tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81880498422431543272024-03-05T19:16:14.323-08:00Brave New AdventureThe journey of life begins when you take the first step without looking back.
A blog about a struggling 20 something Psychology/Creative Writing student who loves to write, read, and talk about life.Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.comBlogger247125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-87125706449263570112012-03-16T01:26:00.000-07:002012-03-16T01:26:07.747-07:00Hello everyone, long time no see.<br /><br />Due to Google cancelling Google Friend Connect for both blogger and non-blogger sites, I've decided to create a facebook page for my author site, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/NL-Cobb/316930265009916">N.L. Cobb</a> . I have some exciting things going on this year and I'm hoping that you will all be a part of it. If you are interested, please like my facebook page (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/NL-Cobb/316930265009916">https://www.facebook.com/pages/NL-Cobb/316930265009916</a>).There is not much there at the moment,but I hope you stick around and jump in on the fun.<br /><br />Hope to see you there. Take care and DFTBA.<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-86467169323725034592011-02-28T16:42:00.000-08:002011-02-28T16:42:56.459-08:00NEW BLOG WEBSITESo, getting this website thing up and running has been incredibly taxing at times and it doesn't help that finals are coming soon. That being said, I'll be taking a short hiatus in terms of posting reviews until finals are over (that doesn't mean that I won't be reading though). I'll slowly be transferring things to the new website at <a href="http://bravenewadventure.com/">bravenewadventure.com</a> in the meantime. The website will hopefully be ready to go on March 14 with an all new giveaway.<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-60668159095749701522011-02-17T10:10:00.000-08:002011-02-17T10:10:53.882-08:00Under ConstructionI was so bored one day, that I bought a domain name. The blog will be moving to bravenewadventure.com in a few days, so since I didn't finish any books this week (T_T), I will be using the weekend to update the template, possibly make the header more dynamic (if I have the time and the access to my comp that has photoshop), and moving the blog over to the new domain. So if you want to access the blog and find it gone, this is the reason why. I hope to see everyone next week with some new books. <br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-49653218040904034672011-02-13T13:31:00.000-08:002011-02-13T13:32:57.247-08:00Plan B by Charnan Simon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img0.fkcdn.com/img/497/9780761361497.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://img0.fkcdn.com/img/497/9780761361497.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><b>Date Started:</b> February 13, 2011<br />
<b>Date Finished:</b> February 13, 2011<br />
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<b> Summary:</b> Lucy is in love with her boyfriend, Luke. Lucy is a dancer and has a big solo in the show and her boyfriend Luke is getting a baseball scholarship. Now their plans and goals are in jeopardy because after one buzzed night, Lucy finds out that she's pregnant. <br />
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<b>Likes: </b>I like the themes of the book, it definitely made me think about some different perspectives on the topic. The writing was short and sweet, it was mostly telling and not showing, but I could live with that. It seems like it was written for a younger audience, maybe middle schoolers or 9th and 10th graders. This could open up a lot to the imagination and definitely start a dialogue for kids this age. It should probably be one of those books that have questions included in the back asking kids what they think Lucy and Luke should do? What would they do? and stuff like that. <br />
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<b>Dislikes:</b> This book was just too short to make a qualified statement in terms of story. I read it in about 45 minutes. It seems to stop right when the story is getting interesting. I wanted to know what was going to happen with Lucy and her dance solo, especially when she has to tell her teacher that she's pregnant. I also wanted to know what Luke was planning to do about his scholarship. The book was less than one hundred pages. I've read short books before, the one that comes to mind is The First Part Last by Angela Davis which is about a similar topic. That book packed a punch in a short amount of time, but this book doesn't seem to gloss the surface. Even though I wasn't too crazy about it, Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles is short and simple as well. Perhaps if it started later and went into the consequences of her actions, without being preachy, I think it would have work. I definitely think it needs another one hundred pages or so <br />
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<b>Overall:</b> This wasn't a bad book, but it was so incredibly short that I can't really make a good judgment about it. This seems to be a part of a series, even though it does follow a different character at the school, it would be interesting if these characters show up again. I thought this book was more of a YA, but it reads more like a Middle Grade book. It's an ARC, so I'm wondering if some things will be fleshed out when the final draft is printed, I'm not really sure how ARCs and stuff work. I'm assuming since it made it this far, it's pretty much a done deal. That being said, it's more of a discussion starter for a sex ed class then it is an actual story or novel. <br />
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<b>Recommended by:</b> My senior thesis about teen pregnancy and the summary sounded pretty interesting. <br />
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<b>Acquired:</b> Netgalley<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-90018671582580106352011-02-12T08:48:00.000-08:002011-02-12T08:48:33.525-08:00Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.youthservicescorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/dirty-little-secrets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.youthservicescorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/dirty-little-secrets.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><b>Date Started:</b> February 7, 2011<br />
<b>Date Finished:</b> February 8, 2011<br />
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<b>Summary:</b> Lucy doesn't have a normal life, even though she is trying desperately to maintain one. She has a best friend for the first time in a long time and even a budding romance with a hot guy. However, when she goes home the only thing waiting for her is piles and piles of garbage and junk that her mother refuses to let go. When a terrible tragedy happens to her mother, Lucy will go to great lengths to keep her home and her life a secret.<br />
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<b>Likes: </b>This was a frustrating read. I rooted for Lucy the entire way, but it was clear how her mother and her family was holding her back from just doing average things like having a sleepover at her house or even just having a normal life. It's embarrassing just to have dishes piled up in the sink and dog hair everywhere just dealing with all the stress of having roommates, I can't imagine how much more embarrassing it would be to have a whole house full of trash. The memories weaved in and out of Lucy's current situation were sad, because it wasn't always that bad. Her mother was frustrating, blaming her children for not cleaning up behind themselves instead of accepting that she had a problem. Lucy's older sister, Sara, was frustrating as well because she was going down the same destructive path. The family dynamic was troubled, but realistic given the situation. The crazy thing is that everyone believed Lucy's mother was a nice woman and given the memories about her in the hospital and the things she did for her kids before things went bad, it was true. It was a heartbreaking story, but it was so real and so honest. <br />
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<b>Dislikes:</b> Sometimes the message was a bit on the nose, but it was quickly undercut by Lucy's cynical attitude. I also want to know what happens afterward, I feel that Lucy's story wasn't exactly over where it was stopped. <br />
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<b>Overall:</b> The first thing that came to my mind was that this book is horrifying and horrendous and I mean that in a good way. I was rooting for Lucy to do something for herself and when she did, I was so happy for her. I haven't been so invested in a character in a long time. I really wanted her to succeed in doing whatever she had to do to get away from her house. When she took that step, I was so happy. <br />
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<b>Recommended by:</b> I read the author's blog on occasion. This story is incredibly relevant given the shows on televison about people who hoard. Even more so, I know someone who is a hoarder and from an outside point of view I can understand how frustrating it is to think you can't go inside someone's house because it's too messy. I haven't been in this person's house since middle school, so who knows how bad it could be now. In fact, it was so bad that it was almost condemned. And the interesting thing is that I can understand how Lucy was so willing to do anything to protect her secret. The thought ran through my head several times about how I can write about hoarding without giving away the identity of the person who does it. I even debated about whether I should write this little section and thought about all the people who could see it and the repercussions, so times that feeling by about 100 and I can see how bad the situation got and was cheering when Lucy took matters into her own hands. <br />
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<b>Acquired:</b> Library<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-43530422466495652142011-02-06T20:43:00.000-08:002011-02-06T20:43:00.188-08:00What You Have Left by Will Allison<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fictionwritersreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/what-you-have.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://fictionwritersreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/what-you-have.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><b>Date Started: </b>February 4, 2011<br />
<b>Date Finished:</b> February 5, 2011<br />
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<b>Summary: </b> When Holly was young, her mother died in a boating accident and her father dropped her off with her grandfather, Cal. Years later, Cal is suffering from Alzheimer's and is preparing the old farm for Holly to inherit. When Holly realizes that she has no one left, she goes to track down her father. <br />
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<b>Likes: </b>This is a novel I didn't think I would enjoy, but it was more about a family and their healing process instead of a "quest" type of novel for Holly to find her father. All of the characters were tragically and beautifully flawed and all were likable and humanized. We aren't told one way or the other to feel sympathy or disdain for one character over the other, they are just presented and the reader is left to make our own judgments, if necessary. I found that I didn't condemn Wylie for leaving his daughter and I love the way the author presented the characters and their stories. The narration isn't consistent, starting with first person and going from first to third to first in whatever order is deemed necessary to tell the story. <br />
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<b>Dislikes:</b> There wasn't much I disliked. The POV changes were a little jarring at first and they stopped at parts where I felt could have been a scene (but I definitely appreciate why they weren't included, it's a technique we have to learn at school about showing the small scenes, the quiet moments). eeee<br />
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<b>Overall:</b> I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would. I meant to read just a little bit, but I found myself having trouble pulling myself away from it. I was invested in these characters and they were so unique and dynamic that I couldn't figure out what it was about them that made them so three dimensional. I suppose it was the quiet moments that we saw that added up to the larger picture. I think that's where a lot of novels fail and this novel didn't. A lot of things show the big moments and things tend to get cliched when that happens, but this novel shows the quite seemingly mundane moments that make for poignant and thoughtful moments. I really enjoyed this novel, not just the story, but the storytelling technique through time skips and POV shifts was beautiful and really worked for the story. <br />
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<b>Recommended by: </b>My thesis advisor recommended it. Not for any particular reason other than she thought I would enjoy it and I did immensely. <br />
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<b>Acquired: </b>Borrowed from my thesis advisor<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-47021175111329355692011-02-05T09:18:00.000-08:002011-02-05T09:18:00.393-08:00Anacaona: Golden Flower by Edwidge Danticat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/x2/x11570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/x2/x11570.jpg" width="196" /></a></div><b>Date Started:</b> February 2, 2011<br />
<b>Date Finished:</b> February 3, 2011<br />
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<b>Summary:</b> Anacaona was a high chieftess of Haiti during the late 1400s. This story chronicles her life from her marriage and birth of her daughter. Despite her apprehensiveness about being a ruler or a wife and mother, the impending invasion of the Spaniards threatens Anacaona and her family as well as the nation that she is destined to rule. <br />
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<b>Likes:</b> The prose was so lyrical and beautiful to read. Having read one of Danticat's adult novels for class, I'm glad that her language can translate well for a young adult/middle grade novel. The author took a lot of liberties considering that the tainos didn't have a written language, but rather told stories orally or through pictographs. There's not much in the way of plot until the last third of the book, but going through the daily routine of Anacaona is just nice because the way she describes certain customs of her people is so beautiful to read. Also it's nice to read one of these Royal Diaries stories from someone who was born in the country they are talking about. Danticat was born in Port Au Prince, Haiti. While it's not a requirement that people from certain countries can only tell their people's stories, it is definitely appreciated when someone does because they personally had a stake in everything that happened as opposed to hearing about it, then getting interested in it. Danticat states that she often heard this story as a child and was honored to write it for other people to read, enjoy, and most importantly share. <br />
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<b>Dislikes:</b> This is probably one of the most depressing stories in the Royal Diaries series that I've ever read. There is nothing wrong with the actual book, but since it's a historical book, most of us can surmise what came next. That's what makes the book depressing. Why we celebrate massive genocide for Colombus Day is beyond me, but reading historical accounts (fictional or otherwise) makes it obvious why we don't learn this stuff in elementary school (I didn't even learn any of this stuff until I got to college). <br />
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<b>Overall:</b> I like this book, even though it was sad. These are the books that should be encouraged for us to read in elementary school. This book however came out in 2005, so I was already a junior by then. If I had read this in elementary school, I'd definitely have a broader perspective on the world and the history that is taught to us opposed to what really happened. I'm sure any child who was as curious and inquisitive as I was would have went to search for more books regarding this topic.<br />
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<b>Recommended by:</b> U, at the library. We were in the middle grade section (the only time I go to that section is when I'm with U) and by the Dear America and Royal Diaries section when she points out a bright green book and goes "Look, it's about Haiti." Given what has happened in Haiti with the earthquakes and everything else, I thought it would be interesting to read. It was a good read, but it was depressing. <br />
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<b>Acquired:</b> Library<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-968948156088371032011-02-04T06:02:00.000-08:002011-02-04T06:02:56.277-08:00Book Blog Hop/ Follow Friday #1Yay, I believe this is my first blog hop and follow friday for the year. I will most likely do this every other week until graduation when I can switch to doing it every week. Can you believe I have only 4 weeks left!? I feel like I'm going to faint. At any rate, on to the blog hop and follow friday questions!<br />
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<a href="http://www.crazy-for-books.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Book Blogger Hop" height="150" src="http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt34/crazybookblog/cfbmemebutton-2.png" width="150" /></a><b>What are you reading now and why are your reading it? </b><br />
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I am currently reading What You Have Left by Will Allison because my thesis advisor recommended it. I find myself not being able to tear myself away from it, even though I have to sleep and hopefully go to work tomorrow. I'm finding myself working this book around my schedule, figuring if I can finish the book now, I can go to sleep after work before my meeting at 3. It's very rare that a book can do that for me, especially this type of book which is more literary than action. I find myself invested with thses characters and I'm curious to see where it goes. I'm also going to start reading Bhangra Babes by Narinder Dhami, and possibly start listening to Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld at some point. We'll see.<br />
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<center><a href="http://www.parajunkee.com/search/label/FF" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4710921228_bf32d46f6d_o.png" /></a></center><br />
<h3 style="color: #f1c232;">What is the book you are currently 'pushing'?</h3><h3 style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">I'm always pushing people towards The Hunger Games, but it usually depends on the people who ask me for book recommendations. For contemporary reads, I typically recommend John Green, Maureen Johnson, and most recently Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. For darker edgier reads, I'd recommend Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chobsky, and the Hate List and anything by Ellen Hopkins. For PoC, I definitely recommend The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi Durrow and Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, and Highwire Moon by Susan Straight. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a fantasy, YA or Adult, that has completely wowed me recently, so I can't really push anything moreso than say I didn't enjoy it, but maybe you will.books in this category include Graceling and if people haven't read it yet, The Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce (which wowed me at the time I read it) </span></span></h3>Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-78793807431654849742011-01-30T09:31:00.000-08:002011-01-30T16:08:42.925-08:00What Can't Wait by Ashley Hope Perez<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n73/n369655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n73/n369655.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><b>Date Started: </b>January 22, 2011<br />
<b>Date Finished:</b> January 30, 2011<br />
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<b>Summary:</b> Marisa Moreno is in a tough position. Instead of going to school or doing the things she needs to do, she is stuck watching her little niece, Anita. Marisa is also trying to apply for colleges, University of Houston as her safety school and University of Austin and their engineering programs. However, things are getting intense, she's got a new boyfriend, she's trying to maintain her grades, while attempting to help out her family by working at the local supermarket and teaching Anita to read. Will Marisa be able to pass her tests or will her family's drama bring her down? <br />
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<b>Likes:</b> I like the theme of this novel. There are so many teens that are in this position and there are very few books that are out there for people in that stage. I liked that Marisa's issues were real things that most all teens go through regardless of their ethnicity or cultural heritage. I mean, how many of us can say that our goals and dreams were different than our parents ideals for us. I felt that Marisa's situation wasn't uncommon and it was interesting to read about a teen who wants to rise above and do more than people expect her to do. Marisa's parents don't value education the way she does and it's interesting to see them clash. Especially her mother who does two things that are unfathomable, yet in the end is willing to put her own needs aside and do what is right for her daughter. <br />
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<b>Dislikes:</b> There were a lot of "issues" in the book that seem that they were all piled on just for the sake of showing what happens in high school. There are a lot of subplots that aren't fully fleshed out in the end, but it doesn't detract from the overall story and it seems like it's balanced out since it is Marisa's story after all. It did run the risk of overtaking her story, but there are some pivotal points that bring it back to Marisa's story. <br />
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<b>Overall:</b> I highly enjoyed this book. It made me think of my days in high school applying for college. November, the month of UC deadlines, was a stressful month and I remember checking out of the social loop for a while until acceptance letters came in. Another thing that I found interesting was reading the first hand account of what it is like to be a part of a traditional Mexican family. Not that it was how all families were, but I hear stories from the teenagers I used to work with and their teachers who explain how things can be some times. <br />
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<b>Recommended by:</b> I saw information about the story floating around the internet and it's on my debut author list. When I saw it available on Netgalley, I had to snatch it up!<br />
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<b>Acquired:</b> ARC from Netgalley<br />
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<b>Publication Date:</b> March 2011<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-72382085629764225362011-01-22T23:08:00.000-08:002011-01-23T00:16:44.300-08:00The Duff by Kody Keplinger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1271108843l/6931356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1271108843l/6931356.jpg" width="132" /></a></div><b>Audiobook read by:</b> Ellen Grafton<br />
<b>Date Started:</b> January 2011<br />
<b>Date Finished:</b> January 19, 2011<br />
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<b>Summary:</b> Bianca Piper is the average cynical teen hanging out with her beautiful friends at school. She is approached by the school playboy, Wesley Rush who calls her "The Duff" the designated ugly fat friend and on top of that he wants her to put in a good word to her hot friends about him. She promptly splashes her soda in his face. A few weeks later, she's making out with him and eventually leads to something more. And it turns out, he's not that bad of a guy and that maybe there's something more than just sex. But of course, Wesley would never like Bianca. For one thing, he's a manwhore and he would never tie himself down with a girl. And most importantly, Bianca's the Duff and nobody ever goes for the Duff. <br />
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<b>Likes: </b>The characters and the voice made up for most of the qualms I had about this book. Bianca was funny, her friends (though annoying to me) were exactly the friends Bianca needed and they were surprisingly well-fleshed out. (And the voice actor did a good job differentiating them). There were a lot of things going on in this novel, divorce, self-esteem issues, sex, relationships, and they tied together pretty well. I also really liked the theme of facing reality. The actions you do have consequences, they don't exist inside a bubble. Bianca may have thought that her relationship with Wesley was just between them, but it was affected the relationship with her friends and family. <br />
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And for the most part, I didn't have an issues about how sex was handled in this book. (except for the Vicki). As ideal as it would be for people to just wait until they were ready, the fact of the matter is that not everybody does this. And not everybody has sex because they are in love. Bianca does it for distraction and for her it seems plausible. The relationships (for the most part) are portrayed realistically<br />
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<b>Dislikes:</b> As a whole, while the story is pretty good, I'm having a little trouble with the believability factor. I can't place my finger on it, but it seems like something is off about the whole build up to the relationship. I guess I just wanted to see some conflict. It was a little bit too easy to get together. I wanted more tension between the friends and keeping face at school. <br />
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I wasn't a big fan of the whole minor Vicki subplot towards the end of the novel. It drew me out of the story and it was incredibly preachy to me. I'm not sure what to think of her character, however minor she was, she almost doesn't seem necessary except to serve as a cautionary tale, as if Bianca's crisis wasn't already enough. <br />
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<b>Overall:</b> The story was okay. Even though I'm pretty sarcastic and cynical, I couldn't really relate to Bianca's character. I guess the reason why was that she had such a low opinion of herself, which is realistic, but being as headstrong and forceful as she was, you'd think she would have told Wesley sooner about how the word Duff and the nickname Duffy hurt her. Some of the pacing was a little off to me and things that I wanted to know more about were glossed over. <br />
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Listening to it was a strange format opposed to reading it and I think I might have liked it better had I actually read the words. I found myself getting distracted, trying to find something mindless to do with my hands and eyes without zoning out. It happened a few times, but I think I found something to do while listening without missing things. It's definitely a new experience to get used to, but my whole body needs to be engaged to fully commit to an audiobook. <br />
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<b>Recommended by:</b> It's been getting good reviews all around the internet and I was curious to read it.<br />
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<b>Acquired:</b> Audible.com, I had a credit that I could use to purchase the book, so I figured that I might as well use it on a book I wasn't sure I wanted to buy outright.<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-75510655348240180692011-01-20T21:53:00.000-08:002011-01-22T22:26:49.402-08:00Thesis Thursday #1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.raproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/person-writing-a-list.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.raproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/person-writing-a-list.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>Thesis Thursdays!<br />
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Info: This is just a little feature about writing my Senior Thesis for Creative Writing. Hopefully it'll be helpful to you in some way.<br />
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<br />
So January 12, I met with my thesis advisor to talk to about the project. She asked what types of stories I liked to read and it'll probably help if you had a general idea of what you wanted to write. <br />
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I actually didn't do much that week, but it might help to know why you chose your thesis advisor. I chose mine because I liked the types of books she wrote. I liked her historical fiction and her multicultural perspective. However, I never had her as a teacher before, so she wasn't sure of my writing style. The biggest issue is that I don't really know her personally and she has never read my writing before. At any rate, she is a wise teacher and I am looking forward to sending my work to her.Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-55389720529872169002011-01-15T09:01:00.000-08:002011-01-15T09:01:00.271-08:00Jazz in Love by Neesha Meminger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.neeshameminger.com/images/jazz-in-love_cov_2_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.neeshameminger.com/images/jazz-in-love_cov_2_.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><b>Date Started:</b> January 9, 2011<br />
<b>Date Finished:</b> January 12, 2011<br />
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<b>Summary:</b> Jasbir Dhatt, also known as Jazz to most of her friends and Jassy to her parents, has been a straight A student in the Future Stars and Leaders (FSL), has great friends, a little part time job, and a good family. But then everything seems to come to a hault when the hot basketball player catches her attention. On top of that, her Auntie Kinder is having trouble with her abusive ex-husband. Even worse, Jazz's parents are setting up with her future husband. Can Jazz reunite her Aunt with her first love, while trying not to get in trouble for forging a first love of her own? <br />
<br />
<b>Likes:</b> Jazz's character was totally relatable, despite being in a different culture and upbringing. How many people can relate to their parents being a bit unreasonable? With Jazz, her parents were ultra strict with their religion and culture guiding them in raising their daughter. It wasn't that they were being unreasonable, but there was a clash between their culture and the American culture. <br />
<br />
The themes of this novel are also compelling. Making our own choices, our own mistakes is so important when you're a teenager (or a young adult like me). This is where things get complicated and the author makes this point by showing the conflict between Jazz in who she is, who she wants to be, and her parents expectations. None of us wants to let our parents down, but at the same time we all want to be our own person. Then there are some of us who are content following the plans our parents set us like Jazz's cousin, Kamaljit (Camel as Jazz calls her). The importance that the author sets out is that these are all choices, some of them are risky and others play it safe. The romance was understated towards the end, I was glad to know that it wasn't entirely predictable and while the ending was a little neat, it was completely wrapped up in a shiny bow if that makes sense. Sometimes we just need to be able to make choice, even if it may be the wrong one. <br />
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<b>Dislikes</b>: There's not much that I didn't like. I wanted to know more about Tyler R's family and why he decided to treat Jazz the way he did. Logically speaking, you'd think he'd go to her for help, but when are teenagers ever logical? <br />
<br />
<b>Overall:</b> Once again, Neesha does it again. I love to learn about new cultures in this way. It sheds new light on some of the situations I encounter at school. I know some of my friends who discussed dating within the Indian culture and as Americans we were like "You can just stand up to your parents and choose who you want to date." And he said it himself, it isn't that easy for him to do. Reading this story helped me understand how hard it is any culture to date when you have strict parents. It was interesting to read the clashes between Indians from India and Indians from the West Indies and the caste system that still plays a role in the culture. I recommend this book for anyone looking to broaden their perspective with a culture they are not familiar with. <br />
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<b>Acquired: </b>Ebook received from the author for an honest review.<br />
<br />
You can buy it at <a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/32533">smashwords.com</a><br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-46108804022189064932011-01-15T08:50:00.000-08:002011-01-15T08:50:00.649-08:00Loose Blog Schedule Blog posting schedule:<br />
This will be the loosest schedule ever just in case things get too hectic around here.I do want to have some sense of structure.<br />
<br />
Thursday: Thesis Thursdays (Starting Next Week) Just some updates on my thesis classes. Teacher has office hours on Wednesdays, so I'll be talking about my experience afterward. <br />
<br />
Friday: Friday Follow/Blog Hop.(starting Next Week) I really miss doing these. I'll probably do this every other week just because I have a lot to do. <br />
<br />
Saturday: Book Reviews (all the books I read for in one day.) <br />
<br />
Sunday: Adventures of a 20 Something Post<br />
<br />
I'm co-conspirator on a new blog coming soon, I'll give an announcement as the time comes. <br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-79649888454652661322011-01-08T09:16:00.000-08:002011-01-08T09:16:01.149-08:00The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://reviewsbylola.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/adoration-of-jenna-fox1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://reviewsbylola.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/adoration-of-jenna-fox1.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><b>Date Started:</b> January 1, 2011<br />
<b>Date Finished: </b>January 8, 2011<br />
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<b>Summary:</b> Jenna has mysteriously survived a life threatening accident. Her parents have done everything they can to keep her alive. Now Jenna is forced to learn things about herself that she never knew before the accident and define what it means to be human. <br />
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<b>Likes:</b> While I was reading this novel, even before the big reveal is released I had a sense of foreboding underlying everything. This definitely kept me interested in seeing what was going to happen. The science aspect actually sounded plausible without the story trying to be overly scientific or preachy about the ramifications of medical ethics. It may not make sense in our real world sense, it does have some logical basis and doesn't break the rules of logic for the sake of introducing a deus ex machina.<br />
<br />
The romance wasn't actually a romance in my opinion and I appreciated that. It was two people coming to an understanding that each of them is damaged in same way. The story was also about the relationship between parents and children and surprisingly it is not one of the YA novels that ditches parents and actually has them play an active role to the novel. As well as the grandmother Lily, who is another kick-ass older person who doesn't hide the truth from Jenna. I love learning about Jenna's memories and the world as they come to her. <br />
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<b>Dislikes:</b> Argh, I'm not a fan of epilogues or last chapters set too far in the future. I'm curious what happens to the characters after the initial story ends, don't get me wrong, but when they are too far from the novel, it's just strange. The character is so far removed from what happened that it's a bit disconcerting. This isn't just for this novel, but for a lot of novels with epilogues. I wonder if they are necessary at times. In the case of this novel, it was so distant and it was a strange ending to an overall well-written story. <br />
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<b>Overall: </b>Another dystopian story dealing with another aspect of society. While some deal with technology, the aesthetics, this dystopian deals with the scientific and medical aspects of the way things are going on now. What will happen when we regulate too much or have the technology to remain alive longer than humanly possible. What if we had the technology to possibly live forever, but indefinitely. Would you choose between 2 amazing years or 200 dull ones? I like how this novel tackles this theme. Would someone on the brink of death want the chance to live, even if they had to continually question what makes them human? <br />
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<b>Recommended by:</b> Various blogs. I'm glad I read it for myself. It's got a creepy and eerie feeling to it that I enjoyed. <br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-718524729175318622011-01-01T11:25:00.000-08:002011-01-08T02:19:43.640-08:00Dystopian Challenge<a href="http://bareadingchallenges.blogspot.com/p/dystopia-challenge.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Dystopia Challenge" border="0" src="http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss152/lilsquirtness/banners/Bookish%20Ardour/DystopiaChallenge-1.jpg" /></a><br />
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<strike><br />
</strike><br />
Thanks to Dusky Literati for recommending this challenge as well as the steampunk challenge. <br />
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I'm going to be at the <b>Contagion level</b> which is at <b>15 books</b>. (Some of these are series)<strike> </strike><br />
<br />
<ol><li>XVI by Julia Karr</li>
<li>The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher</li>
<li>Matched by Ally Condie</li>
<li>The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner</li>
<li>Incarceron by Catherine Fisher</li>
<li>Feed by M.T. Anderson</li>
<li>Inside Out Series by Maria V. Snyder</li>
<li>Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld</li>
<li>The Knife of Never Letting Go Series by Patrick Ness</li>
<li>Life as We Knew It Series by Susan Beth Pfeffer</li>
<li><strike>The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson</strike></li>
<li>Delirium by Lauren Oliver<br />
</li>
</ol><img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-21890143013399618702011-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:002011-01-01T00:00:11.557-08:00The Epic Book Survey of 2010I did this last year when I was just starting out. I set out to read 120 books this year, but I got to 61, which I think is an all-time record. Anyway, here are some of my favorite books for the year. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6633ff; font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BOOKS </span></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Most imaginative:</span> <i>Leviathan</i> by Scott Westerfeld.<span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="color: blue;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Funniest: </span><i>Franny and Zooey </i>by J.D. Salinger<br />
</li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Edgiest contemporary: </span><i></i><i>The First Part Last</i> by Angela Davis<span style="font-weight: bold;"> and </span><i>The Hate List</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>by Jennifer Brown<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Creepiest SF/dystopia: </span> <i>The Handmaid's Tale </i>by Margaret Atwood and T<i>he Giver</i> by Lois Lowry <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Most evocative historical: </span><i></i><i>The Help</i> by Kathryn Stockett<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best love story: </span><i>Scott Pilgrim Series</i> by Brian Lee O'Malley<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
</ul><br />
<span style="color: #6633ff; font-size: 130%; font-weight: bold;">SCENES </span><br />
<ul style="font-weight: bold;"><li>Most hilarious: </li>
<ul><li style="font-weight: normal;">Most of the events from <i>The Character of Rain</i> by Amelie Nothomb</li>
<li style="font-weight: normal;">The conversation between Zooey and his mom in <i>Franny and Zooey </i>by J.D. Salinger</li>
<li><span style="font-weight: normal;">The shitty monkeys on shitty island speech in <i>The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle</i> by Haruki Murakami. </span><br />
</li>
</ul><li>Scariest: <span style="font-weight: normal;">The last half of <i>Mockingjay</i> by Susanne Collins</span><br />
</li>
<li>Most disturbing: </li>
<ul><li><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">The last conversation with President Snow and Katniss in Mockingjay by Susanne Collins</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: normal;">Finding out how people are released in The Giver by Lois Lowry </span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: normal;">Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves</span></li>
</ul><li>Biggest tear-jerker: When Prim is <span style="color: white; font-weight: normal;">killed</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> in <i>Mockingjay </i>by Susanne Collins</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></li>
<li style="font-weight: normal;"><b> Best plot twist/revelation<span style="font-size: 78%;"> (no spoilers!!) :</span></b><span style="font-size: 78%;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">The way Rachel's family died in the <i>Girl Who Fell From the Sky</i> by Heidi Durrow<br />
</span></li>
</ul><br />
<span style="color: #6633ff; font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CHARACTERS </span></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best couple: </span></li>
<ul><li>Anna and Etienne St. Clair from <i>Anna and the French Kiss</i> by Stephanie Perkins</li>
<li>Katniss and Peeta from The Hunger Games Series by Susanne Collins</li>
<li>Katsa and Po from Graceling by Kristin Cashore<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
</ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Who you'd want as your best friend(s):</span> Miah from <i>If You Come Softly</i> and <i>Behind You</i> by Jacqueline Woodson, everyone from the Scott Pilgrim Series by Bryan Lee O'Malley<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;">Who you fell in love with: <span style="font-weight: normal;">Gale and Finnick from <i>The Hunger Games Series </i>by Susanne Collins</span>, <span style="font-weight: normal;">Wallace from <i>The Scott Pilgrim Series</i> by Bryan Lee O'Malley</span><br />
</li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Worst (best?) villain:</span> Hilly from <i>The Help</i> by Kathryn Stockett<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best character twist (</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">who you loved, then hated, or vice versa):</span> Shay from O<i>range Mint and Honey </i>by Carleen Brice </li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best character name: </span>Knives Chau from The Scott Pilgrim Series<span style="font-weight: bold;">. <br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Worst character names: </span>Still getting used to all the names from the Hunger Games Series <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Favorite all-around kickass female: </span></li>
<ul><li>Hanna from Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves</li>
<li> Katniss from Hunger Games by Susanne Collins</li>
<li>Deryn from Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
</ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Favorite all-around kickass male: </span></li>
<ul><li> Gale and Peeta from Hunger Games</li>
<li>Marcelo from Marcelo in the Real World (he kicks ass in a different way)<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>by Francisco X. Stork <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
</ul></ul><br />
<span style="color: #6633ff; font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">MISCELLANEOUS </span></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best book cover: </span><i></i>Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves and Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best title: </span><i></i>The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, If You Come Softly, My Life as a Rhombus<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Most memorable voice: </span>Anna from Anna and the French Kiss, Rhonda from My Life as A Rhombus<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Most memorable first line:</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>. "I bring the sun where ever I go, buddy!"<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>from Franny and Zooey. Not a first line, but it's one of my favorites<span style="font-weight: bold;">. <br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best setting: </span>Alternate history Europe in Leviathan and the Explosionist<span style="font-weight: bold;">,</span> Asian inspired fantasy land in Silver Phoenix<span style="font-weight: bold;">, </span>the various dystopias of Matched, Hunger Games, The Handmaid's Tale, and The Giver<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Most beautiful writing: </span>Haruki Murakami, Amelie Nothomb, Penelope Fitzgerald<span style="font-weight: bold;">, </span>Kristin Cashore<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></li>
</ul><br />
<span style="color: #6633ff; font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">LAST BUT NOT LEAST...</span></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Will any of the books you've read in 2010 make your life list of Favorite Books? </span>Yes indeedy. <br />
</li>
<li>The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins</li>
<li>Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves</li>
<li>Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld</li>
<li>The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami</li>
<li>Scott Pilgrim Series by Bryan Lee O'Malley</li>
</ul><br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-57662707875997763152010-12-31T23:00:00.000-08:002010-12-31T23:00:02.653-08:00The Explosionist by Jenny Davidson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD1Wkbmt7LUwmV3D9It3336-Tjb4fxya35JZsnBXKSDzGmDlkQFUaArO6Hc5f7tGpUQNjhq-A0b1U1wc24qCSH1zGzbjeD4Q_KFMkhMRG4VAer58-iwM-f4JCJJET3v9Kg_fEJsSXGI3g/s1600/explosionist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD1Wkbmt7LUwmV3D9It3336-Tjb4fxya35JZsnBXKSDzGmDlkQFUaArO6Hc5f7tGpUQNjhq-A0b1U1wc24qCSH1zGzbjeD4Q_KFMkhMRG4VAer58-iwM-f4JCJJET3v9Kg_fEJsSXGI3g/s320/explosionist.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="en"><b>Date Started: December 2010<br />
Date Finished: December 31, 2011</b></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="en"><b>Summary: </b></span><span lang="en">Sophie Hunter is an average young 15 year living in the 1930's Scotland. She goes to boarding school, but comes home on the weekend to live with her Great Aunt Tabitha. Sophie gets a rather startling message from a medium that has come to her great aunt's house. When this medium winds up dead, Sophie and her friend, Mikael, decide to conduct their own investigation that leads them into the dark political works of an alternate history Europe. </span> </div><div lang="en" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="en"><b>Likes: </b></span><span lang="en">This novel is similar to taking a Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray and combined it with the dieselpunk nature of Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, yet it thrives as it's own story. I like the alternate history aspect of the story. What if... is always the greatest question a writer can ask and this story definitely answers the author's question of what would happen if the England had actually lost at Waterloo. The world would be a very different landscape and I like the author's reimaging of the world. I also like that the world wasn't an info dump either. The world starts off like an other world, but as a reader you realize that something is not quite right. Finally you learn what makes this world different. I always liked that the worldbuilding was done in a classroom where characters can discuss and critique some of the aspects of their world.</span></div><div lang="en" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div lang="en" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Sophie's character was well-written and very like 15 year old girl. Sometimes she wondered why she was being treated like a five year old when she sometimes acted like a child. She hated being teased, threw fits, got depressed, but she also fought against the constraints of society. When she realized her feelings for a certain character, I thought it was hilarious and I'm curious to know what becomes of their relationship in the other books. </div><div lang="en" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div lang="en" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Some of the paranormal aspects were crazy cool, I like the idea of the Dictaphone and typewriter being used as spiritual items that contained thoughts of the dead on a different wavelength. The spiritual photography was pretty awesome too. </div><div lang="en" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="en"><b>Dislikes: </b></span><span lang="en">The paranormal aspects felt a little like plot devices at some points and I think the remedy for that would have been for Sophie not to always get it right. These aspects made it a little too easy for Sophie to succeed and I can't imagine that they'd be that easy, even for her. Granted the story is already long enough as it is, it's just something I noticed. I'm curious to see what role it plays in the subsequent books. </span> </div><div lang="en" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="en"><b>Overall: </b></span><span lang="en">Like Matched, the story reads like the first a series. It has to set up the rules of the world. It's not what I thought it was going to be. It's not a steampunk and it's not Victorian. It's a genre bender mixing in paranormal elements with dieselpunk but ultimately it's an alternate history. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.</span></div><div lang="en" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="en"><b>Recommended by: </b></span><span lang="en">I was looking for a steampunk reading challenge and failed to find one, but I found some intriguing websites. <a href="http://writingya.blogspot.com/2010/12/steampunkalt-history-week-imagining.html">Finding Wonderland</a> had a steampunk week and recommended this book. . This book was highly recommended, so I decided I had to check it out. I'm glad that I did. </span> </div><div lang="en" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-287775867965238672010-12-31T22:00:00.000-08:002011-01-01T10:45:22.415-08:00Matched by Ally Condie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1271825176l/7735333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1271825176l/7735333.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Date Started:</b> December 24, 2010</span></div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Date Finished: </b>December 25, 2010</span></div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Summary:</b> Cassia lives a pretty normal life. She works as a data sorter, goes to second school, and has recently been Matched to her best friend, Xander. When she goes to look at her Match's profile on her card, the screen shows someone else, Ky Markham, an adopted boy from the Outer Provinces. Cassia now must decide to follow along with The Society's wishes or fight for the one she truly loves. </span> </div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Likes:</b> I love the worldbuilding. It's one of the things that attracts me to dystopian literature in the first place. I like the idea of a society trying to be a utopia, but cracking at the seems. This novel reminds me of bits and pieces of The Giver and The Hunger Games, but has it's own uniqueness. It's a bit like reading Hunger Games from the point of view of another district. I also like that most of the book deals with the aesthetic side of what a utopia/dystopia decides to keep. How can someone narrow it down to just 100 of everything? How do they choose? It definitely raises a lot of more thought provoking questions as far as The Society is concerned. </span> </div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">The story is more about having the power to choose more so than love itself, though it centered around a romantic relationship, it is interesting how the overall fight is just to have the power to choose something small to something large. I like the overall theme of decisions and choices. The twist at the end was something I didn't see coming. I also like that her family tried to find ways to help Cassia within the constraints of their world. I also thought Cassia's grandfather was awesome and I wish more old people would show up in YA (only if they're as awesome as this grandfather who basically set the whole story in motion, though it would have been nice to have Cassia take some more agency with this decision as well).</span></div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Dislikes: </b>For most of the book, to me, it seems like there's a lack of urgency. It picks up in the last fourth of the book. I think the book could have benefited from showing more of the contrast between Cassia's love interests, Ky and Xander. I wanted to see the tension between the two lives, because she is essentially living a double life. I never got the sense of just how hard it was for Cassia to choose between the two of them. The guys didn't really seem to become fully realized as characters and perhaps they would have been if there was a tension between Cassia's life. </span> </div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Overall:</b> I'm excited to see where this series is going. (not Mockingjay excited, but still) I want to know what happens to Cassia and Ky and the Society. There were still some minor glitches in the story and it still reads a bit like a debut, but it's obvious that this series is going to take us somewhere awesome and I'm curious to see what happens to these characters. . </span> </div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Recommended by:</b> I saw reviews floating around the internet about this and was unsure. I've been let down by books before in the past. I saw one negative review and was a little less skeptical about the hype and was able to seriously consider reading it. My friend T (who really needs to get a book blog) recommended it to me because it was dystopian. It's not exactly what I want our dystopian to be like in terms of story, but it definitely gives some good ideas for worldbuilding. </span></div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> </div><img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-10295985100529308622010-12-31T21:00:00.000-08:002010-12-31T21:00:05.626-08:00Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267522241l/6936382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267522241l/6936382.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Date Started:</b> December 22, 2010</div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Date Finished: </b>December 24, 2010</div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Summary:</b> Anna is shipped off to a boarding school at 17 away from her friends and her family. On top of that she's in a foreign country, granted that it's Paris, but she still doesn't speak the language. Anna settles into things and makes friends and meets Etienne St. Clair, who is hot and British, and has a girlfriend. She can't help but feel attracted to him, even if he's technically off limits. </div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Likes: </b>I loved this book. I'm surprised I did, because when reading the summary, it doesn't sound like a book I would ever read. I mean boarding school stories aren't really my thing, reading about teenagers in other countries makes me a bit jealous (even though I went to London for a week when I was 15, that hardly counts, but it's more than a lot of people), and romantic relationships? Ugh... not for me. But when I read the book, I was pleasantly surprised.</div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">I really liked Anna's character and how accessible and easy to relate her character was. I could understand her frustration at being shipped off to boarding school. I think I connect to this story so much because when I was 17, I started college and I was on my own. Granted it was my choice, but still I felt the apprehension and trepidation Anna felt when she was alone for the first time. </div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">The romance, though cheesy (see warning below) was probably one of the best in terms of natural progression. It starts off slowly, as friends, then good friends, then so and so forth. It doesn't start with mind blowing OMG I'm totally in love type of things that has saturated YA in recent years and turned me off from that aspect in general. The voice is fresh which saves it from being melodramatic when dramatic things happen. </div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> </div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
<b>Dislikes:</b> The story starts off kind of slow, but it takes off when the big event happens. I thought it was going to go one way, but it took another direction. I mean, when I figured out where it was going, it was still predictable after that point and the romance was a little cheesy at times (but that's coming from someone who doesn't like romance that much anyway, so your mileage will vary), but it's bearable. Maybe it was just me rushing to find out what happened in the end, but I felt like some parts were rushed and/or glossed over. It didn't hurt the book, but it still would have been interesting to read (or at least humorous). </div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Overall: </b>I didn't really think I'd enjoy this book as much as I did. I mean, Anna and the French Kiss... ugh... what can I expect from a book title like that? But I was pleasantly surprised. This book reminded me why I love reading YA. I love getting nostalgic about the good times and the bad times of high school. When I think about it, I had a lot of good times in high school. It's not nearly as bad as I make it out to seem. At any rate, this book was just adorable. </div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Recommended by: </b>John Green! (and a bunch of people on the internet, but mainly him) How could I dismiss a book who has been endorsed by John Green? It really is like if he and Maureen Johnson had a book baby with John Green's voice and Maureen Johnson's style. </div><div lang="en" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-52465013195901698242010-12-31T20:00:00.000-08:002010-12-31T20:00:02.822-08:00Mistwood by Leah Cypess<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1257817794l/6768411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1257817794l/6768411.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Date Started:</b> December 2010</div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Date finished: </b>December 22, 2010</div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Summary:</b> Isabel is a shifter and she has been "captured" by the Prince to protect him. Isabel has to struggle to relearn her fading powers and deal with a shocking secret that tests her loyalties. </div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
<b>Likes:</b> I liked the concept of the novel. An all powerful Shifter from legend, learning to adapt and re-learn her skills and protect a Prince. I also like the idea of someone who has a duty to two people, like a servant with two masters. I was curious to see who Isabel's allegiances belonged to and how she going to justify her decisions. I have to say my favorite character was Clarisse. She stood out to me because she was the one with the most personality. She was bitter, cold, and calculating. I liked her and I think she was the most dynamic character in the story. The story and folklore surrounding the Shifter was pretty cool as well. I like the fact that she didn't really live up to the legend in the way that people were expecting and maybe even hoping for. </div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><br />
</b> </div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Dislikes:</b> I liked this novel well enough, but it felt like something was missing that I can't exactly pinpoint. I just wanted more. More battles, more political intrigue, more betrayal, and even more romance (which is weird because I'm not a fan of romance) Perhaps it was the POV too, the third person omniscient felt a little distancing in my opinion and could have possibly worked better in first person. I also felt that there wasn't enough hints dropped early on to justify the plot twists at the end and the twists come a little too late for me. I know that the twists serve to help the reader and Isabel understand her problem, but I think the story suffered a bit because we don't get enough of how Isabel reacts to that problem. What if she had learned these important things early on? It would definitely have heightened the tension even more. The stakes weren't high enough because Isabel was pretty distant and it was hard to connect to the characters.</div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Overall:</b> This is another case in which I liked the writing more than the story itself.(i.e. Graceling, which I actually like a bit more) It was reminiscent of a fairytale, which can be whimsical but runs the risk of telling too much and not showing enough and distancing us from the characters. Maybe I just don't like YA fantasy as much as I think/want to because every time I read it, I'm a bit disappointed. I'm always in love with the writing because it is the classic fairytale/fable type of writing, but maybe since that's a standard of the genre, I'm expecting something to just blow me out of the water with characters I can connect too. Unfortunately, this book didn't do it for me either. </div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><br />
</b> </div><div lang="en" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Recommend by:</b> My friend, U, got this book at the library and the cover was pretty so I wanted to read it. My other friend, T, read it as well. I think the consensus is that it was all right, but not great. It treads lightly and it kind of reads like a polished draft, but definitely could have used some expansion. That being said, I'm interested in what other works this author puts out. I'm always trying to convince myself that I like YA fantasy, this book hasn't convinced me, but I'm willing to give this author another try simply because I like her style. </div><div lang="en" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-29330702853809983832010-12-23T01:40:00.000-08:002010-12-23T01:40:36.630-08:00Blog Plans for 2011Next quarter is my last quarter of school and coincidentally, it also my least busiest as far as classes are concerned. My job is seasonal, which is alright, but the problem is finding another job to cover the rent when the financial aid runs out. That being said, I will have a lot of time on my hands and I want to take my blogging to the next level. I enjoy blogging and connecting with other people. I notice that I jump from community to community, whether it be book bloggers and struggling writers etc... I've met a lot of really cool people from all over the world. Now that I presumably have a lot of time on my hands, I want to be more consistent with posts, subjects, and overall have a more coherent blog. I don't want to set a definite schedule, but I'd definitely like to update more not just with book reviews, but other things as well.<br />
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I want to narrow the focus of this blog a bit more to just YA fiction and web fiction. I will most likely read literary books just for the sake of reading them or whether I have to read them for class (like for my thesis and special studies), but I'll most likely say less about them than I have in the past or at least try to get more active on goodreads. <br />
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<b style="color: blue;">Books</b><br />
I think I might open my blog up to accepting ARCs and things of that nature. I'll will research the idea further. I definitely will try to read more books during the week. <br />
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<b style="color: blue;">Book Challenges</b><br />
<ol><li>Take part of 100+ challenge again.</li>
<li>Take part in the 2011 Debut Author Challenge.</li>
<li>Take part in the Contemps Challenge </li>
<li> Take part in the Steampunkery Book Challenge.</li>
<li>Find a Dystopian Book Challenge.</li>
<li>A PoC book challenge is just a given. Probably need to read more about cultures that I'm unfamiliar with. </li>
</ol><div style="color: blue;"><b>Writing</b></div>It would be cool to write more flash fiction on here. Originally, I wanted my senior thesis to be a single starting of a novel, but I think it might be best to work with several short stories that I can send out and build my publishing cred.<br />
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I don't know if this is cool or not, but I also would like to post first drafts on here as well, (after the quarter is over so I don't get in trouble for possible self-plagiarism), the revision process, and hopefully a link to a polished piece in some fancy literary magazine. (one can dream right). At the very least, I'd like to chronicle my thesis and special studies classes. <br />
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<b style="color: blue;">Personal Posts </b><br />
I've moved my personal posts to a tumblr (I gave in, I'm sorry), so if you would still like to read about my personal life such as school, love, and life after graduating college, then jump aboard and join the <a href="http://adventuresofatwentysomething.tumblr.com/">Adventures of a Twenty-Something</a>. <br />
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I'm going on hiatus on this blog (I'll probably be posting sparingly at <a href="http://adventuresofatwentysomething.tumblr.com/">Adventures of a Twenty-Something</a>), but I'll be back Jan 1, maybe with a giveaway (and reviews), so have fun and stay safe over the holidays. <br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-38975261095522463232010-12-07T02:45:00.000-08:002011-01-30T04:44:23.854-08:00PoC Debut/PoC Challenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://pocreading.blogspot.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/9656/pocreading.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>PoC Debuts <br />
<ol><li>The Latte Rebellion by Sarah Jamila Stevenson</li>
<li>The Trouble With Half a Moon by Danette Vigilante</li>
<li>Illegal by Bettina Restrepo</li>
<li><strike>What Can't Wait by Ashley Hope Perez</strike></li>
<li>Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys</li>
<li>Teenie by Christopher Grant</li>
<li>Wildefire by Karsten Knight</li>
</ol>PoC <br />
<ol><li><strike>Jazz in Love by Neesha Meminger</strike></li>
<li>Huntress by Malinda Lo</li>
<li>Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon</li>
</ol><ol>Updated continuously. </ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-87038420365673300092010-12-06T13:24:00.000-08:002010-12-06T13:24:17.981-08:00Debut Author Challenge 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_DQJgx8rLjNQ/TOm-A0j1pMI/AAAAAAAALEE/HwtSsWjYAeY/s1600/2011DebutAuthorChallenge-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_DQJgx8rLjNQ/TOm-A0j1pMI/AAAAAAAALEE/HwtSsWjYAeY/s320/2011DebutAuthorChallenge-2.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Here are (some) of books that I plan to read for the Debut Author Challenge 2011<br />
<ol><li>Across the Universe by Beth Revis (Jan) </li>
<li>Vesper by Jeff Sampsen (Jan) </li>
<li> Choker by Elizabeth Woods (Jan)</li>
<li>Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton (Feb)</li>
<li>Memento Nora by Angie Smibert (April) </li>
<li>Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton (Feb)</li>
<li>The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney (Feb)</li>
<li>The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver (Feb) </li>
<li>I am J by Cris Beam (March)</li>
<li>Wither by Lauren DeStefano (March)</li>
<li>Those that Wake by Jesse Karp (March)</li>
<li>Unlocked by Ryan G. Van Cleave (March)</li>
<li>Enclave by Ann Aguirre (April)</li>
<li>Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton (April)</li>
<li>Bumped by Megan McCafferty (April)</li>
<li>Future Imperfect by K. Ryer Breese</li>
<li>Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier (May)</li>
<li>I'll be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan (May)</li>
<li>Divergent by Veronica Roth (May) </li>
<li>Possession by Elana Johnson (July)</li>
</ol>I think that's enough for now. I'll add more around May. <br />
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Now, I self imposed my own rules because I've been known to cheat at these things. I'm only using one book per challenge and for the Debut Author Challenge, I'm going to make sure there's no overlap so that I am maximizing my reading potential<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-82128722207526997212010-12-06T09:40:00.000-08:002010-12-06T09:40:00.277-08:00#Reverb10: December 6: Make<b>December 6: Make.</b><br />
What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?<br />
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The last thing I made was a bunk bed fort with the kid that I was babysitting. It says Merry Christmas and The Elf's Workshop and it was made out of construction paper. I also spent about half an hour cutting out Christmas Holly Leaves (twenty six) and all that christmas stuff. It was actually quite fun, but I'm always reserved when meeting new people, so up until the end I was a little shy. I also felt bad for leaving the house a bit of a mess and leaving dishes in the sink. Hopefully they won't mind that too much, but other than that it was pretty fun.<br />
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Something I want to make? I really wish I had the time and the energy to make scarves from my friends, but I don't have the time. Actually, I probably do, but they'd be the crappiest scarves ever made. Last year or perhaps the year before, I don't remember when, I learned how to knit. It was an a volunteer event in which we made blankets and scarves for people who lived on the streets. Unfortunately, I didn't learn how to knit at the actual event, but a few weeks afterward. I feel that I'm okay at it, but I never learned how to correct mistakes so now I have a scarf that started out really small and has at least several extra rows of stitching on it. So if I can figure out how to fix mistakes, I'd be in business. I will attempt to do it though, when I get better at it. I'll make all my friends Ravenclaw scarves (if we're still into HP by the time that happens) and if worse comes to worse, I'll be able to knit something for my kids, like little baby booties or something. (That's least 5-10 years down the road.) So the short answer is knitting and/or sewing. <br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188049842243154327.post-12970257769891410672010-12-05T23:26:00.000-08:002010-12-05T23:26:55.386-08:00Busting the Newbie Blues Blogfest<a border="0" href="http://smallreview.blogspot.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i53.tinypic.com/25updae.jpg" /></a><br />
I have been blogging for a while now, so I suppose I would say that I'm somewhat established, but then again, I have not set schedule and have been too busy to read. That being said, I want to try to get better at blogging because it's fun. <br />
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At Small Review, there is an Event being hosted called "<a href="http://smallreview.blogspot.com/2010/12/event-busting-newbie-blues.html">Busting the Newbie Blues</a>" which helps established bloggers and newbie bloggers connect and have fun with each other. It runs from Dec 3 to Dec 31, so jump on board and meet some new book blogger.<br />
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I chose the questions for the established bloggers, but they are generally the same thing for both newer bloggers too. I've been blogging for a long time, even though I just got serious this past year or so. At any rate, here are the questions and my answers. <br />
<ol><li><b style="color: blue;"> When did you start your blog?</b><br />
I started a blog just keeping track of the books I read, but it wasn't a "book blog" until about last year and perhaps this year, even more so with giveaways and such. </li>
<li><b><span style="color: blue;">Why did you start your blog?</span></b><br />
I started my blog because my friends were passing books back and forth and keeping a journal about it. Since I don't want to pay for postage and the person I would pass books back and forth with has the same taste as mine, it wouldn't make sense to do. I kept forgetting what books I read</li>
<li><b style="color: blue;">What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far? Did you make any mistakes new bloggers can learn from? </b><br />
I guess my biggest challenge is to find the time to blog. I work several jobs, go to school, and have several volunteer and internships that I do and then I need to find the time to do homework, study, read the actual books that I want to review, and then find the time to review them on the blog. The biggest mistake that I've made is not having a consistent update schedule. </li>
<li><b style="color: blue;">What did you find most discouraging about being a new blogger? How did you deal with this? </b><br />
The thing I find a bit of a downer is working hard on a post and getting no response. This doesn't happen as often now because the stats show that people are reading and if there are anything like me, they just read, but have nothing to say at that point in time. I've learned, especially from my web fiction writing days, comments aren't everything. Just keep writing and the people will come. </li>
<li><b style="color: blue;">What do you find most encouraging?</b><br />
Having a meaningful conversation with other bloggers either on my blog or on other blogs. I think it's awesome to discuss a book that we've liked. <b style="color: blue;"><br />
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<li><b style="color: blue;">What do you like best about the blogs you read? Have you tried to replicate this in your blog? </b><br />
I like blogs that have people who engage with their commenters. I know that some blogs get so much traffic that they can't engage with everyone, but it's clear that they do make the effort to do so. I would like to guess that they've always done this whether they had a lot of followers or not. I like some special blog designs as well that are really unique and pretty. </li>
<li><b style="color: blue;">What do you dislike about blogs you’ve read? Do you try to avoid this? </b><br />
I dislike blogs that have too many buttons and banners and little widgets. They take a really long time to load and they are kind of annoying, especially if they play music. If they have good content, I'll suffer through it but honestly, there's nothing like having a simple, clean, and pretty template design. </li>
<li><b style="color: blue;">Do you have any advice for new bloggers?</b><br />
Blog about what makes you happy and don't stress yourself out trying to get posts up when you have a schedule. If you have a scheduled post feature, use it. Most of all just have fun. </li>
<li><b style="color: blue;">How did you bring your blog to the attention of so many people? </b><br />
Marketing via giveaways, blog hops, and blogfests. That being said, I think the greatest thing that has helped me is trying to develop relationships with other bloggers. When I do a blog hop, I really try to read a few posts of people that week and try to be consistent. I do follow a lot of blogs because of these blog hops and it takes a lot of effort to keep track of them all. If a blog has an interesting post, I'll read it and I probably need to be better at leaving comments. <b><br style="color: blue;" /></b></li>
<li><b><span style="color: blue;">Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience?</span></b><br />
Looking forward to meeting some new bloggers. </li>
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/54488/268/783A6152B5D0463ABC5F7E046421714B.png" />Najelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com4