Musing Monday

Musing Monday: October 23, 2017

LeeLeave a comment

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme, hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker, that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ____, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Are there any books you really want to see made into tv shows or movies?

I blogged about ____ this past couple weeks…

Okay so this prompt is usually for a single week, but since I just finished up a read-a-thon, I figured I would go back over the past two weeks because I blogged way more than usual and also I just like things to be more even so there it is.

  • Monday, October 9 – Just a little Musing Monday action with a great prompt about books that changed your life.
  • Thursday, October 12 – Thursday everything was about Empress of the World by Sara Ryan. It started with a Currently Reading bookstagram (where I also took the opportunity to show off my delicious food), then once I’d finished that book I posted a rating post for it, and I used it for Thursday Quotables as well.
  • Friday, October 13 – This was the start of The Cookie Read-A-Thon, and a very busy day for me! First Lines Fridays went up as scheduled, then I shared Mary’s tumblr post about her Cookie Read-A-Thon before I started on my own read-a-thon journey with Day 1 of the Kind of Daily Challenge. I intended to read just my weekly chapter of Persuasion, but I managed to enjoy myself so much I kept reading all the way to the end! This resulted in a very long version of my weekly Persuasion update, a rating post, and after some consideration I went ahead and put together a Persuasion Project master post. But wait, there’s more! I started another book, I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter, so I posted a Currently Reading bookstagram for that, then later that night my first daily wrap-up for the read-a-thon.
  • Saturday, October 14 – I finished the first Gallagher Girls book and did a rating post for it, then a Currently Reading bookstagram for the next one (Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy), and that night my second read-a-thon daily wrap-up.
  • Sunday, October 15 – Sunday blogging started with a delicious cup of tea (and more biscuits than would strictly be necessary for just one person) which I posted for Tomes & Tea, then a rating post when I finished the second Gallagher Girls book, followed by Day 3 of the Kind of Daily Challenge. Later, a Currently Reading bookstagram for the third Gallagher Girls book (Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover), which I also managed to finish that day so I posted another rating post, and then my read-a-thon daily wrap-up.
  • Monday, October 16 – Monday started with a Currently Reading bookstagram for the fourth Gallagher Girls book, Only the Good Spy Young, and then Musing Monday, where I talked about my decision to give the new John Green book a chance, and how I felt about memoirs. I finished the book I was reading and made a rating post, followed by a Currently Reading bookstagram for the fifth Gallagher Girls book (Out of Sight, Out of Time), and lastly my daily wrap-up for read-a-thon.
  • Tuesday, October 17 – I finished that fifth Gallagher Girls book (officially my favorite of the series) in the wee hours of Tuesday morning and got my rating post out, and since I had already scheduled Teaser Tuesday I decided to get some sleep! My sleep lasted longer than I intended, but I still managed to get through the sixth Gallagher Girls book and do a Currently Reading bookstagram and a rating post. Then I talked about my favorite genre in Day 5 of the Kind of Daily Challenge, and wrap the day up for read-a-thon.
  • Wednesday, October 18 – Sad, sad, neglected Wednesday. I fully intended to do things, but my body decided my intentions meant nothing and that I should sleep fitfully all day long and completely neglect everything that didn’t have to do with sleeping on the couch and worrying my husband by missing every phone call and text all day long. Whoops!
  • Thursday, October 19 – I got (kind of) back on track Thursday, starting with Thursday Quotables and posted a Currently Reading bookstagram just before I took a long bath with Love & Gelato. Admittedly I didn’t get very far before I fell asleep (and the book thankfully fell on the floor and not into the bath…), but when I woke up I did post a progress update. Before I went back to bed, I did Day 7 of the Kind of Daily Challenge and waxed poetical about all the favorite reading spots I had the privilege of knowing in my life. (I didn’t, I’m not poetically skilled, I just talked about them, but it did earn me the greatest compliment I’ve ever had from one of my favorite book bloggers.) And of course I ended the night with my daily wrap-up of my read-a-thon progress.
  • Friday, October 20 – First Lines Fridays & Friday 56 went up first thing, then a rating post for Love & Gelato, and that night I did my usual daily wrap-up for read-a-thon.
  • Saturday, October 21 – I did eventually get my thoughts in order (after talking to a friend who very helpfully tells me when I’m over-reacting to things and when I’m normal-reacting) and put together a post about some casual racism found in Love & Gelato. I actually managed to pick a book to read pretty easily (We Are Okay by Nina LaCour), which surprised me, and I used it in a bookstagram for Day 9 of the Kind of Daily Challenge, and ended the night with a penultimate read-a-thon daily wrap-up.
  • Sunday, October 22 – I finished We Are Okay, easily one of my favorite books in a while, and posted a rating for it as well as some quotes. Then I picked a new book, Mind Games by Kiersten White, yet another that I have no idea how I wound up with it on my TBR, and used it in Tomes & Tea, then my final wrap-up for The Cookie Read-A-Thon.

Woo! Busy two weeks for me! So aside from the fact that I feel icky sicky and can’t even remember how it feels to just breathe without suffering, I think I’m doing pretty well.

Are there any books you really want to see made into tv shows or movies?
Yes! Yes! Okay! I’m going to try to put my thoughts in order for this because I can see it so perfectly in my mind and have for a while, but I’ve never tried to explain it to anyone before.

First of all, it would be a miniseries, three or four 90-minute episodes per season, four seasons in all. Each season would cover a single novel in Cynthia Voigt’s Tales of the Kingdom series.

This series is a non-magical fantasy, so it would probably look somewhat like Game of Thrones, except without all the gratuitous rape scenes and dragons.

It’s also important to note that it is a loosely-connected series, meaning it’s all set in the same world, but at different times, so the main characters of each book never meet each other. For example, in book 2 (On Fortune’s Wheel) there is a point where Birle and Orien are shipwrecked on some rocky outcropping and are trapped. They scratch their names on the rocky cliff. Later in book 3, Oriel and Griff are hiding out there and they find the names on the cliff wall, which is how Oriel comes to be called that in the first place. By this time Birle and Orien are long gone of course.

All this is to explain why, in my mind, they use mostly the same ensemble of actors for each season even though the previous season’s characters are gone into history already. This would also be an easy way to show when someone is a descendant of a main character from a previous novel, because they could be played by the same actor.

It would be so amazing! In fact, when I read them I can picture it playing out in my mind so perfectly. If I was loaded I would pay to produce this I swear.

Musing Monday: October 16, 2017

LeeLeave a comment

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme, hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker, that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ____, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Do you like or dislike memoirs?

I don’t know exactly which prompt this fits under best, but basically I think I’m going to try reading John Green’s new book, Turtles All The Way Down. I read his other books, and while they weren’t terrible and I enjoyed some parts of them, ultimately I outgrew the stage where I enjoyed them quite quickly. I got tired of “mentally ill girl captivates boring white boy who learns stuff about life through his love of her quirkiness” and other related tropes involving teens and a mysterious lack of brown/black people…

But now I’m wondering, since John Green is or was active in the online book community (as well as others) he probably would have seen some of the criticisms of his works. Sarah J. Maas did, Maggie Stiefvater did. Maggie made apologies to her readers for the lack of POC and the insensitive handling of POC in The Raven Cycle when it was called out. Sarah J. Maas got sensitivity readers and made more efforts with her newest book. So did John Green hear his  readers and understand and try to improve?

I tried to find out from reviewers and such, but so far all I’m seeing are people who are already huge fans of his novels fangirling and people who don’t like him a bit talking about how they won’t be reading it. I think it might be too soon to find someone who can give me answers to this question I have. (If you’ve seen anyone talking about it, please please link me to it!)

So since my library has it anyway, I put it on hold. I’m behind a few people in line, but I’m in no hurry. I just want to satisfy my curiosity and since I’ve yet to see anyone posting about problematic things I figure I’ll have to read it for myself to find out if it’s better than his older books. I do genuinely hope he listened to the POC and mentally ill people and women who voiced valid criticisms of his work and decided to grow as a writer from it. We shall see. (I will say, if I don’t enjoy it or I spot problematic shit right away, I won’t be forcing myself to finish.)

Do you like or dislike memoirs?
I looooooooooove a memoir man! My favorites are celebrity memoirs, because a lot of times with them being so in the spotlight we get this idea that we already know them, but we don’t and it’s interesting to see what’s really going on with them and what they’ve been thinking during certain times of their lives. But really I’m down with any memoir, no matter who it’s about. It gives such a personal look to any event that I can’t resist.

Musing Monday: October 9, 2017

LeeLeave a comment

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme, hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker, that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ____, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Have you ever read a book that changed your life?

I blogged about ____ this past week…

Have you ever read a book that changed your life?
To be honest I’m pretty sure every book I’ve read has changed my life in that the books we read shape the way we think and view the world in minute ways, but as for books that changed things significantly…

The Harry Potter series did, around middle school. I had always loved reading, even as a toddler, but around 6th grade my depression began to get overwhelmingly bad and I was struggling just to get through the days, with no energy left over for things like pleasure reading. Then in 7th grade I saw a chance to do something I wasn’t allowed to do and get away with it, which I always loved. (That thing being reading Harry Potter.) Thanks to those books I rediscovered my love of reading. In addition I discovered that reading could take me away from the struggle in my own life and mind, could give me an escape. I’ll always be grateful for that.

Cynthia Voigt’s books changed me too. Her writing changed the way I think. They taught me to look at problems differently, to face challenges differently. I think they helped me learn to be resilient. I learned from characters of hers how I could think to help me enjoy hard work, ways to appreciate small things and see beauty around me. Not that I couldn’t sometimes do those things already, but not as well. Her characters taught me how to arrange my thoughts to appreciate the things already around me. When I want to feel like my best self, I always reread a Cynthia Voigt book. It bothers me that more people don’t know about her books because they had such an impact on me.

Robert Fulghum is another that changed me I think. His books taught me an introspective way of thinking, taught me to look for meaning in my experiences. They also taught me to look at everything with a dose of humor, to laugh at myself, and to enjoy experiences in a more childlike way even as I became more mature. And on a lighter note, they were the first books I ever read that weren’t marketed specifically to children or teens, and I discovered I could like adult books.

I’m sure there have been others, but those are the ones that stand out in my mind. What books have changed you?

Musing Monday: October 2, 2017

LeeLeave a comment

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme, hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker, that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ____, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What do you do with your non-keeper hard copy books?

I blogged about ____ this past week…

What do you do with your non-keeper hard copy books?
Well, I know a lot of the online book community members are major e-reader people, but I am not. I don’t actually have anything against them, I’m not one of those people. I actually like them, I love how available they’ve made books to everybody and I have noticed I read faster on e-readers (or it feels that way because I can’t mark my progress the same as with a physical copy), but I have a little trouble with reading on screens and let’s face it, there is nothing like holding a book in your hands. The weight, the smell, the texture, everything about physical books appeals to me.

All of this is to say:  I have lots of hard copy books. Not as many as some people, but considering I have so little money, I think 600 books is quite a stash.

I try to stick to the rule of only buying copies of books I already know I like. If it’s a book I haven’t read I like to just get it from the public library, and if I like it I’ll put it on my list of books to buy. That way I don’t spend my extremely limited book buying money on books I don’t like.

However, I am pretty terrible at following my own rule… I go to my favorite bookstore, Recycled Books, and I start off looking for books from my list and next thing I know it’s been 3 hours and my my husband (or mother) is standing over me where I’ve sat down on the floor with at least 2 stacks of books, probably more, and lost myself in some book or other. (Tip: If you tell yourself you’ll just read a page or two to see if you want to buy a book, don’t believe yourself. If you are anything like me you will read several chapters before you even realize it.)

AND NOW THAT I’VE TALKED ABOUT A TON OF STUFF LET ME ANSWER THE ACTUAL QUESTION:  When I do wind up with physical books I don’t want to keep, either because I got distracted from my list or because I hit up some garage sale where they had books for a quarter and I couldn’t stop myself, what do I do with them?

I take them back to the aforementioned favorite used bookstore and trade them in for store credit! And then I get to go shopping for more books!! Hurray!

(I’m so sorry, I really didn’t stay on topic even a little bit today…)

Musing Monday: September 25, 2017

LeeLeave a comment

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme, hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker, that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ____, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Do you like book clubs or not?

I blogged about ____ this past week…

  • Monday, September 18 – Musing Monday, showing off a new book I got & talking about background noise, and a review of Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan.
  • Tuesday, September 19 – A progress update for Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor, then Teaser Tuesday (also using DoBaS).
  • Wednesday, September 20 – A rating post for Days of Blood & Starlight, a belated WWW Wednesday, WAYRW, then a bookstagram for The Runner by Cynthia Voigt.
  • Thursday, September 21 – Thursday Quotables, using The Runner, and then a rating post for the same novel.
  • Friday, September 22 – As usual, First Lines Friday & Friday 56 (the latter using Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor).
  • Saturday, September 23 – I managed two chapters of Persuasion this week, and I posted my usual progress update for that.

Do you like book clubs or not?
Uh… In theory?

I’ve never actually been in a book club, so I can’t say for sure. I like the idea of being in one, but I’ve never seen a book club of adults who read a ridiculous amount of YA novels!

Musing Monday: September 18, 2017

Lee2 Comments

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme, hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker, that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ____, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Do you like something playing in the background while reading?

I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
My husband got me a Color Your Own Wolverine book from our local comic store!

It’s a coloring book so it’s not technically about reading, but I don’t actually care, it’s awesome.

Do you like something playing in the background while reading?
I actually try to keep something playing in the background during literally everything I do. I have a problem with ambient noises (e.g. leaves blowing, water running, etc.) triggering panic attacks so I typically have a tv show or music going at all times for white noise.

In fact, that’s how I know I’m reading a really good book. Because sometimes I’ll get so absorbed in a novel that whatever I have playing in the background can stop and I won’t even notice for quite some time.

So, yes, I like to have something playing in the background, but also reading is the only time I can have silence and not feel anxiety because of it. So I’m an odd duck…

Musing Monday: September 11, 2017

LeeLeave a comment

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme, hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker, that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ____, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Do you plan a reading list while on vacation?

I blogged about ____ this past week…

Do you plan a reading list while on vacation?
Welp… I’ve literally never been on a vacation so… But I know if I was going on one I would want books so I probably would do this.

Musing Monday: August 28, 2017

LeeLeave a comment

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme, hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker, that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ___, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Do you find yourself reading more or less as the school season starts?

I blogged about ____ this past week…

Do you find yourself reading more or less as the school season starts?
I haven’t been in school for a while now, but back when I was I always read more during the school year. It seemed like the more I had to do, the more I just wanted to read!

Musing Monday: August 21, 2017

LeeLeave a comment

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme, hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker, that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ___, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Do you steer away from heavy emotional books?

I blogged about ____ this past week…

  • Monday, August 14 – Musing Monday, where I talked about what I was reading at the moment and whether YA was just for teens.
  • Tuesday, August 15 – Teaser Tuesday using Crashed by Robin Wasserman, then a joint update on my progress through Crashed and Pretties by Scott Westerfeld, which I finished later that same day.
  • Wednesday, August 16 – My longest ever WWW Wednesday post in the morning, a little update on Crashed, then WAYRW in the evening (also using Crashed).
  • Thursday, August 17 – Thursday Quotables, pulling a quote from Persuasion this time, then that night I finished and did a rating post for Crashed.
  • Friday, August 18 – I got a review posted for Crashed in the wee hours of Friday morning, then a First Lines Fridays post later that morning, a currently reading photo post featuring Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor and Specials by Scott Westerfeld, and in the evening a Friday 56 using Strange the Dreamer.
  • Saturday, August 19 – My weekly update on my slow progress through Jane Austen’s Persuasion was the only post on Saturday.
  • Sunday, August 20 – A couple little commentary posts on Strange the Dreamer.

Do you steer away from heavy emotional books?
Not always, but a lot of the time yes. I don’t mind when a book makes me emotional, but I have a tendency to over-empathize with the characters in novels so if they are constantly feeling stressed and sad and hopeless I too feel stressed and sad and hopeless. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t read a heavy book if it was good enough, but it would probably take me some time and I would almost certainly need something lighter to pick me back up when it was done.

Musing Monday: August 14, 2017

LeeLeave a comment

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme, hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker, that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ___, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What are your feelings on YA? Do you think it is just for young adults or do you think it’s cool full grown adults like it too.

I’m currently reading…

 

I was having a little trouble getting into Crashed, which I anticipated (not because I didn’t want to read it, but because I find Lia kind of annoying) so I thought it would be a good time to do a reread of something easy to get through as well. I was going to do the whole Uglies series, but I reread book 1 not too long ago, so I just jumped straight to Pretties.

I’m also still working my way through Persuasion… I’ll read another chapter of that this week just like I committed to doing, though I don’t think I’ll do more than the one.

Interesting things are starting to happen in Crashed about 1/3 of the way in, but I’m already 2/3 of the way through Pretties so I’ll probably get to Specials (Uglies, book 3, my favorite of the series) before Crashed is completely finished. We shall see!

What are your feelings on YA? Do you think it is just for young adults or do you think it’s cool full grown adults like it too.
Well, as a 25-year-old reading YA, I might be a bit biased… Honestly, I fully believe that this genre is for anyone and everyone.

In fact, when I first became an “adult” I tried to move on from YA, thinking that it was only for teens or whatever, but what I found was a lot of books with the exact same disappointing storylines interspersed with unnecessary sex scenes. So I went back to what I enjoyed!

That isn’t to say that I don’t ever read anything else, but YA is my main deal (as you can probably tell if you have ever looked at my blog for even a minute).