Just a quick review for you

Franny and Zooey  by J. D. Salinger
Stars: 4/5
Started: March 23, 2015
Finished: March 25, 2015

Wow. What a read.
I'm simultaneously having an existential crisis and experiencing extreme peace. Who knew that was possible. I feel like I need to sit in meditation and just take in the world around me and God around me after reading this book.

Salinger: you put me in 500 states of awe from this book. Most of them from your writing. The complexity of the sentences, the randomness and realism in each paragraph was incredible. The whole story seemed mundane, but this huge umbrella of wonder and divinity spread over the book without explicitly asserting itself.

What I took out of this book, was a family dynamic along with the idea of self-realization. Franny and Zooey have a love/hate relationship. Love, in the sense that they understand each other and ironically, hate because they understand each other and Zooey ends up preaching to her rather than helping Franny. They understand each other's thoughts and actions because they share the same foundation in their education and childhood, thanks to their eldest brothers. It seems the three main characters (Franny, Zooey, and Buddy) are all in a funk, for lack of a better term. They are all stuck in their life, not knowing where to go next and not even having the desire for the moments that they are at in their life. It's undeniably relatable: the feeling that you want to do something but you don't know what that something is and you don't have the power or the motivation to do anything. 

It wasn't really plot driven at all. You could call it idea driven or even character driven. Regardless of its structure, you learn from Franny's existential breakdown and Zooey's preachy character trait/flaw. I think this book should be read by everyone in their 20's and should be a required read for college.

There are so many lessons in this book, I can't even begin to name them all, but I'll quote a few for you:
"This is God's universe, buddy, not yours, and he has the final say about what's ego and what isn't... In my opinion, if you really want to know, half the nastiness in the world is stirred up by people who aren't using their true egos." -Zooey (166).
"I don't know what good it is to know so much and be smart as whips and all if it doesn't make you happy." -Bessie Glass, (118)
"You can at least try to, if you want to—there's nothing wrong in trying." -Zooey (197)

This book was artfully crafted and mysterious and enlightening and results in peace. Thank you Salinger.

[this book was the "bottom of your to-read shelf" book for my 2015 Reading Challenge]

SOP: All That You Have Is Your Soul by Tracy Chapman

{never have I found a more fitting song for a post}

There are reasons for my madness.

Writing is fun, but I find that lately whenever I get started, I hit a wall within 30 minutes. I can’t find any inspiration it seems. My response for my writer’s block is just reading more. This is my reasoning for not updating my own writing and blog writing/book reviews and I’m sorry. 

Reading is my best friend for a multitude of reasons:

• I can escape my problems and my anxiety just by opening a book and getting lost in the fictitious world.
• I get to go on adventures in fantastical universes and during different time periods and it only cost me $10.99.
• I am in awe of so many different writing styles and new words within a week.
• Sometimes I get new ideas for my writing as I read or most likely after I read.
• It is a semi-productive way for me to procrastinate school work or work that I actually need to do.

Those are only just a few of my reasons to read and, if you’re like me, and having an anxiety attack or worrying about problems that really aren’t that big a deal, pick up a book and just forget about your worries for an hour. You may have the same same panic attack return, but you’ll feel a little better.

But don’t live your life solely on my average blog. I’m not a professional, even though I like to think I am. 

So now that you know why I read way too much in the span of one week or even a month… Here are some book reviews for you.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Stars: 6/5

Started: March 19, 2015

Finished: March 21, 2015

As you may recall, I am an English major, therefore absolutely horrid at math— see the above improper fraction for the rating I’m giving Scarlet. Haha I think I’m funny. Anyway, this has been my favorite book in the Lunar Chronicles (TLC) so far. Hence my improper rating. IT WAS SO GOOD. I loved the narration, the colliding of storylines by Cinder and Thorne with Scarlet and Wolf. 

Scarlet is my favorite TLC character followed by Thorne if anyone is curious. I often discuss the character dynamics in my reviews and how well there written. Well, I feel that with these books each character is so well developed that their narrations are easily distinguishable from the others because they each have their own different and unique voice. Scarlet’s character is by far my favorite. She is the most realistic, I think. She is driven to act by her impulses and is a little too blunt and rash for my taste, but her character is realistic and more relatable— she’s not some long lost princess and just now discovered that and she hasn’t been locked away from society for the majority of her life. I find it more difficult to relate to Cinder and Cress because of those reasons. 

Thorne. I was annoyed by him at first because of how he reacted to Cinder in the prison. But I have a soft spot for literary sarcastic and pretentious assholes (eg: Noah Shaw, Will Herondale, Jace Herondale, Chaol Westfall, Mr. Darcy, to name a few). His comments were the comic relief for the whole book (and for Cress). He is a consistent character. 

Wolf’s character was so mysterious throughout the book and remains so. His character was one of the reasons why I was turing the pages so quickly, eager to know what happened. And I didn't not see his methods or motivations coming— it totally caught me by surprise.

I really love how Marissa follows the original fairytale, she adds her on spin on the tale and doesn't even follow it too closely. It makes it seem like you aren't reading an adaptation of the fairytale but this futuristic adventure tale of strong, independent and different heroines.  

[this book was my “title with a color in it” for my 2015 Reading Challenge]

Cress by Marissa Meyer

Stars: 4.5/5

Started: March 21, 2015

Finished: March 23, 2015

[spoilers ahead]

On Goodreads I rated this 5 stars because I really wanted to give it more than 4, but not on the level of a 5 so I rounded up to 5 (I really hate how you can't give half a star on Goodreads). Anyway, at first Cress's excessive innocence and the way she fawned all over Thorne annoyed me. But I realize that was the whole point of her situation. She was supposed to be way too naive for her own good because she was literally excluded by society for her entire life. If you think of it, she's really well socialized for her situation. The fact that she can communicate at all is representative of that. But even though she's been secluded and completely ignorant of the world(s) around her, she is still brave and strong in her own unique way. She wants to fight for the good, rather than blindly assisting the bad and that takes guts. I think that she is the true role model of TLC because of her gut instinct that she follows throughout the book.

Again, Thorne made me laugh throughout the whole book. He made light of his situation (being blind and all). I was pissed that Scarlet got kidnapped. Like what the hell. She's my favorite character and you're just gonna exclude her from the 550 page book?!!?! And leave Wolf just trembling with depression?!?!?! I get that she had a couple chapters (3) and she has to interact with Winter, but SERIOUSLY????? WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE SCARLET???

[this was my "book from the future" for my 2015 Reading Challenge]

If you haven't read TLC yet, you need to because they are all so well written and creative and adventurous and just so fun to read. So many twists and turns. 

SOP: Riptide (Cover) by Taylor Swift

This is probably my fave YouTube channel, the BBC Live Lounge. Famous artists singing covers of other popular songs live and it's just great. Check it out!

Signing off.

Macy

Have Mercy on my Reader Soul

I'm officially on Spring Break right now and have promised myself not to do any homework over the next week. It will most likely bite me in the ass when I get back to school and am drowning in all my schoolwork when all I want to do is keep reading and being a lazy book worm. Oh well.

Anyway. The things I've learned since being away from my family for 3 months:

• my younger sister can drive and it's the scariest thing ever.
• I'm actually so much like my mother it's both comforting and frightening at the same time.
• I have a newfound appreciation for the cold and actual snow (not the sad excuse Oklahoma has for it where it calls itself snow but it's really just a sheet of ice everywhere you step). 
• My hair does NOT look good after being stuck under a helmet all day.
• I am predictable in all of my likes and dislikes. (I like to say I'm consistent but whatever.)

So. It's been an enlightening past 2 days.

It's also been two days since my last post (and since I've started a new book) and I'm in dyer need to review a book...

The Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Started: March 12, 2015
Finished: March 14, 2015
Stars: 4/5

Where to start with this...
We'll start with the plot. Usually when I'm reading I can predict or anticipate where the plot twist is going to go and who the big jaw-dropper is, but with this book, I couldn't. I had no idea where this book was going and it both frustrated me and excited me. I hate surprises and I need to know how a book is going to end. That's probably why whenever I read books (even when I loathe them with the fire of a thousand suns) I have to finish it. I can't be left in the dark.
That singular reason is why I finished this 549 page sucker. S/O to Robin for that.

It was a little difficult to get into the book. I was left confused by who the hell these people were and who they were serving and the whole spiritual aspect of this book. It took me about 100 pages to get immersed in the text and the characters.
I also thought several parts of the narrative was vague and I had to re-read the paragraph or page a couple times trying to figure out what the author was saying. I wanted more on her encounter with her dad (both of them) and I am still wondering what happened to Beast. I don't know if she touches on that in the sequels or not, but I'm still on the fence with whether or not I want to read those.

The characters were awesome to read. I really liked the mystery behind Duval and his true motives. I loved reading about the nobility and the Middle Ages's people. Every character was well-developed and dynamic and each had something to them that made them seem realistic.

I loved how Robin (is it weird to refer to her by her first name?) ended things between the convent and Ismae [small note: I really hated that name]. I liked that it was it's own story line(-ish) in the book. It held it's own issues and confrontation by Ismae and wasn't skirted in the end nor was it neglected in significance in the book. That result was a big part of the big wow for me by the end of the book.

[this was my 500 page or more book for my 2015 Reading Challenge]

I'll keep this post short and sweet after the novel I posted yesterday. Still sorry for posting that Beast...

Peace.

SOP: This is Gospel (Piano) by Panic! at the Disco

Greetings Loyal Readers and Welcome Spring!

Guess what.

I'm writing from an airport! (DFW Airport, to be exact.)

Shocker, I know. It rarely happens that I'm waiting for a plane and am sitting on my adored laptop typing up a wordy and annoying blog post.

I realize that the last time I updated you on my very exciting life (it's really not exciting... just books and papers and class—oh my!) was February 18th and I'm sorry. (if you wanna skip ahead to my book reviews then fell free, no one will ever know.)
I catch you up on a few things:

• I wrote a paper comparing Juliet to a really tragic character from ancient mythology named Myrrha for my Shakespeare class and I was probably too excited to write it because Juliet is so cool. (Look up her story it's really sad and just wow.)

• I got a lovely speeding ticket today and almost had an anxiety in the car afterward. (To sum that situation up, I don't like being wrong or not considered "an upstanding citizen" and it took everything in me not to break down in angry, ugly tears in front of my friend in the passenger seat and the very mean police officer.)

• The whole situation with the fraternity and racism on my campus this past week and the media harassing us in our parking lot and some people reacting in violence. 

• I've been reading for fun instead of focusing on midterms and papers and it bites me in the butt every time. 

• My roommate opened our window (the window that we've had trouble opening since August) and it has been the best couple days ever!

• I crushed my Shakespeare midterm after studying for it for two hours right before I took it (guess what? I procrastinated studying for it until the day of instead of using my time wisely because I was reading and watching Netflix and oops... but I crushed it anyways).

• I started watching that MTV show called Eye Candy and it's really cheesy but the plot is so good and the guys are sooooo cute. No shame. 

• I've also been keeping up with CW's The 100 and if you haven't heard of it look it up and start watching it. And if you're putting off watching it, go do it now. It's so addicting and captivating and alluring and a roller coaster to watch. Basically go watch it.

• I have read 21 books out of my goal of 90 for 2015 on Goodreads (23%). I've read 14 books on my 2015 Reading Challenge that I briefed you over in my first post of the year! Wuhoo!! Progress!

I realize that this is just scraping the barrel on my life and what's been going on in my life, but I figured hardly anyone reads these things where I just rant and rant so I'll stop venting. Mainly I want to talk about books. Yes. The breath and essence of my being. The thing that I wish I could get paid for. My gift. My beloved. [end dramatics]

So. Here's the list of my most current books for all you loyal and faithful readers (all two of you): The Tempest by William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale by Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Ward, Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker, Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, and the first two books of the Wait For Me Series by J. Lynn. It's a lot to cover for a blog post so I'm going to sum up a few very very briefly.

If you wanna know what I thought about Romeo and Juliet just scroll down or find my post before this one. It will tell you exactly what I think about Juliet and Romeo. 

Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker was okay. It was an easy read and honestly I just needed to read angst filled text. The last 1/4 of the book thoroughly pissed me off though. The plot twist was ridiculous and irritating and how she handled the situation was worse. It was just unrealistic and I hated the ending. Up until that last jerk of a plot line, I'd give this book a solid 3 stars. But given how pissed off and irritated I was at the end, it gets a 2. I did read it within two days so wuhoo for speed reading.

Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Ward was good. A solid 3 stars all around. The characters were complex and there was depth to them. Their chemistry is what got me. I swooned and reacted in the best way possible. The only part that irritated me was her situation in New York. It made it seem like she was pouting. We didn't get any real glimpse into her life as an adult or anything. I wanted to know how successful she was! What life was like for her! Gosh darnit! Also read this within two days and I think I stayed up until 5:30 in the morning to finish it when I had class the next morning. It was worth it.

The J. Lynn books were solid reads. I gave both of them 3/5 stars. Very typical New Adult books but I like that kind of cliche crap so who cares! If you're looking for easy, yet good reads go to any of her books. She's a phenomenal writer and can manipulate language to her back and call. Solid, diverse characters.

Shakespeare's The Tempest was disappointing. I was expecting something witty and slightly romantic like all of his other works. It was mostly about a power struggle and tyranny and ruling and shit. 3 stars. It also took me f o r e v e r  to read.

Now getting to the fabulous books I've read recently.

The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare
Started: February 22, 2015
Finished: February 23, 2015
Stars: 4/5

I had to read this book for my Shakespeare and Classical Myth class and I was expecting it to be completely different than what it really was. You know that movie that came out not too long ago called Winter's Tale? The one with Colin Farrell (the British one) and it looked really weird with time travel and immortality or something? That's what I thought this play would be about.
Not true.
Not true at all. I can't even really sum up what exactly it's about but I can tell you this, ITS SO GOOD.

Theres a bromance in it and then betrayal of the bromance and then reconciliation of said bromance.
There is actual romance between the two children of the bromance dudes and the power Perdita (the girl) has over her beau is insane. She literally has him whipped from start to finished and it's glorious to read.
There's also this character called Hermione and she is a queen and strong and stubborn and independent and doesn't take no shit from anybody. She is persuasive and alluring to the point where her husband thinks the baby she's carrying isn't his (which is totally not true). AND HER NAME IS HERMIONE LIKE FROM HARRY POTTER!!! I have read something that is very probably to have influenced J.K Rowling when she wrote HP and developed Hermione's character, because HELLO they have the same name!!!!!
It's really amazing how I can incorporate HP in vast majority of my posts on this blog.

Wow, I also just love strong female characters.

[this book satisfied the "100 year old book" on my 2015 Reading Challenge]

The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Started: February 21, 2015
Finished: February 27, 2015
Stars 5/5

This is sci-fi or fantasy or whatever and IT WAS SO GOOD!!! Mare Barrow is stubborn, reckless, impulsive, some of my favorite qualities to read in a character. I really loved this book. It was a little confusing to read at first and a little slow but then I got to page 60 or so and my nose was glued inside. HOLY MOLY GUACAMOLE!!!

Think of the Hunger Games but without the annoying qualities of the characters and all the depressing factors. Actually scratch that. It's not like Hunger Games cuz I really hate those books. Think more Divergent. Yes. That sounds better. Divergent series minus the third book (because I have convinced myself that the third book did not happen and Tris and Four live happily together wherever they like in post-apocalyptic USA).

Anyway, sorry for the tangent and for this post getting so damn long. Possible spoilers ahead. READ AT OWN RISK.

I loved every single character in this book. I already talked about Mare, but CAL. Oh my goodness gracious. He's amazing and my fave. I love him. I really do. We're getting married soon. Be on the lookout for our save the date. (jk... kinda). Maven is dark and evil and a perfect villain. Seriously. For those of you who've read The Shadow and Bone series, he's like the Darkling. Maybe better. We'll see. Her friend Kilorn annoyed me. He was whiny and boring and all he did was complain to Mare. Sorry bro, can't handle that. If she ends up with him I'm going to be pissed. Mare's family dynamic was realistic and endearing. Most novels the parents are completely absent and the main character has at most 1 sibling. Mare's family is intact. It's atypical for the family to have more than 2 siblings or where the parents are present. It's easier to relate to her with her family and her emotions and relationships with her family members.

The plot was fabulous. It was complex and detailed and zero potholes in the structure. There was a KILLER plot twist within the last 2 chapters of the book and I was breathing heavily while reading and yelled "What the hell?" and freaked my roommate out at 1 am.  Needless to say, I need more of this fictional world and Cal and Mare are together and fantasy and wow. I just need the next book ASAP.

After I finished it, I went into a book hangover for a good 5 days and couldn't even look at another book without wanting to reread Red Queen. It's good. I had a couple dreams about it too. No shame.

Go read this book. Please. We can talk about it together if you want.

[this book satisfied my "author under 30" in my 2015 Reading Challenge]

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Started: March 6, 2015
Finished: March 10, 2015
Stars: 4.5/5

Think you've heard every variation of the fairytales ever? Think again. Because if you haven't read Cinder  you need to to fulfill the childhood still sleeping inside of you. It's loosely based on Cinderella, but with cyborgs. And a futuristic society. And princes, and robots and magic and mind control and embarrassment. It's great. She tweaked a few of the characters like one of Cinder's stepsisters, Peony, whom Cinder actually feels sisterly affection towards instead of distaste like the original Cinderella.

Cinder is sassy and intelligent and strong willed. She is inspiring to read. She never gives up and is so versatile. Expect some archetypical characters though (the mentor, the love interest, etc.). Prince Kai is enchanting. He is so eloquent with his words and wow swoon! The ending leaves you hanging for more! Ready for the sequels and I'm ready to venture to any book store to pick my copies up!

I really loved the narration. It's told in 3rd person selective, both from Cinder and Kai's perspective. I love books written like that. It really makes you feel like you're there in the story rather just stuck in the limited narrator's mind. I'm trying to write using this style and I really liked seeing how Meyer tweaked it in her book. She made it easier to read and easier to fall into her trap of hooking the reader into the story. So S/O to her narration.

The complexity of this plot was astounding. It was more than Cinder struggling against her stepmother or even against a fatal illness spreading through the country. It was her struggling against her true identity and her ancestry and a literal opposing force from outta this world (get it? hehe). There was so much going on in this book, but because of how well it is written and how captivating it is, you hardly notice nor do you even mind because it's a fabulous adventure going on behind your own eyes (or right in front? I don't know. Both maybe?).

[this book was my "nonhuman characters" for my 2015 Reading Challenge— because cyborgs aren't human right?]

I'm really sorry this post is like 8 days long and ridiculous and mostly me just ranting and being weird. If you sucked it up and read it all the way through, kudos to you friend. (You should tell me who you are so we can be friends or something to let me know people like you actually exist.)

Also, I, out of spur of the moment, copied this into a word document and it's 4 pages. HAHAHAHA and 2,000+ words. I'm really truly deeply sorry for this. It's the English major coming out in me. Seriously, I'm laughing so hard right now.

SOP: Settle Down by The 1975