For anyone who read about my wonderful hospital experience yesterday, I just wanted to give you an update.
My boyfriends foot is NOT broken, thank goodness. But, they think he “over extended“ the ligaments in his foot, if that makes sense. They sent him home with a foot wrap and crutches, so he’s going to hobble around for a few days while the bruises and swelling subside.
Thanks to anyone who was thinking about him, we’re so happy it wasn’t worse.
Rules:
1. Mention the creator of the tag(Celine @Celinelingg).
2. Mention the blogger who tagged you.
3. You may add your own questions if you want to!
4. Spread the love and tag some people to participate and connect! (There’s no limit in number, so have some fun and just tag!).
I really want some book stickers. Like this one:
I love stickers and I really need to add some to my blogging laptop to make it feel more me.
Books for sure. Books can be so expensive and I’d much rather be able to save my money for merch and get the actual books for free. Imagine what you could do with a lifetime voucher! I’d be able to review whatever I wanted without the financial strain.
Unfortunately, no. But I have been wanting to crochet my own Harry Potter figures. It would be so fun and my son could have them when I’m done.
I used to get my merch from a book box subscription but it was too expensive for mediocre items, so then I started buying all of my stuff from the bookstore I worked at. Since I no longer work there I haven’t been buying merch 😭
I love being able to rep my favorite fandoms. It’s the easiest way to connect with other book nerds. I love when I’m wearing my Gryffindor shirt and someone comes up to me and says, “You’re a Gryffindor? Me too!” It’s such an easy way to open a vessel for conversation for someone as introverted as me.
Oh I would make room 🤪 No honestly, I might give some stuff to my brother or my dad. I like being able to give them stuff we both like. And they are not put off by getting something I had on display in my living room for a while. So, it’s a win-win.
TAG: Anyone who feels like joining. No pressure, I just thought this sounded fun.
Sorry for the late post everyone! Last night my boyfriend was riding his dirt bike and ran into a fence, we think his foot might be broken. I’m currently sitting in my car outside the hospital waiting for a text to let me know what’s going on.
So no regular post today, just a long day on the Oregon coast. Stay safe everyone and have a good Wednesday.
By Elli from NeedtoRead Everyone strives to be more positive, happy, and healthy. It’s a goal we all have in mind, and subconsciously try to work …
6 Reasons Why Reading Increases Positivity (Guest Post)
From Men and Angels is a fantasy unlike any I have read before. It’s a high fantasy novel with a biblical twist.
Malach lives in a world that has been ripped apart by a war between demons and angels. 2,000 years of peace has changed the land they live in and no one has seen a demon or angel for as long as they can remember. In this story people must pick which side of the war they belong to, angels or demons? This is the story of Malach and his friends as they find their places in the world.
What I love most about this novel is that it is so unique to anything I have read before. I know a little bit about the Bible and it was interesting seeing it meshed together with a fantasy novel. I also enjoyed that it wasn’t too heavy handed, yes it is biblical, but no it is not preaching to the reader. It has an excellent balance.
The foreshadowing is done really well, and it is not predictable. I would be sitting on the edge of my seat expecting one thing, and then it would turn in a whole different direction. The bit that had me first hooked was an exchange between Malach and his blacksmith friend Togan, after Malach finds a blade dropped from a demon, Togan says to him,
“The point is that you have no idea what that blade will do to you. It’s evil, Malach, just like the bearer you stole it from.”
I kept waiting for the twist, and when it finally happened it took me by surprise. It was the opposite of what I was expecting.
The characters in this novel are all three dimensional, which is something I look for in a book. They all have wants and fears, and most interestingly, they all seem to have secrets. My interest in Malach spiked when he obtains an injury from a bear that should have put him out of commission for a couple weeks at least, but instead he heals way faster than the average human and is up an around in a few days. This forces him to have to confess to his friend, he tells her,
“Somewhere in my family line, I have demon blood. I don’t know how or who, but yes,” Malach looked at the floor ashamed. “I would assume it was on my father’s side of the family.”
But, even with this admission there is a twist that blindsided me. Nothing is ever as it seems in this book.
My favorite character by far is Amara. She is a thief born into a secret group called Shadows. A heist gone bad leads her on a journey that will force her and Malach to cross paths. My favorite thing about her is that she is clever and funny. She gave me quite a laugh when she says to Malach,
“I’m a woman,” Amara said, winking at him. “I’m always right.”
It was just such an organically funny moment that I knew their friendship was going to be a good one.
Most importantly, Amara is strong and highly intelligent. Her character is different from the other girl, Honora, in this story. Honora is an awesome character too, they’re just very good character contrasts. Amara has a lot going on in her past and it is mostly tragic, but even though she’s a thief, she always does what she thinks is right and it saves her life. She reminds me of Arya from Game of Thrones, but a million times less crass. Her perspective added a lot to the narrative.
I have one complaint and it’s that this novel takes a really long time to get going. The beginning is very slow, but the slow boil does lead up to a very satisfactory middle and end. So I did have a hard time starting out, but once the story picked up I had a lot of fun.
From Men and Angels earns a 4/5 stars from me. A huge thank you to the author, H.L. Walsh for reaching out to me via Twitter. I truly enjoyed this novel and I can’t wait to see what comes next in The Deliverance Trilogy.
My favorite thing about blogging is when someone actually reads and tells me they enjoy my content. I honestly never really expected to have a following and thought that blogging would be a fun little thing to do on my off time, but it’s turned into a full blown job at this point. Which is awesome. I’m working on monetizing my blog to help pay for a new logo and my premium WordPress cost. It really is amazing that I have people out there who support what I do. I never expected my words to have any kind of meaning to anyone.
The worst. I am such a socially awkward person and I worry that I’m going to say something that makes me sound dumb. When I reply to comments or say something on Twitter I obsessively analyze them before I reply because it stresses me out. I’m hoping that this is something that become more natural to me as time goes on, but as of right now that’s what freaks me out.
I will say that the pros definitely outweigh the cons. I love being able to share what I think with the world. If I could do this as my primary job I’d do it in a heartbeat. The writing community is such a joy to be a part of, I really do love it here.
I’m giving away a bundle of books, titles include The Power, Station Eleven, and Severance.
To enter follow me and like my pinned giveaway tweet on Twitter.
Entries open until Midnight of Sunday May 9th PDT.
The Power shakes with such ferocious intensity that it is impossible to put down once you’ve started.
Women around the world are having an electrical power woken up inside of them. Times are quickly changing and a mass reversal of power is capturing the world by storm. Women can inflict terrifying pain with just a twist of their wrists, how will this change the world?
This book has a very intense and scary message about power. We as people have this horrible ability ot be corrupted by an increase of power and Alderman illustrates that perfectly. We see it all throughout the novel but the first instance that was really intense and visceral for me happened on page 64 during the first occurence of a womens riot,
“They are going car to car, setting the motors revving and the engine blocks burning into molten heat. Some of them can do it without touching the cars; they send their lines of power out from their bodies and they are laughing.”
I thought this was an excellent scene because it is very remniscient of real riots and crowd mentality. When a group recognizes that they have the high ground they are more likely to commit mass demonstrations of power if the group deems it necessary. But, Alderman doesn’t just show group corruption, she shows how the individual can be corrupted. This is specifically shown through Margot, the mayor of a major city. Margot has the power woken up in her through her daughter and it quickly seeps into her political life. She uses it to become the governor of her state and even uses it to further her military desires. A moment that stood out to me in particular happens on page 78, when she is in a meeting with her adversary.
“She could kill them. That is the profound truth of it. She lets the power tickle at her fingers, scorching the varnish on the underside of the table. She can smell its sweet chemical aroma. Nothing either of these men says is really of any great significance, because she could kill them in three moves before they stirred in their comfortably padded chairs.”
This feels so true to me. People are quick to use their power against those they deem less than them, and I could see this really happening. Alderman’s writing feels so authentic it’s scary.
The religious aspect of this story is intriguing because at first I thought that the new challenge to religion wasn’t inherently bad. The quote that warmed me up to it was this,
“They have said to you that man and woman should live together as husband and wife. But I say unto you that is more blessed for women to live together, to help one another, to band together and be a comfort one to the next.”
I thought this was interesting and it gave me the hope that maybe this religious sect wouldn’t become driven by power and lose control, that it was about comfort and an alternate lifestyle Well, I was wrong as you would expect and it was a powerful blow. This novel is a constant wave of it can’t get worse but then it does. You can feel each blow and it makes the novel powerful.
It is really surreal to read this novel because it does a complete flip from men in places of power to women, and the women will often say phrases that are stereotypically associated with men. It is odd to watch the reversal of rolls and it will leave a strange taste in your mouth, an unreal taste. I first got this feeling really intensely on page 256 when the leader of the female led nation, Besspara, is talking to one of her inferiors. She says to him,
“Just like a man,” she says. “Does not know how to be silent, thinks we always want to hear what he has to say, always talking talking talking, interrupting his betters.”
I was like whoa, I’ve heard variations of phrases like this but with the “gender rolls” reversed. It was kind of like a lightbulb moment for me and Alderman’s message was shining through. It added even more intensity to her writing. it threw me for a loop but in a good way. This happens quickly again on page 261 and it blew my mind,
“Sometimes a bloke is better at that than a woman–less threatening; they’re better at diplomacy.”
I swear I have heard this exact quote but a male talking about a female. It’s at this point that this alternate world really falls into place. A full picture is created and you can see how Alderman really has created this opposite history, the world is flipped in way that is both unbelievable and believable.
I have a few more quotes written down but I am afraid that I will give too much away. I’ll make it simple and just say that Alderman sets laws in place in her novel that are completely believable and scary. I feel like if something like this were to really happen Alderman’s commentary could end up a reality. It’s frightening.
This novel feels so real. Every aspect of society is touched on. It covers religious corruption, government, crime, education, and the military. Alderman knew that she had to incorporate all of these pieces to properly create an alternate history where women have the upperhand in strength. She does it like a master of the craft and blew me away. I can’t come up with any complaints because it is done so well. Every piece of this puzzle fits into place and took my breath away.
The Power earns an easy 5/5 stars.
Interested in picking up a copy of The Power? Click the image above to purchase, but also to help me fund my blog. Thank you and I’d love to hear what you think of this novel.
Location: Corvallis, OR.
The Book Bin is the closest large bookstore to my area, and I worked there for nearly three years. It has a huge selection of new and used books and until recently had the coolest bookstore cat named Tess (retired). I love this store because I met some of the best coworkers I’ve ever had here and if you go here, there are still pieces of me around the store. Little signs and labels, sections I organized, it just gives me a nice feeling of familiarity.
Location: Corvallis, OR.
Broswer’s is the competing bookstore to The Book Bin, so I feel a little like a traitor mentioning them, but I’m going to talk about why I loved it prior to my time at The Book Bin.
Browser’s is books head to toe, books on the floor, stacked in corners, and balanced on tables. I always found hidden gems in this place, and their sci-fi section is awesome. The best part? It’s cheap! I could get way more books here than The Book Bin, but the catch is that the owner at Browser’s is not at all friendly. So if you can handle a grump, you’d probably love Broswer’s.
Location: Lincoln City, OR.
Bob’s Beach Books is a comfy little bookstore with all of the basics, plus a ton of knick knacks. Their prices are decent and they sell new and used books, so you’re bound to get a good deal. It sits right on a nice busy tourist area of the town and it’s not far from the beach. It’s a good place to go on a fun weekend adventure.
Location: Newport, OR.
Canyon Way is not only a bookstore but a restaurant. The books are a little pricier but the whole experience is awesome. You can make a reservation show up early and browse for books, or go on a nice romantic dinner date and pick out books for each other after. This store is dog friendly and right off of Newport’s historical bay front, which has candy stores, gift shops, and a newly renovated Ripley’s Believe It Or Not (which I used to work at years ago, before the renovation).
Location: Portland, OR.
The holy grail of Oregon bookstores, Powell’s is an absolute must visit for any book lover. This store have been here since 1971, it sells new and used books, it’s massive, and every Oregonian knows about it. Powell’s City of Books has a color coded organizational system and a team of staff members that will go above and beyond to help you. I love this place and there is definitely a reason it’s been around so long. It has become an Oregon landmark and a standard set for all bookstores. If you come over to the Pacific Northwest, you must visit Powell’s.
Thank you for reading! What is your favorite bookstore? Do you have a favorite independent bookstore, strictly an Amazon shopper, or are you in love with Barnes & Noble? Let me know in the comments.
Thank you to @WordsAboutWords for sharing this wonderful and original book tag. You can view their post here.
I do most of my reading in my bed. I have the softest bed with wonderful jersey sheets, it’s so comfy. But I do tend to fall asleep if I’m even slightly tired. 😅
I have a copy of The Book of M by Peng Shepherd that I will hopefully be reading very soon. I’m reading it for my quarantine review series.
I finally read The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski. It’s the prequel to The Witcher series and it was a lot of fun. You can read my review here.
I am so hyped up for the release of The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. It’s a Native American horror story and it sounds so good.
It’s a tie between Middle-Earth and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I could get lost in either of those places and they both have their own pros and cons. But honestly, I can’t choose between the two.
Hands down, Westeros. That place is a nightmare. There’s so much murder and deceit, no thanks. I love the Game of Thrones books but would never ever live in that world.
I love following J.K. Rowling because she gives us extra tidbits about the Wizarding World. I like to know as much as I can about the Harry Potter series.
Have you seen the book nook crafts on Etsy? They are magnificent. They are these little bookshelf insert the size of a very thick book that depict scenes in books. There are some really cool ones out there, and I’d like to give it a try.
I love painting but I haven’t had the time. I paint mostly acrylic, but I’d love to work on my oil painting or watercolor.
Multiple times a day… I have a one year old son and he does not get the concept of a book in the hand means it’s time to harass daddy. My boyfriend is also horrible about interrupting my reading, I’ve had to shush him many times.
Yes, several. A few examples are The Power by Naomi Alderman, The Book of M by Peng Shepherd, and The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey.
Oh gosh, so many. We most recently just started the Into The Dark film series on Hulu and it’s awesome. I did mini reviews of three of the films here.
Audiobooks by the plenty and also instructional crochet videos on YouTube. I love crocheting 🧶
🤣 Oh my gosh. Honestly, I sing the ABC’s to myself while I was my hands.
Have a nice day in quarantine everyone and do what makes you happy ❤️
I’ve finally reached the 1,000 mark and I am so proud. A gigantic thank you to everyone who has hit that follow button on my blog and my Twitter account. This is not possible without you.
Hello everyone! Today I thought of writing a recommendation post which is more suited to the current times. Everyone is at home trying to get through…
18 Diverse Fantasy You Can Read to Escape Reality
Into the Dark is a series of Hulu exclusive horror movies that are approximately an hour and a half long. They’re presented as an anthology and it is going on two seasons now. I thought it would be interesting to review the episodic movies as a series.
Pure is a movie about girls going to a weekend camp for fathers and daughters where they go to take their vows of purity. We follow Shay, Jo, Lacey, and KellyAnn as they reveal secrets about themselves and their dads. The girls summon forth Lilith, the demon, and all Hell breaks loose.
What I love about this movie is that it’s a total girl power movie but it’s not trying to hard. It’s also an interesting criticism on religious customs. It gives us an alternate look on the ideas of demons and it switches antagonists in unique ways. I can’t say too much about the plot without giving major spoilers, but it has twists and turns you won’t see coming. It took me by surprise and I loved it.
This movie is half old school horror and half criticism on modern religious ideals. It does a great job of doing more than it has to, but not being overly heavy handed. It has multiple stances from feminism to religious cults. It is a bit cheesy in some spots and is a little predictable in other places, but it did a great job of being unique. It’s an interesting watch and I do recommend it.
I give it a 5/5 stars.
Crawlers is about a conspiracy theorist drug dealer, and her new band of college friends as they deal with an alien invasion while looking for their missing friend. The invasion takes place during a St. Patty’s day bar crawl, and crawl they do.
This movie is hilarious and cheesy. The aliens in question behave much like zombies but they’re able to morph into the people they bite using the DNA from their blood.
Shauna, the conspiracy theorist, has known through her mother that aliens would appear the whole time and it makes her a super funny know it all. She is right through the whole movie and everyone is skeptical to believe her because she deals drugs and pretty much walks around with a tin foil hat on. It was cool to see an unreliable narrator become the hero of the story.
I will warn that this one does touch on the sensitive subject of date rape and it’s a little hard to watch. But, I feel like it does a great job of taking the subject seriously and making it into a moment of strength for the characters involved.
This one was more of a hack and slash horror movie, very reminiscent of zombie movies. There is plenty of blood, red and green, to go around. If you like gory alien movies, this one is for you.
I give Crawlers 4/5 stars.
This one is about Cody, her half brother, her dad, and her step-mother. The step-mother decides it would be a good idea to hire re-enactors to recreate the first Thanksgiving for the family, she hopes it will teach them to be grateful. Needless to say, it backfires and these deadly pilgrims refuse to leave.
So, Pilgrim is interesting. It had a much different tone than Pure or Crawlers, and to me it seemed as if they had one person directing half and another directing the rest. The tone fluctuates between cheesy slasher and genuine invasion horror. They do cheesy jump cuts and they’ll do scenes where it flashes to multiple different angles to show the same thing. It’s really strange.
I did like that it was entirely unique to anything I had seen before. I never thought horror movies and pilgrim re-enactors would ever go together. I won’t say that it was my favorite, but it created something very new and odd.
I give Pilgrim a 2/5.
Have you watched any of the Into the Dark movies? Let me know which ones and what you thought in the comments.
I confess that I am extremely guilty of only listening to the books I already love on Audible, so I have a few titles that have just been sitting, waiting to be listened to. Here is my Audible TBR.
For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.
(Description from Amazon)
Last year this was a novel everyone was talking about so I decided to spend an Audible credit and check it out. I’m hoping it’s as good as everyone says.
In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis’s parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there’s no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents—telekinesis and telepathy—who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and ten-year-old Avery Dixon. They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, “like the roach motel,” Kalisha says. “You check in, but you don’t check out.”
In this most sinister of institutions, the director, Mrs. Sigsby, and her staff are ruthlessly dedicated to extracting from these children the force of their extranormal gifts. There are no scruples here. If you go along, you get tokens for the vending machines. If you don’t, punishment is brutal. As each new victim disappears to Back Half, Luke becomes more and more desperate to get out and get help. But no one has ever escaped from the Institute.
(Description from Amazon)
I honestly don’t remember getting this audiobook, but it sounds awesome. I love Stephen King so I expect it will be a great listen.
A patient escapes from a biological testing facility, unknowingly carrying a deadly weapon: a mutated strain of super-flu that will wipe out 99 percent of the world’s population within a few weeks. Those who remain are scared, bewildered, and in need of a leader. Two emerge—Mother Abagail, the benevolent 108-year-old woman who urges them to build a peaceful community in Boulder, Colorado; and Randall Flagg, the nefarious “Dark Man,” who delights in chaos and violence. As the dark man and the peaceful woman gather power, the survivors will have to choose between them—and ultimately decide the fate of all humanity.
(Description from Amazon)
I downloaded this because I needed a long audiobook for all the driving I was doing at the time, but I never listened to it. I’ve heard that this novel is relatable more now then ever, so I really want to give it a listen.
Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire & Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.
(Description from Amazon)
I own the physical copy of this and the audiobook. I guess I bought both because I have both versions of the Ice & Fire series, I don’t know. But, I love listening to Ice & Fire so I’m sure Fire & Blood will be great.
An article from BuzzFeed recently popped up on my Facebook and I thought I would share it. The article is a list of awesome scenes from books that were left out of the movies.
You can view the article here. But beware, from this point on you will experience major spoilers.
There are two scenes that I personally wish would’ve made it into the movies but didn’t. The first scene is Dumbledore’s funeral in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The funeral is such a touching and beautiful part of the book and I wish it had been brought to life, but no. Instead the professors and students lifted their wands up in solidarity while conjuring Lumos. Not as powerful in my opinion.
The second scene is in Lord of the Rings. The chapter is titled The Scouring of the Shire. This chapter is about the hobbits taking the shire back from the evil forces that have taken it over in their absence. It’s important because it shows that even the most wholesome of places was tainted by Sauron’s evil, but it also shows that Merry and Pippin have become total badasses and they take their home back. I just feel like this was important character development and it’s disappointing that I didn’t get to see it on the big screen.
Sav’s Review 