I should specify that The Mortal Instruments (TMI) was previously turned into a movie in 2013, and not such a great movie at that. Yet, still the excitement for the new TMI t.v. show, titled simply "Shadowhunters", has taken over my free time recently. I scour the twitterverse a few times daily looking for more TMI news like a fiend. It's a problem, yet not a problem I particularly hate having, I can't lie.

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But I get ahead of myself. I was suppose to start this post with a little PSA. For anyone who's part of our bookclub, you're probably (maybe?) wondering where the hell April's book review is. Kay and I have had a super busy month and neither of us has actually finished the novel yet. So instead of pushing dates back or not giving a novel I've heard is fantastic the attention and recognition it deserves, we're gonna roll it over to next month. Meaning the May book of the month is Aristotle and Dante Discover the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz and we'll be reviewing it on Tuesday, June 2nd. Okay? Okay. Now back to all the Shadowhunter talk...

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Beware, this is one for the bookworms, a-hem, bookdragons.

Photo from @the_mortal_instruments on IG.

After waiting months since the announcement of the show in October of 2014, we've been inundated with so much news this past two weeks. All of said news has made me so excited for the show that I'm currently re-reading the 700+ paged City of Heavenly Fire even though I have dozens of other books I need to read. Priorities...

Generally, I love them. Just simply love.

Jace Wayland - He is just so perfect as Jace! Movie Jace (Jamie Campbell Bower) didn't really match Book Jace in my head, so while everyone was hoping for Jamie to reprise the role, I was ready for some new, admittedly hot, blood. And that's exactly what we got for our TV Jace, Dom Sherwood.

Simon Lewis & Isabelle Lightwood - Now despite all the uproar about this casting (more on this in the next section), this might be my favorite casting of them all. I spent the better part of an afternoon watching tape of Alberto Rosende (Simon) and OMG he is such a great actor. I'm most excited to see what he does with this role. As for Emeraude Toubia (Isabelle), she is exactly how I pictured Isabelle - long black hair, full lips, and simply stunning.

Clary Fray - I wasn't as invested in Clary's casting beforehand because honestly, I don't think it takes much to physically cast her character. But somehow, Kat McNamara looks like I expected Clary to look.

Alec Lightwood & Luke Garroway - At first, I was just okay with both of these. I love Kevin Zegers but I did think he was too old for the part in the movie so I was glad to get someone younger (although TV Alec, Matt Daddario, looks like like a baby). And Luke, well although I actually really liked Movie Luke, I didn't mind the casting of Isaiah Mustafa. However, both of these choices grew on me, especially after hearing Isaiah's clip, and they are perfect for the roles.

Cassandra Clare, the author of all Shadowhunter series including TMI, just shot to the top of my favorite authors/persons list. Although I love her novels and The Infernal Devices trilogy is one of my favorites ever, it's her comments on the casting and her response to unreasonable tweets that has made me obsessed with her twitter feed these past few days.

Cassie has make it crystal clear - she supports diversity. As casting news began to leak and the show began selecting more diverse actors for the character roles, she said this:

You can read her more in depth response to a fan question on her tumblr here, but basically, she's perfectly fine, happy even, with the wide range of representation in her cast of characters. Expanding upon the tweet above, she speaks candidly saying that she told producers and the network that "...while the characters who are characters of color in the book (Magnus, Maia, Raphael) must remain as characters of color, and be cast that way, I [have] no such feelings about characters who were white or white-assumed."

At that statement, I legit put down my phone and clapped. Because, there is no denying it - she just gets it. I love when people understand the struggle of others although they aren't necessarily similarly situated. Cassie acknowledges that her privilege exists and she aims to connect with her diverse readers by supporting the inclusion of diversity in derivatives of her work, although it wasn't as present in her original.

But she went even further than that. Cassie took to twitter after the casting announcement last week, informing fans that the characters of Simon and Isabelle would be played by a Latin actor and actress. In response to tweets complaining that the original characters were not hispanic and "no! so is the entire Lightwood family gonna be Spanish now?" and "but how can Simon be Jewish if he's Latin now?" (and about a hundred other comments ranging from simply misinformed to what I would consider outright racist), Cassie responded to her fans via direct tweets and retweeted particularly prejudicial tweets as a means of "calling her fans out". Unlike many authors whose work becomes the subject of controversy, Cassie didn't "stay out of it" but rather jumped in to defend her characters, the casting decisions and diverse representation like a, well, like a Shadowhunter :)

We may have known the show was coming, but all of this casting talk has made it seem like such a reality. In regards to casting and the addition of diversity, I'm all for it. So long as we have an Isabelle who's sassy, a Jace who's smart-assy, a Simon who's charmingly awkward and a Luke who's as kind as he is wise (among all the other things we love about Cassie's characters), I'm game.

What do you think about the Shadowhunters casting? In fact, what are your thoughts about casting for book adaptations in general? Discuss it with me below!

To Fill Up & Live | Love Lucy

Before I jump into March's book review, I wanted to thank you all for all the support you've shown Skylights Magazine over the past two weeks! It's been a whirlwind and I'm so grateful. I've written a post over there about learning how to edit as a writer, if you're interested :)

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Title: Love, Lucy

Author: April Lindner

Publication: 2015

I feel bad for this book. Not because I didn't enjoy it because I did. However, because of the subject matter of this novel, it gets compared to and falls a little short of other novels that I love. Love Lucy is a novel about travel and romance and a bit of self-discovery. In that vein, it gets placed in my mental library beside one of my favorites, Anna and the French Kiss, as well as a recent read, My Life Next Door. As I've mentioned already in a full review, Anna and the French Kiss is a story about travel, first loves and self discovery, while My Life Next Door (thoughts coming later this month) is a story of family and summer romances. Both were phenomenal. And however unfairly, Love Lucy just can't hold a candle to either of those novels.

That's not to say that I didn't enjoy it because I absolutely did! Linder's writing style was solid and she did a wonderful job of making the reader long for foreign places. I felt like I was 16 again (the age I traveled to Italy) awestruck by all of the Italian scenery. When I visited I really adored both Florence, which is like a European NYC, and Rome, so seeing those places again was a bit nostalgic. And I really loved the mention of the classic Roman Holiday - great movie! I also really liked the message of this novel for our main character Lucy. About following your heart both on a personal and professional level. The pressures of society and family especially can be heavy to bare so it was good to see a character struggling with some of those things and figuring them out. It made the novel interesting, although I have to admit that some parts got a little repetitive and I may have skimmed through quite a few chapters (Eep!).

For me, where Love Lucy falls short of the two novels mentioned earlier is in the love department. Although I liked the characters individually, Lucy and her Italian beau Jesse just didn't seem to have much chemistry beyond the typical "whirlwind foreign romance" variety of most travel books. Don't get me wrong, they serve a purpose in each other lives in this book. But it's a purpose that could be furthered by a friendship just as much as a relationship. That ache of loving someone? I just didn't feel it. And because of that, as one of those readers that loves shipping her characters, I couldn't really connect with the progression of the storyline.

All in all, Love Lucy was a fun read. If you're looking for a novel about travel and how it changes you, this is a decent option. Is it worth an impulsive purchase on your Kindle and a speedy read through? Probably so. Will it change you? Probably not.

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April's book is Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

Winner of multiple awards, including the Prince Award, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a heart-warming novel about the classic tale of how polar opposites attract, about that friendship that can change the course of your life. Having heard so very much about the brilliance of this novel, I have been looking forward to reading it for over a year, so I'm very excited to jump into it this month! This would be a great month to join us! Review will be on May 5th.

Did you read Love Lucy with us this month? Got any thoughts? Or maybe some recommendations for travel, romance books? Let me know!

To Fill Up & Live | Ugly Love

Title: Ugly Love

Author: Colleen Hoover

Publication: 2014

Major Character(s): Tate and Miles

Main Plot: Tate, fresh out of university and starting grad school, has little time to dedicate to a relationship. So it seems like a blessing when she meets Miles, who is the definition of emotionally unavailable, and the two decide to engage in a purely physical relationship instead. But things are never really that simple, are they?

Favorite Lines:
"God gives us the ugliness so we don't take the beautiful things in life for granted."

"Some people they grow wiser as they grow older. Unfortunately, most people just grow older."

"She's like poetry. Like prose and love letters and lyrics, cascading down the center of a page."

My Rating: 4.7

Confession: I'm a skimmer. Well not habitually but sometimes I'll start reading a new book by skimming it first, just flipping the pages. First thing I noticed about Ugly Love was the switching of point of view between the two main characters and how Miles' chapters were set six years earlier and the prose was formatted strangely. And I groaned because I just knew I was going to hate it. Lies! It was my favorite! I loved Miles chapters. They read like a diary. No more than that. The lovely 'stream of consciousness' writing flowed like the lyrics to a song, bopping along to a melody only Miles could hear. And what makes me love it even more is that it fits his mentality and feelings perfectly, and is surely something Hoover intended and it's perfect!

So it's fair to say that I really enjoyed Hoover's writing style. I also really liked the story! Truthfully, I was surprised by the existence of a storyline - Fifty Shades of Grey really set the bar low for storylines in New Adult books for me - and that said storyline was actually laid out and executed very well. And I enjoyed the sexy times immensely. Am I allowed to say that? Does it make you completely uncomfortable to read that? Oh, well. I did! And you'd be hard-pressed (hehe, a pun!) to find someone who can say they didn't. I found that Hoover used sex as a mechanism to display how either a relationship was developing or falling apart. It never felt arbitrary and so it felt less like reading soft-core porn.

I also really loved Hoover's characters (especially Cap!). Don't get me wrong, I had issues with every single one of them and found myself getting frustrated with their decisions. But I still liked them, which to me is the true test of characters and their development. If I like a character or can really appreciate their story arch - if I care about what happens to them -, then an author has truly done her job. Hoover's characters are believable and feel very real. I get them and their motivation, despite whether I agree with their choices or not. (As my dear Kristen would say, some things were just unforgivable.) My heart felt for Miles while truly understanding Tate. I wanted happiness for them both and found myself rooting for them less than 30 pages into the novel. And most of all, I loved that they both developed throughout the story. Every character in Ugly Love ended up different and, I would argue, better people on the other side of things.

Overall, I'm so glad this was our book choice this month. It was love-related without being too lovey-dovey and it managed to be a heart-warming story despite the heavier topics it handled. It was a quick read because I constantly wanted to know what happened next as I was so invested in the story from the very beginning, only coming up for air after the final page.  If you're into contemporary reads and don't mind a little lust in the pages of your novel, definitely pick this one up!

Did you read along with us this month? Any thoughts on Ugly Love? Link up your review below and of course, let me know what you thought in the comments below.



Also, do you regularly read New Adult books? If so, I'd like some suggestions as this genre is relatively new to me.  

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March's book is Love Lucy by April Lindner. 

During her summer in Florence, Italy, Lucy finds herself falling in love with all the the city has to offer - all of it. Once she returns home, she finds out that moving on from an experience like that is easier said than done. We hope you'll read along with us and join us in reviewing Love Lucy on Tuesday, April 7th!

To Fill Up & Live | My True Love Gave To Me

Look at me, kicking off my resolutions right with my first book review! Technically, it was December's book, but po-tae-to, po-tah-to.

Title: My True Love Gave To Me
Authors: Holly Black, Ally Carter, Matt De La Peña, Gayle Forman, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Myra McEntire, Stephanie Perkins, Rainbow Rowell, Laini Taylor, and Kiersten White
Editor: Stephanie Perkins
Publication: 2014

I've never reviewed a collection of short stories and I'm not sure how to do it effectively. I do know that if I wait until I've finished the entire book, I'm sure to forget what I thought of earlier stories. So here's a compilation of my thoughts for each story, recorded as I read each one. (Note: stories marked with a "*" are my favorites.)

Midnights by Rainbow Rowell *
"You're like a kaleidoscope. You change every time I look away."
"'You guys really fell asleep against Michigan.' 'I'm not actually on the football team,' Noel said. 'That's no excuse,' Mrs. Porter said." :)

LOVE. I'm obsessed with this story and the main characters Mags and Noel and their series of New Year's Eves. Especially Noel. This entirely too-short, short story made me laugh, swoon, aww and gasp all within the span of 22 pages. I hadn't read a Rainbow Rowell novel in a while, and although I knew I loved her work so much, I couldn't pinpoint why. Then I read Midnights and a page in I'm face-palming myself because, hello, she just tells such a wonderful story in such a wonderful way. Rainbow is most definitely still my homegirl. I read it again before continuing on to any of the other short stories in the book #sorrynotsorry #notatall.

Polaris Is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han

It was a very cute story with an interesting premise - the only little girl in the North Pole surrounded by Santa and his elves. However, it felt a bit rushed, launching into a new idea two pages before the end, so it feels like an afterthought. I did really liked her character voice, and the writing style sucks you in. It's my first Jenny Han story (although I have two of her books) and it makes me anxious to pick up her novels.

Your Temporary Santa by David Leviathan 

I'm torn about this one. I could sense there were deeper issues that got glossed over in this very short (10 pages!) short story. [I did really like how it featured a homosexual relationship in a way that was ancillary to the story and therefore, equated it with any other relationship, instead of setting it apart.]

The Lady and The Fox by Kelly Link
If I thought I was torn about the last one, than I'm being tormented by this one. In a word: Weird. Really weird. I felt like I was in a haze while I read this story, but I couldn't put it down. The premise started out really interesting, a girl who spends each Christmas with the family of her mother's close friend, but then it spins off into these paranormal aspects that I wasn't sure what to do with. Hmm.

Angels in the Snow by Matt De La Peña *
I hate to admit it but I did not expect to like this short story. I don't read many things from a male point of view and the story of a college boy, house sitting for a wealthy friend and starving over the holidays doesn't sound like something that belongs in a holiday collection of short stories. But I loved it! The protagonist's voice was real and funny, and the interactions in the story were honest and heart-warming at times. What I thought was a story about starving for the holiday turned out to be one about getting your fill.

It's A Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins *
"A thrill went through her, hearing his voice again at such a close range. Superior and aloof, but definitely with that paradoxical underpinning of friendly amusement. It probably allowed him to get away with saying all sorts of rude things. "

Eeee, all the feels! I knew Stephanie Perkins was going to bring them (of course!) but I didn't expect so much from 20 pages. North rivals Noel in crushable male characters, for sure. Perkins just knows how to write such interesting characters in the most unlikely situations and make you eat it all up. Like Midnights, I could have used about 200 more pages of this story. The Perkins "girl meets boy + adventure = the feels!" never misses!

Krampslauf by Holly Black 
Reviews says that this short story was one of the worst and they couldn't even read it. I can't figure out why for the life of me. I really, really enjoyed it! It's mostly based in reality, but there's an element of paranormal and it's a darker story for sure. The characters were great (like Wren) and the story was really intriguing and creative. Overall, cool is the best way I know to describe it.

Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White *
"The door opens with a rusted jingle, and an animatronic Santa insults my moral virtue three times. Ho, ho, ho."
"And there - when he smiles, his whole faces lights up. It's like his other expressions are placeholders."

If I thought I loved Noel and North, Ben might just be my soulmate. This story, about a little town named after a joyous holiday, told by a less-than-joyous teenage girl, ends up being one of the most heart-warming of the collection. White's characters are realistic and lovable, and her prose is fantastic, I love the ease with which she writes. Also, White is a whiz at dialogue, using witty, funny and charming banter to break up heavier themes. I smiled through the story, laughed out loud a few times and even teared up a little bit. After reading this short story, I only have one regret: not reading a Kiersten White story sooner.

What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman *
"Of all the things and people she missed lately, it was odd to find herself at the top of that list."

Oh. This. Was. Good. And so relatable for me. Sophie Roth is a Brooklyn girl attending college in the middle of west bumble, where her classmates call her "big city" and she has to clearly indicate when she being sarcastic which is most of the time. Hello, Kari circa 2006! I smiled, giggled and laughed my way through this entire story. So much banter! And mixed in with a few tender moments and another male of the crushable variety. Six foot five, tall, dark and handsome male lead? Yes, please. (Clearly, this collection has made me boy crazy.)

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire

This is a very cute story told from the point of view of the boy who ruined the Pastor's Christmas pageant and is covertly pining after the Pastor's daughter. Classic bad boy likes the good girl but a cute read nonetheless.

The Girl Who Woke The Dreamer by Laini Taylor
After reading the first few pages, I wanted to put this one down, which is ironic because I've heard it takes a few chapters to get into Taylor's phenomenal novel Daughter of Smoke Bone as well. The story was just a bit strange and kind of uncomfortable. Not that it was bad or boring, but it just didn't feel like a story that belonged in a holiday collection. And after completing it, it still doesn't feel like it belongs, but it's less weird and more wonderful. I kind of wish I'd read it separately because expecting it to be cheery and bright is what stopped me from fully appreciating it. One thing was clear: Laini Taylor's writing is wonderful. It's full and luscious and a blend between the easy writing of most YA authors and the complexity of classic novelists.

Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter
I feel bad. This was the last short story I read, and I feel like by the time I got to it, I was all burnt out on cutesy holiday stories and ready to plunge into the novels of the authors I'd just discovered. Something about the story felt rushed and like a network Christmas movie to me. It kind of felt like a whirlwind of unlikely, followed by impossible, succeeded by no-freaking-way.   

The skaters on the front cover represent the couples in all 12 stories, which proved to be way too exciting for me as I flipped to the cover after every story to i.d. them. I was almost right - I was so sure  the "Laini" couple was Mags & Noel from Rainbow's story because they're dancing :)

Here's my rating for the collection as a whole. (Btw, I'm rating with bows now. Not that it's particularly significant to books or my blog. I just really like bows!)

4.5!

This collection may have been the perfect way to end the new year with. Now, I have new authors I'm excited to read! What did you think of My True Love Gave To Me? Got a favorite short story of the bunch? If you reviewed the book along with us, please link up below!

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Note to self: deceptively short stories = long reviews :)

With a new year comes new books for our book club! And a new genre of books as well. Kay suggested this month's book and I'm glad she did because we've never read a non-fiction novel. January's book of the month is: Orange Is The New Black by Piper Kerman.

Buy this novel!

If the novel is anywhere near as hilarious as season 1 of the show, we are all in for a treat! A ten year old decision becomes Piper Kerman worst nightmare when it lands her in jail for a year and a half. Pick up this memoir to find out what landed her there and all the hilarious and heartbreaking stories she has to share about it. As you read, you can take a look at these discussion questions to get you thinking about the book. I hope you'll be joining us this month, and sharing what you thought come Tuesday, February 3rd in a review!

Happy Reading!

Ghostwriting and Why Zoella Is NOT An Author

"Never judge a book by it's cover" holds a lot more weight than we thought.

Have you heard?! YouTube star Zoella wrote a book, except - she didn't. A few months ago, she began circulating the news that she would soon be releasing a fiction novel based on her life. Well, it's out, and so is the scandalous fact that she, in fact, didn't write the book. Her novel, Girl Online, was received excellently by her throngs of build-in YouTube fans, and broke the record for highest ever first week sales for a debut author, outselling the phenomenal and talent writer J.K. Rowling. I italicized 'writer' because despite Zoella's insistence that she's always wanted to be a writer and that the story and characters were her own, she is most definitely not a writer.

Photo Credit

Ghostwriting has been around forever. A ghostwriter is simply a writer retained to write a novel, report, article or any other kind of writing on the behalf of another person, without being listed as the author on the front cover. I remember hearing about ghostwriting in the music industry, specifically ghostwriters composing all of P.Diddy's rhymes, when I was younger. At that point, I didn't really think too much of it. I was writing back then, but nothing more than creating characters, main plot points and maybe penning a chapter or two. Now, that I've struggled through the process of writing something, most recently the fifty thousand words for NaNoWriMo 2014, I'm appalled at the business of ghostwriting (not collaborating, which to me is entirely different) for two major reasons.

You're Being Dishonest

This first point of contention isn't so much an issue with ghostwriting in theory as it is with the industry in practice. As was the case with Zoella's (Zoe Sugg) Girl Online and probably so many other novels we don't know about, there is no mention anywhere on the book that it was ghostwritten. In this vlog, she makes the big announcement that Penguin publishing house contacted her regarding the writing style of her personal blog and suggested that she write a book. But as she continues to talk about the premise of the novel, it seems as though she's not acquainted well enough with the storyline to relay it to her viewers properly. She makes no mention of actually writing the book or using a ghostwriter in this video or any subsequent videos, aside from claiming that her "dream has been to write a book." So says most people, sister. Zoe mentions working really closely with an editor and an "editorial consultant" but doesn't clarify that "working really closely" and "helping [her] out" is actually code for "I didn't write this." Adding insult to injury, rumor has it that Siobhan Curham, Zoe's ghostwriter, only received about $11,000 for her part in Girl Online. My little writing heart is screaming in disbelief.

You're Not A Writer

I struggle with writing. Being a writer doesn't mean that you don't struggle with it, just that you push past it. In defense of her novel, Zoe insists that the characters and the plot were entirely her own. I'm sure this is representative of the thinking of many celebrity (or semi-celebrity) 'authors'. But as someone who is deep in the thick of piecing together a coherent novel from scraps of plot and characterization, the writing of the book takes place in, surprise!, the actual writing of the book. Initial character development and major storyline is just the beginning (the characters and major plot of my current work were create over a year ago!). Once the writing process begins, characters show you what they're really made of, some plot points get switched up and others ex'd out altogether. Midway through, you look back at what you have and you barely recognize the manuscript as even remotely related to what you had in the beginning. To claim that throwing characters and plot points out there is in any way equivocal to writing a novel is to claim that choosing paint colors and hauling a brick or two out to a plot of land means you've built a house. No. Just no.  

What do you think about ghostwriting? Do you care if the listed author was not the actual author?

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While I'm talking about books and before you run out to do your last minute shopping, consider picking up our December book of the month while you're out there!

My True Love Gave To Me by Stephanie Perkins et. al. 

I read Rainbow Rowell's story, Midnights, yesterday and was completely and expectantly blown-away. Anything Rainbow writes is an insta-love for me. I loved it so much I reread it before turning to any of the other stories :) If you're joining us this month (Kay and I will be linking up on January 6th!), I hope your enjoying the novel just as much. And if you haven't joined us yet, what are you waiting for?!

When You're Behind On Your Reading Challenge...

I love the classics. I do. But let's be real - their awesomeness takes a little while to get through. I don't think I've ever read a good-sized classic novel in less than a week. I also don't think I've ever disliked a classic either so... there's that.

But what's a girl to do when she's almost a dozen books behind on her reading challenge and it's the middle of November? Here are my suggestions to hit that book challenge goal:

When you're trying to hit the reading goal, there are 3 major categories of novels (most of them in YA books) that I suggest you pull from.

When a novel has a continuation, I get excited to keep going, so before I know it I've read three books in one week. Check my Goodreads page. I devoured the first 5 books in the Mortal Instruments series in like two weeks! It's a great way to get sucked out of a reading slump and into a whole new world (with Aladdin? A girl can dream). Before you know it, you're so close to that reading goal.

Below are a few of my suggestions for trilogies/series that are sure to hold your attention and seriously add to your "read books" list just in time for the new year.

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (3 books published; 1 book to go)
The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins (all 3 books published)
The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare (all 3 books published)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (4 books published; 2 or 3 books to go)
The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare (all 6 books published)
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (all 7 books published)

The thing I love about contemporary novels is that they don't take long to get into. They are set in the world we already know and generally deal with elements of life that we've experienced or are familiar with, as opposed to fantasy or dystopians which have a learning curve of sorts. I also find that books about love and life are just faster reads. My go-to book to pull me out of a reading slump is Anna & the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, our November book of the month! Anytime I need a pick me up, it's the book I reach for.

There are so many good contemporaries out there that I can't even attempt to list them, but here are a few that I love.

Anna & the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen (or any Sarah Dessen novel)
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
Where The Heart Is by Billie Letts

This just might be cheating but I mean not really because Goodreads allows it. And we all know that if Goodreads allows it then it counts damn it! Which reminds me that they should really allow you to count rereads towards the book challenge. Anyway, I digress. Short stories, Novellas and Graphic Novels. They're a great source for meeting that reading challenge because (1) they are usually quick reads and (2) in many cases, each short story can be counted. For instance, Four: A Divergent Collection, is a bind up on 4 (surprise, surprise) short stories, all four of which can be marked as 'read'. Hello, four more reads!

Here are a few short story bind-ups, novellas and graphic novels that are on my TBR list.

Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth
The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas
The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare
If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This by Robin Black
Going To Meet The Man by James Baldwin
This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz
Saga by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples
Deadly Class by Rick Remender, Wesley Craig, and Lee Loughridge

How are you doing on your reading challenge? Any suggestions for quick reads to boost your numbers?

Winter Book Challenge 2014

I totally failed at the summer book challenge a few months ago. To be honest, it rare that I actually finish book challenges (ie. I'm only on book 25 of my 50 book Goodreads challenge). But I join them anyway because (1) I'm an eternal optimist and (2) although I don't always complete them, I always read much more than I would have otherwise. Small victories.

So when Kristen's preliminary list for this challenge popped up on my bloglovin' feed, I jumped in excitement. I wasn't going to post today, but then I saw Kristen's post and that the host would be hosting a link-up today, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to join in!

The challenge will run from November 1st to February 28th and there are 12 challenge categories, which is about the same length of time and categories as the summer challenge. But I seem to read a lot more during the fall/winter months, so I have high hopes. Plus, this time around, the books on my TBR list are easier to tailor to the categories which means I'll be excited to read them instead of forcing myself to do so. You can go here for all the challenge rules.

5 points: Freebie! Read any book that fits the general rules.
I'll have no problem with this one!

10 points: Read a book written by an author who has published at least 10 books.
City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare. I burned through the first 6 books in The Mortal Instruments series earlier this year but have yet to read the final book. Clare has written 10 books between her two Shadowhunters series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices.

10 points: Read a book of short stories.
I've been obsessed with the Throne of Glass series for the past month, only taking a break in reading the novels because of this month's spooky theme. But I'll for sure be picking this series up again in November and I'm on the collection of novellas, The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas. More Celaena but no Chaol :\ Whatever, I'll deal.

10 points: Read a book with a food in the title.
Perhaps, Chocolat by Joanne Harris but I don't know.

15 points: Read the first book in a series that is new to you.
For this one, I'm going with Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, the first book in the Grisha Trilogy. It's already on my list of fall reads and I've heard ah-mazing things about the novels so it's a no-brainer.

15 points: Read a book that was originally written in a language that is not your native language.
I'm leaning towards Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, but I'm not 100% sure.

15 points: Read a book written by a local author.
Lucky me! Sarah J. Maas was born and raised in New York, as was I. So I'll probably be reading the next Maas book, Heir of Fire.

20 points: Read a "bookish book" (Check original post for explanation/examples).
I'm leaning towards The Book Thief by Markus Zusak or Mr. Penumbra's 24Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan.

20 points: Read a book with a direction in the title.
No idea. Not a clue what I'll read for this one. I'll update once I figure it out.

25 points: Read a book from a genre you don't usually read.
Did you know that short stories is a genre? For real, it is. I was searching to see if 'holiday novels' was a genre and baaamm! I rarely read short stories - I can't even remember the last one I read - but Four by Veronica Roth has been on my TBR list since July.

25 points: Read a book with a song lyric in the title. (Check original post for examples.)
I'm not the biggest Christmas person, but I've been really looking forward to reading My True Love Gave To Me, a collection of holiday short stories written by various authors and edited by Stephanie Perkins. It's only just now that I realized it's the title of a popular Christmas song.

30 points: Read two books with a different meal in each title.
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote & The Dinner by Herman Koch

Also, because I buy books like a bandit, I have a 15% off coupon for bookoutlet.com that is valid until October 31st. Click here to use my code, which will get you 15% off and also enter me to win a $20 gift card. Win, win!

Are you participating in the winter challenge?

Fall-O-Ween Reads [& a Giveaway!]

Better late than never, right? :)

In case you missed it, Fall-O-Ween kicked off this past Wednesday. And yeah, I'm still brimming with excitement. I really need to find a better word for that. Elation? :\

Is it just me or do you tend to read novels according to seasons? I mean, if a book I'm really looking forward to is released, I'll read it right then no matter what. But I usually binge on cute contemporaries during the spring and summer, while devouring on darker fantasy and dystopians during the fall and winter. And oddly enough, I find that I focus on classics and philosophy type books in the depths of winter. Seasons for reading... who knew?

Well as it's Fall-O-Ween, I've got a horrific list of scary reads on the blog today in video form. Oh, and don't worry! For those of you who aren't into the fright, I've also got a list of books I plan to read for fall (coming very soon!), many of which are darker, but not horrifying. Something for everybody! But even if you're not into it, check out the end of the scary video anyway - spoiler alert: things are being given away!

As it's first friday, it's time for the first linkup! I don't expect everyone to be as into the season as I am, of course, but if you've written a Fall-O-Ween related post in the past week, share it with us below. If it's about books then great, but it could be anything - fall makeup, decorating ideas, recipes, favorites, recaps, birthday plans, fashion - you name it! I'm ready for an influx of Fall-O-Ween spirit.

Giveaway!

And finally (& probably the best part!), use the Rafflecopter below to enter the first giveaway of Fall-o-ween! Details of the prize in the "Scary Books" video above!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway!

Before jumping into the reason any of you clicked on this post, I'm slipping in a little update regarding books. I'm still trying to complete the Semi-Charmed Reading Challenge and I wish I could say I'm excelling on all fronts but I am most definitely not. I read 3 books towards the challenge last month (90 points in total now), which may seem like something but I've only got one more month to finish up and there are just so many more books to read (#storyofmylife).

• 5 points for a freebie book: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
• 10 points for a book I couldn't finish the first time around: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
• 15 points for a book on the NY Times Bestsellers List: Saga Vol. 1 (#2 on the Paperback Graphic Books)

I also participated in the Book-Tube-A-Thon, a week-long reading marathon, in the middle of July. It was first time really participating and I finished 3 books during that week - two of the books above (Attachments & Saga) as well as The Great Gatsby, which I had been trying to read forevvveerrrr. I win!

I feel like I've written the word 'book' like eleventy times in the post. Here's eleventy-one. Wanna win a book? We're hosting a giveaway! 

Kay and I are really, really excited about our August book of the month, Big Little Lies by Liana Moriarty, and what better way to share the excitement than to give it away. Enter below!

Giveaway Hosts:

The Kari Diaries

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The Kay Times

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

What have you been reading recently?

Binge-Reading All The Wrong Books?

So, I missed the first month's check-in for the Semi-Charmed Book Challenge. Not that I would've had much to report (I didn't read very much in May). But I'm checking-in for the second month with suboptimal progress, but nonetheless, checking-in.


I crafted my preliminary challenge list strategically, keeping in mind the books I wanted to read and fitting them into the categories, so that this wouldn't happen. It's weird. I've been reading like a mad woman, but I've so little headway regarding this challenge. I got sucked into the vortex that is The Mortal Instruments and could pick up nothing else for nearly a month. And I still have yet to break out of the YA bubble. (I like my bubble!)

I've only completed two of the challenge categories, totaling 60 points:

• 15 points for We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (book read by another blogger)
• 20 points for The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
• 25 points for Cress by Marissa Meyer

I can't say I'm disappointed in that progress though, at least not in general. I've read 8 books this past month, which averages to a book every 4 days or so. I haven't devoured novels like this for years. I do, however, plan to read at least two of the books on my challenge list very soon. Attachments is the To Fill Up & Live BookClub book of the month for July, and if I don't read Great Gatsby soon, I'm not sure I ever will. I've also heard so many good things about Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor, so that may be moving up on the TBR list as well. And book! So many books, so little time :)

Off I go to continue re-watching (aka binge-watching) Gossip Girl season 2. My addictive personality is showing I know.

What have you read recently? Are you participating in any reading challenges?

Summer Is For Reading

Every one of the 7 books I've read this year has been a YA novel. You could say that I could stand branching out into other genres. It's just so hard to walk away from those pretty covers, damn it! So when I saw this Semi-Charmed Summer Book Challenge by Megan on Mae's blog, I thought "what a great way to get into some new books". Of course, I slipped a YA in there when I could under certain categories (you can take the girl outta the YA but not the YA out.. of... the.. girl??) but I tried to choose "grown up" books as well. Whatever that means. I also found ways to fit in certain books that have been on my TBR list. Here's a preliminary list of the books I plan to read.

5 points: Freebie! Read any book that is at least 200 pages long.
-- Attachments or some other novel by Rainbow Rowell
10 points: Read a book that was written before you were born.
-- Emma by Jane Austen
10 points: Finish reading a book you couldn't finish the first time around. (You must have at least 150 pages left in the book to use it for this category.)
-- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
10 points: Read a book from the children's section of the library or bookstore.
-- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
15points: Read a book that is on the The New York Times' Best Sellers List when you begin reading it.
-- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt [#3 on the Fiction Best Sellers List] (775 pages!)
15 points: Read a historical fiction book that does not take place in Europe.
-- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen or Serena by Ron Rash
15 points: Read a book another blogger has already read for the challenge.
-- TBD!
20 points: Read a book with "son(s)," "daughter(s)" or "child(ren)" in the title.
-- Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
20 points: Read a book that was/will be adapted to a film in 2014.
-- The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
25 points: Read a book written by a blogger.
-- Cress by Marissa Meyer [She had a book review blog at marissameyer.livejournal.com before she published The Lunar Chronicles and moved over to her official website, so this technically counts]
25 points: Read a biography, autobiography or memoir.
-- Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg or maybe Wild by Cheryl Strayed
30 points: Read a pair of books with antonyms in the title.
-- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and Reality Boy by A.S. King



Anyone else participating in this challenge? Have you read any books on my list? What do you think?

Books To Be Read 2014

Isn't she lovely? *insert goggly heart eyes here*

The Law Library of Munich

It's been said 74615 times, but of course I can't believe there's only 3 weeks left until the end of the year. Wasn't I just embarking on my final semester of law school like yesterday?! I don't know how much I'm looking forward to mistakenly writing "2013" for the first few months of the year (seriously, it always takes me like 2 months to adjust!), but I know I'm excited to set a new reading goal for 2014.

Last year, I set a goodreads goal to read 6 books for the year. What? 6 books is like nothing! I know. Now, that I'm a normal person I look at that number with embarrassment. But when you are in law school you couldn't be further from being a normal person, and you are lucky if you finish your case reading every night. As I explained in this post, I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to read one book, and I finally completed the first book towards my goal in September! According to my goodreads counter (check my sidebar to be goodreads friends!), I've read 4 books, which means I have to read 2 in the next 3 weeks - totally doable. I just started Pride and Prejudice, a novel I should've read years ago but never got around to it. And, I will finish the year out with either Divergent or One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. 

But this post is about my "to be read" list of 2014. With all this free time on my hands, I've become obsessed with reading, writing and book reviews, and I must admit that it feels great to fall back into those things again. So, I'm excited to compile a reading list for the upcoming year. I searched on google "how many books can I read in a year" and landed on some community page where people were saying they read 8-15 books per week. Eeeeep! I don't know how that's possible, but my goal is much more modest than that (minuscule in comparison really). I intend to sent a goal of 20 books for 2014, but I don't have a definite list just yet. Here's a list of a few books I'm interested in. Leave me a comment below with lots and lots of suggestions!!

Divergent series by Veronica Roth

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fotzgerald 

Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead

What She Left Behind by Tracy Bilen

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell 

Forever by Pete Hamill

A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Good Lord Bird by James McBride

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

Truly, my interest in some of these novels is peaked by the upcoming movie adaptations and, as I've said before, I don't like seeing a film adaptation without first reading the book.

Do you have a "to be read" list? How many books do you plan to read next year?  

1.

Summer-ish Reading List

Photo Credit

For the past three years, I was never able to just pick up a book and read it. At least not one that entertained me so much that I sat in bed reading it until the morning hours. The only books sleeping with me for the past few years were Contracts or Corporations (aside from those few weeks last year when I took a Law and Literature class and actually got to read Camus and Dostoeysky!). Law school reading is so different from any other kind of reading and while I enjoy Torts law and Securities law because of the dramatic scenarios people get into, neither of those compare to the dark drama of a Bronte sister's novel. It was heartbreaking not to able to curl up with a good novel because I've always loved reading. My father taught me to read from a newspaper when I was four years old, and they say I loved reading aloud and listening to the sound of my own voice (Narcissistic little toddler, wasn't I?). Over the past few months while studying for the bar, I began to put this reading list together. It's a long list because I'm always hearing about new books I want to read, but this is a shorter, "read now" version of it now that I'm free for the final month of the summer:

• The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald
• Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins 
• Atonement by Ian McEwan
• Just Listen by Sarah Dessen 
• Les Misérables by Victor Hugo 
• Divergent by Veronica Roth 
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
• The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde 
• Gossip Girl series by Cecily Von Ziegesar 

The entire list is on my Goodreads account. Be my reading buddy here! ♥

And if you have any thoughts about books I should read or if you've read any of the books on my list, please comment below. I'd love to hear what you think!

xoxo,

Preparing for War

Hello, friends!

My little army of RedBulls! They are going to war for me right now, seriously. I'm running on about 3 hours of sleep per night because the bar exam is less than a week away.

Although "crunchtime" is all about staying up until ungodly hours just to wake up minutes later and hit the books again, it's essential to maintain good health during this time. Does it matter how much you studied if you're sick come exam day?


Well, here are some quick tips on how to stay healthy when you're living that zombie life for a few weeks:

Take Vitamin C daily. Vitamin C protects your immune system, especially when you're under a lot of stress. If you'd rather not take a supplement, oranges, guavas, kiwis and grapefruits are good sources of Vitamin C, so grab a few of those for a healthy snack while you study. (Side note: Now that I mention food, have an egg or cereal for breakfast, especially the day of the exam, as studies show they boost concentration and memory. For more about this and other "brain food", click here!)

Stay hydrated. And no, I don't mean on a RedBull drip (although, I'm deathly close to that right about now). I keep a huge bottle of water nearby while I study. Your body is made up mostly of water (about 60%), so if you're going to stay up for days at a time, be sure to replenish it. Your brain works better when you're hydrated. Plus, cold water has a tendency to satiate hunger and prevent "study munchies", basically stop you from demolishing that bag of Tostitos in your pantry.

Take breaks. I know how tempting it can be to just plow through, but breaks can help you digest the material better. So take a moment to stretch your legs, change your scenery, exercise, listen to a bit of music, go on a coffee run or talk on the phone - anything to reboot. Even computers need to restart sometimes!

Ease into a normal sleeping schedule as the exam date approaches. Although many have warned me against it, all-nighters have been a necessary evil for me at times throughout my academic career. But you also want to be able to get a full night's rest the night before the exam, without feeling groggy in the morning. Your brain is much more astute when it's rested and much less prone to making careless mistakes. I find that the easiest way to do this is to start getting adequate sleep a few nights before. So, cut those all-nighters out 2-3 days before the exam! Also, a related piece of advice: on the days leading up to the exam, try to wake up and start studying around the same time that the exam will be. Your brain won't be accustomed to functioning at it's best at 8am if you've been on an afternoon/late night study schedule.

*Bonus tip! If your exam has a break in-between, be sure not to eat anything too heavy - it will make you sleepy for the rest of the exam! :)


xo,