BookBlogWriMo – All the Rest

Better late than never, right? ;P

My favorite male character? This is an easy one: Ponyboy from The Outsidersby S.E. Hinton. He’s a noble and loving character who doesn’t match the rest of his group. Every time I read this book, I feel the same pull toward him that I have since my very first read in 5th grade.

Favorite pairs are as follows:

• Xander and Skye in Never Let You Fall/Never Let You Go by Michele G Miller (the third book is an upcoming edit! I’m so excited.)
• Hunter and Morgan in the Sweep series by Cate Tiernan (this is only the first set of books in one book that I’ve linked. The whole series is a great one to check out!)

I’ve committed very few book sins, most notable being dog-earing pages and skimming pages to finish a book I wasn’t terribly into.

BookBlogWriMo Day 17, 18, 19, and 20

The answer to this prompt is definitely one that keeps cropping up throughout this month’s posts: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I was moved beyond anything as a fifth grader reading this book. I wanted nothing more than to become a writer at that point in my life, but I didn’t know if I could do it. My mother passed this book on to me, knowing I needed something beyond the lower reading level books I was getting in school at the time. I needed something to make me think, to inspire me. S.E. Hinton was not much older than I was when she wrote The Outsiders. Not only that, but the book put me into a book coma for a long time after, I’m still not sure I have woken up from it.

To be honest, my book event goal is to finally get to a book event. I’ve been a book blogger for three years now, and I still haven’t been to a book event. Unless you count the Facebook ones, but I’ve even hosted those, so they’re nothing new.

Other than simply getting to one, I really want to go to Utopia. One of the books I edited for Michele was actually nominated for Best Editing at this particular book event (Into The Fire – a great read! I highly suggest it.)

Some of my favorite adaptations from book to movie are:

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
• Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
• Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

I tend to have some pretty significant emotional reactions to books. Some of the books that have made me cry are:

• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
• A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
• Unlit Star by Lindy Zart

This year’s BookBlogWriMo is hosted by The Perks of Being a Book Girl. If you want to sign up at any point, jump right in!

Thirty Days of Thanks – Day 17, 18, 19, and 20

I am thankful for our toddler footy pajamas, chocolate cream pie, pictures, and love.

BookBlogWriMo Day 14, 15, and 16

There are two books that were really inspirational to me:

• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
• A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Both of these books really stuck with me after I read them, the first since I was in junior high school, and the other since high school. There was something beautiful and sad in both stories, with a very strong lesson to learn. I recommend both.

The tackiest book or line I’ve ever read? I don’t really read tacky books. I try to steer clear of anything that makes me roll my eyes or throw up in my mouth a little. If I really had to force myself to find something, then perhaps Twilight?

 

If I had to choose, my favorite female character in a book would be either Skye from the Prophecy of Tyalbrook series by Michele G. Miller or Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. Both are pretty strong females, though Skye is more interesting to me than Katniss. I find myself relating more to Skye, as well.

This year’s BookBlogWriMo is hosted by The Perks of Being a Book Girl. If you want to sign up at any point, jump right in!

Thirty Days of Thanks – Day 14, 15, and 16

I am thankful for our baby monitor, laughter, and antibacterial soap.

BookBlogWriMo Day 13

 

Trees! Just kidding. Sort of. Most of my books come from used bookstores and from indie authors. 🙂 There isn’t much more to it than that. I love adopting a used book and moving it into our very large book family. My husband is the same way. Books are the best gift, so we always try to give them to each other every year, too.

Love me some books.

This year’s BookBlogWriMo is hosted by The Perks of Being a Book Girl. If you want to sign up at any point, jump right in!

Thirty Days of Thanks – Day 13

I am thankful for our many bookshelves that house said books discussed above.

BookBlogWriMo Day 11

This year’s BookBlogWriMo is hosted by The Perks of Being a Book Girl. If you want to sign up at any point, jump right in!

Thirty Days of Thanks – Day 11

I am thankful for sleeping in, on the rare occasions BabyJ lets that happen.

BookBlogWriMo Day 10

Here are my top ten blog posts!

1. Blog Tour – Review – Unlit Star by Lindy Zart
2. Book Review: Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You by Nancy Tillman
3. An Interview With Lindy Zart
4. (B) Books! Duh.
5. Book Review: The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
6. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
7. (O) Book Review: Omen Operation by Taylor Brooke
8. New Release: West by Michele G. Miller
9. (A) A-to-Z Challenge
10. (I) Book Review: Into Your Dreams

This year’s BookBlogWriMo is hosted by The Perks of Being a Book Girl. If you want to sign up at any point, jump right in!

Thirty Days of Thanks – Day 10

I am thankful for the people in my life who love me.

BookBlogWriMo Day 9

I do not personally write in my books. I enjoy the adventure and love the personal feel of reading through the story, however I understand why some people do. I prefer to write out my thoughts in a review instead of in a book. I actually cringe at the thought of writing in one of my books. I have, however, used Post-It Notes randomly for things I want to remember, but that’s about it.

This year’s BookBlogWriMo is hosted by The Perks of Being a Book Girl. If you want to sign up at any point, jump right in!

Thirty Days of Thanks – Day 9

I am thankful for colorful, bleed-proof pens. My planner has hope of being more successfully used and filled with such colorful goodness at my fingertips.

BookBlogWriMo Day 8

I tend to be pretty picky when it comes to books, and there are a few things that really get on my nerves when I’m reading a story:

• Bad Editing*: This is a big one. It doesn’t help that I’m an editor*, so my eyes automatically zero in on the issue areas of a story. It’s rare that I’m reading an indie book and finish without finding any kind of issue. It is so important to have an editor, preferably one who is not the author. It’s damn difficult to edit your own literature with an unbiased eye.
• Cliches: Oh my goodness. Please, stop with the whole “I’m secretly a witch, but didn’t know it until I turned 18, and now I’m coming into my powers and need to save the world.” There are only so many time I can read about the geeky hot girl who manages to charm the pants off the six-pack toting, cocky jock. Or how about the actually super gorgeous teenager who thinks she’s just a mundane no one and needs convincing from the guy on the corner. Disclaimer: There are times when I love these types of stories. Heck! Some of my favorite ones carry these tropes within their pages, but trust me when I say there’s a good way to write these, and a predictable one.
• Overt Sex: I don’t want to read books filled with sex in every other chapter. Sex is not a character, unless the character is addicted, and then that could be done in a much more creative way. I don’t want to purchase a book expecting plot, only to find the plot is mostly driven with sordid sex scenes. That being said, I don’t steer clear from reading books with these scenes, of course.

This year’s BookBlogWriMo is hosted by The Perks of Being a Book Girl. If you want to sign up at any point, jump right in!

*Funny enough, I didn’t edit this post. I decided these posts will just be for my own zero-pressured joy, so please pardon

Thirty Days of Thanks – Day 8

I am thankful for hope in times of darkness.

BookBlogWriMo Day 7

Oh jeeze, I don’t really know what’s on my holiday book list. I’ve had an Amazon wishlist that’s been growing every year, stock-piled with books I hope to get at some point. My wishlist is a bit of a hodgepodge of things and is in no way all-encompassing of the books I want. BabyJ has his own list filled with books. 🙂 

This year’s BookBlogWriMo is hosted by The Perks of Being a Book Girl. If you want to sign up at any point, jump right in!

Thirty Days of Thanks – Day 7

I am thankful for fluffy pillows that allow me to sleep wonderfully without waking up with a stiff neck. I tend to flatten pillows pretty quickly since I’m a heavy sleeper.

BookBlogWriMo Day 6

Borrowing books was exciting when I was younger, and I do it now whenever I need to grab a textbook or something for an audition, but I definitely prefer to buy my books (or have them gifted to me.) My husband and I like to collect books for our library. I have quite a few books on my Kindle, as well. 

This year’s BookBlogWriMo is hosted by The Perks of Being a Book Girl. If you want to sign up at any point, jump right in!

Thirty Days of Thanks – Day 6

I am thankful for laughter, especially right now before a very stressful election.