Meet the Book Blogger//Check-in

Instead of doing a specialized post for this tag I decided that I would do a simple check in. This is just to give a glimpse into my non-bookish life (I'm surprised I have one).

Listening to: Crazy by Kat Dahlia [Itunes]

Crazy just has these amazing vocals of making it seem like a diary entry rather than a scripted song written by a person at a desk. There's also this easy undertone without Crazy getting too harsh; it's just these simple guitar chords and varied percussion . It's not only the instruments, but Kat Dahlia seems to be made for this song with her voice that has been smoothed by a stream, but still has the roughness of  passion. 

Podcasting to: Call Your Girlfriend [Podcast Website]

Call Your Girlfriend fits its description well with being the home of my new best friends. Hearing Anne Friedman plus Aminatou Sow seems to give me a gift all wrapped up every other week. As a person who severely lacks female friends, this podcast makes my day. It's random, it's life, it's all the stuff I don't get elsewhere.

Watching: The Imitation Game [Movie Website]

Benedict Cumberbatch... brilliant mathematician.... sad endings... spies where has this movie been all my life?!? I simply adore this British biopics. Sure the movie probably wasn't entirely historically accurate, but it was beautifully put together in how it showed the social difficulties for Alan Turing and the exasperation of the Enigma-cracking team.

Reading: Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin [Goodreads]

I'm going to clear this up first-- this book is for extra-credit for history, not pleasure reading.  I'm ashamed to say that it has taken me forever to get through this book because of the sheer info dump and soul-crushing length of this book. Hopefully, I'll finish it before the world ends.

MiniReview: Daunderlust

Daunderlust by Peter Ross Amazon | Goodreads

Published by Sandstone Press April 17, 2014

290 Pages

Standalone Nonfiction

Source: Library

Peter Ross’s weekly articles from around Scotland have been a sterling attraction for the readers of Scotland on Sunday for years. A selection of the best are collected here, for the first time. Each a gem of insight and wit, they provide a piece-by-piece portrait of a nation as it changes.

Daunderlust is an exasperating book; it takes energy. I traveled through the hills of Scotland and the back alleys of Glasgow.  There is also the excitement of trying guess what the next article will be about. Maybe it will be about fisherman? Or perhaps it will be about ancient customs that are slowly dwindling in this new age?

Daunderlust doesn’t feel like book… it’s more akin to a portrait of Scotland. It’s filled with short articles that each chronicle small brushstrokes creating the larger image of the country as a whole. I got to see the nooks and crannies of society that I would’ve never seen otherwise. I could gaze upon the bad and the broken, yet more often there is this glow of hopefulness that rises through Ross’ writing.  The strength of spirit is what shines through the stories of ordinary lads and lasses— the determination of the Scottish to keep on persevering.

This book was not rated on my five star rating system because it was a nonfiction book, therefore it is not compatible for my review system that is structured for novels. 

Tag//Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

Rules:

1. Thank the book blogger who nominated you and link back to their site.

2. Post the award logo on your blog.

3. Answer the 10 questions you've been asked.

4. Nominate bloggers.

5. Set 10 new questions for you nominees.

Thanks Anne for nominating me. 

My questions:

1)    When and why did you start your blog?

I started my blog in October 2013 (you can read my blogoversary post here). It was started because I had always wanted a book blog and I was depressed because I had no social life over Halloween.

2)    How often do you write posts?

I write posts whenever I can really. Usually in the afternoon or weekends, I really don’t have a schedule— in summary very unorthodox.

3)    How many books do you own in total?

Don’t want to count because the number would be embarrsingly low for a book blogger. I often feel guilty but I go to the library a lot. Also the closest book stores that carry current YA books are mile out and you need a car to get to them and my family can’t afford my reading habit (oh dear it sounds like I’m on drugs).

4)    Have you ever been in a reading slump? And how do you got out of it?

The past four months I’ve been in a terrible reading slump in terms of published books. I got out of it, scratch that, I’m still getting out of it. Right now I’m just focusing on the greatness of books and YA community to get myself out of it.

5)    If you could only own 10 books which were these?

How about the book called The Books of the Entire Universe? Yeah, I’ll own ten volumes of that.

6)    What do you do if you don't know how to explain your feelings about a book?

I don’t review it or just gush out my uncontrollable/uncomprehendable feels about the books to my friends who know to ignore me.

7)    Is there any possibility you would stop blogging and why?

I probably won’t stop blogging (you can stop holding your breath) but I could see myself stop blogging if other things in my life really need my attention like if I became a world class athlete or an aggravating family situation.

8)    Did you become friends with people over blogging?

Yep, some great people including the people who I’m nominating, the person who nominated me, and some other people.

9)    Which books do you really want to read in 2015?

BOOOKS. I don’t have a lot of specifics that I’m looking forward to in 2015 since I didn’t read a lot of first-starters-of-a-series in 2014 and a lot of series ended in 2014. I plan on winging all of it. But The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard looks fun and deadly.

10) Any reading goals this year?

            To read for pleasure versus reading because I feel pressured to read “that” book.

My Questions:

1.    Which author would you want to be stuck on an abandoned island with?

2.    Who was your first blogging friend and how did you become friends?

3.    Book that you are currently reading.

4.    Opinions on Goodreads (if you use it).

5.    When do you read the most?

6.    How do you write your posts?

7.    Write a random statement that pops into your mind.

8.    Any really big reading goals you have passed recently?

9.    Favorite place to read.

10.  Library, bookshop, or other and why?

I Tag:

Jack @ A Note from theMargin

Summer @ Miss Fictional

Holly @ Lost in a Library

Hawwa @ It Was Lovely Reading You

Charli @ To Another World

& Anyone Who Wants to Join In

Book Club//December: A Christmas Carol

Another really cool week passed with book club where we read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Basically the story centers around Ebeneezer Scrooge haunted by his old business partner and ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. Some of the off topic things we discussed [WARNING SPOILERS]:

• A character change as dramatic as Scrooge's is often for the worse, and is often not something that keeps for the rest of their life. However, life changing models like this sometimes have profound impacts.
• The ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future are a lot more creepy than we would actually think. The lockboxes on Marley were nice touch of symbolism.
• Tiny Tim isn't as central a figure as we thought he was going to be (thank you to the Disney movie).

Book club was really fund because we also got to watch the movie of it later at a friend's house. There was pizza, blankets, and cinnamon rolls. Overall just a fun atmosphere.

//Amelia

Resolutions//Goals

Resolutions are tricky business because they are always some unfulfilled goals; that is why I tend to shy away from them. They seem to be things only adults do at some cliche party. I prefer to call them goals, things that I might actually try to go for knowing that I want accomplish them. These goals are going to be for myself instead of trying to make myself a more popular blogger.

1. Just read more for myself. I should read books that make myself fall back in love with reading YA. I was enchanted by YA and I have to go back to being enchanted. 

2. Understand that blogging is an individual pursuit and not something to be ashamed about. That my blog can be anything for which I want it. It's my project and hobby not somebody else's.

3. Try to get some ARCs. I know that I will not get every ARC I request for, but I have to stop being shy when I know I want share my views on some books I'm really excited for.

4. Read and immerse myself in the book blogging culture because there are just so many nice people here like Ruby, Amber, Jack, Anne, Summer, Kelly, Holly, and Charli. 

See you guys a little later in the year with a midyear check up. 

//Amelia