Favorites of 2014: Part 2!

The Secret Ingredient by Stewart Lewis

Gosh, I loved this book. I enjoyed Olivia's refreshing narration so much. She has two dads and had not wondered about her mother for most of her life but then she gets the urge to know who it is and how it all unravels is just like it was meant to be. There is a boy as well but even though Theo sounds great, the story is about Olivia finding herself with a little help from her british friend, Lola.

P.S. one of my favorite books is You Have Seven Messages by Stewart as well so read that too!

Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern
Say What You Will is a beautiful story about Amy, a girl that will not let the world define her by her physical disabilities, and Matthew, a boy that's always had her in his sights. Matthew has some serious problems of his own because of his struggles with OCD and his denial of the problem in the first place.

When Amy insists that she has peers take her around school instead of aides, she insists that Matthew signs up because of an incident when she was younger where he confronted her and said that this facade she had where everything was calm, cool and collected was total bullshit. It was great to see how they both slowly let their guards down around each other and really grew to care for each other through all the trials that the world threw their way. Stories like this make it so easy to view the world around you in a different light and see how unique everyone's particular story really is.

The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Lesyle Walton

This is such a lovely story that is full of just beautiful and bittersweet moments. Lesyle's lyrical writing style made me feel  so invested in the lives of the Lavender women and I grew to care for Emilienne, Vivienne and Ava and just wished the best for them. I love how magical and whimsical this story is while at the same time feeling totally realistic. A must read.

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira
Laurel's story is beautiful and this is one of those books that is going to stick with me for quite some time. I am a lover of quotes and beautiful prose and this was chockful of it. I loved the letter format and I even listened to some of the music and sang along as she and her friends did in the book. This book deals with some heavy stuff and it does it in such a manner that I felt both angry and sad while I read it. Laurel's self discovery and growth is not an easy one and I'm glad to have gotten to read and learn from it.


The Archived & The Unbound (sequel) by V.E Schwab
"Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive." Mackenzie and Wesley's story is one that you need to pick up and when you reach that climax, just get ready for the ride of your life!

Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe By Benjamin Alire Saenz

This is one of my new favorite books. Ari is a beautiful soul and Dante is just stunning and I wish I could meet them and just hug them. I got chills reading this because of the connection I felt with Ari when it comes to how he views himself in this world as a Latino. It's just brilliant and so so true. A must read!

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

LHA has done it again folks. This novel is breathtaking. Literally, I felt myself holding my breath because Hayley's story is just so heartbreaking. Dealing with a father going through PTSD is something not many people know about but with this story it's like I was thrust into her shoes. Her point of view, her narration was just chilling. Another favorite for sure.

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King
This was the year of me discovering new favorite authors and Lady King is one of them. This is my favorite of her books thus far. I really enjoyed how real Astrid felt. A.S King's writing style is so different from anything I've read and I loved it. I loved that Astrid did not want to be and did not allow herself to be put in a box because there is so much more to a person than who they love. A book full of great quirks.

Ends to trilogies:

Champion by Marie Lu
I was scared that this was not going to end well but Marie Lu has surprised me and I even ended up tearing up at the epilogue. June and Day have gone through hell thus far and with Champion it is no different. There are so many battles and emotions and I could not put the book down. I sincerely love when authors do switching points of view because the reader gets to see both sides of the narrators. I normally get annoyed with the female narration and love the male one but in this case I equally enjoyed June's narration as I did Day's. I did always look forward to Day's because gosh I just love his voice and how at this point we know him so well and see the deepness to his character while the Republic and the Colonies might not. I love that they both have their weaknesses but that does not break their resolve and they get business handled even when it hurts. 

The One by Kiera Cass

I am sincerely happy with this series and I adore America. The whole world of Illea is not an easy place to live in and especially with the situation she was thrust into and there were so many ups and downs. I normally hate love triangles but I was so confused with this one because Maxon and Aspen were who they were because of the circumstance they were born into and it is what it is. I have hearts in my eyes for Maxon though because MAXON. The letters from her Dad and from Maxon are my favorite thing ever. I love letters and I literally teared up with her while reading the one her Dad had left her because he is brilliant. I'd love to get more about him and his whole background. I also grew to like the girls after getting to know them and the surprise for us all was Celeste of course. All in all, this is another trilogy that I shall call my favorite. A+ Kiera! :D

4 other series I began and finished this year and enjoyed through all the ups and downs:
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Favorites of 2014: Part 1

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (Pride & Prejudice in an Asian setting!)

A captivating story that  sucks you in with its vivid descriptions of the setting, clothing and the people. The writing style and how this story was set up added a lot to my enjoyment in that every chapter was a different character's point of view as well as some characters would have their own little clips within the chapters. It kept the events feeling fast paced and me wanting to flip the page to see what else Nick Young's family would do in order to sabotage his relationship with Rachel Chu.  The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker The Golem and the Jinni is such a powerful book. This story brought together two outcasts and made me care for them individually. I was cheering for them to have their happy ending, whether that was together or not. I like how this was not a love story by any stretch of the imagination but I still found myself rooting for them to end up together. It was important that each of them had their own journey to go on and go through hardships to find out about the world around them. I adored that the dual POV's were so wonderfully intertwined with the points of view of people in the community, so you got to see how people viewed Chava and Ahmad outside of what they thought of themselves. I also loved the glimpse at New York at a time where there was so much hope in every person that reached Ellis Island and the subsequent glance at how every person had to deal with many difficulties to find some sort of comfort.

China Dolls by Lisa See
This unique tale made me go through a range of emotions from: happy, sad to mad because these girls did go through it all. Stereotypes played a big part in some of the decisions taken by these ladies and I think that the time (1938 through the attack on Pearl Harbor and beyond) it was all occurring played a huge part as well. I think it's definitely worth the read to get an insider's look into an entirely different world.

Wanderlust by Elizabeth Eaves
Oh, this book. I knew I was going to love it because wanderlust is something everyone has and since I've begun traveling I have it oh so much. Elisabeth takes the reader on quite a journey, emotionally and physically. The revolving door of men from Stu to Justin to Raphael to Dominic just made me feel for her even more in that she used them as a way to propel her travels forward while simultaneously falling for them. Her inability to be attached to anyone she was romantic with is something that I also connected with. "Girl, I feel you!" was said every other page in this book. Will ignite the traveler in you!

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr What a beautiful story. I fell in love with Marie-Laure and Werner and cared about everything that was going to happen to them and that did happen in this crazy time of Hitler. Marie-Laure's blindness was just a secondary aspect and I loved how the disability did not hinder her and made her so much more captivating. Her love of stories and the sea was something I could relate to and felt so much. The tale of the Sea of Flames felt like a main character as well and I loved how it added this air of mystery and what if to the story. The timeline propelled the story forward in such a way and while you'd think it'd be easy to get lost in the switching of perspectives and years, the sections made me not want to put the book down. There was so many cliffhangers within the sections that were just captivating and made me want to keep reading. This book is just brilliantly setup and it's difficult to explain. I can feel the change that this story has made in me already. I can go on and on. A new favorite and a must read for a lover of tales and history for sure.

Vicious by V.E Schwab
Just read this book full of twists and devious, complex characters and let me know who you think the villain is. Is there a villain? Convinced to read it yet? Go!

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Dunnes are brilliant. I did not think I'd enjoy this as much as I did but the mystery on top of the intelligent, chilling, suspenseful narration got me good. A must read.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Lincoln's the IT guy for the newspaper called The Courier. He is basically paid to read people's emails when they are flagged for "inappropriate" talk. The reason that's even in quotations is because the reason he meets Beth and Jennifer is over innocent emails in which they talk about their lives, which end up in his flagged folder. First,the way this story is written is brilliant. It alternates between Lincoln's life narration and then the emails between Beth and Jennifer. It makes the reader feel super attached to all the characters. At least, that's how it was for me. Lincoln becomes invested in Beth and Jennifer's life without having met them and so did I. I felt their ups and downs and they felt like people I actually knew so that's why I definitely understood and sided with Lincoln when he decided not to report them and just keep reading. So pick this book up and do just that!

Stats of 2014 Reads and Thoughts

I've read 87 books this year. Awesome! (Favorites list to come)

I've never sat down and calculated my stats and I just did so and man was I surprised. I went out of my comfort zone (young adult) and read more fiction which was only read 12 fiction books. I included fantasy, mystery & sci-fi in that section. Since 12 is not that many, I will definitely work on increasing that number in 2015.

I did read more middle grade as well which is cool, 12 as well. Highlights: I read the Percy Jackson series which was fun & reread The Giver & the first two Harry Potter books. :]

One of my goals was to read more nonfiction and while I read only 4 I feel like I took a lot from each story. Lean In, Wanderlust, The Opposite of Loneliness & Esther Earl's book will stay with me for years to come. I want to continue to read more nonfiction in 2015.

One of my other goals in 2015 is to read more comics and graphic novels. I've always wanted to and never known where to start so I think I'm going to read some of Marvel's New 52 as well as Y: The Last Man, Ms. Marvel, The Saga comics, & some Superman, Spiderman & Batman comics as well.

Something I did try to do more of this year was read diversely and to see that I'd only read 9 people of color was shocking. I've always thought I read more diverse books but I guess it's more of those books on my to be read pile. Time to rectify that for sure!

Lastly, I calculated how many women vs men I read. I've always read many ladies so I think I went out of my way to read men and the books I did read were pretty great. One of the favorites of the year being: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

This little exercise inspired by Rincey over at rinceyreads onYoutube is something I want to learn from and continue doing. Here's to more diverse, fun, eye-opening reading in 2015!

Stats: 87 books read
YA-53
Middle Grade-12
Adult Fiction (includes fantasy mystery, scifi)-12
-Non Fiction-4
E-Novellas-4
Graphic Novels-2

Some where repeats:
POC-9
White-40
Women-39
Men-13

In the Holiday Spirit!

I've been thinking a lot about the holidays since they are steadily approaching.

When you're a kid, it's so exciting because presents and such and it's not that it's lost as an adult but the excitement dissipated for me. With university, it was more of an excitement to go home and fill up on food and catch up on sleep and now that uni is over, the excitement was still there but it felt different this time.

This time I'd been away on my own, doing big girl things as I call it: working a full-time job, living by myself. So going home, felt comforting and like an actual vacation. Seeing friends made me the happiest because we just wanted to be in each other's company.

I have felt very happy and energetic today and I think it's because it's the beginning of a new month and the last month of the year at that! It's an opportunity to finish anything you wanted to do this year and in my case, just continue to carry this energy. Of course, some days will be tough but I think it's important to just take things day by day. That was one of my mottos of the year and I believe I've done pretty well so far.

Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Sincerely,

Betty :]

Wanderlust: A Love Affair with Five Continents by Elisabeth Eaves

This memoir about travel made me super emotional and want to get on a plane and go. It's so crazy how when I read something my life becomes consumed by the topic of the book. For the past 5 days, I've just been thinking of where to go next and how to budget so I can do so. Wanderlust, man.

Read it so that you can along on this journey with Elisabeth and begin to plan adventures of your own as well.

Below are my favorite quotes from this lovely story because yes:

"I couldn't live with my head somewhere else. I had to embrace my surrounding, because this time was only to go by once, and I didn't want to spend it wishing for things to be different." PREACH.

"A voyage has to have a destination to give it shape and flavor. We quest for something desirable, but we also desire quests."

"What do you want?" I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"What do you want? In your life."
"I want to be wild; I want to be free."

"Even if I could have stopped time, I knew it wouldn't have the desired effect, because something essential would be missing, some sharpness of focus made possible by the fact that life was fleeting."

"I now say that this was a hazard of being away all the time, this failure to entwine myself with people in one place."

"What I most wanted to do was travel more, without an end date or obligation in sight. I wanted to wander and feel free."

"The idea of roaming intoxicated me to the extent that I couldn't look at the glossy cover of a travel magazine, or browse the travel section of a bookstore, without getting a lump in my throat."

But I couldn't muster the feeling that anything mattered, I was carrying around my bruised copy of Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being: "...the absolute absence of a burden causes man to be lighter than air, to soar into the heights, take leave of the earth and his earthly being, and become only half real, his movements as free as they are insignificant." I thought I'd detached from the earth and was floating through the air.

"The best kind of travel-the kind I wanted to experience-involves a particular state of mind, in which one is not merely open to the occurrence of the unexpected, but to the deep involvement in the unexpected, indeed, open to the possibility of having one's life changed forever by a chance encounter."

"Most good travel stories are about discovering the unexpected. The travel goes abroad with an illusion, the illusion is shattered, but then she learns something new, and after assorted challenges and humiliations, she achieves a satisfying epiphany."

"I'd be there one moment, and then, poof, I'd be gone. I romanticized the quick disappearance, but really I just I hated the awkwardness of leaving. I hated the heartfelt statements that were required, and the declarations of intent that I already knew wouldn't come to fruition."

"The business of creating an adult life was difficult to think about, so I preferred things that distracted me or, ideally, overwhelmed me. Anything to push thought aside."

"I was trying to prove something, but I wasn't sure what it was, or whom it was for."

"I'd wanted to let my life be changed, but suddenly I was on the precipice of letting all go too far. I saw various lives unspooling before me. In one I was free to build a career, move to a big city, be young and aspiring at the center of the world. In another I never left the southern hemisphere."

"Travel is life changing."

Dear July: 31

Dear July,

We've done it. We're at the last day of you. Every day has brought its trials and today is no different. I feel like as soon as things feel like they are going well and everything is in order something happens to get me all out of balance. Such is life. I am going to keep the positive thoughts flowing so that something works out for this upcoming month. I have many people rooting for me, which is lovely. It's easy to forget that there are many who care and see your potential when you get lost in your head. It's important to be introspective when necessary but when it's time to get down to business and get things done, it's important to reach out to those who can help you. Ambiguous post is ambiguous, huh?

Anyway random update part: my aunt did my highlights yesterday and I'm so happy with how it looks. The darker red is the color I originally wanted so to see on my head makes me the happiest! On the reading part of my life, I tried to pick up three books yesterday and none of them hooked me. I think after reading three books in two days, my mind is like slow your roll and let me digest the journey through these imaginary worlds you just took me on! ;]

Since, August is the last month of me working at my job unless it becomes permanent, (which my boss is working on!) I want to do what I said I was going to do a little while ago and be a tourist in NYC. So the plan for August is the opposite of July. July, you were all about being connected to the internet by posting on here and a picture on Instagram every day. I'm not saying I'm unplugging completely but I'm going to take my camera with me instead of using my phone and just be more in sync with what's around me while going on adventures. Plan! Thanks for listening to my ramblings, July.

Signing off for the last time this month.

Sincerely,

Betty :]

Dear July: 30

Dear July,

We are coming down to the wire, huh? Looking back through my posts is great because I got to document a month of ups and downs. I had a good day today. Spent it with my cousin running errands, getting Taco Bell and then going to hang out with my other cousins. Good times. I finally got my highlights done again and I'm so happy with the color. I've been reading like crazy and that's my plan for the rest of the night once again.

Sincerely,

Betty :]

Dear July: 29

Dear July,

Today felt like a nice fall day and I love every second of it. The breeze felt great when I went to go get some lunch earlier. I've spent most of the day at work reading and listening to Snow Mantled Love and it's been super relaxing. I can't believe there's only two days left of you, July. I'm trying to make some plans for August. I like how this project became a diary of sorts and I want to continue to document life on here. Just not every day because that was weirdly stressful in that since I promised myself I would post every day and I did even if it was a sentence. I'm proud of that for sure. Anyways, back to reading.

If you want to listen to SML: http://snowmantledlove.bandcamp.com/
Currently reading: Conversion by Katherine Howe

Sincerely,

Betty :]

Dear July: 28

Dear July,

Today has gone by pretty quickly, which is perfect for a Monday. The day has been filled with Comic Con and Mockingjay feels.

Sincerely,

Betty :]

Dear July: 27

Dear July,

Slept all day. Yup.

Sincerely,

Betty

Dear July: 26

Dear July,

Word of the day: family. I woke up to do an errand for my mom and then went and spent the day with my aunts and grandparents because tomorrow is Dominican's father day. So we ate and were just enjoying each other's company, it was good times. My cousin and I then went to this park were her friends were throwing a barbecue and we got drinks and just hung out. Now we're figuring out where to go to dance and have a good time tonight. Gotta love family!

Sincerely,

Betty :]

Dear July: 25

Dear July,

Topic of the day: Comic Con. I've just spent the day at work on tumblr looking at the pictures, new information from favorite shows and clicking one after another video. Life is good.

Happy Friday!

Currently obsessed with this duo on Youtube (their voices are the prettiest): 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/VanJess24

Sincerely,

Betty :)

Dear July: 24

Dear July,

There's a week left of you which is bananas. This summer is just flying by and I simultaneously feel like I've done a lot and nothing at all. It's a weird dichotomy.

My aunt is back today so when I get back to her apartment her and my cousin will be there once again. These past three weeks have been a weird/fun experiment in what it would be like to live alone and I've decided I'd rather have roommates.  This is how I think about it; I think it's more motivational to live with people that are doing something just like me because then I want to get up and go to work in the morning and when I get home there's someone there to talk to and watch tv and just relax. Friendssss.

I was talking to my boss at the beginning of the day and she's trying to get me to keep working here so that's exciting and makes some of the stress go away. I have started to apply to some jobs as a back up, of course but it's great to have like a little corner at work that's rooting for me to get a job here as well.

Side note: I know the #UnderHypedReads readathon is going on this week and I am taking it so relaxed compared to the madness of reading I tried to do during the Booktubeathon. It's good stuff. I finished Chopsticks quickly last night since it's a picture story and woah was it interesting. I did not expect the ending.

I picked up The Treatment by Suzanne Young right after and I'm excited to jump back into the world of The Program. It's a world where"true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her (Sloane, the main character) in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories." (Goodreads)

So I can't wait to finish this duology and see where it ends. Hope you're having a good day

Currently on repeat: Affected by Meghan Tonjes ft. Tessa Violet

Sincerely,

Betty :]

Dear July: 23

Dear July,

I had things to do most of the time I was at work so it went by pretty fast. I went to the library straight after because it closes at 7 so I got there 20 minutes before it closed and got the books that were on hold for me. These are 7 books that I've wanted to read for a while so time to buckle down and do so since I took a break after finishing TSWGO.

I felt all the feels last night while reading Esther Earl's This Star Won't Go Out and it's crazy how someone you never met can make you feel like you did know them. She is so important to the Youtube community and learning just a little about how much of a star she really was makes me feel even that more connected to the nerdfighter community. All the unexpected tears were flowing.

Lastly, I spent some time at work looking at future job opportunities and I'm so over it, it's ridiculous. I hope I get to stay where I'm working at now because I do love nonprofits. Time to do some networking since there are now two open positions. We shall see if I'm qualified.

Alrighty, time to listen to the rain fall and read until sleep. .

Sincerely,

Betty :]

Dear July: 22

Dear July,

Today is a good day because I got up. I'm at work. It's the little things. Just being a productive member of society is enough today. I've spent the day listening to music, on tumblr & twitter and thinking about what I'm doing next. By next, I mean in the small and the grand scheme of things. I am thinking about what I'm eating for the rest of the week as well as what I'm doing after this job comes to a close at the end of August. I need to start being proactive about my desires and start applying to things that I actually want to do and will enjoy doing. Yes.

Song of the day: Chicago by Sufjan Stevens

Sincerely,
Betty :]

Dear July: 21

Dear July,

Today is the start of another readathon. Gotta love booktube! The theme of this one is #UnderHypedReads so the criteria is books with less than 5,000 ratings on Goodreads as well as just books you think more people should read, so why not highlight it? I was looking at the books I have left over from Booktubeathon TBR and noticed most of them fall under this criteria so I'm going to finish them and add to the list. The books I'm planning on reading this week are:

This Star Won't Go Out by Esther Earl- 4,765 ratings
Conversion by Katherine Howe- 414 ratings
Noggin by John Corey Whaley- 1,160 ratings
Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern- 2,190 ratings
Bottle Rocket Hearts By Zoe Whitthall- 410 ratings

Other books I want to get to (we'll see):
The Treatment by Suzanne Young-2,136 ratings
The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King- 1,942 ratings
Dangerous Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl- 2,136 ratings
Landline by Rainbow Rowell- 4,213 ratings
City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte- 4,971 ratings

Dear July: 20

Dear July,

This weekend was awesome because I got to spend it with friends. One of my friends is coming back to the city soon so we reunited and had some drinks yesterday and it was great. Then me and my friend went to a party our friends were having and when we got there, it was already in full force. It was super fun to see everyone.

Today, my friend and I had made plans to go shopping and even though Sunday is always lazy day, we got off our butts and had a great shopping day. I'm exhausted and I came home and cleaned and did laundry. I am so ready to read for a bit and go to sleep. I'm just happy. There's only 11 days left of you, July, and I plan to make the most of them.

Sincerely,

Betty :]

Dear July: 19

Dear July,

I've done nothing but lay in bed and doze in and out today which is perfect. I drank an entire bottle of wine last night and my head hates me for that life decision. I've ignored texts because it meant I had to move but now since it's 5pm, it's time to make moves! I'm meeting up with friends for drinks (oh god why no more alcohol) and then there's a party I'm going to later as well. Between yesterday and today, I've read 8 pages, oops.  I've read 1213 pages so far this week so I feel good. My goal for tomorrow, the last day of the readathon is to finish what I'm reading and this star won't go out. So it's going to be a day of feels for sure. Hope you're having a great Saturday!

Currently reading: The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Stories by Marina Keegan
Musically, currently all about: Of Monsters and Men

Sincerely,
Betty :]

Dear July: 18

Dear July,

As Ice Cube says, today was a good day and it's only 4pm. I'm excited to spend time with friends and family and just relax this weekend. I am planning on reading a lot as well to finish off the #booktubeathon with a bang! Let's see how that goes. Plan: Friday, Saturday= friends. Sunday= go to park and read. AND READY SET GO! Hope your Friday is going swell and that you make your weekend awesome.

Sincerely,
Betty :]

Dear July: 17

Dear July,
I'm writing this on my phone and it looks so weird but hey dedication. Today was brought to you by the word: alone. I mean I've gotten used to being alone at my aunts but today my office was on a retreat. Being alone at work super weird but great in that they trust me to get shit done. I went and did some shopping after work which is always good. This weekend has no set plans except hang with friends. What can be better? Back to reading.

Sincerely,
Betty 

Dear July: 16

Dear July,

Today is one of those days where time is just passing by and I don't know what to do with myself. Work hasn't been too busy so I have had the chance to read but I don't necessarily want to do that. I keep clicking from song to song because nothing is keeping my attention for too long. I don't know what to call this feeling. It didn't rain so I just keep looking out the window and pondering what I could do since it's nice out. The opportunities are endless, July.

Sincerely,
Betty

Dear July: 15

Dear July,

Somehow we're halfway already! Thanks to the internet these past two weeks have been filled with things to do. Last week with body confidence week and this week with the booktubeathon, time has just flown by!

Today is day two of the readathon and I plan on finishing my 2nd & 3rd book. :] I love how much motivation I get during readathons. I just get the energy to read all the books I've been meaning to. To know that there's people all over the world, just delving into a different world just like you are is so awesome.

Work kept me busy today so I'm excited to unplug and just read the night away! :]

Books read:
A Million Suns by Beth Revis

Reading:
Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

Up next:
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

Songs of the day:
High Society by Betty Who
Shiver by Lucy Rose
Power and Control by Marina and the Diamonds

Sincerely,
Betty

Dear July: 14

Dear July,

It is easy to get used to the same routine and feel stuck. That's why I think it is important to jump out of your comfort zone and do things that scare you. It might be something little like just going somewhere alone or something bigger, like an extreme sport. The opportunities are endless.

I've had a relaxing day at work and have been able to spend most of it reading in the midst of the low volume of calls that have been coming in. The reason these thoughts started circulating in my head is because I'm getting to a point in my book where things might drastically change or they might stay the same for the characters and the response to this has been excitement or panic, which is understandable. But I feel that you won't know what happens until you try. So here's to taking that necessary step, July.

Sincerely, 

Betty

Dear July: 13

Dear July,

Word of the day: family. I stayed at my cousin's last night. I watched all of Season 2 of Orange is the New Black which is what I had wanted to do since its release so it was great. The only part that sucked is that I finished at 7:45am and we had plans to leave to go to the pool at 8:00. Ah! I woke up at 8:50am; one hour of sleep that felt like a five minute nap and groggily put on clothes and helped my aunt with last minute bag preparing and such. Then off me, her and my cousin were to take a bus to New Jersey to meet with my other aunt, uncle and cousins and from there to go to the pool. Today was quite an adventure as you can see. So we get to the stop at NJ and less than five minutes later, my uncle picks us up, we go to his house, grab the last bags and off we go! The three girls (me and my two younger cousins) were in one car which was perfect because we blasted Spanish music the entire way and just got super pumped up! Forty minutes later, we arrived at our destination. The pool was super nice and there was not that many people since it is a Sunday and there had been rain in the weather forecast. Lucky us, it didn't rain at all! I don't know where my body got the energy but after some food in to the water we all went and it was a blast! I love the water. I can't exactly swim except under the water but that is my favorite thing to just go under and see how long I can hold my breath and just swim around and enjoy the unique experience. I could go on about water for a while I'm sure but I'm exhausted and so excited to sleep. SO to sum up the day, it was wonderful and just what I needed after those two days of dark thoughts this week. Today is also the last day of body confidence week 2014 and it was a lovely experience once again. It is great to be able connect with people in such a positive way and this second time I definitely tried my best to be in the tag a lot and just interacting and hopefully giving people a nice little boost, which was what I did in January. This time it was different in that I feel so much more confident in my skin and happy with who I am so it is great to be able to help others begin to feel that way.

 Lastly, on the taxi ride home, Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys (of course) was playing which I thought was just perfect. So that's the song of the day Now time to sleep oh so well!

Sincerely,
Betty :D

Dear July: 12

Dear July,

Today is just what I needed. Spent the day with my cousin, got my nails done. We also got some food and drinks. We're spending the night watching the second season of the OITNB. Tomorrow we're going to the beach with our family in New Jersey, should be fun times! After a couple of days of feeling down, I'm happy to have family to boost my spirits.

Song of the day:
Home by Daughter

Sincerely,
Betty :]

Dear July : 11

Dear July,

Looking forward to the future is better than thinking about the past most times. I am easy to spend too much time reminiscing on good times of the past as well as dwelling on what I could have changed to make things better. That's such a waste of time.

Like John Green writes in TFIOS "What a slut time is. She screws everybody."

Instead of spending time planning new adventures, it is so easy to just sit and think about doing them instead of doing. Time to follow the motto: Less want, more do. Time to let what is be what it is. Time to find the good in every act.

July, I don't know what this post has turned into. A bunch of cliches but that's what I'm feeling like recently apparently. Weird mood= weird sentences.

Song of the day:
Do Or Die by 30 Seconds to Mars

Sincerely,
Betty

Dear July : 10

Dear July,

Today was a day of many thoughts. Mainly, it proved that it is too easy to lie but that does not mean one should still do so. In the end, who does that lie help? It just ends up driving you crazy and corrupting all your thoughts for the day. One of my resolutions of the year was no regrets so what's done is done but I still do ask myself: why I do certain things that are not helping me grow in any way? My thoughts feel like a bird trying to a escape out of a cage. I want to be free of negativity so therefore it is time to stop doing things that make me feel like I am locked up in a cage of my own making.

Song of the day:
Fuel to Fire by Agnes Obel

Sincerely,
Betty

Dear July: 9

Dear July,

Today was a day of errands. Having the day off in the middle of the week is something I love and definitely take advantage by getting some more hours of sleep and getting things done that needed to be done. I went grocery shopping and cleaned my aunt's house and then went to the library! I returned some books and picked up the books that were on hold. I need to reorder some because I didn't get to them. So many books, so little time! I watched the Netherlands vs. Argentina game with my cousins and gosh that defense was crazy and I am so happy that Argentina is in the finals. I can imagine that my host mom is ecstatic! (I stayed with a family in Chile and they are originally from Argentina!) Time to finish off the week and see what this weekend brings!

Song of the day:
All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor

Sincerely,
Betty :]

Dear July :8

Dear July,

Today has been quite busy at work. I went outside on my lunch break and it's quite warm in NYC today. It's finally starting to feel like summer.

I've had some internet things on my mind since last night, mainly this obsession with Youtube celebrity culture since it's been mentioned a lot since Vidcon happened. Youtube is something I care a lot about and I've made some lovely friends because of it. So while I know about how big it's becoming in certain aspects, I still like my little corner of Youtube, where I get to talk to my friends from all over the world and just gush about books and music and media in general. I think it's easy to let the hype affect you because you see the numbers and some deep part of all of us wants more views but I think I've met the right kind of people that care more about the community they're building and the connections being made.

One of the reasons I'm happy to be so connected on all social media is because I feel like so much is happening on the interwebs just this week! Today, Landline by Rainbow Rowell comes out and so did Four by Veronica Roth! Woo book birthdays! I am planning on going to the event at Barnes and Noble and hope to meet Lady Rainbow which will be great after all this talking on twitter.

Something else happening on the interwebs just today: Queen JK Rowling released a story as Rita Skeeter of the characters we know and love all grown up at the Quidditch World Cup. I read it and smiled the entire time. It's great to see a little more from the wizarding world!

Lastly, this week is Body Confidence Week 2.0! All of the positive posts are my favorite. Starting off the year with this project gave me such a boost in January so it's great that it's back half way through the year. Feel free to join on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr and use the #bodyconfidenceweek2014

Song of the day:
If I Had The Nerve by Ally Rhodes 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8fwSkRTZsg&list=FLa0ociprc-Nh6pA0WKfn1MA&feature=share&index=11

Sincerely,
Betty :]

Dear July : 7

Dear July,

I am determined to read whenever I have any free time today. I'm about to finish my 50th book of the year which is crazy but I have not finished any book in this month yet and it's been a week today!

This month is flying by. I have so much I want to do so I need to make an actual plan instead of just thinking about things. Time to act on my desires, both book and adventure ones!

Song of the day:
After All Is Said And Done by Junip

Sincerely,
Betty :]

Dear July: 6

Dear July,

This post is brought to you by: exclamation points! ! !

So yesterday was a blast! It's what summer is all about! Having new adventures with new friends and just enjoying each other's company in this beautiful city! I am relaxing today and it's just what I needed. Just spending the day, eating and watching TV. I am ready for the week! Bring it on! :]

Song on repeat: Chandelier by Sia

Sincerely,
Betty :]

Dear July: 5

Dear July,

Another day, another journey. I stayed at my aunt's house last night and had to rush back to where I'm staying because my aunt was stressed that the dog wasn't fine. She's fine. She's still depressed which I'm used to already and it's been two days.

In other news, I'm excited to enjoy today's nice weather. This shall be another short post. Hope you're enjoying this weekend.

Sincerely,

Betty :]

Dear July: 4

Dear July,

Today was a day for friends and family. We have spent inside because of the weather but regardless there's been many laughs and drinks had. Hope your day was just as lovely.

Sincerely,
Betty :)

Dear July: 3

Dear July,

Today's post is brought to you by the word: travel. I have had the travel bug for what feels like most of my life. I barely remember my first trip on a plane because I was five and it's just a blur. All I remember is the popping of my ears and everyone clapping when the plan was landing in Dominican Republic. It's one of our superstitions that if you don't clap then you won't have a good trip or something like that. (Weird, right?!) So fast forward and my next trip to D.R was when I was 15 and I remember this one vividly because it was the summer after freshman year of high school. It's one of the summers that I will always remember because I got to see how much we take for granted here. Yes, we have a nice place to stay but the economic disparities are so jarring and you can visually see it from one street to the next. I got to really understand why my parents think the way they do seeing where they were raised.

Moving on, my parents, brother, aunts and grandmother are all officially in Dominican Republic as of today for vacation. This got me thinking about how much we take for granted again. My parents have been going every summer on and off for a couple years and I haven't been back since I was 15. They work hard during the year and know that they will be relaxing when summer comes but one thing I always think about is how they could have used all their money and gone elsewhere. When I asked my mother why this wasn't something they considered, she just said why? They only care about going to their country. I have so many conflicting thoughts about this because now that I've seen just some of a country I'd never even had in my plans to go to (Chile) I want to see so much more now.

The world is full of so many places to see. I love to fly by myself; it's such a different experience to travel alone. You have to be responsible for everything and it feels great to be so independent. To wrap up this long letter, July, as I was stuck on a train full of people this morning on the way to work I just go to thinking about how convenient public transportation is and we take it for granted and complain about it so much. Since I can't fly for a little while, I'm definitely going to take advantage of this big city around me and see so many things I haven't seen. Time to cross some places of my list!

The song that has been on repeat today:
On The Run (Part 2) by Jay-Z & Beyonce 

Sincerely,
Betty :]

Dear July: 2

Dear July,

It's super easy to be negative when one is thrust into a situation that seems to have more negatives than positives. I moved into my aunt's last night because she's going on vacation for 3 weeks and I have the job of taking care of her pets. At first, I was complaining because I felt that the area and commute was inconvenient and I was just not feeling the general atmosphere change. Since getting there, I just got to relax and got to see exactly what I'm getting myself into and I'm super relaxed now. There's birds, a turtle and a dog to take care of; fun times! Instead of taking the train to transfer 10 blocks, I decided to walk this morning and those 15 minutes to myself was just great and is definitely going to be a highlight of my day. It's going to be a different experience for the next couple weeks and I'm excited. Now to plan further adventures!

Currently jamming to:
The Weeknd- Drunk in Love Remix & The Zone ft. Drake

Advice I gave to one of my best friends today:
"I know if I don't wake up positive and start the day then I wont be able to figure out what to do next. Right now, it's as simple as getting to work."

"You stress the future too much and forget to just enjoy the present moment, girl."

Sincerely,

Betty :]

Dear July: 1

Dear July,

You definitely have snuck up on me. Looking back a year ago, things were very different. I was living at home, still unemployed 2 months after graduation and feeling slightly depressed about my current situation. Flash forward and now I've been in New York for almost two months and when I went back to Rhode Island for Pride it had a completely different feel to it. I've been living with some friends and just enjoying the freedom that comes with having a job and being responsible for myself. Every day I wake up happy to start the day and be able to help people at my job in any small way. So even though it is easy to be inundated by negative thoughts, like how this job is temporary and therefore this might be a temporary move, I refuse to be bogged down by these thoughts. I'm just excited for what's to come. Let's take it one day at a time.

Sincerely,
Betty :]


Currently Reading:
Submarine by Joe Dunthorne

Currently listening to:
Mumford & Sons
City & Colour


*Inspired by the lovely Emily Diana Ruth's project on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdA_ymySH28

Update & Book Favorites thus far (June 2014)

So one of my goals this year was to start this blog and be a super star about it but then life got crazy! So this is an update as well as a favorite lists of books thus far this year. :]

#1: I am no longer in Rhode Island. I am in grand NYC with a summer job and looking to see where the world will take me next. This impromptu move happened in the middle of May and I've been here for about a month now and it feels just like when I was in university (also crazy that was a year ago) so it just feels like I never left even though I was gone for an actual year. So happy to be back though!

#2: Somehow in all of this hubbaloo I've managed to read 46 books so far this year! 3 of them were E-Novellas (so fun btw) P.S. How are we already half way through the year; it's insane! So I looked at my Goodreads and I am going to give some of my favorites.

Favorites of 2014 thus far:
1. Ask The Passengers by A.S. King-  I've never identified so much with a main character, definitely a new favorite book and author. I loved that Astrid did not want to be put in a box because there is so much more to a person than who they love.

2. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell- I adored Fangirl and Eleanor and Park as many worldwide but this one is the one that really stuck with me. I loved Lincoln and just way with the emails and the narration just felt so special. It has one of my favorite new lines since I am February child: "I was born in February, but I come alive in October."

3. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz- Making the top three of favorites so far is this wonderful story about friendship and family. Gosh, I love these boys and I so identified with many things they spoke about in regards to their family. There's so many pressures that come with any family and with my crazy Spanish speaking family, it's no different. It just felt great to be able to identify with these two.

4. The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson- I will forever read anything LHA writes because I think she's brilliant and this story laced with so much emotion is one for the record books. Hayley's story is heartbreaking in that you feel yourself just stepping into her shoes and dealing with her father going through PTSD right along with her. Her point of view, her narration was just chilling and breathtaking. I do not have enough accolades for this book. A must read.

5. Vicious by V.E Schwab- I feel like I've been one of Queen Victoria's loyal followers for ages now but I only discovered her this year thanks to Regan (peruseproject on Youtube) and I'm so glad I have. Victor and Eli have made me question about what is good and bad because when it comes down to it they have some very twisted ways of looking at the world. After lots of thinking, I did end up siding with Victor but picking a side in this crazy feud feels wrong in a way which is how I know that this book is oh so right.
Honorable mentions: The Archived and The Unbound by Queen V are also flawless books set in such an intriguing world. I can't wait to get more of the Mackenzie and Wesley story and see where their adventures take them next.

6. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn- I'd of course heard this book being talked about for ages and I was never super intrigued by it until I just couldn't stop hearing about it especially with the movie coming out so I buddy read it with my lovely friend Winston and that added so much fun to this psychotic novel. Amy is literally my queen. She is so conniving and just great. Every action that takes place in this book had me on the edge of my bed and I could not stop until I got to that OMG ending. I am sort of ambivalent about the movie, it looks to focused on Nick but I will still tune in to see how they adapt this.

7. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Lesyle Walton- As soon as I saw Rosianna's (missxrojas on Youtube) review on this book, I knew I was going to be ordering it from the library. This is just such a lovely story that is full of beautiful and bittersweet moments. The lyrical writing style along with the magical and whimsical feel of this story made this story feel totally realistic, and kept me so invested in the lives of these wonderful women. Emilienne, Vivienne and Ava were all very different and I felt that I got to know them and care for them through the pages of this story.

8. Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira- This has been compared to Perks many times over and I am one of those people that think that this just stands on its own as just a beautiful story. Laurel is giving the assignment to write a letter to a dead person and this letter format makes this book so unique and I loved it. I loved listening to some of the music of the people she was writing to while I was reading because it just made it such a special experience. This book definitely deals with some heavy topics and it made me go through a rollercoaster of emotion, from angry to sad. Laurel's growth and self discovery is not an easy one, it never is, right? I'm glad to have read it and learned from it. Favorite quote:"And maybe what growing up really means is knowing that you don't have to be just a character, going whichever way the story says. It's knowing you could be the author instead."

9.We Were Liars by E. Lockhart- This is a recent read. It's been two weeks and I still can't wrap my head around this beautiful and tragic story. I took my time with it and I remember my jaw dropping when I got the the last part. This is one book that definitely got a lot of hype and is definitely worth every bit of it. Even if you think you guess the ending, the way this story is written is just something every reader should experience.

10. Lastly, one of my goals this year was to finish some series but of course I've been introduced to some good ones along the way. I got to finish The Selection series by Kiera Cass with the wonderful end to the trilogy, The One. Gosh, getting to finally read what happens with America and Maxon and that entire world just makes me a happy one. Definitely one of my favorite series now.

I also gave into the hype that is the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi and the last of the trilogy is my all time favorite ending of a trilogy ever and that's saying something. Ignite Me made such a happy human. Warner. That is all. Juliette finally being the badass bitch I wanted her to be aka the reason I sat through all her whining. Just yes. I wasn't as in love with the writing style as everyone else was but overall I enjoyed it.

Across The Universe by Beth Revis- Elder drives me crazy but I am so intrigued by this world and I'm about to get my hands on that last two of this trilogy and I can't wait to see what happens with Amy and Godspeed.

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner- I'm all about space books apparently this year and this story just sucked me in and kept me. Lilac and Tarver are in hyperspace for goodness sakes! The world has not been fully developed and while I dislike that each upcoming book have different main characters, it makes for an interesting setup and more people to get emotionally invested in. It reminds me of Stephanie Perkins in that her characters make cameos in the other books after Anna and The French Kiss. It's great and I can't wait to hear even a little bit about the first two we meet and get more clues about this mysterious universe everyone is in.

Cress by Marissa Meyer- Of course, this has to be mentioned. Cinder is brilliant. I still don't know how to feel about Scarlet but Wolf is lovely and now we meet Cress and she's super cool and seeing the world through her eyes for the first time is just great. I'm so excited about Winter; the snippet we get about who she is was brilliant!

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo- The book world would not shut up about this book series either and since I'd owned it for a couple of months I finally gave it a read and oh man what a world this is! The Grishas are super intriguing and I can't wait to read Siege and Storm since the last in the trilogy comes out soon. Perfect timing, me!

Perfect Ruin by Lauren Destefano- I had first been introduced to Lauren with the Wither series which was a hit or miss for readers. I enjoyed the world so much and the ending still sticks out to me. With The Internment Chronicles, this new world we're introduced to is just above ours on this floating city and I was hooked. The end of this book sets up so many possibilities as to where this will and the sequel sounds amazing and I can't wait to see where the characters are taken and how warped the world is in the series.

Last but not least, The Program by Suzanne Young is one book I still cannot stop thinking about since I read back in March. Suzanne set up such an amazing world in which suicide has gotten to such a level that a program has been installed to erase memories and it's like creating these happy robots. I was so invested in Sloane's story and I have been planning on getting my hands on The Treatment since I found out there was a sequel.

So there it is folks. My list of favorites thus far. I have read some great books so far this year and there's another 6 months to read some more great material. Let me know your thoughts on any of these if you've read them and feel free to recommend some of your favorites this year!

P.S. I promise not to let 3 months past until my next blog post. <3

-Betty

Thoughts/Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

I clearly do not know how to blog properly because it's been almost two months since my last post. I've just been reading a whole bunch. I'm here today to talk about what I've already deemed my favorite book of this year. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. This book just made me want to hug it when I finished. Ari is a great narrator and his friendship with Dante is one for the history books man.

Ari is stuck on always comparing himself to others and particularly this boy he meets Dante. He feels himself inferior. Ironically, Dante believes that he is not good enough for his race. He repeatedly mentions not being Mexican enough. It's very sad and very telling to being a first-generation Latino in an ever changing America. Our parents come here for a better life for us and in Dante's case his father is a professor so he is educated and therefore there's this extra pressure to meet up to some made-up standards. Dante's mother and father are portrayed as the most open and nice people and it just makes me happy that this book depicts the two sides of what a family could be. Ari's parents are nice as well but they are very quiet and haunted by the memory of Ari's never-mentioned brother that's in prison and Ari's father's military past.

To sum up my love for this book I shall mention some quotes that stuck with me because they are just great:

Dante: "Do you always analyze your parents?" [YES]
Ari: "They analyze us, don't they?"

I thought it might be a great thing to be the air.
I could be something and nothing at the same time. I could be necessary and also invisible. Everyone would need me and no one would be able to see me.

"I mean, when do we start feeling like the world belongs to us?"

"Did anyone ever tell you that you weren't normal?"
"Is that something I should aspire to?"

I suppose everyone has rules for things. Maybe we get that from our parents. Parents are rule givers. Maybe they gave us too many rules, Ari. Did you ever think about that? I think we need to do something about rules.

"Is love a contest?"
"What does that mean?"
"Maybe everyone loves differently. Maybe that's all that matters."

Everyone was always becoming someone else.
Sometimes when you were older, you became someone younger. And me, I felt old.

Maybe we just lived between hurting and healing.

Thoughts on Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

This book brought out so many feels in me. I enjoyed Eleanor & Park and had deemed Fangirl my favorite by Rainbow thus far but Attachments came and blew those two out of the water.New favorite for sure!

So let's get into it a little, shall we?   The main narrator's name is Lincoln and he's the IT guy for the newspaper called The Courier. He is basically paid to read people's emails when they are flagged for "inappropriate" talk. The reason that's even in quotations is because the reason he meets Beth and Jennifer is over innocent emails in which they talk about their lives, which end up in his flagged folder. First,the way this story is written is brilliant. It alternates between Lincoln's life narration and then the emails between Beth and Jennifer. It makes the reader feel super attached to all the characters. At least, that's how it was for me. Lincoln becomes invested in Beth and Jennifer's life without having met them and so did I. I felt their ups and downs and they felt like people I actually knew so that's why I definitely understood and sided with Lincoln when he decided not to report them and just keep reading.

Lincoln's life was something I could relate to as well in that he felt like he was doing a very repetitive and easy job. His life was filled with highs and lows and he let a lot of his emotion be dictated by the conversations he read which is not healthy but totally understandable in his lonely life. He lives at home with his mother, who clearly loves him but is very overprotective of him.

The deeper into the story we delve the more connected I became to Beth and Jennifer as well and totally wanted to cry when we learn about what happens to them. I won't spoil it, but they are inspiring in that they show that it is totally fine to breakdown and have the time to feel the pain but then you have to pick yourself up because life keeps going.

I even felt like I knew Doris, Lincoln's work friend, and Mitch, Jennifer's husband, and Chris, Beth's boyfriend. It just goes to show how well Lady Rainbow Rowell is able to bring the reader into this little world she has created. All in all, I adored how real the story is and the romance was beautiful as well. With every page, I found myself smiling, laughing or on the verge of tears. So prepare yourself for a rollercoaster of emotions!

I am a lover of quotes. So here are some of my favorites and some have explanations as to why:

"Money is a cruel thing. It's the thing that stands between you and the things you want and the people you love." -Lincoln's mother

Beth has some great passages * this is my favorite because it's exactly how I feel about October.
"There is a chill in the air that lifts my heart and makes my hair stand on end. Every moment feels meant for me. In October, I'm the star of my own movie-I hear the soundtrack in my head-and  have faith in my own rising action. I was born in February, but I come alive in October."

"I'd known you in the dark. From a thousand miles away. There's nothing you could become that I haven't already fallen in love with." Lincoln remembering a time with his ex-girlfriend Sam (So beautiful.)

Eve is Lincoln's sister and the way she talks to him makes me smile because it's very me while being something I myself need to hear.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"I don't know," he said. "I just feel like I have to do something."
"Do what?"
"I don't know. That's what's wrong. Or part of what's wrong. I feel like I'm sleepwalking."
"You look like you're sleepwalking," she said.
"And I don't know how to wake up."
"Do something," she said.
"Do what?"
"Change something."

Eve: "So what if, instead of thinking about solving your whole life, you just think about adding additional good things. One at a time. Just let your pile of good things grow."

Beth: Nothing is bound to go wrong. Nothing is bound to go, period. And the chances are so much better that everything is going to be all right.

SPOILERS
"I didn't know love could leave the lights on all the time. Do you know what I mean?"
"Not exactly," he said, finding a way to pull her closer.
"I thought it took more naps," she said, struggling to find the right words. "Or blinked. I didn't know it could just go on and on and like this without falling of an edge. Like pi."

Cutest conversation ever.

Introduction & Bout of Books

I have always wanted to have a blog. So here we go! My name is Betty. I've loved to read since I was a young one. My mother always tells me that instead of a doll I had a book in my hand. Favorite anecdote about little me ever!

I'm starting this post since the Bout of Books 9.0 readathon is kicking off in a few hours and I'm excited to read away and post some reviews. I'm not great with to be read lists but I do have some books that I want to get to.

The books I have in mind for the readathon are as follows:

• The Uprising by Lisa M. Stasse
• The Eye of Minds by James Dashner
• Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
• Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale
• Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Let me know if you're joining in the fun and what you plan to read!

My plans for this blog are:

• book reviews:
• song thoughts
• thoughts about shows

Anything that is on my mind writing-wise like poems or excerpts from the novel I'm still working on is fair game as well.

Thanks for reading. Let the fun begin! :]