Final BTAT17 Update (Days 3-7)

BTAT started out so well for me but it didn't end as strong, mainly because of life!

Day 3: I read nothing!
Day 4: I read nothing!
Day 5: I started reading Jessica Jones: Alias: Vol. 2 for my outside book. I also started reading Feminist Fight Club as my book for the bought only because of the cover challenge.
Day 6: Finished reading Jessica Jones: Alias: Vol. 2. It was so good and I am so excited to continue reading the series. I might really be getting into comics because of this.
Day 7: Read a little bit more of Feminist Fight Club. 

Total Pages Read for BTAT17: 1,112

Be on the lookout for reviews every Monday!

Once And For All ~ Sarah Dessen

Is it really better to have loved and lost?  Louna's summer job is to help brides plan their perfect day, even though she stopped believing in happily-ever-after when her first love ended tragically.  But charming girl-magnet Ambrose isn't about to be discouraged now that he's met the one he really  wants.  Maybe Louna's second chance is standing right in front of her.

Book Review:

Not my favorite Sarah Dessen novel but it definetly wasn't bad. Louna did feel a bit isolated from the readers though. Ambrose was funny and sweet and Louna kind of had a personality that seemed to be distorted by her mother's life, but at the same time, the depiction of her mental illness (anxiety) was very touching. I love when authors step into that realm and force readers to realize that it is not strange and abnormal to have a mental illness. 

Louna's relationships were very sweet. Her mother was her one and only but she was never bitter about her father, it was more of a "matter of fact" situation. William, her mother's friend and business partner took on the male role model for Louna and he was a hilarious Gay. I was very proud that Dessen included and LGBTQIA+ character. Louna's best friend was hilarious and reminded me of my own crazy adventurous best friend. Louna's first love, Ethan, seemed so perfect and left an everlasting impact on her even though their relationship was short-lived due to unfortunate circumstances. 

The aforementioned unfortunate circumstances, that I will not specify in this review, was perfect for the current social and political climate. I feel that even people who haven't been directly impacted by a similar situation would still understand it as they are on the news more often than they really should be. It also spoke to the leading causes of said issue, such as bullying etc. 

Wonderfully written. I cried. I want a guy like Ambrose, as I constantly fall in love with all of Dessen's main men. 

Pages: 363                                                                                                                                 Rate: 4/5

BookTube-A-Thon Day 2 Update

As you can see, I have changed one of the books on my TBR. I added Jessica Jones: Alias: Vol. 2 for the reading outside challenge, I'm just not feeling another poetry collection this week.
I had to work this morning so I wasn't able to read until later today.
2:00pm: Continuing with Piecing Me Together.
3:45pm: Had to take a break. A friend needed to talk! Friends first!
4:30pm: Continuing with Piecing Me Together.
5:00pm: Just finished Piecing Me Together and it was incredible. I can not wait to write a review on it. Even though, myself and Jade have a lot of similarities, we are also very different. Our differences stem from where we have grown up and our races. It took a while for Jade to find her voice and be comfortable with who she is, similar to myself; but, Jade struggled with this due to the historical and current injustices and stereotypes placed on African Americans and Woman, but especially African American Woman, different from me.

Total # of Pages Read Today: 228
Total # of Pages Read for BTAT17 So Far: 899

BookTube-A-Thon Day 1 Update

8:30am: Started reading Jessica Jones: Alias: Vol. 1.
10:30am: Finished Jessica Jones: Alias: Vol. 1. I loved it. I might actually be getting into comic books if the other 3 volumes are this good. The artwork was great and I just love Jessica Jones as a character. Her job is so quirky and I can never figure out where her head is. Completed Reading Challenge 1, read a book with a person on the cover!
11:00am: Started reading The One Memory of Flora Banks.
12:10pm: Participating in my first reading sprint with the BookTube-A-Thon twitter.
12:30pm: Finished the reading sprint. My monster hunting squad is called Arctic Brave.
1:30pm: Just finished The One Memory of Flora Banks. I was sucked right into this book!  It is suspensful, kind of confusing, and utterly compelling. The ending was perfect!
2:10pm: Started reading The Chaos of Longing. 
3:30pm: Finished reading The Chaos of Longing. It was really good. The poems were dark and socially conscious while telling the story of the author, the way all good poetry should be!
4:45pm: Started reading Piecing Me Together.
5:30pm: Had to put Piecing Me Together down. So far it is really good. Hopefully, I will finish it tomorrow.

I was really upset this morning when I found out that work was canceled for the day, as I am a camp counselor and the weather was bad. But then I remembered that today was the start of BookTube-A-Thon and I got really excited; therefore, instead of going back to bed when I received the news, I made my breakfast smoothie and started reading. I have a really busy week ahead of me between work, helping backstage at a friend's play, house sitting, and spending time with family that I don't see often. When I originally decided to do this, yesterday, I never thought that I would be able to finish 7 books this week and I might not, but today was a great start. Three books down and Four to go.

It is currently 6pm and I don't think that I will be reading anymore today. I leave for rehearsal soon and when I get back all I am going to want to do is watch Youtube and go to bed. So happy first day of BTAT everyone and wish me luck for the rest of my TBR.

All of the books that I have finished today will have book reviews coming soon, always on Mondays.

Follow me on Twitter for consistent updates @abookishtweet

Total # of Pages Read today: 668 pages

whiskey words & a shovel I ~ r.h. Sin

Originally released in 2015, this re-rerelease packs the same punch as the first version, but makes an even greater connection with the soul of the reader. Each piece has been re-seen and revamped to reflect the author’s continuing journey with his partner, Samantha King, without whom this book would not exist. Samantha is the muse, the “she” the writer speaks of; she is every woman who has felt like she wasn’t good enough, and every woman who struggles to find love.  

Book Review:

In a previous blog post, I said that I wanted to start reading more modern poetry; therefore, I bought a few books full of modern poetry. I bought all 3 from r.h. Sin's whiskey words & a shovel set as well as a few more. At first, I was skeptical of reading poetry by a man. I didn't believe that his words would be able to resonate with me. How wrong was I? At least, in this case, I was 100% wrong. I felt something ethereal in every poem. This may be due to the fact that the poetry is inspired by the relationships his current partner has experienced as well as her feelings of inadequacy, but nevertheless, many of the poems spoke to my feminity. 

If you are trying to get into more modern poetry that really speaks to the current social climate, I would start here. I am really looking forward to reading the rest of this set. Personally, I find it very hard to review these books, as there is no true plot or characters to discuss, but just know that everyone will resonate with these poems for one reason or another. I truly feel that anyone above 16 years of age should be reading these poems. 

Pages: 306                                                                                                                                 Rate: 5/5

BookTube-A-Thon TBR ~ July 24th-July 30th

So, I am going to attempt to participate in this year's BookTube-A-Thon hosted by Ariel Bissett on Youtube. There are 7 reading challenges and I have chosen 7 books to complete said reading challenges. Now, I do not know what order that I will read these in or if I will even be able to complete all 7. I am going to try my best to read as much as I can inbetween work and rehearsal. The above picture is my current reading station. Wish me luck!!

Read a book with a person on the cover: I chose Alias Vol. 1 by Bill Sienkiewickz and David Mack. I have wanted to get into comic books for a while now and since I loved the Netflix series based off of Alias, Jessica Jones, I figured  I would give this a go.

Read about a character who is very different from you: I chose Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson. This is about an African American teen named Jade. Her personality, based on the synopsis, seems to be determined, like myself, but for very different reasons. We have experienced very different lifestyles, some due to our race, others due to where we have grown up. I am really looking forward to picking this up. Plus, the cover is beautiful. 

Read a book completely outside: I chose whisky words & a shovel II by r.h. Sin. This is a collection of  poems, so I feel that it should be a quick and easy read outside.  I have already read the first one and I really enjoyed it. 

Read a hyped book: I chose The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr. I have seen this book all over booktube and it is one of the picks for the Zoella and Friends Summer 2017 bookclub. 

Read a book that you bough because of the cover: I chose Feminist Fight Club: An Office Survival Manual by Jessica Bennet. It is supposed to be a self-help-esque book about surviving the demeaning comments and gestures in the office experienced by woman from men. I am not working in an office yet, but I will be one day and I am a Feminist. 

Finish a book in one day: I chose The Chaos of Longing by K.Y. Robinson. It's another collection of poems. 

Read 7 books: For my seventh book, I chose The Last of August Brittany Cavallaro. I ust finished the first book in this trilogy, A Study in Charlotte, and I loved it so much. It is a series about the great-great-great-great grandkids of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson and it is amazing!

I hope you enjoy this TBR. Follow me on Twitter @abookishtweet for updates!

Big Little Lies ~ Liane Moriarty

A murder...A tragic accident...Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the little lies that can turn lethal.

Book Review:

The only way to describe Big Little Lies is by saying it's a contemporary thriller. It has all of the wonderous tropes that we love in a good contemporary: relationships, friendships, frenemies, bitchy kindergarten moms, etc. It also has that "keep you on the edge of your seat" feeling as you try to figure out what the hell is actually going on, which you don't figure out until the very end and it's absolutely unexpected. 

The characters are so easy to love and hate. Jane, my favorite, is a single mom who is just trying to figure out how to not screw her kid up. She makes friends and enemies with the other characters. Madeline is spunky and still so in love with her husband. Celeste has some issues but you can see that she means well. I hate Renata and Harper, no more to say there. The small coastal community gives the book a cozy feeling with darker elements based on the plot. While reading it, I could actually see this little town in my head, like a map was in my hands. 

Although there was so much to love about the book, I did feel that it was a slower read. It took me a while to actually care about picking it up. I am excited to watch the HBO series based off of the book though. 

Pages: 458                                                                                                                                Rate:4/5

Note to Self ~ Connor Franta

In his New York Times bestselling memoir, A Work in Progress, Connor Franta shared his journey from small-town Midwestern boy to full-fledged Internet sensation. Exploring his past with humor and astounding insight, Connor reminded his fans of why they first fell in love with him on YouTube—and revealed to newcomers how he relates to his millions of dedicated followers.

Now, two years later, Connor is ready to bring to light a side of himself he’s rarely shown on or off camera. In this diary-like look at his life since A Work In Progress, Connor talks about his battles with clinical depression, social anxiety, self-love, and acceptance; his desire to maintain an authentic self in a world that values shares and likes over true connections; his struggles with love and loss; and his renewed efforts to be in the moment—with others and himself.

Told through short essays, letters to his past and future selves, poetry, and original photography, Note to Self is a raw, in-the-moment look at the fascinating interior life of a young creator turning inward in order to move forward.

Book Review:

Connor Franta has done it again! He let us, the readers (mainly the FrantaFam), into his life. He doesn't go into the specifics of many of the situations that he discusses, such as his broken heart and 2 year relationship; but, he does vividly describe his feelings through gorgeous poetry, essays, and photography. I felt closer to him, as a fan and as a human. 

I really loved his first memoir, A Work in Progress, and I had a good feeling about this one. He went a different route with his writing style than the first one but I think that it really paid off. His first memoir focused on telling us the details of the stories that made him who he is. It almost felt like a bunch of college application essays with some really cool photography. This new memoir was taking experiences from the past few years and without giving many details, explaining his innermost feelings and thoughts through poetry, essays, and gorgeous photography. It felt like a tumblr page in best possible way. 

His work inspired me to start reading more modern, contemporary, free verse poetry again, which is my favorite type of poetry. I truly credit him with pulling me out of my most recent reading slump.

Pages: 320                                                                                                                             Rate: 5/5