RTW: Best Books of 2011

Welcome to our 111th Road Trip Wednesday! 

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic. 


We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments. 

This Week's Topic: 

(YA Highway combined today's RTW with Highwayer Sarah Enni's End-of-the-Year blog carnival, so if you want to see what that's about, just click on over!) 

What were your top five favorite books of 2011?

I'm going to keep this post brief considering I've already discussed my choices at one point or another. I just can't get over how awesome these books are!

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Yes. This one is going to stay in my favorites for many years to come. Don't be too surprised to see it crop up as my favorite read of 2012. Weirder things have happened, especially at Les Cirque des Reves. And this is the link to my review a few RTW's ago.



2. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

This was the book club pick of November over at Tracey Neithercott's blog, and I enjoyed this book so much I want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant. (I've been watching 30 Rock for a couple of weeks now, so if you notice any irregularities, just nod and pretend like it makes sense.)

3. Divergent by Veronica Roth
Surprisingly, I don't think I blogged about this one. Huh. Is this what it's like to be in The Twilight Zone? Click on the title if you need to know more or haven't heard about it. I won't judge (because I can't tell if you don't know or not) but you really should read this book. It's AWESOME. The End.

4. Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
Here is my review of this delightful variant of the zombie genre! Bram...le sigh.

5. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
This was a difficult choice. I had some bitterness initially over this book, mostly because I hate waiting, but once I finally read it, I wasn't disappointed. I realize it must have been extremely difficult for Paolini to wrap up this series (and it could have gone on forever) so I give him props for doing a wonderful job. I could have sworn that I did a review of Inheritance...oh wait! I did! Only it wasn't for here. It was for The Vanguard. *searches for link* Aaaand here y'all go. A review of Inheritance, a la moi.





Alright, well, this post has taken a lot longer than I'd anticipated. Must be all the links. Those things are the devil.  

Until next time...

MONSTER BLOOD TATTOO Review

Normally I'm pretty certain about how I should go about reviewing a book, but in regards to Monster Blood Tattoo (Book One: Foundling), I'm on new ground. How so? Watch this to find out.



Now, if that hasn't confused you, just take a moment to think about what I've just said. Books aren't supposed to look like this unless they're written by J. R. R. Tolkien, the map and lore legend of the literary world. I'm seriously impressed. Actually, I was completely taken by surprise by MBT and I'm not afraid to admit it.

Exhibit A

The story, the world, the characters, all combined to suck me into a vortex of monsters, vinegar waves, and the plight of a boy with a girl's name (Exhibit A).

But that's not all. Oh no.


Exhibit B is a 102-page glossary of terms unique to The Half-Continent--a number not including the appendices depicting different "types" of people on The Half-Continent, various ships, the calendar system, and a highly detailed "exploded" map of The Half-Continent broken into six sections, among other things.

Exhibit B

I was very happy to have the glossary and the appendices, if only to assure myself that I guessed right about the definitions and to reassure my mind that the book actually happened. Plus, I really love visual aids.

When I bought this book on sale for waaaaay less than the amount it was meant to be sold for, I didn't know what I had in my hands. I admired the title and the cover, read the jacket and decided it would be interesting, but I had no idea just how interesting I'd find it. I have a book buying addiction, remember?

Now that I've read Book One: Foundling, I must read the others. I feel like a wit* is compelling me to do so.

I guess I know what I'm going to do with my recently acquired gift cards to bookstores.

Until next time...


*A wit is a type of lahzar whose powers are felt rather than seen, unlike the fulgars. Another name for one is a neuroticrith ("holder of a distorted mind"). Wits control the invisible bioelectrical field using the surgically introduced organs definitive of the lahzars. They are mostly monster hunters by profession.

(See what I mean? That glossary is fantastic! My definition is just a tiny summary of the one in the book.  The actual definition of a wit is nearly two pages long!)

Christmas Day Updates

Alrighty, so this post really doesn't have a purpose other than to showcase this awesome The Hunger Games movie countdown ticker thing! This post is on FIRE! Seriously, turn on your sound! It's Internet magic...




Isn't this fantastic?! I'm so excited about the movie! I even have movie posters that my friend Cassie gave me hanging on my wall. They're the "May the odds be ever in your favor," burning mockingjay pin ones! So...just like that countdown thingy up there. :)

Oh wait! I do have something I can share with y'all. I've been working on the name and stuff for my contest (that I'm hoping to have within the next week) and here is the button I've made for it!

Well, what do y'all think?

I've also been a busy little GoogleDoc form-maker today and I've created the contest form for y'all to fill out. *smug look* Yep. This has been, quite possibly, the most productive I've ever been on Christmas Day. And that's counting all of the past Christmases when I didn't have the inclination to sleep late. That was back when the Energizer bunny drew inspiration from me.

If only I'd known back then what I know now: sleep is very good.

Until next time...

OH WOW! 90 Neighbors!

Isn't it pretty?
This blog is my own version of Tara.
Thankfully, I don't have a war to worry about.

I always have this moment when I look at the Neighbors area of my blog and I think to myself, "Those people are either super awesome or lost." And then I laugh and promise that I'm going to do my best to keep y'all entertained and one day to do something SUPER DUPER FUN.

Like hold a blog contest. Ninety is such a big number. It's almost one hundred. I can't believe ninety people want to follow this little ole bloggy blog. It's mind-boggling. Or...mind-bloggling. Oh boy. I've had too many Starbursts today.

Are y'all sure y'all aren't crazy? (Asked the crazy girl.)

Here's the proposition: we get 10 more new neighbors and I'll have a contest with PRIZES!

Does that sound copacetic? I know I like the idea. I've been itching to have a contest for a while now. I have so much fun entering other people's contests that I can't help but imagine how much more fun it will be to host my own. *stares into the future*

Yep. I see fun in our futures. Fun and prizes and whatever else I can think of to add to the overall FUN. For some reason, I've been using lots of all-caps lately. I dunno why. It's an emphasis thing I guess.

Alright, now that we all have our missions (y'all's is to round up 10 more souls), I'm going to start the plotting for this event. I'll have to create a snappy name for it and everything...this is going to be great.

First ever game for USA Jaguars in 2009.
This is from the student section.
It was darn hot that day.

Once we number 100, this thing will happen and happen big. If you've never been to a football game in the South, there is no way I can describe the atmosphere in my head right now. IT'S BLOG GAME DAY! BRING IT!

Commence yaying! (That's for you, Kills.)

OH! And I want to give a huge shout-out to those readers who happen across this place from other countries. Y'all are great! Latvia, Malaysia, South Korea (Hey, Jim!), the United Kingdom, Australia, Russia, Canada, the Netherlands, Romania, Germany, and everywhere else!

It's so nice to have neighbors from other places. I'm simply astounded at the diversity of Over Yonder's viewership. And diversity makes me happy!

Until next time...

DEARLY, DEPARTED Review

So, someday I will finally get the hang of not babbling like a loon when I'm trying to do a review of a book on camera. I feel like I'm getting better, but perhaps that's just me.

Here is the long awaited review of Lia Habel's Dearly, Departed. I just saw that the series title is Gone with the Respiration. Nice. That just made Ms. Habel go even further up my list of favorite people/authors.



A few things that I didn't cover in the video--I knew I'd forget something--were the cover, the wonderful pop and past culture references within the book, the multiple narratives used, and the history of the world as seen in Dearly, Departed.

The cover is lovely in a dark, gothic sort of way. I love both of those adjectives, so of course I had to buy the book. Habel has a witty writing style, quips and references come easily in the flow of the narrative. In fact, her use of multiple narrators to tell the story makes all of those cultural references seem effortless.

Although it feels to me as if Nora is the main character, Habel didn't limit the novel to just one MC. The book is broken up into many chapters told through the first person account of a different character.

Nora, Bram, Pamela, Dr. Dearly, and Captain Wolfe all have chapters in which they tell the story from their differing points of view. At first, it was a little odd, but I grew to love it. Even though Captain Wolfe isn't my favorite character and he doesn't get as much "air time" as Nora, Bram, or Pamela, it was interesting to get to see things from his perspective.

Also, the backstory for New Victoria and the Punk territories is wonderfully told. I'm not going to give much more away, but I enjoyed reading about how it all came about.

That's all for this post, but just keep one sleepy eye open for my next review. I'm still undecided which book I'm going to have a showdown with so...surprise?

Until next time...

RTW: Where My Money Goes

Welcome to our 110th Road Trip Wednesday!

 Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic. 


 We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments. 

This Week's Topic: 

Where do you buy most of your books? No one is judging!

Thanks for not judging because I have a problem. This problem is one that usually results on my checking account having a heart attack whenever I enter a bookstore. 

It doesn't even matter which store it is. Barnes & Noble, BAM!, local stores, the library book sales, Walmart, Target, gas stations, yard sales, Amazon, and the list can go on into eternity. I'm not picky about where I get my books. All that matters is that I get them. 

Take yesterday for instance, I wasn't feeling well and my Mom took me to Page & Palette, our local bookstore, and still I managed to come away with two books. 

In case you're wondering, I finally bought Across the Universe by Beth Revis and Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks. Yay! More books for me to potentially review (if I ever have time to sit down and read them like I want to)! 

As it is, I can't seem to kick the habit of purchasing every book I lay my hands on. Seriously. I have to restrain myself from touching books because once they're in my hands, I'm not going to let go. It doesn't matter what they're about. 

I have multiple anthologies that I picked up at used book sales simply because I "wanted to see how heavy they are" and then couldn't pry my fingers away. I have two complete compilations of William Shakespeare's plays and poetry. 

Do I need two? Not likely. They just sit and take up valuable shelf space. Will I get rid of either of them? Probably not. I'm also a book hoarder. 

Alright, well, I know I promised y'all a book vlog about Dearly, Departed, and y'all will get it eventually. I've been distracted the past few days. I just now realized it is Wednesday. Time sure flies. 

Until next time...

BLOOD RED ROAD Review

THERE ARE SPOILERS. I KNOW FOR SURE THERE IS ONE, BUT THERE MAY BE MORE. CONSIDER YOURSELVES WARNED.



SO, there's been a lot of comments lately about people wanting my Star Wars mug. I've become paranoid enough to hide it.

Good luck finding it to steal it. As you can see, I have not failed in my vlogging project yet. Day Two and I'm still allowing this to continue.

The next book on my hit list is Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel with Monster Blood Tattoo by D. M. Cornish coming in second. I'm hoping to finish them both tomorrow.

However, seeing as it's Eggnog Day tomorrow, I may not be capable of fulfilling that goal. Eggnog Day for my family means all the ladies of the family come over, as well as other lady friends we've known forever or who we may consider family ladies as well, and we make the most alcoholic eggnog ever. I'll probably have a post dedicated simply to eggnog tomorrow. There may not be a video though. I'm sure y'all understand why.

Until next time...

Vlog Intro

Vlog attempt number one, in which I ramble profusely and sip coffee out of my Star Wars cup.

 It's rough. I promise next time that I won't roll out of bed and make a video. That's a bit too raw and uncut for YouTube. It's funny though because I'm normally not that well-spoken before coffee. I think I was just really excited to get started on this new venture. Although, it's hard to tell.

 Tomorrow I will be posting my review of Blood Red Road by Moira Young. It sounds like I say the book is "bad" in the video, but I'm really saying "I was bad." The book was very good. Which you all will hear me say in the review.

 Have a great evening!

 Until next time...

Not RTW, This is a Sloth

Look at what I got today!

A baby sloth! Isn't it simply adorable? If you hurry over to enter YA Highway's Third Annual Winter Giveaway, you can get one of your very own!

This one is MINE. *pets sloth*

In other news, I have two more things to do today before I can officially say, "To heck with finals!" Both of them are presentations. I hate presentations. I don't mind standing up in front of class talking about stuff, but I don't like waiting for my turn. It makes me sick.

SO, I'm just going to go in there and be like, "Hey, I'm going first, and there's nothing anybody can do to stop me!" And then I'll proceed to take over the world.

Also, all of the responses I've had to my vlog idea have been positive, so I'm thinking that's what I'm going to do. You should all pray for YouTube. I have no idea what I'm going to unleash.

This Wednesday feels so weird without an RTW. I'm not complaining since YA Highway has that wonderful contest to fill it's place, but I guess I've become rather accustomed to being prompted into spewing my thoughts in a certain direction.

I mean, look at this post! It's a mess! I need guidance. There are so many topic threads that I have no idea which one to pursue...I really want to talk about that baby sloth but the vlog idea is pulling me in that direction...

Oh forget it. I'm going to go Tweet @aliciagregoire some more.

Until next time...may the force be with y'all! (Always.)

Idea for the Break

This post is brought to you by a study break. Study breaks. The only things keeping college students sane during finals week. Take yours today!

Hey folks! So, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I'm going to do over my break because it's one of the rewards I give myself for actually doing work. I know for a true-blue fact that I'm going to be doing a MAJOR amount of catch-up reading that I've missed since the semester took over my life, but it seems to me like I should do something to celebrate each book that I knock off the list.

But what?

There are so many options. I could go the traditional route of writing a book review for each one. Those usually turn out alright.

Or...I don't know. This next option may be a little too "out there" for even me. Heck, I'll let y'all decide! I hate decisions anyway.

What if I did vlogs once every few days to "review" the books that I've read?

Would any of you watch them? Would I want to do them? Am I making any sense?

Technically, I'm qualified to make videos of myself. I took a class on it and everything. If y'all are real stalkers, you've probably already found the videos of me on YouTube talking about education. But I'm not encouraging anyone to watch those.

As it is, this idea is still in the "what if I did make book vlogs" stage. Any feedback from y'all will be taken thoroughly into consideration, even if you think I should stick to writing. (There's a rather large part of me that thinks that as well; probably the part writing this parenthetical statement.)

Until next time...

Friday Fives: Holiday Stories

I'm so glad it's Friday. Y'all have no idea. Granted, I did have a final today, but it wasn't one I was worried about, so it doesn't play into this post at all. Forget I even mentioned it.

Anyway, this post is going to have to tide me over until next week because Monday through Wednesday will be the Days of DEATH. This weekend is going to be my attempt at preparing for murder by final exams.

If I don't see any of you again, just remember me as I was.

Now, enough of that dramatic stuff. Let's get down to the real reason behind this post.

1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss
2. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
3. The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
4. The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Anderson
5. The story of Jesus's birth in the Bible.

It used to be a tradition for us to gather in the living room on Christmas Eve and read the story of Mary and Joseph in search of a place to stay in Bethlehem. We haven't done it lately (I don't know why), but I can remember wanting desperately to be the one to read it aloud when I was younger.

Hope everyone has a great holiday season!

RTW: The Great Shelf Journey

Welcome to our 108th Road Trip Wednesday! 

 Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic. 


 We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link in the comments - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments. 

This Week's Topic:
How far would you go to get published?


It must be the fact that I'm scrambling to cram for finals and finish all of these dratted ten page papers, but I couldn't help but chuckle at the topic this week. I know; my mind is in a dark place. Don't judge me. (You were all thinking it, too.)

I suppose I have to provide some sort of answer. Let's just assume for a moment that I'm done with college and I'm on my own. Wow, that sounds nice.

Anyway, in this dream, I'm out there in the world, giving as good as I get and not taking 'no' for a final answer. That world is my oyster. Anyone who stands in my way to publication is going to feel the swift edge of my paper sword. And we all know how horrible paper cuts are. *shudders*

However, I'm not quite sure just exactly how "far" I'd go to get published. It's not a question I tend to ask myself or get asked by other people. I mean, technically I'm already published multiple times over since I have articles in my college paper every week, but I don't think that's the kind of published we're talking about.

So, for brevity's sake, let's just assume that I won't do anything morally or ethically compromising in order to have a larger piece of my work published and on bookshelves across the world. That's probably the best answer I can come up with.

I'm far too easy-going to do anything strenuous or complicated either. Some may say I'm lazy (and that would be true in some sense), but it all comes down to the fact that I'm too good-natured and content with my life to do anything that may jeopardize my success or rock the boat.

I'm happy to work for everything that I get, and it is the journey more than anything that I enjoy. So, there is another answer. I'm willing to put in the time and effort to get to publication the hard way. I like the idea of earning my spot on those shelves.

It appeals to me.



On a different note, I don't know if y'all have noticed, but I've been adding some new doohickeys to the blog of late. There's the new comment system that allows us to have a dialectical relationship. I did lose all of the past comments (here's my post lamenting that), but I think the end result is worth it.

Also, if you address your attention to the end of the post, you will see some links to other posts similar to this one. This is my new favorite thing! I've been lusting after the recommended posts widget that others have on their blogs for a long time, and I finally organized an attack plan and made it happen, resulting in glorious options at the end of each post. Success is the best balm for envy.

Friday Fives: Traditionally Traditions

Welcome to the Hammond home! Where traditions don't exist unless they're really strange and can only be broken upon random consent (a thing that happens quite often considering we don't observe many traditions.)

First things first. Let's meet our traditions!

1. Thou shalt not eat less than one plate full of holiday food during the eating time. Unless thou wishes to be ridiculed for the wimpy nature* of your gut.

2. Thou shalt not be told what to buy as a gift because we all know that gift-buying is supposed to be the most difficult and hair-pulling task of the holiday season, and honestly, by this point you should just know what to get someone. We aren't mind-readers** for nothing. Happy hunting! Please don't gnash your teeth in public.

3. Going out of town to see long lost relatives is not how we roll. They come to us. After all, we are the most important members of our family tree***.

4. Plans that work well and easily are for schmucks, and we most certainly are not those kinds of people. We must have plans that require skill and cunning to execute; however, it must be done with the least amount of effort possible. We can't allow the general populace to know we actually tried to create awesomeness. That would just be ridiculous.

5. If someone isn't in a bad mood by the end of the day, then we haven't done our jobs and should be ashamed of ourselves. If you are the lucky individual to resent every other member of the human race, then you should revel in that power because you are the chosen one of the holiday. Rejoice! and spread your anti-cheer!

Happy Holidays!


*I previously held this title throughout my younger years because I abhorred casseroles, but the past three years have seen me blossom into a trash compactor. I eat all things and much of them. 
**Seriously. All you can get out of those people is, "I dunno. I don't care. Just get me something." 
***The fact that we're also the craziest often escapes us. And we wonder why no one ever comes to see us...

RTW: Books of November

Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival," where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link -- or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

  This week's topic: What's the best book you read in November?




This time around the Best of's block, I find that I have a tie on my hands. It's between the book club choice of the month, The Scorpio Races, and my other favorite, Matched. They both have some great things going for them, so I'm just gonna have to say that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

I recently reviewed both of these lovely novels, so if you feel like making a click-stop to see what I have to say about them while you're traveling down the YA Highway, please be my guest.

Just click on either cover to go to the respective post.

Have a great Wednesday!

Sitting on My Laurels

Appropriately enough, I never can seem to shake that feeling of "OH MY" when someone gives me something. It doesn't matter if you've just given me a leaf you found on the ground and that's been trampled on for three days, or if the gift in question is a cup of coffee with eight sugars and two creams (the ultimate gift IMO) because I will always react the same way.

"Thanks! This is so awesome!"

And I'm having one of those moments right now.

Murees Dupé over at Daily Drama of an Aspiring Writer has given me the Liebster Blog Award! Isn't she great! Thanks, Murees!! I won't forget you around Christmastime, although I don't know how much it will cost me to ship a crocheted hat to South Africa...*stares at map perplexedly*

Cool, huh? Yeah. It has a heart on it, so you know it's legit.

Ahem. The Liebster Blog Award is meant to bring attention to other blogs, which is compounded by the fact that liebster is German for "favorite" or "dearest." Isn't that sweet?

In any case, there are a few things I must do as a proud Liebster awardee:

1. Thank the giver. Check!
2. Put the award on my blog. Check!
3. Pass the award on to five fellow bloggers with less than 200 followers.

And the award goes to... *drum roll*

Donelle Lacy over at a Little Dversion!

Cindy Thomas - Aspiring YA Author!

Eve. E over at Clueless Eve!

Stephanie Allen over at My Personal Fairytale!

Val the Victorian over at Unbagging the Cats!

Check!

Congratulations to each of them and all other preceding Liebster awardees! I'm going to apparate over to each of their blogs and give them the good news before this post has had time to cool. I hope that by continuing the liebster love, I've contributed in some small part to the greater good of the blogging community. It's the least I can do for all of the wonderful people I've met since jumping into the blogosphere.


On a side-note, I just ate a really spicy dinner roll that I thought was gonna be, yanno, not spicy, and now I'm very uncomfortable. I feel as if I've just kissed the sun, and not in a good way. I think they should label dinner rolls at the dining hall from now on because my cranberry juice just isn't fighting the fire like I thought it would. 


*adds to list of grievances for dining hall right after Not Enough Grilled Cheeses*

The Day of the Do-Over

Happy Deja Vu post! Here's the link to the article I wrote waaaay back in April about inspiration and nachos. Enjoy!

Drip, Drip, Drop!

And while you're enjoying that blast from my blogging past, click on over to the Blogfest host and take a gander at the other bloggers participating! Or sign yourself up! Either would be great! 

The Scorpio Races

Unlike our dear Tracey Neithercott over at Words On Paper, I asked for a pony when I was a wee one. Not only that, but my wish was granted. His name was Buck. Buck was an ex-barrel racer, trained to buck on command, and the color of a caramel latte. His name was quite appropriate considering his coloring and nature. But I loved him anyway.

Buck was only the first horse to come into my life, although he will always be one of the more memorable. 

While reading The Scorpio Races, I couldn't help but think of Buck whenever Dove was mentioned. The memories of my childhood kept floating to the surface, like Capaill uisce, and galloping across my mind. I think it made my reading of the book all the more special. 

Tracey has already done a wonderful job of discussing some of the fundamentals regarding Stiefvater's novel, such as the dual plot narrative, the setting, etc. 

However, I want to focus on the kelpie legend and the final outcome of the book. 

I hope no one who hasn't read the book happens upon this post, because there will be spoilers from this point forward. So, here's your warning. 

Kelpies

Stiefvater mentions in her afterword that she struggled with writing this story for a while, because the mythology surrounding the water horses was so dense. There were multiple legends pointing to separate ideas of what constituted a kelpie, but most kept the bloody aspect. There are just as many names for the kelpies/water horses/capaill uisce as there are legends about their existence. 

As a fan, I have to say that I think Maggie did a wonderful job of utilizing the myth (I think that by isolating the characters on an island was a great way of containing the scope) and the capaill uisce were extremely believable. I'm with Tracey here. If Stiefvater told me that Thisby and the capaill uisce were real, I'd believe her 100%. 

The fact that the island and the people on it felt Irish or Celtic to me (in my head) also added to the atmosphere of the book. I've always pictured kelpies as being creatures that haunt the Celtic isles and indigenous to that area only. I can't tell you why. 

The End

Part of the wonder that is this book is the way I found myself at a loss over who I would like to win the race. Usually, I tend to favor one character over another, or either the author manages to make it easy for readers to choose a favorite. However, I couldn't choose between Sean and Puck. At one moment, I think I may want Puck to win because she has to take care of her family, but then Sean would return to my mind and I'd remember how he feels about Corr and his own story. 

Even down to the last few pages, when the race is in full swing, I was unable to choose between them. I wanted both of them to win, which in a way, I suppose they did. The conclusion cinched the book in a way that I didn't know was possible. How could they both win when only one of them could win? Regardless of my own confusion, it all made sense. 

Puck wins on Dove, saves her home, and because Corr is damaged beyond repair, helps Sean purchase Corr from Mr. Malvern. It's a tidy ending to an otherwise messy dilemma. Yet, it isn't rushed and makes complete sense. When books end as happily (or semi-happily as it felt to me) as The Scorpio Races when the entire book prior to the ending has been contention on all corners, readers usually tend to doubt the neatness of the ending. 

However, not so in this case. I'm happy to believe in this ending, because it doesn't at all smell of hasty end-tying. The entire book falls into place like a neatly played game of chess, so that at the end, when Stiefvater checkmates me, I'm so entirely surprised and impressed with the skill in which she played me, that I'm perfectly thrilled to have been beaten. 

Now, if you haven't read The Scorpio Races and my comments haven't ruined it for you (which they shouldn't have), I recommend that you go out and get your hands on a copy, and then promptly read it. You'll thank me. It's not everyday that you get to read a book like this. 

I've Lost Your Comments!

I'm so sorry anyone who's ever commented on here! I just switched over to Disqus so I could actually comment back to each of you individually, but alas! Your comments were lost to the world as a result! I still have them in my archives, so if I ever get lonely I can go back and read what you've all said...

But I'm not sure if I can get them to come back. :( Y'all wouldn't mind going back and re-commenting? No? Oh well, it was worth a shot. I don't blame y'all one bit! 

Anyway, I just felt like I had to explain why there are NO COMMENTS on any of my posts anymore. It's really sad. Forgive me?

I still love every single one of you for each and every comment tossed my way! You're lovely, dear people.

Each comment is like being hugged. Or in the case of this tiny kitten, being licked by a giant tongue.

Thank you all sincerely for all of the hug-licks via comments.

Wow. That image keeps getting funnier and funnier.

I wonder if the kitten grew up thinking it was a German Shepherd?

Interesting...

Kitten: "Mom, how come people don't run from me when I bark at them?"

Dog: "Honey, you're a cat. You can't bark."

Kitten: "Whaaaaat? LIES!" *hisses and spits*

Deja Vu and Things

Of all the things that may someday drive me truly crazy, my frequent moments of deja vu are at the very top of the list. I don't know, mostly because I'm afraid to look, if having deja vu every day is a bad thing, but the simple fact remains that I do.

Sometimes it's stronger than others. Usually it's just a slight inkling in the back of my mind that I've encountered a situation or conversation before, but when I ask someone if I have, I almost 90% of the time get negative answers. Either they don't have good memories or my family and friends are a bunch of liars.

I'm not quite sure which I would prefer. However, this little info on my inner workings has a purpose. There is a blog fest going on and it's called the Deja Vu Blogfest: The Day of the Do-over. Catchy right? Just click on the link to add your name and blog to the list.

So what's the deal with this blogtastic event? So glad I asked.

Bloggers from across the interwebs will be reposting a past post that may not have got many views, the authors felt particularly fond of, or was posted back when the blogger was a fresh face in the blogging world. Hence, deja vu.

Sounds fun, right? My sentiments exactly. So, if you have the time to spare to repost an old piece of your blogging past that could use some extra attention, go on over to DL Hammons blog (or any of the other three hosts: Creepy Query Girl, Lydia Kang, and Nicole Ducleroir) to participate. I'm also going to have the Blogfest button on my sidebar to facilitate any clicky-clickthrus.

My deja vu post will be coming soon, so keep an eye out for it. I'm not quite sure what it'll be yet, so if you get a weird feeling that you've read something before, don't worry; you are just as sane as I am. Also to come this week will be my review of The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, which I read as part of the November Book Club held at Words on Paper. I'm looking forward to that discussion on Monday!

I think that's all the news I have for this weekend, so I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is rested up for December. I know I'm not, although I did have a nice break. I didn't sleep or eat nearly as much as I would have liked, but I did manage to read two books and finish a portrait for Lindsay Cummings that I've been working on for months. I can't wait to seal it (once the wet weather goes away) and then send it to her!

Have a great week everyone! I'll see you again tomorrow!

Hey Y'all. How's it Going?

I missed RTW and the Friday Fives post this week. I feel lost. I need to make up for it somehow, but the only thing I can think of is to write this. So...yeah.

I was being all monitory today and took a gander at my stats for the ole bloggy blog, and somehow, some enterprising individual found me through searching "aragorn return of the king." It made my heart all warm while making my head spin.

How in the world did they find me using that search criteria? I'm not complaining, since I find it extremely flattering that I could be connected to Tolkien in any way, no matter how minuscule, but still. It's a puzzle. And I don't like leaving puzzles unsolved. It makes me itchy.

However, due to the fact that I don't have much time to invest in ferreting out the answer (if there is one), I'm going to have to be content with not knowing. No matter how much it irks me.

I'm off to read The Scorpio Races in hopes of finishing it today so I can focus on those research papers sitting menacingly in both corners of my mind.

*looks askance at papers* *papers crack knuckles*

Yep. I'm going to have so much fun this coming week. Someone shoot me now.

MATCHED! A Review

Zoinks!

That was my first word-reaction after I turned the last page of Matched. I tell you what, Ally Condie can write a heck of a book. I bow to you, milady. Now, I must get myself to the nearest book selling establishment and purchase Crossed. My bank account, however, does not thank you. That's okay, I never pay attention to it anyway.

Matched is what I want to call a blend of Brave New World, The Hunger Games, and Pride and Prejudice.

So, basically it rocked my socks. I'm still reeling from what I've read, and it's been only...*looks at clock**uses calculator to subtract time*...17 minutes since I finished it. All the STUFF is still banging around in my head screaming things like "WHY?!" and "OMG!" and "I love it so much! I just wanna die I love it so much..."

My book reactor (the thing that reacts to books, duh) got put through its paces by Mrs. Condie. And I have to say, "Bravo." It needed the exercise. I missed doing the RTW this week because I slept through the entire day and then worked on a portrait for the rest of it. Hey, I'm on vacation. *shrugs*

So now I know what everyone in the blogosphere has been talking about when they said things like "Matched is so great! You should read it asap!"

I give full props to anyone who recommended it, because it is now going on my Recommended Reads list.

For anyone who hasn't read it yet, I have this to say: do. It's beautiful and remarkable and all of those -able things that are good. It's also a bunch of adjectives synonymous with the above adjectives. Throw some adverbs in and a phrase or two and you have a great glowing review that came from me. As it is, this is all I can manage at the moment. I'm just too caught up in it right now.

On another note, I adore Ky and Xander, although I've never been fond of the letter 'x'. I don't know why. I think I must have missed that episode of Sesame Street.

Cassia is a very easy heroine to read. I liked her and the way she loved words. It reminds me of me, and when she discovers poetry, I felt like I was intruding on something intensely spiritual and private. That's a great thing about this book. The entire work is littered with personality and depth, but I never felt like I was drowning. Instead, the lyricality, I suppose, guides one through the story, lending the musical quality that some of the passages seem to have.

There are soaring moments throughout the book that seem able to lift you above the world contained with the pages so that you can see the specks below as they slide through the routines, oblivious to the gears beneath the surface. It's scary and honest, and I know I won't be able to stop thinking about this world in which the Officials keep order and the Society dictates every choice, even that of love.

I can't wait to get my greedy hands on Crossed. I'm shivering just thinking about it.

Sanity Break

Hey, y'all. At the moment, I'm trying not to despair. I mean, why worry about all of those papers that I need to write when I could write blogposts instead? Right? Right?!

Just think of this little post as me allowing y'all a glimpse into my mind on Shakespeare. I've just spent about five hours writing a paper about why Iago is probably a super villain. My position: he is. That may have been redundant. I'm too tired to go back and read what I wrote. That's not sad at all.

Anyway, you people may not see much of me in the next few days, which is fairly normal considering I mostly post on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Unless I decide to post on Saturdays, Sundays, Tuesdays, or Thursdays, and let's face it, sometimes I do. Take today for example. So...I forgot what I was trying to say.

I know! I'll do a list.

Things I'd Rather Be Doing Instead of Writing (which doesn't happen very often):

1. Sleeping. I'm so tired, I can't come up with anything funny to say about how tired I am.

2. Eating fried chicken. For some reason, I've been craving fried chicken and right now my stomach wants to drive itself to the nearest chicken finger establishment and buy itself a box of tenders. Good luck with that, stomach. You're an organ. Have fun reaching the pedals and paying for your food. No pockets, no hands, no feet. Sucks, right?

3. Watching Melancholia. I rented it from iTunes a few days ago and now I'm just waiting for a spare hour and half to watch it. Its day will come. Eventually. Maybe.

4. Reading one of the many books that are currently fighting for my attention. First up is The Scorpio Races, since I've decided to participate in the November Book Club this month.

5. Knitting my scarf. I started out going strong and managed to knit about a foot and half of scarf, but other things took over my time and now it's sitting at the foot of my bed giving me accusing looks. I'll get to you soon, coffee colored scarf. Your day will come as well. Maybe in conjunction with Melancholia. I think y'all will get along.

Okay, that list is going nowhere and is starting to bore me. I guess that means I need to get back to writing papers...aww man. At least I'm done with Shakespeare for today. Now I just need to write a five-pager about one of three topics for my World Literature I class. It's either going to be 1) something about "The Iliad" and "Ramanyana" or 2) something about early Chinese poetry. I'm leaning more towards "The Iliad." There are three topics, but I don't remember the third one, so it may as well not exist.

Until next time...run if you see me because I may be in a bad mood.

Funny, You Say?

I know what you're thinking. This is the second blog hop I've done this week. Not what you were thinking? Oh well. I'm about to get to the funny stuff. Or so you hope.

So, Cassie Mae over at Reading, Writing, and Lovin' it! is hosting her first ever blog hop and it's pretty much as far up my alley as you can go. Not only does it have an embarrassed polar bear as the picture, but flushing is something I do quite well. Take that as you will.

Now, there is a prize involved for those who participate. A $10 Amazon gift card! (Go click over to her page to find out more about that!) You don't think I'd write embarrassing stories about myself just for the heck of it, do you? Oh, you do? Well, you may have something there.

Here's how it will go:

Write a short story about an embarrassing experience one of your characters went through, or if your characters are so perfect that they never do anything embarrassing (lucky them), tell us something from your own life that left you blushing like a little boy threatened with cooties on the playground. 

Now, I'm not in the habit of writing about my characters' misdeeds, so I think I may just regale you folks with a story from the vault of my childhood. Goodness knows I have plenty of embarrassing memories.

Let's go back in time...

"You can't have popcorn for lunch," she said firmly.  

"But--but--but I want popcorn! I don't want a hotdog!" the little girl cried and pressed herself further into the rocking Lazy-Boy. She thought that if she pressed hard enough, maybe the chair would swallow her up. That would teach her mother for not letting her eat popcorn for lunch.  

"Stop whining and come eat your lunch," her mom repeated. "Bailey, look at me. You can't just eat popcorn for lunch. I'm going to tell Dad when he gets home..." 

That announcement only made the blond girl even more upset. She knew her dad would spank her if she kept disobeying her mom. But she couldn't stop. Not now. Too much was at stake. She wanted that popcorn. 

"NOOOO!" Bailey shrieked. "Don't tell Daddy!"  

"Bailey...look at me," her mom said in reply.  

Bailey didn't look up, but continued to cry shakily into the Lazy-Boy's green exterior. It wasn't fair. It's not like she was asking to have candy for lunch.  

"Bailey...Bailey....look at the camera." 

Oh no. She wouldn't...and yet, Bailey looked up almost against her own will. Her mom was videoing her.  

"Moooooom! Don't video me!" Bailey started sobbing once more, and wished again that the chair would swallow her whole, like the whale did Jonah. "Mom...mom...it's not fair..." 

The scene fades into gray and white static and then switches to another home video, but someone hits pause. On the watching side of the television screen, people of all ages are laughing at my younger self. I'm one of them, but it still stings. My Dad is wiping tears of laughter from his face and my siblings are probably dying. I can't tell if their spasms and red faces are something I should be worried about or not. But hey, what's family for except to laugh at you and teach you to laugh at yourself? Even when you don't think it's that funny. 

Yes. That's an actual event. Every time I acted like a complete brat when I was growing up, my Mom and Dad would whip out this VHS and play it or threaten to play it. I'd stop doing whatever I was doing and change my tune. I'm embarrassed just thinking about how red my face was in that video. I had some major lungs on me too at age six.

Alrighty, that's enough me time. Now, let's get to hopping!

Friday Fives: The Instruments of Words

I had to think about this question in depth a few months ago when I read Roland Barthes interview "An Almost Obsessive Relation to Writing Instruments." My critical theory professor adores Barthes and we studied this essay for weeks trying to find all of the juicy hidden meanings behind everything. The part that stuck with me the most, and that applies to this Friday Fives prompt, is the fact that Barthes was very particular about his pens and his writing environment.

In fact, he was extremely set in his ways. He's a structuralist in every sense of the word and openly admits it in the essay. "To be able to function, I need to be able structurally to reproduce my usual work space," he states near the beginning of the piece, but "It isn't the walls but the structures that count."

In addition, he would not write unless it was with a fountain pen--the kind with nibs--and he had a compulsion that drove him to buy fountain pens whenever he saw them. As a result, he had pens from all over the world and was always buying more. He didn't use all of them, but he simply had them for the reason of having them.

Sort of like me at the bookstore.

This post requires me to go at the process of writing from an angle that I'm not used to traveling. Without the computer, pen, or pencil, what else is there to the writing enterprise? What could I possibly need in order to write?

Here is where Barthes comes into the equation once again, because he does manage to provide some interesting insight into the writing process. All writers have certain "quirks" when it comes to how, where, and when they will write. We may not acknowledge those things as existing, or maybe we do but take them for granted. For Barthes part, he knows exactly what he needs and what must be in place in order for him to write, and he's very specific about his writing areas and practices.

As for me, I must:

1. Be cross-legged and wearing comfortable pants.
2. Be alone.
3. Have something to drink.
4. NOT HAVE FOOD.
5. Hear music, but only if I'm in the mood for it. It can't be loud, and the type depends on how I'm feeling or what I'm writing.

That's about it. Of course, there are always instances where I can't have all of those things or I might not be able to play music, sit cross-legged, or be alone (like during a test), but those times don't happen very often.

The reason I put so much emphasis on the no FOOD is because food, while yummy and life-sustaining, really distracts me more than anything else. I can write with the TV on and if my neighbors are playing the same thumping song over and over again, but if you put a bag of chips within reaching distance of me while I'm trying to write, I will eat instead of writing. That's just the way the cookie crumbles. Cookies... *wants*

It's for this--and other reasons, my ADD notwithstanding--that I take breaks while writing. They're short breaks, but breaks all the same. Sitting on your feet can make them fall asleep or so I've discovered. But standing up and eating every 30 minutes is my built-in system to prevent distraction and numb appendages.

What five things do you need in order to write? Fluffy pillow? Fruit smoothie? Full moon? Let me know in a comment below or go on over to Paper Hangover to join in the linktastic fun! Also, have a great weekend!

(So sorry for dragging on and on about Barthes. I'm studying for my final in that class and the stuff just won't leave me be.)

RTW: Required Reading, Oh Yeah

Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival," where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link -- or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This week's topic: In high school, teens are made to read the classics - Shakespeare, Hawthorne, Bronte, Dickens - but there are a lot of books out there never taught in schools. So if you had the power to change school curricula, which books would you be sure high school students were required to read?

This question is right up my alley. As an English education major, I've been considering this very problem for a while now. Actually, I was thinking about what I would make kids read if I were a teacher back when I was still in high school.

I like to plan ahead like that. I never really had a problem with reading some of the "classics" that were on the required reading list. I like them. A Tale of Two Cities is one of my favorite books of all time. Same goes for the rest of the lot.

However, I feel like today's fiction and even the fiction of a few decades ago is also worth exploring in the high school setting. Yes, it's good to keep the classics well in mind and to introduce students to them while they're still under some sort of obligation to at least look at them.

But it's also important to show them that some of the more modern texts are worth reading as well. A few that I would include are:  


The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner (Although I know that some high schools do teach it, or so I've heard, but mine didn't.)
 
 


Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (The post is now complete!)  






The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (In conjunction perhaps with Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.)  


 
The Princess Bride by William Goldman (Because we all need to read a little ridiculous into our lives.)









I could go on forever like this, naming books that I want other people to read and to love, but then I'd be here forever and you'd all get tired of reading this post. Besides, I rather like the list as it is. It's eclectic, but not too much so. I have a modern work, a book that's a classic in my opinion, a YA dystopia, and a farcical whimsy of a tale.

So, what books would y'all require students to read?

Holiday Blog Hop Story Share

So, Jenny over at Jenny's Imaginary World and Megan at This Post Will Self Destruct are hosting a Holiday Blog Hop, and in order to participate, one must write a holiday themed story in 250 words or less (or more). I'm a new follower of both of their blogs and I hope to meet more awesome bloggers through this hop. 

I had no idea what to write about, so I went for the obvious holidays just around the corner. For some reason, I couldn't write a happy story today. Oh well. Actually, it's a little happy with some sad mixed in. Here's my story!

“It’s always the same,” Khaela muttered as she caught sight of the employees at the store hanging tinsel and wreaths at the end of each aisle. “They always skip Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas.”

“What’s so great about Christmas?” she asked herself as she loaded her buggy with cranberry sauce and pie shells. “It’s too long and too commercial.”

Khaela paused and closed her eyes, trying to fight a sudden temptation to run screaming from the store. Christmas held too many bad memories, but Thanksgiving, now that holiday was perfect. No gift buying; no extended, family visits. Just one day and then it’s over. Peaceful.

“Brian’s bringing the turkey and Ann’s making the dressing,” Khaela commented. “So all that’s left is the pie filling—“

“Try the cherry,” a voice interrupted.

Khaela turned around slowly and found herself looking down at a little boy of about six years of age. He had bright blue eyes and elfin features, but he didn’t say anything else.

“Pardon?” Khaela asked, unsure if he had been speaking to her.

“Try the cherry pie filling,” the boy stated. “It tastes like Christmas and happiness. My mommy used to make me a cherry pie every Christmas before she left. Cherries make me happy and you look like you need more happy.”

Khaela didn’t have a response; she merely stared at him as he smiled like he’d done her a huge favor with the suggestion. Then, he walked away.

“Cherries,” she repeated slowly. “Happiness.” 

Happy Holidays!

It Happened on a Sunday

As y'all can see, I've made a few purchases recently. Some were premeditated. Inheritance and Reckoning for example. Others...just happened.

It always happens that way, without fail. I can't even tell you exactly how I ended up at BAM!, I just know one minute I was driving to get food and then I was standing in the YA section...

The next few minutes of that trip consisted of me staring aimlessly at book covers until I fixed upon the cover of The Scorpio Races. It jumped into my arms. Next came Dearly, Departed, and then with those two clutched tightly to my chest, I regained some sense and started to realize a purpose: I need books, and the more the merrier.

Faster than I can say "Christopher Paolini's Inheritance cycle" I had that stack of books and I was headed to the checkout counter before I lost all control. Six books and a pack of WTF sticky-notes later, and I'm finally back on the road to get food. Which was my original destination.

Anyway, with these new additions to my TBR pile, I'm set for reading my way straight through Christmas break with no breaks. That's the plan, at least. We'll see how much I get done. I'm hoping to read at least 30 books. That's the goal. In fact, it's going to be my resolution for this year. It's a little late, but you know what they say about those things. Better than never.

What books are y'all trying to read before New Year's? Hopefully we can keep each other accountable, because I have a TON to read. Until next time...attack that TBR pile!

Sharing Saturday #3 (I think)

Since I just love sharing things--big, small; important, benign; funny, boring--I thought I'd spread the joy of Saturday in the EDM310 lab with y'all. Normally I get at least one or two students, during the five hour window of time, who have questions and assignment needs to be met.

However, it's one of those slow Saturdays (sometimes preferable if I'm not in a great mood) and I've had multitudes of time to watch YouTube videos. I watched The Aristocats, and now I can't stop humming "everybody, everybody, everybody wants to be a cat!"

But--and hold on to your hats folks--I found something even better. "Blasphemy!" I hear some say. Well, here's my proof.





Yes. That is Lord of the Rings in animated form. I know this may not come as such a big shock or seem like a big deal to some of you, but finding another way to get my Tolkien fix is probably the best thing that's happened all week. That's including getting a haircut. (Although if you are my sister and you're reading this, the haircut is awesome. You did a fantastic job!)

I'm now watching this instead of Disney movies. There's also The Hobbit animated movie on YouTube as well. The Internet will never cease to impress me. At least not today.

Friday Fives: WIP It Now

Goodness, this is a difficult prompt for me to answer. You see, I've only ever "gotten to the end" of one WIP. And it was what I consider to be entirely an accident. Well, not completely an accident considering I did mean to conclude it at some point, but it's not like I had an actual end in mind.

That's one of my problems that I conveniently forgot to include in my list of Weaknesses in the RTW this week. I'm horrible at finishing things. I'm great at meeting deadlines for the smaller projects, but when it comes to tying up loose ends in a WIP and typing "The End," I find myself at a loss for how to proceed.

However, I have a pretty good idea of what I should be doing to reach that fabled end point and I often lecture myself using these very points to follow.

1. Just type! It doesn't have to be perfect the first time!
2. Just keep typing, just keep typing, just keeeeeeeeeeep tyyyyyypiiiiiiing!
3. Carpal tunnel is for babies! Keep typing, cadet!
4. If you don't keep typing, your character will die. Do you want them to die? Oh, you do? Wow, umm, this is awkward. Keep typing?
5. Once you finish, you'll feel so good. Don't you want to feel good? I bet you do. Also, at the end of the book is a pot of gold! I know you want that! Type!

So there you have it folks. My five ways to finish a WIP. Now you know why I have so many issues. I have multiple personalities and none of them are good coaches. Although I think Number 5 sounds pretty nice, and Number 2 probably likes "Finding Nemo."

Thanks gals at Paper Hangover for another Friday Five. Maybe next week I'll have a better list. Oh my! I just realized that I didn't include Harry Potter in this list! This is like an alternate reality...is this real life?


Just because I felt like it, I've decided to share my Pony Alter-ego. I was really into creating pony-alikes for all of my friends about a month ago (thanks to C.J. Redwine) and here's the one I made for myself.  Of course my pony is reaching for a book, although how she thinks she's going to read it without opposable thumbs I have no idea. Crazy pony-me. Have a great weekend!

RTW: Superpowers, Meet Kryptonite

Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival," where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link -- or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This week's topic: What are your writing and publishing superpowers (drafting? beta-reading? writing queries? plotting? character creation? etc.) -- and what's your kryptonite?

The Powers:

Incredibrainstorming
I have no problem coming up with ideas for stories, characters, and such. In fact, it's kind of my specialty. I can come up with anything in a lickety-split. It may not be the awesomest thing you've ever heard, but odds are it'll be interesting to say the least.

Superediting
I can spot grammatical, syntactical, fluency, and vocabulary errors, or any other kind of error with my eagle eyes. It's like they're lit up with giant flashing arrows pointing at them and screaming, "Fix me! Fix me!" This is partially due to the fact that I'm an editor with my campus paper. I have to find them. It's my job.

Ultradeadlining
Time and I are like this: *crosses fingers* We get along; I don't flaunt deadlines and time doesn't unexpectedly throw me a curve ball. It's a partnership. Learning to manage my time effectively wasn't easy, but after a lot of trial and error, I came up with a system of determination that allowed me to have some sort of control over the unexpected. I meet the deadlines; they don't meet me. It takes a great amount of self-control and motivation, but it's worth it in the end.

The Weaknesses:

Focus aka Writing ADD
I may be able to come up with an insane amount of new ideas for books, but my follow-through is something that I continue to struggle with. I think it has something to do with the fact that I may have undiagnosed adult ADD, because while I have all of these wonderful ideas, I can't seem to focus on just one for any amount of time. There are a few exceptions, of course, but those are rare.

Editing Blindness
Sometimes I get so caught up in looking for the mistakes, that I forget to look at the actual content. I can read an article while I'm "editing" and when I'm done, it'll be all marked up with pen, but I couldn't tell you what that article was about. It's necessary sometimes for me to turn off that inner editor part of me in order to actually read. It's a huge distraction to always be looking for errors.

Control Madness
I'm a control freak. I know it, my family knows it, even my friends know it. I have anxiety if I feel out of control. This need for control is good for helping me maintain a structured schedule and pattern of activities, but it also limits me in the sense that I don't find myself doing new things. I'm not spontaneous unless I plan on being spontaneous. I resist all kinds of control outside of my own. This is something I've been working very hard on for the past few years to control. It's hilarious, actually. I'm trying to control my need for control. I'm pretty sure there's a conflict of ideas somewhere in there or something.

Well, I think that's enough introspection for today. I think I need to read the second act of Hamlet anyway. Have a great Wednesday y'all!

Oh, yeah and thanks to Jaime Morrow for linking us all to the create your own Marvel superhero site! I couldn't resist making my own! She's called ImagiGirl! She has the power to inspire people with her "incredibrainstorming mystical aura" and in case there are some horrible villains trying to destroy the world's imagination, her swords are at her back ready to SLICE! through the trouble. She also has a whip, but it's just there to look cool. ImagiGirl is from a planet of cat people, but since she's half-human, she only has pointy ears and a tail. I've always wanted a tail and pointy ears.

Inheritance At Last

That's right. It's that time of the century again. Another Paolini titan is about to descend upon us mere mortals. In less than 12 hours, I believe. No, I'm not going to the midnight release. I grew out of those without even having to go to any of them. I love them, but nerds up past their bedtimes are almost too much for me to take. When you throw in the fact that they'll probably be adults (since Inheritance took eons to arrive), it would just be one of those sad moments that reminds me that I'm not a kid anymore.


For some reason, I find this reading to be slightly depressing. I don't know if it's the fact that I never found Paolini to be a very charismatic speaker or that time has dulled my appreciation for Eragon's plight in Alagaesia, but this excerpt didn't get my nerd juices flowing like I thought it would.


Oh well. I'm still going to go buy a copy, maybe not tomorrow since I don't get paid until Friday, and I'm going to read it. I'm just hoping that it doesn't disappoint me. I've been waiting so long for this last book that I'd pretty much stopped caring. That sounds horrible, but it's also true. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's thinks this is a bitter-sweet release. Let's just all pray that my doubts are wrong and that my "Bah humbug" attitude gets a sharp check by the actual book. I really want to be proven wrong in this case.