tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37609214111112706122024-03-13T07:47:24.459-04:00Read. Write. Ramble.Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.comBlogger372125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-69790218200386743432016-01-31T12:29:00.000-05:002016-01-31T12:29:25.654-05:00ALA Midwinter Book Haul Day 2 (Megan)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dRSHnaSB-oY/Vp1WeZHQKeI/AAAAAAAAC0I/8SyZm8EKA4s/s1600/alamw16.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dRSHnaSB-oY/Vp1WeZHQKeI/AAAAAAAAC0I/8SyZm8EKA4s/s320/alamw16.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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As promised, here is my haul from day 2 on the exhibit floor at ALA Midwinter 2016!</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27158835-you-know-me-well?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><br /></span></a></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27158835-you-know-me-well?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>You Know me Well </i>by Nina LaCour and David Levithan</span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H2b9aj28sJA/Vp29cjZhMwI/AAAAAAAAC3k/F4U4xd-oOUE/s1600/you%2Bknow%2Bme%2Bwell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H2b9aj28sJA/Vp29cjZhMwI/AAAAAAAAC3k/F4U4xd-oOUE/s200/you%2Bknow%2Bme%2Bwell.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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When I first heard about this book I squealed with excitement because these two writing a book together is essentially the dream team. Originally we were only going to ALAMW on Saturday, but when we heard David Levithan was signing copies of this book in-booth on Sunday morning we knew we had to go back. He's one of my all-time favorite authors and I was so excited when I met him that I barely even spoke! My awkwardness aside, I now have a really pretty signed ARC of this that I can't wait to read! </div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23688792-these-vicious-masks?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>These Vicious Masks </i>by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas</span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h_gFA9rmnN8/Vp29gSKxYqI/AAAAAAAAC3w/0eTJzy0iCxs/s1600/these%2Bvicious%2Bmasks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h_gFA9rmnN8/Vp29gSKxYqI/AAAAAAAAC3w/0eTJzy0iCxs/s200/these%2Bvicious%2Bmasks.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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My mom actually showed me this book and I thought that the description sounded so interesting! I mean all you had to say to me was Jane Austen meets the X-men and I was totally sold! Usually historical fiction is a shaky genre for me, but with that kind of magical element thrown in I can't refuse.</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24039424-this-is-where-the-world-ends?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>This is Where the World Ends </i>by Amy Zhang</span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GVECf43Atuk/Vp29rqpVlzI/AAAAAAAAC30/uV2PNNCaDtY/s1600/this%2Bis%2Bwhere%2Bthe%2Bworld%2Bends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GVECf43Atuk/Vp29rqpVlzI/AAAAAAAAC30/uV2PNNCaDtY/s200/this%2Bis%2Bwhere%2Bthe%2Bworld%2Bends.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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Amy Zhang certainly knows how to write stories that will rip your heart out. Just from reading the description of this book I know that my heart is going to break for these characters and also that I will probably be very frustrated with the way all of Janie's fellow classmates treat her. I'm interested to see how well Amy Zhang tackles such a difficult issue.</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18520654-the-land-of-10-000-madonnas?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><br /></a></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18520654-the-land-of-10-000-madonnas?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>The Land of 10,000 Madonnas </i>by Kate Hattemer</span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IPMKG1W48hE/Vp29wt8PEWI/AAAAAAAAC38/H1nG1drDXWQ/s1600/the%2Bland%2Bof%2B10000%2Bmadonnas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IPMKG1W48hE/Vp29wt8PEWI/AAAAAAAAC38/H1nG1drDXWQ/s200/the%2Bland%2Bof%2B10000%2Bmadonnas.jpg" width="141" /></a></div>
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I love a good road trip book and a book about backpacking through Europe is even better! Since I'm going to be studying abroad in Europe this time next year, I was really excited to pick this book up. Since the three travelers are coping with the loss of one of their friends, this book should have more substance and heart than the light, fun road trips that I'm used to reading. I'm interested to see how this addition to the story works out!</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25756328-love-gelato?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>Love & Gelato </i>by Jenna Evans Welch</span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g_PgFAQx85I/Vp29xbgq0xI/AAAAAAAAC4I/A1i9KtJkhz0/s1600/love%2Band%2Bgelato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g_PgFAQx85I/Vp29xbgq0xI/AAAAAAAAC4I/A1i9KtJkhz0/s200/love%2Band%2Bgelato.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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The opening lines of this book's description talk about how spending a summer in Italy turns into a road trip across Tuscany. I have always wanted to visit Italy! Hopefully next year I will finally get the chance to, but until then this book seems like a cute read that will hopefully transport me to one of my dream destinations!</div>
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And that's all the books that I got at ALA Midwinter! For my first time attending the conference, this was a ton of fun! It was interesting comparing this to BEA, which is definitely much more hectic. I'll put up a post detailing more of my experience soon!</div>
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Are any of these reads on your TBR? Let me know below!</div>
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-10572075710858934522016-01-25T15:01:00.000-05:002016-01-25T15:01:07.057-05:00ALA Midwinter Book Haul Day 1 (Megan)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dRSHnaSB-oY/Vp1WeZHQKeI/AAAAAAAAC0E/c-dFiinrJ5Q/s1600/alamw16.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="158" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dRSHnaSB-oY/Vp1WeZHQKeI/AAAAAAAAC0E/c-dFiinrJ5Q/s320/alamw16.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image found <a href="http://2016.alamidwinter.org/sites/all/themes/alamw16/images/alamw16.png" target="_blank">here</a></td></tr>
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This year I was lucky enough to attend ALA Midwinter! I went to the conference with my Mom and Rachel the day before I moved back into college in Boston. The timing of the event couldn't have been better because I got to spend the day with both of them before going back to school. I'll do another post detailing more of my experience at the conference later on, but for now here's a book haul from day 1!</div>
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<b>Day 1</b></div>
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The picture above is my haul from day 1. Below I'll post the cover of the book and talk about why I'm excited to have picked it up!</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26095500-the-killer-in-me?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>The Killer in Me</i> by Margot Harrison</span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7of49v_vTDs/Vp1dASBnQPI/AAAAAAAAC0g/BIrf7RRDUp4/s1600/the%2Bkiller%2Bin%2Bme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7of49v_vTDs/Vp1dASBnQPI/AAAAAAAAC0g/BIrf7RRDUp4/s200/the%2Bkiller%2Bin%2Bme.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
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When I stopped by the Disney- Hyperion booth I was immediately drawn in by the description of this book. I've been craving more psychological thriller type novels lately and this debut about a serial killer that may or may not exist was irresistible. </div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25897757-the-may-queen-murders?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>The May Queen Murderers</i> by Sarah Jude</span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o2_VX7hTMyk/Vp1f_KO0EPI/AAAAAAAAC0s/q3DayBTErNk/s1600/The%2BMay%2BQueen%2BMurderers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o2_VX7hTMyk/Vp1f_KO0EPI/AAAAAAAAC0s/q3DayBTErNk/s200/The%2BMay%2BQueen%2BMurderers.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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The idea of a sleepy town with dark secrets has always been an interesting story to me as someone who grew up in a small town. The creepy and mysterious sound of the description and the beautiful cover art sold me on needing to pick up a copy of this book!</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25324111-and-i-darken?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>And I Darken</i> by Kiersten White</span></a></b></div>
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Towards the end of the day Rachel and I saw on Twitter that they were dropping ARCs of Kiersten White's newest book we immediately ran over to the Random House booth. I've been excited about this book for awhile and can't wait to see what Kiersten White does with a high fantasy story. </div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25814192-tuesday-nights-in-1980?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>Tuesday Nights in 1980 </i>by Molly Prentiss</span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_8iNocrW2Ww/Vp2wjR8FvdI/AAAAAAAAC1I/sqjeaspelyo/s1600/tuesday%2Bnights%2Bin%2B1980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_8iNocrW2Ww/Vp2wjR8FvdI/AAAAAAAAC1I/sqjeaspelyo/s200/tuesday%2Bnights%2Bin%2B1980.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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Anyone who knows me knows how much I love New York City and the 1980's. As soon as I saw that this book was about the art scene in 1980's SoHo I was totally sold. </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23502052-dig-too-deep?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><br /></span></a></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23502052-dig-too-deep?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>Dig Too Deep</i> by Amy Allgeyer</span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FtO54Xkq8cI/Vp2wn8-teHI/AAAAAAAAC1Q/5WkvQD43AoI/s1600/dig%2Btoo%2Bdeep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FtO54Xkq8cI/Vp2wn8-teHI/AAAAAAAAC1Q/5WkvQD43AoI/s200/dig%2Btoo%2Bdeep.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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Rachel first told me about this book and when I looked up the description I was drawn in by how interesting it sounded. With a main character who gets in trouble for activism and investigating a local mine, this book sounds like a great story of a teenager trying to make change. I was also lucky enough to meet the author at an in-booth signing and she was so nice! </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26109391-highly-illogical-behavior?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><br /></span></a></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26109391-highly-illogical-behavior?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>Highly Illogical Behavior</i> by John Corey Whaley</span></a></b></div>
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Towards the end of the first day, Penguin had a cute event with hot chocolate and cookies where they gave out copies of this. I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of John Corey Whaley's newest book. The cover is beautiful and the story seems like a unique and interesting read.</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23536973-future-shock?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><br /></a></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23536973-future-shock?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>Future Shock</i> by Elizabeth Briggs</span></a></b></div>
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I met Elizabeth Briggs when she did an in-booth signing with Amy Allgeyer and Dana Elmendorf. I was inspired by all three of these authors talking about how they are friends who are debuting books from the same publisher. This story sounds different from things that I usually read but also interesting and fun. I can't wait to pick it up!</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25622828-the-unfinished-world?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><br /></a></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25622828-the-unfinished-world?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>The Unfinished World and other Stories </i>by Amber Sparks</span></a></b></div>
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Recently I've been trying to diversify my reading. I've been trying to pick up more nonfiction, adult, graphic novels, and short story collections. What caught my attention was initially the beauty of the cover. Once I read the description I was intrigued by the variety in these stories and I can't wait to check them out. </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24346235-south-of-sunshine?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><b><i>South of Sunshine </i>by Dana Elmendorf</b> </span></a></div>
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Dana Elmendorf was the third author that I met at a triple in-booth signing. She was really nice and <i>South of Sunshine</i> interested me because it is a rare romance between two girls in Young Adult. While YA is definitely a progressive genre, it is much more common to see romances involving two boys than two girls so it'll be cool to see how this one is handled.</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27070146-girl-last-seen?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>Girl Last Seen </i>by Heather Anastasiu and Anne Greenwood Brown</span></a></b></div>
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This was another book that I picked up because of my desire to find good psychological thrillers. It centers around famous teenagers who are a part of the music industry. One disappears and the other one is the suspect. Alternating between three points of view, this book will hopefully have all the twists and turns that I want in a thriller!</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22060619-enter-title-here?ac=1&from_search=1" target="_blank"><br /></a></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22060619-enter-title-here?ac=1&from_search=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>Enter Title Here</i> by Rahul Kanakia</span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cB4bI_UUBLg/Vp2w-JPX7GI/AAAAAAAAC2A/Kw4vU5CeIs0/s1600/enter%2Btitle%2Bhere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cB4bI_UUBLg/Vp2w-JPX7GI/AAAAAAAAC2A/Kw4vU5CeIs0/s200/enter%2Btitle%2Bhere.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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Any time there is a book about writing I'm always interested immediately. This debut is written as if the reader is the agent that Reshma, the main character, is sending her story to. After flipping through the first few pages of this and reading the description, I'm curious to see how this style will work for me when reading the whole thing.</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25728101-hot-pterodactyl-boyfriend?ac=1&from_search=1" target="_blank"><br /></a></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25728101-hot-pterodactyl-boyfriend?ac=1&from_search=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend</i> by Alan Cumyn</span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q4i7NNinGRM/Vp2xB-sYSdI/AAAAAAAAC2I/VOwT3p9PQMU/s1600/hot%2Bpterodactyl%2Bboyfriend.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q4i7NNinGRM/Vp2xB-sYSdI/AAAAAAAAC2I/VOwT3p9PQMU/s200/hot%2Bpterodactyl%2Bboyfriend.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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I can't even lie and say that I picked this book up for any reason other than the title made me laugh really hard. I then read the description and it just sounds like a fun, light read that will be just ridiculous enough to keep me laughing the whole time. </div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26153925-with-malice?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>With Malice</i> by Eileen Cook</span></a></b></div>
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This book has been described as being like <i>We Were Liars </i>and <i>The Girl on the Train</i>. I absolutely loved <i>We Were Liars</i> and have made it a new mission of mine to make everyone I know read it and Rachel has told me great things about <i>The Girl on the Train</i>. As soon as I saw that, I knew I had to get a copy of this book!</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23197623-zero-day?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><br /></a></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23197623-zero-day?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>Zero Day </i>by Jan Gangsi</span></a></b></div>
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I'm really into political thriller shows like House of Cards so as soon as I saw this book I was excited to give it a try. I don't often see politics incorporated into Young Adult books so I can't wait to give this one a try!</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23341743-a-totally-awkward-love-story?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><br /></span></a></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23341743-a-totally-awkward-love-story?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>A Totally Awkward Love Story</i> by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison</span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A02qbrTYKXY/Vp2xNgSiZhI/AAAAAAAAC2g/0LOQnA7Eo_k/s1600/a%2Btotally%2Bawkward%2Blove%2Bstory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A02qbrTYKXY/Vp2xNgSiZhI/AAAAAAAAC2g/0LOQnA7Eo_k/s200/a%2Btotally%2Bawkward%2Blove%2Bstory.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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I picked this book up because when I was in the Random House booth one of their publishing people (who's name I didn't catch) did a really awesome job of pitching it. She talked about this book being hysterically funny and the pitch reminded me of <i>Anatomy of a Boyfriend </i>and <i>Anatomy of a Single Girl</i> both of which were reviewed on this blog (<a href="http://readwriteramble.blogspot.com/2013/07/megan-rambles-about-anatomy-of.html" target="_blank">here</a>). Originally published in the UK, I'm glad this book is coming to the US so that I can read it!</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22453727-anna-and-the-swallow-man?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><br /></a></b></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22453727-anna-and-the-swallow-man?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>Anna and the Swallowman</i> by Gavriel Savit </span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rSUXh3oAzus/Vp2wNrMDvDI/AAAAAAAAC08/_j0hRbEC5Ao/s1600/anna%2Band%2Bthe%2Bswallow%2Bman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rSUXh3oAzus/Vp2wNrMDvDI/AAAAAAAAC08/_j0hRbEC5Ao/s200/anna%2Band%2Bthe%2Bswallow%2Bman.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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I don't read that much historical fiction, but I can always get into stories written around and during World War II. This story takes place in Krakow, Poland in 1939. It involves a young girl named Anna who stumbles upon the Swallowman after her father is taken away by the Nazis. The mystery surrounding the Swallowman sounds interesting and this looks like the type of book that will melt away in my hands.</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26240627-the-imitation-game" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><br /></span></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26240627-the-imitation-game" target="_blank"><i>The Imitation Game: Alan Turing Decoded</i> by Jim Ottaviani and Leland Purvis (Illustrations)</a> </span></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rh3dJWyw7No/Vp2xUKF1bCI/AAAAAAAAC2o/pwzxeV5gaVw/s1600/the%2Bimitation%2Bgame%2Bgraphic%2Bnovel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rh3dJWyw7No/Vp2xUKF1bCI/AAAAAAAAC2o/pwzxeV5gaVw/s200/the%2Bimitation%2Bgame%2Bgraphic%2Bnovel.jpg" width="142" /></a></div>
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Another way I'm trying to mix up what I read is by throwing in some graphic novels. I haven't read many of them in my lifetime but have always found them to be unique ways of telling stories. This ARC may be in black and white, but I couldn't think of a more perfect story to make one of my first graphic novels. </div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25679559-you-were-here?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>You Were Here </i>by Cori McCarthy</span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--7F-PIX2L_8/Vp2xeuwImsI/AAAAAAAAC2w/XZDRVLU4cJs/s1600/you%2Bwere%2Bhere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--7F-PIX2L_8/Vp2xeuwImsI/AAAAAAAAC2w/XZDRVLU4cJs/s200/you%2Bwere%2Bhere.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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This book was being given out by the publisher if you went to their booth and gave them a coupon for it out of a booklet. It's a mix of poetry, prose, and comic book panels. When I saw that I was so interested in the unique format that I had to go pick it up! The story sounds interesting as well with Kaycee recreating the crazy stunts that her daredevil brother used to pull before his death. All of this, combined with a pretty cover are what put this book on my radar. </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17302879-remembrance" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><br /></span></a></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17302879-remembrance" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>Remembrance</i> by Meg Cabot</span></a></b></div>
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Getting not only an ARC of this book, but also a hardcover finished copy of it was definitely one of the highlights of the conference for me. I read Meg Cabot's Mediator Series when I was in 8th grade and have loved them ever since. When I heard that not only was there a Kindle Edition novella coming out January 19th, but a brand new adult book I almost cried with joy. Suze is still one of my favorite characters and the fact that I can keep reading stories about her as an adult makes me very thankful for awesome authors like Meg Cabot!</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25614272-shylock-is-my-name?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>Shylock is my Name </i>by Howard Jacobson</span></a></b></div>
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Like most stereotypical English majors, I love Shakespeare. One of my roommates also loves <i>The Merchant of Venice</i> so I picked this up for the two of us to enjoy together. I love the idea of having established, well-known authors do modern day interpretations of Shakespeare works! I'll definitely be checking out the adaptations of some of my favorite plays.</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25817531-what-she-knew?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"><i>What She Knew</i> by Gilly Macmillan</span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y3MHZqmrE3s/Vp2xrw7LtbI/AAAAAAAAC3I/is7MRS_vTOU/s1600/what%2Bshe%2Bknew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y3MHZqmrE3s/Vp2xrw7LtbI/AAAAAAAAC3I/is7MRS_vTOU/s200/what%2Bshe%2Bknew.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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This is one of the adult books that I picked up at the conference. When we were in the HarperCollins booth, a librarian told us that she had already read this book and that it was incredible. I picked it up to read the description and upon seeing what sounded like a winding, twist filled thriller I was sold. Since it focuses on a mother looking for her missing son, I'm looking forward to reading this book and experiencing the emotional roller coaster it is probably going to send me on.</div>
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And that was my day one haul! In order to keep this post from being overwhelming, I'm going to break my books from day 2 into a second post. My haul that day was significantly smaller so that post won't be as long and rambling as this one. There is a super special signed ARC in there though, so keep an eye out for that one!</div>
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Are you excited for any of these books? Which ones should I read first? Let me know in the comments below!</div>
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-90242307170065804942016-01-18T16:02:00.000-05:002016-01-18T16:02:19.270-05:00Megan Rambles About Binge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0eWsqX9Au-A/VogRGbxaRHI/AAAAAAAACzg/ZqRcLzZR7Q0/s1600/Binge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0eWsqX9Au-A/VogRGbxaRHI/AAAAAAAACzg/ZqRcLzZR7Q0/s320/Binge.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<b>Binge by Tyler Oakley</b><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><i>From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25507925-binge" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>: </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; line-height: 21px;"><i>Pop culture phenomenon, social rights advocate, and the most prominent LGBTQ+ voice on YouTube, Tyler Oakley brings you his first collection of witty, personal, and hilarious essays written in the voice that’s earned him more than 10 million followers across social media.</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; line-height: 21px;">I've watched <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/tyleroakley/videos" target="_blank">Tyler Oakley's videos on Youtube</a> for a long time. I've always found his videos to be fun, usually hysterical, easy entertainment. Tyler's unabashed expressions of love for any and everything that he's passionate about have also always been something I could relate to. Clearly I am also a fan of expressing myself to people on the internet in a manner that can usually only be classified as fangirling.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; line-height: 21px;">I got this book for a birthday present and was really excited about it! The latest in the growing trends of Youtuber creators writing books that fit their interests, I was excited to see what stories Tyler Oakley might share in a collection of essays. As a person who has a reputation for sharing (and some argue, over-sharing) his life on the internet, I was curious to see if <i>Bin</i>ge<i> </i>would have any new information. I can assure you, even if you are the biggest Tyler Oakley super-fan on the planet, there will be things in this book that you have never heard before.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">Tyler covers everything from growing up, to that whole Twitter incident with Liam Payne from One Direction which is infamous to almost all fans of Tyler's channel, to his recent red carpet jobs. One of the things that I was happiest with was that the book genuinely sounds like one of Tyler's videos. I could hear his voice while I was reading the words which made it really easy to picture him telling me these stories himself. This book is just as personal as you would expect a book written by Tyler Oakley to be.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">My favorite part about <i>Binge</i> was when Tyler talked about his experiences with his growing Youtube fame. I think that horror stories about conventions and how he was overworking himself are all things that the ordinary viewer might never think of. <i>Binge</i> definitely allowed for Tyler to let people into his world a bit more and talk about the positives and negatives of his life. This book does a great job of expressing not only that Tyler is happy in his life, but also that he struggles with the fame and keeping track of himself the same way any other celebrity might.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">This book is definitely geared more towards people that are already fans of Tyler Oakley's Youtube channel, but I think people who don't know who he is will still enjoy it. Overall, this book gives an entertaining and informative insight into the life of a Youtube personality who is beloved by millions world-wide and reminds us that even the most famous people still have struggles in life. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">Are you a Tyler Oakley fan? Did you enjoy reading <i>Binge</i>? Let me know in the comments below!</span></span><br />
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-1886525639526047782016-01-13T11:16:00.000-05:002016-01-13T11:16:26.157-05:00Megan Rambles About We Were Liars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>We Were Liars by E. Lockhart</b><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-small;"><i>From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16143347-we-were-liars?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>: </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><i>A beautiful and distinguished family.</i></span></span><br />
<i><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">A private island.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">A revolution. An accident. A secret.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">Lies upon lies.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">True love.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">The truth.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">We Were Liars </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">Read it.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.</span></span></i><br />
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<b>This is a review that I wrote for a blog that is a part of Emerson College's Publishing Club. There are a ton of cool book related articles you can check out <a href="http://web.emerson.edu/undergrad-students-publishing/blog/" target="_blank">here</a>! You'll even see some of my stuff! </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>We Were Liars</i> is
an artfully crafted thrill ride of a novel that cannot be put down. This is the
kind of novel that a reader sits down with and finishes in a single sitting.
After its release in 2014, I actually put off reading this book. Once I finally
took the plunge and jumped into this novel it was completely impossible to
stop.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>We Were Liars</i> is
an ambiguous story filled with beautiful, incredibly well written prose.
Cadence, the main character, is a member of the rich and prestigious Sinclair
family. This title comes with extravagant summers spent hopping gleefully
between the family beach houses off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard with her two
cousins and a close family friend. Together, they form The Liars and engage in
the hijinks filled summers that every reader wishes they had growing up, but
then everything goes wrong. Suddenly, Cadence has a mysterious accident in her
fifteenth summer that leaves her isolated from all of the other Liars and away
from the beach houses for two years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As Cadence returns to the island and tries to piece together
the events of that fateful summer, the reader is as lost as she is. E. Lockhart
does a wonderful job of giving the reader enough information to slowly click
together the pieces, but this books is like a 1,000 piece puzzle. Through a
careful attention to all the characters and slowly developing each of their
personalities, the story begins to take shape. Lockhart’s artful prose, which
at times borders on poetry, only provides individual pieces and it is not until
the very end that the whole image is finally crystal clear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have read more Young Adult novels than I can possibly
count in my years, including several by E. Lockhart, but I have never read
anything like <i>We Were Liars</i>. The
ending had the most shocking plot twist I have ever read and the heartbreak I
experienced immediately skyrocketed this book to the top of my favorites list. <i>We Were Liars</i> is strange, abstract, and
beautifully written. This is the type of book that makes readers sit up and
listen to and the type of book that stays in a reader’s mind forever once it’s
over. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-7086379882630118932016-01-08T23:41:00.000-05:002016-01-10T14:36:15.033-05:00Random Ramble: Why ABC Family is Going to Ruin Shadowhunters (Megan)<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">This post can originally be found on the <a href="http://web.emerson.edu/undergrad-students-publishing/blog/" target="_blank">Emerson Pub Club Blog</a> along with other great posts from really cool people! </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2013, I eagerly anticipated <i>The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones</i> along with millions of other
fans around the world. An adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s first novel of the
same title, the movie seemed destined to launch the next Young Adult movie
franchise. The books series has six books in total, is constantly on a best
seller’s list somewhere and has been a fan favorite since 2007 when the first
book was released. With such a massive cult following, why did the movie
completely flop?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The answer is quite simple. The movie was terrible. Despite
a promising looking cast and teaser trailer, the film was nothing like the
books whatsoever. Sitting in a theater watching the movie in full cosplay with
some of my closest friends, I was heartbroken at what I was seeing. The movie
lacked all of the character development that Cassandra Clare is so famous for
in her novels. Some elements of the mythology were changed for no reason and
other changes, like the location of the final battle in the book, served no
purpose. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I understand that when making an adaptation of a book, some
things have to change. While it might be interesting to read an entire novel
where the narrator speculates and monologues in their own head, it can be
difficult to translate that to the big screen. My problem with the film was not
that they chose to add in more action sequences to make it more interesting, it
was how they chose to make these changes. The directors, producers, and other
decision-makers made changes that would affect not only the way the mythology
of Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters functioned, but also contradicted events
that occurred in later books. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For example, Clary, the main character, is supposed to be a
girl who learns that her mother was a Shadowhunter. They are demon hunters who
are half angel and half human. They keep the peace in Downworld, which is the
side of New York City ordinary people never see where faeries, werewolves,
vampires, warlocks, and demons all roam free. In the first book, Clary has to
come to terms not only with the fact that she is a part of this ancient race,
but also that her mom hid it from her for her entire life. She’s understandably
confused and scared, but none of this was effectively portrayed. Lily Collins
played Clary as if she were confident, self-assured, and already aware of
powers that she did not discover until the second book of the series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After the cheesy, cheap disaster that was <i>The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones</i>, I
was horribly upset and praying that the studio wouldn’t pull a <i>Percy Jackson</i> and try to keep making the
movies despite fans hating them. So when it was announced that the rights had
been sold to make a TV series, I was worried. The books could benefit from
being transformed into a TV series instead of a movie. They’re long, all around
400 pages, so if each season could be the equivalent of one book, then more of
the original content could be translated to screen. Unfortunately, all of my
hopes for a good adaptation of one of my favorite childhood book series were
dashed when I read that the rights had been picked up by ABC Family. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">ABC Family has a reputation for having overdramatic TV Shows
with poor acting and writing that barely makes sense. Think <i>The Secret Life of an American Teenager</i>
or <i>Pretty Little Liars</i> (another
series which has completely deviated from the books). <i>City of Bones</i> deserves much better than this kind of treatment. The
show is set to air in January and several different clips and trailers have
been released so far. If it wasn’t irritating enough that the show has been
named <i>Shadowhunters</i>, the trailers are
completely cringe-worthy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Check out one of the trailers below so you can see for yourself! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yrdSMN0KnZM/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yrdSMN0KnZM?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Any fan of the books will say that the beauty of what
Cassandra Clare has done with the world in her books is make it relatable.
While the teenage main characters may be demon hunters with some angel blood
mixed into their genetics, they are not superheroes by any means. They train
hard to have the combat skills that they possess, to learn to use the different
weapons like seraph blades, and to learn to draw the magical runes which they
draw power from. Essentially, they are humans who are made stronger by their
angel blood, but they are still human. In the trailer for the show, characters
like Alec and Jace are seen jumping to ridiculous heights and seemingly flying
into the air. This simple change may seem insignificant, but it demonstrates a
fundamental lack of understanding of the values and themes that lie at the core
of Cassandra Clare’s book series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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When the show airs in January, I will probably watch one
episode to give it a chance, but I am already heavily anticipating my disgust
with the series. Small changes are fine, but huge changes to the timeline, the
age of the characters, their appearances, personalities, and terrible acting
are all things that I cannot tolerate together. ABC Family’s <i>Shadowhunters</i> show may turn out to be successful
in its own way, but it will definitely not be successful with fans of the book
series. As much as I would love to see my favorite characters on the screen, I
want to see their story done authentically, with at least some resemblance to
the books that I love so much. Since it seems that is impossible, I say it’s
time to let <i>City of Bones</i> stay a
brilliant book and not continue to sully it with poorly executed adaptations. <span style="text-transform: uppercase;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-73294020060914221162016-01-02T14:25:00.000-05:002016-01-02T14:25:53.539-05:00Megan Rambles About My True Love Gave to Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P8Up3r7-E-U/VoREIjACiPI/AAAAAAAACzQ/1yo2COP53wg/s1600/My%2BTrue%2BLove%2BGave%2Bto%2BMe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P8Up3r7-E-U/VoREIjACiPI/AAAAAAAACzQ/1yo2COP53wg/s320/My%2BTrue%2BLove%2BGave%2Bto%2BMe.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<b>My True Love Gave to Me by Stephanie Perkins & Friends</b><br />
<i><span style="color: #a64d79;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20309175-my-true-love-gave-to-me" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>: <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins. Whether you enjoy celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or New Year's there's something here for everyone. So curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. You have twelve reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love.</span></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>My True Love Gave to Me</i> was my holiday read this year and it's also become one of <a href="http://readwriteramble.blogspot.com/2015/12/my-top-books-of-2015-megan.html" target="_blank">my favorites of 2015</a>! If you're wondering why the cover looks different from the one you're used to seeing, it's from a special UK Valentine's Day edition. Rachel gave it to me as a birthday present and I couldn't resist letting you all see how beautiful it is!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Okay, so on to the actual stories. I'm going to talk about each of them in the order that they were printed, giving a short summary of my thoughts for all twelve of them. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b>1. Midnights by Rainbow Rowell: 4.5/5 stars </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">This was one of my favorite stories in the collection. It was a cute story that revolved around New Year's Eve parties across several years. I thought that Mags was a character that people could relate to and overall the story was just very cute and fun! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b>2. The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link: 3/5 stars </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">This story was definitely one of the more strange ones in the collection. I also hadn't read anything by Kelly Link before so I wasn't sure what to expect. There is a bit of a strange magical element involved in this story and it took me a bit to realize that it wasn't realistic fiction. Once I figured that out I was less confused and thought that the story was interesting. While it wasn't my favorite, it was still a cool read.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b>3. Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Pe</b></span></span><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">ña: 5/5 stars</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This story is in a three-way tie for my favorite of the collection. I had never read anything by Matt de la Pe</span>ña before and I'm definitely going to have to look up the rest of his work now! This story was so cute and is one of the only times that I haven't felt slightly out of place reading from the perspective of a male character. Both Shy and Haley were characters that I felt comfortable with and by the end of the story I felt like I knew them.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>4. Polaris is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han: 2.5/3 stars </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This story was cute, but I felt like maturity level wise it was a bit lower than the others. While I don't necessarily have a problem reading a cute story about the North Pole, Santa, and elves, I thought that this story was too short. I was just starting to enjoy the characters and become interested in where the plot was going when it abruptly cut off. If this story was longer I probably would have liked it much more, as it is it was just okay.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>5. It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins: 5/5 stars</b></span><br />
It should come as no surprise that another story in the three-way tie for my favorite was written by Stephanie Perkins. I'm convinced that I will always love everything that she writes and this story was no exception! Marigold and North are both just as lovable as any of Stephanie Perkins other characters. I could have kept reading this story and if she decided to expand it into...I don't know...a full length novel? I definitely wouldn't argue! *cough* pleasedoitStephanie *cough*<br />
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<b>6. Your Temporary Santa by David Leviathan: 3.5/5 stars</b><br />
This story was just as cute as I expected a David Leviathan story to be. The characters were well written and the relationship between Connor and the narrator was sweet. It takes some dedication to agree to dress-up as Santa Claus to convince your boyfriend's little sister that Santa is real. Overall the story was cute and a good read, but didn't leave as much of an impression as some of the others.<br />
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<b>7. Krampuslauf by Holly Black: 3.5/5 stars </b><br />
Only Holly Black would write a story about a Krampus for a cute collection of holiday related romances. Like Kelly Link's this story was on the weird side. I love Holly Black's writing style and I had heard some of the Krampus myths before so I was able to get into this story after the first few pages. This story was interesting and any fan of Holly Black's work will enjoy it!<br />
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<b>8. What the hell have you done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman: 5/5 stars</b><br />
Gayle Forman is not only one of my favorite authors, she's also one of my writing idols so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I loved this story! This is the third story in the three-way tie for my favorite in the collection. I really felt like I could relate to Sophie since she's a freshman in college and trying to find her place on campus. While I might be going to college in a city and not in the middle of nowhere, I could relate to what Sophie was going through and I thought her entire interaction with Russell was super cute! This story is definitely worth the read!<br />
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<b>9. Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire: 3/5 stars</b><br />
I hadn't ever read anything by Myra McEntire before this story and after this short story I'm not totally sure that her writing style is my thing. The main character was nice enough and he was pretty funny at times. I liked the idea of a prankster boy and the preacher's daughter, but the actual execution of the story was just okay.<br />
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<b>10. Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White: 4/5 stars</b><br />
For a short story, I thought that Kiersten White was able to create a great cast of characters! Since this really was a character driven story it was so important that the characters be engaging. I cared about them from the beginning and I thought that the romance was really cute.<br />
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<b>11. Star of Betthlehem by Ally Carter: 4/5 stars</b><br />
I loved the concept of this short story! From the second that it started I was really interested to see where it was going. It was super cute and I loved Lydia as a main character. The only thing that kept this story from getting 5 stars was that I felt like it needed to be a bit longer in order to fill in a few more details. Besides that, it was a well-written story that sounded like Ally Carter's writing while still being unique from other things that she's written.<br />
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<b>12. The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor: 3.5/5 stars</b><br />
Just like Laini Taylor's <i>Daughter of Smoke & Bone, </i>this short story was set in a unique world all its own. While it wasn't entirely my cup of tea, there were definitely some really good elements to the story. The world that Laini Taylor was able to create in such a short story was really interesting and had a lot of depth. I could picture everything throughout the story and if you are into high fantasy stories this would definitely be the one in the collection for you!<br />
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Overall, this collection was really enjoyable and I can see myself re-reading this around Christmas every year! Have you read <i>My True Love Gave to Me</i>? If so, what did you think? And are you as excited for the summer collection coming out that's also edited by Stephanie Perkins as I am?? Because June 2016 can't come fast enough!<br />
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-74551205774172629012015-12-31T22:48:00.000-05:002015-12-31T22:48:06.531-05:00My Top Books of 2015 (Megan)<br />
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Happy New Year everyone! As we approach 2016, I wanted to take the time to make a post about the top books that I've read in 2015! Like I mentioned in my post about coming back to the blog, I've been really busy this year and haven't read much that wasn't for class. Because of that, this list is a mix of YA novels and books that I read for my first semester of college. Without further ado, here they are in no particular order:<br />
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1383229604l/18298225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="18298225" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1383229604l/18298225.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DIXBFMKc9ZY/U3kZ2VE1AlI/AAAAAAAACao/kvZE4ssDQRY/s1600/we%2Bwere%2Bliars%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DIXBFMKc9ZY/U3kZ2VE1AlI/AAAAAAAACao/kvZE4ssDQRY/s200/we%2Bwere%2Bliars%2Bcover.jpg" width="131" /></a><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16143347-we-were-liars?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank">We Were Liars </a>by E. Lockhart</b><br />
This is one of the best books I have ever read! I'll be posting a review that I wrote of it soon. Until then just know that everyone needs to read this book at some point in their life!<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18298225-on-the-fence?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank">On the Fence</a> by Kasie West</b><br />
One of my favorite things about a book is when I can relate to the main character. I absolutely loved <i>The Distance Between Us</i> so when Rachel told me that I needed to read <i>On the Fence </i>I had high expectations. This book did not disappoint! Growing up I was always the girl who hung out with the boys and played sports so while I may not have protective older brothers, I could totally relate to Charlie and her experiences. This book left me wanting a Braden of my own and a copy of <i>Fill-In Boyfriend</i>.<br />
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406383612l/9969571.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="9969571" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406383612l/9969571.jpg" width="131" /></a><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9969571-ready-player-one?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank">Ready Player One</a> by Ernest Cline </b><br />
I read this book because it is one of my good friend Karla's favorite books! (If you want to see what Karla has been reading/up to lately check out her Youtube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/booksandother" target="_blank">her</a>e) I'm so glad that she convinced me to read <i>Ready Player One</i> because I couldn't put it down! If you are at all interested in the 80's and you haven't read this book yet, you are missing out! Even if you don't understand all of the pop culture references, this book is still great fun and worth the read.<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20309175-my-true-love-gave-to-me?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank">My True Love Gave to Me</a> by Various Authors</b><br />
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1401809311l/20309175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="20309175" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1401809311l/20309175.jpg" width="123" /></a>Rachel was nice enough to give me the pretty UK version of this book for my birthday and I just finally got around to reading it. It's the perfect holiday read and I'm definitely going to be re-reading this one around Christmas every year. This book had a great mix of stories that I highly recommend to everyone! My full review of each of the stories should be going up on the blog soon!<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18660669-vampire-academy?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank">The Vampire Academy Series</a> by Richelle Mead</b><br />
After some peer pressure from Rachel and Katherine I finally picked up this series (are you detecting a pattern in my reading habits yet?). I'm so glad that I did read these because it was the most fun I've had reading a series in awhile. I absolutely loved Rose, Dimitri, and all the other characters that made these books so memorable! I was so sad that this series was over, even if it did have the perfect ending. Hopefully I'll have time to start reading the Bloodlines series soon!<br />
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1436934349l/28676.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="28676" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1436934349l/28676.jpg" width="129" /></a><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28676.American_Psycho?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank">American Psycho</a> by Bret Easton Ellis</b><br />
This is the first of the books on this list that I had to read for class. I read this book for my Literature of Extreme Situations class and enjoyed it much more than I thought that I would. I'll preface this by saying that this book is horribly violent and contains very explicit sex scenes. It definitely isn't for everyone, but I enjoyed the discussions that we had about it in class so much that I didn't mind the violence of the book as much. In my class we used existentialist theories to talk about Patrick Bateman's behavior and the motivations for his actions. If you can get past the gore and find other bookish people to discuss this with, it's well worth the read!<br />
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347984578l/6149.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="6149" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347984578l/6149.jpg" width="129" /></a><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6149.Beloved?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank">Beloved</a> by Toni Morrison</b><br />
This was another read for my Literature of Extreme Situations class and was the second Toni Morrison book that I read this year. She is a phenomenal writer and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. <i>Beloved</i> is a heartbreaking story that deals with the way a former slave and her family are still affected by slavery even after it has ended. It is a story about how far people had to go to survive in the time period and the effects that their actions had on them later. This might not be a YA novel, but it is 100% worth the read!<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20613761-citizen?ac=1&from_search=1" target="_blank">Citizen: An American Lyric</a> by Claudia Rankine</b><br />
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1420944502l/20613761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="20613761" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1420944502l/20613761.jpg" width="137" /></a>I read this poetry collection for my Literature Studies class and fell in love with it. Claudia Rankine uses the poetry genre in a unique way with a mix of prose, poetry, and powerful pictures. The poetry deals with the nature of micro-aggressions against the black community in America. From the smallest of assumptions to large acts of aggression, this collection explores what is wrong with race relations in this country. The ultimate goal of the collection is to make everyone who reads it aware of the fact that while blatant racism might not be as prevalent as it once was, the often unintentional micro-aggressions that are still widespread can be just as damaging to society and the people they affect.<br />
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Overall, this year was an interesting year for me, reading wise. Hopefully I will have more free time to get some more YA reading in during my next semester. What were your top books of 2015? Have you read any of my top books? Let me know down in the comments below!<br />
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<br />Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-3483010146760974372015-12-29T16:26:00.000-05:002015-12-31T23:20:55.606-05:00Coming Back (Megan)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Almost a year ago, I put up a blog post explaining that I was taking a break from blogging and that I wasn't sure how long it was going to be before I came back.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">For most of this year, I missed blogging, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything about it. I was still reading books, but my life was busy. This past year, I wrapped up my senior year of high school and started my freshman year at my dream school, Emerson College. With how busy I was during my first semester, I didn't read anything that wasn't assigned for one of my two literature classes. Turns out when your major is Writing, Literature, and Publishing, you have to do a lot of reading for class. Imagine that. </span><br />
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Still, even with all that reading, towards the end of the summer, when I was still reading YA books for fun I started to feel a familiar itch to review books that I read. When I finally read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16143347-we-were-liars?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank"><i>We Were Liars</i> by E. Lockhart </a>in one sitting, all I wanted to do was talk about that book. It was the familiar feeling of wanting to just sit at my laptop and type out a long, rambling review about every aspect of the book that I loved. It was also a feeling that I hadn't felt in a long time. </div>
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The fact that I have the desire to write reviews again is encouraging for me because that is the fun that I had been missing when I decided to take a break from blogging. Now, if I have this feeling again then hopefully blogging won't feel like a job, but like the fun way to interact with other people about books. That's what this was when I first started doing this in my freshman year of high school with Rachel and I would love to be back in that place. </div>
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The idea of coming back to blogging is new for me and I'm not totally sure how often I would be posting right now. One thing I do know for sure is that I'm more busy in college than I was in high school. I'm loving every minute of college, but it definitely takes a lot of time away from reading YA books. So I'm probably going to end up reviewing some of the books that I read in my first semester classes as well as other books that I read for school in the future. Hopefully these reviews, as well as some random rambles about my college experiences will give me enough variety to keep myself interested. I also hope that any of you guys who might still be hanging around will appreciate the variety of me reading other things that aren't necessarily Young Adult. </div>
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Right now, and for the foreseeable future, it's just going to be me posting on this blog. That is something I was uneasy about at first because I started this blog with Rachel, and Katherine joined on later. I'm not going to change anything about the blog and I'm definitely not going to take either one of their names off of here. This blog was our baby for a long time and in many ways it still is. Maybe eventually I'll change things around, but for now I'm content to just post here and add on to what we already had. </div>
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I'm happy to say that Rachel, Katherine, and I are still very close, despite going to three different colleges! It is possible that they could do a guest post or that they might show up on here occasionally. We'll see where it goes! If you do want to hear what Rachel has been up to and some of her book related activities, you can check out her booktube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/evilclementine/videos" target="_blank">here</a>, which she still makes videos for when she has time.</div>
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To wrap up this long and rambling post, I'm back to blogging and I couldn't be more excited to see where this new chapter goes for me! Thanks to anyone who still reads/checks this blog. I hope that you're as excited about this new step as I am! </div>
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-51486332671908911632015-01-03T16:55:00.000-05:002015-01-03T16:55:26.134-05:00Where I've Been (Megan)Hey everyone, it's been a very long time. Ridiculously long actually, and I suck for how much I've been neglecting this blog. Rachel posted before about why she's been absent and I owe you an explanation too.<br />
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I'm a senior in high school, so part of it has been me just needing to be offline for awhile. I needed to focus on college applications, school, soccer, and spending time with my IRL friends. So the blog kind of took a backseat because I was stressed out and something had to give so that I didn't go insane. But then applications were done, soccer ended, I had more free time, and I still wasn't blogging. So I gave it a lot of thought and a lot of sad, guilty feelings went into those thoughts.<br />
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I realized that I wasn't happy blogging. It felt like work and I was delaying coming back because of it. we had great things planned, like updating the blog look to something more professional and buying the domain name. We started all of these great things and I just wasn't excited about it. At least not as much as I thought that I would be.<br />
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Why? The simple answer is that I'm growing up, but it's also the complicated answer too. The girl who wore hand-made puffy paint shirts to book signings isn't totally me anymore. I still love books, but I've grown up a lot and learned a lot about writing over the years. I'm more critical of the books that I read in characters, character development, in plot, and in the writing itself too. Some of my favorite series have recently ended and going back I realized that I don't like them as much anymore. I've outgrown some of them and all of these realizations really depressed me. I am suddenly very aware of the fact that I am growing up and its a horribly sad feeling.<br />
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Books used to make me literally jump up and down screaming and I would be so indescribably happy when I blogged. Those feelings are still there, but they're muted. It's the only word I can think of to describe it.<br />
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I want to still be involved in the book community, and I don't want to leave Read. Write. Ramble. behind. I'ts my baby. Rachel and I created it four years ago when we were Freshmen and I've gone through so much and had so many amazing opportunities because of it. I've made so many friends through blogging, met authors, other bloggers, and even other people in the publishing community. But in the end it still feels like work instead of light, fun and happy. Blogging was always work, but it didn't feel like it in the beginning.<br />
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I need to find something that makes me feel that happy again. I don't know what that will be, but I know I can't wait to feel that deliriously happy again.<br />
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Until then, I'm not going quit blogging. I had a rough reading year as well with an embarrassingly low number of books read in 2014 so I'm going to start reading again and try to ease my way back into reviewing. If Rachel and Katherine do the same that is totally up to them. I've made a TBR Challenge jar inspired by my friend Karla from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/booksandother" target="_blank">BooksandOtherNerdyThings on Youtube</a>. She was tesxting me about the idea and I shamelessly stole it.<br />
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(So my "jar" is technically a turtle cup, but it's all I had shhh) I'm going to pick challenges from it throughout 2015 and hopefully remember why I fell in love with reading books when I was younger. Somewhere along the way I seem to have forgotten.<br />
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So to end this super long explanation, once again I'm sorry. If you're still checking up on this blog occasionally wondering where the heck we went, well bless you, you wonderful human being. I'll try to be better for you. I'll try to make this not feel like as much of a job and to make it fun for me because this is supposed to be a happy place. I'll done down the angst (but I'm a teenager so let's be realistic here), I'll tweet some things no one but me will find funny or relate-able, and I'll generally try to be more present here. But most importantly, I'll get back to reading, writing, and rambling. At least I know I've still got the rambling down. :)<br />
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<br />Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-67523697777458409632014-11-17T17:18:00.002-05:002014-11-17T17:18:17.202-05:00An Apology, an Explanation, and a Goodbye (For Now) From Rachel<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi guys. So you may have noticed that this blog has been looking a little empty lately. First of all, I'd just like to apologize for totally falling off the grid without an explanation. I didn't intend to disappear like I did, but there have been a lot of changes in my life lately that have resulted in my extended absence.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The most important change I'm facing right now is the transition to adulthood. Somehow, I have managed to make it to age eighteen, and the past few months of my life have been all about adjusting to this new part of my life. This transition hasn't been incredibly sudden or dramatic, but I have been dealing with thoughts of "holy crap I'm an ADULT?!" on a daily basis, and it's making me think about my life in a different way. I'm realizing that I have changed a lot during my years in high school, and I have grown and matured quite a bit. This blog began when I was fifteen, and here I am three years later, with different ideas and opinions and tastes in all aspects of my life. I'm a different person, and I'm no longer sure how this blog fits into who I am now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along with the adulthood thing, I've been focused on the idea of college lately. I've been wanting to go to college for most of my life, so it's always been this goal I've worked towards, but in a big picture, one-day-I'll-go-college kind of way. Now, here I am, applied to my first choice school in a binding contract that feels a bit like selling my soul for an education, waiting to receive a letter that will determine the next few years of my life, and I'm terrified. I've stressed myself out and worked my butt off for the past several years to impress colleges and do everything I can to get out of high school and into an environment in which I'm happy, and it seems like all of that hard work has come to an end. The application is in, and there is nothing I can do now but wait.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Never before in my life have I not had any idea where I would be a year from then. For every year before this one, I always knew that I'd be in the next grade of school in the same town I've lived in for all of my life. Now, I have no idea where I'll be in a year. I know a few places where I hope to be. But I don't know anything for certain, and anything could change depending on an acceptance letter or a rejection letter or finances.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I'm struggling to accept the fact that I have reached a pivotal and terrifying point of my life just before everything is about to change, I'm also becoming aware of how different I've become in the past few years. That's where this blog comes in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I started this blog, I was fifteen. I was obsessed with Jace from <i>The Mortal Instruments</i> and I loved to scream about books with my friends and I frequently showed up at author signings with shirts covered in poorly-painted quotes from books. I was young and immature, which was fine, because I was fifteen and fifteen-year-olds are allowed to be immature, but the point is that I was different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I still love <i>The Mortal Instruments</i> and I love to talk about books and I think authors are the coolest people ever, but my tastes and opinions and ideas and standards have all changed. Reading is still a major part of my life, but not in the same way it once was. I'm trying to expand my reading tastes and move on from the YA bubble, and I'm trying to focus on my writing and learn how to improve my craft, and I'm trying to figure out what kind of books I <i>do</i> love now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because my reading tastes have changed, my experience with blogging has changed as well. I've started to notice that I no longer get excited about the idea of advance readers copies or the sequels to series I've been reading for years finally being released. It's not that I don't care about these things anymore; it's just that I care about them a lot less than I once did. Blogging was a fun part of my life for a few years, but I think I'm over it now. I don't mean to say that I don't see the value in blogging or that I hate it, I just think that maybe it's not "my thing" anymore.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blogging was "my thing" for so many years, and I'm glad I had that experience, but I don't think I need that escape from "real life" anymore. Talking about books online is fun, but I'm also starting to meet people with whom I can talk about books in person, and to me, that's way better. I simply don't have much interest in reading Top Ten Tuesdays or Waiting on Wednesdays or reviews to books I don't know much about. I'm tired of feeling stressed-out about my ginormous stack of review books I'm supposed to get to, and the even larger stack of books I bought because I wanted to keep up with the trends of the book blogging world. These things don't hold much appeal to me anymore, and I'm ready to move on from them. I don't mean that I'm going to leave the blogging world entirely and stop reading blogs and stop reading the books that bloggers love to talk about, but I'm definitely going to take a step back and view the blogging world from a bit of a distance. I don't like that reading makes me feel stressed out and overwhelmed. I don't want to focus on how many books I read and how fast I read them and how I'm doing on my Goodreads Reading Challenge. I don't want to feel pressured to keep up with other bloggers in the books I read and reviews I write. I just want to read because I love it and I want to write because I love it and I want time to live my life outside of the blogosphere.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This post is getting a little long and rambling and disjointed, but hey, that's what I do best. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I mean to say with all of this is: I'm kinda confused. I've loved blogging for so long, but I'm starting to change my mind. As a newly-eighteen-year-old, I'm well aware of the fact that changing my mind is totally normal, but I've never been particularly fond of straying from my routine, so this is difficult for me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't want to officially say goodbye to blogging, because I'm not totally convinced this is goodbye for me. I may very well decide to start this up again, once I feel a little less confused and a little more excited about the idea of blogging. Maybe I'll come back to Read Write Ramble, or maybe I'll start a new book blog one day. At this point, I don't know what my plans are, but I'm trying to accept that and just see what happens. For right now, I've decided to continue this extended absence and keep my distance from this blog. So, this is it for the time being.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I won't be around on this blog, I have no plans to stop making videos on my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/evilclementine" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> (although I <i>do</i> have plans to start making more non-book-related content), and I'm sure you'll still be able to find me on <a href="https://twitter.com/evilclementine" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. I also did start a <a href="http://evilclementine.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">new blog</a>. There's not much there yet, but I think I might make it into a place where I can share my writing and posts about my life, with the occasional book or maybe even music review thrown in. So if you'd like to follow me to those other locations, I'd be glad to have you. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know I'm not the only blogger who has been absent from this blog lately, and while I've explained my reasons to you, I can't speak for Megan or Katherine. I'm not sure if they intend to continue blogging or not, but whatever happens, I know we'll have no trouble remaining friends. If they decide to continue this blog, I wish them the best of luck. Perhaps I'll return one day, or maybe I'll just pop in now and then, or maybe I'll just stay away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you've read all this, thanks. I appreciate it, and I hope you're having a great day/week/month/year!</span></div>
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-63770266110600498482014-10-08T16:17:00.001-04:002014-10-08T16:17:34.711-04:00Waiting on Wednesday (47)<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: center;">Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.co.uk/" style="background-color: white; color: #828282; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Breaking the Spine</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: center;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Blue Lily, Lily Blue </b>by Maggie Stiefvater</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17378508-blue-lily-lily-blue?from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.466667175293px;">There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.466667175293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.466667175293px;">Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.466667175293px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.466667175293px;">The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.466667175293px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.466667175293px;">Friends can betray.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.466667175293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.466667175293px;">Mothers can disappear.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.466667175293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.466667175293px;">Visions can mislead.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.466667175293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.466667175293px;">Certainties can unravel</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 21.466667175293px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am so excited for this book! I love the Raven Cycle series so much and in less than a month, 3/4 of the books will be out in the world! I am so excited to see what happens, but I am also not excited to wait another year for the last one. But really I don't care. I just can't wait to read this one! </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.8571424484253px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What are you waiting on this week? Leave links to your WoW posts below so I can check them out!</span></span><br />
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-71137923037608769162014-09-18T06:28:00.000-04:002014-09-18T06:28:30.298-04:00Books and Songs (2)<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sometimes, when I listen to a song, I think it matches up perfectly with a book I've read. And sometimes, when I read a book, I think it matches up perfectly with a song I've heard. This feature is all about showcasing some of these books and songs that I think fit together really well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">BOOK</span></b>: <b>Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #666666;">SONG</span></b>: <b>How to Save a Life by The Fray</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">LYRICS</span></b>:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="text-align: center;">Step one, you say, "We need to talk."</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">He walks, you say, "Sit down. It's just a talk."</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">He smiles politely back at you</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">You stare politely right on through</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">Some sort of window to your right</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">As he goes left and you stay right</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">Between the lines of fear and blame</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">You begin to wonder why you came</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">Somewhere along in the bitterness</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">And I would have stayed up with you all night</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">Had I known how to save a life</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">Let him know that you know best</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">'Cause after all you do know best</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">Try to slip past his defence</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">Without granting innocence</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">Lay down a list of what is wrong</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">The things you've told him all along</span></i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="text-align: center;">Pray to God, he hears you</span><br style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">And I pray to God, he hears you</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">WHY</span></b>: This book/song match-up is pretty straight-forward. The book is about suicide, and so is the song. This song reminds me of the way Clay felt when he learned about Hannah's death and listened to the tapes. He felt guilty, like he should have been able to stop her or save her in some way. But he didn't know how to save a life.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="text-align: center;">Also, it makes sense for this book and song to be matched up because they have both made me cry a ridiculous amount of times. I don't think it's even possible to experience either of these stories without crying.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="text-align: center;">What do you think of this book/song match-up? Do you have a better song for this book? A better book for this song? Let me know down in the comments!</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-44P502PtLNw/UyjZWieFeVI/AAAAAAAACRk/du6ijyxggQk/s1600/rachel%2Bname%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-44P502PtLNw/UyjZWieFeVI/AAAAAAAACRk/du6ijyxggQk/s1600/rachel%2Bname%2B3.jpg" height="63" width="200" /></a></div>
Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-46233784653464649812014-09-11T06:27:00.000-04:002014-09-11T06:27:08.978-04:00Book Covers: The Bad (Rachel)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: start;">Hello everyone and welcome to part two of </span><span style="text-align: start;"><b>Book Covers: The Good, The Bad, and The Girls in Dresses</b></span><span style="text-align: start;">, in which I will share some of my favorite and least favorite book covers. You can find my last post <a href="http://readwriteramble.blogspot.com/2014/07/book-covers-good-rachel.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Today I'm going to share The Bad!</span></div>
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It is an unfortunate reality that sometimes, bad covers happen to good books. While I don't let bad covers affect my decision to read books, I really wish that some of my favorite books would get better covers!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YOOIMM-WMxk/U0n7epnP0wI/AAAAAAAACW8/BtnMpvYWH8o/s1600/just+one+year+cover+new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YOOIMM-WMxk/U0n7epnP0wI/AAAAAAAACW8/BtnMpvYWH8o/s1600/just+one+year+cover+new.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OpSsz0cryxg/U0n7vzPDYPI/AAAAAAAACXU/S_2NXvq7b9g/s1600/pushing+the+limits+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OpSsz0cryxg/U0n7vzPDYPI/AAAAAAAACXU/S_2NXvq7b9g/s1600/pushing+the+limits+cover.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a></div>
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Like I mentioned in my post about the good covers, I'm not a fan of couples on covers. The <i>Just One Year</i> cover bothers me because the couple is totally unnecessary. I mean, having a couple on the cover doesn't make much sense when you consider the actual subject matter of the book. And the <i>Pushing the Limits </i>cover is a little too steamy for a book that I want to carry around in public. When I got the hardcover of Pushing the Limits, I immediately removed the dust jacket because I disliked it so much, only to find this underneath:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image from <a href="http://www.katielmcgarry.com/post/2012/07/22/Pushing-the-Limits-Book-Cover.aspx" target="_blank">Katie McGarry's blog</a></td></tr>
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YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THIS COVER, RACHEL. THIS COVER WILL HAUNT YOU FOREVER.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yXCV6NptZuU/U0n7I7xCvUI/AAAAAAAACW0/GHYNTh3sLXs/s1600/anna+and+the+french+kiss+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yXCV6NptZuU/U0n7I7xCvUI/AAAAAAAACW0/GHYNTh3sLXs/s1600/anna+and+the+french+kiss+cover.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a></div>
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I know it might be a little surprising to find the <i>Anna and the French Kiss</i> cover on this list. Well, honestly, I don't like this cover. It's super cheesy and looks like something I, with my extremely limited design skills, could have scraped together in a few minutes. It cheapens the book and makes it look less awesome than it really is. However, this cover has become iconic, and I've grown to associate it with the book we all know and love, so I've gotten used to it. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wD8-iY-ysRg/U0n7htvn3vI/AAAAAAAACXE/5LxKeiJ-yFw/s1600/lair+of+dreams+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wD8-iY-ysRg/U0n7htvn3vI/AAAAAAAACXE/5LxKeiJ-yFw/s1600/lair+of+dreams+cover.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a></div>
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This is the cover for <i>Lair of Dreams</i>, the sequel to <i>The Diviners</i>, which I featured in my good covers post. Yes, there was a cover change, and yes, I am very upset about it. This cover is stupid and it looks like the cover of an adult novel, which is bad because everyone knows that young adult books are supposed to get the pretty covers so that the teenagers see something shiny and buy it.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_nk7dHNKDEc/U0n7pVu4rvI/AAAAAAAACXM/aCeBX8Jy-Hg/s1600/obsidian+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_nk7dHNKDEc/U0n7pVu4rvI/AAAAAAAACXM/aCeBX8Jy-Hg/s1600/obsidian+cover.jpg" height="200" width="128" /></a><a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1355894522l/8175919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Truth about Forever" border="0" height="200" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1355894522l/8175919.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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Do I really need to say anything about the <i>Obsidian</i> cover? I mean, come on! This cover is just embarrassing. It makes the book look like it's a bad erotica novel, when in reality it's a fun, action-packed story about aliens. And <i>The Truth About Forever</i> cover really bothers me. What is up with the random bracelet?! It would make sense if there was a bracelet like that in the book, but since there isn't, I don't understand why someone thought this weird photograph of a weird bracelet would look perfect on the cover. (Although, to be fair, the wishbone charm is relevant, so that's something, I guess.)<br />
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<i>An Abundance of Katherines</i> has had a few cover changes over the years, and I have no idea why this version was ever thrown into the mix. Just...why? What about this cover is appealing? It's so boring and weird and what's up with the close up of that girl's cut-off head? I'm also including the entire Vampire Academy series in my bad cover list because look at those covers and find one that's not terrible. I DARE YOU. I've also seen a few slightly different versions of these covers, but rather than making big, significant changes, the only thing that's different is the specific position of the models. So basically, every version of the covers look like this and I HATE IT. (Although, the newest cover designs made to coincide with the movie release are not terrible.)<br />
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And that's it for my Bad Covers...for now. Let me know what some of your least favorite covers are down in the comments!</div>
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-26721366627120520832014-09-04T06:44:00.000-04:002014-09-04T06:44:55.254-04:00Rachel Rambles About Burn for Burn<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SY7G6ax9FDo/U_1BDtFlZ2I/AAAAAAAACug/a9JgcKtrEIg/s1600/burn%2Bfor%2Bburn%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SY7G6ax9FDo/U_1BDtFlZ2I/AAAAAAAACug/a9JgcKtrEIg/s1600/burn%2Bfor%2Bburn%2Bcover.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian (Burn for Burn #1)</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13406425-burn-for-burn" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:</span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #ea9999; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Postcard-perfect Jar Island is the kind of place where nobody locks their doors at night, where parents can sleep easy, knowing their daughters are tucked away safe and sound in their beds. </span></span></i><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">But bad things can happen, even to good girls . . . and sometimes, the only way to make things right is to do something wrong. </span></span></span></i><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #ea9999; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Lillia used to trust boys, but not anymore. Not after what happened this summer. And she’ll do whatever it takes to protect her little sister from the same fate. </span><span style="color: #d5a6bd;"><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Kat is over the rumors, the insults, the cruel jokes made at her expense. It all goes back to one person--her ex-best friend. Someone needs to teach her a lesson, and, with Lillia and Mary behind her, Kat feels up to the task.</span></span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #ea9999; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she’s not the same girl anymore. Now that she’s got friends who have her back, he's going to be in big trouble.</span><span style="color: #d5a6bd;"><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Three very different girls who come together to make things right. Will they go too far?</span></span></span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">I picked <i>Burn for Burn</i> up on a lazy summer day when I needed something entertaining to breeze through, and this book turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. <i>Burn for Burn</i> is dramatic, exciting, and a whole lot of fun.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;"><i>Burn for Burn</i> gives off some strong Pretty Little Liars vibes, which is a good thing, considering Pretty Little Liars is such a fun show to watch. Both Pretty Little Liars and <i>Burn for Burn</i> are over-the-top, ridiculous, dramatic, and completely addicting. Just like entire seasons of Pretty Little Liars are meant to be binge-watched from the couch in a single weekend, <i>Burn for Burn</i> is meant to be devoured in just one day or one sitting. </span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Let's be real here, <i>Burn for Burn</i> isn't exactly a high-quality story. It's not terribly original or thought-provoking, but that's okay. I like that <i>Burn for Burn</i> doesn't pretend to be something it's not. <i>Burn for Burn</i> embraces its not-entirely-realistic high school stereotypes, its silly teenage girl antics, and its somewhat predictable storyline. <i>Burn for Burn</i> is a comfort read--the book you turn to when you've had a rough day and need to lose yourself in a story for a good few hours. It's the book you turn to when all you need is a story that will make you want to keep turning pages. </span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">I didn't feel particularly connected to any of the main characters, but I actually appreciated the lack of emotional investment I felt. It made it easy for me to distance myself from the story and just watch the shenanigans ensue and the craziness unfold. Just like I'll enjoy catching the occasional episode of Pretty Little Liars and being sucked into the story without caring about something bad happening to any of them, I was able to enjoy this book without loving the characters and getting all worked up over them.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">I love that <i>Burn for Burn</i> is about a group of girls taking matters into their own hands and kicking some ass. Sure, the pranks are a little silly and juvenile at times, but they're teenagers! I really liked reading about strong girls who decide to not only stand up for themselves but to take it to the next level and get some epic revenge on the people they aren't too fond of. I think each of the girls has a valid and interesting reason for wanting revenge, and I loved reading about the process of scheming and plotting to putting things into action to watching the results. I was always eager to see what they would do next, and while I didn't particularly like any of the characters, I was totally intrigued by their actions and curious about whether their pranks would go according to plan.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">I also really like the setting of <i>Burn for Burn</i>. The island is very much its own world. It's secluded and set apart from mainstream society, which makes the people on the island a close-knit group. This type of dynamic always makes mysteries way more interesting, and I think the setting works really well with this story. In addition to the setting, there is a slight paranormal twist in this book that makes the story approximately eight thousand times more fascinating. I seriously just love that this book gets crazier and crazier with each turn of the page.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Overall, <i>Burn for Burn</i> is a fun, fast book that I couldn't put down. It entertained me and kept me hooked for a few hours, and when it was over, I found myself interested in reading the second book but not terribly concerned with the outcome. This book is not a bad book at all, but it's definitely a comfort book as opposed to a thought-provoking book. Next time you're feeling stressed or sad or upset and are looking for a story to escape into (assuming you've already finished watching the latest season of Pretty Little Liars), pick up <i>Burn for Burn</i>. It will suck you in from the first page, and you'll lose yourself completely in this fun and dramatic story.</span></span><br />
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-47046695478052065852014-09-01T16:42:00.000-04:002014-09-01T16:42:23.060-04:00Megan's September TBRSo I've never been very good at TBRs in the past. I make a list and then end up reading none of it! But this time since I've got a lot going on and haven't finished a book in a bit, I thought I would at least give you guys a sense of what I'm reading!<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9627755-isla-and-the-happily-ever-after?ac=1" target="_blank"><i>Isla and the Happily Ever After</i> by Stephanie Perkins</a></b><br />
Like everyone else in the world I'm OBSESSED with <i>Anna</i> and <i>Lola</i> and I couldn't wait for <i>Isla</i> to be released. I haven't had a chance to read it with everything going on in my life but it is definitely next up on my TBR and I know once I start I'll probably finish it in a day!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DIXBFMKc9ZY/U3kZ2VE1AlI/AAAAAAAACao/kvZE4ssDQRY/s1600/we%2Bwere%2Bliars%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DIXBFMKc9ZY/U3kZ2VE1AlI/AAAAAAAACao/kvZE4ssDQRY/s1600/we%2Bwere%2Bliars%2Bcover.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16143347-we-were-liars?from_search=true" target="_blank"><i>We Were Liars </i>by E. Lockhart</a></b><br />
I also got a finished copy of E. Lockhart's newest book at BEA which I have heard nothing but good things about. I can't wait to get to this one and find out what all the hype is about!<br />
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<span style="color: red;">The rest of these are ARCs that I received at BEA which come out in September. I'm trying to finish them all before or close to when they come out!</span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QiWfGoH75ZY/U_oGgzYxpPI/AAAAAAAACt4/2Zf-ivueVH8/s1600/afterworlds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QiWfGoH75ZY/U_oGgzYxpPI/AAAAAAAACt4/2Zf-ivueVH8/s1600/afterworlds.jpg" height="200" style="cursor: move;" width="136" /></a><br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18367581-afterworlds?from_search=true" target="_blank"><i>Afterworlds </i>by Scott Westerfeld</a></b><br />
I was lucky enough to get an ARC of Afterworlds at BEA and as it is one of my most anticipated reads of the year I will definitely be finishing it before it comes out in the end of September!<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7943654-i-ll-give-you-the-sun?from_search=true" target="_blank"><i>I'll Give You the Sun </i>by Jandy Nelson</a></b><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RwLUJsFSEs0/U6ZMKtqSjnI/AAAAAAAAChk/YC1lBbkFiuY/s1600/7943654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RwLUJsFSEs0/U6ZMKtqSjnI/AAAAAAAAChk/YC1lBbkFiuY/s1600/7943654.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a>This book sounds like an amazing and heartbreaking story about two twins who have lost the ability to be on the same page.It's dual narration which is always interesting and I've heard really good things so I can't wait to check it out!<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18163646-falling-into-place?from_search=true" target="_blank"><i>Falling into Place </i>by Amy Zhang</a></b><br />
HarperCollins was dropping ARCs of this at BEA and I was super excited to get it! When I first read a description of this book and saw that it was described as appealing to readers of Lauren Oliver, Gayle Forman, and Jay Asher I was sold! Those are only some of my favorite authors so I knew this was a debut that I couldn't miss!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqP-mlYuLoU/U5eqHR-d_xI/AAAAAAAACfE/GDwMZQP5ROw/s1600/falling%2Binto%2Bplace%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqP-mlYuLoU/U5eqHR-d_xI/AAAAAAAACfE/GDwMZQP5ROw/s1600/falling%2Binto%2Bplace%2Bcover.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13608989-the-iron-trial?from_search=true" target="_blank"><i>The Iron Trial</i> by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black</a></b><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mOo5oXnROcw/U5e3GrGiE7I/AAAAAAAACgg/fIOQ2zlqz9I/s1600/the%2Biron%2Btrial%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mOo5oXnROcw/U5e3GrGiE7I/AAAAAAAACgg/fIOQ2zlqz9I/s1600/the%2Biron%2Btrial%2Bcover.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a>When Cassandra Clare and Holly Black first announced they were writing a middle grade series together I literally jumped up and down screaming. Nothing could be more perfect than these two working together on a series! Then when Katherine and I accidentally stumbled into an ARC drop of the first book at BEA we were so thrilled! I can't wait to devour this one!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-go58hBqPt-M/U6hfyedQIUI/AAAAAAAACjo/R9fR1_AoCKY/s1600/Blackbird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-go58hBqPt-M/U6hfyedQIUI/AAAAAAAACjo/R9fR1_AoCKY/s1600/Blackbird.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18710739-blackbird?from_search=true" target="_blank"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Blackbird </i>by Anna Carey</a><br />
I've never read a book in the second person before and I love Anna Carey so this one was a super exciting find at BEA! I started reading a few pages of it in line and loved every second of it. I'm sure that once I pick this one up I'll fly through it!<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13579626-rooms?from_search=true" target="_blank"><i>Rooms </i>by Lauren Oliver</a></b><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3yWTUAJ2Xkc/U_otJxIyCeI/AAAAAAAACuI/0-QhWZ2mcrE/s1600/made%2Bfor%2Byou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3yWTUAJ2Xkc/U_otJxIyCeI/AAAAAAAACuI/0-QhWZ2mcrE/s1600/made%2Bfor%2Byou.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a>Even though this is an adult book, I'm super excited for it because it's Lauren Oliver! She's not only one of my favorite authors, but one of my writing idols! I'll read anything she writes, regardless of it being YA or Adult.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HJ_I5UEvwOQ/U5e2tzD3PLI/AAAAAAAACgQ/ZFN8-tJPlGA/s1600/rooms%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HJ_I5UEvwOQ/U5e2tzD3PLI/AAAAAAAACgQ/ZFN8-tJPlGA/s1600/rooms%2Bcover.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a><br />
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20419003-made-for-you?from_search=truehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20419003-made-for-you?from_search=true" target="_blank"><i>Made for You </i>by Melissa Marr</a></b><br />
This is the last book on my list of things that I'm going to try to read this month. I've read one of Melissa Marr's other books, Wicked Lovely, and I really liked it. I'm excited to see how she applies her writing talent to a more contemporary story!<br />
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Looking at this list it looks like it may be a bit ambitious to fit into one month with everything I have going on, but I'm going to try my best! There are also a few other September ARCs that I have, but these are the ones that I'm most anxious for so I'm going to try and read them first. It also looks like I have some really great reads ahead of me!<br />
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What are you planning on reading in September? Have you read any of these yet? Let me know what you thought or what you're planning on reading in the comments below!<br />
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-45226969604792868162014-08-29T17:49:00.000-04:002014-08-29T17:49:59.620-04:00Katherine Rambles about The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy</span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="by smallText" style="line-height: 14px;">by</span> <span itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span style="line-height: 19.799999237060547px;">Kate Hattemer</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">From </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18209360-the-vigilante-poets-of-selwyn-academy?from_search=true" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 21.46666717529297px;" target="_blank">Goodreads:</a></div>
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<i><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">Witty, sarcastic Ethan and his three friends decide to take down the reality TV show, </span><span style="line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">For Art's Sake, </span><span style="line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">that is being filmed at their high school, the esteemed Selwyn Arts Academy, where each student is more talented than the next. While studying Ezra Pound in English class, the friends are inspired to write a vigilante long poem and distribute it to the student body, detailing the evils of </span><span style="line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">For Art's Sake.</span><span style="line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">But then Luke—the creative force behind the poem and leader of the anti-show movement—becomes a contestant on the nefarious show. It's up to Ethan, his two remaining best friends, and a heroic gerbil named Baconnaise to save their school. Along the way, they'll discover a web of secrets and corruption involving the principal, vice principal, and even their favorite teacher.</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">One night when I spent too many hours on Goodreads I came across this book and added it to my to-reads. I planned on reading it at some point, but when I saw it sitting on my library's shelve on the way out I decided to grab it. I then added it into the pile of books I had and brought them home. It was one of the best spur of the moment decisions I've made.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">The book focuses on a small group of friends that reminded me of my own. They are even as talented as my friends too! Luke </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">and is a talented writer and the</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 21.46666717529297px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">the group's "leader" in the vigilante acts. Elizabeth is part of the graphic design classes in the school and Jackson works in light design. Each of the friends have their specific talent, where Ethan plays trumpet and takes drawing classes, but does not exceed at either. Each character shines separately and together, they are amazing! The story is told by Ethan who begins to tell the reader many ways of how the story could begin. The first and probably my favorite, details his entrapment in a school locker. The story is starts in a fun way and tries to follow the attitude throughout.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">The show For Art's Sake is very interesting as well. It's corrupt, just like most of reality television. The story shows how twisted the show gets. During the story there are only a select number of contestants that are competing for a scholarship. The competition is intense, and though the main characters do not compete I was able to see how hard it w</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">ould be to try and balance the show as well as attending a rigorous arts academy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">I really loved the friendship in this book! It's not focused on romance which is nice, though there are a few cute almost things. The group start to write this epic poem to try and shed some light on the show. As a reader I never saw the finished poem but the beginning of each shows an excerpt from it which was awesome. They work towards spreading this message in the best ways. </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">Jackson's house is where all planning or just hanging out occurs. It's a totally interesting location because of all the pets named after condiments. Like really, every single pet is named after a condiment. </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">Baconnaise the heroic, genius, loving gerbil, Honey Mustard the golden retriever. Really it's the best.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">I just really loved all of these characters, even when I was mad at them. I loved all of their quirks like Ethan's love for tricolons, his sisters' love for Candy Land, Jackson's love for math. I love them all. This book made me think a lot too. Like what or who would you give up for success or what is the most important within our life. I feel like I've learned a lot. </span></span></span></div>
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-80646417825178993912014-08-28T07:33:00.000-04:002014-08-28T07:33:37.179-04:00Rachel Rambles About The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18811411-the-unfinished-life-of-addison-stone?from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:</span><br />
<i><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">National Book Award-finalist Adele Griffin tells the fully illustrated story of a brilliant young artist, her mysterious death, and the fandom that won't let her go.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">From the moment she stepped foot in NYC, Addison Stone’s subversive street art made her someone to watch, and her violent drowning left her fans and critics craving to know more. I conducted interviews with those who knew her best—including close friends, family, teachers, mentors, art dealers, boyfriends, and critics—and retraced the tumultuous path of Addison's life. I hope I can shed new light on what really happened the night of July 28.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">—Adele Griffin</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">*A copy of this book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for my participation in a blog tour.*</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;"><i>The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone</i> is unlike anything I've ever read. It's dark and gritty and unsatisfying in the best way possible.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;"><i>The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone</i> is about a teenage artist named Addison Stone who dies one summer at age eighteen. This novel is composed of stories about Addison told by her family, friends, and fans. The novel jumps around from one story to another, with different characters and different perspectives shedding light on Addison's life. The format is unlinear, with a collection of stories that take place at different points on Addison's timeline, so the reader has to gradually piece everything together as new details are revealed.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Not only is this book intriguing and mysterious, but it also touches on a lot of heavy topics. Addison's struggles with mental illness make this story a dark and gritty one, not to mention her death, which is the main focus of the novel. T<i>he Unfinished Life of Addison Stone</i> definitely isn't a fun and light book to fly through in one sitting. I think this is the kind of book that should be read in small doses, so the reader has lots of time to think about it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Even though Adele Griffin assures readers that Addison is entirely fictional, the book reads like it's nonfiction, so its easy to get caught up in the drama and forget that you're not reading the tragic biography of an artist who died young. </span><span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">The format and topic of this book make it seem like it's a true story about a real girl named Addison Stone, and at times, it's hard to believe that </span><i style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone</i><span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;"> is actually fictional. One of the most interesting things about this novel is that it includes a lot of photos of Addison, her friends, and her art, and the photos definitely make everything about Addison Stone's life feel more real. </span><span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">When reading, it is rare to be able to attach a face to a name, but <i>The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone</i> gives you a real girl to match the description of Addison. This format makes the reading experience much more unique and interesting than it would be without the pictures.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Art plays a big role in this book, and I love the glimpses of the "art scene" Addison becomes a part of when she moves to New York City. I'm not an artist, but I was totally sucked into the intriguing, gritty world of artists in New York. The "art scene" is a very rich setting and community that comes across so vividly through various characters' descriptions. Art is a huge part of Addison's life, and it's a huge part of the book, too. Addison's art is very creative and unique and unprecedented, as is the format of the story, so Addison's art and the format of this book are reflective of each other.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;"><i>The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone</i> is dark, mysterious, and unlike anything I've ever read before. Adele Griffin has created something amazing here, folks. <i>The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone</i> blew me away, and I recommend this book to anyone looking for a story that is totally different from anything else in the Young Adult category.</span></span><br />
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-24199285231974535502014-08-27T12:41:00.000-04:002014-08-27T12:41:14.068-04:00Rachel Rambles About Isla and the Happily Ever After<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins</b><br />
From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9627755-isla-and-the-happily-ever-after" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
<i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.</span></span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Warning: There are no spoilers for <i>Isla and the Happily Ever After</i> in this ramble, but I compare it to <i>Anna and the French Kiss</i> and <i>Lola and the Boy Next Door</i> quite a bit, so if you haven't read those, I recommend staying away. And also you should read them because SERIOUSLY WHAT ARE YOU DOING.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">You all know how much I love <i>Anna and the French Kiss</i> and <i>Lola and the Boy Next Door</i>, right? RIGHT?! Well, just as a reminder...I'm obsessed with them! ANNA and LOLA have been two of my all-time favorite books ever since I read them a few years ago, and I've been eagerly anticipating <i>Isla and the Happily Ever After</i> for what feels like FOREVER. Needless to say, I had ridiculously high expectations for <i>Isla and the Happily Ever After</i>, and I am thrilled to report that Stephanie Perkins did not disappoint one bit.</span><br />
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</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;"><i>Isla and the Happily Ever After</i> is a story that stands completely on its own, meaning that you don't have to read ANNA or LOLA to appreciate it. This book is not cluttered with references to the other books, although it does focus on two characters who were introduced in ANNA. You could totally read <i>Isla and the Happily Ever After</i> without knowing anything about the stories of Anna and Lola, which is really awesome. I'm glad Isla and Josh have their own story, because I think it would have been easy for Stephanie Perkins to put in so many references to her other beloved characters that Isla and Josh would be overshadowed. But that doesn't mean the characters from ANNA and LOLA don't make cameos in ISLA, because THEY SO DO. Anna, Lola, St. Clair, and Cricket all pop into the story and it's WONDERFUL. I think fans of the previous two books will be satisfied with the cameos, and if you're anything like me, you'll be squealing with excitement when their names pop up on the page. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">I also love the settings in <i>Isla and the Happily Ever After</i>. Half of the book takes place in Paris at the school Isla and Josh attend, while the other half takes place in New York City, where Isla and Josh live. Both cities are charming and magical and rich, and Stephanie Perkins writes about them in such a way that makes the reader want to live there, or better yet, makes the reader believe he or she already does live there. I love the way these cities play into the theme of identity surrounding Isla and her indecision over what to do after high school because she feels torn between two places she calls "home."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">While Anna and Lola both have very strong senses of who they are, Isla is a little more confused. She does not have their confidence or their specific goals and dreams. Isla struggles with insecurity and trying to figure out what she likes and is good at, and I really enjoyed reading about her character's journey throughout the book. I love that Stephanie Perkins portrays this extremely common case of identity struggle in <i>Isla and the Happily Ever After</i>. Isla's problems are ones that many teenagers can relate to, and I appreciate the honesty behind Isla's indecision and cluelessness about what comes next for her.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">As usual, Stephanie Perkins also writes about a complex and fascinating group of secondary characters. Isla's best friend, Kurt, is a character whose voice isn't heard from often enough in Young Adult literature, and the messy friendship between Isla and Kurt feels raw and realistic. Isla's sisters, specifically Hattie, also receive a lot of character development despite the fact that they don't have all that much "screen-time" in the story.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">I love that the romantic relationship in <i>Isla and the Happily Ever After</i> goes in a different direction than the romantic relationships in ANNA and LOLA. The conflicts in ANNA and LOLA come from the characters' inability to <i>just realize they love each other and get together already!</i> but the conflict in Isla comes from external forces in the relationship. Isla and Josh get their crap together pretty early on, and they don't spend too much time playing the does-he-like-me-should-we-get-together-I-don't-know-what-to-do game, which is super refreshing, but it also means that other things have to happen in their relationship in order for there to be conflict. I really like that the conflict comes from unexpected places in this book. It's a nice change from ANNA and LOLA.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Another difference between <i>Isla and the Happily Ever After</i> and its predecessors is that the romantic relationship in ISLA is at a different stage than the ones in ANNA and LOLA. The other books are all about the couple trying to get together, and everything in the story leads up to "the big kiss," but in ISLA, readers get to see the relationship progress beyond that. This means that ISLA has the steamiest and most abundant make-out scenes of all the books. :D</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Finally, let's discuss Josh. I thought he was an intriguing character when he was introduced in <i>Anna and the French Kiss</i>, but I fell in love with him in <i>Isla and the Happily Ever After</i>. He has the whole tortured-artist vibe going on, and his classmates view him as a kind of slacker/goofball, but he is actually incredibly intelligent, talented, and charming. There is a lot going on with him, and he just feels like a totally realistic teenage boy. Also, everything about the graphic novel is AWESOME and I'm happy it plays such a big role in the story.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">So those are just some of my super intense and passionate feelings about<i> Isla and the Happily Ever After</i>. I think my favorite of these three companion books is still <i>Anna and the French Kiss</i>, because Anna and St. Clair will always occupy a special place in my heart, but I'm not sure I can pick a favorite between LOLA and ISLA just yet. (LOLA has an unfair advantage right now seeing as I've read it like eight times more than I've read ISLA, so I'm trying to be as unbiased as possible.) If you loved <i>Anna and the French Kiss </i>and <i>Lola and the Boy Next Door</i>, there is no doubt in my mind that you'll love <i>Isla and the Happily Ever After</i>.</span></span><br />
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-47786687004852456442014-08-21T09:22:00.000-04:002014-08-21T09:22:57.656-04:00BLOG TOUR: The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone (Rachel)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2HOwY_hHgrI/U_QbuAQbqEI/AAAAAAAACtg/0Gsx1tyT1p4/s1600/the%2Bunfinished%2Blife%2Bof%2Baddison%2Bstone%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2HOwY_hHgrI/U_QbuAQbqEI/AAAAAAAACtg/0Gsx1tyT1p4/s1600/the%2Bunfinished%2Blife%2Bof%2Baddison%2Bstone%2Bcover.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin</b><br />
From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18811411-the-unfinished-life-of-addison-stone?from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">National Book Award-finalist Adele Griffin tells the fully illustrated story of a brilliant young artist, her mysterious death, and the fandom that won't let her go.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">From the moment she stepped foot in NYC, Addison Stone’s subversive street art made her someone to watch, and her violent drowning left her fans and critics craving to know more. I conducted interviews with those who knew her best—including close friends, family, teachers, mentors, art dealers, boyfriends, and critics—and retraced the tumultuous path of Addison's life. I hope I can shed new light on what really happened the night of July 28.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">—Adele Griffin</span></i></span><br />
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This blog tour isn't your typical blog tour! Instead of featuring reviews, interviews, or guest posts, bloggers were asked to get a little more creative. On this tour, over 50 bloggers are sharing stories about Addison, tributes to Addison, fan art of Addison, poetry inspired by Addison, or whatever else they can come up with! Obviously, none of us actually know Addison since she's a fictional character, but that doesn't mean we can't pretend, right? I'm so happy to be a part of this fun, creative, and unique blog tour, and I definitely recommend checking out <a href="http://sohopress.com/the-unfinished-life-of-addison-stone-blog-tour/" target="_blank">the other stops</a> if you haven't already!<br />
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I wrote the following piece from the perspective of a character of my own creation who knew Addison Stone. This piece is from a former classmate of Addison's who wishes to remain anonymous, and it's the transcript of an interview. I really enjoyed reading this book (expect a review soon!) and it was so much fun to write this piece. If you haven't read the book yet, you should definitely add it to your to-read list, but in the meantime, feel free to read this transcript because there aren't any spoilers.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: #351c75;">ANONYMOUS</span>: Addison Stone was in my first grade class. Before she came along, I had been the most artistic one. I was creative and talented and special. All the students knew it. All the teachers knew it. And I loved it. I loved feeling like I was better than everyone else. I was a seven-year-old on this wild power trip, and I flaunted my artistic talents like a total brat. Before Addison showed up, I would always spend recess beneath a tree with piles of paper and colored pencils spread around me, and usually an audience would gather to watch me draw.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I remember feeling so proud of my art, and I would create pieces special for my classmates. They would marvel at how good I was and I'd have this gigantic smile on my face because I knew that I had a achieved a position of power that normal first-graders rarely reached. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">And then Addison--well, she was Allison back then--came along and ruined everything. I mean, sure, in hindsight, I needed to be knocked down a few pegs. But Allison--I mean Addison--just came out of nowhere and knocked me clear off the ladder, and I was flabbergasted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It didn't happen immediately. I mean, at first, Addison was just a normal first-grader. She was new to the school, but so were all of us really, and she just fit in with the class the way any first grader would. At first, no one noticed anything special or different about her. It wasn't until we'd already been in school for a few weeks or maybe months that Addison started producing these art projects and doodles and drawings and people started realizing that she was good. Once everyone started noticing Addison, they stopped noticing me. Suddenly, it was all about Addison. My little drawing sessions on the playground came to an end because no one wanted to watch me draw anymore. "You're not as good as Addison," my classmates would tell me matter-of-factly. And then they'd shrug and go play tag on the other side of the playground while I sat underneath my tree by myself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">At the time, I hated Addison more than I'd ever hated anyone or anything in my life. She took everything from me and she didn't even notice or care. My art could never compare to hers, but she was so deeply unapologetic about her talent that I don't think she even realized what she was doing. And that just made it worse. Like...she didn't even have to try and she was a thousand times better than me. The jealousy just kept eating away at me throughout that entire school year, and I would come home and cry to my parents every day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Eventually, it got so bad that my parents decided to move to a new school district so I wouldn't have to keep seeing Addison every day. We left Peacedale the summer after first grade and settled into a town only about forty minutes away. I had a fresh start at a new school and once again became the best art student in school. It was far enough away that I never had to see Addison again--well, at least until she started getting famous. I couldn't ignore her memory when her face and art were plastered all over the internet. I think a part of me hoped that as she got older, her art would become less remarkable, but of course she had to produce these stunning pieces that had the art community practically vibrating with excitement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Once she got famous, there was no avoiding her, and every time I read an article about her I would be instantly transported back to first grade. She forced me to relive all these terrible childhood memories, and I mean, I know it's not really her fault that she's so good and I'm nowhere near as good as her, but I can't help but hate her for it, you know? Maybe that makes me a terrible person, but...whatever. I couldn't stand her, and I hated her even more for becoming famous. I know she's probably a nice person and all, and she's obviously very talented, and I feel kinda bad saying all this stuff about her since you're not supposed to say mean things about dead people, but...that's my story. That's my Addison Stone story.</span><br />
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Thanks for stopping by! <a href="http://sohopress.com/the-unfinished-life-of-addison-stone-blog-tour/" target="_blank">Be sure to check out the other stops on this blog tour</a> to read pieces from other characters' perspectives, tributes to Addison, and more!<br />
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-74084969449392473492014-08-18T20:12:00.000-04:002014-08-18T20:12:15.544-04:00Random Ramble: Feeling Overwhelmed and a bit Crazy (Megan)This blog post is going to be much more personal and self-reflective than I usually am on the blog, but maybe that's an okay thing. Maybe in order to understand my opinions on books and other things it helps to know me a bit better. Or maybe not. Maybe you think this is stupid and I should just go back to happily fangirling over books. That's okay too, and I will; just not today.<br />
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As I've mentioned a few times before, I'm going to be a senior in high school come September. This comes with a whole whirlwind of of emotions I don't feel at all prepared to handle. On the one hand, I'm deliriously happy and relieved. One year left! Then it's on to college and the rest of my life. A lot of times I can stay in this positive side of things, but other times I can't even fathom how to get there. </div>
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See, I've never dealt with change well. Even the smallest detail like changing my phone case can be a big deal for me. I'm sentimental and I get attached not just to objects but to people, places, routines, and feelings. I get attached to the way my life has been going and how I've been feeling. When something changes, it sucks and I can get really stressed out, actually to the point of tears and break downs if its a massive change. </div>
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Usually, small changes are manageable. Since life is ever changing, fluid, and rushing past I know I can't just dig in and stay the same. I'm not different than anyone else. I'm bobbing in this crazy current too. Lately though, my life has been all change. Suddenly it's not just another summer, but my <i>last</i> summer, the last real family vacation, my last pre-season for soccer (although admittedly this is not really a bad thing). Everything is the last <i>something </i>and I don't know how to handle it. It feels like as soon as I get over one change, another one slaps me in the face. I want to enjoy what's happening around me, but I can't stop seeing how different my entire life is becoming all at once.</div>
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The only thought I have is that I'm going to blink and it will all be gone. I'll graduate, my friends and I will say goodbye, at least temporarily, and go to college, probably not in the same place. I know it has to happen just like I know college will be great and I'll make new friends who will bring wonderful new memories. But I'm not ready for any of that yet. I'm not ready to be a senior. </div>
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It feels like my life is a car speeding out of control and I need to pull the emergency brake, stop for awhile, rest, prepare, and the move on. But life isn't my Kia Soul. It doesn't have an emergency brake conveniently in the center console. There is no slowing down, no reverse, only forward motion. I'm not really sure how to deal with that.</div>
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This has basically been a long rant with no real answer. I didn't write it hoping you could give them to me either. I'll probably hate myself for posting something so full of angst years from now (if I even post this). I also know that future me will probably read this and be glad none of these things mattered in the end as I'm cringing in embarrassment. I won't feel like this anymore and this will be some embarrassing memory, a bad story to tell. These feelings will be totally insignificant. </div>
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But right now, they matter. Right now as I write this at midnight in August while I should be sleeping, this is how I feel. And you know what? I feel just a bit better because I acknowledged my feelings and breathed life into them by writing them down. More than anything else that is why I am a writer. To put feelings on paper, to cope, and to help myself. Whether or not anyone else reads it or ever cares comes second. Always.</div>
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-10389873412265648592014-08-15T11:35:00.000-04:002014-08-15T11:39:37.038-04:00Katherine Rambles about Landline<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Landline by Rainbow Rowell </b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18081809-landline?from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:</span><br />
<i><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now.</span></span></i><i><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">Maybe that was always beside the point.</span></span></i><i><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn't expect to him to pack up the kids and go home without her.</span></span></span></span></i><i><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.</span></span></i><i><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts . . .</span></span></i><i><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">Is that what she’s supposed to do?</span></span></i><i><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 21.46666717529297px;">Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?''</span></span></i><br />
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I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Landline when I went
to BEA. I was really excited to read this and when I finally did, I read it in
one evening. I was not let down. This book was as great as Rainbows YA novels.
I have not yet read <i>Attachments </i>her
other adult novel so it was my first experience, and it was great! It was
definitely different from the YA stories since it focused on different parts of
the character’s lives, but I was still able to relate to it. Though the topics were
different they were executed wonderfully and some of the heavier parts in the
story were done just as well, just like in some of the Eleanor and Park scenes.<br />
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I loved each character dearly in the book even the
characters that were only in a few scenes! And oh my details! The details and
the little character quirks were the BEST! There were little details about the
romantic relationships and the friendships and the family dynamic and they were
SO great. I just loved every second of it. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Georgie is a screen writer with her best friend Seth for a family sitcom. The scenes in the office were great. Seth, Scotty, and Georgie made a great team and the scenes where they planned their new show were some of my favorite. I also loved all the references to older TV shows like <i>M*A*S*H</i> and Barney Miller. I also loved Seth so much! The banter that the group had was very engaging and entertaining. </div>
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Georgie's family is very eccentric and entertaining as well. Her mother wears low cut bedazzled shirts and has two pugs, her step-father was their pool cleaner and her sister was still in high school. I loved that Heather and Georgie were still able to get along and talk about things without focusing on their age difference. Their dynamic was great always kept me on my toes. </div>
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When I first meet Neal I loved him. Just the first few descriptions were great. My thoughts kept changing as I read the book. All the flashbacks between Georgie and Neal from when they fist met during college and the continuous encounters they had after made me fall in love with their relationship. I saw that everything they had wasn't perfect, but it made their relationship real. I just have a real soft spot for Neal.<br />
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Now to the time travelly, not time travel parts
of the book. They were great too. Georgie starts using her telephone from her
childhood room, and when she calls her husband he answers from another time. The phone is magical! It’s very complex and a little stressful, and great. I just wish there was more about the phone. I just want to know how it worked and if there were any consequences!<o:p></o:p><br />
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I really enjoyed this book because it was something
different then I usually read and the characters were so real. I definitely
recommend for you to read it! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 21.46666717529297px;"><br /></span></span></i>Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-1965930708481885692014-08-14T13:33:00.000-04:002014-08-14T13:33:39.733-04:00Rachel Rambles About Let's Get Lost<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18812437-let-s-get-lost" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:</span><br />
<i><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Five strangers. Countless adventures. One epic way to get lost. </span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named LEILA. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most. </span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">There's HUDSON, a small-town mechanic who is willing to throw away his dreams for true love. And BREE, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday—and a few stolen goods along the way. ELLIOT believes in happy endings…until his own life goes off-script. And SONIA worries that when she lost her boyfriend, she also lost the ability to love. </span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth— sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way.</span></span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 10.857142448425293px;"><i>Let's Get Lost</i> was one of my most anticipated books from BEA 2014, and I am happy to report that it did not disappoint at all. In fact, <i>Let's Get Lost </i>exceeded my expectations, and I think it's going to become one of my new favorite books.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">If you've been around this blog for awhile, you know how I feel about road trip books. I absolutely love them! I'm not sure what it is that appeals to me so much--the physical journey paired with the emotional journey? the shenanigans that always ensue? the traveling to new and exciting places?--but I just can't resist a promising road trip novel. I was beyond excited to get into this book, but I wasn't prepared to fall in love with it so quickly and so strongly. <i>Let's Get Lost</i> captured my heart on the very first page, and I knew within the first ten or so pages that it was something special.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;"><i>Let's Get Lost</i> follows Leila around as she drives all over the United States in her little red car. Along the way, she meets four different teens, and the story is told from each of their perspectives. When Leila enters these characters' lives, she affects them in ways neither the characters nor the reader could see coming. But this book is not just about the people Leila meets; it's also about Leila's journey. Leila starts out as an enigma, an unexpected but not unwelcome presence in her new friends' lives, but throughout the novel, the reader gets to know Leila better and unravel the mystery surrounding her.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;">At the beginning of this book, Leila gives off some strong manic-pixie-dream-girl vibes, so it was refreshing to have that illusion shattered as the story continued and the reader got to see the story through Leila's point-of-view. All five of the main characters in this story are thoroughly developed, complex, interesting, and unique people, and I enjoyed the format of this book. Rather than getting an entire book from one character's perspective, the reader gets to experience little snippets of each character's lives. Even though each character only gets a short section of the book, I was impressed by how easily I was able to develop connections to them. For the short period during which I was in each of their heads, I felt like I knew the characters and could relate to them really well. This novel is driven by the characters, and, while each character has a different story to tell, all of the stories are intertwined by Leila's presence in their lives, so the novel flows smoothly and the stories feel like they go together. Also, though each section is pretty short, nothing feels rushed or cut-off. Adi Alsaid manages to tell a full story about each character, so nothing feels unfinished when you jump into the next story.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;"><i>Let's Get Lost</i> is both fun and heartwarming. There are plenty of adventures and shenanigans and hilarious encounters, but there's also a deeper, more emotional undertone. I was expecting the fun side of this book, but the more serious side was a pleasant surprise. This book seems like it's going to be super light and fluffy and <i>yay-let's-go-on-a-road-trip!</i>, but it's actually so much more than that. It's still a fast and entertaining read, but it has some deep and emotional elements to it.</span><span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;"><i>Let's Get Lost</i> impressed me more than I thought it would. I fell in love with this story and these characters, and I will definitely be rereading this book sometime soon. If you love character-driven books about road trips, there's no doubt in my mind you'll enjoy this book. </span><span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;"><i>Let's Get Lost</i></span><span style="line-height: 10.857142448425293px;"> has earned a spot on my favorites shelf, and I can't wait to see what Adi Alsaid writes next.</span></span><br />
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-82099305486114432342014-08-13T13:26:00.000-04:002014-08-13T13:26:23.615-04:00Random Ramble: Harry Potter World in Universal Orlando (Megan)Recently I went on a family vacation to Florida and we spent two days in Universal. Now since I'm a huge nerd, that means I basically spent two whole days exploring the Harry Potter theme parks there. I had such a good time that I decided I wanted to capture my experience in a blog post. I know that a lot of fellow Potterheads want to go to the park but haven't had a chance to yet, so maybe this post can give you some much needed ammunition to prove to your parents (or yourself) that it is totally worth every penny to go!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hogwarts up close and personal :)</td></tr>
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First, I'll start with Hogsmeade. This is the part of the theme park in Island of Adventure which has been opened for a few years now. The Hogwarts castle as well as Hogsmeade village and now Hogsmeade station are also located here.<br />
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The Hogwarts castle is incredible and I cried when I saw it. If you ever go to Universal, no matter how long the line is, make sure you get on The Forbidden Journey, which is the ride inside the castle. It's a essentially a virtual tour of the castle with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. So many of the characters show up and in the line getting there you walk through Dumbledore's office, the Gryffindor Common Room and other recognizable places. I was fangirling so hard the entire time my family almost killed me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nXoF-gVBOS4/U81n-XLoCdI/AAAAAAAACl0/TQqY3VTWr-A/s1600/The+Castle+from+a+distance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nXoF-gVBOS4/U81n-XLoCdI/AAAAAAAACl0/TQqY3VTWr-A/s1600/The+Castle+from+a+distance.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hogwarts from a distance</td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vcmyG8sXEOc/U81n-ZVOYiI/AAAAAAAACls/WtmZ1ZB4Lzc/s1600/Me+in+Honey+Dukes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vcmyG8sXEOc/U81n-ZVOYiI/AAAAAAAACls/WtmZ1ZB4Lzc/s1600/Me+in+Honey+Dukes.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>In Hogsmeade there are a TON of shops that you can go into and some that are just store fronts. They also sell butter beer and pumpkin juice here and they are both AMAZING. Butter beer is, as my friend Karla put it, like cream soda on crack (idk if these are her exact words but it was something along those lines. Either way, I AGREE). Pumpkin juice sounds like it would be gross but it's actually like drinking fall. They also have Honeydukes candy shop where you can buy chocolate frogs, Bertie Bots Every Flavor Beans, Sugar Quills, Fudge Flies, and basically all of the candy that is mentioned in the books.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oswziXpuXUU/U81n_AbVooI/AAAAAAAACl8/faXLfVB0B6U/s1600/outside+ollivanders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oswziXpuXUU/U81n_AbVooI/AAAAAAAACl8/faXLfVB0B6U/s1600/outside+ollivanders.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>Another awesome attraction was Ollivander's wand shop where they let people in and there is an actual reenactment of a wand choosing a witch or wizard. While I didn't get chosen to do the reenactment, I did get to see it and once it was over everyone gets to go into the wand shop. You can buy any of the character wands in the shop, but you can also buy these super fancy interactive wands. They work on shop windows around Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley and let you cast magic spells. Yes, I bought one of these, yes I walked around waving it like all of the little kids around me, and no I am not at all ashamed.<br />
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That's probably the best part about Harry Potter World! All of the staff are super cool and in character! They pretend they don't know what camera flashes are and act like muggle technology confuses them. We even had a girl who was in charge of our compartment on the Hogwarts Express who looked like Luna Lovegood. When my dad told her this, she immediately smiled and proclaimed, "Have fun! And watch out for nargles," before she literally skipped away down the train. People walk around in wizard robes. Basically it is Potterhead heaven.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E41cDoS3fM4/U-gkr2GaotI/AAAAAAAACq8/K2J-FE0mJIo/s1600/hedwig+and+harry's+luggage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E41cDoS3fM4/U-gkr2GaotI/AAAAAAAACq8/K2J-FE0mJIo/s1600/hedwig+and+harry's+luggage.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TxjK6XIYnF8/U-gkoDDBKiI/AAAAAAAACqM/nvc_W1atIJA/s1600/Platform+9+and+three+quarters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TxjK6XIYnF8/U-gkoDDBKiI/AAAAAAAACqM/nvc_W1atIJA/s1600/Platform+9+and+three+quarters.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>Next, I'll talk about the Hogwarts Express which is one of the most accurate parts of the entire park. The train connects Hogsmeade and the London Waterfront, which then leads into Diagon Alley. You can ride the train back and forth and images are projected on the door of the compartment you're in as well as on the window you look out of. There are more character appearances here like Hagrid and Mad-Eye Moody. Not to mention all the fun of actually walking onto Platform 9 3/4 where Harry's luggage and Hedwig can be seen.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2vw4BlhDtF4/U-gkoBJcA-I/AAAAAAAACp4/kdtChSXZHvQ/s1600/The+Hogwarts+Express.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2vw4BlhDtF4/U-gkoBJcA-I/AAAAAAAACp4/kdtChSXZHvQ/s1600/The+Hogwarts+Express.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vHqpRv9fB50/U-gko_PuUxI/AAAAAAAACqE/n3ywF-ja_xA/s1600/The+Knight+Bus+on+London+Waterfront.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vHqpRv9fB50/U-gko_PuUxI/AAAAAAAACqE/n3ywF-ja_xA/s1600/The+Knight+Bus+on+London+Waterfront.jpg" height="200" style="cursor: move;" width="150" /></a> The London Waterfront features the Knight Bus, an actual Knight Bus driver complete with the talking head, a telephone booth like the one that takes you to the Ministry of Magic, and 12 Grimmauld Place. If you stand outside Grimmauld Place long enough, you might just catch Kreacher peaking out of one of the windows up top. He stands there scowling for a few seconds and then goes back behind the curtain.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dYs2KIMj3YU/U-gksfvpUQI/AAAAAAAACrE/zmn_gQw6fFk/s1600/kreacher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dYs2KIMj3YU/U-gksfvpUQI/AAAAAAAACrE/zmn_gQw6fFk/s1600/kreacher.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-psGcI7CuSPA/U-gkltjJP0I/AAAAAAAACpQ/hEndq9cfw7Q/s1600/12+grimmauld+place.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-psGcI7CuSPA/U-gkltjJP0I/AAAAAAAACpQ/hEndq9cfw7Q/s1600/12+grimmauld+place.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
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You can sort of see Kreacher in the picture above!<br />
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Then once we braved the HUGE lines (and I mean huge. I was there on the second day Diagon Alley was officially open. YIKES) we were finally allowed into Diagon Alley which is PERFECT! None of the rest of the park is visible from inside and once you go through those bricks it is so easy to pretend you're in the wizarding world. I could have stayed there all day!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3qskBs2q6t4/U-gkoDd3bbI/AAAAAAAACp0/l4JwguDXZKE/s1600/Pumpkin+Juice+with+dinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3qskBs2q6t4/U-gkoDd3bbI/AAAAAAAACp0/l4JwguDXZKE/s1600/Pumpkin+Juice+with+dinner.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pumpkin Juice!</td></tr>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tHkKljFv0mY/U-gkp3NIvgI/AAAAAAAACqc/9Lwxi5ZtL68/s1600/Weasley+Wizard+Wheezes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tHkKljFv0mY/U-gkp3NIvgI/AAAAAAAACqc/9Lwxi5ZtL68/s1600/Weasley+Wizard+Wheezes.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>Weasley Wizard Wheezes was a highlight where they actually sell Puking Pastilles and some of the other famous Weasley inventions. They also sell adorable Pygmy Puffs and hold naming ceremonies for them where they make the whole store clap for you and your new pet. My family did this to me. It was embarrassing. My Pygmy Puff is named Gerald.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1uJlJog0iws/U-gkkU-SN8I/AAAAAAAACpI/dc7b07Scnqs/s1600/Butter+beer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1uJlJog0iws/U-gkkU-SN8I/AAAAAAAACpI/dc7b07Scnqs/s1600/Butter+beer.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butter Beer!</td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ILtog4yXQnQ/U-gkmXdDAtI/AAAAAAAACpY/s3XwLhB5n6Y/s1600/Leaky+Cauldron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ILtog4yXQnQ/U-gkmXdDAtI/AAAAAAAACpY/s3XwLhB5n6Y/s1600/Leaky+Cauldron.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a>You can also actually eat in the Leaky Cauldron which looked like I had just walked onto the movie set it was so accurate. They serve very British food like Fish & Chips, Bangers and Mash, and other favorites. Pumpkin Juice, Frozen and Cold Butterbeer, Gillywater, and normal Muggle beverages are also available. The food was amazing and I was in heaven the entire time.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0h6-6FBCYXg/U-gkrzNkyLI/AAAAAAAACq4/jRr1TcYrliU/s1600/dragon+breathing+fire+at+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0h6-6FBCYXg/U-gkrzNkyLI/AAAAAAAACq4/jRr1TcYrliU/s1600/dragon+breathing+fire+at+night.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a> This post is starting to get crazy long so I'm going to start to bring it to a close by talking about Gringotts. You may have heard the drama about people waiting 7-8 hours or more in line to get on the ride. My family and I took advantage of the single riders line and were able to get on in only an hour. We all agreed that it was a really awesome ride and totally worth it, but we would not have felt the same way if we had waited 7 hours.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-usoJrQbzP8U/U-gkrGdIuuI/AAAAAAAACqk/SUXpXBF0OrY/s1600/dragon+breathing+fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-usoJrQbzP8U/U-gkrGdIuuI/AAAAAAAACqk/SUXpXBF0OrY/s1600/dragon+breathing+fire.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>There were plenty of cameos from Bellatrix, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Bill Weasley, and even Voldemort himself in this one! Plus Gringotts just looks awesome from the outside and the dragon on top of the building actually breathes fire randomly. I mean real, actual fire. Like you can actually feel the heat of it as it shoots across the sky above your head. It's SO COOL.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F88DZzlplko/U-gkresO17I/AAAAAAAACqs/poUDH7NYk_8/s1600/diagon+alley+at+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F88DZzlplko/U-gkresO17I/AAAAAAAACqs/poUDH7NYk_8/s1600/diagon+alley+at+night.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a> Knockturn Alley is also attached to Diagon Alley and you can really go and see the Vanishing Cabinet that Malfoy used to sneak the Death Eaters into Hogwarts in the 6th book. It's really dark, creepy, and cold back there with a window you don't want to miss if you have an interactive wand. It may involve a skeleton that follows all of your movements that you can make dance. Idkidkidkidk.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ya7wN8svWpc/U-gkl1XVRWI/AAAAAAAACpU/EOvq2GidjvM/s1600/Diagon+Alley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ya7wN8svWpc/U-gkl1XVRWI/AAAAAAAACpU/EOvq2GidjvM/s1600/Diagon+Alley.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>If you can't tell by this huge ramble of a blog post, I had the time of my life in Universal. There is even so much more I could talk about! I'm already planning another trip there at some point and hopefully with Rachel and Katherine so they can experience it too! If you get the chance to go I wouldn't pass it up! It's totally worth every second! If you have any questions about Harry Potter World, feel free to comment them below or <a href="https://twitter.com/athleticnerd18" target="_blank">tweet</a> me <span style="font-size: x-small;">(@athleticnerd18)</span> about them! I would love to gush about this with someone!<br />
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<br />Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-41122167221562591842014-08-12T10:20:00.000-04:002014-08-12T10:20:17.422-04:00Top Ten Books I'm Not Sure I Want to Read (Rachel)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="line-height: 20.796875px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank">The Broke and the Bookish</a>.</span></span></div>
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I haven't made a Top Ten Tuesday post in a really long time, but I decided to join in on Top Ten Tuesday today to talk about the books I'm not sure I want to read. I split the following books into three categories: books I bought but I'm not sure I'm into anymore, hyped books I'm not sure about, and sequels to books I've already read.</div>
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<b>BOOKS I BOUGHT BUT I'M NOT SURE I'M INTO ANYMORE</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.796875px;">1. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7129598-nevermore?ac=1" target="_blank">Nevermore by Kelly Creagh</a></b>- I remember ordering a copy of this way back when I first started blogging. I had read a string of positive reviews of <i>Nevermore </i>that had convinced me that I had to read it immediately. Clearly, I did not read this book immediately, and while it still sits on my shelf collecting dust and waiting to be read, I don't know if I'll ever pick it up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9917938-blood-red-road?ac=1" target="_blank">Blood Red Road by Moira Young</a></b>- I'm like ninety percent sure I bought this book at Barnes and Noble on release day (or maybe release week). I took it home and was SO EXCITED to read it, but then obviously never got around to it. Now, when I read the summary, I'm just not into it anymore.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1656001.The_Host?from_search=true" target="_blank">The Host by Stephenie Meyer</a></b>- I bought this book during the period between ages 12 and 14 when I was obsessed with <i>Twilight</i> and all things Stephenie Meyer. I bought this book just because Stephenie Meyer wrote it, and now that I'm over my <i>Twilight</i> obsession, I have little interest in reading <i>The Host</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3236307-graceling?from_search=true" target="_blank">Graceling by Kristin Cashore</a></b>- Again, I remember purchasing this after reading some really good reviews from bloggers, but now I don't think I'll ever read it. It may have sounded like it was my thing back when I bought it, but I don't think it's my thing anymore.</span><br />
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<b>HYPED BOOKS I'M NOT SURE ABOUT</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">5. </span><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16069030-the-winner-s-curse?from_search=true" target="_blank">The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski</a></b>- I've seen so many glowing reviews of this book on blogs and on BookTube, but the summary just doesn't sound like something I'll ever want to pick up. I've had a lot of people recommend this to me though, so maybe I'll have to read it out of curiosity.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">6. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18140047-love-letters-to-the-dead?from_search=true" target="_blank">Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira</a></b>- I actually started reading this book. I got about 30 pages in before I realized I wasn't in the mood for it, so I returned it to the library with the intention of checking it out again at a later time. Now I'm not so sure I'll ever be in the mood for it. I might just have to avoid this one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">7. </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16101128-the-5th-wave?from_search=true" target="_blank">The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey</a></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Everyone's been raving about this book, but I'm just not feeling it. Whenever I read the summary, I'm simply not interested. Maybe my feelings will change once the movie buzz starts taking</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> over the internet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>SEQUELS TO BOOKS I'VE ALREADY READ</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">8. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17230200-steadfast?from_search=true" target="_blank">Steadfast by Claudia Gray (Spellcaster #2)</a></b>- I'm a huge fan of Claudia Gray's <i>Evernight</i> series, but I wasn't into <i>Spellcaster</i> as much as I'd hoped I'd be. Part of me wants to remain loyal to Claudia Gray and see this series through, but part of me wants to just quit while I'm ahead and not bother with the sequel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">9. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13447149-resist?from_search=true" target="_blank">Resist by Sarah Crossan (Breathe #2)</a></b>- I enjoyed <i>Breathe </i>when I read it for the first time, but I think that my love for it has faded during the time I've spent apart from it. By the time the sequel was released, I realized I didn't have much interest in continuing the story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">10. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17331289-deception?from_search=true" target="_blank">Deception by C.J. Redwine (Defiance #2)</a></b>- <i>Defiance </i>was a really fast and fun story that I flew through, but I don't think I have enough emotional investment in the characters to want to keep reading. I'm certainly curious to see where the story goes, but I'm not dying to read the rest of the series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">What about you guys? What are some books you're not sure if you want to read? And what do you think of the books I chose? Should I read them? Leave links to your TTT posts below so I can check them out!</span><br />
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Read. Write. Ramble.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06616556766420174306noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3760921411111270612.post-50772033338876963482014-08-10T09:56:00.000-04:002014-08-10T09:56:35.296-04:00Rachel and Katherine Ramble About The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p0tJ9NXYb9o/U-bDguaRgXI/AAAAAAAACo0/YYm1rB9Kvuo/s1600/the+secret+diary+of+lizzie+bennet+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p0tJ9NXYb9o/U-bDguaRgXI/AAAAAAAACo0/YYm1rB9Kvuo/s1600/the+secret+diary+of+lizzie+bennet+cover.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su and Kate Rorick</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18775255-the-secret-diary-of-lizzie-bennet?from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:</span><br />
<i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">Based on the Emmy Award–winning YouTube series </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">The Lizzie Bennet Diaries</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">Twenty‑four‑year‑old grad student Lizzie Bennet is saddled with student loan debt and still living at home along with her two sisters—beautiful Jane and reckless Lydia. When she records her reflections on life for her thesis project and posts them on YouTube, she has no idea </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">The Lizzie Bennet Diaries</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"> will soon take on a life of their own, turning the Bennet sisters into internet celebrities seemingly overnight.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">When rich and handsome Bing Lee comes to town, along with his stuck‑up friend William Darcy, things really start to get interesting for the Bennets—and for Lizzie’s viewers. But not everything happens on‑screen. Lucky for us, Lizzie has a secret diary.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"> takes readers deep inside Lizzie’s world and well beyond the confines of her camera—from the wedding where she first meets William Darcy to the local hangout of Carter’s bar, and much more. Lizzie’s private musings are filled with revealing details about the Bennet household, including her growing suspicions about her parents’ unstable financial situation, her sister’s budding relationship with Bing Lee, the perils of her unexpected fame, and her uncertainty over her future—and whom she wants to share it with.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">Featuring plenty of fresh twists to delight fans and new readers alike, </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"> expands on the web series phenomenon that captivated a generation and reimagines the </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">Pride and Prejudice</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"> story like never before.</span></span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rachel</b>: Hey everyone! Today Katherine and I thought we’d ramble together about <i style="font-weight: normal;">The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet</i>, a book we both adored but Megan hasn’t read yet. Hopefully this ramble will convince Megan to 1) watch The Lizzie Bennet Diaries web series and 2) read The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: inherit;"><b>Katherine</b>: And also encourages everyone who has not seen the videos to watch them as well!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rachel</b>: Yes, if you haven’t watched The Lizzie Bennet Diaries first, you must do so immediately. You’ll fall in love with a</span>ll the characters through the web series, and then you can read the book and fall in love with them even more. :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: inherit;"><b>Katherine</b>: This review will stay away from book spoilers, so you can keep reading if you have seen all the videos. If you have not seen the videos, you might want to look away so you can stay spoiler-free when you start watching. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rachel</b>: Okay, first of all, can we just talk about how cool it is that <i style="font-weight: normal;">The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet</i> is a book based on a web series based on a book? Because seriously, IT’S SO COOL. The transformation from the classic book to the modern web series worked really well, and the transformation from the web series back to a book told in diary format also worked really well. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: inherit;"><b>Katherine</b>: You don’t even need to read Pride and Prejudice to love everything about this! You can read the book and feel like you are watching the series all over again because the book captures Lizzie’s voice so well!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rachel</b>: Yup, I never read Pride and Prejudice (I know, I know...I’m the worst!) but I can still appreciate both the web series and the book. As I was reading, I went back and rewatched some of the LBD episodes and it really did feel like I was experiencing this story all over again. Every video, every tweet, every little detail from the original web series is captured in the book, and the show and the book fit together perfectly. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: inherit;"><b>Katherine</b>: I am currently re-watching everything with my brother and mom, so I’ve been getting super excited to share all of little secrets and screenshots of the tweets to them. (Especially the ones from the day walking in the city!) </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rachel</b>: (Oh my gosh, those pictures are the best.) It’s so amazing how this story takes place outside of Lizzie’s videos and her diary. There’s a whole world they created with the characters’ social media profiles and updates, and it’s such a developed and realistic world that enhances the story.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: inherit;"><b>Katherine</b>: And The Lizzie Bennet Diaries characters also interacted with characters from Sanditon. All the work that the creators did to make sure that everything worked together really paid off and made following the stories on all front even more exciting!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rachel</b>: Yeah, and it’s really interesting how some details not mentioned in the videos or social media pop up in the book. So even if you’re a die-hard fan of the videos, there are plenty of things in the book that will surprise you. (No spoilers, but there’s something that happens with Jane that neither one of us was expecting. :P) </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: inherit;"><b>Katherine</b>: The book does a great job of staying faithful to the videos as well as including the smaller more secretive details that the viewer wouldn’t know!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rachel</b>: Exactly. Overall, this book is such a fantastic companion to the videos. I don’t think you can be a fan of the videos and not love this book. It’s just as fun and dramatic as the videos, and I thoroughly enjoyed my experience reading it. Just like the web series is meant to be binge-watched, this book is meant to be read in one sitting.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: inherit;"><b>Katherine</b>: I agree with everything that Rachel just said. Everything about the series is great and I can’t wait to read a book from Lydia’s point of view when it comes out next summer!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rachel</b>: I had not been aware of this book about Lydia until Katherine told me, but I’m just going to trust her and start getting pumped to read it. :D It broke my heart when I finished watching the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, so I’m incredibly happy that this fandom is still alive and we have plenty of content to keep us satisfied, even without a new video every week.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: inherit;"><b>Katherine</b>: We hope this encourages those who have not read the book yet to go get it and read it to continue the Lizzie Bennet love. Now have some Dizzie to get you through your day!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Rachel:</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> THAT PICTURE STOP IT I CANNOT I SIMPLY CANNOT EVEN KATHERINE. THE DIZZIE FEELS.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: inherit;"><b>Katherine</b>: They are SO CUTE.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rachel</b>: Anyway, thanks for reading this ramble-y mess. If you’ve read <i style="font-weight: normal;">The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet</i>, let us know what you thought of it down in the comments!</span></span></div>
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