'Bout This Blogger Party Tag

Hello all!! Long time no see! I haven't fallen off the face of the planet I promise. I've been stuck in a reading slump but Maggie Stiefvater and The Raven Boys Cycle came to my rescue. Anyway, it's been a while but I'm back to celebrate some super exciting news: Cait from my all time favorite book blog, The Notebook Sisters, has changed her blog name to Paper Fury and moved over to Wordpress! There was a lot of scary and worries involved but everything turned out spectacular and her new blog looks fantastic! So if you don't know Cait and her all around frabjous-ness already, do check out her page! In the mean time, to celebrate, she is hosting a book tag party in which I spill all my secrets about my own blog... well, not really.  Anywho, let's get this party started!!

1. Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging for the same reason any book blogger blogs: I read a lot and had no outlet to really talk about the things I read. Now the process of me starting a blog was rather interesting. I bounced back and forth between vlogging or blogging but didn't have the guts to do either for about a year. Then I realized a few things: 1. I don't have a camera aside from the crappy webcam on my laptop, 2. even if I did have a proper camera, I don't have the right software to edit videos, and 3. even if i had the right software, chances are I wouldn't know how to work it. Therefore, by process of elimination, creating a book blog won out over vlogging on YouTube.

2. What’s the story behind your blog’s name?
It's sort of funny really, some bloggers go through a bunch of names before they find the right one but I had a blog name even before I had 100% decided that I'd start a blog. Once I had a name, it was only about two or three weeks after that the little blog you see before you came to be. The name comes from me having been a dancer mixed with my love of books. I thought it was quite catchy and perfect for me and it was the final deciding point on this blog's creation.

3. How many designs have you been through since you started blogging? (Pictures! We demand pictures!)
It has been almost a year now and I have never once changed my blog design. This is of course, not counting the default template Blogger starts you out with. There's a few reasons why I haven't changed my design though most of which involve my having no talent at all in design creations. This is closely followed by the fact that Blogger's editing setup confuses me to know end. I have been contemplating the idea of paying for an original design to be made for me but that costs money, obviously, and I haven't decided yet if I really want to pay for something that I could probably figure out eventually for myself.

4. Have you ever switched blog platforms? What made you move? If you haven’t ever changed…why?
Nope, no switching here. I've only ever been on Blogger even though it frustrates that crap out of me and the whole reason why I disappeared for a month was because it wouldn't let me put pictures into my posts. Honestly, it just kept showing me the little loading logo every time i tried to upload a picture. Not cool, Blogger, not cool. Eventually, I figured out that it was because I was using an older version of Internet Explorer but it had worked just fine for almost a year and then...

Am I the only one out there who thinks Atlantis is one of the most underrated Disney movies?

5. How long does it take you to write a post? What’s your postly process like?
Haha funny you should ask. Process? Pfft, what process? I'm notorious for starting posts then forgetting about them for days only to come back to them and be like, what was I even writing about? I'm the worst with reviews. I'll let you in on a little secret here. I started this blog to talk about books, but I hate writing reviews. They feel so homework-y sometimes that I procrastinate on them so much that I end up forgetting all the points that I wanted to talk about while I read the book. But when I do starting writing consistently, I end up writing a little, searching for gifs a lot a bit, playing Diner Dash on my phone, going back to writing, then gif searching again, deciding which of the 15 gifs I found i actually want to use, editing my post then finally publishing it. It's all a rather mixed up random process but when the mood strikes me I've been known to be a tad bit more efficient about it.

6. Have you ever been super nervous about a post? Why?! What was it?
Yes actually! When I wrote about DNF-ing a book, I was quite nervous about posting that. Not because DNFs are uncommon but because the reason I had for not finishing this particular book touched upon a more serious subject than I usually write about. I hadn't wanted the post to turn into a book bashing so I had to rewrite it twice to eliminate all traces that might have led to the specific book I was referring to. My reason was because the main character was a fairly weak girl who was afraid of everything and seemed overly dependent on the men around her. I can't stand that. I like to read about strong female characters who can stand up for themselves and this particular character was just the opposite of all of that.

7. Do you have a blogging schedule?
Haha... please refer to my answer to question 5. I did want to have a blogging schedule and be all organized about how I ran this blog but life has a bad habit of getting in the way of that and as soon as I think I'm ahead, I'm not anymore.

8. Do you tell people In-Real-Life about your blog? Their reactions?
Not really but I have mentioned it in passing a couple of time. I've told a few friends and I'm pretty sure I told my mom but I never gave any of them the link to actually come visit.

9. Top ten blogs you read/comment on the most! Go! Go!
1. Paper Fury - I have to get used to not saying Notebook Sisters.
2. The Book's Buzz
3. Enchanted by YA
4. Fictionally Obsessed
5. The Loony Teen Writer
6. Beauty and the Bookshelf
7. Forever Literary
 These are only some of my favorite blogs out there. Sorry, I couldn't think of 10. I keep reading the same blogs over and over without branching out to find new ones. Don't be surprised if you see yourself here and I've never commented on your blog. I'm really bad at doing that. Like it's really bad. I'm working on that though.

10. If you could change/improve things about your blog, what would they be?
I'd like to have a cool design that pops more than the generic one I have now. I would also like to actually have a blog schedule or at least post more often. I'd like to post more reviews even though I'm not a fan of writing them. And though this doesn't pertain to my blog specifically, I'd really like to work on commenting more often on the posts I read on other people's blogs and commenting back for everyone who comments here.


That's all I have for now. But before I go, let's give one final toast to Cait and her awesome new blog! Good luck Cait! I'll miss seeing all your posts on my Blogger Dashboard but you've now given me reason to check my Bloglovin' feed more often. Yay for Cait and the lovely new Paper Fury!!

When do you DNF?

Generally speaking, I like to finish the book I've started. I feel like it's polite to the book. It went through all the trouble it takes to get publish, the least one can do is read it. That doesn't really make sense but go with it. However, sometimes, on that super rare occasion, I find that I just can't.

 

While waiting for my lovely autographed copy of The Blood of Olympus to arrive, I borrowed a book from work. Now, I was actually really excited to read this book. I hadn't heard of it before but the cover was beautiful and the premise was extremely intriguing. Oh how wrong I was...

 

I don't want to say the name of the book or the author because I really don't want to turn this post into a book bashing. As a whole, I don't really approve of that especially when I couldn't get myself to finish it. I only made it to chapter four of this book before I couldn't put myself through it any more. The story was vaguely interesting though very, very slow on the take off. However, it was the main character that really got to me. I might get a little rant-y here so I'm sorry in advance.

 

Being a girl myself (obviously), I like to read about strong, independent female characters. Characters who don't depend on men to save them and who don't rely wholeheartedly on their love interest to validate their existence. There's a reason why Hermione, Tamora Peirce's Alanna and Daine, and later Annabeth remain at the top of my list for favorite female characters. They can hold their own and they don't take crap from anyone.

 

But in this book, I just couldn't. Quick backstory: Late 1800s, her wealthy family and mayor father were losing power in a gang infested, dilapidating New York City. Her mother was violently and mysteriously murdered a year ago by "creatures" of assumedly magical and otherworldly descent and her eccentric godfather seems to have information as to why. Now, she was a trained and extremely skilled fighter. However, what got me is all her resolve fell apart the moment one pedophilic man set his eyes on her. He had been watching her grow up and sexualizing her every movement for years and she blamed herself for all of it. She fully believed that she was spineless and there was nothing she could do to dissuade his unwanted, horribly disgusting affections. She fully believed that it was her fault for being too pretty, for having curves, for generally being a girl. She felt that the problem was her and that she must have done something to attract his attention. This is so so so extremely wrong! It is never the victim's fault! I understand that things like this happen in real life, that somehow, psychologically the bad guy works his way into the victim's mind to make her think it's her fault. But it's not! It's just not. I have to emphasize though, that this character was highly skilled in covert actions and physical combat and she had several concealed weapons all over her body at all times. Apparently, none of that training or weaponry helped to strengthen her mind, boost her bravery, or improve her self-esteem. It was just so irritating to read about a girl who could essentially fight for herself but chose not to. This happened more than once and I only made it to chapter four.

 

I just don't understand why authors - all, but particularly female authors - feel the need to write such horribly weak female characters. It's just not ok and what message is that supposed to be sending to the audience that it's intended for? That it's ok to let people walk all over you and control you simply because they hold a bit of power over you? How about, no. I get that to learn to stand up for yourself when you're being victimized is easier said then done but I cheated a little before I officially DNF'ed this book. I read other people's reviews and a couple of spoilers (though not really spoilers because they were heavily foreshadowed) just hoping that she would grow a back bone and stand up for herself. Apparently though she never did and it actually gets worse as she develops a love interest and becomes infatuated with him while, on the side, the victim blaming just continues unhindered.

 

I believe I can officially add horribly weak female characters who outright refuse any hope of being independent to my list of bookish pet peeves. They are just so frustrating to read. I mean, if they start out weak but grow up throughout the book that's one thing. But to just not is just so...

 

I have a couple of other reasons for not finishing this book. I won't go into them because they would give away plot points but they all revolved around sexualizing women. It hurt to read so I just couldn't anymore.

 

Now you've heard one of mine, what are your reasons to DNF a book?

Would You Rather Tag - Booknerd Edition!

This is a tag that's been circling around the booktube nation. It was originally done by RayKayBooks but I found it while catching up on recent Katytastic videos that I've missed. Apparently I've missed a lot. Anywho, I thought it'd be fun to bring it to the blog world because the questions are fun.

Would you rather...

1. Read only trilogies or stand-alones?
I'm going to go with trilogies. Most of my favorite books are from series or trilogies - though mostly trilogies since basically every book nowadays is part of a trilogy. I love stand-alones but there just aren't enough in the fantasy genre. I think they only one I've read is Eye of the Dragon by Stephen King - really good by the way. Stand-alones seem to be a contemporary thing and I don't read enough contemporary to justify only reading stand-alones.

2. Read only female or male authors?
Like Kat, I don't at all condone reading one or the other simply based on the author's gender. However,  for the sake of Would You Rather if I had to choose, I'd have to go with female authors. Somehow most of my book shelves consist of female authors. Not on purpose, it just sort of happened that way. ... Oh my god, If I only read female authors, I could never read Percy Jackson again - the HORROR. I don't like this question.

3. Shop at Barnes & Noble or Amazon?
I guess I'm a little biased when it comes to this one considering I work at BN and my employee discount is freaking awesome. But even before I started working there, it just never occurred to me to shop for books on Amazon. I'm more of a peruse the bookshelves kind of person. I don't do much online shopping to begin with - except for Christmas. I hate going to stores around Christmas. People are crazy. Plus, Amazon is being terrible to their authors and tampering with customer orders. That's not right.

4. All books become movies or t.v. shows?
I think I'm going to go for movies. A lot of stuff needs to be added to TV shows to keep them going. Even though details tend to get taken out to become movies, I think I'd rather that then extra stuff be thrown in for the sake of longevity. Grr... but at the same time, I don't like when things are taken out. Teddy Lupin needed to be in the final scene of Deathly Hallows. I'm still going to stick with movies but only faithful adaptations where only minor details are removed from the script. Teddy was not a minor detail damn it!

5. Read 5 pages per day or 5 books per week?
Wow, five books a week is tough for me but I'm going to choose that one. If I was limited to five pages a day, I think I'd go crazy. What if something really intense is happening at the end of the five pages? I'd need to know!!

6. Be a professional reviewer or author?
Author definitely. Technically speaking I majored in English with a concentration in creative writing so I could work on my writing skills to become a published author but I only took like two writing classes and the rest were lit courses. I'm not really sure how I managed that one. But I'd definitely want to be an author over a reviewer. I generally like writing reviews because they spark conversations about books but I'd rather write my own books than be stuck only writing reviews. 

7. Only read your top 20 favorite books over and over or always read new ones that you haven't read before?
Definitely only ever read new books. I love my favorite books - that's why they're my favorites - and I love rereading them. Still, I couldn't only be limited to them over and over and over without ever getting the chance to discover new books with new worlds and new characters. That'd be terrible.

8. Be a librarian or book seller?
Again I'm a little biased here. I am a bookseller and I love it. Technically, I think it'd be amazing to one day own my own indie book store decorated in a fantasy/magic theme with a little café attached that sold coffee and tea in Alice and Wonderland-ish teacups. Yes, I've thought a lot about this. But I'd rather be a bookseller because it's a lot of fun to interact with customers and make suggestions to find new books that they'd like then have them come back and tell you what they thought about it.

9. Only read your favorite genre, or every genre except your favorite?
Even though I mostly stick with the fantasy genre, if I were only limited to that, I think I'd get really bored. I'm going to go with read every genre except my favorite because there's a lot of cool stuff out there that I haven't experienced yet and I need to read it all. Someone figure out how to stop time so we can all hang out and just read all the books for forever.

10. Only read physical books or eBooks?
Physical books. Hands down. No contest there. I don't really like reading eBooks. I understand the convenience of them especially when you're traveling but there's nothing like holding an actual book in your hands and turning the pages and smelling the book smell and cuddling the book when it makes you happy or shaking the crap out of it when it makes you mad... okay I'll stop there. I'm beginning to sound crazy. Physical books though. Yeah, they're better.

I'm not going to tag anyone but if anyone feels like doing this, let me know below.

Page to Screen: The Fault in Our Stars

 

My first movie review. Yay!!!

 

My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

 

 

I just came home from watching The Fault in Our Stars. I dragged my poor boyfriend to see it with me and my cousin who initially got me to read TFIOS. I truly enjoyed this movie. I would have enjoyed it more had we not been unfortunate enough to be sitting in front of a large group of loud pre-teens who clearly snuck in from another movie. But that's besides the point. Theater etiquette is a rant that I'm not willing to go into here.

 

For anyone who read my book review of TFIOS, you'll know that though I enjoyed the book, I was not as impressed by it like so many others nor do I think that the book deserves the crazy, insane hype that it gets. Neither book nor movie made me cry. However, in comparison, I definitely liked the movie better - I know, crazy right? What book geek ever says the movie's better? But it's true this time around.

 

 

 

SPOILERS AHEAD

If you haven't read the book or seen the movie, proceed with caution or avert your eyes.

 

 

 

As with any book to movie adaptation, there were parts that were taken out or changed. A lot of the lines were fairly word for word and all the best quotes were kept in. One thing that was taken out of the movie that I thought was a particularly good choice was the decision to remove the Caroline Mathers storyline. In the book, Gus says that he was staring at Hazel during support group when they met because she looked like Caroline. Note: I don't own a copy of this book; I borrowed it from my cousin. So I don't remember if he said Hazel looked like her or reminded him of her and I can't check. Either way, I thought that storyline was a bit on the weird side. Regardless of the fact that Gus loved Hazel as herself and not because of her similarities to Caroline, I thought that whole storyline was a downer on their relationship. I'm glad they took that out.

 

Another thing that I'm glad that they changed for the movie was they made Hazel and Augustus less pretentious than they were in the book. The movie portrayals made them seem more like real teenagers. They weren't spewing SAT vocab in every sentence and there were no silly debates over the symbolic connotations behind why certain food is considered breakfast foods and some aren't. I loved that they made the characters in the movie more like real teenagers - with teenager-y feelings and reactions. It just didn't come off to me that way in the book. The book seemed to focus more on the 'wise-beyond-their-years' trait than them just being intelligent teens.

 

One part I wished they hadn't changed was details after Augustus's cancer comes back. While reading the book, I thought Augustus' death was fairly abrupt. Like, he was sick for a couple of chapters, they just have his pre-funeral, then the next chapter says he died. In the movie, a lot of the details leading up his death were taken out making it even more abrupt. It seems that the movie focused more on the love story rather than the characters' inevitable death. This makes it slightly easier and less heartbreaking to watch but still, I would have liked those details kept in. Particularly, Hazel's hunt for Gus' letter. I dunno, it felt like she had a better closure in the book than in the movie where Van Houten just hands her the letter. Also the book ends with, Hazel saying "I do" in answer to Gus' letter, doesn't it? I liked those last words better rather than, "Okay."

 

I have to say that the cast were each perfect for their roles. Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort were the perfect Hazel and Augstus. Shailene though, holy crap beans, can she act. She made Hazel for me. The way she portrayed certain things like excitement over going to Amsterdam, yelling at Van Houten (both times), crying over Gus' death was just amazing. She was just perfect in the role. Especially during Augustus' pre-funeral. If there was a time at all when I almost cried in the movie, it was then. Ansel Elgort was also the epitome of Augustus. He was the perfect blend of sweet, cute, and funny. When he was semi-freaking out during on the plane, he was adorable. I wanted to hug him. Nat Wolff was good too. Between him and Augustus, they carried the humor throughout the film during just the right times. Shout outs also to Laura Dern and Sam Trammell as Hazel's parents. I thought they needed more screen time just because I liked them that much.

 

The movie itself was visually beautiful. Each scene was picture perfect. Especially the restaurant date. Although they weren't seated outside by the river as in the book, the restaurant décor was stunning and gave off a beautifully, magical effect that complemented the idea of them drinking bottled stars. I also loved that the movie both opened and closed with Hazel gazing at the stars. I don't remember the actual fault in our stars line in the movie though. I could have missed it though - bad theater etiquette and all. Also, I loved the text bubbles. They were a feature that could have been awkward but were really fun and quirky.

 

If you haven't seen this movie yet, I definitely recommend it. It's worth the exorbitant amount of money that movie tickets go for these days and you won't regret it. Warning though, if you're prone to tears (like my cousin is, apparently) bring tissues. But if you're like me, try not to laugh too obviously at the girls crying ugly tears all over the place. I know I'm really awful - I'm sorry; it takes a lot to get me to cry over a book or a movie.

 

By the way, did you catch John Green's cameo? I must have missed it but I also didn't know when to look. Anyway, what were your thoughts on the movie? Like, dislike, better than the book?

Book Haul Time!!

So I've been really good not really these past few months in the book buying area. I told myself that after my last huge haul over Christmas and my birthday, I wouldn't buy anything again until summer. I mostly stayed true to that. My last haul had me reading Percy Jackson for the first time. Of course, after I finished the first series I had to buy the next one - that was just a given. I've also borrowed a few books since then too. But I read ten out of the thirteen books in my last haul so all things considered, I've been good and I've worked on reading things strictly from my TBR pile. Happy dance with me:

 

I skipped the Top Ten Tuesday topic this week because I knew I wouldn't be doing my summer reading haul until today. So this post is on topic for TTT but isn't exactly a TTT.

 

Summer Book Haul

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper - This is something that I've been reading on and off during down time at work. It's a middle grade book about a girl, Melody, who was born with a disease that cost her most of her bodily functions. She eventually learns to flip herself over and her thumbs work fine but for the most part, Melody has no control over her body and is confined to a wheelchair. She also can't talk and this is what frustrates her the most because she is incredibly smart and has a lot to say. From what I've read of it so far, it's pretty good. I'm hoping to sit down and actually finish it soon.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner - I've been wanting to read this book for a long time and now that the movie is coming soon. I figured now is as good a time as any. The trailer looks amazing, by the way. Thomas wakes up with no memory surrounded by a bunch of strangers also with no memory. All that's around them is the maze which is always changing and it's the only way out. I honestly don't know much about the plot of this book but I've excited to read it anyway.

 

 

Eon and Eona by Alison Goodman - I have heard great things about these books. AND Tamora Pierce reviewed them! She is one of my favorite authors. Eon is training in Dragon Magic in hopes to become the Dragoneye. However, he has a secret that must stay hidden. He is actually Eona, a sixteen year old girl. Girls are forbidden to study Dragon Magic and if anyone discovered the truth about Eon, she would be sentenced to death. This is a very similar plot basis to Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce which is something I practically read to pieces and I'm really excited to find out more about Eona.

 

 

Red Rising by Pierce Brown - My first non-YA book in a while. It was actually a customer at work who first told me about this book and he basically said it's the adult version of The Hunger Games. This is the first book in a new adult trilogy about Darrow, a Helldiver who lives and works under the surface of Mars. It is said that Mars is uninhabitable and the work that Darrow and his fellow Helldivers do will go towards one day being able to live above the surface. However, Darrow finds out that this is a lie and Mars truly is habitable and has been the living area for generations of people called the Golds. Darrow and other rebels plan to infiltrate the Golds and take down their oppressors. Again, I'm really excited to read this book. I had to order it so I'll have it soon but I definitely can't wait.

 

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira - Technically, I just finished reading this and I've already reviewed it. Although I only gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars, I liked it enough to want to buy it after I only borrowed it from work. There were a surprising amount of quotes in here that I really really loved and now that I actually own the book, I can go about tagging my favorites.

Books I'm Anticipating This Summer

 

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake -  expected publication: June 17, 2014. I know that this book is old and is out already but since I only read the first part last December, I figured I'd wait until the paperback came out to buy it so my set could match. Yeah, I'm weird like that. Basically in this book, Cas can't get over Anna's sacrifice and he begins to see her everywhere in dreams and in waking nightmares but wherever she shows up, she's being tortured and now it's his turn to save her. I really liked Anna Dressed in Blood a lot more than I thought I would actually. Plus, I'm pretty sure Kendare Blake is a Supernatural fan. Dudes, her main character's name is Cas and he's a ghost hunter. Whether she's a fan or not, she gets bonus points anyway just because the book reminds  me of Supernatural without being a rip off.

 

The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore - expected publication: August 26, 2014. Does anyone read these books? Tell me I'm not the only one out there who reads these. DON'T WATCH THE MOVIE!!!! I repeat: DO NOT WATCH THE MOVIE!!! I think the movie killed this series' fandom which is unfortunate because these books are awesome. This is the fifth book in the main series. I have to catch on the little mini-books but I have time for that and they aren't absolutely necessary to the main story. I don't like the cover though. It's kind of gross looking - like moldy slime. I'm not going to go into a summary of this book because to say anything would give away spoilers to the previous four. Let me just say that, if for some reason you have watched the movie, Four (not Tobias/Four but John/Four - who came first, by the way) is so much cooler in the books. And his hands aren't massive flashlights. And he has an awesome shape-shifting dog. And Nine. I swear if Nine dies... The whole Walking Dead phenomenon if Daryl dies? Yeah, that will be me if Nine dies. Nine isn't allowed to die. Or BK.

 

 

Well, folks, that's it for my summer book haul! I'm sure I'll add a few things here and there but these are the books that I'll definitely be reading this summer. Have you read any of them? Is there anything you think I should add? (Excluding City of Heavenly Fire - sorry, I'm just not going there.)

 

Are you one of the rare Lorien Legacies fans? LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE!!! I need to fangirl with you.

The Dreaded Reading Slump

Ever since I read Fangirl I've been experiencing the dreaded, horrifying, and unfortunate:

 

Reading Slump

 

 

We've all experienced it I'm sure. The want to be reading a book but just not the book that you're currently reading or any in your TBR pile or any that are just easily accessible without using the slump as an excuse to go on a book buying spree. Or, you know, just simply wanting to be reading but not being in the mood to be reading. Whichever slump you've found yourself in, they're all terrible and not always so easy to get out of.

 

I'm currently reading Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira which technically I'm enjoying. It's an original concept and so far I'm liking it. But I'm finding myself not wanting to actually sit down and read it. I'm not really sure why. It has nothing to do with the book. It's a good book so far. I'm just not in the mood to read it. From what I'm getting, it might be an "issue" book that's heavy on the meaning but light on the fun (if that makes any sense) and I'm not really in the mood for that. I want to be reading a light, fun, summer-y kind of book.

 

 

But of course not the light and fun kind of book that's going to make me want to whack my head against the wall with how silly the plot or characters are. Quality light fun-ness. Is that too much to ask??? What's worse is now I'm really behind on my Goodreads reading challenge for the year.

 

 

So what are your ways to get out of a reading slump? Do you just power through any book and hope you come out in a better reading mood? Or do you just skip around your TBR pile or bookstore until you find something you're interested in reading right then? I'm trying not to go on a book buying spree since that's what I'm leaning towards right now but I need to get out of this slump!!!