Today is a special day here at WLABB. It's our 5th Blogiversary! In honor of this special day, the WLABBers want to share their thoughts on how their lives have changed since the birth of this blog.
Showing posts with label amrutha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amrutha. Show all posts
Friday, May 18, 2018
Blogiversary - Look Who's 5!!
Today is a special day here at WLABB. It's our 5th Blogiversary! In honor of this special day, the WLABBers want to share their thoughts on how their lives have changed since the birth of this blog.
Saturday, July 8, 2017
Stuffed Animal Saturday: A Short History of the Girl Next Door - Jared Reck
Stuffed Animal Saturday is a meme that we post here at We Live and Breathe Books to showcase the book we're currently reading with one of our favorite stuffed animals and discuss our stuffed animal's opinion (well, it's really our opinion, but that's besides the point). We hope you enjoy our quirky feature as much as we enjoy writing it!
This Saturday, me and Val the Lovebug are reading A Short History of the Girl Next Door by Jared Reck!
So Far:
The unrequited love of the girl next door is the centerpiece of this fiercely funny, yet heart-breaking debut novel.
Fifteen-year-old Matt Wainwright is in turmoil. He can’t tell his lifelong best friend, Tabby, how he really feels about her; his promising basketball skills are being overshadowed by his attitude on the court, and the only place he feels normal is in English class, where he can express his inner thoughts in quirky poems and essays. Matt is desperately hoping that Tabby will reciprocate his feelings; but then Tabby starts dating Liam Branson, senior basketball star and all-around great guy. Losing Tabby to Branson is bad enough; but, as Matt soon discovers, he’s close to losing everything that matters most to him.
Humorous and heart-wrenching, A Short History of the Girl Next Door is perfect for readers who fell in love with All the Bright Places' Finch or Stargirl’s Leo.
Sneak peek:
The first few chapters of the book really shows us the narrator, Matt Wainwright, is, so Val wanted to share that! However, in all honesty, we're almost finished with the book and the writing goes uphill from the first few chapters.
The first few chapters of the book really shows us the narrator, Matt Wainwright, is, so Val wanted to share that! However, in all honesty, we're almost finished with the book and the writing goes uphill from the first few chapters.
Background: Matt's mom has just made him and his little brother Murray matching bald eagle costumes to wear trick or treating. Matt is a brooding teenage boy so he doesn't want to wear it out. We like this exchange because it aims to show Matt outside of his crush on Tabby.
From the Chapter: "Eagles Do Not Enjoy Twizzlers or the Company of Trolls"
"Mom and I don't do this often. We both tend to try to diffuse the tension with humor -- sometimes inappropriate-- but that doesn't always work when you're the cause of each other's tension.Val and I really enjoyed this tid bit because eventually, Matt agrees to go trick-or-treating upon seeing how excited his little brother was and later sees the girl of his dreams in the outfit. We liked this chapter because, so often in YA romances from the male perspective, I find that the guy has no real supporting characters outside of guy friends -- having his family play a big part in his life is really cool and important to the plot too!
Twenty minutes later, Mom comes back in the living room and sits down next to me on the couch. We stare at SportsCenter in silence, neither of us really watching. The tension from our little episode is gone, but my stomach still churns at the thought of knocking on every door in the neighborhood in full mama-bald-eagle regalia. I know no one in the bigger picture really cares what some fifteen-year-old kid is wearing to take his little brother trick-or-treating but that doesn't mean I can just rollwith looking like an idiot when inevitably some hot high school girl answers the door to hand out candy between make-out sessions with her texting boyfriend.
"Dude, nice pants."
"Ha yeah, thanks, they're supposed to be bird legs."
"No, yeah, I see. Love the yellow. They girl's?"
"No, no, pretty sure they're just old skater jeans....Not mine...My mom bought them...uh..."
"Yeah. Here's a Twizzler. Have fun trick-or-treating, douche."
A Short History of a Girl Next Door comes out September 2017, so make sure to check back here for a review!
Thanks to Knopf Books for Young Readers for the ARC I received at BookExpo!
Are you and your stuffed animal reading anything interesting?
Let us know in your own Stuffed Animal Saturday!
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Can't-Wait Wednesday: What to Say Next - Julie Buxbaum
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tessa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
This week I can't wait for What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum.
What to Say Next
Julie Buxbaum
Series: n/a
Release Date: July 11, 2017
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Waited on by: Amrutha
Goodreads
What to Say Next sounds just up my alley -- contemporary which basically promises a bunch of character development from the beginning of the blurb. Buxbaum has been compared to Rainbow Rowell before but the summary of this story can't help but remind me of When Eleanor Meets Park, a book that I adored.
Stay tuned for updates on What to Say Next because you better believe I am waiting for it to arrive!!
This week I can't wait for What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum.
Julie Buxbaum
Series: n/a
Release Date: July 11, 2017
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Waited on by: Amrutha
Goodreads
Sometimes a new perspective is all that is needed to make sense of the world.HELLO FRIENDS, my annual back-for-the-summer posting is beginning again. I FINALLY started reading Julie Buxbaum's Tell Me Three Things the other day and so far, it's super good and the book just generally has great reviews.
KIT: I don’t know why I decide not to sit with Annie and Violet at lunch. It feels like no one here gets what I’m going through. How could they? I don’t even understand.
DAVID: In the 622 days I’ve attended Mapleview High, Kit Lowell is the first person to sit at my lunch table. I mean, I’ve never once sat with someone until now. “So your dad is dead,” I say to Kit, because this is a fact I’ve recently learned about her.
When an unlikely friendship is sparked between relatively popular Kit Lowell and socially isolated David Drucker, everyone is surprised, most of all Kit and David. Kit appreciates David’s blunt honesty—in fact, she finds it bizarrely refreshing. David welcomes Kit’s attention and her inquisitive nature. When she asks for his help figuring out the how and why of her dad’s tragic car accident, David is all in. But neither of them can predict what they’ll find. Can their friendship survive the truth?
What to Say Next sounds just up my alley -- contemporary which basically promises a bunch of character development from the beginning of the blurb. Buxbaum has been compared to Rainbow Rowell before but the summary of this story can't help but remind me of When Eleanor Meets Park, a book that I adored.
Stay tuned for updates on What to Say Next because you better believe I am waiting for it to arrive!!
What are you waiting on?
Let us know in the comments!
Monday, January 2, 2017
Best of 2016
As 2016 comes to an end, we decided to reminisce on our favorite releases this year. There have been so many great books, whether they were anticipated sequels, series endings, or new series beginnings. To celebrate these loved releases, (and especially since we were lame and didn't do a list last year), we've decided to share our best of 2016 picks with you!
So, below are the five books I picked for this post, but since no one else wrote down Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, I'd like to give that one a special shout out because it was AMAZING.
Since witches are my favorite paranormal "creatures," I was very excited to read The Graces, and I absolutely loved it. There's something really mesmerizing about the way it's written, with a narrator who hides things from both the reader and herself - in fact, starting from the beginning of the book, we don't know the narrator's real name. This book was so wonderfully creepy and mystical, and I can't wait for the next one.
After loving Illuminae and Gemina, I was really excited to read Nevernight, and it did not disappoint. Summarizing this book as "stab stab stab" is both spot on and completely inaccurate. There is definitely a lot of stabbing and killing (it's a book about assassins, what did you expect), but there's also a lot of other interesting things at play. I really enjoyed the characters and mythology of the world. For more thoughts, you can check out my review here!
How to Hang a Witch
Adriana Mather
How to Hang a Witch, #1
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Goodreads
Another witch book, but extremely different in style! While The Graces is more about a girl trying to join a group, How to Hang a Witch is about a girl who is completely ostracized by the town and hated for her ancestry. This book was such a wild mystery from start to finish, and I really enjoyed it (full review here). I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.
Tell Me Three Things was one of those books that is just really relatable even if you don't relate to the exact circumstances of the book. There were so many wonderfully written quotes in this book, and I found so much empathy for the main character. This book made me feel all the feels. For more thoughts, check out my full review here!
Scythe
Neal Shusterman
Arc of a Scythe, #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Goodreads
I had a feeling I would like Scythe just from looking at it and reading the description, but I didn't expect it to pique my interest as much as it did. Set in a post-mortality world (that's right, people don't die naturally anymore), Scythes "glean" people to keep the population in check. The way the world was built was just so interesting and really said a lot about our society in general. Definitely a great read if you like dystopian books!
Okay, this was super hard because even though I felt like I read negative three things this year I went to narrow my list down and there were like...eight million books I wanted to choose. RIP.
The Unexpected Everything
Morgan Matson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Goodreads
I did a full review of this where I basically rambled for 2000 words about Morgan Matson's insane ability to develop characters and define relationships and make a 600 page novel feel like it's flying by because you just care so much. If you haven't read this, it's a fantastic book to get you in a summery mood, and it was definitely one of the strongest books I read this year (and a book I'll be rereading time and time again).
Lady Midnight
Cassandra Clare
The Dark Artifices, #1
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Goodreads
Lady Midnight totally killed me. I didn't think Cassandra Clare could top The Infernal Devices -- the writing was so beautiful and they're set in Victorian England, one of my favorite time periods -- but every single page of this book just unraveled me seam by seam. I honestly can't believe it came out in May because it feels like I've been waiting forever for the second book but it's only been like seven months. Wild. Anyway, you can read my review here and see me freak out!
I read this in July after Kiersten got an ARC for me at BEA, and skimmed through it again in November when writing my review, and both times it blew me away. Nicola Yoon has a gift for wordplay and storytelling, and after giving 5/5 stars to both this book and her debut, Everything, Everything, she's become an author whose works I'll be excitedly anticipating in the future.
A Court of Mist and Fury
Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Goodreads
I'm sure ACOMAF made a host of Best Of 2016 lists this year and there's no reason I should disturb the status quo, right? Seriously, though, this series is the first I've read by Sarah J. Maas and it's blowing me away so far. I'm honestly a little bit afraid of what's to come in the upcoming third book (but not afraid enough to want it any less). Kiersten mentioned when discussing The Graces that witches are her favorite paranormal creature, and faeries are mine (tied with ghosts) and I think Maas does a phenomenal job with her faerie worldbuilding. Kiersten and I did a double review of this book that you can read here if you'd like!
The premise of this novel sounded super intriguing -- a boy with prosopagnosia (face-blindness) and a girl who was once "America's Fattest Teen" -- united through what else but the cruelness of high schoolers. Jack and Libby, the two protagonists, ended up being so complex and so well-written that they leapt off the page (which I mention in my full review, here) and the story was so adorable I know it's one I'll be rereading often.
Tales of the Peculiar
Ransom Riggs
Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children , #0.5
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Goodreads
I am trash and cannot go even one post without mentioning how much I love this series and I feel like this counts as a "bonus" because it's not a novel or anything and I was pressed for space as it was. Anyway, in my review, I explained that this is "to the Miss Peregrine's universe what Grimms' Fairy Tales are to this one." These short stories are so captivating and they're all written in such a fashion that they truly feel like an old, passed-down collection of anecdotes. This was definitely one of my favorite books to be published this year and something I quite enjoy reading often (in order or not).
Literally, what a phenomenal book. The Memory Book twists YA in a way that I've never read before. The premise of this novel is that it is a diary from the narrator to herself. Sammie McCoy has just been diagnosed with a disorder that causes her to completely lose her memory -- forever. The book is so honest and the story is so hard to tell but told so well. If you want to see me ramble on forever about this you can read my full review here.
Has Jodi Picoult ever written anything I haven't loved? Honestly, I don't know how she does it but I always end up with some tears in my eyes flipping through the book as fast as possible so I can find out what happens at the end. The book is about a trial (this is Jodi, what else would you expect) and a nurse and race relations and all the good stuff.
Picking five favorites was a daunting task. 2016 was another great year in reading for me. According to Goodreads,
I went into this book as a solid Bowen fan, however, I was not totally sold. I mean, you don’t read a lot of romance books where the hero is a farmer, but after a few chapters, I was team Griffin all the way. There was just so much to love about this book. A second chance romance, fantastic MCs, so much food, beautiful family bonds, and spectacular descriptions that pulled me right into Vermont. (my review)
First and foremost, this is an epistolary novel. I adored the format, and thought it really enhanced my enjoyment of the story. And talk about #friendshipgoals. I was so jealous of Scott and Cath’s friendship! This one just really warmed my heart and made me so happy. (my review)
This was also one of my early 2016 reads. In fact, I read the BEA ARC, and therefore, it is not quite the same as the finished book, but I just could not bring myself to re-read, when most of the story is still the same. With that said, I loved this book. This was my first Bracken book, and I was quite delighted with the writing. She did such a beautiful job making me feel the emotions of the characters, and the characters were so incredible. (my review)
This one just blew me away, and that is not something easily done by a contemporary novel. The MCs were so special and damaged and I cared so deeply for them. I am getting a case of the feels right now just thinking about it. (my review)
This was one of my first 2016 reads, and it really set the bar high for me. I loved the characters, I loved the world, I loved the story. The ending was so beautiful, that I was left sobbing. So many emotions! (my review)
Kiersten's Picks
So, below are the five books I picked for this post, but since no one else wrote down Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, I'd like to give that one a special shout out because it was AMAZING.
Since witches are my favorite paranormal "creatures," I was very excited to read The Graces, and I absolutely loved it. There's something really mesmerizing about the way it's written, with a narrator who hides things from both the reader and herself - in fact, starting from the beginning of the book, we don't know the narrator's real name. This book was so wonderfully creepy and mystical, and I can't wait for the next one.
After loving Illuminae and Gemina, I was really excited to read Nevernight, and it did not disappoint. Summarizing this book as "stab stab stab" is both spot on and completely inaccurate. There is definitely a lot of stabbing and killing (it's a book about assassins, what did you expect), but there's also a lot of other interesting things at play. I really enjoyed the characters and mythology of the world. For more thoughts, you can check out my review here!
Adriana Mather
How to Hang a Witch, #1
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Goodreads
Another witch book, but extremely different in style! While The Graces is more about a girl trying to join a group, How to Hang a Witch is about a girl who is completely ostracized by the town and hated for her ancestry. This book was such a wild mystery from start to finish, and I really enjoyed it (full review here). I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.
Tell Me Three Things was one of those books that is just really relatable even if you don't relate to the exact circumstances of the book. There were so many wonderfully written quotes in this book, and I found so much empathy for the main character. This book made me feel all the feels. For more thoughts, check out my full review here!
Neal Shusterman
Arc of a Scythe, #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Goodreads
I had a feeling I would like Scythe just from looking at it and reading the description, but I didn't expect it to pique my interest as much as it did. Set in a post-mortality world (that's right, people don't die naturally anymore), Scythes "glean" people to keep the population in check. The way the world was built was just so interesting and really said a lot about our society in general. Definitely a great read if you like dystopian books!
Noor's Picks
Okay, this was super hard because even though I felt like I read negative three things this year I went to narrow my list down and there were like...eight million books I wanted to choose. RIP.
Morgan Matson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Goodreads
I did a full review of this where I basically rambled for 2000 words about Morgan Matson's insane ability to develop characters and define relationships and make a 600 page novel feel like it's flying by because you just care so much. If you haven't read this, it's a fantastic book to get you in a summery mood, and it was definitely one of the strongest books I read this year (and a book I'll be rereading time and time again).
Cassandra Clare
The Dark Artifices, #1
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Goodreads
Lady Midnight totally killed me. I didn't think Cassandra Clare could top The Infernal Devices -- the writing was so beautiful and they're set in Victorian England, one of my favorite time periods -- but every single page of this book just unraveled me seam by seam. I honestly can't believe it came out in May because it feels like I've been waiting forever for the second book but it's only been like seven months. Wild. Anyway, you can read my review here and see me freak out!
I read this in July after Kiersten got an ARC for me at BEA, and skimmed through it again in November when writing my review, and both times it blew me away. Nicola Yoon has a gift for wordplay and storytelling, and after giving 5/5 stars to both this book and her debut, Everything, Everything, she's become an author whose works I'll be excitedly anticipating in the future.
Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Goodreads
I'm sure ACOMAF made a host of Best Of 2016 lists this year and there's no reason I should disturb the status quo, right? Seriously, though, this series is the first I've read by Sarah J. Maas and it's blowing me away so far. I'm honestly a little bit afraid of what's to come in the upcoming third book (but not afraid enough to want it any less). Kiersten mentioned when discussing The Graces that witches are her favorite paranormal creature, and faeries are mine (tied with ghosts) and I think Maas does a phenomenal job with her faerie worldbuilding. Kiersten and I did a double review of this book that you can read here if you'd like!
The premise of this novel sounded super intriguing -- a boy with prosopagnosia (face-blindness) and a girl who was once "America's Fattest Teen" -- united through what else but the cruelness of high schoolers. Jack and Libby, the two protagonists, ended up being so complex and so well-written that they leapt off the page (which I mention in my full review, here) and the story was so adorable I know it's one I'll be rereading often.
Bonus Pick
Tales of the PeculiarRansom Riggs
Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children , #0.5
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Goodreads
I am trash and cannot go even one post without mentioning how much I love this series and I feel like this counts as a "bonus" because it's not a novel or anything and I was pressed for space as it was. Anyway, in my review, I explained that this is "to the Miss Peregrine's universe what Grimms' Fairy Tales are to this one." These short stories are so captivating and they're all written in such a fashion that they truly feel like an old, passed-down collection of anecdotes. This was definitely one of my favorite books to be published this year and something I quite enjoy reading often (in order or not).
Amrutha's Picks
Literally, what a phenomenal book. The Memory Book twists YA in a way that I've never read before. The premise of this novel is that it is a diary from the narrator to herself. Sammie McCoy has just been diagnosed with a disorder that causes her to completely lose her memory -- forever. The book is so honest and the story is so hard to tell but told so well. If you want to see me ramble on forever about this you can read my full review here.
Has Jodi Picoult ever written anything I haven't loved? Honestly, I don't know how she does it but I always end up with some tears in my eyes flipping through the book as fast as possible so I can find out what happens at the end. The book is about a trial (this is Jodi, what else would you expect) and a nurse and race relations and all the good stuff.
Sam's Picks
Picking five favorites was a daunting task. 2016 was another great year in reading for me. According to Goodreads,
- Listened to 105 audiobooks
- Read 248 books
- Added 21 books to my “Favorites” shelf
Note: I tried to pick five books that would not overlap with my fellow WLABBers.
I went into this book as a solid Bowen fan, however, I was not totally sold. I mean, you don’t read a lot of romance books where the hero is a farmer, but after a few chapters, I was team Griffin all the way. There was just so much to love about this book. A second chance romance, fantastic MCs, so much food, beautiful family bonds, and spectacular descriptions that pulled me right into Vermont. (my review)
First and foremost, this is an epistolary novel. I adored the format, and thought it really enhanced my enjoyment of the story. And talk about #friendshipgoals. I was so jealous of Scott and Cath’s friendship! This one just really warmed my heart and made me so happy. (my review)
This one just blew me away, and that is not something easily done by a contemporary novel. The MCs were so special and damaged and I cared so deeply for them. I am getting a case of the feels right now just thinking about it. (my review)
This was one of my first 2016 reads, and it really set the bar high for me. I loved the characters, I loved the world, I loved the story. The ending was so beautiful, that I was left sobbing. So many emotions! (my review)
What are some of your 2016 favorites?
Let us know in the comments!
Let us know in the comments!
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Previously: August-December 2016
Previously on We Live and Breathe Books is an end of the month wrap up post. Previously allows us to recap all our posts from the past month and discuss what's going on in our lives, including what books we're reading, any fun things we've been doing, and a TBR for the next month. Our inspiration for this meme comes from Midnight Madness Newsletters created by Melanie at YA Midnight Reads.
Normally, I would break these down into months, but, honestly, breaking it down by month looks really pitiful. But it's ok! Voila - five months of posts!
Review: Whatever. - S.J. Goslee
Waiting on Wednesday: Spontaneous - Aaron Starmer
Review: Seven Ways We Lie - Riley Redgate
Double Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne
Blogger Interview with Chayse from The Book Reaper (SBPT)
Review: Nevernight - Jay Kristoff
Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkins
Stuffed Animal Saturday: Furthermore - Tahereh Mafi
Review: Boys of Summer - Jessica Brody
Review: The Smaller Evil - Stephanie Kuehn
Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set in a Fantasy World
Waiting on Wednesday: Furthermore - Tahereh Mafi
Review: The Geography of You and Me - Jennifer E. Smith
Review: Furthermore - Tahereh Mafi
Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Have Been on Your TBR Since Before You Started Blogging
Waiting on Wednesday: Empire of Storms - Sarah J. Maas
Review: The Wrath and the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh
Review: Mosquitoland - David Arnold
Review: Tales of the Peculiar - Ransom Riggs
Blog Tour + Cover Cosmetics + Giveaway: Nemesis - Anna Banks
Review: A Shadow Bright and Burning - Jessica Cluess
Review: Poisoned Blade - Kate Elliot
Blog Tour Review: Holding Up the Universe - Jennifer Niven
Review: Gemina - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Review: Let It Snow - Maureen Johnson, John Green, Lauren Myracle
Review: The Sun is Also a Star - Nicola Yoon
Waiting on Wednesday: The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas
Everyone please give a warm welcome to our new co-blogger, Sam!
Greetings! I am Sam, (Sam I am) and I am thrilled to be a contributor
for WLABB. An avid reader and science nerd, I would describe myself as a
fiction lover. I do tend to read a lot of contemporary romances, but I
also like to mix it up. I also love discussing books in reader groups
and on Instagram.
Find Sam on social media: Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram
When I was first thinking about writing this post, I was like, "What am I going to write? Oh, you know, another semester. It's senior year. Blah blah." But then I realized that actually I did a bunch of things? So I will talk about the things now.
Before going back to school, WLABB had a bit of a photoshoot hang out and we took some pretty cool photos (thanks to Noor's mad photo skillz). Me and Amrutha were in desperate need of new profile pictures.
I mean, our hangout wasn't entirely to have a photoshoot. We went for brunch at this cool dinner with amazing pierogies, and then we went to Asbury Park to walk around the boardwalk and eventually get ice cream in Ocean Grove. Asbury Park boardwalk is where we took all our photos since there are a ton of cool murals. Lots of Insta-worthy pics!!!
Once I got back to school, I was working on a hip-hop ballet called Le Diable Amoureux. In the show, Alvaro and his fiance Christelle challenge the devil to come between them. The Devil, intrigued by this challenge, with the help of her sidekick Raoul, travels to earth to try and seduce Alvaro using three different incarnations of herself: the Siren, the Exotic, and the Innocent. I got to play the Siren and dance as a part of the ensemble, and it was really awesome!
We even had a super cool photoshoot for promotional profile pictures and cover photos for the show! It was really fun going out into the city near school and finding cool places to pose. The one above was taken in this really random back alley that we found next to a building through a parking lot. It was seriously gorgeous, and such a great find.
In addition to dancing in the show, I was also the costume designer! It was seriously exhausting to be in rehearsal everyday, go to class, go to work, and work on all the costumes for the show at the same day. I didn't get a lot of sleep, but I managed to pull it off! Below is a picture of me as the Siren and the choreographer (who played Alvaro) in our costumes! If you want to check it out, a full recording of the show is posted on YouTube here (it's less than 45 minutes long, so not a huge time commitment, and it's really cool I promise)!
After the show was over, things ~sort of~ slowed down a bit, but school has a way of always giving you a lot to do. One fun highlight was making duct tape outfits for a party with my friend Ashlee. Peep the lyrics to Closer on the side since we're obsessed with that song.
Other than that, it was mostly just the same stuff as other years, except it's weird because it was my last fall semester of undergrad. I'm still a part of DanceWorks as a dancer, choreographer, and costume coordinator, but it's weird thinking "for the last time." Yikes. Anyway, I am excited for my final semester at Syracuse (although I am applying there for graduate school, so who knows). Although I know sorority recruitment is going to be exhausting at the beginning of the semester, I'm excited for the DanceWorks show as well as a play that I'm lighting designing. It should be a great semester!
Who am I???? Am I even a person???? Have I Ever done Anything in my entire Life?????? Literally never!!!!!!! (okay maybe 0.5 of a thing but like...barely)
I am going to divide this into sections!!! and lists!!!! amazing!!!
Life Things
I started school again after taking a year off and the semester actually went really well!!! I had some really amazing professors and met some hella cool people and didn't immediately feel disenchanted with the idea of higher education as I'd been feeling before so like...A+ to Fall 2016 (I hope I'm not jinxing myself for the spring)
Fun Things
In August, right before my semester started, I took a trip to New Jersey, which is when I took those pictures of Kiersten that she posted in her section, and now that it's winter break, I'm down in Dallas, writing this post from the sunny 70 degree Texas winter (disgusting, I know). I never miss an opportunity to plug my Instagram so if you want the cutest shots from all my trips follow @looonylovegood but for your convenience I will share a select few from the WLABB photoshoot here (mostly bc if I had to pick and choose from /all/ my photoshoots I would never get anything done ever and I gotta share something because y'all know I love attention)
This is Kiersten and I being angry (probably at Amrutha and/or Marlon)
I'm not really good at "goals" but, after reading Kiersten's section, the bookstagramming thing is definitely something I want to focus on a lot more!! The problem for me is that I always think about taking pictures but I''m often busy during the daytime and I don't really have good lighting after the sun sets so these winter months with 4pm sunsets are really doing me dirty. I really liked the month where we did bookstagram challenges and I definitely want to do at least one again this year!
As for specific books, there are like five million 2017 books I want to read and five million pre-2017 I need to catch up on so like my goal is to not fall into reading slumps and to keep reading and keep blogging while I'm busy with school and stuff.
This is probably as concrete as I'll be able to get but I wish you all a good reading year!
So like??? A lot of what Kiersten and Noor have are photos to be fair I am not nearly as aesthetic as either of them so I'm going to randomly intersperse (did I use that word right who knows) photos of my self in between random life updates so that things seem spaced out and well organized.
The pic above is from our WLABB photo shoot, the universe knows I can't take a picture I like without professional make up from Kiersten and aesthetic instagram pic taking from Noor. I've seen Kiersten like 2.5 times since our WLABB hang out but am still waiting on Noor's Next Visit 2k17.
On the left you will see a group pic where we are standing under a cut off Ocean Avenue sign. #WeTried. In other news though, I am slowly but surely trying to figure out what I want to do post graduation which is looming in the horizon (Spring 2018). School has gotten a lot more exciting since I've been able to connect it to solid goals for the Future so we'll so where that takes me.
In terms of fun things I think I've actually learned to cook like an adult, thanks to my new kitchen in my aforementioned apartment. I've done some more of my monthly projects, which included how to make healthier(ish) versions of my favorite not so healthy foods and spending a month forcing people to register to vote. The last few months have been pretty interesting so look out 2017 new year same me is coming @ you.
Posts from August - December 2016
Normally, I would break these down into months, but, honestly, breaking it down by month looks really pitiful. But it's ok! Voila - five months of posts!
Review: Whatever. - S.J. Goslee
Waiting on Wednesday: Spontaneous - Aaron Starmer
Review: Seven Ways We Lie - Riley Redgate
Double Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne
Blogger Interview with Chayse from The Book Reaper (SBPT)
Review: Nevernight - Jay Kristoff
Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkins
Stuffed Animal Saturday: Furthermore - Tahereh Mafi
Review: Boys of Summer - Jessica Brody
Review: The Smaller Evil - Stephanie Kuehn
Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set in a Fantasy World
Waiting on Wednesday: Furthermore - Tahereh Mafi
Review: The Geography of You and Me - Jennifer E. Smith
Review: Furthermore - Tahereh Mafi
Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Have Been on Your TBR Since Before You Started Blogging
Waiting on Wednesday: Empire of Storms - Sarah J. Maas
Review: The Wrath and the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh
Review: Mosquitoland - David Arnold
Review: Tales of the Peculiar - Ransom Riggs
Blog Tour + Cover Cosmetics + Giveaway: Nemesis - Anna Banks
Review: A Shadow Bright and Burning - Jessica Cluess
Review: Poisoned Blade - Kate Elliot
Blog Tour Review: Holding Up the Universe - Jennifer Niven
Review: Gemina - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Review: Let It Snow - Maureen Johnson, John Green, Lauren Myracle
Review: The Sun is Also a Star - Nicola Yoon
Waiting on Wednesday: The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas
Keeping Up with the WLABBers
WLABB has a new co-blogger!
Everyone please give a warm welcome to our new co-blogger, Sam!
Find Sam on social media: Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram
Kiersten
When I was first thinking about writing this post, I was like, "What am I going to write? Oh, you know, another semester. It's senior year. Blah blah." But then I realized that actually I did a bunch of things? So I will talk about the things now.
Before going back to school, WLABB had a bit of a photoshoot hang out and we took some pretty cool photos (thanks to Noor's mad photo skillz). Me and Amrutha were in desperate need of new profile pictures.
I mean, our hangout wasn't entirely to have a photoshoot. We went for brunch at this cool dinner with amazing pierogies, and then we went to Asbury Park to walk around the boardwalk and eventually get ice cream in Ocean Grove. Asbury Park boardwalk is where we took all our photos since there are a ton of cool murals. Lots of Insta-worthy pics!!!
We even had a super cool photoshoot for promotional profile pictures and cover photos for the show! It was really fun going out into the city near school and finding cool places to pose. The one above was taken in this really random back alley that we found next to a building through a parking lot. It was seriously gorgeous, and such a great find.
In addition to dancing in the show, I was also the costume designer! It was seriously exhausting to be in rehearsal everyday, go to class, go to work, and work on all the costumes for the show at the same day. I didn't get a lot of sleep, but I managed to pull it off! Below is a picture of me as the Siren and the choreographer (who played Alvaro) in our costumes! If you want to check it out, a full recording of the show is posted on YouTube here (it's less than 45 minutes long, so not a huge time commitment, and it's really cool I promise)!
After the show was over, things ~sort of~ slowed down a bit, but school has a way of always giving you a lot to do. One fun highlight was making duct tape outfits for a party with my friend Ashlee. Peep the lyrics to Closer on the side since we're obsessed with that song.
Other than that, it was mostly just the same stuff as other years, except it's weird because it was my last fall semester of undergrad. I'm still a part of DanceWorks as a dancer, choreographer, and costume coordinator, but it's weird thinking "for the last time." Yikes. Anyway, I am excited for my final semester at Syracuse (although I am applying there for graduate school, so who knows). Although I know sorority recruitment is going to be exhausting at the beginning of the semester, I'm excited for the DanceWorks show as well as a play that I'm lighting designing. It should be a great semester!
2017 Reading Goals
I kind of did a pitiful job with reading in 2016, so I guess my goal this year is to just do better? I'd like to read some cool books. Some books that are definitely on my radar to read this year are Empire of Storms, which is seriously overdue, A Court of Wings and Ruin (obviously), and the final Illuminae Files book (I need this asap). I'd also like to get back into bookstagraming more often! The main reason I usually don't is because my room is messy, so if I clean my room, it's a double win.Noor
Who am I???? Am I even a person???? Have I Ever done Anything in my entire Life?????? Literally never!!!!!!! (okay maybe 0.5 of a thing but like...barely)
I am going to divide this into sections!!! and lists!!!! amazing!!!
Life Things
I started school again after taking a year off and the semester actually went really well!!! I had some really amazing professors and met some hella cool people and didn't immediately feel disenchanted with the idea of higher education as I'd been feeling before so like...A+ to Fall 2016 (I hope I'm not jinxing myself for the spring)
Fun Things
In August, right before my semester started, I took a trip to New Jersey, which is when I took those pictures of Kiersten that she posted in her section, and now that it's winter break, I'm down in Dallas, writing this post from the sunny 70 degree Texas winter (disgusting, I know). I never miss an opportunity to plug my Instagram so if you want the cutest shots from all my trips follow @looonylovegood but for your convenience I will share a select few from the WLABB photoshoot here (mostly bc if I had to pick and choose from /all/ my photoshoots I would never get anything done ever and I gotta share something because y'all know I love attention)
(This is NOT the WLABB photoshoot but it's a fun mural during the same trip so like...fight me)
Also, a couple of pics from my ongoing Dallas trip including this beautiful one of my son and I (for more baby pics follow me on Twitter @abnoormality):
Birthday
My birthday is the most important day of the year so it gets its own category. I conquered my fear of skirts and did not look Terrible so 21 is looking like it's gonna be a good year. #wild
I tried not to be as rambly or as obessive with the photos as I feel like I often am, mostly because I am HELLA sick right not and have taken like three different cold and flu medicines and probably forgot to mention something and may or may not be dying so I'm not really sure if anything is even real but happy new year friends!!!!!
2017 Reading Goals
Listen. I feel like 2016 was not even a real year. Did I read a lot??? Did I read nothing???? Did anything even happen????? ANYWAY, I am going to just not think about this past year and think about this upcoming year instead!!!! Wooo!!!! #litI'm not really good at "goals" but, after reading Kiersten's section, the bookstagramming thing is definitely something I want to focus on a lot more!! The problem for me is that I always think about taking pictures but I''m often busy during the daytime and I don't really have good lighting after the sun sets so these winter months with 4pm sunsets are really doing me dirty. I really liked the month where we did bookstagram challenges and I definitely want to do at least one again this year!
As for specific books, there are like five million 2017 books I want to read and five million pre-2017 I need to catch up on so like my goal is to not fall into reading slumps and to keep reading and keep blogging while I'm busy with school and stuff.
This is probably as concrete as I'll be able to get but I wish you all a good reading year!
Amrutha
So like??? A lot of what Kiersten and Noor have are photos to be fair I am not nearly as aesthetic as either of them so I'm going to randomly intersperse (did I use that word right who knows) photos of my self in between random life updates so that things seem spaced out and well organized.
The pic above is from our WLABB photo shoot, the universe knows I can't take a picture I like without professional make up from Kiersten and aesthetic instagram pic taking from Noor. I've seen Kiersten like 2.5 times since our WLABB hang out but am still waiting on Noor's Next Visit 2k17.
Here is another pic of me being the nose because Amrutha "nose" best...yes I am that lame. So this year I'm doing a thing: I'm an RA now in these really nice new apartments at Rutgers so I spend a lot of time doing Reslife things. The good news is I actually like my staff and my building and my residents so it's been a pretty swell time.
In terms of fun things I think I've actually learned to cook like an adult, thanks to my new kitchen in my aforementioned apartment. I've done some more of my monthly projects, which included how to make healthier(ish) versions of my favorite not so healthy foods and spending a month forcing people to register to vote. The last few months have been pretty interesting so look out 2017 new year same me is coming @ you.
2017 Reading Goals
Uh. So clearly, from my lack of posts, you can see that I haven't read much these past few months. Also, I didn't read much from January to May. Surprisingly, my reading goal of 2017 is to read more. Butttttttt, a specific goal I have is to read more classic award winning books and also read more magazine/newspaper/literary journal articles. I just want to learn hella things and be as cultured as possible. If you have suggestions hit me up @ruthlessram on twitter!!
Sam
The whole full-time job thing does not leave me as much time for fun as I would like, but my 3 hour commute does give me lots of QT for reading.
I had set a GoodReads reading goal of 250 books, and well….
Mission accomplished. The biggest difference in my reading habits is that I added audiobooks to my repertoire. I listened to 105. (I hope to have a discussion post about this later.)
Other than reading, I went and saw “Le Diable Amoureux”, which I enjoyed very much. I am not a super-creative person, therefore, I am very impressed by those who can create and create well. I also was lucky enough to see a two shows at Paper Mill Playhouse as I have a subscription. I saw The Producers, which was hilarious, and The Bodyguard. The Bodyguard was such a nostalgic experience for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed the show.
2017 Reading Goals
I set a goal of 5 books a week or 260 books for the year. In addition to the GoodReads challenge, I signed up for the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge, the Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge, and the Monthly Motif Reading Challenge. I was looking for a way to change up my reading habits, and I think these challenges will help. Keep an eye out for my Reading Challenge post. I will continue my reading goal of finishing series and reading books I own (why is this so hard!). I also hope to attend more bookish events. Before Kiersten left for college, we used to attend many signings and releases. Now, she is too far away (sad face), but at least I have tickets for BookCon and it’s back in NYC (applause, applause, applause).
What have you been up to last month?
Let us know in the comments!
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set in a Fantasy World
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Here at We Live and Breathe Books, two of us choose five books each week. This weeks topic is...
I absolutely LOVE the world in the ACOTAR series, especially the Night Court! I could go on and on forever about how much I love Rhysand and his squad, but I'll keep it short here since I've already written a full review. I am so excited to see what happens in the next book!
The Phantom Tollbooth is like the OG favorite fantasy world for me. This was one of my favorite books I read in elementary school, and I still have so much love for it. My inner math nerd was living for the world ruled by numbers. This world is so whimsical and fun.
I know there have been mixed reviews for Nevernight, but my love for this book is unreal. This world is so cool! It's the most different fantasy world I've read as of late in terms of being different from our world. Check out my review for more thoughts!
Sanctum
Sarah Fine
Guards of the Shadowlands, #1
Sanctum is a book I read a long time ago, but I really loved this series. The series doesn't take place entirely in a fantasy world, but most of Sanctum takes place in the Shadowlands, which is the afterlife. I thought Sarah Fine's imagining of the afterlife was so wonderful, and the more she built on it through the series, it got even better! I never wrote a review for this book, but I do have a spoiler free review of the finale!
The Girl of Fire and Thorns is one of the first fantasy books I read when I started becoming a reader and blogger (review here). This is one of those epic fantasy type of worlds, and I loved it. I connected with the main character because she really loves sweets.
Who would I even be if I didn't put Harry Potter on here...I started reading HP when I was seven or eight and it was my actual introduction to fantasy. It's been over 10 years since I started the series and I can still almost verbatim recite a bunch of scenes.
Love this series!!! Inkheart was the first major fantasy series I read after Harry Potter, and just confirmed for me that fantasy is amazing. The book is about a girl named Meggie who's father can read characters from books to life. Her mother disappeared into the story of a book he read aloud years ago. You have to read the rest to find out what happens!
We've all thought about Narnia and loved the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe but there are 6 other books that go along after it!!!! Read them, travel to Narnia, live your best possible lives and scour every inch of these books because they are so, so good. I might actually reread them soon because they are so worth it.
Historical fiction with a bit of fantasy, but still a damn good book. I never actually reviewed this but our pal Marlon did here! Empire of Dust just came out recently and while I haven't had time to read it yet, I'm really excited about it. Also, Eleanor Herman is an absolute sweetheart.
I'm really ashamed that it took me so long to read this book (I haven't actually finished the other books yet but our girl Noor loves this series, as you can see here). I'm also really excited about the movie!
Books set in a fantasy world!
Kiersten's Picks
I absolutely LOVE the world in the ACOTAR series, especially the Night Court! I could go on and on forever about how much I love Rhysand and his squad, but I'll keep it short here since I've already written a full review. I am so excited to see what happens in the next book!
The Phantom Tollbooth is like the OG favorite fantasy world for me. This was one of my favorite books I read in elementary school, and I still have so much love for it. My inner math nerd was living for the world ruled by numbers. This world is so whimsical and fun.
I know there have been mixed reviews for Nevernight, but my love for this book is unreal. This world is so cool! It's the most different fantasy world I've read as of late in terms of being different from our world. Check out my review for more thoughts!
Sarah Fine
Guards of the Shadowlands, #1
Sanctum is a book I read a long time ago, but I really loved this series. The series doesn't take place entirely in a fantasy world, but most of Sanctum takes place in the Shadowlands, which is the afterlife. I thought Sarah Fine's imagining of the afterlife was so wonderful, and the more she built on it through the series, it got even better! I never wrote a review for this book, but I do have a spoiler free review of the finale!
The Girl of Fire and Thorns is one of the first fantasy books I read when I started becoming a reader and blogger (review here). This is one of those epic fantasy type of worlds, and I loved it. I connected with the main character because she really loves sweets.
Amrutha's Picks
Who would I even be if I didn't put Harry Potter on here...I started reading HP when I was seven or eight and it was my actual introduction to fantasy. It's been over 10 years since I started the series and I can still almost verbatim recite a bunch of scenes.
Love this series!!! Inkheart was the first major fantasy series I read after Harry Potter, and just confirmed for me that fantasy is amazing. The book is about a girl named Meggie who's father can read characters from books to life. Her mother disappeared into the story of a book he read aloud years ago. You have to read the rest to find out what happens!
We've all thought about Narnia and loved the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe but there are 6 other books that go along after it!!!! Read them, travel to Narnia, live your best possible lives and scour every inch of these books because they are so, so good. I might actually reread them soon because they are so worth it.
Historical fiction with a bit of fantasy, but still a damn good book. I never actually reviewed this but our pal Marlon did here! Empire of Dust just came out recently and while I haven't had time to read it yet, I'm really excited about it. Also, Eleanor Herman is an absolute sweetheart.
I'm really ashamed that it took me so long to read this book (I haven't actually finished the other books yet but our girl Noor loves this series, as you can see here). I'm also really excited about the movie!
What are your favorite fantasy worlds?
Let us know in the comments!
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