MY TWO YEAR BLOGOVERSARY!!!!!

Similar to my one year blogoversary last year, I posted over my Thanksgiving break when I finally remembered about it, that it was my blogoversary in end of September/beginning of October. I remembered about the same time this year it appears, five minutes ago in fact, and so here I am recognizing it now. No giveaways or anything like last year, I don't have the time or means for that but I still shall acknowledge it all the same.

 

I would just like to thank my 8th grade English teacher, Mr. Allen, for introducing me to Goodreads and inadvertently starting this blog and causing a revolution in my reading life. I literally am not the same person because of discovering Goodreads and the book blogging world.

 

I would like to thank all of my followers for not hating me for doing blogging a little differently. For not posting often, and being inconsistently active. I appreciate that people read my reviews and do pay attention, and that makes all the difference.

 

I enjoy reviewing, reading, and communing over books with all of you and it feels weird that it has been and yet has only been two years since this whole wonderful world was opened up to me.

 

So thanks again to everyone. I hope I'll be doing this for a while to come. And stick around even when it appears I have disappeared. I will always come back I promise ;) 

 

 

Candide: or, Optimisim by Voltaire

Candide: or, Optimism by Voltaire
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was...interesting. There were some really hilarious parts, and its fair share of good quotes I must admit. However, the first half of the book was just incessant action. It was like, "Murder...rape....murder...rape...whippings...murder...whippings...misfortune...misfortune...yada...yada". It's a good thing this book isn't a classic for its plot, or I would be wondering what the heck is wrong with literary critics.

Granted, some of the plot was entertaining. The constant escapades were pretty enthralling, but they got a little tiresome because of how repetitive they were. Some of it kept me reading at times. It got more tolerable in the second half of the book, but then I just felt like the ending was really drawn out because (view spoiler)[ Candide just took forever to get to Cunegonde  (hide spoiler)].

I thought Candide's devotion to Cunegonde was reeeeeally cute <3...for most of the book. Until she got ugly. And then he was like, "Ew. Gross. Even though this entire book has been about me searching for being able to be with Cunegonde, lol I don't want to be with her anymore. But I'll marry her out of duty." Like...wow man. I thought you appreciated Cunegonde other than her beauty unlike everyone else. But no. You suck too.

And can I just mention how blaringly unrealistic this book was? (view spoiler)[ So basically he finds all of these people who he realistically should never seen again MULTIPLE TIMES, in a really far away place which doesn't make sense because most people then would not have traveled that much? Really? And then some of those people he even WATCHES DIE and he still finds them halfway across the world at the exact same spot as him ALIVE?!?!?!. (hide spoiler)] I know it doesn't have to be realistic, but really this was just ridiculous. Come on. Honestly.

The ending was just ugh. Overall, this book just convinced me more of the overall misery and blatancy of death, and life in general. Made me see that life is truly a bitter thing.


Quotes

“It is love; love, the comfort of the human species, the preserver of the universe, the soul of all sentient beings, love, tender love.”

*applause* Wow Voltaire. Who knew you had it in ya.


"I adored him to distraction, to the point of idolatry: I loved him as one can never love twice.”

This is a very beautiful statement that the otherwise seemingly cold Voltaire makes about love. Shocking coming from him.


Funny Quotes:
"My dear young lady, when you are in love, and jealous, and have been flogged by the Inquisition, there's no knowing what you may do."

If you're reading the book, it is hilarious in context.


“I should like to know which is worse: to be ravished a hundred times by pirates, and have a buttock cut off, and run the gauntlet of the Bulgarians, and be flogged and hanged in an auto-da-fe, and be dissected, and have to row in a galley -- in short, to undergo all the miseries we have each of us suffered -- or simply to sit here and do nothing?'
That is a hard question,' said Candide.”

I laughed aloud at this point in the book.


“Martin in particular concluded that man was born to live either in the convulsions of misery, or in the lethargy of boredom.”


“All events are linked together in the best of possible worlds; after all, if you had not been driven from a fine castle by being kicked in the backside for love of Miss Cunegonde, if you hadn't been sent before the Inquisition, if you hadn't traveled across America on foot, if you hadn't given a good sword thrust to the baron, if you hadn't lost all your sheep from the good land of Eldorado, you wouldn't be sitting here eating candied citron and pistachios. - That is very well put, said Candide, but we must cultivate our garden.”

It was such a silly way to end the book.


“If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are the others like?”

Poor Candide is constantly saying this at the beginning of the book.



Quote for Bookish People:

“Fools have a habit of believing that everything written by a famous author is admirable. For my part I read only to please myself and like only what suits my taste.”

So true. Especially in regard to this book. And my feelings on The Hunger Games series.



Philosophical Quotes:

“Work keeps at bay three great evils: boredom, vice, and need.”

I have always been of this opinion, which is partly why I read because it puts my mind to work in periods of inactivity.


“I have wanted to kill myself a hundred times, but somehow I am still in love with life. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one of our more stupid melancholy propensities, for is there anything more stupid than to be eager to go on carrying a burden which one would gladly throw away, to loathe one’s very being and yet to hold it fast, to fondle the snake that devours us until it has eaten our hearts away?”


“What's Optimism?' asked Cacambo. 'I'm afraid to say,' said Candide, 'that it's a mania for insisting that all is well when things are going badly.”


“It is demonstrable," said he, "that things cannot be otherwise than as they are; for as all things have been created for some end, they must necessarily be created for the best end.”

I agree with some of this...but some of the ways times presented in this book, to that extreme, I do not agree with.

"You're a bitter man," said Candide.
That's because I've lived," said Martin.”

Basically sums up this book.



This book was largely exasperating, not that great, but had some good points. I liked it enough to say that I altogether liked it, but I wouldn't go so far as to say I really enjoyed it.

View all my reviews

Grace Unplugged: Official Movie Trailer

So I am like SOOOOOO excited about this movie!!!! You absolutely have to check it out and come see it in theaters!

Second Liebster Blog Award Nomination

It is my second nomination for the Liebster Blog Award! I was actually nominated for this award many months back but I am now finally getting around to my post...really bad I know. I feel very honored though, to have received another nomination, so I feel obligated to complete the requirements of a nominee. I would like to thank JoanneMarie Faust @ Fausti's Book Quest for this second nomination. It really means a lot to me to be noticed!

 

 

 

The purpose of the Liebster Award is to get blogs with less than 200 followers noticed.

The Rules

 

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to their blog.

2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself and create 11 questions for your nominees;
3. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been chosen.
4. Copy and paste the blog award on your blog.

 

And so without further ado...my post!

 

Q&A

 

1.    Why do you blog:

        A: I started blogging because my English teacher told us that we could do our reading logs on a blog that year. I had never had enough room to write on my reading logs, so I was very happy I finally had a much more fun and easier option. :) Around the same time, I got a Goodreads, and I discovered book blogs, the "Blog this Review" HTML option on Goodreads, and discovered "book reviews" that I had a ton of fun writing simultaneously. I was like, "Why not post my reviews to my blog?!" So, I did. And then, I began to learn that people had whole blogs with GIVEAWAYS *drools* and reviews!! Like AHHHH!!!!!!!!

2.    What are 3 words you would use to describe yourself?

A: Crazy, procrastinator, caring

3.    What advice would you give fellow bloggers?

A: Don't waste so much of your life blogging. I really shouldn't blog because of all of the things I could accomplish in life but alas....

4.    Who is your favorite fairy tale character?

A: Cinderella. I love her dress, her story, her everything. (But mainly the Disney version of course. =)

5.    Do you have any book crushes?

A: Probably Darcy from The Mother-Daughter Book Club series. He's a history buff, and he loves to read. And he's pretty darn cute. But I would never steal him from Jess! I totes ship them!
6.    How many books do you want to read this year?

A: Well my Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge says 85, but I am 28 books (34%) behind schedule. Ouch.
7.    Where is your favorite place to read?

A: Window seats, but since I do not have any, my closet. I can forget I'm in my house. I just sit on my closet floor on top of some cozy blankets with a lantern and read in my own private reading nook.
8.    What is your favorite time of year?

A: Summer. No stress. End of story.
9.    What are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?

A: I'm re-reading The Mother-Daughter Book Club series by Heather Vogel Frederick and I'm on Pies and Prejudice. I love this series SOOOO MUCH!!!!! It is in my top five books/series of all time! My reviews are being written as I re-read them, but the first two are posted recently on the blog, I believe right below this post.
10.  Do you prefer e-books or print books?

A: Print books. I start feeling a little sick when I read ebooks from a device for too long, and they get more boring on a screen. There are pros and cons to both, and I like both, but physical books are just a little more my thing.
11.  Do you have any pets?

A: Yes. I have one cat, and two dogs. I am absolutely in love with my cat, but I'm not really a big dog person. My cat is...well...<3 class="separator" p="" style="background-color: white; clear: both; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: center;">

 

 

11 Random Facts About ME!!:

 

Since I'm not really going out all out for this post and I'm proud of myself for making it, I am just going to copy and paste from my previous post. Sorry. :/

 

1. I am a popcorn NUT. My favorite foods are pasta and popcorn. My favorite drinks are root beer <3 and="" div="" lemonade.="">

2. I am a procrastinator. *sigh*

3. I am super competitive and get very, ah, passionate about things I care about.

4. I'm awful at all sports (especially volleyball) mostly because I don't know the rules. I have good hand-eye coordination though, which kind of goes to waste.

5. My friends think I'm crazy because when I'm tired (which is most of the time) I go all nuts and start laughing like a maniac.

6. My favorite restaurant is Elevation Burger. *mmmmmm licks lips*

7. My favorite TV shows are Dance Moms and Dance Academy. I know, shallow. As well as most things on The History Channel. Which brings me to my next fact....

8. I am a HISTORY NERD!!!!! I love everything history pretty much, except I'm not a big fan of history about all wars (in America) from the 20th century to now (unless of course it's info about my ancestors in those wars).

9. I have a dream of traveling to many historical sites all over the world!

10. I am related to lots of awesome people from history. No one extremely big that I know of, but people I wish I could meet. Though, who knows, I haven't done my family tree research yet.

11. I like to sing, dance, and act. And SHOW CHOIR!!! WOOT WOOT!!!!

Okay, so now after seriously creeping you out with my tell-all (not everything MWAHAHA) and causing you to reconsider your follower status, let's move on to....

NOMINEES!!!!!!!!!

 

1. Corrie the Book Crazed Girl

Okay so I know I already nominated her last time, but REALLY PEOPLE!! I LOVE HER BLOG! It is just as good, if not better, then some of the other book blogs out there with 5,000 followers, so please! FOLLOW HER!!!!!!!!!!! And visit!

 

2. Paper Fantasies

 

3. * Eternal Moonshine of a Daydreaming Mind *

 

4. An Abundance of Kathryn

 

5. Bella Harte Books

 

6. Between My Lines

 

7. Book-A-Holic

 

8. just one more chapter

 

9. Kari's Crowded Bookshelf

 

10. Couch Potato Reader

 

11. Nena's Short Reviews


 

 

Questions For My Lovely Nominees =) 

 

See that pretty, kiss-up title? It's trying to make up for the fact that I will be copying the questions I was asked by JoanneMarie Faust for my questions for my nominees. Truthfully, I am no good at making up questions and I'm too lazy to spend like ten minutes, plus I have better things to do with my time and these are perfectly good questions as is so...here they are!

 

1.    Why do you blog:
2.    What are 3 words you would use to describe yourself?
3.    What advice would you give fellow bloggers?
4.    Who is your favorite fairy tale character?
5.    Do you have any book crushes?
6.    How many books do you want to read this year?
7.    Where is your favorite place to read?
8.    What is your favorite time of year?
9.    What are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?
10.  Do you prefer e-books or print books?
11.  Do you have any pets?

 

Much Ado About Anne (The Mother-Daughter Book Club #2)by Heather Vogel Frederick

Much Ado About Anne by Heather Vogel Frederick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Much Ado About Anne Review

As usual, Heather Vogel Frederick serves up lots of spice and charm in the second installment of her The Mother-Daughter Book Club series. This was my second time reading this book, as I was rereading this series before I read the last book in the series. I truly missed reading about these girls, and I am so excited to finish the rest of the series, although it's bittersweet because IT'S ALL OVER AND THEY'RE GOING TO COLLEGE WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE OH MY GOODNESS EIGSSGLWYSTSNEKEYS!!!!!! *takes deep breath*

Anyways, it was definitely a different experience reading the first book this time around because I know what happens four books from now, and I know people change and it's weird to see them before they changed. The last time I read this book was probably 2009 and I loved it so much then. It's a little different for me now, since I  am no longer about the same age as the girls in the books, but I can still connect really well to the characters.

Something I also do with this series is I read all the books they read before I read the book. I read Little Women before I read this first book, I had already read all of the The Complete Anne of Green Gables Boxed Set that they read in this series before, I read Daddy-Long-Legs & Dear Enemy, and Just Patty, and When Patty Went to College (even though I don't really remember if any of the girls in the books read them I wanted too because of the occasional quotations from the other books Ms. Webster wrote in the books. I know, OCD. ;) I also read Pride and Prejudice (which caused me to buy Barnes and Noble's leatherbound volume of all of Jane Austen's works,  Jane Austen: Seven Novels, which I have really enjoyed reading with my book club), and I read the entire Betsy-Tacy series which are definitely my favorites of all of the books I read for this series. =) You can read my pretty bad review for it here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
but I would recommend researching my later reviews for them (don't worry the spoilers are hidden ;) because they are much better. I also read the three companion novels, Winona's Pony Cart, Carney's House Party: A Deep Valley Book, and Emily of Deep Valley, which were phenomenal as well. And, finally, I read Jane Eyre in preparation for reading the last book of this series (and also for a book assignment for school that was free choice and I actually ended up not liking it; you can see my review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...), Wish You Were Eyre, which I still have yet to read because I need to finish rereading the series first. It's so big and final and sad and OHMYGOSH IT CAN'T BE OVER PLEASE HEATHER DON'T MAKE IT BE OVERRRRRR!!!!!! *calms down*

I also read most of this series, with my book club. We're not a mother-daughter book club but we do consist of one adult mom who is not any of our mom's, and we absolutely loved it.

Anyways, about the book. I have to say that this book is not my favorite of all of them. I do love it, I love all of the books, but if I had to pick a least favorite it would be this one. It is a really fun book, but I feel like it was lacking some of the MDBC spark. As I stated earlier, she does serve up lots of spice and charm (I don't think she knows how not to), but I felt like something was missing. Then again, it might just be the fact that things change from book to book, and no book is ever going to be as classic as the first. I did find myself cracking up quite a lot during the course of this book though, which was a good point for me about the book. The escapades were still Mother-Daughter-Book-Club-classic in style, and I feel that overall it was a wonderful addition to the series. Was that a little too contradictory? It's just hard for me to describe how I feel about this book...it's a little bit of a contradictory feeling.

Overall, this book was another amazing installment in The Mother-Daughter Book Club series that I truly enjoyed. You should definitely read this charming and unique sequel in the series;  it is one not to be missed. This series is one every woman should read in her lifetime.


View all my reviews

The Mother-Daughter Book Club (The Mother-Daughter Book Club #1) by Heather Vogel Frederick

The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was my second time reading this book, as I was rereading this series before I read the last book in the series. I truly missed reading about these girls, and I am so excited to finish the rest of the series, although it's bittersweet because IT'S ALL OVER AND THEY'RE GOING TO COLLEGE WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE OH MY GOODNESS EIGSSGLWYSTSNEKEYS!!!!!! *takes deep breath*

Anyways, it was definitely a different experience reading the first book this time around because I know what happens four books from now, and I know people change and it's weird to see them before they changed. Also, I visited Concord last summer and went to Orchard House (where I got a bookmark with a Louisa quote on it just like in the book that I used while reading this book :). I truly got to experience and see the places described in the book, which was an amazing experience. =D Now I can truly connect with the places and people being described as I read. The last time I read this book was in...let me see...I believe 2008. Probably 2009. The book is still a favorite for me, but it is definitely a little different for me because I am reading about sixth graders, and they no longer seem as relatable as they once seemed to me at the time when I was their same age.

Something I also do with this series is I read all the books they read before I read the book. I read Little Women before I read this first book, I had already read all of the The Complete Anne of Green Gables Boxed Set that they read in this series before, I read Daddy-Long-Legs & Dear Enemy, and Just Patty, and When Patty Went to College (even though I don't really remember if any of the girls in the books read them I wanted too because of the occasional quotations from the other books Ms. Webster wrote in the books. I know, OCD. ;) I also read Pride and Prejudice (which caused me to buy Barnes and Noble's leatherbound volume of all of Jane Austen's works,  Jane Austen: Seven Novels, which I have really enjoyed reading with my book club), and I read the entire Betsy-Tacy series which are definitely my favorites of all of the books I read for this series. =) You can read my pretty bad review for it here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
but I would recommend researching my later reviews for them (don't worry the spoilers are hidden ;) because they are much better. I also read the three companion novels, Winona's Pony Cart, Carney's House Party: A Deep Valley Book, and Emily of Deep Valley, which were phenomenal as well. And, finally, I read Jane Eyre in preparation for reading the last book of this series (and also for a book assignment for school that was free choice and I actually ended up not liking it; you can see my review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...), Wish You Were Eyre, which I still have yet to read because I need to finish rereading the series first. It's so big and final and sad and OHMYGOSH IT CAN'T BE OVER PLEASE HEATHER DON'T MAKE IT BE OVERRRRRR!!!!!! *calms down*

I also read most of this series, but this book for sure, as well as Little Women, with my book club. We're not a mother-daughter book club but we do consist of one adult mom who is not any of our mom's, and we absolutely loved it.

So, as far as the actual book, it is a wonderful, sweet read I would definitely recommend to any middle school girl or girl who enjoys reading middle grade. I even recommend it to mothers of girls of the above age groups. I just love the characters. I think that's something that really gets you. No one is perfect, and every character is realistic, unique, and different. Emma is chubby, Cassidy is a tomboy, Jess is shy, and the mean girls aren't perfect. Sometimes, they can be nice, even, which I think is pretty realistic because not every mean girl is mean all the time. Every character has layers, not just one component to them, even the mothers. Throughout my reading of this series, I feel like I have truly grown to have all of these moms as a second mother to me. I love them like an aunt, they are so sweet and full of hilarious quirks. I sooooooo wish I lived in Mrs. Sloane's house. It's straight out of the pages of a home design magazine! In fact, I wish I was part of this book club with these girls. I wish I lived in Concord with them. But sadly, they are not real people (possibly one of the saddest moments of my life :'( ). Anyways, I am totally in love with the events and people and writing style and everything about these books and I think every woman should read them at least once in her life. =D

Overall, this book series and this book by itself are ah-mazing and there is nothing better than a good fix of these girls. A MUST   read!!!!!!!


View all my reviews

Saving Mr. Banks Official Trailer and the Untold Story of Mary Poppins

I was really excited for this movie for a long time, but then I read this article and now I am completely convinced that Disney will not tell the "untold true story" as they advertise in the trailer, but rather that they will end the movie with Mrs. Travers loving the movie and thanking Walt for his wonderful job. What do you think will happen? This is a truly sad piece of history and I wish, as wonderful as the movie is in my perspective, they had done everything

the way she wanted it. Then, we could have had more movies. And it's true, the musical did a much better job of conveying the theme of "Saving Mr. Banks" because I did understand that as a theme in the musical, whereas it was not as big of a thing, if at all, in the movie. I like both the movie and the muscial, but I wish Mrs. Travers' vision had been followed. That would have been truer to the real, more straight-laced Mary Poppins. I can see now why Mrs. Travers cares so much about every detail being right, because she was a real person, and she wants to stay true to what she was really like and what really happened. I think I will read and review the six actual Mary Poppins books before I see the movie, trying to be as unbiased as I can, so I can truly see what Mary Poppins was like.

Mary Poppins Boxed Set