tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25678030104234623842024-03-13T14:07:35.824-04:00A Little of the Good LifeA little bit about a lot of things.Brandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12051119035751540126noreply@blogger.comBlogger366125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-84983588594104077192016-05-27T09:54:00.001-04:002016-05-27T09:54:58.975-04:00You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) {A Little of the Book Life Review}<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1440565049l/23705512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1440565049l/23705512.jpg" width="132" /></a><b> </b><br />
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<b>Title: </b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23705512-you-re-never-weird-on-the-internet?ac=1&from_search=true">You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)</a><br />
<b>Author: </b><a href="http://feliciaday.com/">Felicia Day</a><br />
<b>Publisher: </b>Touchstone<br />
<b>Publication Date: </b>August 2015<br />
<b>Source: </b>Library audio book (own paperback)<br />
<b>Rating: </b>FIVE STARS<br />
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<span id="freeText18202252100022067696">From online
entertainment mogul, actress, and “queen of the geeks” Felicia Day, a
funny, quirky, and inspiring memoir about her unusual upbringing, her
rise to Internet-stardom, and embracing her individuality to find
success in Hollywood.<br /><br />The Internet isn’t all cat videos. There’s
also Felicia Day—violinist, filmmaker, Internet entrepreneur, compulsive
gamer, hoagie specialist, and former lonely homeschooled girl who
overcame her isolated childhood to become the ruler of a new world... or
at least semi-influential in the world of Internet Geeks and Goodreads
book clubs.<br /><br />After growing up in the south where she was
"home-schooled for hippie reasons", Felicia moved to Hollywood to pursue
her dream of becoming an actress and was immediately typecast as a
crazy cat-lady secretary. But Felicia’s misadventures in Hollywood led
her to produce her own web series, own her own production company, and
become an Internet star.<br /><br />Felicia’s short-ish life and her
rags-to-riches rise to Internet fame launched her career as one of the
most influential creators in new media. Now, Felicia’s strange world is
filled with thoughts on creativity, video games, and a dash of mild
feminist activism—just like her memoir.<br /><br />Hilarious and
inspirational, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is proof that
everyone should embrace what makes them different and be brave enough
to share it with the world, because anything is possible now—even for a
digital misfit.</span></div>
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<span id="freeText18202252100022067696"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23705512-you-re-never-weird-on-the-internet?ac=1&from_search=true"><img alt="Goodreads badge add plus" src="https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/badge/goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898.png" style="margin: 0px 0.5em 0.5em 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> </span><br />
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So I've said this before. Audio books and I don't really mix all that great. It's not that I can't hear or don't want to listen to them. It's that I lose focus. So typically I only listen to audio books for rereads, just in case. And the reader of the book matters immensely. Rebecca Gibel, who narrated the Splintered series by AG Howard was amazing. Will Patton, narrator of The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater? Superb. Whoever it was that attempted to narrate The Hunger Games? Um... no. But Felicia Day? Narrating her own memoir? A-freaking-awesome. And it wasn't a re-read. I was on a road trip all by my lonesome and needed company. :)</div>
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I can't say enough good things about this book. I've seen Felicia Day in a few things - the first few episodes of The Guild (time hasn't allowed me to continue, but I plan on it), Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer... but I've never really 'followed' her, per se. But this book... this book, despite all of our actual differences, made me feel like someone <i>got</i> me. And I still feel that's a little weird to say, given that it's not like we actually had a conversation. And we are ENTIRELY different people with different life styles and ambitions. But there was something about her openness, her honesty, that struck a chord with me. And I love her for it.</div>
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I'm not a gamer. I'm not "into" mass-multi-player-online-role-playing-games (see, I'm sure that's not even right... that's how much I'm not "into" it). I haven't the slightest what Felicia was talking about when on those subjects. But she made it relatable and did not come across as being put out by someone reading/listening to her book who didn't know the ins and outs of gaming.</div>
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I want to sit down with her and have coffee and pancakes and talk about life. #lifegoals :)</div>
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If you've read it, do you share my enthusiasm? If you haven't, I really suggest you look into it. You might just be surprised. </div>
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Smiles,<br />B</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-36803914915434683082016-03-25T09:16:00.002-04:002016-03-25T09:16:18.448-04:00Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley {A Little of the Book Life Review}<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396886699l/20579291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Lies We Tell Ourselves" border="0" height="200" id="coverImage" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396886699l/20579291.jpg" width="126" /></a><br />
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Title: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20579291-lies-we-tell-ourselves?from_search=true&search_version=service">Lies We Tell Ourselves</a><br />
Author: <a href="http://www.robintalley.com/">Robin Talley</a><br />
Publisher: Harlequin Teen<br />
Publication Date: September 2014<br />
Source: Library<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><i>Read in May 2015... this review has been sitting in my drafts... whoops! lol </i></span><br />
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<span id="freeText5474587166217456564">In 1959 Virginia, the lives of two girls on opposite sides of the battle for civil rights will be changed forever.<br /><br />Sarah
Dunbar is one of the first black students to attend the previously
all-white Jefferson High School. An honors student at her old school,
she is put into remedial classes, spit on and tormented daily.<br /><br />Linda
Hairston is the daughter of one of the town's most vocal opponents of
school integration. She has been taught all her life that the races
should be kept separate but equal.<br /><br />Forced to work together on a
school project, Sarah and Linda must confront harsh truths about race,
power and how they really feel about one another.<br /><br />Boldly
realistic and emotionally compelling, Lies We Tell Ourselves is a brave
and stunning novel about finding truth amid the lies, and finding your
voice even when others are determined to silence it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20579291-lies-we-tell-ourselves?from_search=true&search_version=service"><img alt="Goodreads badge add plus" src="https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/badge/goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898.png" style="margin: 0px 0.5em 0.5em 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <br />
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I really loved this book. I cared about the characters from page 1. I wanted to cry, cringe, throw things... I hated that I was reading a fiction story based on facts. That these types of things, and worse, happened to anyone. The writing just pulls me and I feel like I'm there. Like I'm going through what these young women are going through. And I definitely wasn't there. I've never lived in Virginia, I didn't live through desegregation; I never experienced any of that. But this author made me feel like I did.<br />
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If I had rated the book 2/3 of the way in, it probably would have been a resounding five stars. I loved it that much. I felt it. But then it started to feel rushed. And slightly... preachy, maybe. And it all wrapped up so neatly with a pretty bow on top... and not that I don't like happy endings. I do. I really do. But it didn't feel as real to me with that bow.<br />
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Then there's the issues. While it's a book essentially about racism, about segregation/desegregation and what it meant to those kids who were experiencing it, the issue of sexuality was brought in, as well as abuse. It's obvious very early on that Sarah experiences feelings for girls that she "should" be experiencing for boys. By the end of the book, I kinda felt like the author was saying "How many issues can I throw into one book and make it work?" Most of it did. And while I get that Sarah is a God-fearing Christian who is highly involved in the church, the Bible quoting and relentless thoughts/talks about sin could have been pared down some for my tastes.<br />
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Overall, though, I found it to be a very enlightening and engaging read. So, despite a few minor hangups, I'm going with four (really four and a half, probably) stars. I loved the characters, and even though it seemed to me (again, I wasn't there in that time period, so there's that) that some of the romantic (for lack of a better, more proper, word) elements were a bit far-fetched, I rooted for them to survive, to believe in themselves, and to develop their own beliefs and not just regurgitate what their elders and peers were always saying.<br />
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This is definitely a book I would recommend to anyone who:<br />
<ul>
<li>loves a good story</li>
<li>enjoys historical fiction</li>
<li>wants likeable and hateable (is that a word?) characters</li>
<li>like authors who drag them along with their writing</li>
<li>needs a supplemental historical fiction book when teaching about Civil Rights</li>
</ul>
Have you read it? What'd you think? <br />
<ul>
</ul>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-44095692156211614942016-03-22T15:27:00.000-04:002016-03-22T15:39:03.390-04:00The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey {A Little of the Book Life Review}<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1408923844l/22875099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Girl With All the Gifts" border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1408923844l/22875099.jpg" width="210" /></a><br />
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Title: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22875099-the-girl-with-all-the-gifts">The Girl With All the Gifts</a><br />
Author: <a href="http://mikeandpeter.com/">M.R. Carey</a><br />
Publisher: Orbit<br />
Publication Date: April 2015<br />
Source: Own<br />
Rating: 4 stars<br />
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<span id="freeText11160553004532764194"><b>NOT EVERY GIFT IS A BLESSING.</b><br />Melanie is a very special girl. Dr Caldwell calls her "our little genius." <br /><br />Every
morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they
come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his
people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her.
She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.<br /><br /><i>The Girl With All the Gifts</i> is a groundbreaking thriller, emotionally charged and gripping from beginning to end.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22875099-the-girl-with-all-the-gifts"><img alt="Goodreads badge add plus" src="https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/badge/goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898.png" style="margin: 0px 0.5em 0.5em 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><br />
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I am so shocked. Seriously. So this book came to my attention via <a href="https://twitter.com/mstiefvater">Maggie Stiefvater's Twitter</a> feed a while back. She said, "<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer1029206221"><span id="freeTextContainer3691039311703285653">The most sure-footed novel I've read all year. A dystopian thriller with a real, beating heart. Recommend. Recommend. Recommend." I added it to my TBR list that moment. On a whim I suggested it to my book group and they said it sounded "promising"... so here I am on the other side of the beginning.</span></span><br />
<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer1029206221"><span id="freeTextContainer3691039311703285653"><br /></span></span>
<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer1029206221"><span id="freeTextContainer3691039311703285653">I'm going to attempt to talk about this book without any spoilers. I knew nothing other than the synopsis from GoodReads and what Maggie had said about it. I want to leave you all with that same experience should you choose to read it. If I had known more, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much as I did.</span></span><br />
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<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer1029206221"><span id="freeTextContainer3691039311703285653">From page one I was drawn into the story. I love that it started with Melanie. I'm not sure it could have been done any other way and been as intriguing. Why is she in a cell? Why does she have to be strapped into a wheelchair? <i>I'm SO confused!!!</i> Eventually I caught on, of course. </span></span><br />
<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer1029206221"><span id="freeTextContainer3691039311703285653"><br /></span></span>
<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer1029206221"><span id="freeTextContainer3691039311703285653">I can't say I loved it like I did in the beginning. But I enjoyed it. It started to lag for me about halfway through, but it picked up again toward the end. I liked Carey's take on a subject that doesn't typically appeal to me. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a well-told story in a dystopian setting. </span></span><br />
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<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer1029206221"><span id="freeTextContainer3691039311703285653">Have you read it? What'd you think?</span></span><br />
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<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer1029206221"><span id="freeTextContainer3691039311703285653">Smiles,</span></span><br />
<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer1029206221"><span id="freeTextContainer3691039311703285653">B</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-30548381190192885472016-03-22T15:14:00.001-04:002016-03-22T15:14:54.910-04:00Social Media {A Little of the School Life}<span style="color: red;"><i>This is for an assignment for one of my classes... ignore away. :) </i></span><br />
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Social networks seem to be everywhere. Both on a personal and a professional level. I have accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, GoodReads, and LibraryThing. There's a chance my Myspace account is still there, I suppose. While I have accounts on all of the above, that's not to say I use them <i>all </i>regularly or that I use them at all, really. Take Google+ for example. I can't recall the last time I actually checked out my page. <i>(Although writing this will probably spur me to do so... that's how it ends up happening for me.)</i><br />
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Facebook is one that I use almost daily. I scroll through it, post to it, kill time with it. There are downsides to it, as with anything (drama, anyone?), but overall it's good for keeping up with friends and family that don't live near. I can see what they're up to and they can see what I'm up to. On a professional level, it's great for spreading the word about events or for letting our followers know what's new in the library. I also like to share fun things that are related to reading, books, or even general stuff that I think our community might find interesting. The Shelby County Public Library has a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/shelbycountypubliclibrary/">general Facebook page</a> as well as a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Shelbyville-Public-Library-SSCPL-Teens-113350395349281/">Teen-specific</a> page. The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/InformaticsIUPUI/?fref=ts">IUPUI SOIC</a> uses Facebook to promote students' successes as well as events and varying celebrations (like Spring and International Women's Day).<br /><br />
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I've had an account on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandy-graves-041306a5">LinkedIn </a>for some time but I've not used it as much as other social media sites that geared more toward personal interests. It is a great networking site for professionals and a great way to connect with people in the community. For instance, one of my connections is Nathan Burger, who is a Manager for the Indiana Fever Group Events and Programs. Every year he provides us with vouchers for free tickets for those that complete our summer reading program.<br />
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While nothing can take away from the value of face-to-face interaction, technology is ever-present and ever-growing in this world. It's a great tool for communication and making connections on both personal and professional levels. <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-71903338351653986002016-03-22T15:04:00.000-04:002016-03-22T15:04:47.712-04:00MUVE {A Little of the School Life}<span style="color: red;"><i>This is an assignment for a class I'm taking - ignore away! ;)</i></span><br />
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I don't have much experience with any MUVE, interactive, or gaming technologies. My son, who is 6, plays Minecraft via an app on his tablet, but I've not done more than watch him do some things on it. A friend and coworker of mine is into all things technology related, including all the ones mentioned above. He likes how it works as a stress reliever for him and the creativeness of the game. He has the tools to make the game whatever he wants it to be, and even mentioned that some people go really far into the coding and creating their own space out of it. He talked about the different modes people can play in - peaceful, creative, survival, and adventure modes. It's easy to see why so many people become addicted to it.<br />
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One of my other coworkers talked about her former library where they had a Minecraft club that would meet at a set time each month. I think it would be a great way for kids to meet other kids with like interests. They can interact with one other in the game as well as outside the game, in the physical space they are sharing. She also mentioned that one of the librarians had used Minecraft to create an exact replica of the library. That could come in handy for all sorts of things from advocating for more space or grant applications.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-59421088162347214222016-02-15T09:57:00.002-05:002016-02-15T09:57:43.400-05:00Carry On {A Little of the Book Life Review}<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1429810397l/23734628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Carry On" border="0" height="200" id="coverImage" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1429810397l/23734628.jpg" width="142" /></a><br />
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Title: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23734628-carry-on">Carry On</a><br />
Author: <a href="http://www.rainbowrowell.com/">Rainbow Rowell</a><br />
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin<br />
Publication Date: October 6, 2015<br />
Source: Own<br />
Rating: 5 stars (or 20... whatever...) <br />
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<span id="freeText7486308199031838637">Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen.<br /><br />That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.<br /><br />Half
the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he
sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke
up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing
Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were
here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s
infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.<br /><br /><em>Carry On</em>
is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just
as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell
story—but far, far more monsters.</span><br />
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OH, MERLIN!<br />
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Seriously. Rainbow Rowell has super powers. For real. The way she can weave a story... the way she can suck me in and make me forget the world exists outside of her pages... I can't even begin to imagine a book world without her in it. <br />
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It doesn't seem to matter what she is writing about - normal teenage drama, magickal teenage drama, adult drama... I'm there. I'm <i>feeling</i> it <i>all</i>. And I FREAKING LOVE IT.<br />
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I loved watching Simon grow and learn about himself. I loved watching Baz struggle with who is - not only as a person, but as a vampire. The dynamics between all the characters leap off the page. The voices of each were so distinct there was no confusion as to who was narrating the part I was reading. And the <i>intensity</i> of the story, the tension between characters... whew! She writes it better than real life usually presents it.<br />
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More, please. Not necessarily Simon/Baz/Penelope/etc, just more. More writing, more stories, more characters I can fall in love with and wish were really in my life. More.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-19074470673616939452016-02-03T11:41:00.000-05:002016-02-03T11:41:25.305-05:00Still here {A Little of the Mom Life} Yesterday I had a newcomer to storytime. His name was Jacob and he'll be one at the end of this month. This is super important to the story of my day. It's the catalyst of all my thoughts and emotions. His older brother used to come to storytime. (He's now 6.) Jacob came into the room with his grandma and his grandma said I might remember his brother when he came with his mom. She mentioned their names and it all clicked - probably partially due to the fact that Jacob resembles his older brother a lot.<br />
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And then she told me the news. How last April, the boys lost their mom due to a pulmonary embolism. I don't know this family other than them coming into the library from time to time. And they haven't been in on a regular basis for quite some time (even before the tragedy.) Life gets busy and other things take priority. But I had <i>no</i> clue that these boys' mother had passed away. She was 31. Jacob won't remember her. His brother will, at best, have snapshots of memories in his mind.<br />
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All day long I kept thinking about them. About her, their mom. And how she's missing out on seeing all the wonderful, and not-so-wonderful, things her kids are going to do in their life. How she's not going to see so many firsts, so many smiles, so many tears. She's going to miss out on the laughter of life and the snuggly hugs and kisses and all the silly moments.And those boys. They are going to miss out mommy hugs, kisses, snuggles, advice, tears of happiness, tears of frustration, fun times, not-so-fun times...<br />
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Needless to say I was a bit emotionally exhausted at the end of the day. I just wanted to go home and relish in the fact that I'm still here. Yes, bills are due. Yes, school is happening. Yes, work is demanding. Yes, I'm tired. Yes, I get frustrated. But I'm here. I get to hear "MOOMMMYYY!" when I go to pick up Zoe-bug from the sitter. I get to go hunt down Eli at the Boys and Girl's Club and make him upset that he doesn't get his turn on the X-box. I get to deal with first grade frustration from a boy because I "don't do homework like Daddy." I still get to pour that glass of wine while he's wailing in his room because I tried doing homework in the wrong order. I still get to be told by Zoe that "Mommy, you're yelling." Yes. Those types of moments can suck. And suck the life out of you. But I still have them. I also still get the night time story reading, the hugs and kisses, and the "I'm sorry we couldn't get along earlier" moments (for real, that was a sincere apology from Eli at bedtime). <br />
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I'm still here. They're still here. Good. Bad. All the in-betweens. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-3968312070537059682016-01-22T10:31:00.000-05:002016-01-22T10:31:15.176-05:00Wreck This Journal (#2) {A Little of the Book Life}Guys, I am loving <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wreck-This-Journal-Red-Expanded/dp/0399162720/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1453476116&sr=8-3&keywords=wreck+this+journal">Wreck This Journal</a>. Seriously. So. Much. Fun. And it's great that Malissa is doing it as well. It's cool to see how we do things differently or the same. It really kinda tells me something about myself when I look at one of the pages and I think "Um... No. I don't think I can do that."<a href="http://alittleofthebooklife.blogspot.com/2016/01/wreck-this-journal-little-of-book-life.html">(Here's the first post on the journal...)</a><br />
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<i>Example</i></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UZjGB2_OcAY/VqJJxDinlVI/AAAAAAAACUo/UOg0JmHZzWk/s1600/20160122_102030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UZjGB2_OcAY/VqJJxDinlVI/AAAAAAAACUo/UOg0JmHZzWk/s200/20160122_102030.jpg" width="112" /></a></div>
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Uhhhhhhh............... We'll see how that one pans out... eventually. lol</div>
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<b>Here are a few pics from this past week's adventures with the journal:</b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lUB1Mlmz3iI/VqJGPDYcC6I/AAAAAAAACTk/Xp2VAn92hZM/s1600/20160122_100222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lUB1Mlmz3iI/VqJGPDYcC6I/AAAAAAAACTk/Xp2VAn92hZM/s200/20160122_100222.jpg" width="112" /> </a></div>
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This one is going to take me a while. Mostly because I'm having fun with it and using it as a random doodling page. :) </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mkttR8o2NLo/VqJGeN7rV3I/AAAAAAAACUI/jriVOhC10_U/s1600/20160114_140249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mkttR8o2NLo/VqJGeN7rV3I/AAAAAAAACUI/jriVOhC10_U/s200/20160114_140249.jpg" width="200" /> </a></div>
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I started with a glue stick. Then thought I'd have fun with a bottle of liquid glue. It took a while to dry, and it was hard as hell to actually draw with them, but the end result was cool. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bQgAv4H01cw/VqJGehM2XjI/AAAAAAAACUM/yolnovhNYsM/s1600/20160119_140158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bQgAv4H01cw/VqJGehM2XjI/AAAAAAAACUM/yolnovhNYsM/s200/20160119_140158.jpg" width="112" /> </a></div>
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I know the instructions say to basically do whatever you want. But I've always been a rule follower. So I <i>tried</i> to rip on the lines. That took a LOT of work. HAHA</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-34Wq353YXW8/VqJGfbJg_pI/AAAAAAAACUg/HrbI90dMtn4/s1600/20160119_140348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-34Wq353YXW8/VqJGfbJg_pI/AAAAAAAACUg/HrbI90dMtn4/s200/20160119_140348.jpg" width="200" /> </a></div>
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I swear I closed my eyes!!!! I sent the pic to Malissa and told her maybe I should do more things with my eyes closed. :) </div>
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<b> Malissa has been having just as much fun with her journal! :)</b><br /><u><b><br /></b></u></div>
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<img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dRBtjjJcSOM/VqJGc0Yt2lI/AAAAAAAACT8/-vJE4NO7GwE/s200/20160106_154307.jpg" width="112" /> <img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_JYNfythtZI/VqJGc-zbQxI/AAAAAAAACUA/x4u2dSY0VuY/s200/20160106_154218.jpg" width="112" /> <img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GIrEGk_pu7o/VqJGc_C6svI/AAAAAAAACT4/KEJQ4fosAf0/s200/20160106_154137.jpg" width="112" /></div>
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Excited to see what other fun we can get up to. </div>
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Have any of you done this? Share your experiences if you have!!! :)</div>
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Smiles,<br />B</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-32306159768854830432016-01-19T14:12:00.001-05:002016-01-19T14:12:32.175-05:00Assignments {A Little of the School Life}I completed my first assignment for school. What our instructor calls 'challenges.' And it was daunting, to say the least. I haven't attended school in 10 years. That's a loooong time in school years. And there were nine 'steps' in this challenge. The <em>first</em> challenge? <em>Nine</em> steps?! <br /><br />
Admittedly I overthink things. Big time. Once I just started addressing each step, noting what needed noted etc etc, all went well. I mean, I assume it did. I felt pretty good about it before I submitted it. I haven't gotten a grade on it yet, tho. But... I did it. First assignment. Done. And I got to talk about movies, and books, and wishlists. The worst part was giving examples of things. But... phew. One down...<br />
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Now on to the next... and the next... and the next. What did I sign myself up for, exactly? ;) Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-51226973916726172622016-01-15T07:00:00.000-05:002016-01-15T07:00:21.541-05:00Wreck This Journal {A Little of the Book Life}My friend Danielle got me this book for Christmas:<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wreck-This-Journal-Red-Expanded/dp/0399162720/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1452810143&sr=8-3&keywords=wreck+this+journal"><img alt="http://www.amazon.com/Wreck-This-Journal-Red-Expanded/dp/0399162720/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1452810143&sr=8-3&keywords=wreck+this+journal" border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g_HzI3bFDSA/Vpgf91gP0HI/AAAAAAAACSI/V_8SbHNQBrc/s320/wtj.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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Here's the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/">Amazon </a>description:<br />
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The special limited edition red mesh cover of the international bestseller… <br />
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For anyone who's ever had trouble starting, keeping, or finishing a journal or sketchbook comes this expanded edition of <i>Wreck This Journal,</i>
an illustrated book that features a subversive collection of prompts,
asking readers to muster up their best mistake and mess-making abilities
and to fill the pages of the book (or destroy them). Through a series
of creatively and quirkily illustrated prompts, acclaimed artist Keri
Smith encourages journalers to engage in "destructive" acts--poking
holes through pages, adding photos and defacing them, painting pages
with coffee, coloring outside the lines, and more--in order to
experience the true creative process. With Smith's unique sensibility,
readers are introduced to a new way of art and journal making,
discovering novel ways to escape the fear of the blank page and fully
engage in the creative process.</blockquote>
Have you seen this? Like the inside of it? It's really pretty cool. And pretty scary.<br />
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The instructions are simple enough:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-elZWfjaxopM/VpgkGWOII8I/AAAAAAAACTE/IB7cXvfzUnk/s1600/20160114_172732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-elZWfjaxopM/VpgkGWOII8I/AAAAAAAACTE/IB7cXvfzUnk/s320/20160114_172732.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And the first page wasn't hard at all...<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zm4iIfJzUME/VpgiFHysJGI/AAAAAAAACSc/UBcP6HLmzsY/s1600/page12.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zm4iIfJzUME/VpgiFHysJGI/AAAAAAAACSc/UBcP6HLmzsY/s320/page12.png" width="241" /> </a></div>
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And then there was this, which was great for releasing some stress/aggression:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IhinTJU6oSk/VpgiTdNm4lI/AAAAAAAACSk/klg411mjQNI/s1600/20160106_150010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IhinTJU6oSk/VpgiTdNm4lI/AAAAAAAACSk/klg411mjQNI/s320/20160106_150010.jpg" width="180" /> </a></div>
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But shit got real when I looked at this one - <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YVVJeKnqn1s/VpgiffET62I/AAAAAAAACSs/2gAU8wLOBkU/s1600/20160103_135431.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YVVJeKnqn1s/VpgiffET62I/AAAAAAAACSs/2gAU8wLOBkU/s320/20160103_135431.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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And what the what?!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yep... I did it... </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qhqhgevKRYA/VpgjNlMgFnI/AAAAAAAACS8/_bY1xQWvbtE/s1600/20160108_114811.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qhqhgevKRYA/VpgjNlMgFnI/AAAAAAAACS8/_bY1xQWvbtE/s320/20160108_114811.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div>
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When I got this, Malissa mentioned how cool it would be to do together with someone. I sent her one. I agreed. And it's worked. We keep texting each other about it. Like this one, this morning, that I got from her:</div>
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<i>"Pretty impressed with myself. I found six different fruit stickers for my journal at my house this morning!" </i></div>
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And this pic from her:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e9StNTNh6Ro/VpgmwIgfACI/AAAAAAAACTQ/mOWAOjAtCjM/s1600/20160106_181929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e9StNTNh6Ro/VpgmwIgfACI/AAAAAAAACTQ/mOWAOjAtCjM/s320/20160106_181929.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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I'll keep sharing. It's going to be fun!!!! :)</div>
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Smiles,<br />B</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-14654133228750944572016-01-14T07:00:00.000-05:002016-03-23T11:39:31.718-04:00Seriously... I Can Use This One ~ {A Little of the School Life}Classes started two days ago!!! So I can say "A Little of the School Life". I'm really excited, nervous, anxious, overwhelmed...<br />
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One class is a pre-req undergrad course. It's computer stuff. Some of which I know, some I don't. But thus far the readings are simple enough that if I don't know about it I can sort of catch on quickly. We'll see how I feel when I start on the projects for that one.<br />
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The other is all about Collection Management. Which interests me, but that textbook is going to be the bane of my existence. Tiny print, NO pictures/graphs whatsoever... not much whitespace. Kill. Me. Now. haha! Hopefully the assignments won't be as daunting as they look. :)</div>
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My son is super confused why I don't <i>go</i> to school. He also doesn't understand why I'm not going to <i>his</i> school. At least that brought up the different levels and types of schooling, so we were able to discuss that and how some professions require different levels of schooling. I mean, he's 6. He doesn't have to plan his life out yet. But it's good to keep that in the back of his mind as he grows. He knows education is important, and I'm looking forward to being able to not only talk about that to my children, but to <i>show </i>them by example. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-17951028995838086052016-01-13T14:00:00.002-05:002016-01-13T14:00:30.287-05:001, 2, Buckle My Shoe {A Little of the Mom Life}My kids are 4 & 6. And they are amazing little creatures. Mostly. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are my lovelies. Eli, 6. Zoe, 4. They absolutely adore, and annoy, each other.</td></tr>
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But let's take yesterday, for example. I'm not entirely certain that <em>amazing</em> would have been a word I used to describe my little bundle of joys. As anyone who has any experience with children - their own or others' - they know that little ones (and big ones) aren't exactly angels 24/7. Don't let those peeps on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter fool you. ;)<br />
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So. Yesterday. I wake my son up first. He's the 6 year old. A first grader who loves school, misses his friends when he's not there, but also loves staying home, snuggles, and playing with his sister and cousin. There was a two hour delay when we got up. I got breakfast ready, we went through the whole packing of the lunch routine and getting dressed, teeth brushed, etc etc. I knew there was a chance school would be cancelled. In hindsight, I may not have wanted to mention that to <em>this particular</em> six year old. But whatever. It was time to go. And given my propensity to stay in bed until the literal last minute possible, it was <em>time to <strong>go</strong></em>. I say "get your shoes on." This is a regular, nearly daily, occurrence. Nothing new. Eli says "Which ones should I wear?" I say, "Well, there's snow on the ground and it's <em>really </em>cold out, so I would think you would want to wear your snow boots so your feet stay warm and dry." Insta-tears. And I mean a full-on-wailing-meltdown:<br /> <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<strong>"I *sniff* don't *sniff* want *sniff* to *sniff* wear *sniff* my *sniff* boots!" </strong></blockquote>
<br />I suggested he take shoes to change into, even offered to send a bag for the wet snow boots... For the next ten to fifteen minutes (yes, unfortunately it took <em>that</em>long), I discovered that (all according to him) his teacher wouldn't let him change into his tennis shoes to wear those at school and that he was afraid that other kids would make fun of him because they weren't the shoes he normally wears. Oh, and my <em>suggesting</em> he wear snow boots was me <em>telling</em> him he <em>had</em> to wear snow boots. Finally, after some *ahem* yelling on my part, some near butt-spanking, he stopped crying, but not moping, and we were out the door. Only to discover ten minutes later that school was cancelled for the day. Elation ensued on his part. (Until I dropped him off at my sister-in-law's house and he realized that, since we thought he was going to school, he didn't have GiGi - his blankie. Whoops.)<br />
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And this morning? Another two hour delay. I say "Time to get shoes on," a little hesitantly. I don't know that I can deal with another morning like that this soon. He says, and I quote, "I'll wear my snow boots so my feet stay warm. And dry. I don't want snow in my shoes." I just look at him. He continues on to say, "And since we have gym I'll take my tennis shoes so I can change into them. Can I have a bag for my shoes?" What the - WHAT?! <br />
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*sigh* Ahhh... the joys. I can laugh now. But last nite required a half bottle of wine and some mindless television. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-27130067325551252842015-08-14T14:41:00.000-04:002015-08-14T14:41:31.360-04:00School Bound! (I Hope)Seven years ago I applied to begin a graduate program to get my Masters of Library Science. I received the acceptance letter in October. When I went through the application process in early August, I had no clue I was pregnant. It was a different story when the acceptance letter arrived. I knew I was due May 4. And the spring semester ended May 9. I didn't think that was a wise decision. Who knew how things would go? So I didn't register and since then I didn't pursue the process any more. Two kids and many years later... <br />
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So I've started to get bored. Not that I don't love what I do. I do. I love working with kids, planning story times and programs for them, and helping them and their parents find books they love. But the challenge, I think, it's what's gone. Due to that, I've decided to plunge into the depths of schooling. All I have left to do before I submit my application is write a 750-1500 word personal statement. (Which, I've discovered, is a lot harder than it sounds... I used to be able to do that so easily... but I wrote this thing and realized I repeated myself multiple times... Whoops!)<br />
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All that said, I'm excited to start this new chapter in life. I'm hoping that it goes fairly smoothly and that it benefits not only myself, but my family as well. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-12430987777567758822015-08-11T10:51:00.001-04:002015-08-11T10:53:13.394-04:00Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes & TOP TEN TUESDAYThere's going to be some changes around here. I decided, with my recent decline in reading (*gasp*), it's harder to keep up an actual book blog. I'll still be talking books on here, when I'm feeling it. I'm thinking broadening the scope of the blog will actually get me doing it more.<br />
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That being said, while the url remains the same, I've changed the actual name to "A Little of the * Life"... thus indicating I could be talking about anything. I hope you stick with me and don't go anywhere, but I'll understand if you abandon me.<br />
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Since it's Tuesday, I'll do a Top Ten Tuesday post, hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. :)<br />
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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by <a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html" target="_blank">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. Each week they provide a Top Ten topic for you to create your list, then you share it on their post so others can find you. :)<br />
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<b> ♥ <u>Top 10 Authors I've Read the Most Of</u></b></span><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> ♥</span></b></b></h4>
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I don't know how fancy I'll get, but off I go to my Goodreads' page... which only goes back as far as the beginning of 2010, when I started using it. We'll see what we get. :)<br />
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I had a *lot* of ties. I decided to stick toward faves if there were ties, which left me with one spot by the time I got to authors I had read 3 books of... that one was hard to decide which one to go with. If you actually want, you can actually go check out the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/most_read_authors/3225451-brandy">Goodreads list</a>.<br />
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Anywho. Here they are, counting up to the most read itself... *drum roll*<br />
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<img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3095893.Stephanie_Perkins?from_search=true&search_version=service" border="0" height="119" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7dQfjo8UjcY/VcoJZJADoXI/AAAAAAAACMs/l0Wmunv6a8E/s200/10%2BSP.png" width="200" /> <img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/324620.Laini_Taylor?from_search=true&search_version=service" border="0" height="120" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U3QznKLhams/VcoJalb35eI/AAAAAAAACNc/CV_KO8exaHc/s200/9%2BLT.png" width="200" /></div>
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<img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4039811.Veronica_Roth?from_search=true&search_version=service" border="0" height="122" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qie95D8bCbg/VcoJZ9gfSSI/AAAAAAAACNM/LXj00o4EprM/s200/6%2BVR.png" width="200" /> <img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1406384.John_Green?from_search=true&search_version=service" border="0" height="125" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9jgw5RdgT9E/VcoJZpdQDoI/AAAAAAAACNI/qqsfw47w6FE/s200/5%2BJG.png" width="200" /></div>
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<img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2936493.Lauren_Oliver?from_search=true&search_version=service" border="0" height="120" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VuGKXUf37JQ/VcoJZSlgSgI/AAAAAAAACNg/TpAld-3nvcw/s200/4%2BLO.png" width="200" /> <img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2987.Sarah_Dessen?from_search=true&search_version=service" border="0" height="121" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sm-4RgqC_MI/VcoJZT90OuI/AAAAAAAACM8/UPq7OIJAt5I/s200/3%2BSD.png" width="200" /></div>
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<img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1330292.Maggie_Stiefvater?from_search=true&search_version=service" border="0" height="125" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NARq4SusPTI/VcoJZQs8_rI/AAAAAAAACN0/5leotkpdVjo/s200/2%2BMS.png" width="200" /> <img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7128.Jodi_Picoult?from_search=true&search_version=service" border="0" height="126" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SD9t_p5mn-Y/VcoJZNyufqI/AAAAAAAACNs/EiqoN67G1zw/s200/1%2BJP.png" width="200" /></div>
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What about you? What authors have you read the most of?<br />
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Smiles,<br />
B<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-78711430970282659692015-04-21T12:23:00.000-04:002015-04-21T12:23:25.613-04:00Say What Now?So lately I've had a really hard time reading an entire book. Despite joining two book clubs, technically three if you count my upper elementary one I am starting at work, I just couldn't find the desire to read on. The books weren't grabbing me by shoulders and pulling me in. They weren't screaming at me to open them back up when I folded their covers over their words. No. And, unfortunately, it was making me feel entirely way too guilty. I mean, I was feeling guilt over <em>not reading books. </em>I was still reading - blog posts, news articles, stuff for work, books to kids (my own and my work kids...). I still got up in the mornings and got my oldest off to school and youngest off to daycare, arrived at work, did my job, went home and did the "home" stuff... laundry, cooking, homework, cleaning, yard work, etc. So why in the world was I feeling guilty over NOT reading? Of all the things to feel guilty about <em>not </em>doing, why was this the one that was getting to me?<br />
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The past week or so I finally started trying to talk myself out of focusing on all the books sitting around that I wasn't reading. The books that were gathering dust on my shelves rather than gathering love (or dislike) from me. The constantly battery-drained e-reader lounging on top of said dust-covered books. I decided not to care (easier said than done, but I think I did fairly well). Screw the taunting cries from the books as I walked by on the way to my bedroom, or the cries of feeling unloved from the shelves at work. I hit the mute button. And you know what? I felt better. All week. And yesterday, instead of taking my tablet to lunch with me and watching the addictive Once Upon a Time (seriously, it's probably good that show isn't trying to sell me drugs... I might just partake for the first time ever... anyone know how to make VooDoo dolls? I think I need to torture the people (my Dad, for one) who suggested I watch it because I'd love it... it's been roughly two months and I've watched nearly all three seasons on Netflix... damn him... ;)), I took a book. I grabbed a YA one that's been on my TBR list for quite some time, and I started it while I ate cold pork chops and pasta salad. I read 68 pages on my lunch break (at 2 pm) and finished it last night before going to bed (at 10:53 pm). Not only did I actually <em>want </em>to keep reading and find out what happens, I didn't want to close it and wait. So thank you, Jennifer E. Smith, for writing such a fun story with characters I cared about.<br />
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So... color me excited. Would that be yellow? Pink? Purple? I don't know. Whatever it is, I'll take it. ;) Now I have a book group to read by Friday. Let's hope it's as enticing. <br />
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What about you? Do you ever make yourself feel guilty about <em>not</em> doing something? Reading, writing, watching tv, scrapbooking? Those things, hobbies, that really aren't "essentials", but yet feel like it to you. And <em>why</em> do we do this to ourselves? These things are supposed to be fun. Not make us feel like we're somehow doing something wrong for <em>not</em> doing them. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-18286575134370408232015-03-23T09:33:00.001-04:002015-03-23T09:33:25.526-04:00Books That Make You Go "Meh"So I really just suck at this whole keeping up the blog thing. I think about it a lot. I want to write more. I want to talk more. I want to interact more. But, alas, it doesn't happen. Oh well.<br />
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Let's talk books, tho. Y'wanna? I *still* am having trouble getting into books lately. <a href="http://alittleofthebooklife.blogspot.com/2015/02/ensnared-review.html">I finished AG Howard's Splintered series</a>, and loved it. But other than that? It's hit and miss and a lot of 'meh's'. I haven't LOVED much past that. Maybe I'm expecting too much when I pick up a book? I want to be hooked, to love/hate the characters, to <i>care </i>what happens to them.<br />
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I started reading Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff. I LOVED LOVED LOVED the Replacements and The Space Between. Paper Valentine left me wanting, but I was REALLY hopeful for Fiendish. After 126 pages I've decided to reshelve it for later. The writing is still good. But I'm not connecting whatsoever to anyone in the story. And, it's not a spoiler since it happens right away, this girl is locked in a cellar and is being overtaken by roots for ten years. At the age of seven. Gets out at the age of seventeen... and has no problem walking and talks as if she were seventeen... as if she'd lived her life normally. There's obvious magic at work with the entirety of the novel, but for some reason that just annoyed me.<br />
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It's like I'm having trouble connecting to anything I read. Hopefully that will change. Short of not reading at all, it can only get better, right? Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-60513435792830522002015-02-02T09:33:00.001-05:002015-02-02T09:33:53.595-05:00Ensnared {A Review}<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402312433l/22447220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ensnared (Splintered, #3)" border="0" height="200" id="coverImage" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402312433l/22447220.jpg" width="132" /></a>Title: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22447220-ensnared?ac=1">Ensnared</a><br />
Author: <a href="http://anita-authoraghoward.blogspot.com/">AG Howard</a><br />
Series: <a href="http://splinteredbook1.blogspot.com/">Splintered #3</a><br />
Publisher: Amulet Books<br />
Publication Date: January 6, 2015<br />
Source/Format: Own/Hardcover<br />
Rating: 5 freaking stars <br />
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<span id="freeText5906747066725212936">After surviving a
disastrous battle at prom, Alyssa has embraced her madness and gained
perspective. She's determined to rescue her two worlds and the people
and netherlings she loves. Even if it means challenging Queen Red to a
final battle of wills and wiles . . . and even if the only way to
Wonderland, now that the rabbit hole is closed, is through the
looking-glass world--a parallel dimension filled with mutated and
violent netherling outcasts. In the final installment of the wildly
popular Splintered trilogy, Alyssa and her dad journey into the heart of
magic and mayhem in search of her mom and to set right all that's gone
wrong. Together with Jeb and Morpheus, they must salvage Wonderland from
the decay and destruction that has ensnared it. But if they succeed and
come out alive, can everyone truly have their happily ever after?</span><br />
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<span id="freeText5906747066725212936"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22447220-ensnared?ac=1"><img alt="Goodreads-badge-add-plus" src="https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/badge/goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898.png" style="margin: 0px 0.5em 0.5em 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> </span><br />
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I finished this series with a heavy heart. I have immensely enjoyed my stay in this world that AG Howard has created and was very sad to know that it was ending.<br />
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Starting the end of a series that I love is always so emotional for me. It's going to either make or break the love for me, as far as my undying love and devotion goes. But I usually trust the author to do what feels right, to have to story end true to the characters, to the plot. And this one? AG Howard succeeded... far beyond any expectations I could possibly have. I had no inkling which of many routes her characters would choose to make her take. But I was <i>not</i> disappointed.<br />
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I <i>want</i> to tell you all everything I loved about this book. But to do so would be to ruin some of it for you if you haven't read it. So here's what I can say (which mostly applies to the series as a whole):<br />
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<ol>
<li>The imagery. Howard gave herself the task of creating vastly different worlds. And that's not like moving a setting in a story from Paris to the United States. We're talking going from the human realm, with which we are all familiar, to Wonderland, and then to Any Elsewhere. And each world had its own feel to it. They were characters in and of themselves. I could see them, I could feel them, I could touch them. I was there.</li>
<li>The characters. They were 100% real... realistic. They could my brother, sister, parents, friends. I <i>wanted</i> them to be those things. I wanted them all to be happy, to be loved, to find themselves, to discover their own abilities, to cherish each other and what they had with one another. </li>
<li>Chemistry. I have read very few authors who can write a scene so sizzling hot yet entail very little detail (for lack of a better word at this moment). Where a touch in the book can send shivers down <i>my</i> spine. A mere kiss being shared can make my own lips tingle.</li>
<li>I'm not sure of a "heading" for this one, but everything that happened felt true to the story, to the characters. There were times I felt my heart ripping in two. There were times I cried. Times I laughed out loud (making the hubs look at me strangely, per usual). A few times I wanted to reach through the pages and strangle people, hug them, slap them, love them. </li>
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Needless to say, I will be reading anything AG Howard decides to write. Going on blind faith... I'll just buy them without a care as to what they're even about. Even if it turns out to be her own take on the alphabet or dictionary, I won't care. She's that awesome. ;)<br />
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To keep it completely and utterly spoiler free, that's all I shall say. Other than if you haven't read this series, WHAT IN ALL THE WORLDS ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-73220455463075792872015-01-21T16:16:00.003-05:002015-01-21T16:17:01.514-05:00Plunging into the Icy Depths of SuckageSo I talked about <a href="http://alittleofthebooklife.blogspot.com/2015/01/reading-challenges-to-partake-of-golden.html">here </a>whether or not I was going to partake in any reading challenges this year. And while I'm still on the fence as to whether or not it's a "good" thing for me to do, I went ahead and did it. I claimed I wanted to read 50 books this year on Goodreads. And then this happened:<br />
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Seriously... Goodreads is already telling me I suck. *sigh*</div>
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But oh well. I laugh in the face of suckage. </div>
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That's what I'm going with, anyway. To be fair, I would have been at 0% and x amount of books behind no matter what number I set for myself, since I haven't read a single book this year (outside of picture books, of course, as I have small children and considering it's what I do for a living... lol).</div>
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Happy reading to you all and may you reach your goals. :)</div>
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Smiles,</div>
B<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-72624464590933582972015-01-20T07:00:00.000-05:002015-01-23T13:19:23.821-05:00Keeping the Moon {A Review}<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1359205648l/104378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Keeping the Moon" border="0" height="200" id="coverImage" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1359205648l/104378.jpg" width="130" /></a>Title: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104378.Keeping_the_Moon?from_search=true">Keeping the Moon</a><br />
Author: <a href="http://sarahdessen.com/">Sarah Dessen</a><br />
Publisher: Speak<br />
Publication Date: September 1999<br />
Source: Own <br />
Rating: 3 stars<br />
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The Scoop from Goodreads:<br />
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<span id="freeText2833726764750715628">Colie expects the worst
when she's sent to spend the summer with her eccentric aunt Mira while
her mother, queen of the television infomercial, tours Europe. Always an
outcast -- first for being fat and then for being "easy" -- Colie has
no friends at home and doesn't expect to find any in Colby, North
Carolina. But then she lands a job at the Last Chance Cafe and meets
fellow waitresses Morgan and Isabel, best friends with a loving yet
volatile relationship. Wacky yet wise, Morgan and Isabel help Colie see
herself in a new way and realize the potential that has been there all
along</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText2833726764750715628"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104378.Keeping_the_Moon?from_search=true"><img alt="Goodreads-badge-add-plus" src="https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/badge/goodreads-badge-add-plus-fad3b68d35050280ea55d50f17c654b5.png" style="margin: 0px 0.5em 0.5em 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">I found this in my drafts. Wrote it when I read the book back in October, just never completed the actual post. So... yeah... here ya go. :)</span><br />
<br />
So I was looking for something to read over the weekend. Ever since I finished Blue Lily, Lily Blue, I've had a hard time with finding something I liked. I read, and disliked, Gone Girl (feel free to throw things at me... and it wasn't just the ending I didn't like). I <i>tried </i>to get into Girl of Fire & Thorns, but just couldn't. I read a good portion and realized I just wasn't that into it. Some day I may revisit it. I tried Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, and found myself just simply not caring. I thought it was strange and uninteresting. I tried a few pages of a few other books, but nothing was grabbing my attention. As I was browsing my bookshelf, I realized I had a Sarah Dessen book on there I hadn't read. I thought "I can always get into these, no problem." So I picked it up.<br />
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<br />
And I did enjoy it. I really like Dessen's writing. It's simple and beautiful. And, for the most part, I really liked the characters in this one. Let's start with Colie (actually, it's Nicole. Sparks. Nicole Sparks. I wonder if that similarity was done on purpose?). She's a lost soul. Truly. Once she and her mom finally settled down in some place, her mom and her both lost weight. But while her mom went on to be a successful weight loss-related product spokesperson, Colie is left feeling alone and broken. She's only ever had people be mean to her and she doesn't know how to cope/deal/let go of it all and just be herself. She is sent to live with her eccentric Aunt Mira in Colby. She meets Norman, who is a collector of all things with which he uses for his artistic creations. He's also a painter and a really sweet guy. She also becomes friends with her neighbors and coworkers (she gets a job at a restaurant where Norman is a cook and these two gals are waitresses), Morgan and Isabel. Morgan is a peacemaking, trustful person, while Isabel is a straightforward, tell-it-as-it-is type person.<br />
<br />
<br />
So, there's a brief description of the main characters. There's no major drama, just your typical run-of-the-mill type things. But there's a lot of self-discovery and realizing what's important and what's not. And while all of those things are done well, there were a few hiccups for me with this one.<br />
<br />
<br />
One: The Fat Years. Maybe it's my own sensitivity, but Colie loses 45 pounds. And I'm by no means saying that being 45 pounds overweight is a good thing. It can wreak havoc on your health. But, calling it "The Fat Years"? I don't know. For some reason that phrase just made me cringe... every time I read it. Every. Single. Time.<br />
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Two: Preachiness. There's always a lesson in a Sarah Dessen book. Always. But I just feel like this one was a little preachy in that sense. Not-so-subtle. I like subtle when reading a novel when it comes to lessons. So Mira had a conversation with Colie and it was obvious she was specifically trying to point things out to her to help her along. And same with other characters. Not that these things didn't need to be said, I just felt like it was a bit too "out there." Make sense? (In all fairness, I think Dessen has improved on this tremendously throughout her writing...)</div>
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Three: Cluelessness. There was quite a bit of it. Mostly on the part of Colie. This is VERY minor and has no bearing on how I feel about the book as a whole, tho. Just something I wanted to point out. I'm sure I was pretty clueless at that age as well, but dang. Sometimes I wanted to reach through the pages and just spell it out for her. (That goes against how I feel above, tho, doesn't it?)</div>
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All in all I really enjoyed this one. Mostly it was the second hiccup. It just took me out of the story more than I'd like. Keeping in mind it's one of her earlier works, I will still get excited over new ones she has comes out. Like <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23009402-saint-anything">Saint Anything</a>. (Out May of this year... woot-woot!)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-59875495692188919432015-01-20T06:30:00.000-05:002015-01-20T06:30:03.146-05:00Forgive Me Father... {A Top Ten Tuesday Post}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-74pJJ0vjpeE/UbojkSxtQ-I/AAAAAAAABqc/dabFnj4AmzU/s1600/Top+Ten.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-74pJJ0vjpeE/UbojkSxtQ-I/AAAAAAAABqc/dabFnj4AmzU/s1600/Top+Ten.png" height="320" width="309" /></a></div>
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by <a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html" target="_blank">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. Each week they provide a Top Ten topic for you to create your list, then you share it on their post so others can find you. :)<br />
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<b> ♥ <u>Top Ten Bookish Confessions</u></b></span><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> ♥</span></b></b></h4>
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This week's is a freebie, which is a good one to get back into it with, I suppose. :) </div>
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<ol>
<li>I've never read a "classic" outside of required school reading. And even then, I only remember reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I swear I had to have read more than that throughout high school and college, right? I remember attempting to read Oliver, but only getting 7 pages in multiple times over and just hoping against hope that the movie was close to the book. And anytime someone says "If you had *insert teacher's name here*, then you had to have read *insert title here*," I'm like "No, I really haven't read it." And I had great grades... I can't figure this one out. lol<br /></li>
<li>I am not a <i>huge</i> fan of reading outside. *ducks for cover* Seriously. Sunlight. White pages. Reflection. Ouch. Plus, I get distracted very easily by all the outdoor sounds.<br /></li>
<li>I refuse to read in the bathtub ever since I dropped The Witch of Blackbird Pond in the tub when I was in fifth grade. Yep. That's a long time with no bathtub reading. And I still own that exact water-logged copy of that book... so I'll have evidence to show my kids when I tell them no and they ask why. Okay... I won't tell them no. I'll just tell them they have to choose a book they don't "care" if they ruin? lol<br /></li>
<li>I can no longer read Nicholas Sparks. I used to love them. And I enjoyed the movies I've seen that have been based on his books (whether I've read them or not). But recently I attempted it (as in sometime in the past six-ish months). And all I could think was, "Yep. He's going to meet her and fall in love. But they're going to have some sort of complication from their respective baggage they've brought with them. But they will work it out and live forever happily." And while this is a very broad generalization, I'm sure, I just felt like it was formulaic and I don't think I want that anymore. Yes, the story itself will be different... different people/situations/etc, but the layout seems the same. <br /></li>
<li>Sometimes, I don't like to read. This past year I've discovered something about myself. I do love reading. And I love books. And I love authors. But sometimes... sometimes I just don't want to read. I don't want to think that much or for that long. There are times when I just don't have the mental capacity to process a book and all its happenings. <br /></li>
<li>I'm getting better at being less judgy of book-to-movie adaptations and seeing them as entirely separate entities. I *still* want everyone to read the books (preferably first, not after the movie), and I still want all the important stuff to be conveyed through the film, but as I tell my kids "You can't always get what you want." :)<br /></li>
<li>I read, <i>and liked</i>, the entire Twilight series. But then... they made the movies. And... yeah. I wouldn't consider myself a "Twi-hard" or whatnot, but still. *shudder*<br /></li>
<li>I did <i>not </i>like Gone Girl. The book. Didn't see the movie, and don't plan to. But I sincerely thought the book wasn't good and felt gypped. I mean, I wasted time on reading a book that everyone raved about. The writing annoyed me and there wasn't a single likeable character. And no redeeming traits whatsoever.<br /></li>
<li>It's been <b>two months </b>since I've read a book I haven't read before. Seriously. I reread (audio) AG Howard's Splintered and Unhinged in anticipation for Ensnared (which I now own but have yet to actually START), but I haven't read an actual new-to-me book in over two months. I think I must be dying. <br /> </li>
<li>Sometimes I lie about books. What I mean is that I'm really pretty picky about who I will let borrow my books. So sometimes, when someone says "Hey, I really want to read *insert title here*, could I maybe borrow it if you own it?"... I'll say no. I don't own it. Someone else has it already. It's at the bindery. My dog ate it. ANYTHING so as not to put that book in the hands of the person asking. I know, I know. I could just say no, I don't lend my books out to the likes of you. But I'm not for hurting people's feelings if it can be avoided. And besides, I always offer to track it down through the library for them to borrow. At least then it won't be my book they are getting food on, dog-earing the pages of, or throwing around like a rag doll. (Or, in my worst experiences and probably what made me this way: not returning my Huck Finn book (and then pretending she had no clue what I was talking about) or getting cigarette ash in the middle of my Harry Potter book... seriously not joking... cigarette ash! Nothing against smokers, but I don't smoke and I don't want cigarette ash in my books... *sigh*. )</li>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-82967036040285550772015-01-19T09:42:00.000-05:002015-01-19T10:34:22.298-05:00A Little of the Storytime Life {Snowmen}<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.myshelbylibrary.org/storytimes.php"><img alt="http://www.myshelbylibrary.org/storytimes.php" src="http://www.myshelbylibrary.org/resources/storytime_treebook.jpg" id="I189_img" /></a> </div>
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<br /></div>
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For more on what A Little of the Storytime Life <i>is</i>, here's the <a href="http://alittleofthebooklife.blogspot.com/2015/01/a-little-of-storytime-life.html">original post</a>. :)<br />
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<span style="color: red;">(Posted late because I was sick at the end of last week... whoopsie!) </span><br />
This week, I actually did two separate storytimes. I had my regular storytime and I did storytime for a local preschool (I do that once a month for this particular preschool). Both were snow-based storytimes, but with different crafts. :)</div>
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The books:<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/819667.Snowmen_at_Night?from_search=true"><img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/819667.Snowmen_at_Night?from_search=true" height="200" id="coverImage" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1421618178l/819667.jpg" width="155" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2114794.All_You_Need_for_a_Snowman"><img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2114794.All_You_Need_for_a_Snowman" height="200" id="coverImage" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328833079l/2114794.jpg" width="153" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2029842.There_Was_a_Cold_Lady_Who_Swallowed_Some_Snow_"><img alt="There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow!" height="200" id="coverImage" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328867767l/2029842.jpg" width="159" /></a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/819667.Snowmen_at_Night?from_search=true">Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2114794.All_You_Need_for_a_Snowman">All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2029842.There_Was_a_Cold_Lady_Who_Swallowed_Some_Snow_">There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colandro</a><br />
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<br />
Snowmen at Night is one of my absolute favorite winter books. There's an entire series out there, but this was the first. It's so much fun to read out loud and the pictures are great. We took the time to talk about the winter activities going on throughout the book and whether or not they thought their snowman would go out and have fun while they were sleeping.<br />
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If you're not familiar with Lucille Colandro's series of books about a
lady swallowing things, then I'm not sure where you've been. Based on
Goodreads (which I'm certain is <i>never</i> wrong *cough* *cough*),
There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow was the first of hers. Of
course, it all stems from the original poem/song "There Was an Old Lady
Who Swallowed a Fly"... but no one ever dies in Colandro's books. The
lady swallows all of the things and then burps or hiccups (let's be
honest... vomits) out all the things she swallows... in this case, a
snowman! The kids love seeing what she might swallow next and we talk
about whether or not <i>they</i> would eat those things. We also talked
about whether or not that was the best way to build a snowman. Which was
a great lead-in to All You Need for A Snowman. :)<br />
<br />
All You Need for a Snowman turned out to be a bigger hit with the preschool kids than I anticipated. They <i>loved</i> telling me all the other things that were needed to build a snowman. In hindsight, I think this would make a great felt board story... or create some sort of felt board activity to go along side it. I think they'd enjoy that as well.<br />
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The two crafts I did this week were Pinterest finds. We created melted snowmen in regular storytime and we did coffee filter snowflakes with the local preschool. I precut the pieces for the melted snowman and wrote "My Melted Snowman" on a piece of blue construction paper for each kid. During storytime, I put a glob of white fingerpaint on their blue paper and gave them a paintbrush. They smeared the snow (you know, paint) all around and then they stuck on their snowman pieces where ever they wanted, since it was melted.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MiGrNqQYPWg/VL0jcFvQWCI/AAAAAAAACHQ/r_wEVh_VYpc/s1600/20150119_102922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MiGrNqQYPWg/VL0jcFvQWCI/AAAAAAAACHQ/r_wEVh_VYpc/s1600/20150119_102922.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LvAUH0Ojd7k/VL0jbMBW8KI/AAAAAAAACHI/Z5Fh2sopPT8/s1600/20150119_102942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LvAUH0Ojd7k/VL0jbMBW8KI/AAAAAAAACHI/Z5Fh2sopPT8/s1600/20150119_102942.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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And if you've never done a coffee filter *insert anything* craft with kids, you're missing out on an easy-peasy activity. All you need, really, is a coffee filter, markers, and a spray bottle. Scissors if you want a certain shape (heart, snowflake, apple, pumpkin, leaf, sun... the list could go on and on and on and on and on...). Color coffee filter; spray with water; watch it spread. That's it. Let it dry and then hang up. :)<br />
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Have you any good suggestions for snow/winter books and crafts? I'm always looking for new ideas to incorporate.<br />
<br />
Smiles,<br />
B</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-42612705145856656922015-01-09T07:00:00.000-05:002015-01-09T07:00:04.467-05:00A Little of the Storytime Life {Snow}<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.myshelbylibrary.org/storytimes.php"><img alt="http://www.myshelbylibrary.org/storytimes.php" id="I189_img" src="http://www.myshelbylibrary.org/resources/storytime_treebook.jpg" /></a> </div>
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<br /></div>
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For more on what A Little of the Storytime Life <i>is</i>, here's the <a href="http://alittleofthebooklife.blogspot.com/2015/01/a-little-of-storytime-life.html">original post</a>. :)</div>
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The books I chose to use for this week:<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1929173.It_Feels_Like_Snow?from_search=true"><img alt="It Feels Like Snow" height="200" id="coverImage" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347362817l/1929173.jpg" width="154" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1727562.Cleo_in_the_Snow?from_search=true"><img alt="Cleo in the Snow" height="189" id="coverImage" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1187461706l/1727562.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1080004.Snow?from_search=true"><img alt="Snow" height="200" id="coverImage" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1317793280l/1080004.jpg" width="187" /></a></div>
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It Feels Like Snow by Nancy Cote<br />
Cleo in the Snow by Caroline Mockford<br />
Snow by Uri Shulevitz <br />
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There are an abundance of snow/winter books out there. Next week I'm doing snowmen, so this week I wanted to stick with books that weren't about snowmen. <i> </i><br />
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<i>It Feels Like Snow</i> is a bit longer than I usually go with for my storytime books, but it's cute. And we talk about the body parts - her toe throbs, nose tingles and her elbow clicks. And the snow gets ankle, knee, and waist deep. So it's a great way to introduce/practice body parts. <i> </i><br />
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<i>Cleo in the Snow</i> is awesome for the younger crowd. It doesn't have a great story to it, but I do love the contrasting colors against the white snow. It does rhyme, although it's spaced oddly throughout the pages so the first time I read it I actually didn't catch that it rhymed. There's a lot of talk about what's in the pictures and what's going on, since there's not much story to it.<br />
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<i>Snow</i> isn't one that I actually read this week. We had, fittingly, some snowfall and plummeting temps this week, so my storytimes were very sparse. While I enjoy the book, knowing the few kids that showed up it didn't seem like the book for them.<br />
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We made snowglobes out of construction paper and paint this week. The kids had a lot of fun doing it and, since there were so few, I was able to do it along with them each time. Here's a few of them...<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bFB8bpN7sNU/VK7vNSI4wKI/AAAAAAAACG0/sm0tx_8kOvk/s1600/20150108_155531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bFB8bpN7sNU/VK7vNSI4wKI/AAAAAAAACG0/sm0tx_8kOvk/s1600/20150108_155531.jpg" height="320" width="180" /> </a></div>
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As usual, I told the kids they could put the snowglobe together however they wanted - complete snowman, falling apart, however they chose. They had a great time gluing it together and then painting the snow.</div>
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Are there any snow/winter books for kids that you've come across and loved? </div>
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Xoxo,</div>
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B </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-178607880007136982015-01-08T16:08:00.001-05:002015-01-08T16:08:06.455-05:00A Little of the Storytime Life<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.myshelbylibrary.org/storytimes.php"><img alt="http://www.myshelbylibrary.org/storytimes.php" id="I189_img" src="http://www.myshelbylibrary.org/resources/storytime_treebook.jpg" /></a> </div>
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I'm not sure if I've ever <i>really </i>talked on here about what I do at work. I work at a library in the youth department. Aside from overseeing the department, collection development, and all that other "boring" admin parts of the job, I get to plan programs for kids. I do storytimes every week for ages birth to preschool and offer school age programming off and on throughout the year. I do at least six storytimes a week, sometimes more if I have special ones for daycares.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="spotlight" height="132" src="https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10620638_10152482254702672_6345821733929132926_n.jpg?oh=19cf85ecebd1fad75b1006da60fef1b4&oe=5524C3B0" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was a special fire station open house storytime I did. :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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What I've decided to do is share some of that with you (um, obviously ignore if you don't care... haha). Each week I'll post about the storytime I did - the books I used, the craft we did, and how the kids responded. Sometimes I only have one kid in a storytime. Sometimes I've had 20+. We aren't a library of registrations, so it's a "come if you can" type thing. We're also not a library that sticks hard and fast to the age of the (storytime) program (school age programs we are a little; most of what we do would just frustrate a three year old... :)). While on the one hand I'd prefer that only babies come to the Baby Bookworms, I also understand reasons that may not happen. Siblings. I am not going to say you can't bring big bro' or bib sis' (or cousin/friend/whomever if you're a babysitter) to Baby Bookworms with your baby. As a parent that would annoy the crap out of me and I probably just wouldn't bother coming at all. I don't want to deter anyone from attending due to the multiple benefits they can get from attending storytimes. Also, sometimes I've had kids without baby brothers/sisters/etc come into Baby Bookworms. They enjoy coming so much and they can't make it any other time of the week (vacation, illnesses, school, whatever-the-case-may-be). Again... benefits. I gear whatever it is I'm doing to the age of the majority of the audience.<br />
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Anyway. So that's my plan. Starting this week (tomorrow, to be exact). :) <br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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xoxo,<br />
BAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-40027443102627831292015-01-07T16:05:00.001-05:002015-01-07T16:05:42.729-05:00Reading Challenges - To Partake of the Golden Cup?Anyone else have this happen to them?<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BEqDzT-LOHk/VK2ctmKz_bI/AAAAAAAACGk/GJFO6knBkek/s1600/GR%2BChallenge%2B2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BEqDzT-LOHk/VK2ctmKz_bI/AAAAAAAACGk/GJFO6knBkek/s1600/GR%2BChallenge%2B2014.jpg" height="297" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's not as if 75 is a *lot* of books to read. I mean, really. AND I even included picture books and didn't reach my goal. Granted, I didn't include every picture book I read this year (that'd be an astronomical amount of books... between my own kids and storytime... whew!), but still. Some that I really enjoyed or got a great reaction from I did. So... what happened?<br />
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Truth be told, I can't say for certain. I'm definitely a mood reader. This much I know about myself. And much of this past year has been spent with trying to figure some things out on a personal level, and that seems to have left less energy for reading. On another note, it was a pretty lofty goal, I think, given that I knew I was struggling with other things that required more of my focus.<br />
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That being said, I haven't yet decided if I'm even going to set a numeric reading goal. <a href="http://gillianeberry.blogspot.com/2015/01/why-i-dont-do-reading-challenges.html">Gillian of Writer of Wrongs</a> said it great when she said she'd end up way too married to that number. Reading is supposed to be a fun thing, not something that you feel pressured to do. And I do think that might've happened to some extent for me. Not nearly on the same level as Gillian or those other rockin' bloggers out there who are more hardcore at this than I am, but still. It <i>is</i> a challenge you set for yourself so it's most likely in the forefront of your mind every time you pick up a book. There's that "Oh, I'm reading this and I get to add it to my challenge and help my numbers," and then there's the "Well, purple platypus! I didn't meet my goal!" when you fail. Seriously? Why take the fun out?<br />
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Still debating, but I figured I'd just spew some word vomit out there for y'all to consider. Mostly because it's in my head and I needed it out. You're welcome.<br />
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Xoxox,<br />
BAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567803010423462384.post-17656437363352580272014-12-13T07:00:00.000-05:002014-12-13T07:00:02.752-05:00Between Here and Forever {A Review}<div style="border-image: none;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/9559665-between-here-and-forever" itemprop="image" rel="nofollow" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Between Here and Forever" height="200" id="coverImage" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348257302l/9559665.jpg" width="131" /></a>Title: Between Here and Forever</div>
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Author: Elizabeth Scott</div>
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Publisher: Simon Pulse</div>
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Published: 2011</div>
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Rating: 2 stars</div>
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<span id="freeText14531196043834303965"><u>THE SCOOP </u></span><br />
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Abby accepted that she can’t measure up to her beautiful, magnetic sister Tess a long time ago, and knows exactly what she is: Second best. Invisible.<br /><br />Until the accident.<br /><br />Now Tess is in a coma, and Abby’s life is on hold. It may have been hard living with Tess, but it's nothing compared to living without her.<br /><br />She's got a plan to bring Tess back though, involving the gorgeous and mysterious Eli, but then Abby learns something about Tess, something that was always there, but that she’d never seen.<br /><br />Abby is about to find out that truth isn't always what you think it is, and that life holds more than she ever thought it could...<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9559665-between-here-and-forever?from_search=true">Add To GoodReads</a><br />
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Geez... and I thought I had self-esteem issues. This girl... man. Poor Abby. I wanted to snuggle and hug her and tell her she's perfect in her own way and strangle her at the same time. Her incessant "woe is me" attitude seriously started to wear on me. And really... she is totally not perceptive at all. I feel I'm a pretty unobservant person and that I don't read people all that well, but c'mon.<br />
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So that might've been my biggest issue with the book. Which is bad since she is the main character and everything is from her point of view. But I, as a reader, knew more than she did. I picked up on the 'clues' long before she did. I saw everything she didn't. It seemed everyone had a little bit of the 'woe is me' attitude going on tho. Except for Claire. Claire was pretty awesome. She knew who she was and had no problems with how people saw her. But everyone else? They were so intent on caring about and only seeing what they thought everyone else saw. A LOT of assuming was going on, which was quite annoying.<br />
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I think the premise of the story was really good. It hooked me and I wanted to know how it all went down and turned out. And although there was some growth in Abby, I felt it took a lot of hitting her over the head with things to knock her out of herself.<br />
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Overall not a bad read. I don't know that I would *highly* recommend it to anyone and everyone, but if someone is looking for a slightly sad, self-discovery type book, then I might suggest it. :) Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17017636623697049877noreply@blogger.com0