Raven Cycle Art

When it comes to drawing, or pretty much possessing any imaginative artistic ability, I typically scoff and say "Uh, no. I can't do that." BUT... esteemed Maggie Stiefvater has decided to hold an art contest. And the prize? A set of her major arcana tarot cards that she herself created for her series, The Raven Cycle. I knew about the cards from her Blue Lily, Lily Blue blog tour, and I entered those contests (which required no artistic ability) to no avail. These cards are oh-so-gorgeous. So when I saw her post yesterday about the new giveaway, in which she and her sister will judge works of art created based on the Raven Cycle, I thought "Uh, maybe. Maybe I'll give it a shot. I mean, if I put some effort into it, and patience (lots and lots of patience), maybe I can work something out worth entering."

 As you can see, my family is a Maggie Stiefvater fan... ;)  These are older, I took them when TRB first came out, but I just had to add them on here for fun. :)

So I started thinking about the Raven Cycle. The scenes that still stand out to me. The characters and their relationships with one another. There's Cabeswater, the dreaming tree, the Pig, Chainsaw, Noah, Blue/Gansey, Ronan/Gansey, Ronan/Blue, Monmouth Manufacturing, cars, Kavinsky (who, despite my strong dislike of and nearly feeling happy for his demise, still stands strong in my mind... I mean, he *did* help Ronan...sort of...), Maura, Persephone, Calla, the Gray Man... man I could go on for the rest of the month probably. This obsession may not be healthy...

I started to just draw. At first I was stuck on the dreaming tree. As you can see... yeah. Not my finest. Or hopefully not my finest. I can't seem to translate to paper what I see in my mind. Obviously I can draw in the most basic sense. I can hold a pencil and make marks on paper, but creating something that looks like something? Not my forte. As my friends Mindy and Adrienne pointed out, it looks like a pair of pants... HAHAHA

Then I thought of Blue/Gansey, and their 'moment' by the Pig... *sigh*... ♥. I wanted to attempt to recreate that. Caveats? 1 - I can't really draw faces. 2 - Even if I can get the faces, how do I get that emotion to go with it? So I worked on the former first. Google helps. "How to draw faces." I mean, yeah yeah yeah, I work in a library and could just go pull a book off the shelf, but I'm also sitting RIGHT IN FRONT OF A COMPUTER. ;)  I got a face. Sort of. I mean, obviously it's a face. Or supposed to be. But then I attempted to add hair. And glasses. Because scholarly Gansey. Yes. lol  So scrap that. And my friend Mindy kindly informed me that if I were drawing glasses in profile form that you wouldn't see the entire lens. Uh... duh? Whoops. ;)

Moved on to ravens in general. Not too bad of a bird. But what to go with it? Does a simple bird count as a 'piece of art'? What if I draw more than one? One in motion, one not?  And I added 'shine' with blue hues. Hmm... So far they are the best of the three, at least.

Oooh... but the Pig... I mean, who can think of the Raven Cycle without thinking, at least passively, of Gansey's beloved? Not me, for one. But could I draw a car? You decide, I guess. (Although I can see lots of issues with it, but that's alright...) I did have a model. He (yes, he... not she) sat very still for me. I offered this model to Maggie once via Twitter, when her Loki kept breaking down. But, alas, it's never made its way out of my possession - only from my house to work, from where I was truly going to mail it to her (really, I was...).

So there you have my attempts at art. Despite them not amounting to anything remotely museum worthy, I think they may earn a spot with my kids' art in our kitchen. At least the ravens and the car. The others? File 13, probably. ;)

Anyway. Happy Friday! :)

Blue Lily, Lily Blue {An e-ARC Review}

Title: Blue Lily, Lily Blue
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Raven Cycle #3
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: October 21, 2014
Source: NetGalley
Format: eArc
Rating: 5 stars

There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.

 

I am SO grateful that NetGalley exists and that Scholastic was awesome enough to grant me access to an e-arc of this. For real, I was SO excited that I was rereading  The Raven Boys & The Dream Thieves. For the third and second time, respectively. I love this series... I feel so connected to these characters, which is a feat considering I have VERY little in common with any of them. Seriously.

So, where to begin. First, if you haven't read TRB or TDT, obviously I highly recommend doing so. *If* for some odd, crazy reason you don't want to and you want to start BLLB, then go to Recaptains to read Maggie's recaps of her own stories (TRB & TDT).

Maggie Stiefvater creates a realistic world with impossible scenarios. But nothing is impossible. But it's still believable, which is really an accomplished feat, let's be honest. I've loved watching (well, reading) this story as it unfolds and seeing how the characters develop, change, and grow as it goes along.

I'm not going to say ANYTHING about ANYTHING, so as not to spoil it for ANYONE. Just know that you get more of your Raven Boys, more Blue, more of 300 Fox Way, more Mr. Gray, more... EVERYTHING. It's interesting how it mimics real life. No matter what happens - death, disappearance, changes - life goes on. So does this story. At the end of TDT Maura vanishes. But, true to reality, life for everyone goes on. The mundane, the good, the bad; no matter how irrelevant it seems in light of everything that is and has happened, life continues as the Earth makes its way around the sun.

Again, no spoilers, so this is very NON-specific... regarding every little thing. I want to go on and on about details, specifics, what happens to people, to Cabeswater... the twists Maggie throws in. Oh! But, I won't. I hate spoilers, as do most people. And at the risk of saying something that SOMEONE views as one, I'll just play it safe and not mention a single solitary thing. :)

Super excited for this baby to be on my shelf next to the first two. It's on pre-order, so it will come to my house in the next monthish. Woo-hoo!

The Raven Cycle Re-Readathon {AKA: My Apparent Obsession}

So I totally wanted to participate in this (re)Read-a-thon. Which, I guess, technically... I did. I just already finished BOTH books. Which, given my history of reading this past year, is really quite shocking that I ALREADY finished them. I do love my Raven Boys, tho, so being around them, and Blue... man. I missed them. I did not, however, miss Kavinsky.

I mostly listened to them this time around. I had a lot of stuff to do, stuff that didn't require a lot of thought (cleaning, putting crafts together, etc). This way, I could get reading in *and* work at the same time. I don't typically do audio books, as I tend to lose focus quite easily. But, apparently, using them to REread something is a go for me. :)

While I enjoyed listening to Will Patton read them, there was only one thing that bugged me. Kavinsky. Now I realize that Kavinsky is NOT a likeable character, and I didn't like him the first go around either. But the voice that Mr. Patton gave him... oh, man, it made my skin crawl. So it was either very effective, or poorly done. I'm going to say effective. But... yeah.

Basically I feel the same about the series as I did when I started it the first time. I LOVE IT. I've now read The Raven Boys three times. (The first time, the second time when The Dream Thieves was about to come out, and, well, now). And I've read The Dream Thieves twice. There were a lot of things that I had forgotten. Nothing major major, just a few details. Or like the how something happened. For instance, I knew there was a death, but I couldn't remember HOW. And then, when I was reading, I was like "DUH".

Anywho. I'm really excited because NetGalley is awesome. Well, I guess it would Scholastic moreso than NetGalley, since they are the ones who did the actual approving of me to read BLLB early. Since I finished The Dream Thieves yesterday morning, I started BLLB last nite. I didn't get all that far, but I'm super excited. I've already pre-ordered (I did that the moment it was announced that it was possible), and I only torture myself more by reading it early since then I'll have to wait even longer to read the fourth... but, I'm a glutton for punishment. ;)

Don't these look amazing next to one another? 

Happy reading,
B

The Raven Cycle (re)Readathon

With the release of Blue Lily, Lily Blue approaching, I've decided to participate in a (re)readathon for TRB & TDT. Wee-hee! Here's the post from Readers in Wonderland...  Who is hosting with Books of Amber, who has her own post on it here...

 

From them:

Reading Schedule

For this post I’ll only be sharing The Raven Boys schedule since that’s what we’re reading this month. The Dream Thieves schedule will be revealed September 28th (or you can go take a peek here)

They have lots of fun things going along with this, including a Q&A with Maggie herself (because she is awesomesauce) and some awesome giveaways. Be sure to check it out if you're interested... I'm not going to re-post everything they did... not because I don't care, but because I'm lazy... ;) 

Smiles,
B

Blue Lily, Lily Blue {Waiting on Wednesday}

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that highlights upcoming releases we're excited about.

There are, as you know, books coming out left and right that we all want to read. One I am looking most forward to is...



I can't express my excitement enough. The moment she tweeted it was available for pre-order... this was me:



I went and pre-ordered immediately. I miss Blue and the boys. I'm excited to see what they're up to next, what's going on in their lives. :)

What are you looking forward to?

Smiles,
B

WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesdays was started by MizB over at Should Be Reading,

To play along, simply answer the following three (3) Questions:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?

Currently Reading

 

I'm definitely liking this one better than I did Shiver. Not that I disliked Shiver, but I think the story is developing better, as well as the characters.

Recently Finished Reading

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Landline by Rainbow Rowell 

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

(And more, since I've not posted one of these in FOREVER)

What I Might Read Next

Probably Forever by Maggie Stiefvater, unless for some reason I'm werewolved-out by the end of Linger. I mean, it's possible, but we'll see. :)

  

Shiver {A Review}

 



Title: Shiver
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: Wolves of Mercy Falls (#1)
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: August 2009
Source: Own
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4 stars

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without.

Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human… until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.




I wanted to love this one more than I did. I did like it, but I just felt it was lacking in some ways. I really feel like, since this novel, Maggie's writing and story/character development has really grown. In her more recent novels, which I have loved, I have definitely felt more attached to her characters and more "in" the story. I'm curious to see where the rest of this story goes, though.

That being said, I really liked it. I would have liked to have seen a little more character development for some, though. Like Olivia, for instance. I didn't really truly care one way or the other what happened to her. And Rachel. But Grace, and Sam, the main characters, I was pretty much in. It took a while to really get there, though, which was a little frustrating. I actually picked this up three different times before *finally* getting into it. I would always get about 40 pages in and give up.

Thankfully I got past that wall and was able to enjoy the story. I still feel there could have been more to it, more to the characters themselves, but we'll see where Linger takes us.

And, on a sort of side note, talk about a READING FAIL. So I put Shiver back on my shelf and grabbed the next one off the shelf. Started reading and thought "Wait a sec," and looked more closely at it. Yep. I had picked up Forever, the third in the series instead of the second. Can you say spoiler? Ugh. Such is life, I guess. But, when I started Linger, I discovered it wasn't as much of a spoiler as I thought, so there's that.

Let Me Look Into My Crystal Ball {A Top Ten Tuesday Post}

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 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. :)

  ♥ Top Ten Books I'd Recommend to Someone Who Has Never Read... ♥

 This week's topic is always a toughy for me. While I love recommending books and I often do so at work, I struggle with doing the whole genre-specific thing. I don't know why. I really can't even tell you *my* favorite genre to read. Weird, I know.So anywho. I made a list first, and then I decided what they fell into. Definitely not contemporary, these all have a mystical side to them. Ghosts, other worlds, a supernatural side...

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

 

The book that started my literary affair with Maggie Stiefvater. The waterhorses, the thrill of the race, the love story... it was all woven together masterfully. 

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

 

I read this recently and, like all her other books, LOVED it. It has a mysticism at play, and the story telling is AMAZING. For real. Read it. Love it. Cherish it. ;)

Splintered by AG Howard

 

Oh, the wonders of AG Howard's Wonderland. The detailed writing, the amazing characters... it all has me begging for me.

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

 

Dark and lovely all at the same time. 

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

 

I read this one a while back and really enjoyed the other worldly characters and the mythology involved. And the world Laini Taylor created was so vivid and, despite the darkness of it, I didn't want to leave it.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

 

I love ghost stories. And this one was NO exception. Gritty, dark, and a wonderful story to go along with it.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

 

Ah, Maggie. How I love her stories. They're not dark, like some of the others on this list. I love her writing. The worlds, while they feel safe in some ways, are not safe in others.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

 

Such a beautiful story.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

 

Another great story. Love transcends all. Beautiful.

Hope you found at least one book to add to your ever expanding TBR list. :)

Smiles,

B

Shiver {A Memorable Monday Post}

Memorable Monday is a meme hosted by Escape in a Good Book. I'm excited to join in on this one because I love quotes, which was the driving force behind the creation of Memorable Mondays. I thank the ladies at Escape in a Good Book.

So... how do you participate? It's simple ~

1) Share a quote that has captured your interest lately in a Memorable Monday post on your blog.

2) Come back here and leave the link to your post in the comment box below. If you don't have a blog, I'd still love to hear read your quote. Leave it in the comment box instead of a link to a non-existent blog. :)

3) Visit other participants if you have time. It's always nice to have visitors. There's no overstaying your welcome this way, and they don't have to offer the obligatory drinks. Or clean.

4) If you tweet your posts, feel free to use the hashtag #MemorableMonday.

This week's choice(s):

 


"She waited to change, and I waited to change, and we both wanted what we couldn't have."

~Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater 

I'm Gonna Love It, Hug It, Squeeze It, and Call it George {A Top Ten Tuesday Post}

I've been in and out here recently. Every time I think I'm going to post more often; weekly, twice a week, daily... life just seems to get in the way. Lack of internet at home, daughter having surgery, my own personal issues, kitchen remodel, keeping busy at work... the first thing to go is always the blog. Which, in the grand scheme of things, makes total sense. I mean, in reality, it's the least important thing. But I love doing it. So...  yeah. I'm just going to keep on tryin'. :)

Because I love doing the Top 10 Tuesday Meme... Here we go!

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 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. :)

  ♥ Top Ten Books I Read in 2013 ♥

Since, as I've said, I've been flitting, it seems fitting that today's Top Ten was a Rewind - choose one you've missed or would like to re-do! :) So I chose this one. Due to my inability to be consistent, some of these may link to reviews and some may not. I thought about doing on about the books I *didn't* love, but then thought I'd rather rave than rant. :)

Splintered by AG Howard

 

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Anna & the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Unhinged by AG Howard

The Moon & More by Sarah Dessen

What books did you love that you read in 2013?

Smiles,
B