Fabulous Finds Friday

Hey everyone!

I found this video and thought that I'd share it with you. If you read my blog chances are you read books too, and if you read and have kids chances are they read to or you read to them. Reading time with my mom before bed was my favorite time ever when I was little, it was what sparked a little flame within me that later on in life grew and engulfed me with a passion to read the written word.

Read to a kid today if you can, and for those who don't have any kinds there are always volunteer opportunities to read to kids at your local library.

HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

Book Buying and Borrowing Ban

Hey everyone!

So as many of you may already well know I have a problem. A book buying and borrowing problem. I have over twenty-something unread books sitting on my bookshelves collecting age. It bugs me whenever I look at them and think to myself 'I remember when I bought those books last year (or the year before) thinking I couldn't live without reading those books, and yet they've sat there for over 365 days still unread.'
Every time I go to the library I keep borrowing books and it's only adding to the problem, yes I don't spend money on new books but I'm not exactly making any progress with the unread books either. So when I had to return books to the library last week I dropped them off when the library was closed in order to avoid the temptation to get more books.

As soon as you walk into my library the first thing you see next to the return desk is the YA section just glittering and it draws you in like bears to honey. I have two more library books to read and then I hope not to borrow any books or buy any new books until I've read at least 10 of the unread books sitting on my shelves. So far I haven't bought any books for a little over a month! I'm kind of proud of myself for that because I would generally buy about three or four books a month regardless of how big my 'to-be-read' pile was.

With that being said, below I'll be listing ten books that have been at the top of my 'to-be-read' list that I want to read before borrowing or buying any other books. (In no particular order)

                                                

Between the Lines by Jodi Piccoult

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Lullaby (Watersong, #2) by Amanda Hocking

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

  

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Cloaked by Alex Flinn

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter

I cannot wait to read these books, some of which have been on my 'to-be-read' list for over a year and some of them even longer! I hope to succeed with this book buying and borrowing ban, and read all of the books above. Comment below and tell us about your book buying and borrowing habits, and what you do to prevent from 'hoarding' books you end up not reading until years later.

HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

Wordless Wednesday

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HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

"Sharing Sam" - Book Review

Synopsis:

How can you take the guy your best friend loves . . . when your best friend’s going to die?

Alison Chapman has always believed she’d fall in love hard. And she does—with Sam Cody, a new guy with a gorgeous face and brooding eyes, a guy who’s impossible to resist. When Sam asks her to the Valentine’s Day dance, Alison is elated . . . until she finds out that her best friend, Isabella Cates-Lopez, has fallen for Sam, too . . . until she finds out that Isabella is dying. Now Alison wants Isabella’s last days to be her happiest ever—even if she and Sam have to hide their love. Even if, by sharing Sam, Alison risks losing him forever.

My Review:

Sharing Sam is definitely different from the books that I usually read. When I first read the synopsis I thought 'what the heck? she shares the guy she likes with her best friend?' and almost put it back on the shelf. But something made me want to give this book a chance, that little nudging feeling that tells you 'don't be so hasty with this book'. 

Sharing Sam is a book about  the sacrifices you make for friendship and the lengths you'll go to for the people you love. This was a really cute book, not only was it pretty short (as opposed to the 400+ page books I normally read) at 155 pages but it was a light read to. Light in the writing sense, not the subject. 

Some parts of the book felt really rushed, like the author really didn't want to go into detail about everything that happened so she summed it up in a few sentences and moved on to another scene. I wish that this book could have been more detailed and lengthened, but Sharing Sam seems like it was intended to be simple and straight to the point. It may have been written for a younger audience but I think it's a book that anyone could enjoy. 

Sharing Sam makes you want to be the best friend you could possibly be. 

HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

Wordless Wednesday

(Source)

HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

"Every Day" - David Levithan

Synopsis:

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

My Review:
I don't think I could begin to describe how much I loved this book. The very concept of a person inhabiting different people's bodies, a new body each day, intrigued me right from the start. Every Day is a wonderful work of human connection and perspective. Imagine waking up in a different body every day unaware of what skin color you have, what your gender is, what you look like, or what your name is for the day.
Every Day made me cry, seriously cry, at a particular part that hit really close to home. David Levithan captured some pretty deep emotions within this book so perfectly I felt like he knew me so personally, it was  so beautiful to read those words and know that someone understands.
A was such a relate-able character. I loved A, although A didn't have a gender I seemed to perceive him as a boy. I don't know why, but that's just the vibe that I got off of the character. A was very real, he had flaws and quirks and was in love with a girl.
Rhiannon and A's love story is different than any other love story I've read. This book makes you wonder and think about love from an entirely different perspective. Sure, we all say 'love is blind' all the time. Plenty of people do mean it when the say it, however, just how blind would you let love be?
I recently had a fall-out with a guy and was feeling kind of down in the dumps about love, relationships, and all that jazz. Of course I didn't think it was the end of the world, but Every Day helped me ask myself an important question. "What if I were to show up in a different body every day, would they still love me?" It was a thought provoking concept and I loved it. I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good romance, a good read, out-of-the-box thinking, or a tear jerker. I seriously hope David will consider doing a sequel for this book, because I don't think my heart can handle this kind of wrenching.

HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

Fabulous Finds Friday

Hey everyone!


Many people have yet to discover a well-kept secret of their local libraries. Over the years everything seems to have gone digital; music, movies, books, games, etc. a lot of people began to read ebooks. I've read only a couple of ebooks because I personally prefer real books. That's a topic for another day, and also seems to get people into an arguing frenzy over what makes a book a book.
However, ebooks do have their benefits. You can carry around twenty ebooks with you on a phone, ereader, laptop, ipod, or other technological device and it weighs hardly anything. Libraries have hopped on the bandwagon of ebook lending yet not very many people know about it.

(Yes this is real)

As a college student I love the library because I can read books I dearly want to read without having to blow all of my money away. So, this post is for those of you who like to read ebooks, are a poor college student, don't have time to visit the actual library, or are sick in bed at this very moment (much like I am today) and are browsing the Internet for something to do.
Upon searching the Internet for an international public library I stumbled upon Bookyards an online public library. Anyone can borrow books and read them online, which I think is a wonderful idea. The selection, however, isn't varied but if you're looking for a particular book check out your local library to see if they have ebooks for borrowing.

HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)