared to the massive impact that this book had on me and how deeply it resonated with me. Like it's been two months and I still haven't forgotten what I felt while reading this book and how I felt afterwards and that's saying a lot. But anyway, I really really loved this book SO HARD and I'll actually probably buy a physical copy for my bookshelf later on this month as I only own it on my Kobo.</div>
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ALSO LAUREN GRAHAM, PLEASE WRITE MORE BOOKS.</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17693452-life-by-committee?ac=1">Life By Committee by Corey Ann Haydu</a></b></div>
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<b>Published May 13, 2014 by Katherine Tegen Books</b></div>
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<b>Hardcover, 304 pages</b></div>
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<b>Borrowed from library</b></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">Some secrets are too good to keep. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">Tabitha might be the only girl in the history of the world who actually gets less popular when she gets hot. But her so-called friends say she’s changed, and they’ve dropped her flat. </span></div>
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Now Tab has no one to tell about the best and worst thing that has ever happened to her: Joe, who spills his most intimate secrets to her in their nightly online chats. Joe, whose touch is so electric, it makes Tab wonder if she could survive an actual kiss. Joe, who has Tabitha brimming with the restless energy of falling in love. Joe, who is someone else’s boyfriend.</div>
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Just when Tab is afraid she’ll burst from keeping the secret of Joe inside, she finds Life by Committee. The rules of LBC are simple: tell a secret, receive an assignment. Complete the assignment to keep your secret safe. </div>
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Tab likes it that the assignments push her to her limits, empowering her to live boldly and go further than she’d ever go on her own.</div>
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But in the name of truth and bravery, how far is too far to go?</div>
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I remember the day I finished this book so clearly because it was one of those more memorable days but not in a good way. I had stayed at a hospital that day for nearly nine hours getting a saline drip because I had thrown up five times the night before and had a horrible fever. IT WAS AWFUL. By the time I got back to my hotel, it was already six and I remember just being tired out of my brain and so drowsy but also desperate for something to do that wasn't napping because that was all I had done for the past nine hours so I flopped onto my bed and picked up this book and started reading. And just read until I had to sleep. And you know what? Life by Commitee was just as memorable as my day. </div>
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This was my first book by Corey Ann Haydu but it definitely won't be my last. I don't usually notice little intricacies about an author's writing unless it's really distinct so usually I judge how good an author's writing is TO ME by how engaged I was by it. And Corey Ann Haydu's writing swept me away and just kept me in this little, creepy world she created and didn't let me go from the first page to the last page. I literally did not and could not tear my eyes away.</div>
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The idea of a secret society online that dares each other to do stuff was so interesting but also unsettling for me. And like obviously this isn't supposed to be a thriller or a horror but I was shit scared. Like I was honestly so frightened and unsettled by the time I finished the book with this secret online society shit. Kinda sounded like some Illuminati stuff and was CREEPY AS FUCK. </div>
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And I'm gonna be straight with you here: didn't always like Tabitha's decisions. Especially not when it came to Life by Committee but also not when it came to Joe. The topic of cheating came up here which always makes me very uncomfortable and like I said, I didn't always agree with Tabitha's decisions but I could understand where she was coming from. That doesn't mean I condone her behavior but it's just like... yeah I can see what might have been going through Tabby's mind when she did what she did. Also Joe is so... like he's not even a dick? He's more complicated than that? I didn't like him but I also felt a certain tug towards him. IDK. It was weird. Honestly everyone in this book was so strange and I think maybe the only characters I liked were Tabitha's parents (I WANT MY PARENTS TO OWN A COFFEE SHOP). </div>
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But by the end when all the shit about Life by Committee comes bubbling up, I was just so freaked out honestly that I can't think about any of these characters or any part of this book without like wanting to rub myself with garlics and wear crosses to ward off evil. I don't know, I'm probably overreacting and am probably the only one who was this creeped out but like I DON'T KNOW THIS BOOK MADE ME SO UNSETTLED. I half want to run away from it and half want to pick it up and read it again and I don't know what to do. BUT IT WAS STILL GOOD. I'm just also very unsettled.</div>
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<b>Published February 3, 2015 by Henry Holt & Co. </b></div>
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<b>Hardcover, 388 pages</b></div>
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<b>Borrowed from library</b></div>
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If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.</div>
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Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.</div>
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This book was so good. Like after a string of not so good books, it was so nice to finally read a book that KNOCKED MY SOCKS OFF. I ripped through this book in a day and I could not stop reading. I just wanted more and more and when the book finally ended, it made me really really sad. </div>
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First of all, I LOVED Skylar and Josh. As individual characters but also together. They're both so real to the point where it's annoying because you care for them so much but they do shitty things, LOOKING AT YOU JOSH YOU LITTLE FUCKER. But you still love them. Although I still cringe over Josh's use of the f word (you know how it goes... rhymes with maggot or bag) and truthfully wasn't quite sold on how he was the douchiest of douchebags but then you fall in love with him and he's so cute. Wasn't sold on it honestly but I ended up totally ignoring that because the rest of the book was written so well and it was so good that I just didn't want to bother harping over that any more. Especially since he was a nice guy. I hate people using the f word and if you use it, you're definitely going to have me seriously question the quality of your character but I also don't believe in absolutes. I think you can definitely be the type of person who says derogatory things and then is also a genuinely sweet and caring person to the people you love. I'm not gonna make excuses for Josh and say he didn't mean what he said because I don't know HE'S A FICTIONAL CHARACTER I DON'T KNOW but I do know that at the end, I was totally sold on him. I FEEL SO TORN UP ABOUT IT. Honestly I wish Heather Demetrios just didn't include that little bit with the word because it didn't really do anything except make me really uncomfortable. But anyway. In the end, I did like him a lot. </div>
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I also loved the secondary characters like Skylar's friends and the owner of the hotel who I forget the name of and while I wasn't the hugest fan of Skylar's mom and everyone else, I could appreciate their realness. </div>
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OK I ALSO LOVED THAT SKYLAR AND JOSH WORKED AT A MOTEL AND EVEN THOUGH IT SOUNDED KINDA ICKY (I'm the type of obnoxious person that refuses to stay in anything that isn't at least a Hilton or some equivalent) IT ALSO SOUNDED SUPER COOL LIKE HAVING THEMED ROOMS? YES!! And like I said, the owner of the motel was super sweet! </div>
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Okay I also appreciated the topics Heather Demetrios touched upon here. Like poverty, for instance. It was definitely very sobering to read about what Skylar had to go through and made me think twice about my current position and how lucky I am. My family may not be insanely rich but we have more than we need to get by and that's something that I should be grateful for every day. Because there are people who are in Skylar's position who have to forego food some days to save money and there is something just so, so, so unjust and harrowing about that. And then of course there are people who don't even have a place to live to start with and yeah, it just got me really thinking about my privilege and how it shouldn't ever be something I take for granted. </div>
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I also really liked how Heather dealt with Josh's character being a soldier and showed the very real consequences of being in the military and witnessing things that no person should ever have to witness and do things that no person should ever have to do and all these different, complex things that come along with being in the military.</div>
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Overall I really loved this book. The only nitpicky thing I have is that while I LOVED reading from Josh's point of view and I loved how it was written, it was often unexpected when his sections would pop up so I only wish that there had been a more natural transition between Skylar and Josh. But that's pretty much it! This got a 4.5 from me although it's really more a 4.8 so I'm rounding this to a five star. </div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22429350-the-start-of-me-and-you?ac=1">The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord</a></b></div>
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<b>Published March 31, 2015 by Bloomsbury</b></div>
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<b>Hardcover, 384 pages</b></div>
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<b>Borrowed from library</b></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">Following her pitch-perfect debut Open Road Summer, Emery Lord pens another gorgeous story of best friends, new love, & second chances.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">Brimming with heartfelt relationships and authentic high-school dynamicsThe Start of Me and You proves that it’s never too late for second chances.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">It’s been a year since it happened—when Paige Hancock’s first boyfriend died in an accident. After shutting out the world for two years, Paige is finally ready for a second chance at high school . . . and she has a plan. First: Get her old crush, Ryan Chase, to date her—the perfect way to convince everyone she’s back to normal. Next: Join a club—simple, it’s high school after all. But when Ryan’s sweet, nerdy cousin, Max, moves to town and recruits Paige for the Quiz Bowl team (of all things!) her perfect plan is thrown for a serious loop. Will Paige be able to face her fears and finally open herself up to the life she was meant to live?</span></div>
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After reading Open Road Summer and being very impressed by it, I was DYING to read this book, sure it was going to be EVEN better. Turns out that no, it wasn't. I definitely did not enjoy this more than Open Road Summer but it wasn't bad either. The beginning was a little shaky for me. I found myself a little bored by Paige's narration and nothing really happened but I would say that I really enjoyed the last thirty pages or so. </div>
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There are so many great things about this book though. The fact I didn't love it is more a me, not you thing because truly there are so many good things about this book and I have no doubt that most people would love this book. It has the solid friendship group that I love to read about, it has a cute nerdy love interest which I so appreciated and also a former love interest, Ryan, who didn't reciprocate Paige's feelings but also wasn't a dick which I LOVED. I was so afraid we'd go into dick territory with Ryan but thank god that didn't happen.</div>
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And yeah.. I don't really have much more to say about this book. I was a book I liked enough but not one that blew me away. There were so many good things about this book but none of them really got to me and made this book a LOVE in the same way that Open Road Summer was for me.</div>
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<b>So how's that for a more positive turn of things? Make sure to tell me whether you've read these books and what your thoughts were on them! </b><br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;">also happy labour day to everyone (or everyone who celebrates it)</span></div>
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Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-12011450209026253472015-09-03T14:10:00.001-04:002015-09-03T14:10:12.631-04:00Some Books I Didn't Like + My Thoughts On Them<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you're a student like me, you're probably also feeling the equal parts of excitement and nervousness that going back to school brings with it. That is, if you haven't <i>already </i>returned to school. Here in Canada, school starts the day after Labour Day which falls on the first Monday of September. Luckily this year, Labour Day fell a week into September which means that we basically all get an extra week of summer vacation. But at this point, it's so close that a few extra days doesn't really make a difference to me (though I'm sure I'll be wanting to swallow my words once school <i>actually </i>starts). I can already feel the arrival of school beating down my back and images of stacks of papers to complete and full calendars and late nights and early mornings and all too short weekends are FLASHING BEFORE MY EYES.</div>
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But I guess I do still have a week so before I have to succumb to that reality, I thought I would use my last few days of freedom and relaxation to write some more blog posts so I don't get even MORE flustered when school starts. And this is the first post I'm checking off my to-write list!<br />
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This summer, I had surprisingly a lot of time to read even though for a large chunk of it, I was travelling. But I ended up reading more than 15 books in July alone which is huge for me, like that never happens. And a lot of the books I really liked but then there were some other books I didn't like very much which I'm going to be reviewing really briefly in this post. (Or at least in relation to my typical reviews... These are maybe 500 words as opposed to 10 000 so for me, they are mini.)<br />
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I'm not going to lie, I did have fun with these reviews. DON'T COME AT ME WITH PITCHFORKS PLEASE, OK? Because I admit it, I enjoy writing negative reviews because I like having a good rant. I don't do it to be a meanie or a bully. But anyway, I didn't have a whole lot to say about these books to get a whole review out but I've been trying to slim down my list of books to review and I think my thoughts on these books are interesting enough to at least warrant a short discussion so I've just squished them all together in one post. Like, let's not drag out the negative too long, right? Let's just do this, get in, get out and focus on good books we love! Yay! (Seriously though, DON'T STAB WITH YOUR POINT PITCHFORKS.)<br />
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<b>WARNING: THESE REVIEWS CONTAIN SPOILERS. PLEASE PROCEED AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.</b></div>
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386372561l/17228280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386372561l/17228280.jpg" width="208" /></a><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17228280-better-off-friends?ac=1">Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg</a></b><br />
<b>Published February 25, 2014 by Point</b><br />
<b>eBook, 288 pages</b><br />
<b>Borrowed from library</b><br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">For Macallan and Levi, it was friends at first sight. Everyone says guys and girls can’t be just friends, but these two are. They hang out after school, share tons of inside jokes, their families are super close, and Levi even starts dating one of Macallan’s friends. They are platonic and happy that way.<br /><br />Eventually they realize they’re best friends — which wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t keep getting in each other’s way. Guys won’t ask Macallan out because they think she’s with Levi, and Levi spends too much time joking around with Macallan, and maybe not enough time with his date. They can’t help but wonder . . . are they more than friends or are they better off without making it even more complicated?<br /><br />From romantic comedy superstar Elizabeth Eulberg comes a fresh, fun examination of a question for the ages: Can guys and girls ever really be just friends? Or are they always one fight away from not speaking again — and one kiss away from true love?</span></div>
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I used to be a huge Elizabeth Eulberg fan after reading my first ever book by her (Take a Bow) when I was eleven. Since then I've read and enjoyed Prom and Prejudice as well as The Lonely Hearts Club but I haven't read anything by her in recent years. Which leads to me to think that maybe I've outgrown Elizabeth Eulberg's books? I just found everything super underwhelming. I was looking for a nice fluffy book for the summer - something along the lines of Kasie West - but what I found was a big bag of BORING. The writing was not engaging for me in any way and the plot was so slow. Like literally this book details the entire history of Levi and Macallan's friendship and basically the same thing happens over and over again. <i>Oh, we actually do secret feelings for each other but we're not going to tell the other person because that's just going to ruin everything! </i>So what do they do? They basically take turns being unavailable until FINALLY they get together. Like Macallan'll realize her feelings for Levi but OH DAMN, he's dating her best friend. They break up. Then Levi will finally get the courage to tell Macallan he likes her but then SHE'S dating a person. And so it goes. </div>
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The switching perspectives along with the present to past switching was so annoying. The plot was annoying. The story was annoying. The writing was annoying. The characters were annoying (oh my GOD, were they EVER). </div>
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But the worst thing was how this book was presented as a GROUND BREAKING novel in which two friends of opposite genders never actually like each other romantically BUT THEN THEY DO. And I get it's like they were friends first and they're still going to be best friends but if they're still going to end up falling in love, why did I have to read through all that? I wanted to see how Elizabeth Eulberg dealt with Levi and Macallan's friendship because it seems like every single book and movie and TV show loves for their male and female friends to fall in love and given the title, I thought we might have something a little more nuanced here? BUT IT'S JUST THE SAME. Honestly it can't be this hard to find a book that's just about a girl and a guy being friends.. and that's it. Without even having anyone question it. This happens all the time in reality. Is it too much to ask for that to be represented in books as well?</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16140838-biggest-flirts?ac=1">Biggest Flirts by Jennifer Echols</a></b></div>
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<b>Superlatives #1</b></div>
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<b>Published May 20, 2014 by Simon Pulse</b></div>
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<b>Paperback, 336 pages</b></div>
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<b>Borrowed from library</b></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">Tia and Will’s lives get flipped upside down when they’re voted Yearbook’s Biggest Flirts in this sassy novel from the author of Endless Summer and The One That I Want.<br /><br />Tia just wants to have fun. She’s worked hard to earn her reputation as the life of the party, and she’s ready for a carefree senior year of hanging out with friends and hooking up with cute boys. And her first order of business? New guy Will. She can’t get enough of his Midwestern accent and laidback swagger. <br /><br />As the sparks start to fly, Will wants to get serious. Tia’s seen how caring too much has left her sisters heartbroken, and she isn’t interested in commitment. But pushing Will away drives him into the arms of another girl. Tia tells herself it’s no big deal…until the yearbook elections are announced. Getting voted Biggest Flirts with Will is, well, awkward. They may just be friends, but their chemistry is beginning to jeopardize Will’s new relationship—and causing Tia to reconsider her true feelings. What started as a lighthearted fling is about to get very complicated… </span><br />
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This book was so boring and unmemorable I can't even tell you what happened in the book. All I remember is a make-out scene at the beginning that made me wonder if I was reading a New Adult and honestly that would have been totally okay with me if it meant MORE EXCITEMENT. But unfortunately the rest of this book was at a stark contrast with the beginning being so completely boring.</div>
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Like the first three chapters I was so interested. Like who's this Will guy? A blonde who's super tall with an ear piercing who plays hockey? Um, the only way you could get me to fall even more in love with him at this point is if you told me he was a swimmer and a soccer player and a musician. Like he already sounds pretty perfect to me. But then he was literally the most boring character ever? I kinda felt like he just whined the entire time and about EVERYTHING. And then Tia was a really bizarre character as well? Not even personality wise, mostly just her narration was super confusing to me and gave me some trouble following along. This is probably just a me thing but I found her voice to be very distinct which can be good OR bad. In this case it was bad. I'd almost definitely rather a main character like Sarah Dessen's where the main character's voice maybe isn't as defined but the writing's good and not confusing. </div>
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To be honest with you, I can't even express what I disliked about this book. I just kinda disliked it all. Wasn't a fan of Will and Tia's relationship. Thought everything that happened was super weird? Thought the superlatives thing was super weird. And like all of a sudden there's this sideplot that feels really serious about Tia's sister with an abusive boyfriend that just came out of nowhere. And it wasn't dealt with well enough for me to really understand why it was there at all. Like it literally had nothing to do with anything else in the book.</div>
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If I could sum up my feelings toward this book, it would be SO FREAKING BIZARRE.</div>
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Also side note I am so sick of characters who slack off at school but are actually so smart that they could "get a high enough SAT score to get a full-ride scholarship" (paraphrasing here.) Like UGH GO AWAY. Honestly I've seen this so many times and it bugs me so much. Like yes not all slackers are dumb but you can not try for your four years of high school and not hand in a single thing and still, it'll be okay because you're so smart that you can ace the SATs, no problem??? EFF OFF.</div>
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(Okay so maybe this is just me airing out my grievances about having to take the SATs in a year but STILL.)</div>
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417607968l/23629114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417607968l/23629114.jpg" width="208" /></a><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23629114-how-to-be-bad">How to Be Bad by E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski and Lauren Myracle</a></b><br />
<b>Published May 6, 2008 by Harper Teen</b><br />
<b>Hardcover, 336 pages</b><br />
<b>Borrowed from library</b><br />
<br /><span style="color: #674ea7;">From the authors of ttyl, Bras & Broomsticks, and The Boyfriend Listcome three unforgettable characters and one exhilarating novel<br /><br />Vicks is the wild child whose boyfriend has gone suspiciously quiet since he left for college; Mel is the newcomer desperate to be liked; and Jesse will do anything to avoid a life-altering secret. Each one has her own reason for wanting to get the heck out of their nowheresville town, even just for the weekend. So they climb into Jesse's mom's "borrowed" station wagon and head south.<br /><br />Hearts will be broken, friendships will be tested, and a ridiculously hot stranger could change the course of everything.</span></div>
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This was recommended to me by Chloe through Epic Recs and we have similar taste in books so I was really hoping that I'd like this book. The only author that I'd read prior to this book was Sarah Mlynowski and I've really enjoyed her books so I had high hopes for this one but unfortunately, it didn't end up working out. I never connected with any of the characters, never felt intrigued by the story and never really enjoyed the writing either. I'm not sure how the authors approached this book, like if they assigned a different character to each person but I never got a really good grasp of what each character was like. Or maybe I wasn't paying enough attention, that could also be it because I was really bored.</div>
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Like even though Jesse and Vicks and Mel went on this crazy adventure with alligators and hurricanes and all that wild stuff, I was just so not having it that it flew over my head. And I guess I also never really understood why the girls wanted to go on a road trip. When I think about this book, I just kinda envision a bizarre tangle of different storylines that never really came together to weave a beautiful picture for me. YOU KNOW? My reaction to this book was similar to my reaction to Biggest Flirts. Like bizarre but also <i>tres</i> uninterested. Like I could have done <i>sans </i>this book, you feel?</div>
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I think another big problem I ran into reading this book was that I absolutely HATED Jesse. She's a super religious Christian and while I have no problem with anyone who's super religious or Christian OR BOTH, I had a problem with her being really judgmental. Maybe when you are super religious it's hard not to apply your own morals to everything and everyone else and want them to act the way you believe is right but honestly I just thought Jesse was a really obnoxious character. Like even minus the holier than thou attitude she had, her behavior towards her friends just really irked me. Like maybe my least favourite character ever. I just found her so supremely annoying like please SHUT UP.</div>
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Not that Vicks and Mel were any better. Just not a fan at all. Might be my least favourite out of all four of these books, along with Better Off Friends.</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18106985-exquisite-captive?ac=1">Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios</a></b></div>
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<b>The Dark Caravan Cycle #1</b></div>
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<b>Published October 7, 2014 by Balzer + Bray</b></div>
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<b>Hardcover, 480 pages</b></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">Forced to obey her master.<br />Compelled to help her enemy.<br />Determined to free herself. <br /><br />Nalia is a jinni of tremendous ancient power, the only survivor of a coup that killed nearly everyone she loved. Stuffed into a bottle and sold by a slave trader, she’s now in hiding on the dark caravan, the lucrative jinni slave trade between Arjinna and Earth, where jinn are forced to grant wishes and obey their human masters’ every command. She’d give almost anything to be free of the golden shackles that bind her to Malek, her handsome, cruel master, and his lavish Hollywood lifestyle.<br /><br />Enter Raif, the enigmatic leader of Arjinna’s revolution and Nalia’s sworn enemy. He promises to free Nalia from her master so that she can return to her ravaged homeland and free her imprisoned brother—all for an unbearably high price. Nalia’s not sure she can trust him, but Raif’s her only hope of escape. With her enemies on the hunt, Earth has become more perilous than ever for Nalia. There’s just one catch: for Raif’s unbinding magic to work, Nalia must gain possession of her bottle…and convince the dangerously persuasive Malek that she truly loves him. Battling a dark past and harboring a terrible secret, Nalia soon realizes her freedom may come at a price too terrible to pay: but how far is she willing to go for it?<br /><br />Inspired by Arabian Nights, EXQUISITE CAPTIVE brings to life a deliciously seductive world where a wish can be a curse and shadows are sometimes safer than the light.</span><div>
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I was maybe the most excited to read this book out of all four listed here because it was so new. I'd never read a book about jinnis before and I really enjoy retellings and it held so much promise and I got let down. It didn't end up as bad as the other three were? I don't look at this book and immediately want it to burst into flames but I definitely don't look at this book with a whole lot of affection either. </div>
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Feel like I'm repeating myself but I WAS SO BORED. I don't understand how jinnis can be made into something so utterly boring I wanted to claw my eyes out but there you go. I said in my review of The Darkest Minds that I rather have an author give me infodump over no information at all and I still stand by that but oh my god you don't understand how BORING it is to read through pages and pages of just background information included in the most unsubtle way ever.</div>
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Also the writing was so hard to get into. Which baffled me because I had read I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios before reading this and absolutely LOVED IT. Like it was an automatic five star but then I got to this book and it was like... what happened? (tbh, the same way I feel about Morgan Matson's books versus her books as Katie Finn). </div>
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The worst part was the love triangle. I'm not on board with this love triangle or really anyone at all. Raif is... like I don't even care about him and Malek is just horrible. I loathe him so that might be why I ended up not liking Nalia very much either because I hated her reactions to him kissing her. Like ew stop it. </div>
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And that's all I really have to say. I've forgotten most of what happens in this book and can't be bothered to even Google what happens. Just, no thank you.</div>
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Not gonna lie, that felt pretty good. To get all that stuff off my chest and rant for a little bit was nice. And now I'll return to being positive Annie. Hurray!</div>
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<b>Have you read any of these books? What were your thoughts on them? Have you read any books that you really DID NOT like recently? Tell me and get your anger off your chest!</b></div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-49622135518422833522015-08-27T17:06:00.003-04:002015-08-27T17:06:31.532-04:00Latest Obsessions: July + August 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOAWjwArG9bc23FstKk8fhrF3XgL3LegsazQ_lDGY7BVhl9vlSIw775vM0HKOHt3OOwAJVxdtOi4EVw6AAtiPWkJ5tUs7Uj3Ts68dWImWg2djvdHwethsU7R1Ciwt6FLc2G_wnC5saBw/s1600/latest+obsessions.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOAWjwArG9bc23FstKk8fhrF3XgL3LegsazQ_lDGY7BVhl9vlSIw775vM0HKOHt3OOwAJVxdtOi4EVw6AAtiPWkJ5tUs7Uj3Ts68dWImWg2djvdHwethsU7R1Ciwt6FLc2G_wnC5saBw/s1600/latest+obsessions.png" /></a></div>
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<i>just some things i've been obsessed with lately.</i><br />
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Book reviews are currently the only thing I have on my list of posts to write and I really should get to them, but that, of course, only means that I'm not gonna. So here's another edition of Latest Obsessions, courtesy of my procrastination and contrariness.<br />
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But before we get started, I have some blog-related news I'd like to share with you: I've started a bookish tumblr! You might have noticed that prior to this week, I had my two personal tumblrs linked in the sidebar but after much debate, I finally decided it'd be fun to start a tumblr under the name of this blog so it happened and now you can find the link to that tumblr in the sidebar. Unless you're super lazy, then you can just <a href="http://therunawayreader.tumblr.com/">click here</a> and you'll be redirected to The Runaway Reader: Tumblr edition.<br />
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As for other blogging stuff... it's going slow. I did not do much scheduling or blogging on my vacation at all so I've kinda had to readjust to everything and in all honesty, I've only just started implementing my old system again for September so there may be some radio silence on my part for the next two weeks as I plan and schedule and get myself ahead for the upcoming school year because trust me, if I don't figure out a schedule now, my blogging will become virtually extinct come this September.<br />
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Okay, that's it, let's get started.<br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>uniqlo.</b></span></div>
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Unfortunately we don't have a Uniqlo in Toronto (yet!! I'm so excited for when it opens here though) but while I was on vacation, there were SO many Uniqlo stores. The first time I walked into one, I was kinda freaking out just because I'd been dying to visit one for ages. They have a lot of basics but they also have some more fashion-y pieces for not crazy prices. I found this one puffy bomber jacket that looked really cute but didn't end up getting because there weren't many things in my closet I'd be able to wear it with. I did get <a href="http://www.uniqlo.com/us/product/women-flannel-check-long-sleeve-shirt-161546.html#63~/women/shirts-and-blouses/long-sleeve/flannel/~">a flannel</a>, <a href="http://www.uniqlo.com/us/product/women-oxford-long-sleeve-shirt-157030.html#63~/women/shirts-and-blouses/long-sleeve/oxford/~">a light blue oxford shirt</a> and <a href="http://www.uniqlo.com/us/product/women-cotton-cashmere-cricket-sweater-165901.html#02~/women/sweaters/v-neck/cotton-cashmere/~">a nautical looking sweater</a>, all of which I love. The only thing is that the tailoring is a little bit weird? Like in terms of their dress shirts and button ups, I definitely notice it's more fitted than what I usually get at Urban Outfitters, American Apparel etc etc but it is a little tight around the shoulder / arm area which is not the greatest. But in general, I am obsessed with this store. Also they have free tailoring for any pants you buy which is awesome because I'm really short so all the pants I buy usually fit nice until you get to my feet and there's like two inches of fabric left.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;">studyblrs.</span></b><br />
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I know, I'm such a nerd but trust me, they're literally the best thing ever. I stumbled upon one back in May while I was looking for some studying tips and since then, I've been hooked. You will not find a better place to get studying tips and tricks and motivation than the study tumblr community. So, so useful. Most of the blogs are run by people who are actually students so you're getting first hand advice from people who know what they're talking about. Knowing that I have this wealth of information so easily accessible and a community that inspires and motivates makes me feel so much more confident and prepared for this year. If you're looking for some advice on studying / tips to help you in school / just general motivation, I'd really recommend googling a few studyblrs as they're really really helpful. (Oh, and if you want, you can <a href="http://studysage.tumblr.com/">follow my studyblr here</a>.)<br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>karlie kloss ( + her youtube channel).</b></span></div>
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I LOVE KARLIE KLOSS. And I've loved her since I first saw her in Vogue like three to four years ago maybe? And now since she's friends with Taylor Swift, we all know how much of a cupcake she actually is and I love her even more. I've been keeping up with <a href="https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCYQFjACahUKEwj2i5uek8rHAhWME5IKHYHsAF4&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fchannel%2FUCH5Qu8Sd-m-7Zk4xc_J5VzA&ei=gXnfVbbHGIynyASB2YPwBQ&usg=AFQjCNEsWYY376W10s4ye5C0FLyy3UriMQ&sig2=bU0hDc7H3NivNEO-b2BLpQ">her Youtube channel</a> a lot and SHE ACTUALLY IS THE SWEETEST. I can't not smile watching her. Also I have her cover of Glamour this month which I really adore. So there's that. My favourite person of the month.</div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>coloured pens + notebooks.</b></span></div>
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I blame this on the studyblrs I follow because if you have ever seen the notes and the stationery collections on there, YOU'LL UNDERSTAND because you'll want to buy all the fun pens as well. Pictured above is my pencil case for school (which is really just a Clinique makeup bag that my mum got with her skin cream things) and it's just all my pens and pencils (I have my calculator and scissors and graphite lead and all that OTHER stuff in a separate pencil case which is also a Clinique makeup bag because I am INSANE AND RIDICULOUS like that). Some, I got while on vacation because Shanghai bookstores have really good deals on pens and lead pencils and then the Staedtler ballpoint pens and highlighter and the Sharpies and all the rest I got here from Staples with the exception of the multicoloured pen which I got from Muji. I've never been really diligent with my studies and taking notes and such but with studyblrs and now these beautiful pens, I'm like SO READY to take on the school year. We'll see how long it lasts but for now, I'm really digging all my cool pens. Would definitely recommend the Staedtler ballpoint pens even though I usually like my ballpoints to have a finer tip. They write so smoothly and the colours are gorgeous. Also really like my Pentel Fiesta lead pencils. Hoping to update my pen collection later on this year as I've spent too much money on them right now but in December, I might get the Staedtler rollerballs and the Muji gels as a birthday treat for myself.<br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>l'occitane delightful rose hand cream.</b></span></div>
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I got a tube of <a href="http://ca.loccitane.com/shea-delightful-rose-mini-hand-cream,19,1,1334,628342.htm">this hand cream</a> this month and IT SMELLS AMAZING. I always like carrying a tube of hand cream with me during school because it's such an easy way to freshen up and when I smelled this at Sephora, I was like I HAVE TO HAVE THIS. It smells soo lovely. And I don't know, I've always loved the look of L'Occitane hand creams and have been dying to try one so this kinda worked out quite well.</div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>peek freans fruit cremes.</b></span></div>
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I'm really trying to eat healthier but it's so hard when I have these lying around in the house (also see chewy fruit candy). I'm not a huge fan of sandwich cookies typically (unless they're Oreo thins) but I make exceptions for these. I used to love these so much as a kid and then my dad got two boxes again over the weekend so I'm obsessed. They're sandwich cookies with a cream filling and a STRAWBERRY JELLY CENTER. Obviously this is the best part. What I like to do is eat around the jelly until that's all that's left and then I savour it because it is so good. I am eating one as I'm typing this. It's going to be my last one though, I promise.</div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>secret garden by johanna basford ( + faber castell watercolour pencils!)</b></span></div>
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So after talking a lot about how I absolutely lust after adult colouring books, I finally ended up getting one of my own and one that actually wasn't on my list. But Secret Garden is definitely what I would consider the start of the whole colouring phase (kinda like how Serial started the whole podcast obsession) and I saw it at a bookstore and was like, why not? And I'm pretty pleased with it. With colouring books, I really don't like them to be too complex because that'd just cause even more stress trying to figure out what the heck is going on but Secret Garden is not overly complex. I definitely prefer the pages of houses and sheds over the crazy ones with vines. Also not crazy about the pages that ask you to complete the drawings? Because hi I didn't buy a colouring book because I'm really good at drawing, otherwise I would have just bought a sketchbook but that's just me. I'm just really particular about this stuff but overall I do really like it. Here are two pages I've done.</div>
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The pencils I use to colour in these drawings are the Faber Castell watercolour pencils which I got as a gift. The paper in Secret Garden is a little thicker which is good for different mediums. Still not the best for holding water but since a lot of the details are small, I'm not using much water anyway so it's not like totally unmanageable. Obviously the paper crinkles a bit but that doesn't bug me as much especially not when I'm getting such smooth colour. Although as you can see, it can be hard filling in all the small details so inevitably, my colours do leak outside the lines a bit.</div>
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So this post ended up a little bit longer than I had planned but hopefully you guys enjoyed reading it! I know I had a lot of fun writing it but that's just because I will give any opportunity to talk about the things I love, much to my friends' dismay. Hope you guys are having a great summer!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>but before you go, tell me what you've been obsessing over lately in the comments! </b></span></div>
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Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-29364857653217062012015-08-16T11:09:00.002-04:002015-08-16T11:09:43.834-04:00The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10576365-the-darkest-minds?ac=1">The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken</a></b></div>
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<b>The Darkest Minds #1</b></div>
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<b>Published December 18, 2012 by Hyperion</b></div>
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<b>Paperback, 488 pages</b></div>
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<b>Lent by my lovely friend</b></div>
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It's sometime in the future and America has been hit with a deadly disease targeting children ages 8 to 13. No one really knows what the cause of this particular disease is (named IAAN, for short) except that it basically wiped out the entire teenage population of the United States. With the exception of a few special children... The ones that miraculously avoided getting hit by IAAN have one thing in common: incredible superpowers that have their generation named Psi for a special gene they share that allows them to read people's minds or set fire to anything they touch. </div>
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Ruby is one of these kids and she gets sent to the biggest baddest rehabilitation camp for the Psi, Thurmond. It's brutal at Thurmond so when Ruby gets offered the opportunity to escape Thurmond, she takes it. But it turns out that life outside camp isn't so easy either and Ruby has to face up to a lot of new discoveries about who she is, what she can do and how it may pose a threat to everyone around her.</div>
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Well, that would have been an extremely disappointing read if I hadn't stopped caring maybe 20% into the book. I was upset and then... I just became indifferent to all of it and it was mostly a feeling of "I've already read 200 pages, there're only 200 left, let's just get through this damn book as quick as possible" and now? I'm confused. I'M CONFUSEEEED. Because I don't get it. I really truly don't get where the hype comes from. And I hate saying this because it makes me sound like a pretentious prick, like all holier than thou and such, but I really honestly DON'T GET IT. Because The Darkest Minds was just so boring and it doesn't even have anything to do with the fact that science fiction and dystopians usually bore me anyway.</div>
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The Darkest Minds actually started off decently for me. Even not being so into science fiction / dystopian, I thought that the idea of this world where America is bankrupt and dealing with these kids with supernatural abilities by throwing them into "rehabilitation camps" that really just forced them to do menial labour was really fucked up and unnerving but interesting. </div>
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(Also can I say that if this really happens, HOLLA FOR BEING CANADIAN and not having to be affected by IAAN.)</div>
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But that's where I ran into my first problems. See, The Darkest Minds had an interesting set up for a world but it never ran any deeper than that. I just felt like there was a real lack of explanation for how America went from international worldpower to being bankrupt. It was maybe two paragraphs in the first few chapters and then, done? And this is just a personal thing but I wish there was some sort of time frame given for this new America. Like I understand that not everyone wants to put a year to a world so I'm not faulting anyone for anything here but it's hard for me to get into a dystopian without some sort of time frame so PERSONAL PREFERENCE HERE. </div>
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Okay and the thing that probably bugged me the most was the fact that we don't get any explanation for how IAAN comes to be. Like it just happens. It's just accepted? From reading up on the other two books, I'm under the impression that the cause of IAAN eventually gets revealed but I had such a problem with the book just being like "here's this thing that happens and no one knows why and oh yeah, there are some kids that don't get killed by it and they have superpowers." LIKE HOLD UP, there are so many questions about that. And I KNOW we supposedly find out later about the cause and it's uncovered and everything but IN THIS BOOK, it just felt like a lazy out and I really feel like the lack of information given about everything was to this book's detriment. Like I hate infodump as much as the next person but I'd definitely rather the author just puking out all this information about their world so that I at least have some sort of UNDERSTANDING over having zero information and explanation at all. </div>
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Also there was this one statement in the book that made me so confused ("The government was never scared of the kids who might die, or the empty spaces they would leave behind. They were afraid of us - the ones who lived.") because it sounds like the government knew about the Psi kids even before IAAN and OK SO THIS COULD WORK AS AN INCENTIVE TO KEEP ON READING IF IT'S INTRODUCED IN THE NEXT TWO BOOKS but it was included at the end of the first chapter so without knowing that there's more information coming in the rest of the trilogy, it just made me super super confused especially given how little information we're provided with in the first place. </div>
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And then another thing on the lack of explanation - we never truly get told what each of the colours' powers are. Like never explicitly. So in the book, Psi kids are classified by colour based on what their powers are. Green all have the same power, Orange all have the same power and so on and so on. Throughout the book we sorta get hints at what the colours do but I was just WAITING for Alexandra Bracken to come straight out and say THIS GROUP DOES THIS. Like I don't understand why she couldn't have done that because it would have saved everyone from a lot of confusion later on. I mean, I kinda picked up on the fact that Greens have a photographic memory and that Orange can do creepy mind shit and Reds set fire to stuff and Blues transport stuff but I just wanted to be told and not have to painstakingly piece the hints I'm given throughout the book. Also what the fuck do Yellows do? I never got that? Like melt electronics???</div>
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I also never really felt pulled into Ruby's narration. Honestly? I thought the writing was bland and Ruby a pretty one-note character. I understand she went through a lot and what she told us about Thurmond sounds horrible but as a reader, a 400 page pity fest is not fun to read about. She was always saying "I'm a monster. I need to be locked up. I'm dangerous. You can't love me. I'm not like you." It got repetitive super fast. Like yes you can accidentally do horrible things but if you're learning how to control it, you can use it to help people? She was just so so frustrating. ALSO SOMEONE HELP ME BECAUSE I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE ENDING AT ALL. HOW DID SHE END UP MAKING THAT DECISION? DID I MISS SOMETHING?</div>
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AND I WAS SO NIM ON THE ROMANCE. As soon as Liam was described as hot (or something along the lines of that), I was like NO NO NO I DON'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN. And it happened. And I was not pleased with the end result or the execution. It just didn't feel organic, especially not when Ruby was pretty much isolated from boys at Thurmond and talked about how she didn't feel comfortable around them. I get that she could still find someone attractive but the pace at which she finally ended up falling in love with Liam was hard to believe given her background. I felt like their attraction had no basis except for the fact that they were the only people around of similar age and of opposite gender. Also Liam was just a super boring character. And with the ending, it seems like the romance is a huge part of what happens in the second book and ugh I just don't know if I can get into that if I'm not on board with the romance. </div>
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The Darkest Minds was also just soooo long. Like there were so many scenes you could have cut out. There were so many things that Alexandra Bracken threw at us, it was almost like she wanted to include as many relevant tropes for the dystopian genre as possible. It was one thing after another after another and I never could guess what was going to happen next but I always knew SOMETHING was going to pop up again so it was predictable in that sense. There just didn't seem to be a very natural flow to the book. I can name about two or three scenes that immediately jump to mind that could have been cut. </div>
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I think the two bright spots in the book were Chubs and Zu who I really really liked. But in reality, they're such a tiny part of the story that I never really got to know them as well as I wish I could have. </div>
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There was one part that really had my attention but the rest was confusing and boring. Especially the ending. I still don't get the ending. EXPLAIN SOMEONE?</div>
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Well The Darkest Minds was not at all what I expected and not in a good way. It's a shame to so furiously dislike this book when a bunch of my friends absolutely loved the heck out of this. But I just couldn't see the appeal. To me it was boring and confusing. The worldbuilding could have been stronger in some areas, the characters fell a little flat and the romance felt wholly unnecessary. I do think Alexandra Bracken has an incredibly interesting idea here with kids who have superpowers that pose a threat to the government and an America gone total-disaster-zone but the execution could have gone a LOT better. This book has a HIGH rating on Goodreads though so I'm very definitely in the minority. I suggest checking out other reviews to gauge if it's for you because it's a favourite of many!</div>
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Had a Divergent vibe with the classifying business... I think if you like dystopians, this might be a good one to try.</div>
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<a href="https://booksotherhappyeverafters.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/epic-recs-review-the-darkest-minds-by-alexandra-bracken/">Jen @ Books & Other Happy Ever Afters</a> says: "The slow pacing and shaky world-building were excused with my love for the characters and the fantastic ending."</div>
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<a href="http://www.bookaddictsguide.com/2012/12/27/the-darkest-minds-the-darkest-minds-1-alexandra-bracken/">Brittany @ The Book Addict's Guide</a> says: "I really, really enjoyed this book! I wasn’t quite sure exactly what I was getting into when I started and I have to say, I’m pleasantly surprised!! THE DARKEST MINDS is a combination of a dystopian world with paranormal abilities."</div>
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<a href="http://zoereads.org/2013/08/the-darkest-minds/">Zoe @ Stories On Stage</a> gives it 3.5 stars: "While it’s unfortunate I didn’t find this to be the gripping and heart-breaking novel that most readers did, I will say that it is quite strong in the entertainment department, and was certainly enjoyable despite its flaws."</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-63615600189113317522015-08-09T08:00:00.000-04:002015-08-09T08:00:00.635-04:00DNF Review: Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15821260-smart-girls-get-what-they-want?ac=1">Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer</a></b></div>
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<b>Published March 26, 2013 by Balzer + Bray</b></div>
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<b>Paperback, 348 pages</b></div>
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<b>Borrowed from library</b></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;"><b>So... what's it about?</b></span></div>
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Smart Girls Get What They Want centers around three really smart girls - Gigi, Bea and Neerja - and yeah, that's about all I know as I didn't finish the book and the few pages I read didn't really offer me any insight into what the plot is...</div>
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Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:</div>
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"Gigi, Bea, and Neerja are best friends and total overachievers. Even if they aren't the most popular girls in school, they aren't too worried. After all, real life will begin once they get to their Ivy League colleges. But when an unexpected event proves they're missing out on the full high-school experience, it's time to come out of the honors lounge and into the spotlight. The trio makes a pact: They will each take on their greatest challenge and totally rock it.<br />
<br />Gigi decides to run for student rep, but she'll have to get over her fear of public speaking—and go head-to-head with gorgeous California Will. Bea used to be one of the best skiers around, until she was derailed; it could be time for her to take the plunge again. And Neerja loves the drama club but has always stayed behind the scenes—until now.<br /><br />These friends are determined to show the world that smart girls really can get what they want—but that might mean getting way more attention than they ever bargained for. . . ."</blockquote>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;"><b>What initially attracted you to it?</b></span></div>
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For the summer, I always like to stock up on fun YA contemporaries. It just never feels like summer unless I have a stack of contemporaries to get through. So I was looking around on some blogs for good contemporaries and saw that this one in particular got a lot of love. I have to be honest that after reading the synopsis on Goodreads, it didn't really sound like a book I'd typically be interested in but there were so many great reviews for it that I thought, why not give it a shot?</div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;"><b>How far did you read until you decided it was over?</b></span></div>
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I think I gave it a fair shot. My Kobo tells me I stopped at the 35% mark, meaning that I read 85 pages out of the total 234 there were.</div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;"><b>Why'd you put it down?</b></span></div>
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I don't know... There were a lot of things that just weren't working for me. I really did want to get through this but by the time I reached the 60 page mark and realized I had 180 more pages to go , I just couldn't do it. Even though there were all these five star and four star reviews floating around in my head telling me to continue. </div>
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The narration wasn't working for me. I'm kinda picky about my writing. Some types work for me, some don't. And this one didn't. I just couldn't settle down with Gigi's narration. It was supposed to be a little quirky and charming and funny but it didn't work for me. Maybe it was also because the book took so DAMN long to get started, like I stopped at the 35% mark and it was only THEN that it was revealed to me, as per the synopsis, that Gigi, Bea and Neerja wrere trying out for all these things. So the fact that it started off so slowly probably just made me even less crazy about the writing. Because when a book is exciting, I find that I'm a little more tolerant with the writing. Like even if it's not really my taste, I'm able to forgive a lot of it because the story's pulling me in. But with this book, the story just took SO LONG to get started that it only highlighted the fact I didn't like the writing even more.</div>
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A lot of why I stopped reading this book was my indifference. I was indifferent to Gigi and Bea and Neerja and all the characters. I just did not care at all. Like not to be mean but I found all the characters to be super bland and one-dimensional. And also I don't know... it felt very juvenile for me. And this is something that I have trouble with now that I'm actually of the same age of many YA characters. Gigi and her friends are in sophomore year. I just finished my sophomore year and still, I didn't feel I could entirely connect to Gigi or anyone's voice, for that matter. Like I don't know, some of the things they were talking about and that they did was just super bizarre for me. In fact, this entire book was really bizarre. I just didn't get it? </div>
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And then there's the whole nerds vs popular kids thing that really bugged me. Granted, I haven't read the book and the things I'm gathering from other reviews, it seems like this is something that gets kinda solved or isn't really an issue? But it was something that majorly annoyed me in the 80 pages I read. One of the things I hate in books and in shows is when there's a clear divide between the nerds / braniacs and the popular kids. And how the popular kids are all brainless and dumb (although with Mike, this book kinda disputes that so that's good) and horrible and mean. And I hate that! Again, this is something that's only recently started to affect me as I've been in high school but honestly I just hate hate hate the portrayal of nerds as losers and how they can't be friends with the popular kids. I'd be lying if I said no there isn't some divide between the two but honestly from everything that I've been through and that I've seen, it's never as catty as it's portrayed as in books. There are a lot of popular kids I know at my school that I genuinely like, that are genuinely nice and that are really really smart. It's so bizarre for me to see popularity in books or movies always based on looks because yeah while that's a large part of it, a lot of the time you don't get popular just based on how you look. Like a lot of the people who are popular are just really really friendly and outgoing. They're not bad people and that's something that bugged me so much in the pages I read of this book. I don't care if it's something that gets cleared up in the end, from the 80 pages I read, this was something I had a lot of trouble with. It's just so so so cliche.</div>
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So anyway, I don't know.. this entire book just didn't really work for me at all. </div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;"><b>But on a positive note, was there anything you did like about it?</b></span></div>
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I hate when this happens but I honestly cannot find a single thing I enjoyed about this book while I was reading it.</div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>Final Notes</b></span></div>
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Smart Girls Get What They Want just really really didn't work for me. And it leaves me a little confused because there are so many great reviews for this book so it's kinda like what am I missing here but also a little bit of what do you guys see in it WHICH I HATE THINKING ABOUT AND SAYING but if we're being honest here, I truly truly do not understand the attraction with this book. Yes I know I didn't read the entire book but even with the 80 pages I read where basically NOTHING happened, it just wasn't very good at all. I really pushed myself to get through this book but after 80 pages I just couldn't any more. I was holding out for it to get better and you know, it probably does but I just did not have the patience to wait around. I think sometimes being in high school now, it ruins some books for me because I'm always comparing the descriptions of the high school in the book to my own experience. And sometimes when things just don't feel right like with this book, I have a hard time ignoring it and getting into the book. So that's a part of why I didn't finish reading this book and another reason is also I just didn't connect with any of the characters and didn't really care about them at all. So unfortunately overall, Smart Girls Get What They Want just didn't really work for me. </div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-35570506321782648782015-08-07T08:00:00.000-04:002015-12-26T22:37:19.278-05:00The Book Blogger TMI Tag<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I saw this tag recently on <a href="http://novelinkblog.com/2015/06/26/tmi-maybe-the-book-blogger-tmi-tag/">Novel Ink</a> and I had such a fun time reading Erica's responses that I thought I'd go ahead and do it as well, even though no one tagged me. But I have an affinity for surveys / questionnaires. I've never met one that I haven't wanted to fill out / answer right away (the reasons you don't see ten thousand surveys on this blog isn't for a lack of interest, my friends. Hint: it starts with L and ends with "aziness") and this one is no different! So let's get started, shall we?<br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>the book blogger tmi tag.</b></span></div>
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<b>How old are you?</b><br />
I'm 15 AND HI TAYLOR SWIFT BUT NO ONE'S TOLD ME THEY LOVE ME YET SO SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT'S UP WITH THAT. I've basically been waiting to turn 15 since I was like 8 just so I could sit next to a redhead named Abigail and have someone tell me they love me. WHY HASN'T IT HAPPENED YET? What a disappointment. Six more months, universe. Don't keep me waiting. MAKE IT HAPPEN.<br />
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<b>What book are you reading?</b><br />
I am currently rereading Bras & Broomsticks by Sarah Mlynowski. I'm not very far into it so I don't know if by the end of it, I'll still like it as much as I did in fifth grade but it's definitely bringing back some fond memories. I never ended up reading Parties & Potions which is why I'm rereading the first three books so I can refresh my memory and cross another series off my to-finish list.<br />
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<b>What are you wearing?</b><br />
I wish I could say A GORGEOUS CHIFFON MARCHESA DRESS or a KICKASS LEATHER JACKET WITH SAINT LAURENT ANKLE BOOTS or something else fancy and high-fasion and wow so chic but the reality is I'm sitting here in front of my computer, wearing an old white t-shirt and these hideous terry cloth shorts. It's a look that says "I just came back from a jog! Woo, look at me, so healthy!" or "I'm going on a jog as soon as I finish replying to these emails! But still, look at me! Making good life decisions every day!" but the truth is I haven't moved from my spot in maybe half an hour and I'm drinking a coffee and that's why I'M SO CRAZY RIGHT NOW. IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING.<br />
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<b>Favorite OTP?</b><br />
I don't really have an OTP... There are characters I really like together but I don't spend a lot of time in thinking about one in particular that would be my be all and end all. I really liked Chaolaena for a while and I still do but then there's the matter of SAMLAENA / CORTDOTHIEN (literal no good ship name for these two) so I don't know! I'm so conflicted. But hey, here's a proposal for a new ship: ME + ROWAN WHITETHORN. MMM? HOW ABOUT THAT? I love him so much though.<br />
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<b>Blogger or WordPress?</b><br />
Well, I can't drag the platform I'm using, can I? But I do truly like Blogger. It can get frustrating because there are obviously a lot of things you can't do on a free platform but it suits my purposes. It's easy to use and straightforward and as far as free platforms go, it's good! And obviously design is something people talk about a lot in Blogger vs Wordpress debates and it's probably true that you can do more in terms of web design with Wordpress but there are some really great Blogger designs out there too that look like Wordpress! So for me, Blogger suits what I want to achieve. I don't really see the point of getting Wordpress if I'm not getting hosting and at this point, with my erratic blogging, I don't know if it's wise to invest in that. Maybe it's something I'll think about in the future though I'll have to play around with Wordpress a little more to determine that or maybe I'll just stay on Blogger forever (but get a better design obviously because mine is a little bleh). WHO WILL KNOW? ONLY TIME CAN TELL.<br />
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<b>Going outside being active or staying in and reading a book?</b><br />
IT DEPENDS ON THE ACTIVITY. If you are asking me to jog, no way Jose. I hate jogging and that sounds like the worst idea ever, why would you even ask me that unless you were making a joke. So reading, it is. But if it's something like WATER BALLOON FIGHT or WATER GUN FIGHT or LET'S GO SLIDE DOWN WATERSLIDES or LET'S HAVE A DOGEBALL FIGHT or LET'S PLAY SOCCER or BADMINTON or GO SWIMMING or GO ROCK CLIMBING or BUNGEE JUMPING, then I will have to reconsider. But a lot of it is also dependent on my mood. There are some days when I am just DYING to get out of my house but there are other days when I really just want to stay at home and read a book, maybe go on Tumblr for a while and just relax. So yeah, it really depends. But I would say most of the time, if you gave me the option between being active and reading a book, I would pick the first option just because I can bring a book to whatever I'm doing but I cannot bring the active activity to my reading, if that makes sense? Also I'm really trying to work on not locking myself up in my room all the time this year so this is part of a bigger plan for me.<br />
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<b>What is the last book you read?</b><br />
The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West and I LOVED IT. But obviously because it's Kasie West, queen of YA contemporary. I have a review for it going up on the 31st of July so WATCH OUT FOR THAT.<br />
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<b>What is the book you’re going to read next?</b><br />
I have a stack of books that are on my TBR and usually I just close my eyes and spin around and pick one at random - NOT JOKING. But because of due dates at the library, I'm fairly certain my next book will be Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham which I've been really eager to read for a long time (even though I don't watch Gilmore Girls but I KNOW I SHOULD). Let's hope I like it!<br />
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<b>Ebooks – yes or no?</b><br />
YES to ebooks. But over physical copies? I don't know. But if it's just a general question of "hey, do you like ebooks?", I'd be like "heck yeah, why wouldn't I?" They're convenient and have all the cool little functions my paperbacks and hardcovers don't and I read faster when I'm reading them. ALL WIN-WIN.<br />
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<b>Where do you prefer to read?</b><br />
In my bed at midnight with a snack of some sort and my phone nearby.<br />
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<b>Who is the last person you tweeted?</b><br />
<strike>Um.. I don't know?</strike> Ok well I checked and it was <a href="http://t.co/6kAvIqwxta">Nova from Out of Time</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/NovaBlogder">@NovaBlodger</a>) and it was a fun little chat about Wednesday Addams (who is AMAZING OK. I LOVE HER.)<br />
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<b>Whose blog did you look at last?</b><br />
<a href="http://novelinkblog.com/">Novel Ink</a> so I could link to them for this post!<br />
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<b>Who is your favorite blogger?</b><br />
Okay well I obviously can't choose just one... but I'm going to cheat and say someone who doesn't blog any more because I just found out that she stopped blogging a week ago and it's STILL TEARING ME APART and she deserves all the love even though she's gone... <a href="https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yabookloverblog.com%2F&ei=dLedVYXtNYTi-QG494CYBQ&usg=AFQjCNH7iUToPqYCaUDOMqHBSXKFaFG0GQ&sig2=euYvo3kajit1SAh9nZkiYg&bvm=bv.96952980,d.cWw">Chloe from YA Booklover Blog</a>. She was one of the first bloggers I found and quickly became one of my favourites and she's also just an amazing person. Like even though she's not blogging any more, I implore you to just have a look at her old posts because they are worth every bit of the read. She is so funny and just an amazing person (and I'm probably never going to get over this, truly).<br />
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<b>Who is your favorite book-tuber?</b><br />
I used to watch a lot of Booktube but since then, I've sorta stopped keeping up with it just because I didn't have time any more to sit down and watch it for hours on end (and this is basically Youtube in general for me). And again I can't just pick one because I have so many that I really like but <a href="https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB0QFjAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fchannel%2FUCIeQj8WZUyDGFY4Pr7ofEYQ&ei=hbedVd2LGszp-AGxkoCABQ&usg=AFQjCNGfjt2HkITGDZThJmVfJ77PRf3IxA&sig2=rUNp-77kg5iIwSjT-z3Frw&bvm=bv.96952980,d.cWw">Novella Zoo</a> was a channel I enjoyed watching a lot!<br />
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<b>Who is the last author you spoke to?</b><br />
LOL. This question is so presumptuous, it almost upsets me a little. I don't talk to authors really? Like I guess I have in the past but it was a one-time thing and it was a huge deal like OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE SO AND SO JUST TWEETED BACK AT ME. It certainly isn't a regular thing. They're still in a whole other realm that I'm a little hesitant to venture into.<br />
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<b>Who is the last person you texted?</b><br />
I know you were holding out for something exciting like PRESIDENT OBAMA or my secret boyfriend who happens to be Alfred Enoch but it was really just my mom. She doesn't really text and doesn't know how to view her messages so I texted her so she could figure out how to view it. Fun times!<br />
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<b>Who is your all-time favorite book character?</b><br />
Harry Potter? Tough question though. I'm gonna go with Harry Potter for now though..<br />
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<b>UKYA or USYA?</b><br />
Truthfully I don't keep track of the country of origin for a book. I just kinda read everything and presume that it's American / by an American author mostly because in Canada, that's what we get the most of. So I'd say I read more of USYA and even without looking too much into it, I'm sure I'm right but on the other hand, I also probably read more UKYA than I think just because I DON'T look into it a lot and there are most certainly some authors / books I thought were American but are actually British. Like Neil Gaiman for example. I LEGIT THOUGHT HE WAS AMERICAN FOR TEN YEARS. But he's British so that's a good example of me just not knowing at all.<br />
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<b>What is your preferred drink whilst reading?</b><br />
I try to be healthy and drink water (but always with seven cubes of ice) whenever I'm thirsty or want something to drink but I'm okay with really any of the beverages I usually like to drink. So ginger ale, chocolate milk, milkshakes etc etc. They're all good for reading. AND ICED CARAMEL MACCHIATOS. And vanilla lattes.<br />
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<b>If you hated reading, what would you be doing instead?</b><br />
Going on Tumblr. Going on Twitter. Going on Pinterest. Watching TV. LIKE MASTERCHEF WHICH IS ON NOW CRAP.<br />
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<b>How many bookshelves / bookcases do you have?</b><br />
2 but one is huge so I have tons of room for books.<br />
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<b>If you had the choice to meet all of your favorite book bloggers or all of your favorite authors, which would you pick? You can only pick one.</b><br />
Probably bloggers because while meeting my favourite author would be fun, I have stronger connections with many fellow bloggers who I actually consider to be my friends and while I'm not ruling out an instant best friendship with Morgan Matson or anything, I'd honestly so much rather meet all my favourite book bloggers who I either already know and want to get to know better and be friends IRL because how fun or that I've always looked up to.<br />
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<b>Insta-love: yes or no?</b><br />
Depends on the sitch. I'm more of a believer in insta-attraction though (EXCUSE ME DYLAN O'BRIEN IN THE INTERNSHIP I JUST) but there's such a fine line between the two in books that I feel it gets blurred quite a bit. Most of the time insta-love doesn't work for me, but never say never kids. I don't want to rule anything out.<br />
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<b>Favorite author?</b><br />
I have a lot of authors I love. I don't have a singular author that's above everyone else. I could go with the token answer of JK Rowling but let's be a little more CRAZY than that. Let's go with Morgan Matson because I've read and loved all her books.<br />
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<b>What is the number-one book on your wishlist?</b><br />
THE WRATH AND THE DAWN BY RENEE AHDIEH. I want that book so bad.<br />
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<b>Do you prefer books with female or male protagonists?</b><br />
I read more books with female protagonists but it doesn't really matter for me. I guess I tend to relate to female protagonists more but there have been some really well-written male protagonists that I've related to as well. I can't really say because my pool of selection for male-protagonists is so small, I don't have a whole lot to go off of.<br />
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<b>Which is your favourite book-to-film adaption?</b><br />
Harry Potter! I actually watched the movies before I read the books but then I DID READ THE BOOKS and the movies just brought to life everything in the books so wonderfully.<br />
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<b>What is the last song you listened to?</b><br />
It was a Jake Bugg song, I'm sure, because I was listening to his album. I'm 70% certain it was Ballad of Mr. Jones.<br />
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<b>Which do you enjoy reading more – negative reviews or positive reviews?</b><br />
It depends more on the reviewer. Like I've read really interesting negative and positive reviews. I don't think the positivity or negativity of a rating affects enjoyment of a review FOR ME. I tend to focus more on reviewers. There are some bloggers who are just fantastic at writing reviews in a way that's really interesting for me so typically I'll read all of their reviews, regardless of book or rating.<br />
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<b>Who are you going to tag?</b><br />
If you have three or more vowels in your first name (like me!), I TAG YOU.<br />
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<b>Hope you guys enjoyed reading my answers! This was just something very silly that I wanted to do and I had a lot of fun. Even if you don't have three or more vowels in your name, if you want to do this tag, I strongly encourage you to do so! I'd love to get to know a little more about you and read YOUR answers!</b>Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-72625112910310662552015-08-04T08:00:00.000-04:002015-08-04T08:00:03.445-04:00Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9807262-wanderlove">Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard</a></b></div>
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<b>Published March 13, 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers</b></div>
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<b>Hardcover, 338 pages</b></div>
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<b>Borrowed from library</b></div>
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After a rough breakup with her boyfriend Toby, 18 year old Bria Sandoval decides to pack everything and leave for a trip to Central America the summer before college. She finds a tour group called the Global Vagabonds that seems the perfect way for her to escape and soak up the culture of Guatemala but what she gets is rather disappointing. The trip she signed up for is a highly structured one with no freedom to wander and to make things more disappointing, she's with a group of middle-aged people, not the fun looking twenty year olds the website promised. On a whim though, Bria meets backpackers Rowan and his sister Starling and they invite her to ditch her tour group and come along with them. And as they weave through jungles and temples and ruins, Bria slowly learns what it truly means to be independent. (Also there's love and lots of fun travelling scenery!) </div>
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When I wrote <a href="http://randomreads7.blogspot.ca/2013/04/wanderlove-by-kirsten-hubbard.html">my review for Wanderlove</a> after my first read of it back in 2013, I didn't mean to be prophetic when I said:</div>
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"Though I'm certainly no psychic, I can almost guarantee you that this book will be picked up once again in the future."</blockquote>
But here we are and here I am, writing a review for Wanderlove which I just reread. And it was every bit as delightful as I remembered and MORE.<br />
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You know how there are good books that are good because the writing is strong, the characters are well-developed, the storyline's tight? And then there are other books that are good that may not be as technically strong but touch you and your life in a way that you just can't ignore. Those books are the ones with stories and characters that somehow jump off the page and burrow their way into your heart and forge a true connection with you.<br />
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That was Wanderlove for me. Not since maybe Anne of Green Gables which I read in fourth grade has a book a touched me in this way. Somehow, reading it this time around, it just got me thinking about stuff such as THE BEAUTY OF LIFE and SECOND CHANCES and PURSUING ART and TRAVEL and LOVE and BOYS and SAVORING THE HERE AND NOW. Some things that weren't even related to the story but as I was reading about Bria and her adventures in Central America, my mind just kept on branching off into all these different topics and thoughts.<br />
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Wanderlove, to me, is a lot more than a YA contemporary novel about a girl who finds love whilst gallivanting around Central America. It's a book that truly opened my eyes about things that have been on my mind for a long while and the effect that it had on me just touches me so deeply I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO EXPRESS IT. It's been roughly two years since I read this book for the first time and in those two years, monumental shifts have occurred in my life. The obvious one is that I am now in high school, not worrying about which high school to go to, and I'm a junior. Two years away from going off to college. And then of course there are those changes that are less obvious because they aren't visible - changes that occur within you. So after these two years, I've come to appreciate Wanderlove in a new light.<br />
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When I was 13, it was about the allure of travelling and having the freedom to backpack around Central America and see all these amazing sights. Now, at 15, it's about a lot more than that. It's about making decisions and finding your independence and maybe it's because I've been going through a slight existential crisis anyway of WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE, I FEEL SO LOST, AM I JUST GOING TO WASTE AWAY WITHOUT HAVING DONE ANYTHING USEFUL OR INFLUENTIAL WITH MY LIFE, etc etc, but Wanderlove came at the exact right time. I mean, I always knew I was going to reread it one day because I loved the travel aspect of it but I didn't know that when I did reread it, I would come to love so much more about it than all the gorgeous descriptions of Guatemala and Belize.<br />
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In the book, Bria's kinda having an existential crisis herself although she's sorta running away from it by going off to Central America. She's just gotten through a rough breakup with her boyfriend, she no longer finds joy in her art, she didn't apply to the art school she got into and she feels totally disconnected from her parents and her friends. It's not a situation that I'm in but I couldn't help the entire time reading the book just being like YES I needed to read these words.<br />
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And so this time around, I loved this book even more for acting kinda like a wise friend doling out some useful insight and advice. But of course there were also things that I enjoyed and appreciated even from the first read: the travel aspect of it, how likeable Bria and Starling and Rowan were, how natural the progression of Bria and Rowan's relationship was and how much cooler the illustrations made the book. It's just that this time, being a few years older, there were more things I found to appreciate about this book.<br />
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I know this wasn't like one of my typical reviews but to be quite honest, I was completely at a loss for words after I read this book. I knew I wanted to write a review to share my experience but I just didn't know at all how it would come together. So I know I didn't spend a lot of time talking about the things I usually touch upon like characters and the story and the writing but you'll just have to trust me on this that those were all done so so well. And now just because I couldn't resist highlighting all the quotable sentences in this book on my eBook, here are some of my favourite quotes from the book:<br />
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<b>"And I want nothing more in the entire universe than to dive headfirst into the kaleidoscope of colours, to let them whirl around me until I become a fractal of light."</b></blockquote>
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<b>"If we've got the means to get here, we owe it to the country we're visiting not to treat it like an amusement park, sanitized for our comfort. It's insulting to the people who live here. People just trying to have the best lives they can, with the hands they've been dealt."</b></blockquote>
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<b>"I've come to realize that sometimes, what you love the most is what you have to fight the hardest to keep."</b></blockquote>
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<b>"I've come to realize it really doesn't need to be all or nothing."</b> </blockquote>
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One of my favourite YA books now of all time. This book has great writing, great characters and a great storyline which made it a joy to read but above all, it opened my mind and had me thinking hard about some things that have been swirling around for a while. It offered the same type of wisdom and comfort a good friend might and so I love this book just for the way it affected me. But honestly, even if it might not touch you in the same way, I have no doubt in my mind that it'll still be well worth a read for you, if you haven't read it yet. There is just so much good in this book. (And just fyi, I would definitely include the Badge of Honour for this book if I wasn't cringing over how ugly it is and thinking of ways to revamp it.)<br />
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people who like to travel and read about foreign places. If you're looking for a very strong YA contemporary, you should check this out.</div>
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<a href="http://www.perpetualpageturner.com/2012/03/wanderlove-by-kirsten-hubbard.html">Jamie @ The Perpetual Page Turner</a> says: "If you love a realistic YA read that is a fun, light not lacking in substance, romantical tension that is done right and a romp across some of the most amazing places in the world…then you might want to bump this one up now!"</div>
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<a href="http://cuddlebuggery.com/blog/2012/02/20/arc-book-review-wanderlove-by-kirsten-hubbard/">Steph @ Cuddlebuggery</a> gives it 5 stars: "This book was so amazing, so deep, so beautiful and I’m very happy I stepped outside of my comfort box to read it."</div>
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<a href="http://www.respiring-thoughts.com/2013/02/04/book-review-wanderlove-by-kirsten-hubbard/">Renae @ Respiring Thoughts </a>gives it 3 stars: "Altogether, Wanderlove had a teensy bit too much cheese for my taste, but it was still a solid read in spite of its fluffy outer coating."</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-3229529457863494842015-07-31T08:00:00.000-04:002015-07-31T08:00:01.238-04:00The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18660447-the-fill-in-boyfriend?ac=1">The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West</a></b></div>
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<b>Published May 5, 2015 by Harper Teen</b></div>
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<b>Paperback, 352 pages</b></div>
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<b>Borrowed from library</b></div>
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On the night of prom, Gia Montgomery's boyfriend Bradley dumps her in the school parking lot. Which is obviously not good for many reasons but most specifically because her friends were expecting to see him tonight. After going on and on about her fancy UCLA boyfriend for months but never actually bringing him to meet them, her friends are a little more than suspicious about Bradley. Is he real or is she just making him up? So Gia knows that she absolutely CANNOT walk into her prom without at least someone to stand in for Bradley. Enter mysterious guy sitting in his car in the parking lot. Gia corrals HIM to fill in for Bradley and to pretend to be her boyfriend so she doesn't have to face the embarrassment of showing up alone at prom. And surprisingly he agrees. Everything goes well during prom including a well-planned breakup that solves the problem of her friends ever seeing Bradley ever again. But the thing is, even after prom, Gia is STILL thinking about her fill-in Bradley. Who is he???</div>
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OKAY LOL @ MY WORST BLURB EVER. WHY DO I STILL INSIST ON WRITING THESE INSTEAD OF JUST TAKING THEM OFF OF GOODREADS. CLEARLY NOT MY FORTE.</div>
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But you know what IS my forte? Gushing about amazing books. And The Fill-In Boyfriend is amazing so yes, there will be a lot of gushing. </div>
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If you don't know already, Kasie West is the queen of contemporary. Her previous books, The Distance Between Us and On the Fence, were some of the best YA contemporaries I'd ever read so naturally when The Fill-In Boyfriend was announced, I was absolutely ECSTATIC. And I was not in the least bit let down. In fact, I kinda think this was my favourite Kasie West contemporary. And I know I'm kinda alone on that because most people like The Distance Between Us or On the Fence but The Fill-In Boyfriend had everything I could ever ask for. IT'S SO GOOD.</div>
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So first, let's start off with Gia. I know a lot of people had problems with her, mostly because she was shallow and lied to her friends with fill-in Bradley (who has a real name but the reveal was so cute that I'm not going to give it away) and is a bit self-absorbed. But all those things only made her more endearing to me. She's probably the one main character I relate tot he most out of all of Kasie West's contemporaries. I didn't really feel anything towards Caymen or Charlie (I think that was her name?) but I got Gia. Maybe it wasn't the wisest choice to lie to her friends and get a stand-in Bradley but under the circumstances, I can totally understand why she did what she did. Which also made me upset at how the lie changed her relationship with her friends. Because her friends - or maybe one friend in particular - was HORRIBLE. And I was not accepting the excuse Kasie West was giving me about hard lives blah blah blah. You don't purposely undermine a person like that and honestly if THOSE were my friends (judgmental, rude, mean etc etc) I might've thought about getting a fake boyfriend as well. BECAUSE SERIOUSLY. </div>
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But that's not to say that Gia is totally in the clear. She's not. She's a flawed character and I love her for that and I think she also represents a lot of high school girls. I know she represents me. She's someone who doesn't totally know who she is and has trouble with her friends sometimes. Like maybe not putting in as much effort into her friendships as she should (KNOW THIS FIRSTHAND) or not being totally open and upfront with her friends (AGAIN I KNOW THIS). She's also extremely popular and because she's always been treated as basically school royalty, she's a little oblivious and ignorant when it comes to other people. She treats them as if they're below her and she's always the one to call the shots and basically just step over everyone else. But over the course of the book, you get to see the development and growth of Gia as a character and it's amazing. Slowly by slowly, Gia starts to realize that she needs an attitude check and in the process of that, she also starts to learn more about herself. Seeing her grow was one of my favourite parts of the book. </div>
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Gia's deep-rooted insecurity is one reason for her behaviour and it's something that really hit me hard. This book deals with social media and how it affects teenagers and the message is something that's obvious but I think needs to be repeated sometimes. It's about not quantifying your value by how many likes or retweets you get and that's something Gia struggles with and it's something I struggle with as well. It's so easy to compare yourself to others when you can break a person down so easily into something so simple as the number of likes on a picture. It's not healthy. I KNOW THIS and yet I still do it and it's one of the reasons why I've contemplated deleting my Facebook in the past. It's just not something I take joy in any more because I can't help but compare myself to others. And it's always an ongoing mantra of "you're not as good as this person", "you're such a loser", "you're never going to be like her", "no one will ever like you" and "no one cares about you" whenever I log in. So that whole part about Gia measuring her worth by the number of likes she had was something that hit me hard. It's something I see in myself and also in my friends, like when everyone gets together to have Facebook profile picture taking sessions and then afterwards, obsessing over what's the optimal time to post the picture to get the most possible likes. So reading about this aspect of Gia, while not totally helpful in curbing my own need for self-validation through likes (I think I'm a long, long way from ever giving that up completely), was comforting. It was good to know that someone else was going through that too. </div>
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And that sense of comfort was a huge part of why I was so attracted to Gia. In her, I saw a lot of me. I saw someone who is often shallow and very self-absorbed, who is massively insecure about herself so she seeks validation in different ways, who wants to be liked by everyone and who's often a little careless about her friends and her friendship. I also really related to her loneliness even despite being surrounded by her friends though I think my loneliness is due to something different than Gia's. Anyway I have a lot of issues, most dealing with insecurity, that I need to sort out that I won't get into here because IRRELEVANT and also maybe a little TOO PERSONAL but basically yes, I saw a lot of myself in Gia. And that's why I related to her so much and liked her so much when others disliked her for the same reasons. She brought a sense of comfort to me because she was struggling with the same things I was.</div>
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I can definitely break my love for this book into two parts. Obviously my connection to Gia is a huge part but then my love for fill-in Bradley was another huge part. I ABSOLUTELY ADORED FILL-IN BRADLEY. He was amazing and I loved the natural progression of Gia and fill-in Bradley's (we'll call him FIB from now on because I'm too lazy to type out the whole name) relationship. It was sweet and SO ADORABLE. Honestly FIB is such a gem of a person, I can't even tell you. While he wasn't Gia's type necessarily, he is SO SO SO my type. I swooned HARD. He was so adorable. I know I've said the same thing over and over again but he really was amazing. I kinda want a FIB for myself. SIGH. Their dialogue was so on point and honestly SUCH PRECIOUS CUPCAKES. WHAT THE HECK.</div>
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Also this review is getting way too long but can we just sneak in a little prayer session for Bec? The most wonderful person ever? I LOVED HER SO MUCH. And I was dismayed that there was so little of her. I honestly want her to be my best friend, she was just so cool and an example of not to judge a book by its cover which Gia needed to learn and I needed to learn. AND YEAH THIS REVIEW IS SUPER SUPER LONG ALREADY BUT BASICALLY I LOVED THIS BOOK OKAY. IT WAS LIKE THE PERFECT SUMMER CONTEMPORARY. I READ IT IN FOUR HOURS AND IT WAS THE BEST FOUR HOURS I'VE SPENT THIS SUMMER SO FAR.</div>
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Kasie West is truly the queen of contemporary. The Fill-In Boyfriend was another home run for me. I absolutely loved it and maybe even a little more than her other two books. A lot of it has to do with Gia and how I related to her in a way I didn't with the other main characters. Gia and I have a lot in common and a lot of things we need to sort out so seeing her come to terms with the things about herself she needs to improve gave me great comfort, as a lot of HER things are MY things as well. So it was a very impactful book for me in that sense but also the writing is just great. I liked how this book dealt with some other important issues rather than just being romance, romance, romance and did it in a better way than The Distance Between Us and On the Fence. I LOVED fill-in Bradley. He's definitely my favourite Kasie West love interest now and yeah I just really enjoyed this book. Maybe the only thing was that things with Gia and her friends were dealt with a little better at the end but apart from that, I had a really really fun time reading this book.</div>
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people looking for a book to put a smile on their face or someone looking for a cute contemporary. The Fill-In Boyfriend will 100% do the trick!</div>
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<a href="http://www.snugglyoranges.com/2015/06/book-review-the-fill-in-boyfriend-by-kasie-west/">Debby @ Snuggly Oranges</a> give it 4.5 stars: "...The Fill-In Boyfriend is fluffy, fun, and surprisingly deep."</div>
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<a href="http://mostlyyabookobsessed.com/2015/05/review-the-fill-in-boyfriend-by-kasie-west.html">Nereyda @ Mostly YA Book Obsessed</a> gives it 4.5 stars: "I’m used to Kasie’s books having open endings, but this one felt more unfinished than her others. I still had so many questions, mostly concerning Gia’s friends."</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-22550267946330856072015-07-27T08:00:00.000-04:002015-07-27T08:00:03.486-04:0010 Facts About Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After nearly three years of blogging and just hanging around in the blogosphere chatting with all of y'all, I kinda feel like you already know all there is to know about me. Like in my time blogging, I've never really held back with the more personal details of my life and maybe at times, I should have exercised more caution but honestly I think of you all as my friend and friends tell each other things! You guys certainly know more about me than many people in my life.<br />
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When I was thinking of ideas for posts to have up on my blog while I was away on vacation, the idea to do a "facts about me" post came to me. I legitimately thought I had already done one but one search and it turns out that no, I indeed haven't even though I have written plenty of other posts in a similar vein (like <a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.ca/2014/05/life-of-blogger-3-101-things-i-love.html">101 things I love</a> and <a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.ca/2014/08/life-of-blogger-6-101-things-i-hate.html">101 things I hate</a>). Since I haven't done this type of post just yet, I thought this would be a good time to do it, as I'm leaving for vacation and such and it's the type of post that doesn't need a lot of prior planning or preparation. And I know this might seem horribly lazy of me but honestly you try scheduling for four weeks as a non-scheduler and a blogger who has never written this many posts in this short amount of time EVER. I'm feeling very very close to burnout. So I thought I'd give myself a little break and write this post instead, which also ended up a lot longer than expected although why am I still surprised that my posts are so long because I TALK SO MUCH. But anyway, hopefully this doesn't seem as self-indulgent and self-absorbed as I think it is and you guys enjoy learning a little bit more about me; I know for myself, I always enjoy finding out more about the blogger outside of blogging and of course, books.<br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>10 facts about me.</b></span></div>
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<b>1. I was born on December 17, making me a Sagittarius.</b></div>
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I have somewhat of a love / hate relationship with my birthday. I really like that it's during the winter and so close to Christmas as there is something about the winter holidays that's just so romantic and whimsical to me. However, I do not like having to wait so long for my birthday to come and I know that sounds strange because everyone has to wait the same amount of time but when your birthday's at the end of the year and everyone you know has already turned 16 or 17 or whatever, the wait just seems that much longer and it's not fun. But apart from that, there really isn't very much I dislike about my birthday. And on a side note, I've never really bought into the whole astrology thing but there might be some TRUTH to it or maybe it's just destiny because I find that the sign Sagittarius massively suits me. Everything I've read about the characteristics of Sagittarians (?) basically fits me to a T.<br />
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<b>2. I am an ENFP.</b><br />
For Careers this year (which everyone says is such a joke course but I thought was actually very useful), I had to take the Myers-Briggs test to find out what my personality type is. I've taken it three times and all three times I've basically gotten the same result (except once when I got ESFP but it said that the difference I got between sensing and intuition was very marginal, meaning that it could really go either way which makes sense for me). It was interesting to get my result because I basically thought everything really fit me except for the first one which is introvert vs extrovert. I think of myself more as an ambivert because there are times when I'm extremely introverted and other times when I'm extremely extroverted ALTHOUGH if you told me I had to pick, I always pick introvert even if I may appear more extroverted? But I guess I can't really argue if the Myers-Briggs test thinks I'm more extroverted. I also found<a href="http://thoughtcatalog.com/heidi-priebe/2014/09/25-struggles-only-enfps-will-understand/"> this article recently on ENFP struggles</a> and related so HARD the entire time so yeah, I'm a little more convinced now. Also fun fact, ENFPs are also known as "champions" and Nelson Mandela was one!<br />
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<b>3. The back of my phone is covered in stickers.</b><br />
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Oh hey, check it out. There's my phone! In all its pink glory. I don't remember why exactly I thought it would be a good idea to put stickers on it any more but I have to say that I have yet to get super embarrassed about it. Maybe the day will come soon... But the good thing is that it's very hard for me to lose it and it's very easy for others to identify if I do lose it. I left my phone by my locker in the school hallway once and THANK GOD my French teacher picked it up and sent it to the office but when I talked to her, I basically just went "did it have stickers?" and she was like "a ton" and then I was like "sure thing, that's my phone!"<br />
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<b>4. I don't mind brussel sprouts but I HATE okra.</b><br />
I don't understand why everyone hates on brussel sprouts. They are honestly the most inoffensive vegetable ever. They don't taste like anything and they don't have a weird texture either. They're basically like cabbage balls. How do you hate that? And when they're cooked well, like with a balsamic vinaigrette glaze, YUM. Okra, on the other hand, is disgusting. It's slimy and honestly feels like I'm eating someone's slobber. Like in those animated movies where the dog is just like slobbering everywhere. When I eat okra, I feel like the equivalent of that dog slobbering on me. So honestly if anything people should be hating on okra, NOT brussel sprouts. This is a legit thing I'm protesting guys.<br />
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<b>5. I pride myself on my fashion knowledge.</b><br />
I read a lot of Vogue and Teen Vogue as well as blogs / websites like Who What Wear so I do kinda pride myself on my fashion knowledge. I'm not a whiz at it or an expert by any stretch of the imagination but I do know quite a bit, like more than the average person, I guess. Fashion's just always something I've been super interested in so I read / watch a lot about it and I would consider myself pretty up to date about trends, the latest popular brands, supermodels etc etc.<br />
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<b>6. I was OBSESSED with Jesse McCartney as a child.</b><br />
He was probably the first celebrity crush I remember having. I remember watching him and his music videos on Disney Channel when I was 6 or 7 and being like "who's this young charming blonde guy?" And even though that was nearly a decade ago, I still admit to loving him and frequently jamming out to his music. I guess some things just never change?<br />
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<b>7. I'm turning 16 this year in December!</b><br />
Oh fun. The big sixteen, right? I probably won't have a sweet sixteen mostly because I don't like having huge parties on my birthday. For me, my favourite thing is just to have a quiet dinner with my family on my birthday and then go home, take a bath, relax and watch a movie or read or go on Tumblr. So no sweet sixteen for me! But I'm going to try to convince my parents to let me get my G1 / driver's license because it's something I want REALLY bad but they're not too keen about (I think they're both very worried that I'll crash into a tree or something because I wasn't paying attention and I mean, yeah, I guess it makes sense why they would think that but still...)<br />
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<b>8. Hairdressers always ask me if my hair is permed.</b><br />
And no, it's not. I get this question a lot because my hair, for some weird reason, isn't like the Asian hair you usually see: straight, shiny and BASICALLY GORGEOUS. My hair is crazy. Like insane. It's not straight unless I straighten it. It's not shiny no matter what I do to it. And there's a lot of it, it's crazy thick. Most days, it hovers around wavy but right after I've washed it, it gets super curly and if it's been a long time since I've washed it, the grease kinda pulls it straighter if that makes sense. But it's also really poufy and frizzy. Like if it's hot out, my hair just poufs out or if it's raining and my hair gets wet, as it dries, it poufs out so I look like I've been electrocuted or something. Honestly my hair is such a struggle. IF YOU HAVE STRAIGHT, SHINY HAIR, just know that I envy you.<br />
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<b>9. My favourite joke is "two peanuts are walking down the street and one is a salted."</b><br />
I don't know why this makes me laugh so much but every single time, IT GETS ME without fail. This is my one party joke. It's the one I tell to EVERYONE. Again, I don't know why, I just think it's hilarious. Though I will be the first one to tell you that my humour is very strange and if it's a pun that everyone else groans at, chances are that I will find it absolutely HILARIOUS.<br />
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<b>10. I own too many high-waisted pants.</b><br />
I kinda feel like once you go high-waisted, you can never go back. Or at least, that's how it is for me. Basically everything I own is high-waisted now and if I'm not wearing something high-waisted, I feel weird. My mom hates the look of them but I don't know, I quite like them. I like tucking in my shirts and I like the illusion of longer legs being on the shorter side (5'2") so they're a look I really really love.<br />
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<b>Now it's your turn: share 10 interesting facts about yourself! What's your favourite joke? Who was your celebrity crush as a child? What's one food you absolutely DETEST? Which personality type and star sign do you fall under? Or any other interesting fact about yourself that you think would be fun to share. Let's have a little chat and get to know each other better! </b></div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-26347519323261462972015-07-23T08:00:00.000-04:002015-07-23T08:00:01.422-04:00Magnolia by Kristi Cook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16059149-magnolia?ac=1">Magnolia by Kristi Cook</a></b></div>
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<b>Published August 5, 2014 by Simon & Schuster</b></div>
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<b>Hardcover, 336 pages</b></div>
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<b>Borrowed from library</b></div>
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Jemma Cafferty and Ryder Marsden were quite literally destined to be together. Their respective families have been best friends with each other for over two centuries; they're so close that the Caffertys practically consider the Marsdens family and vice versa. For years, the two families have yearned for a marriage to permanently link their families together but there was never a boy AND a girl born at the same time... until Jemma and Ryder. Needless to say, the two have been pushed together by their parents ever since their births. But the only thing is, Jemma and Ryder hate each other. Like blood boiling, CANNOT under any circumstances STAND each other so the last thing they want is to be in a relationship with each other. But when the tide appears to start turning and their feelings start to get more and more confused, it's hard not to speculate: will their parents get what they want after all? Or are Jemma and Ryder's pasts just too hard to reconcile?</div>
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it cannot be officially summer yet if i haven't stocked up on ya contemporary romances. this is the truth</div>
— annie (@anniemabel7) <a href="https://twitter.com/anniemabel7/status/613543777605652480">June 24, 2015</a></blockquote>
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IT REALLY IS THE TRUTH. Summer is just not summer without contemporary romances. Magnolia was one of the books I had on my list to read this summer because so many bloggers I trust really enjoyed it and also, it just sounds DAMN good. And IT WAS. Like truly, if you are looking for THE YA contemporary romance for this summer, look no further than Magnolia. It's a quick but addictive read. I promise, you will not want to put this down. I know because I wasn't able to put it down and ended up reading it in a span of five hours. </div>
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Honestly I wish I had drawn it out a little longer or at least saved it for mid-summer because it was so good that it makes me sorry it was one of the very first books I read - since my daycare days when my teacher would advise us all to eat our least favourite part of the meal first and save the best for last, I have kinda applied that theory to all parts of my life, including summer reading lists. Magnolia was everything I had hoped that it would be and more.</div>
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Although yes, I did only give it four stars (4.5 stars if we're being technical) and that just about comes down to two teeny things that gave me some pause. The first thing is the hatred between Jemma and Ryder. I was not entirely convinced how much they really did hate each other, especially at the beginning and I guess, even now having finished the book, although given everything else that happened, it's a bit of a moot point now. But yeah, I think the hatred between was them was something that I needed to see a little more evidence of. The reason that Jemma gave was totally grounds for hating someone and it made sense, as in yes I would be mad at a person if they did what Ryder did to Jemma and yes I would probably hate them too. But apart from that, maybe the only glimpse we get of their actual hatred towards each other is in one short scene at the beginning. And that's it. So it's something that gave me a little pause and it's one thing that's holding me back from giving it a 5 star rating, although by the time I was finished I was so over the moon with how things ended up and how natural and believable Ryder and Jemma's relationship was, it was hardly in my mind. (Because let's not beat around the bush, YES OF COURSE Jemma and Ryder end up together). AND YES I know that sounds contradictory but that's how it was for me.</div>
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The other thing I don't know if I can totally disclose because it's so spoilery but for those of you who have read the book: PATRICK. That is all I'm going to say. PATRICK. <b>(But really skip this paragraph if you haven't read the book yet. I'm not going to mention any specifics but better to err on the side of caution if you're VERY picky about spoilers)</b> That entire storyline just had me scratching my head so hard even in the beginning. It felt unnecessary and then THE THING happened and I was left even more confused. It never felt totally resolved, instead just lingering about for the remainder of the book and that is the MAIN reason why I cannot give this book 5 stars, as much as I enjoyed it. That entire sub-plot was just so confusing and frankly, unnecessary and out of place and then everything was just dealt with so roughly. It just never sat right with me. I feel like maybe it was added to draw comparisons to Ryder and show how ONE thing is clearly better than the other which makes sense but with what happened, it just bugged me so much. I don't understand why it happened, I don't think Patrick was dumb enough to do what he did, it was honestly just so so strange like why was this even part of the book in the first place. And I hated it as well. I feel like my instinct is just to always go to the underdog and the guy that's maybe a little rough around the edges so that's why I personally felt so much for Patrick but still. SO MUCH UGH.</div>
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But apart from that, I really did like this book. It's a solid romance with many great components. Namely, the romance. Hate to love is one of my favourite tropes and Kristi Cook did it spectacularly and YES I KNOW I'M CONTRADICTING MYSELF AGAIN BUT I AM JUST A BUNDLE OF CONTRADICTIONS but yes I really thought the progression of Ryder and Jemma's relationship was very smooth and realistic. Honestly I kinda had to stop reading a few times to let out a few giggles just because there were some scenes where it wasn't really graphic (so yes if you want me to say it, there is no sex) but honestly there was so much CHEMISTRY and romantic tension between the two, I just had to shake out the swoons and tingles I had. And you know, Ryder did win me over in this book. He was just so sweet, I don't know, I just really liked him. And it certainly did not hurt that I was picturing him as James Marsden the entire time even though he's like 40 and basically 30 years older than what Ryder is in the book but honestly James Marsden is so swoon no matter how old he is. </div>
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There were other parts I really liked as well. For starters, I really liked the Mississippi setting and even though I've never been to the South it felt like I was there so all the components of a Southern lifestyle, I thought, were very well written and it made me want to live there even though I am not a rural girl. It just all sounded very glamorous to me and romantic how everyone knew who everyone was and how you grow up with these people and have known them your entire life.</div>
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I also liked the realisticness of the storm. Which honestly I still think is kinda a spoiler. Like it's in the Goodreads blurb but it doesn't happen until 1/2 of the book in and the entire time I was just waiting for it to happen and it was not fun. So I'd tell you to not read that blurb and just go in blind but since we're here on the subject anyway... let me just say that it was written very realistically. Not that I've been in a storm but I could picture myself in the scenario and everything just felt very right.</div>
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And then besides all that, you also have the great side characters, the family aspect which I always love, the real struggles of being a teen like WORRYING ABOUT UNI that I always appreciate seeing and the writing.</div>
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ALSO I just realized the parallels between this book and Romeo & Juliet. I mean I KNOW it's supposed to be like a reverse Romeo & Juliet retelling but I literally just noticed that</div>
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<b>The Caffertys </b>- The Capulets</div>
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<b>The Marsdens </b>- The Montagues</div>
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<b>Jemma </b>- Juliet</div>
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<b>Ryder </b>- Romeo</div>
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<b>Ben </b>- Benvolio</div>
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<b>Mason </b>- Mercutio</div>
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<b>Tanner </b>- Tybalt</div>
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<b>Rosie </b>- Rosaline</div>
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Honestly you would think I'd have caught on a bit earlier after studying Romeo & Juliet for a whole excruciating year but I'M JUST SO DIM, I DIDN'T EVEN SEE IT. Although honestly even now as I see the parallels between the two works, I'm still not entirely sold on the Romeo & Juliet retelling aspect of this book. There are a lot of moments that jump out at me that are CLEARLY drawing reference to the play so work under the confines of "Romeo & Juliet retelling" but not under the confines of "oh hey this is what Magnolia is actually about". If that makes sense? Like a lot of scenes just felt like they were thrown in there to make it MORE of a Romeo & Juliet retelling without actually adding anything to the actual story of Magnolia and Ryder and Jemma.</div>
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But overall yes, if you're looking for a good contemporary romance, look no further than Magnolia!</div>
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Magnolia was THE summer contemporary romance I was looking for. The relationship between Ryder and Jemma progressed so naturally and there were definitely some moments that had me all SWOON. There are sooo many things to like about this book although there were two TINY bits that gave me pause and are why I didn't rate this book a 5 star read. But it was truthfully very very close to it. I read it in 5 hours because it was just so addictive and I couldn't get enough of Jemma and Ryder. The fact that it's a Romeo & Juliet retelling totally slipped my mind while I was reading so make of that what you will? It's only now in hindsight that I'm slowly picking up the parallels between the two books even though I am really familiar with the story of Romeo & Juliet, I just was out of it I suppose? But overall, a great book.</div>
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people looking for a cute but well written contemporary romance perfect for the summer.</div>
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<a href="http://effortlesslyreading.com/2014/07/book-review-magnolia-kristi-cook/">Kelly @ Effortlessly Reading</a> gives it 3 stars: "Overall, Magnolia was a cute fun read despite it’s awkward beginning, but it’s not one of my favorite retelling or my favorite Romeo and Juliet retelling by any means."</div>
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Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-29025229245991021132015-07-19T08:00:00.000-04:002015-08-27T22:13:07.155-04:00An Epic Recs Reading Round-Up!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was looking at my book log the other day and noticed how I never ended up talking about the two books I ACTUALLY read for Epic Recs on my blog: If I Stay & Graffiti Moon. Instead of making two separate reviews for them, I decided I would just smoosh them together in one post since it's been a super long time since I finished them anyway and then ALSO include the two books I did not read for Epic Recs and ask you what you thought of them. Genius idea, right? </div>
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I guess I should maybe preface this with what Epic Recs is as some of you may not know. It's something <a href="http://booksofamber.com/">Amber</a> and <a href="http://paperiot.com/">Judith</a> created that pairs up book bloggers with each other in a little fun recommendation game thing. So each month, you and your partner recommend each other books and then IDEALLY you're supposed to read them but since I am not the best with reading what I am told to read, it doesn't always work out that way.</div>
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<b>If you're curious, here are the four rounds of Epic Recs I did.</b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(also note that <a href="http://readsleeprepeat.org/">Shelly</a> was partner for Epic Recs #1 while <a href="http://yabookloverblog.com/">Chloe </a>was my partner for Epic Recs #2-4 in case there was any confusion)</span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.com/2014/02/epic-recs-februarly-2014.html">I </a>/ <a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.com/2014/04/epic-recs-april-2014.html">II</a> / <a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.com/2014/12/epic-recs-december-2014.html">III</a> / <a href="http://therunawayreader.blogspot.com/2015/01/epic-recs-january-2015.html">IV</a></b></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;"><b>the books i READ.</b></span></div>
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Chloe and I have similar taste in books so was I surprised that I ended up liking both of her recommendations to me? NOT AT ALL. Here are my thoughts on If I Stay & Graffiti Moon.</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6990472-if-i-stay">If I Stay by Gayle Forman</a></b><br />
<b>If I Stay #1</b><br />
<b>Published April 6, 2010 by Dutton Books for Young Readers</b><br />
<b>Paperback, 261 pages</b><br />
<b>Borrowed from library</b><br />
<b><br /></b>If I Stay was a book I probably wouldn't have ever picked up had Chloe not recommended it to me and while I can't say I LOVED it as much as others did, it was a good read. Having read Just One Day before this, I knew that Gayle Forman was a good writer and it showed again in If I Stay. I was impressed by how much she managed to fit in a relatively short book but I was also left wanting more overall. There was just a disconnect between me and this book - a book that I had EXPECTED to bring the waterworks. But it never happened. I really didn't feel anything for this book besides maybe a glimmer of sorrow and sympathy for Mia. Maybe I'm heartless or maybe there was just something missing for me. There were a lot of things I liked like Mia's family and reading about her love for the cello. Those were all really interesting parts of the story for me but then there were other parts that I just wasn't super keen about. So I mean, it wasn't a bad book at all for me but it also wasn't super freaking amazing as I expected it'd be going in. I'm undecided at this point whether or not to continue on with Where She Went. I don't have any interest to do so but it's under consideration.<br />
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And just to throw this out there to be fair but I watched the movie a week or so ago and it really didn't do anything for my opinion of this book at all. I'm sorry if you liked the movie but oh my god, it was so awful I couldn't even sit through it. Maybe my favourite part was that Adam's band's name changed and the songs they played were good but apart from that, I CRINGED SO BAD. There was this scene when Adam and Mia are having lunch at her family's barbecue and a bee stings her... the acting was terrible.<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7863274-graffiti-moon?ac=1">Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley</a></b><br />
<b>Published August 1, 2010 by Pan Macmillan Australia</b><br />
<b>Paperback, 264 pages</b><br />
<b>Borrowed from library</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Graffiti Moon was another book on the shorter side that still managed to pack a lot in. I enjoyed this more than I enjoyed If I Stay but still, I felt like I was missing SOMETHING. In my Goodreads update, I mentioned that it was maybe a little too deep for me and I do feel that a lot of the time the underlying message / theme of the story escaped me. The beginning also had me a little confused but once the story got rolling, I was really invested in all the characters. The writing was amazing and I loved the unique topic of graffiti that Cath Crowley dealt with. It's definitely a very well written book that I recommend to anyone looking for a quick but powerful read. Another example of how a book doesn't have to be 1000 pages long in order to have well-developed characters and a story.<br />
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These were the books that for whatever reason I didn't get to. Now that I'm on summer vacation though, it's a great time for me to catch up on books. This is where you come in. Tell me which of these two books I should read next and why! What did you think of them? What were the best parts about the book? SELL IT TO ME.</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12000020-aristotle-and-dante-discover-the-secrets-of-the-universe?ac=1">Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe</a></b></div>
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<b>Published February 21, 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers<br />Hardcover, 368 pages</b></div>
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This was a book that Shelly recommended me and I KNOW, IT'S ONE I REALLY REALLY NEED TO READ. I just wasn't in the mood for a contemporary when she recommended it and then it just kinda fell to the side and I STILL HAVE YET TO PICK IT UP. I guess a lot of it is also because there has been so much praise surrounding this book and hype always scares me because I hate even taking the chance of being the odd one out. There is nothing worse than being disappointed with a book that everyone else loved and black sheeping hard. </div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23629114-how-to-be-bad">How to Be Bad by E. Lockhart, Lauren Myracle & Sarah Mlynowski</a></b></div>
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<b>Published December 4, 2014 by Hot Key Books</b></div>
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<b>Paperback, 352 pages</b></div>
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Chloe rec'd me this and I'm actually just sitting here in shock that I haven't read this yet. I love collab books and ROAD TRIP BOOKS and contemporaries in general. I'm not super familiar with E. Lockhart or Lauren Myracle but I do really love Sarah Mlynowski's work (Bras and Broomsticks anybody?) so I'm definitely willing to give this book a shot and maybe add two more contemporary authors to my favourites list! AND ALSO DID I MENTION HOW MUCH I LOVE FRIENDSHIP BOOKS SO YEAH THERE'S THAT TOO.</div>
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<b>Have you read Graffiti Moon & If I Stay? Did you like them as well? What other books by Australian authors can you recommend because they're all amazing, I SWEAR THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WATER. Was I too harsh on the If I Stay movie? Does it get better? And the important question: SHOULD I READ ARI & DANTE OR HOW TO BE BAD FIRST? And what were your thoughts on them? Also just for funsies, what's the BEST book you've ever read that someone else recommended to you (either through Epic Recs or something else entirely)? </b></div>
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Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-27737553001505167952015-07-15T08:00:00.000-04:002015-07-15T08:00:01.105-04:00Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23009402-saint-anything?ac=1">Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen</a></b></div>
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<b>Published May 5, 2015 by Viking Juvenile</b></div>
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<b>Hardcover, 417 pages</b></div>
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<b>Borrowed from library</b></div>
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(synopsis from Goodreads.com)</div>
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Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?<br />
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Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.<br />
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The uber-popular Sarah Dessen explores her signature themes of family, self-discovery, and change in her twelfth novel, sure to delight her legions of fans.<br />
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All I have to say is that now I really REALLY regret passing up on the 40% discount I saw on this book at Indigo a few weeks back because WOW.</div>
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Just kidding, I have more to say because I ALWAYS have more to say. But where to start when there is so much to cover?</div>
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Why don't I start here: I was hesitant going into Saint Anything because the few Sarah Dessens I had read before this, of late, were not very good. Not in the sense that the writing was bad (because Sarah Dessens never have bad writing), just in the sense that I started to get this feeling that her stories followed a certain pattern. It became formulaic and I got bored. Even well loved books like Lock and Key and Along for the Ride did nothing for me. I don't know whyy, I just didn't really connect with any of the characters or the story. I didn't feel the same magic I did when I read The Truth About Forever or This Lullaby, two of my favourite Sarah Dessens. But still I read on, even as I felt pretty meh over most of the books that I read. Why did I do this? FOR THE HOPE THAT I WOULD FIND ANOTHER BOOK THAT WOULD STRIKE THAT SAME MAGIC FEELING IN ME THAT THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER AND THIS LULLABY DID. AND GUESS WHAT? I FOUND IT, IN SAINT ANYTHING.</div>
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I was SCARED. I didn't want to be let down again especially when there was just so much promise for this book. And I wasn't let down and that made me so so happy. See, I knew - I JUST KNEW - I would find another Sarah Dessen I would love ONE DAY. Because Sarah Dessen at her best DOES EVERYTHING RIGHT. Her writing is on point, her characters are well fleshed out and always AUTHENTIC, her storyline is tight and she always manages to deal with maybe some more sensitive issues with great poise and sophistication. Those are qualities I look for in great contemporaries (or in great books PERIOD), they're what I think about when I think of what a great contemporary looks like and they're what Sarah Dessen has learned how to do PERFECTLY. Admittedly there have been some books of hers that I haven't enjoyed as much, where I felt like maybe there was something missing, but looking at some of my favourite books of hers, she always has that perfect balance of great characters, great plot, great writing and a really strong emotional attachment for the reader. </div>
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Saint Anything had that. </div>
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<b>It had the great writing that was beautiful, introspective and seriously TUGGED on my HEARTSTRINGS. </b>So many gorgeous lines in this book. So quotable. AND I LITERALLY DID NOT WANT TO PUT DOWN THIS BOOK FOR A SECOND. I started it one evening and just read until it was really too late for me to be up and still reading (midnight) so I had to put down the book and IT WAS SO SAD. Then the next day I woke up and the first thing I did was read the book but then I had to go out and be pried away from it again and IT WAS AGONY. Like honestly, I have not been this immersed in a book for a very very long time. Just every single time I wanted to keep reading until I finished. IT WAS THAT GOOD. And considering it's 400 pages (although I read an eBook version), I READ IT PRETTY FAST like in under 24 hours. SO AGAIN, proof that Sarah Dessen is a bombass writer.</div>
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<b>It had the great story that I've come to expect with Sarah Dessens. </b>Everything just wove together so beautifully, even the sub-plots just came together so nicely. HOW DOES SARAH DESSEN DO IT? Just looking back on it now, there definitely were a lot of different storylines going on. We had the main ongoing plot with Sydney and her parents dealing with older brother Peyton in jail but we also had one with Ames, Peyton's creepy friend; the Chathams and their crazy family and Mama Chatham with MS; Layla Chatham, Sydney's friend, and her relationship with a guy; Mac Chatham and his adventures with his band and the Chatham pizza business. There IS a lot going on but never for one moment did I feel confused or overwhelmed and that is just a testament to how GOOD of a writer Sarah Dessen is, to be able to balance all those storylines and weave them together so well. </div>
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<b>It had the AMAZING CHARACTERS. </b>Okay guys, you may want to sit down for this because y'all know that when it comes to characters, I am NOT messing around. I love my characters and they really do make or break a book for me. And Saint Anything's characters MADE the book for me. I just have so much love for all these characters. Even the unlikeable ones. They're written so well that I can't help but take a step back in admiration.</div>
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Let's start with Sydney, our main character. To be quite honest with you, I didn't really connect with Sydney all that much while I was reading the book. Her narration felt a little stiff for me and kinda like same old, same old (which I guess is one of the problems I have with Sarah Dessen books. The narration is very similar - it's good writing but similar - so when there isn't anything else going on that interests me like the plot or standout characters, I get bored). It felt like an adult in a teen's role, if that makes sense, it just felt a bit emotionless and detached BUT as the book progressed, this became better although I still didn't really connect with Sydney. I FELT for her though and I UNDERSTOOD her. I understood why she felt the way she did about Peyton and the accident and I felt for her when her parents turned a blind eye towards her. I felt for her when SHIT HIT THE FAN. Really, one of the best things about this book was watching Sydney slowly change and develop as she got to know the Chathams. It was beautiful to see her grow from a sorta meek, lonely girl into one who was funny and surrounded with great friends.</div>
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Another great thing about this book were the RELATIONSHIPS (I know I'm jumping around here but there's SO MUCH TO SAY). I loved the different relationships here. I loved seeing the friendship between Sydney and Layla. It was kinda my favourite thing ever. Layla was a character I immediately liked, her radiant personality felt like it was even radiating off the page. I liked how she and Sydney just clicked. I also liked Sydney's relationship with her old friend Jenn who honestly didn't leave very much of an impression on me until the later half of the book. </div>
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Seeing the contrast in family dynamics was very interesting as well. On one hand we have the Stanfords, who are kinda dysfunctional and still trying to figure things out and adjust to this new development of Peyton in prison. Sydney's alone at home a lot, her parents don't pay attention to her and when they do, it's to be unfairly overbearing and strict on her like not allowing Sydney to hang out with Layla or the Chathams. It was difficult, I'm not gonna lie, to read about Sydney's mom just totally neglect and push away her interests and wants. But then we also got to see how things shifted and changed and got better. It was intriguing also to read about the family's relationship with Peyton which changed a lot throughout the book. And it was great to be able to see Peyton and Sydney's relationship change as well and I think at the end of the book, we were at a really great place with that. </div>
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And then on the OTHER hand, we have the Chathams who are loud and boisterous but also incredibly tight-knit and it's clear that they're full of love for each other. It's something that's new for Sydney, or at least something she hasn't experienced in a very long time, and to be able to see her come to develop her relationship with them was so fun. I loved seeing her growing relationship with Mrs. Chatham and how Mrs. Chatham would offer her advice and guidance. And I loved seeing the interactions between Layla and Mac and Rosie, the three Chatham siblings.</div>
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But back to the characters, let's run through this quickly:</div>
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<b>Sydney - </b>really came around to her by the end. I felt for her at times but also had a deep understanding for who she was</div>
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<b>Sydney's parents </b>- I disliked what they were doing a lot of the time but could also see where they were coming from. By the end, I really liked how they developed</div>
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<b>Peyton </b>- He came around for me as well</div>
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<b>Ames </b>- Did not come around for me. Gave me the heebie jeebies just EW.</div>
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<b>The Chathams </b>- LOVE</div>
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<b>Layla </b>- LOVE</div>
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<b>Jenn </b>- LOVE</div>
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<b>Eric and Irving (from Mac's band) </b>- Eric was so amusing to me the entire time and Irving needs his own novel. He was HILARIOUS.</div>
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<b>Mac </b>- BEST FOR LAST OBVIOUSLY. Mac, Mac, Mac, Mac. Honestly the best person ever. He was so kind and sweet and just ADORABLE. One of my favourite Dessen guys and probably one of my favourite YA male characters EVER. I loved him and his relationship with Sydney was so sweet. I liked how natural it felt and how everything unravelled so nicely. I ALSO liked how there was no drama between them. I was kinda scared that there was going to be a BIG breakup or some scandal but there wasn't that and I was so grateful. I liked the two of them together so so much. HONESTLY MAC. But also as much as I liked them together, I also liked how their relationship didn't take up the novel. Like it wasn't the focus and that for me was so so important and so great to see. </div>
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And then of course if you're still not convinced that this book is amazing and Sarah is amazing, let's just talk about how she dealt with important issues with such sophistication and sensitivity. And also the fact that this book made me so HUNGRY all the time. There was so pizza and I LOVE PIZZA. Literally was craving my hawaiian / triple cheese / vegetarian / bianca (is that how you spell it?) / margherita (again, is that how you spell it?) pizzas the ENTIRE TIME. And then there were the Yum Yum lollipops. Which, I MEAN, root beer and cola lollipops are the best okay, let's just lay that down right now. AND THEN THE FRIES. Honestly it kinda grossed me out that Layla put salt and pepper in her ketchup and then on her fries but everything else was just OH MY GOD (also lol if you've read this book can we just talk about the fact that Spence ate his fries using a fork and with MUSTARD should have been a sign that he was not good??). Like I loveeee fries you guys. And the best fries I have ever tried EVER are still the fries they sell at Costco. Next time you're at Costco get yourself a portion. THEY ARE SO DELICIOUS. </div>
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So yeah, those are all the things I loved about Saint Anything! IF I HAVEN'T CONVINCED YOU, well then I don't know what else I can say MOSTLY BECAUSE THIS REVIEW IS ALREADY SO LONG.</div>
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What can I say that I haven't already said? Basically this book was AMAZING. It reconfirmed to me that Sarah Dessen is one of the best YA authors ever. Everything from the characters to the writing to the plot was just so well done. Honestly I am APPLAUDING RIGHT NOW because Saint Anything might just be Sarah Dessen's best work ever, or if not the best, ONE of her best. I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT IT WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE SO MUCH GRR.</div>
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contemporary lovers looking for something deep and heartfelt. If you like reading about well developed characters and strong relationships, read this book and if you just want to read a GOOD book.</div>
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Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-15499091191061161882015-07-09T08:00:00.000-04:002015-07-09T08:00:02.331-04:00Blog Announcement: Leaving for Vacation! (A Month Long Sort-of Hiatus)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi guys, just a quick little post today to notify you of what’s going to be happening with my blog for the next month or so.<br /><br />If you’ve read my June Reflect & Renew post, you might already be aware that I am going on vacation starting the tenth of July (so tomorrow) for approximately a month. I’ll be visiting Asia, mostly staying in Shanghai to see my relatives and then maybe visiting Tokyo as well, though nothing has been set in stone yet. I’m super excited but also slightly disappointed because going on vacation means no time to blog.<br /><br />Good news is that I have scheduled some posts to go up while I’m away so there will be at least one post per week for every week that I am away, though I have been a little extra productive these past few weeks so there will be a few more schmooshed in between. <br /><br />But as for everything else (Twitter, other forms of social media, email, comment responding, etc), there will be a month-long lapse in activity. Part of it is because I will be doing a lot of travelling and most likely won’t have a lot of access to the internet or even a computer but part of it is also because I will be in China where, as you probably know, blocks basically all the major English speaking websites. Which means, to my devastating sadness, no social media of any sort for a month. But hey, maybe this will be good for me! Maybe this will help ease my dependency on social media. But yes also if you need to contact me for anything, just know that you’ll probably have to wait until mid-August / some time during the second week of August before you get a reply.<br /><br />And I’m pretty sure that covers everything I need to say for now… so I’ll see you all in a month. Hopefully you’ll enjoy the posts I have scheduled and yeah, that’s it! Don’t miss me too much (although I’m sure you’re all going to hold a celebration that I’m gone as soon as I leave). <br /><br />LOVE YOU ALL. BYE.<br /><br />PS. I actually don’t even know what I’m going to do this month without any contact with any of you for a month so here I am, asking for help to keep my sanity. If you are willing to help keep me sane by way of email (I’m pretty sure Hotmail / Windows email isn’t blocked in China), I’ll send you my email address to set up an email correspondence so you can entertain me with things and keep me updated with what’s going on in the blogging community / the rest of the world and in exchange I’ll entertain you with descriptions of my travels and all the food I’m eating (and maybe even a postcard to your door!)<br /><br />There, now I’m really done.<div>
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Peace!</div>
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Annie xx</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299838184207328451.post-78268978156231353032015-07-07T16:28:00.000-04:002015-07-07T16:28:37.333-04:0010 Hyped Books I've Never Read<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/">The Broke and Bookish</a>.</i></div>
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This week's topic is <b>10 Hyped Books I've Never Read </b>and guys, take a seat because I could go on and on about this topic FOR DAYS but I've narrowed it down to 10. Let's get one thing out of the way here: hype scares me. It really does. I'm afraid of getting let down by the book and then being the black sheep. While it sucks being the odd one out when you're the only person loving a book everyone else hates, it's so much worse being the person hating a book everyone else loves (well, for me, at least). Because I never want to be blasting a book everyone loves, I want to join in on the fun! Some of the books listed are ones I've avoided for that exact reason. Others are just books I'm not that interested in reading. But either way, one thing all of these books have in common is that they are massively hyped. Enjoy!</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/256683.City_of_Bones?ac=1">1. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare</a></b><br />
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I know there are a lot of diehard Mortal Instruments fans out there so please don't hit me or come at me with pitchforks when I say that I truly have no interest in reading this series at all. When my friend asked me about it, I told her that I felt like the window of time in which I would have read the book had already passed and it's true. I mean, if I did want to read this book, I would've read it years ago in fourth grade or fifth grade. And okay to be fair, I did try once. I picked up the book, read maybe the first chapter and then put it down. Obviously that's not enough to form a proper judgement on the book but yeah.. it's been so many years now and there are so many books out and I've heard things about Cassandra Clare that raise questions, regardless of whether they're true or not, I DON'T KNOW, I don't really bother to find out the details about these things. And I just cannot rationalize investing that much time reading a series that long that I probably wouldn't have even considered at all, if not for the hype.<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/99561.Looking_for_Alaska?ac=1">2. Looking for Alaska by John Green</a></b><br />
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Another book that I don't really have any plans on reading. I just don't really like John Green's writing at all. The Fault In Our Stars was good and I did like it a lot (though a little dubious about whether I'd still like it that much if I read it now) but then came Paper Towns and An Abundance of Katherines and if Looking for Alaska is anything like those two books, HARD PASS. Not a fan of John Green's writing / humour at all. Though if we're being totally honest, I think it wouldn't be totally unfair to say that all of the hype surrounding John Green may have just amplified my dislike of his work. If that makes sense? It's just always John Green this, John Green that, oh hey another John Green movie and meanwhile I'm sitting here just shaking my head because why? I legitimately do not see the attraction. I'M NOT SAYING THAT JOHN GREEN IS A BAD PERSON, PLEASE DON'T HURT ME. I actually think he comes off as rather charming from his videos but his books are just so blah for me.<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11925514-code-name-verity?ac=1">3. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein</a></b><br />
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This is a book that I actually DO want to read. I'm a history nerd, I absolutely love learning and reading about the past and that's why historical fiction is one of my favourite genres to read. I've heard so many great things about Code Name Verity and honestly I don't know why I still haven't read it. Especially since it's a World War II historical fiction and World War II is something I am massively interested in. We were studying it this year in History class and I don't know if I've ever been more eager to learn anything in my entire life EVER. The way things slowly built up to this horrible and tragic event and the complexities of everything is something that's highly intriguing to me so yeah, World War II historical fictions are just my favourite so this is definitely a book I want to read.<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10429045-shatter-me?ac=1">4. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi</a></b><br />
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To be honest with you, I don't totally know what this book is about. All I know is a lot of people love it and something about Warner and Adam and the covers with the eye on it that everyone seems to love but I actually kinda don't like. Also I know that Tahereh Mafi is a very artsy / cool person from her twitter and her blog. Again, this isn't a book I would've considered if it weren't for the hype but unlike City of Bones, I am actually very open to reading this series and seeing how it is. And I like lyrical writing and apparently Tahereh's writing is very lyrical so hopefully I like that?? I don't know, I've just heard a lot of good things about this book and it seems kinda interesting so at the very least, I want to try it and see if I like it or not.<br />
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362495700l/13638125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362495700l/13638125.jpg" width="133" /></a><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13638125-vicious?ref=ru_lihp_up_rs_4_mclk-up2447641080">5. Vicious by V.E. Schwab</a></b><br />
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I haven't had a lot of experience with V.E. Schwab / Victoria Schwab's work but I did read The Archived and really enjoyed that.. I've heard a lot of great great things about Vicious, it seemed that it was all anyone could talk about at a point. And this is another book that I don't entirely know what it's about but OH DAMN, IF THERE ARE VILLAINS IN HERE, COUNT ME IN. One of my favourite things in books is a well written villain. Seriously, nothing gets me more excited (but also more frustrated) than a TRULY evil antagonist. SO IF I CAN FIND THAT IN HERE, AWESOME. And also I love that this is categorized as an adult book because I don't often find interesting and well-written fantasy for adults? So Vicious basically checks off all the boxes. This is one I'm definitely going to get to very very soon.<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16101128-the-5th-wave?ac=1">6. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey</a></b><br />
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The 5th Wave has been sitting on my bookshelf, collecting dust for nearly THREE YEARS NOW. I was so interested in this when it first came out and there were all the glowing reviews for it but now I'm just like eh. BECAUSE IT'S SO BIG. Like every single time I see it, I kinda just skulk away because talk about INTIMIDATING. I did read The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey though and really really enjoyed that so I'm probably going to like this book as well. And with the movie coming out, I might as well read this book, right? (Although I really am not a huge fan of Chloe Grace Moretz and the IMDB cast list is so freaking long like OK THIS DOES NOTHING TO HELP MY NERVOUSNESS). But don't worry guys, I'll get to this ONE DAY.<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4932435-finnikin-of-the-rock?ac=1">7. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta</a></b><br />
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Everyone sings praise about Melina Marchetta, EVERYONE. And I read Jellicoe Road so I get WHY but it's also something that makes me a little hesitant to read her other books, specifically this series. BECAUSE WHAT IF I DON'T LIKE IT? Fantasy is a little iffy for me most of the time, especially because 99% of the time, the blurbs for the books only leave me MORE confused. Like I think I've read the Goodreads synopsis for this a zillion times and yet I'm still like... what the heck is this book about? It might have something to do with the made-up names, it might just have something to do with the VAGUENESS. But so many people have praised and praised this book that I can't help and be like WELL IT HAS TO BE GOOD RIGHT IF EVERYONE AND THEIR MOTHER LOVES IT. And I mean, I did like Jellicoe Road. And it is only a trilogy which means only THREE BOOKS to finish. And I am trying to branch out of my comfort zone this year. So I should read this ASAP, right??<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19547856-simon-vs-the-homo-sapiens-agenda?ac=1">8. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli</a></b><br />
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I am a sucker for long, quirky titles and cute sketchy looking / illustrated covers so Simon was immediately on my radar. And then everyone started raving about it and THERE ARE OREOS IN THIS BOOK? Basically it's a match made in heaven because I LOVE OREOS (and am so pumped about the new Oreo Thins because the regular Oreos are a little too CREAM for me). And literally everyone I know has read this book and LOVED IT. And it just sounds so cute and adorable AND GOOD FOR THE SUMMER. Also any time a book has a character that shares a name with one of the characters from The Raven Cycle, it's a good thing and even more so if it's my PRECIOUS BLUE. I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY JUST ANOTHER SIGN I HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK. And I will. Promise.<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9460487-miss-peregrine-s-home-for-peculiar-children?ac=1">9. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs</a></b><br />
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I'm a little undecided on whether or not I will read this book. I started it a year ago maybe and I didn't really get into it. But a lot of people do really like this book and it's been optioned or something so I'm thinking maybe I should give it another shot. I do really like the idea of having cool photographs interspersed throughout the book that are actually part of the story. I think that's just super cool and the cover is one of my favourites but still, I don't know... Knowing me, I'll probably get to this some time in the future but it's not really a priority, I guess. Also the fact that it's a series... I'm not crazy about series because that's so much COMMITMENT and if I don't like a book, I'm not going to continue with it but I'm also gonna want to know what happens and that will just DRIVE ME INSANE. So I don't know, we'll see...<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10507293-the-selection?ac=1">10. The Selection by Kiera Cass</a></b><br />
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Everyone whose opinion I really, really trust has read this book / series and not liked it very much and it kinda gives me Wither vibez which I absolutely HATED but still... I'M INTRIGUED. I think it might be because of the cover or the fact that it's reminiscent of The Bachelor which I admit I used to be absolutely obsessed with (omg Ben's season was the best) BUT COLOUR ME INTERESTED.<br />
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<b>Have you read any of these books? Can you attest to whether or not the hype is deserved? And whether or not it's a book I need to get to ASAP or a book I should pass on? What are some SUPER hyped books that you haven't read? Tell me in the comments (and feel free to leave me a link to your Top Ten Tuesday!)</b>Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860018030056290291noreply@blogger.com0