Thursday, February 26, 2015

My Month Recap

Hello peoples! Thank you so much for having patience with me, as busy as I am. So, wanting inspiration, I've decided to start a write a month recap on my life. I'll post some of the books I've read this month, what songs I've listened to, and what I have written.

This month was the snow month I have been waiting for! It finally snowed. Where I live, the only time it hints to snow is after it rains. But a few weeks ago, we actually got seven inches. It was so beautiful! I love how snow can make a muddy place like our town beautiful.

During February, I read:
Angel Eyes (Shannon Dittermore)
Cinder (Marissa Meyer)
To Kill A Mocking Bird
All Fall Down (Yay!)

As you can see I read, a few great things this month so I'm having a hard time picking out which was my favorite. But, To Kill a Mocking Bird, was so unique and intriguing in a wonderful way. On the other hand, All Fall Down was everything I wanted it to be and more. I also loved Cinder too.
Least favorite: Probably Angel Eyes. The writing was good, but I had some problems with the theology aspect of it.

I Listened to:
Ella Henderson's debut album, Chapter One. (This album is probably one of the best things I've heard this year!)
Reflection, Fifth Harmony. I've followed Fifth Harmony for a long time. Some of these songs got on my nerves, but there were a few good ones.
1989... because that is one of the best musical things that happened to me:)

I Wrote:
The Secret of Winteress, the first book in the trilogy I'm writing with my friend. We are 150 pages and over 60k into the thing. About 10k more and it will about it will be the longest thing I've written.
On this blog, I wrote about clichés, love, and pretty words.

Next Sunday, I'm going to the Roadshow Tour, which is going to feature Jamie Grace, MercyMe, Crowder, and Matt Maher! I'm so excited!:)

I hope I didn't bore you too much. What did you do this month?



Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Beautiful Words #3

In him was light, and the light was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5.

I just finished memorizing these verses and it's been great. No matter how dark things seem, there is always something greater than it. Jesus defeated sin and overcame the darkness.

What are some Bible verses you've read this month?

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Epic Reads Tag

Well, since I finished All Fall Down and have been fangirling over that, I figured what would be a better time to do the Epic Reads Tag. Now this tag is supposed to be a video tag, but I saw a few people doing this on their blogs and thought, Why don't I join the rebellion?

This tag was put on the Epic Reads YouTube Channel, which I believe is put on by HarperCollins Teens. All you got to do is answer these questions about the heartbreaking, epic books you've read!

1. If you could invite one author and one of their fictional character to tea, who would you invite and what would you serve them?
Well, since tea is the food here, I would probably invite Jane Austen and Elizabeth Benet over for tea. It would be a scene from one of her novels!
 
2. What book do you wish an author would write a prequel for?
I've always wanted James Dashner to write a Maze Runner prequel about Thomas since he left so many unanswered questions! But apparently, the man is going to answer my wish with an TBR book called The Fever Code. Other than that, I would love to read a book about the previous Hunger Games; maybe one about Annie or Finnick?
 
3. What two characters (NOT from the same book) would make a good couple?
The first one that comes to mind at the moment (after thinking about this really hard) is Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility and Ky Markham from Matched. They're both very poetic people---so why not?
 
4. If you ran into your favorite author on the subway and only could say on sentence to them, who is it and what would it be?
With all my other favorite authors I would say something corny, but I would probably tell Rick Riordan write a novella about Percy being rented with his mom and Grover, etc.

5. What book made you a reader and why?
Beezus and Ramona was the first book that made me start to read chapter books. But Ella Enchated opened my eyes to the beauty of novels. So those two:)

6. Incendio! Your bookshelf just caught on fire! What is the one book you would save?
My autographed copy of Purple Moon or MockingJay. MockingJay is the only Hunger Game book I own and I am mentally attached to it, heartbreaking as it is.

7. Which dystopian world would you want to live in and why?
Hmm.. probably the Divergent world. It would be one world that would be fun to live in and I have a chance of surviving!

8. What is your most Epic Read of all time?
This is a hard question because there are so many amazing books I absolutely adore. But I'll go back to the book that started it all, The Hunger Games Series. Those books taught me that stories that look hopeless do have hope in them and not to judge a book from what I've heard about the movie.
 
I tag:
M
Maddy
And anyone else who wants to do this:)

 Tell me--what are your epic reads?
P.S Is the music on my blog annoying?



 

 

 


Saturday, February 14, 2015

This Thing Called Love

Isn’t it funny how love is seen in this world?

You want to make a million bucks? Write a love story. It can be in a movie, a book, or a song. Only don’t bore us. Spark it up! Make it exciting.  Just when they think everything’s alright, break them up. Throw in another guy. Make them cry. Kill one of them.

Make it complicated. Because that’s what love is, right?
I’ve seen and heard a lot of pictures of love. I’ve read the books and seen the movies—tales of heartbreak, confusion, and thrills. Not that those stories are bad. But it seems that love is portrayed in almost every way, expect simply.

“Love is a ruthless game, unless you play it good and right,” Taylor Swift once sang. “Love is never, ever simple,” One Direction said as-a-matter-of-factly. In almost every hyped science fiction trilogy, there’s some kind of love triangle. And, I think, in the confusion of it all, we almost forget what love is.
Love is simple. Sure, situations are complicated, but love isn’t. Is it easy? Of course not. Can it frustrate you? Yes. But through it all, love isn’t a game. Love isn’t supposed to drive you insane. It’s much more powerful than that.

Love is noun and a verb. Love is being there for someone and caring for them, even if they might have hurt you before. Love is being willing to give up everything you have and being okay with it, as long as you’re with someone.
No, it’s not easy at all. There are no shortcuts to love—true love, anyways. But despite what Hollywood has made it out to be, it’s not a mystery. It can seem quite impossible, yes, but love is one of those things that can change everything.  Yet, it’s not hard to figure out.
Say you had ten people in your life that you loved. Now think that nine of those people hurt you needlessly and then left. Sounds like a nightmare, right? But all the same, it’s better than having no one at all. That’s the wonderful thing about love. Jesus is right. Without love, we are nothing.

And there is only one perfect love.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 1st Corinthians 13:1-3.

 

Monday, February 9, 2015

Beautiful Words #2

Your kiss, my cheek
I watch you leave
Your smile, my ghost
I fell to my knees.
When you're young, you just run.
But you come back to what you need.

No, I did not write this beautiful piece of poetry. This a segment from Taylor Swift's amazing song, "This Love." I have been obsessed with it ever since I realized how much it related to a relationship in a trilogy my friend and I are writing.

I'm finally reading To Kill A Mocking Bird, which is extraordinary. AND tomorrow, I hope to pick up All Fall Down by Ally Carter. Yay, I finally get to read that book! I'm beyond excited.

What's going on in your life? We are four months away from summer, students. It's getting closer! Now I'm off to practice my speech. Can't wait to get that over with.

Thank you for reading:)

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Cilches That Still Sell Millions

Though it is a difficult thing to do, I try to at least check out and read the popular books in young adult fiction. Some books I read and love. Others, after I read the review, I say to myself, "Well, I'm not going to read that."

Nevertheless, I have read a good deal of popular fiction. While most of it I like, I have found a couple of clichés that are obvious, yet they're frequently used. In fact, some of these things were called to my attention recently. Now I've decided to finally rant about them.

1. Love Triangle.
Okay, this tops the list because everyone that this is in almost every hyped book in the teen section. Yet, more stories flood in that contain a love triangle. It might or might not be the main idea of the story, but it's there. Even if it's done well or not, it can get annoying after awhile. What's worse is that half of these love triangles are set up in basically the same way.

The female protagonist has a best friend whose a guy. She loves this boy. But a few chapters into it, bam! Another man comes in out of nowhere. At first, girl does not know what to do about him, out of loyalty for her male best friend. But the new guy interests here. It goes on. Eventually, it leads to the best friend getting jealous and the girl choosing the new dude.

It comes in different characters and settings, but 50% of the time, this is what happens. There's nothing wrong with this idea, but can we have a little variety here? In real life,  love triangles are rare. I think we can all agree that romance can be interesting and sweet without having three people involved.

2. Abusive, Dead, or Neglecting Parents
This only came to my attention recently, but I see how sad it is. Consider you're favorite secular teen fiction. This is mostly applied to science fiction, dystopian, and fantasy. Here's some of my favorite characters as an example.

Katniss Everdeen- Dead father and awkward relationship with mother.
Tobias Eaton-Abusive father and absent mother.
Percy Jackson- Absent father and nice mother, but she isn't around much in the stories.

I could go on and on. But do you see what I mean? Even in The Selection, America's relationship with her father is very nice and relatable to me. But he's not even in the series about 80% of the time! Even if the parent is actually good, the author stuffs them out, making them unimportant. These are still great stories, but this is a problem.

Yes, I completely aware that absent and abusive parents are real, But no matter what, parents are effective in a child's life. Can we please have a parent that's good to the child and involved in the story, instead of  a mean, violent adult who just causes problems for the poor kid?

3. Rebelling Against the Government
This is a extremely popular topic in dystopian. There's nothing wrong it. In fact, the rebellion is necessary.  Only, it gets a tad bit old after tons of teen fiction written about it.  Of course, the government always has something we disagree with, but do they always have to start a civil war?

4. Incomplete Last Sentences
Here's what that is. Someone is dying, either suddenly, or gradually. The protagonist leans down at his friend's dying face and screams her name. The life begins to leave this person and she whispers something, "Tell so-and-so I..."

That's it. Then she dies. It's cruel enough for a author to kill a well-loved character. They need to at least finish their last thought.

I could say a few more, but my time is limited. What are some annoying clichés you have found, in either books you hate or love? Comment and tell me about it. I'd love to hear it:)


Monday, February 2, 2015

You're Amazing and So is Your Blog Award

Hello peoples! I don't know about you, but I am unprepared for this week. However, the game last night, reminded me of life. We get so confident and one mistake can make it all fall apart.

 So you wonderful followers continue to tag me for things and I still fall behind. But I finally found the time to do this tag. Yay! School continues to kill me so I apologize for the less-than frequent posts.

1. Copy and paste these rules on to your award post.
2. Come up with at least 5 fun questions for your nominees to answer.
3. Nominate at least 5 people who you think are amazing and have an amazing blog.
4. List at least one reason why you appreciate the people you nominated.
5. Put this award on your sidebar or award/tag page if you were nominated.
6. Leave a comment on your nominees' blogs letting them know they've been nominated.


The first person I'm going to thank is Bethany from Bright Life by Bethany. Be sure to check out her super cute blog! Thanks, Bethany.

Why do you blog?
I blog because I love words. I love expressing my opinion, creating long and short blog posts, and thinking of original words. I love it even more when people, who I've never met before, take the to comment and encourage me! Thank you guys so much!

A big storm (of snow) and the TV says you are going to be stuck inside for at least three days, so what do you go to the store and buy?
Soup. Have I ever told you how obsessed I am with soup? I'll also go to the library and stock up on books. Next, I might go to Family Video and rent something. Last but not least, ice cream! (Yes, I buy ice cream when a snowstorm is coming. Why is that weird?)

Spring or summer?
Right now, it will be summer. No school. Oh, summer, come back to me! Now I have Olaf's masterpiece  in my head!

Which color? White or black?
I like to wear black more than white, but white is a better color.

Lord of the Rings or Star Wars?
Lord of the Rings. I've only seen two of the Star Wars movies, but even then, it's no contest. Can you believe that Tokilien actually thought of that idea when there was no movies or television? Mind blow!

If you could go anywhere in the world right now, all expenses paid, where and why?
Hmm.... maybe to London. London just sounds like an amazing place.


The next person who tagged me for this is Guinea Pig Lover from Lord's Girl. Thank you so much! Check on her blog:)

What is your favorite junk food?
Cheese crackers. I can't get enough of those. I usually munch on them every morning.

Are you a tomboy or girly-girl?
In the middle. Shopping for clothes bores me extremely, but swimming in a pond doesn't attract me either. So I guess I'm a little bit of both.

What is your favorite post you have done? Link it here:
I really liked The Ticking Monster post that I wrote this year, but I also enjoyed writing my Ten Favorite Fictional Heroines.

If you only had one hour to live, where would you live it?
What a thoughtful question! But always home.

Comfortable, or uncomfortable fashion?
Usually, I prefer comfortable, but even when it's not, I tend to forget about it.


The last person who tagged me for this is Maddy from Digital Diaries. Thank you so much, Maddy! The link to her blog is up there:)

When did you start this blog?
June of 2012, I believe.

Your favorite school subject?
Anything that has to do with writing and reading. Literature.

What is your dream vacation?
In the USA, Disney World, but worldwide, Europe.

Your favorite book?
No. Please don't. My favorite book I read this year is, by far,  The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riodarian! Ah, that book.

Country girl or city girl?
Both. Those places fascinate me.

Thank you so much for tagging me, guys! I really appericate it!

My Questions:
1. You have one question to ask your favorite author about th
eir books. What is it?
2. Favorite book you've written this year?
3. Movie you're anticipating?
4. If you redo one character death, who would it be and why?
5. Favorite lyric to your favorite song?

I tag anyone who wants to do this! Thanks!