Always Me

It's Tuesday again and that means I'm participating in Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish .  The theme this week is "books that were hard for me to read (for various reasons)" - I could easily fill this up with textbooks, but I'll try not to. Either way, the books below were difficult because they were cringe-worthy, had difficult subject matter, an odd writing style, or just plain difficult for me to get into, etc. Without further ado! Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi  My main issue with this is the clunky writing style and numerous unnecessary metaphors and similes.  I like a stylized novel when flows and comes across as effortless, but that is not the case with Shatter Me .  The romance also got old after awhile - I picked up right away that Adam is hot and brooding and that Juliette is angsty and desperate, I didn't need to be reminded every other paragraph.  And Warner, the villain, came across as so flat and I'm pretty sure h

Happy Sunday!  It's been a brilliant day! In book related news, this week I visited Ollie's Bargain Outlet and purchased Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield, Luminous by Dawn Metcalf, Living Hell by Catherine Jinks, The Shadows  by Jacqueline West. Have I ever said just how much I love Ollie's?! This week I also finished listening to the audiobook of Magyk (Septimus Heap #1)  by Angie Sage  .  I really should have gotten into this fantastic series so much earlier.  If you love Harry Potter  like I do, you won't want to miss this series! Now I'm working on reading Hollow City  by Ransom Riggs which I am greatly enjoying.  I just love how he integrates those photographs into his work! I am also listening to Doctor Sleep  by Stephen King on audiobook and I like revisiting Danny 25 years (for him) after The Shining .  Initially, I didn't know what to make of Will Patton as narrator, but his talents are starting to win me over.

Thanks very much to Gwen & Kate's Library  for nominating me (and everyone else following them) for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award! Rules: 1.) Thank the blogger who nominated you, linking back to their site. 2.) Put the award logo on your blog. 3.) Answer the ten questions they’ve set you. 4.) Make up ten new questions for your nominees to answer. 5.) Nominate ten people. Now my answers to their questions: 1. What are your pet peeves? Tardiness and an unwillingness to work. 2. Your favorite movies? The Harry Potter series, the Lord of the Rings , Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, Star Wars series, Back to the Future , Raiders of the Lost Ark, Singin' in the Rain , The Princess Bride , Rear Window , North by Northwest , Strangers on a Train , Spirited Away , Fantastic Mr. Fox, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Iron Giant, Iron Man, The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy , The Conjuring,  Christopher Nolan's Batman series , Dark City, T

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ I had initially hoped to see this movie at the movies, but was unable to at the time and I've just gotten around to seeing the dvd.  I really enjoyed the first film featuring Steve Rogers' transformation into Captain America and I enjoyed the character's appearance in The Avengers .  After hearing so many good things about this installment I was really looking forward to where the character would go from the last time we saw him.  I know some people consider the character (and first installment) to be on the boring side, but I liked it fact that Steve is already a hero before he becomes super.  If you haven't already seen other Marvel films, I think this would work very well as an entry point.  If you don't know anything about the movies or comics, you would probably be alright jumping in here. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed the second installment a little more than the first.   I already had a pretty good sense of who the charac

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ Septimus Heap, the seventh son of a seventh son, is pronounced dead and is stolen by the midwife the night of his birth. At the same time, his father comes across a baby girl with violet eyes bundled up out in the snow all alone. The Heap family takes her in and raises her as their own daughter, Jenna Heap. A few months later her mother, Sarah Heap, learns that the queen was murdered and that the ExtraOrdinary Wizard rescued the queen's newborn daughter. Sarah realizes that Jenna must actually be the princess. Unfortunately a spy, realizes, approximately ten years later, the same thing and tells the evil Supreme Custodian, who promptly orders Jenna and the Heaps' deaths. The ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Marcia, warns them of what's coming and spirits away Jenna and recommends that the Heaps' hide in the forest until they can be sure they are safe. Then, there is also the question of what will be done with Boy 412, the nearly dead ten year-old sentry b

I've been nominated for the Liebster Award for a third time and it blows my mind!  Thanks for that Emily @ Emily Etc. !  Sime I've been nominated before and nominated others then, I'll believe I'll save myself a little bit of time and simply come up with the 11 facts and answer the 11 questions supplied by Emily. First things first!  The 11 facts: 1. I felt like I hit the jackpot yesterday when I found a nickel under a gallon can of paint!  2. At the recommendation of a coworker I just started watching a Spanish television show called Grand Hotel , if you like Downton Abbey you should seriously consider watching it!  Right now the first season (out of three) is available on Hulu with English subtitles for people like me who don't speak Spanish. 3. Recently purchased what I thought was a nice Halloween decoration only to discover it is now my cat's most hated enemy (even more so than the vacuum cleaner!). 4. I'm really glad I didn't live in 19

It's another Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish , and this week the theme is Top Ten Books On My Fall TBR List.  I'm going to further break it down by books I already own as of today. I'm really looking forward to these and they should keep me busy for a little while!

This year I'm planning on participating in the #ReadingCram Chills and Thrills Readathon from October 24th to October 31 which is hosted by Jenny @ JuliaBabyJen's Reading Room , Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books , and Little Red Reader .  More information can be found at the above links, if you would like to participate too! More soon!

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ I had a great Sunday as I got to see this action-packed thriller! (Sorry my post is a little late, but I needed some time to compose a thoughtful response to the movie.) First off, I think I prefered  The Maze Runner  movie to the book, and I don't say that often. All in all it's a fair book-to-screen adaptation, where the few changes are for the better.  The film also really makes the most of its budget and I really enjoyed the Maze and Griever effects. If you don't already know the story, here is a quick summary.  After having his memory wiped,Thomas finds himself stuck in a place called The Glade at the center of a giant Maze.  Some of the other boys in the same situation have been stuck there for as long as three years without finding an exit.  As their carefully constructed society begins to fall apart, Thomas realizes he will have to team up with the maze runners if he wants to find a way out. I really liked the diverse cast and the acting thro

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ I've finally seen Frozen  and I think it's an absolutely fantastic movie!  The animation is stunning - some things looked incredibly realistic.  I also really enjoyed the entire soundtrack - not just "Let It Go."  Of course, I adored the positive relationship between Elsa and Anna. As for the characters, my favorite aside from the sisters has to be Kristoff.  He's a very likeable and steady character, who would be great to have on your side.  While watching, I was really surprised by the truth about Hans.  Looking back on it there was some foreshadowing, but not enough that it really set off any alarms for me.  Regarding our two main non-human characters, Olaf and Sven, Sven comes out on top with Olaf just behind.  Sven reminds me a bit of Maximus from Tangled , and I really liked Maximus.   Which reminds me, I spotted Rapunzel and Flynn!  Anyways, I'm not sure if it's just me but when Olaf dances with the seagulls in his daydream abou

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ I really like the author's style and tone (who in a way, reminds me of Karen Russell), even though this isn't exactly what I was expecting when I picked it up. Some chapters held my attention more than others. Just a reminder it's not exactly funny in the big belly laugh so of way, but it does make you think. I will be reading more by David Sedaris. I read this September 18, 2014 and my review is also on  Goodreads .

❋  ❋  ❋ I won a copy of this through the Goodreads First Reads Program. Delany, a student at the Mayfield School for Girls, gets punished and is forced to stay alone in an old abandoned home on the edge of the school grounds. As she begins to explore, she finds the window room and a new friend. The window room has a contraption that can transport you to distant lands for set periods of time. Delany and her new friend, Meris, have all kinds of adventures via the window room. I really enjoyed the premise of In the Window Room by Steven J. Carroll and the almost fairy tale style of the story. It's truly a lot of fun and I think kids age 9 to 12 would get a real kick out of it. However, I wish the narrator didn't break in as much as he does because it really disrupted the story. I would have rated this higher if the story was just told straight out rather than with all of the footnotes, brackets, and parenthetical references peppered throughout. It took me a litt

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ Abilene has been sent to Manifest, Kansas by her father for the summer while he works a railroad job. She has few possessions and doesn't really know anyone in town. She has heard stories about the place and hopes to find out about her father when he was a boy. When she sees the town for the first time it doesn't live up to her expectations, but when she finds hidden treasures. Some of the letters included mention a spy called The Rattler and with her newfound friends she begins a spy hunt. She also learns tales from the past from a diviner named Miss Sadie as she works to pay off a debt. The more of the town history she hears the more she learns of her father's role in it and she also begins to make her own mark on the town. Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool is engaging and a beautifully written work of historical fiction. I love that the author so seamlessly integrates 1918 and 1936 into the narrative and added some flavor with the newspa

❋  ❋  ❋ I received a free ecopy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Cailin, a pixi, is forced to serve her father's oath of servitude owed to a man called Owen Ainsley. Years ago, Owen saved her father from certain death, and now Owen needs help with his son, Teague. Teague lost everything when he went blind in a baseball accident and has begun drinking like a fish, left school, and refuses to go to his therapist. Cailin's father decides he isn't going but is going to send his daughter to fulfill his promise by staying with the family for a year and trying to help Teague as much as she can. Cailin knows little about humans and is only twelve inches tall. Her father hopes that by fulfilling this oath will keep her out of the Darkness, a horrible place where pixi's are punished. In Cailin's case, she may have been sent because she doesn't follow the traditional pixi beauty standards (she dyes her hair and wears heavy makeup)

❋ I found an ARC of High & Dry by Sarah Skilton at my local Goodwill and thought the blurb sounded interesting. This is the blurb on my ARC copy: Charlie Dixon is having a bad week. Framed for a stranger's near-fatal overdose at a party, blackmailed into finding a mysterious flash drive that everyone in school seems anxious to suppress, and pressured by his shady best friend to throw an upcoming match, high school soccer player Charlie Dixon is dealing with more than his share of drama. Add a broken heart -- and the drinking he's been doing to soothe it -- and he's near the breaking point. In this fast-paced, multilayered mystery, Charlie spends a frantic week trying to clear his name, win back the girl of his dreams, and escape a past friendship that may be responsible for all his current problems. This book captures the tone and style of the best crime fiction while also telling a high-stakes story of peer pressure gone tragically awry, from Sarah Skilt

❋  ❋ When I found this at a yard sale I was so pleased because I love the movie of this true tale. I skimmed over the book and enjoyed looking at the photographs, but to be honest "The World's Most Crucial Narcotics Investigation" is so dry that it's almost boring. I would rather watch the movie.  I skimmed this book from September 14 -15, 2014 and my review is also on Goodreads . I mean, watch this car chase scene from the movie - it's so awesome! If you haven't watched it, you really should!

Time for Top Ten Tuesday as hosted by The Broke and the Bookish !  This week's topic is "Author I've Only Read One Book From And Need To Read More. My list includes but is not limited to the following authors: 1. Sarah J. Maas - Throne of Glass is absolutely fantastic and I can't wait until Crown of Midnight  arrives in my mailbox, which should be any day now! 2. A.G. Howard -  I love what this author did with Wonderland in Splintered  and I'm really looking forward to Unhinged , which should be arriving in my mailbox anytime! 3. Trent Reedy - I was really impressed with this author's skills when I listened to Divided We Fall  when it was made available through YA Sync.  I must continue this pre-dystopian series! 4. Cristin Terrill - All Our Yesterdays  is now one of my favorite time travel books and, like Divided We Fall,  I also discovered it through YA Sync.  I will read anything this author cares to write in the future! 5. Neal Stephenson - I