There once was an awesome blogger named Ginger and she decided to create a super fun feature where fellow bloggers would answer fabulous questions via blog posts every Friday. TGIF was born and we all have Miss Ginger at GReads! to thank for that! This week’s question is:
Banned Books:
How do you feel about the censorship of the freedom to read? Do you think the education system needs to be more strict on what children are exposed to in books?
Before I really begin I must ask, are you guys ready to see Katelyn get feisty? Nothing (aside from child/animal neglect/abuse) gets me more fired up than the banning of books. I could rant and rave for HOURS about the banning of books in school systems. The only conclusion I have come to is that the sad people who seek out books to be banned must have been severely deprived as a child or had books thrown at them (literally) as a punishment of some sort and therefore have bibliophobia (the phobia of books. This is legit, look it up). There is no excuse for forcing certain books out of school systems because you see them as “unfit.” Yes, there should be certain age limits for specific books. Obviously, I will not allow my 13-year-old sister to read a highly descriptive romance novel, but when the time is right I will slowly introduce her to tougher and more pressing issues through books.
So, to answer the first question, I feel very strongly that censorship over the freedom to read is going against our rights as American citizens. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, IT IS UP TO THE PARENT AND THE PARENT ALONE to decide what their child can and cannot read. Our government and school systems should not be able to take the right to read whatever we want whenever we want away from us. Every child is different and what books they can handle all depends on their emotional and maturity level. A single person trying to ban a specific book fails to see just how many kids can handle and yes even benefit from that particular book. Books have the ability to touch and reach many people in a way like no other. For many people, they cling to books like a lifeline so if you are taking the books out of school systems because of their content, you could be depriving someone of a great resource.
To move on to the second part of the question, no education systems do not need to be stricter on what books we are exposed to. In fact, I personally think they need to step back and allow kids to choose for themselves. Throughout school we are always told, you can do whatever you want, be whoever you want, but many schools fail to give us the freedom that is required to discover who we really are. Books allow us to explore a different side of ourselves. Books touch dark demons crawling in our subconscious, they allow us to see our deepest fantasies; they even teach us about whom we may want to be one day. It is my strong belief that books can affect us more than anything else out there so the fact that people are trying to limit what we can read and discover for ourselves is disheartening. Clearly these people have never watched Footloose! I mean come on, what happens when they try to censor those kids? They try to closely moderate what they can and cannot do and what just happens to be the result of that? Madness, I tell you, madness!
Okay, that is enough babble for one day. I hope the point I was trying to make came across clearly enough for all of you. Let me know your opinion (if it’s different than mine, don’t worry! Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs…) and leave a link to your TGIF post in the comments section!
“See, this is our time to dance (well in the case of all of us book nerds “read”). It is our way of celebrating life.” Footloose, 1984.
Really, this Footloose clip has absolutely nothing to do with the point I was trying to make but I gotta say, I love small moments of epic randomness!
Rene, an obsessive-compulsive fourteen year old, smells his hands and wears a Batman cape when he’s nervous. If he picks up a face-down coin, moves a muscle when the time adds up to thirteen (7:42 is bad luck because 7 + 4 + 2 = 13), or washes his body parts in the wrong order, Rene or someone close to him will break a bone, contract a deadly virus, and/or die a slow and painful death like someone in a scary scene in scary movie. Rene’s new and only friend tutors him in the art of playing it cool, but that’s not as easy as Gio makes it sound. (Summary courtesy of Goodreads.com)
I love a unique book, which is no mystery. A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie is about as unique as it can get so it may or may not come as a shock to you that I thoroughly enjoyed it. While a lot of what happened in this book caused me to laugh, a lot of it broke my heart because I know there are real people, kids AND adults, who deal with OCD on a daily basis.
The main character Rene’s whole life is consumed by his OCD tendencies. Every choice he makes, every move, every thought is controlled by this mental illness. A lot of people say they have OCD, heck I even say I have OCD, but the reality is that very few people have it to this degree. The book became a bit tedious to read at times because it’s Rene’s train of thought throughout the whole thing but I must say the book gains major effective points that way. Being able to understand what he is thinking and feeling at all times really allowed me as a reader to see inside the brain of someone dealing with OCD. Getting to know Rene while at times could be difficult, in the end it pulled off. He was a character I could really feel for and I got excited to see small improvements in his daily life. Gaining a friend, speaking what was really on his mind, spending the night in the school, even a trip to New York may seem normal to all of us but for him it was a HUGE step and I am so glad I got to witness it.
Rene tries hard to break away from always feeling scared and out of control and one person who really helps him out is his new friend named Gio. Gio was a character you could easily love. His humor and easy-going personality was a breath of fresh air in this book. Rene, not having many friends before, is awkward and strange when it comes to his relationship with Gio and I totally loved it. I would be so sad after reading an embarrassing moment that Rene went through because of his OCD and then something humorous would happen with Gio and I’d start to feel a bit better. Gio teaches Rene a lot about the person he wants to become, how to steal umbrellas and most importantly how to be a good friend.
Even though the characters where great in this story, I must say Matt Blackstone’s wonderful and true-to-life description of OCD really stole the show. I wasn’t expecting to learn so much while reading this book but I certainly did. As I stated earlier, I have more than on one occasion mentioned that I have OCD (I even bring it up in my About Me page!) but after reading this, I realize my case is nowhere near as serious as Rene’s. I just wanted to cry when I read about all the torturous, agonizing thoughts that go through his head. His mind never shuts off. EVER. It is constantly running, worrying about something small and senseless. He is always stressed about what others are thinking, what time it is, how his hand smells, and it sometimes gets so bad he will even start puking. I just can’t imagine it being that bad. Every small decision from what I have for breakfast, to what time I take a step being controlled. This book was so eye-opening to a real-life issue that has seldom been touched on in YA books. I put this real, honest account of a young boy’s struggle with OCD right up there with It’s Kind of a Funny Story and Dirty Little Secrets!
Tune In Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Ginger @ GReads so you should head on over and link up! It is a great way to bounce from blog to blog and discover what others are listening to! I love music but there is so much out there that I haven’t heard of before. That being said, feel free to leave a link to your Tune-In Tuesday post!
This week I am feeling a little bit like a rock star. I think this is because I pulled my awesome, leather, rock-girl-status, boots out of the depths of my closet. When I think of the best of the ladies who can rock it out, it is hard not to think of the two geniuses behind The Veronicas. They don’t have ear-bleed-enducing music but they are still heard without a problem. They have such a cool, unique style. Plus, do you know how hard it is to find an awesome girl in a rock band let alone two? Yeah, it is freaking difficult! These ladies never fail to produce a song I can sing and dance to (in my rock star boots). Girl Power For The Win!
There once was an awesome blogger named Ginger and she decided to create a super fun feature where fellow bloggers would answer fabulous questions via blog posts every Friday. TGIF was born and we all have Miss Ginger at GReads! to thank for that! This week’s question is:
Reading Challenges:
Did you sign up for any this year? How has your progression been?
My answer to this week’s question will thoroughly embarrass me. I can’t even believe I’m actually going to share with you guys just how much I sucked it up MAJORLY on reading challenges this year. I kid you not, it is going to be quite difficult for someone to do worse than me so here it goes…
The 2011 Debut Author Challenge
I started book blogging in August of 2010. That means that when the new year rolled around, I quickly signed up for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge. I had no grasp on how much time would be needed to read all the books I chose nor did I equate how much it would cost to buy all those new books. Out of the SIXTY-SEVEN books I chose as part of the DAC, I have read only 7 of them. You can’t get much more pathetic than that. However, I do own 11 DAC books that still need to be read. If I can get those read before the end of the year, that will make a grand total of 18 books read for the challenge, which surpasses the challenge goal by 6. I am thinking that is totally doable…I hope!
The 2011 Y.A. Historical Fiction Challenge
I was a bit more sensible for this challenge! I chose to be a level 2 for this challenge which means I would read at least 10 Y.A. Historical Fiction Novels. So far this year I have read 3 of them. Yeah….that still sucks BUT I am working hard to make it through this challenge because I find myself loving nearly every single historical book out there!
The 2011 A-Z Challenge
For this challenge I used books that were already on my lists for other challenges or books that I already own. You know how the saying goes, kill two birds with one stone. But since I have not done so hot with my other challenges, that means I have also done not so hot with this challenge. I have only read 5 of the required 26 books. Uh-oh…
The Awards Winning Challenge
Out of the 12 books I said I would read and review, I read three and only reviewed one. I did, however, gain a lot from this challenge, that would be a lot of award-winning books were brought to my attention. I have learned to not instantly write off a book because of its status as an award-winning book. Jellicoe Road, a book I simply adore, was from this list!!!
That is it for the challenges I started this year. I now know to be a bit smarter when signing up for challenges. Keeping a balance between review books, books for fun, and challenge books is very important so next year I will most definitely be participating in challenges, just maybe not such high expectations!
“My parents suck ass. Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don’t they realize that Hope’s the only one who keeps me sane? . . . I don’t see how things could get any worse.”
When her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, hyperobservant sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. A fish out of water at school and a stranger at home, Jessica feels more lost than ever now that the only person with whom she could really communicate has gone. How is she supposed to deal with the boy- and shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad’s obsession with her track meets, her mother salivating over big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding, and her nonexistent love life?
A fresh, funny, utterly compelling fiction debut by first-time novelist Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica’s predicament as she embarks on another year of teenage torment–from the dark days of Hope’s departure through her months as a type-A personality turned insomniac to her completely mixed-up feelings about Marcus Flutie, the intelligent and mysterious “Dreg” who works his way into her heart. Like a John Hughes for the twenty-first century, Megan McCafferty taps into the inherent humor and drama of the teen experience. This poignant, hilarious novel is sure to appeal to readers who are still going through it, as well as those who are grateful that they don’t have to go back and grow up all over again.
I am pretty sure every blogger knows how awesome Ginger at GReads! is but I would like to say it just one more time…She. Is. Awesome. Any person who can continuously recommend one great book after another, is a total rock star in my eyes. Ginger first mentioned this book to me through either Twitter or by leaving a comment on my blog (I forgot which one!) simply stating “Have you checked out my review for the Jessica Darling series yet?” I quickly decided that I MUST check out her reviews and see what these books are all about. I was instantly in love. I loved the characters, the humor, the romance, the Marcus (yes, the Marcus!) and this was before I even set eyes on the actual book! I’ve seen bloggers gush about books before but never quite like that. Then the 10 year anniversary for this book came out and I saw nothing but Megan McCafferty this and Jessica Darling that so finding this book at Border’s closing sale was like fate. I stayed up well until the wee hours of the morning to read it and then quickly ordered the rest of the series.
This girl, Jessica Darling, is every teenager. She has a personality that everyone can relate to, and I do mean everyone. A mom who doesn’t understand her, we’ve all had times where we think “Oh my god. Could my parents be anymore lame? They don’t understand me at all.” A dad who pushes our limits because he thinks that’s the only connection we have (especially when it comes to running, my dad was certainly at every track and cross country meet pushing me to run harder and harder). A best friend who understands her more than anything, well we all have at least one of those (you have heard me mention my best friend Kati, right? Oh, you haven’t? Well, let me explain, she is made of awesomesauce.). Jessica may be way smarter than the average girl, or have a best friend that lives thousands of miles away, but the important thing is that Megan McCafferty created a character we could all understand, sympathize with, and enjoy like no other.
Jessica’s not-so-darling personality kept me laughing throughout the whole entire book! Since this book is written in journal entry form, she holds nothing back and that is exactly why I adore her to pieces. From the moments she was sad and depressed about Hope being gone (I totally don’t blame her. I would be just as depressed if my best friend moved away!), to the endless complaining that comes after hanging out with the Clueless Crew all day (a bunch of snobs who think they are the center of the universe, no thank you!) Jessica kept her cynicism live and well. Her smirks, her sarcastic comments that are lost on nearly everyone, and the way she looks at her glass half empty in only a way a teenage girl going through a tough time can pull off, made this book so believably funny. She may not sound like the most happy-go-lucky person out there but I know I certainly had my “I hate the world and everyone on it” days as a 16-year-old. Jessica’s spunk kept me on my toes as a reader. Just when I thought I had her all figured she would go for a midnight run or start talking about her missing period. Gosh, there is just so much to love about her!
Jessica is not always hating on the Clueless Crew or coming up with one-liners that half of the school population doesn’t understand, she also has some sweet, touching, or even uncomfortable moments that made her all the more real. The pain she felt after Hope moved away was evident. Instead of Megan having a best friend move away and just forget about her for the rest of the book, she brought her up quite frequently, enough to the point that I felt like I knew Hope almost as much as all the other characters. Also, when Jessica’s older sister begins to isolate the family, Jessica steps in (a bit unwillingly) to help cheer up her mom. I thought it was super important that Megan included this. Jessica and her mom may have not seen eye to eye but she still made an attempt to show appreciation towards her mom.
Alright, I have made it far enough in the review to where I can finally start gushing. The final big paragraph can be dedicated to the one and only Marcus Flutie. Marcus, my darling Marcus. THANK GOD you came along to the world of literature because I was beginning to think I was the only teenage girl out there who liked a guy with red hair (have you seen me mention a certain boy named Travis from We The Kings…uh yeah. I love him!) Anyways, there is just something about his character that was almost unimportant at the beginning but somehow became such a huge piece to the second half of the book. Marcus is your picture perfect bad boy. Long red dreads, a different girl every week, and a bad streak with the law; what girl wouldn’t be all over that? Apparently, Jessica Darling. She tries so hard to keep her distance from Marcus but he sees right through the façade she creates and Marcus likes nothing more than to push her buttons. The more and more Marcus tries to get Jessica to see how fake she is being, the more she actually starts realizing it for herself. I don’t mean to be a major spoiler here but there was totally a cat-fight scene in the book and Jessica actually stood up for herself (thanks to Marcus) and I almost started clapping & cheering after reading it. He was able to help her grow and speak up for herself so I instantly love him for it.
Now on to the less serious reasons I love Marcus Flutie:
1) The boy band t-shirts. “Backstreet’s back, ALRIGHT!”
2) The random topics in class. “Did you know that the average American spends six months of his or her life waiting for red lights to turn green?” Who knew Marcus was a fountain of knowledge
3) Those late night phone calls. Oh gosh, it takes me back to the good old days of staying up until 2 a.m. talking quietly on the phone with a guy so my parents wouldn’t get mad.
4) His unnerving way of telling Jessica exactly how it is. He also refrains from holding anything back so it’s hilarious to see these two go back and forth.
5) He bit her lip. No he didn’t kiss her, he bit her!
6) He writes poetry. It may be dirty poetry but it is still written by him and made me swoon a bit more!
7) He can make my girl Jessica say Sha-ZAM, enough said!!!
The list of reasons why Jessica, Marcus and this book as a whole, rocked my socks off, could go on and on for days. I could gush about the characters day and night but instead will leave you with these two videos that were created in honor of Sloppy Firsts 10th birthday!
This first one was made by Anna at Anna Reads! How could you not think that is the most adorable thing ever?
This one is made by Geisha P. Pants. When I first watched it I thought “what the heck is this?” After reading the book I think it is the most epic video ever made!
Tune In Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Ginger @ GReads so you should head on over and link up! It is a great way to bounce from blog to blog and discover what others are listening to! I love music but there is so much out there that I haven’t heard of before. That being said, feel free to leave a link to your Tune-In Tuesday post!
This past week I was listening to a Pandora station (as I so often do) when a song came on. I have heard the song(s) included in this before but have never heard that exact version. Sound confusing? Well, at the moment it was. This guy was singing a mix of Alicia Keys, Jordan Sparks, and Black Eyed Peas all in one song! This blew my mind. Then I realized who it was singing it, none other than Boyce Avenue. Of course it all made sense after that because Boyce Avenue totally kicks butt when it comes to covers. I could listen to Boyce Avenue’s cover to nearly every song out there (yes, even Polka music is included in this) and I would love them all the same! Just take a listen and tell me what you think!
P.s. I was feeling some MAJOR love for Boyce Avenue but I just can’t post every cover song they have done. You NEED to check out more by them, these are just a few of my favorites!
I never would have thought those three songs could be combined together like that but the result is awesome!
Bruno Mars rocks my socks off and I just adored this song when it came out. I love their version of it too!
You can’t out-do the original of this song but Boyce Avenue sure did a wonderful job on it!
This one is TOTALLY for Ashley and Cyndi! We had a wonderful conversation about how awesome Christina Perri is so I got super excited when I saw they covered one of my favorites by her!
Excuse me while I show my Taylor Swift fan-girlnesses right now! (Sorry, DirtyBrit!) I just had to show their version of one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs! I still like Taylor’s version a whole lot more but it was interesting seeing it as a duet!
My, my where does the time go? One day I was just posting a new IMM blog and then all of a sudden I see in big, bold letters THIS IS YOUR 199th BLOG POST! Thank goodness WordPress said something to me otherwise I would have gone about my normal business and wouldn’t have even paid tribute to this awesome day. I asked a few of you on Twitter what I should do for my 200th blog post and the response was vlog, vlog, vlog. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that is NOT what you will find today. Instead I will be posting a vlog sometime soon (very soon) and will be poking fun at myself while also giving you guys a chance to win some books because I am awesome like that. So now that you know what is up, let’s get on to the fun part, making fun of my past blog posts while also looking at a few that are special to me!
1) My First Blog….Ever! The first blog post I ever did is like an incomplete thought. I started the blog post off just fine (a little dorky but somewhat understandable considering it was my first one ever). I only wrote a small paragraph telling everyone (or at the time the one person who viewed my blog that day) exactly why I was starting a blog. The most ironic thing is that I created a blog to “make it a lot easier to stay updated with the YA Book Club.” Well, I currently post hardly any reviews of the books we read for book club.
2) My 2nd Blog….Ever! & Mission NOT Accomplished You have got to enjoy dramatic irony! Of course in My 2nd Blog…Ever! I talk about how all I want to do is finish the three books I was reading and of course the next day, I talk about how that did not happen at all. Can I also take a moment to point out my extremely creative ability at making blog post titles?
3) My Name is Katelyn and I am Addicted to Cheddar Cheese Bagels, Borders, and Bejeweled Blitz Only I am weird enough to base a whole entire blog post off of these three things. Honestly, I don’t know what the heck was going through my head. Really, my ability to ramble and create lists is only accentuated by this blog post. Oh and guess what, I still haven’t read The Hunger Games!
4) One Rough Week! Everyone complains but looking back on this one post in particular, I want to strap a piece of duck tape over my mouth for forever. My yearly quota for complaining was used up in one post alone. That is embarrassing. Also, I have yet ANOTHER list in this post. Clearly I like lists.
5) My Poor, Neglected Blog There are a few odd things about this post. 1)I never come out and say why my blog is poor and neglected. I just assume everyone knows. 2) I complain. A lot….again. 3) I quote Snookie 4) I give relationship advice 5) And I give you guys a breakdown of my wallet’s health
6) Here It Goes Nothing to really make fun of for this blog post. I am actually impressed that I mentioned so many great books at one time!
7) Happy Halloween! I love random, pointless posts that I used to post like this one. I start off talking about Halloween costumes and somehow transfer to the delicious drinks at Borders. So odd!
9) Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace My crazy, strange obsession with Taylor Swift is evident in this post. Read it and you will find out exactly what I mean.
11) My Bucket List For 2011 Oh my gosh, I crack myself up sometimes. Just scroll through some of my goals for 2011. 2, 5, 7, and 8 have yet to be completed!
12) Random Post Form Yours Truly I have some serious issues in this post. I am scatter-brained and bounce from one topic to another. Anyone reading it could get dizzy with all the mood changes.
13) In My Mailbox (1) I bought so many freaking books! I cannot believe I allowed myself to spend that much money. Also this one features the first book I ever got for review. Eeek!
14) A Post In Which I Complain A Lot Clearly, I like to complain. It is apparent in nearly every blog post but even more so in this one (if you couldn’t tell by the title!
15) Puppies Galore! Oh my little puppies. There are lots of super cute pictures but I think my clever captions stole the show!
17) The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg I love this book mostly because it reminds me of my best friend and I. Read my review and you will find out exactly what I mean!
I am sure all of you are about sick of looking through all my past blog posts & reminiscing with me and you really just want to get on to the best part, the giveaway! One lucky winner will pick any book ($15 value or less) from The Book Depository (if they ship to your country)! That’s right, this contest is INTERNATIONAL! Here are the guidelines!
–Must leave a comment on YOUR favorite blog post of mine. It can be from the list above or any of the others. Make sure to include in that comment that it is for your entry into the giveaway.
–Must have a valid e-mail address or some way to contact you
–Must leave comment before September 26th
If you want some EXTRA POINTS you can do one, some, or all of the following
If there are any questions about the giveaway, please feel free to ask me. It’s a bit different then what I usually do so I understand if there’s any confusion!
IMM is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. It is a way for book bloggers to post what they have received for review, borrowed from a friend, bought at the bookstore, or picked up at the library. I have had a HUGE case of the lazies the past couple weeks so this IMM is actually three weeks in one (are you starting to sense a theme here?). I have got lots of great books so let’s check them out!
My Thoughts: The time of kings, princesses, love, and lies. This one sounds so great PLUS it will be the first time I have ever participated in a legit blog tour! To say I am excited is a bit of an understatement gov’ner!
My Thoughts: Thank you, thank you, thank you my darling Ashley @ Books From Bleh To Basically Amazing! This book is one I know I can share with my younger sister to (hopefully) help her make some better choices when she is online!
My Thoughts: I have already read and adored, loved, obsessed about this book way too much so I just needed to get my own copy. I couldn’t pass up the sales at Borders! Read my review of this AWESOME book right here!
My Thoughts: I read this. In less than 48 hours. And loved it! My review should be up later this week (possibly tomorrow) so be sure to stop by and check it out!
My Thoughts: I am very much aware that I only have the 1st and 4th books of the series BUT Borders only had these two so I got them while they were so cheap. The guy at the checkout had some issues ringing this book up so he just tossed it in the bag without charging me for it. The awesome book-giver-awayers (<<< I am pretty sure that is not a real word but that is the best I could come up with) will be missed dearly.
My Thoughts: I have not even picked up the first book in this series yet but come on, I’ve seen the movie and if I enjoyed it way more than any 18-year-old should, then there is no doubt I will love the book series!
My Thoughts: 1) This was clearly an impulse buy 2) I got it because I thought it would be something I could read with my grandma 3) Does it make me a nerd that I look for books to read with my grandma? 4) Am I the only person who thinks this sounds like Pride and Prejudice meets Gone With The Wind?
My Thoughts: So I was at Barnes and Noble the other night (sidenote: please be aware that I have a large distaste for Barnes and Noble but must now go there for book buying purposes because of the sudden and heart-breaking closure of Borders) and saw this cover, thought it looked cute, read the back cover, thought it sounded cute, and then proceeded to buy it even though I have placed a very strict, non-discussable book-buying-ban on myself (trying to save up for BEA next year, heck yeah!). Yes, I have major problems.
My Thoughts: I want to read this RIGHT NOW! I am thinking of taking a “review break” for the month of October so I can catch up on some fun, stress-free books. This one will be at the top of my list for ones to get through during that month!
Okay, that’s all the books I got from the past few weeks! Leave a link in the comments section and I’ll be sure to check out your IMM as well!
There once was an awesome blogger named Ginger and she decided to create a super fun feature where fellow bloggers would answer fabulous questions via blog posts every Friday. TGIF was born and we all have Miss Ginger at GReads! to thank for that! This week’s question is:
Book Disappointments:
Have you ever come across a book you were so stoked to read, but it failed miserably in your eyes?
Oh boy! This is a hard question to answer because if I am being honest, there are no books that I’ve read that “failed miserably.” I tend to be rather picky about the books I pick up. I kind of get an initial instinct on whether or not I will enjoy the book so that definitely helps filter out ones that are probably just not for me. However, there are a few books that I was expecting to be left breathless after reading and instead was only slightly entertained.
First is Susane Colasanti’s novels, When It Happens and Something Like Fate. I like Susane’s work just fine but I wasn’t as blown away as I had imagined I would be. I expected her books to be similar to Sarah Dessen’s, which they were, but there was just something off for me. I can’t quite put my finger on what exactly I just had a hard time connecting with the character and story line for these two books. That hasn’t stopped me from wanting to read more from her though. Her latest book, So Much Closer, sounds wonderful and I have been pretty anxious to read it.
Next is Joan Bauer’s books, Rules of the Road, Best Foot Forward, Hope Was Here, and Peeled. I read Joan’s books for my Young Adult Lit class a few years ago. I was entertained by her books but I found them to be a bit preachy. Joan always touched on great subjects but the characters and the way they dealt with certain situations were almost too innocent to seem realistic. I may have not been the biggest fan of her books but they all do carry some beautiful messages.
Last for today is a collection of books that I have not finished (yet) due to a lack of interest. Bright Young Things and The Luxe are two books by Anna Godbersen that I started a while ago and have yet to finish. I couldn’t connect with either book but I am still going to finish them one day….I hope. A lot of people LOVE Anna’s books so I want to finish at least one so I can really make a clear judgement on it. Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly, is a book that I got about 50 pages into before I realized that it was written in 1942. I was so confused because the cover was freaking adorable and looked newer. As it so happens, publishers decided to re-vamp the cover to appeal to young readers. Well the new cover certainly drew me in but the story did not hold my interest AT ALL. I really try to finish every book I start, but with this one there really is no way of knowing if I’ll ever pick it up again. Last is Take Me There by Carolee Dean. I think this book would have been finished had I not been in a negative mood while attempting to read it. I first picked it up and from the moment it started, I kept thinking “Oh my goodness, will anything good happen in this book at all?” I mean, it was one terrible issue after another when it came to the main character and I just couldn’t take it. But this one, like all the others, will eventually be finished before I make my final decision on the book.
So there are the books that didn’t shine quite as bright in my eyes. What books didn’t quite live up to your standards? Leave a link in the comments section so I can check out your TGIF post!
This week on Katelyn’s Blog (9/9-9/16):
TGIF (15) Last week we talked about what books we would like to be seen turned into TV shows or a movie. I posted hot pictures of Alex Fuentes. That is all you need to know.
Tune-In Tuesday (25) I introduced the ever-simplistic and beautiful group known as Dashboard Confessional. Their music is wonderful in every way.
Dreamland by Alyson Noel Book Trailer + Giveaway (Ends 9/22)For this giveaway, all that I ask is that you spread the word about it. Tweet it, Facebook it, blog it, I don’t care how it is done but if you share the giveaway somehow, you are entered to win!
I Need Your Help! Stop by and check out what I have to say and of course vote on my poll, because well, I NEED YOUR HELP! (duhh!)
As many of you may have noticed, I have been posting less and less over the past couple weeks. Well let me take a few moments to explain the craziness that has consumed my life:
1) School started on September 6th. This will be my second year at my local community college. My professors started off right away with homework so I am sure many of you can understand how much time that takes up.
2) My work schedule has nearly doubled! On top of going to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I now work Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. If you didn’t catch that, it is all 7 days of the week that I now have either work or school. Talk about having a busy schedule.
3) Of course craziness doesn’t stop there when it comes to me. My uncle recently got married on 9/10/11. The wedding was beautiful and I danced my booty off at the reception but a wedding takes a lot of work. I had family coming in from Texas, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and god knows where else. So I had work, school, family to entertain, wedding rehearsals, I had to help set up the venue of the wedding, and of course chauffeur my mother and sister all around through all of this.
4) And as many of you know, we had a slight crisis in my household a few weeks ago. My brother (whom I love very much but can be QUITE STUPID sometimes) crashed our car. Watch out for “those deer” or as I like to put it, try to avoid doing fishtails down a dirt road at 50 mph. It can flip a Durango at top-notch speed.
5) Also, I have been hosting giveaways left and right on the blog. I mean come on, Sophie and Carter one day of the week and then Dreamlanda few days later. You just can’t beat it.
So now that you know just how crazy everything has been, you may be a bit more willing to help me out with an itsy bitsy favor…Here it is, our first major English paper of the year is a review. Lucky for me, I have PLENTY of those to choose from. That is where your help comes in. I narrowed it down to the three reviews I would like to use for my paper (of course MAJOR editing is needed to make it into the proper format for an essay paper but the tough work is already done) If those of you whom are reading this would be so kind as to read one or all three of the following reviews that I have written or if you are made of awesomesauce and already have read the reviews, you can go right on to the next step. Vote for your favorite! It would make my life 10 times easier and I would love you all for forever.
