I'm now on
Goodreads.com!
Come vist me and be my friend!
Visit me here!
I'll still be posting my reviews here, but I'll be pasting them to goodreads, too. However you want to follow me, I'll be the same in both places.
(But goodreads.com is pretty awesome: if you haven't checked it out yet, I advise you to!)
Saturday, January 15, 2011
BR: Firelight
Firelight= Angst-a-plenty. Once I finished it, I realized I enjoyed it, but for the first 2/3, I was feeling pretty depressed. Jacinda's life sucks. Her mom is trying to kill the draki--- dragon--- inside of her, her twin sister hates her and has a major inferiority complex (although no one can really blame her), and she's in love with a boy who's family hunts her kind. There seems to be no options for Jacinda, no release, and it's pretty depressing. The makeout scenes that do pop up between her and Will are a brief but finally do add some positive energy to the story (can you tell that Jordan also writes Romance novels?!)... until Jacinda starts freaking out, flip-flopping between her all-consuming love for the hunter, and her need to protect her family and her race's secret. It gets tiring after a while. Once Will finally figures it out, the plot freshens up and turns into great reading--- I just wish the angst hadn't lasted so long.
I really enjoyed the character of Will. (Although I wish we could have learned of his secrets earlier! Great twists, and I'm excited to see how they eventually play out!) It was a refreshing break from the bad-boy type that seems to plague the love-interests of popular YA these days, and I loved the confidence he exuded when he came after Jacinda again and again.
Sophie Jordan was able to create a deep, mature love between this unlikely pair that wasn't cheesy, and seemed real and lasting--- something that stretches beyond regular high-school relationships, something that everyone tries to write, but few succeed. I applaud Sophie Jordan for that!
I hope in the next book(s), we find the angst take a backburner, and the amazing potential of a unique, refreshing story florishes and breaks through.
Sophie Jordan: props for a CLEAN, but strong love affair!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Sunflowers and Seashells is Here!
Guess what came in the mail today?!? 
SUNFLOWERS AND SEASHELLS... the book my poem got published in! It's finally here! I'm finally officially published, and let me tell you, it feels good. :)
Thanks to Eber and Wein for the poetry contest and the chance to be included in this anthology! Totally made my year :)
Congrats to everyone else that are featured in Sunflowers and Seashells, especially all those that actually won prizes! There are some awesome poems in there.
So, my mom and I are as sick as dogs with colds and no voices to speak of, so when I opened the package, I "screamed" in excitement but it sounded like a tiny half-hearted squeak. We laughed for a while. Then I hiccuped and was in excruciating pain for a minute, which made me laugh harder.
The box that it came in!
Thanks to Eber and Wein for the poetry contest and the chance to be included in this anthology! Totally made my year :)
Congrats to everyone else that are featured in Sunflowers and Seashells, especially all those that actually won prizes! There are some awesome poems in there.
So, my mom and I are as sick as dogs with colds and no voices to speak of, so when I opened the package, I "screamed" in excitement but it sounded like a tiny half-hearted squeak. We laughed for a while. Then I hiccuped and was in excruciating pain for a minute, which made me laugh harder.
The box that it came in!
PAGE 298, "Inside Out" by Holly Empey, Oceanside CA!
Literary Comics :)
My favorite literature-related cartoons :)
Kate Beaton has some pretty excellent stuff-- look her up if you're into history, especially.
Kate Beaton has some pretty excellent stuff-- look her up if you're into history, especially.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Jane Eyre and Grimm's Fairy Tales
I finished Jane Eyre (finally) and, can I say? LOVED IT. Good ol' Charlotte Bronte.
(As I commented to someone the other day, the reason why it took me even so much longer to read it was because my copy fell behind my bed, and I was so lazy I didn't get it until four days later... teehee)
But honestly, it's a fantastic piece of romantic literature, and even though I personally would have condensced the first half of when she was a little girl into just a few pages, or left it out completely, it was well worth the wait. Halfway through, the language ceased to be any sort of inhibitor or anything; it became a second nature to read it and comprehend it.
...Now, trying to stay in the nature of "the classics," I've decided to start reading Grimm's Fairy Tales. Also love! I love reading the little obscure ones that no one knows or cares about, the little underdog fairy tales. Those one make me happy. There's one at the beginning about a guy trying to figure out what it means "to shiver" (as in, that was so scary I'm shivering/shuddering). He goes all over the place and people try to get this guy scared, but he's stupid and doesn't understand why the corpses hanging in the trees won't come down and share his fire (aren't they cold?), and he gets upset because he simply wants to know what it is to shiver! Since he lives through all these scary encounters, he's deemed brave by the king and is able to marry the princess, but he's still sad because he wants to know what shiver is. So, smart princess, gets a bucket of cold water from the river and throws it on him while he's asleep. "Oh! that makes me shiver!" he cries, "Dear wife, that makes me shiver! Yes now I know what shivering means!"
Heehee... it's a play on words! Bah! Who knew the brothers Grimm were so funny?
(actually, I think the Grimm's just collected the stories, they didn't write them. But they did put in all the hard work, collecting all the folklore and combining it for the world's reading delight.)
Thanks, brothers Grimm! And thank Charlotte Bronte!!!
(As I commented to someone the other day, the reason why it took me even so much longer to read it was because my copy fell behind my bed, and I was so lazy I didn't get it until four days later... teehee)
But honestly, it's a fantastic piece of romantic literature, and even though I personally would have condensced the first half of when she was a little girl into just a few pages, or left it out completely, it was well worth the wait. Halfway through, the language ceased to be any sort of inhibitor or anything; it became a second nature to read it and comprehend it....Now, trying to stay in the nature of "the classics," I've decided to start reading Grimm's Fairy Tales. Also love! I love reading the little obscure ones that no one knows or cares about, the little underdog fairy tales. Those one make me happy. There's one at the beginning about a guy trying to figure out what it means "to shiver" (as in, that was so scary I'm shivering/shuddering). He goes all over the place and people try to get this guy scared, but he's stupid and doesn't understand why the corpses hanging in the trees won't come down and share his fire (aren't they cold?), and he gets upset because he simply wants to know what it is to shiver! Since he lives through all these scary encounters, he's deemed brave by the king and is able to marry the princess, but he's still sad because he wants to know what shiver is. So, smart princess, gets a bucket of cold water from the river and throws it on him while he's asleep. "Oh! that makes me shiver!" he cries, "Dear wife, that makes me shiver! Yes now I know what shivering means!"
Heehee... it's a play on words! Bah! Who knew the brothers Grimm were so funny?
(actually, I think the Grimm's just collected the stories, they didn't write them. But they did put in all the hard work, collecting all the folklore and combining it for the world's reading delight.)
Thanks, brothers Grimm! And thank Charlotte Bronte!!!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Magic Number: 138!
And the official number of novels I read in the year 2010...
138!
Whoa baby. I sure do need to get a life. But we'll talk about my lack of social interaction another time.
First... let's remember the rules of my challenge.
"So. THE RULES:
1. I must read the entire book. I am only alloted twenty pages of skippage for the book to count as "read."
2. I may skip more than twenty pages WHILE STILL READING, just to satisfy my need to know what happens, but MUST go back and read the skipped pages for it to count as "read."
3. I may reread books, but again, they must be read all the way through (omitted the twenty pages overall, in dire and neccesary situations) not just skimmed, to count as "read."
4. If I can't give a review of the book after reading it, this means I was falling asleep while reading it, and therefore must go back and reread the parts I can't remember to make it "count."
5. More rules may be added as neccesary. But none may be eliminated.
6. My own works do not count. Okay, Let It Be does, but only if I read it straight-through. Which I rarely do.
7. Textbooks DO count, but seeing as not only do I not POSSESS any, the fact that I'm going to read it from cover-to-cover (omit alloted twenty pages) is so highly unlikely I might laugh. But I thought it was good rule.
8. All books MUST be completed by January 1st, 12:00 AM. NO EXCEPTIONS. Unless I go into a coma....
....9. If I go into a coma (medicine indused or otherwise) I will be allowed the number of days I was unconscious--- up until January 1st 2010--- to catch up. This is unlikely, but I'd like to be prepared."
-"100 Books in a Year", hollysthoughts.com, May, 2010
Well, obviously I did not sink into any coma during the past year (medicine induced or otherwise), and I followed the rules quite completely. And honestly? It was totally fun. Sure, I'ma dork, but I'm a very happy dork.
So! Here is the completed list of all the works I read in the year 2010.
1. Hush Hush, Becca Fitzpatrick
2. The Pale Assassin, Patricia Elliott
3. 68 Knots: A Novel, Michael Robert Evans
4. The Red Necklace, Sally Gardner
5. The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaimen, Dave Mckean
6. When It Happens, Susane Colasanti
7. Perfect Chemistry, Simone Elkeles
8. I Am the Messenger, Markus Zusak
9. Mr. Dracy, Vampyre, Amanda Grange
10. Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, James Patterson
11. The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart
12. Antsy Does Time, Neal Shusterman
13. Beastly
14. A Gift of Magic
15. The Year I Turned 16, Diane Schwemm
16. Remembering Issac, Ben Behunin
17. Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo, Obert Skye
18. Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret, Obert Skye
19. Evermore, Alyson Noel
20. Blue Moon, Alyson Noel
21. Shadowland, Alyson Noel
22. Maximum Ride 2: School’s Out, Forever, James Patterson
23. Maximum Ride 3: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, James Patterson
24. Old Magic, Marianne Curley
25. Nightrunner, Max Turner
26. The Red Queens Daughter, Jacqueline Kolosov
27. The Hourglass Door, --Magnus
28. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling
29. City of Bones, Cassandra Clare
30. City of Ashes, Cassandra Clare
31. City of Glass, Cassandra Clare
32. The Summoning, Kelley Armstrong
33. The Awakening, Kelley Armstrong
34. The Reckoning, Kelley Armstrong
35. Beautiful Dead: Jonas, Eden Maguire
36. Shiver, Maggie Stiefvater
37. Need, Carrie Jones
38. Lament, Maggie Stiefvater
39. (City of Ashes, reread) Cassandra Claire
40. Maximum Ride: James Patterson
41. Captivate, Carrie Jones
42. Maximum Ride: The Final Warning, Max, James Patterson
43. Ballad, Maggie Stiefater
44. Wings, Aprilynne Pike
45. The Dawn of the Dreadfuls, Steve Hockensmith
46. Stolen, Lucy Christopher
47. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, E. Lockhart
48. Wondrous Strange, Lesley Livingston
49. Eyes Like Stars, Lisa Mantchev
50. The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness
51. Shiver (reread), Maggie Steifvater
52. Heartbeat, Sharon Creech
53. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, Trenton Lee Stewart
54. Wintergirls, Laurie Halse Anderson
55. 68 Knots: A Novel (reread), Michael Robert Evans
56. City of Glass (reread), Cassandra Clare
57. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
58. Wondrous Strange (reread), Lesley Livingston
59. Darklight, Lesley Livingston
60. Perchance to Dream, Lisa Mantchev
61. River Secrets, Shannon Hale
62. Beautiful Dead: Jonas (reread), Eden Maguire
63. The Dark Divine, Bree Despain
64. The Iron King, Julie Kagawa
65. Wicked Lovely, Melissa Marr
66. Spells, Aprilynne Pike
67. The Blue Girl, Charles de Lint
68. A Company of Swans, Eva Ibbotson
69. The Writing on the Wall, Wendy Lichtman
70. Werewolf Rising, R. L. LaFevers
71. Absolutely, Positively Not, David Larochelle
72. The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield
73. Ink Exchange, Melissa Marr
74. Fragile Eternity, Melissa Marr
75. My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsessions, Becca Wilhit
76. Radiant Shadows, Melissa Marr
77. Evermore (reread), Alyson Noel
78. Blue moon (reread), Alyson Noel
79. Shadowland (reread), Alyson Noel
80. Dark Flame, Alyson Noel
81. Linger, Maggie Steifvater
82. Bad Girls Don’t Die, Katie Alender
83. The Body Finder, Kimberly Derting
84. 13 to Life, Shannon Delany
85. Immortal, Gillian Shields
86. Pretty Monsters, Kelly Link
87. The Boy Book, E. Lockhart
88. The Treasure Map of Boys, E. Lockhart
89. Scrambled Eggs at Midnight, Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler
90. Betrayal, Gillian Shields
91. Fallen, Lauren Kate
92. Beautiful Creatures, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
93. Old Magic, Marianne Curley
94. Once Dead, Twice Shy, Kim Harrison
95. The Red Necklace (reread), Sally Gardner
96. The Silver Blade, Sally Gardner
97. Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
98. Clockwork Angel, Cassandra Clare
99. Imaginary Enemy, Julie Gonzalez
100. Plain Kate, Erin Bow
(100 books in a year completed September 7)
SINCE THEN…
101. Once a Witch, Carolyn MacCullough
102. Elsewhere, Gabrielle Zevin
103. Ruined, Paula Morris
104. Lament (reread), Maggie Stiefavter
105. The Amanda Project: Invisible I, Stella Lennon
106. This Lullaby, Sarah Dessen
107. Beautiful Dead: Arizona, Eden Maguire
108. Paranormalacy, Kiersten White
109. Lament (reread), Maggie Steifvater
110. Infinite Days, Rebecca Maizel
111. Beautiful Creatures (reread), Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
112. Beautiful Darkness, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
113. Stolen (reread), Lucy Christopher
114. It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Ned Vizzini
115. A Certain Slant of Light, Laura Whitcomb
116. Tithe: A Modern Faire Tale, Holly Black
117. Need (reread), Carrie Jones
118. Captivate (reread), Carrie Jones
119. The Education of Bet, Lauren Baratz-Logsted
120. The Loser’s Guide to Life and Love, A. E. Cannon
121. The Plague, (not Camus, but a cheapy book I picked up at my local library that rather stunk)
122. Fly on the Wall, E. Lockhart
123. Wildthorn, Jane Eagland
124. Marked, P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast
125. Wondrous Strange (reread), Lesley Livingston
126. Darklight (reread), Lesley Livingston
127. Blue Bloods, Melissa de la Cruz
128. Masquerade (a Blue Bloods novel), Melissa de la Cruz
129. Revelations (a Blue Bloods novel), Melissa de la Cruz
130. The Van Alen Legacy (a Blue Bloods novel), Melissa de la Cruz
131. Misguided Angel (a Blue Bloods novel), Melissa de la Cruz
132. Charlie St. Cloud, Ben Sherwood
133. Jane, April Lindner
134. Dream Factory, Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler
135. The Summoning (reread), Kelley Armstrong
136. The Awakening (reread), Kelley Armstrong
137. The Reckoning (reread), Kelly Armstrong
138. The Mermaid’s Mirror, L. K. Madigan
And that, my friends, is a wrap.
138!
Whoa baby. I sure do need to get a life. But we'll talk about my lack of social interaction another time.
First... let's remember the rules of my challenge.
"So. THE RULES:
1. I must read the entire book. I am only alloted twenty pages of skippage for the book to count as "read."
2. I may skip more than twenty pages WHILE STILL READING, just to satisfy my need to know what happens, but MUST go back and read the skipped pages for it to count as "read."
3. I may reread books, but again, they must be read all the way through (omitted the twenty pages overall, in dire and neccesary situations) not just skimmed, to count as "read."
4. If I can't give a review of the book after reading it, this means I was falling asleep while reading it, and therefore must go back and reread the parts I can't remember to make it "count."
5. More rules may be added as neccesary. But none may be eliminated.
6. My own works do not count. Okay, Let It Be does, but only if I read it straight-through. Which I rarely do.
7. Textbooks DO count, but seeing as not only do I not POSSESS any, the fact that I'm going to read it from cover-to-cover (omit alloted twenty pages) is so highly unlikely I might laugh. But I thought it was good rule.
8. All books MUST be completed by January 1st, 12:00 AM. NO EXCEPTIONS. Unless I go into a coma....
....9. If I go into a coma (medicine indused or otherwise) I will be allowed the number of days I was unconscious--- up until January 1st 2010--- to catch up. This is unlikely, but I'd like to be prepared."
-"100 Books in a Year", hollysthoughts.com, May, 2010
Well, obviously I did not sink into any coma during the past year (medicine induced or otherwise), and I followed the rules quite completely. And honestly? It was totally fun. Sure, I'ma dork, but I'm a very happy dork.
So! Here is the completed list of all the works I read in the year 2010.
1. Hush Hush, Becca Fitzpatrick
2. The Pale Assassin, Patricia Elliott
3. 68 Knots: A Novel, Michael Robert Evans
4. The Red Necklace, Sally Gardner
5. The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaimen, Dave Mckean
6. When It Happens, Susane Colasanti
7. Perfect Chemistry, Simone Elkeles
8. I Am the Messenger, Markus Zusak
9. Mr. Dracy, Vampyre, Amanda Grange
10. Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, James Patterson
11. The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart
12. Antsy Does Time, Neal Shusterman
13. Beastly
14. A Gift of Magic
15. The Year I Turned 16, Diane Schwemm
16. Remembering Issac, Ben Behunin
17. Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo, Obert Skye
18. Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret, Obert Skye
19. Evermore, Alyson Noel
20. Blue Moon, Alyson Noel
21. Shadowland, Alyson Noel
22. Maximum Ride 2: School’s Out, Forever, James Patterson
23. Maximum Ride 3: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, James Patterson
24. Old Magic, Marianne Curley
25. Nightrunner, Max Turner
26. The Red Queens Daughter, Jacqueline Kolosov
27. The Hourglass Door, --Magnus
28. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling
29. City of Bones, Cassandra Clare
30. City of Ashes, Cassandra Clare
31. City of Glass, Cassandra Clare
32. The Summoning, Kelley Armstrong
33. The Awakening, Kelley Armstrong
34. The Reckoning, Kelley Armstrong
35. Beautiful Dead: Jonas, Eden Maguire
36. Shiver, Maggie Stiefvater
37. Need, Carrie Jones
38. Lament, Maggie Stiefvater
39. (City of Ashes, reread) Cassandra Claire
40. Maximum Ride: James Patterson
41. Captivate, Carrie Jones
42. Maximum Ride: The Final Warning, Max, James Patterson
43. Ballad, Maggie Stiefater
44. Wings, Aprilynne Pike
45. The Dawn of the Dreadfuls, Steve Hockensmith
46. Stolen, Lucy Christopher
47. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, E. Lockhart
48. Wondrous Strange, Lesley Livingston
49. Eyes Like Stars, Lisa Mantchev
50. The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness
51. Shiver (reread), Maggie Steifvater
52. Heartbeat, Sharon Creech
53. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, Trenton Lee Stewart
54. Wintergirls, Laurie Halse Anderson
55. 68 Knots: A Novel (reread), Michael Robert Evans
56. City of Glass (reread), Cassandra Clare
57. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
58. Wondrous Strange (reread), Lesley Livingston
59. Darklight, Lesley Livingston
60. Perchance to Dream, Lisa Mantchev
61. River Secrets, Shannon Hale
62. Beautiful Dead: Jonas (reread), Eden Maguire
63. The Dark Divine, Bree Despain
64. The Iron King, Julie Kagawa
65. Wicked Lovely, Melissa Marr
66. Spells, Aprilynne Pike
67. The Blue Girl, Charles de Lint
68. A Company of Swans, Eva Ibbotson
69. The Writing on the Wall, Wendy Lichtman
70. Werewolf Rising, R. L. LaFevers
71. Absolutely, Positively Not, David Larochelle
72. The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield
73. Ink Exchange, Melissa Marr
74. Fragile Eternity, Melissa Marr
75. My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsessions, Becca Wilhit
76. Radiant Shadows, Melissa Marr
77. Evermore (reread), Alyson Noel
78. Blue moon (reread), Alyson Noel
79. Shadowland (reread), Alyson Noel
80. Dark Flame, Alyson Noel
81. Linger, Maggie Steifvater
82. Bad Girls Don’t Die, Katie Alender
83. The Body Finder, Kimberly Derting
84. 13 to Life, Shannon Delany
85. Immortal, Gillian Shields
86. Pretty Monsters, Kelly Link
87. The Boy Book, E. Lockhart
88. The Treasure Map of Boys, E. Lockhart
89. Scrambled Eggs at Midnight, Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler
90. Betrayal, Gillian Shields
91. Fallen, Lauren Kate
92. Beautiful Creatures, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
93. Old Magic, Marianne Curley
94. Once Dead, Twice Shy, Kim Harrison
95. The Red Necklace (reread), Sally Gardner
96. The Silver Blade, Sally Gardner
97. Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
98. Clockwork Angel, Cassandra Clare
99. Imaginary Enemy, Julie Gonzalez
100. Plain Kate, Erin Bow
(100 books in a year completed September 7)
SINCE THEN…
101. Once a Witch, Carolyn MacCullough
102. Elsewhere, Gabrielle Zevin
103. Ruined, Paula Morris
104. Lament (reread), Maggie Stiefavter
105. The Amanda Project: Invisible I, Stella Lennon
106. This Lullaby, Sarah Dessen
107. Beautiful Dead: Arizona, Eden Maguire
108. Paranormalacy, Kiersten White
109. Lament (reread), Maggie Steifvater
110. Infinite Days, Rebecca Maizel
111. Beautiful Creatures (reread), Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
112. Beautiful Darkness, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
113. Stolen (reread), Lucy Christopher
114. It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Ned Vizzini
115. A Certain Slant of Light, Laura Whitcomb
116. Tithe: A Modern Faire Tale, Holly Black
117. Need (reread), Carrie Jones
118. Captivate (reread), Carrie Jones
119. The Education of Bet, Lauren Baratz-Logsted
120. The Loser’s Guide to Life and Love, A. E. Cannon
121. The Plague, (not Camus, but a cheapy book I picked up at my local library that rather stunk)
122. Fly on the Wall, E. Lockhart
123. Wildthorn, Jane Eagland
124. Marked, P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast
125. Wondrous Strange (reread), Lesley Livingston
126. Darklight (reread), Lesley Livingston
127. Blue Bloods, Melissa de la Cruz
128. Masquerade (a Blue Bloods novel), Melissa de la Cruz
129. Revelations (a Blue Bloods novel), Melissa de la Cruz
130. The Van Alen Legacy (a Blue Bloods novel), Melissa de la Cruz
131. Misguided Angel (a Blue Bloods novel), Melissa de la Cruz
132. Charlie St. Cloud, Ben Sherwood
133. Jane, April Lindner
134. Dream Factory, Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler
135. The Summoning (reread), Kelley Armstrong
136. The Awakening (reread), Kelley Armstrong
137. The Reckoning (reread), Kelly Armstrong
138. The Mermaid’s Mirror, L. K. Madigan
And that, my friends, is a wrap.
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