On Elegance & Other Notes

It's been twenty days since I posted, 20. That number is a little boggling. I haven't been active on Twitter. I haven't even read fifty books yet this year. This makes me feel a bit like a failure in terms of the blogosphere. Alas, I can't change the past yet (perhaps scifi will change this). I feel a wee bit dejected by my lack of commitment. I've been searching too hard in my other areas of life for a bit meaning. It's time to accept the fact that giving up blogging is not viable, but neither is being an almost prolific blogger like Amber.

New Found Ponderings

• Currently reading Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo and love the face the page sides are black. 

• Short reviews will be coming out soon. (Queen of Tearling & Primates of Park Ave)
• Will aim for about 5 posts a month. 
• Elegance is about find simplicity and cohesiveness is design and habit. 
• Whimsicalness is an aspiration. 

Sorry for all the glum.

-Amelia 

What I'm Reading

NEWS FLASH, just in! I don't just read books *gasp*.  You can probably guess that like a lot of people I read a combination of my different forms and mediums. Let me run you through an example, like this week.

Books- I do read them
This week I finished The Queen of Tearling by Erika Johansen after a lady at the bookstore recommended it. I couldn't resist a classic YA, but it had some abrasive edges about it that were ehh. I've got the sequel The Invasion of the Tearling on my TBR, but first I'm reading NeuroTribes. It's a medical case history and cultural analysis of learning disabilities especially autism and how that plays into diversity theories in evolution. I've got a pretty varied reading list and like to jump around a lot most of the time. The one thing that is in the way a lot is required reading in English class. Thankfully, it's been mostly short stories lately, so simply easy breezy items. I find that there are some weeks I can't let go of my books, while there are other I could do without them. I do most of my reading during the day waiting for other people or on my commute to school.

Newsletters
In the morning I like to get a low down on what is happening in the world, which the New York Times Morning Briefing does a pretty good job on. The news is basic and written in easy, couple sentence bullet points. The Skimm is my other morning newsletter, but this one has a more conversational tone and more culture news than the New York Times. It helps create a good balance between the two. Ann Friedman Newsletter is perhaps my favorite one. It's a roundup of what one of my most respected journalist/podcast host is reading this week and it's a good feminist weekly update. Usually on Fridays I open a bunch of tabs from the newsletter and spend the weekend going through it. The Phillipian Newsletter is a set of articles from one of the most prolific student newspapers in the US. It's only a few articles, but they are fresh and add a dose of real-life-teen to my reading.

Magazines
I adore the sciences, so when I can I try to read Nature-- one of the most respected science journals. I either read online or a magazine. The articles are nice and clean, but the studies are a little dry and do require a level of concentration. Perhaps the publication that fascinates me the most is The New Yorker. I don't have a subscription, yet try to read the parts I love the most at my school library. The pages long articles are so well researched, selected, and eloquent, especially with all their grammatical quirks.

Room by Book//The Girl at Midnight

Carpenter Coffee Table from George Nakashima by Miriam Carpenter
Local Branch Library Cart (Grey) from The Land of Nod
Dillard Bookcase from Paul Michael Company
Sussy Wall Clock from Fab by NoDa Design Studio
The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Gray (book cover)

Review: The Girl at Midnight

The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey Goodreads | Amazon

Published by Delacorte Press April 28, 2015

357 Pages

Source: Library

Bookologists Analysis: Wings meet dragons plus a hint of teenage people. Another steady YA fantasy that is easy to get through.

Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known.

Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act.

Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, though if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it.

But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire. 

I first caught The Girl at Midnight on a blog post and was in need of a solid fantasy book. Often I need a few books to fall back on, and The Girl at Midnight does that for me. There is a love triangle, strong female friendship, and an orphan girl. Yet it isn't a rags to riches story where the orphan gets to be blessed by whoever she ends up with. It's a new spin on the classic take.

As always, the most important bond is friendship. Echo doesn't want to compromise her friends to be dragged down with her as she searches for the Firebird, rather she wants them to believe the worst of her for the greater good. Most of the book is about sacrificing and whether collateral damage is worth it to end the Avicen war. Echo might be a thief with looser morals than most, but she knows where it really counts.

I liked The Girl at Midnight and I'm interested where it will end up. The book sucked me in while reading it, but it feels more like a passing obsession. I'll be on the lookout for the second book to see how the arc of war continues. While it could've been a stand alone novel with a satisfying plot ending, there are a few loose strings left artfully undone.

Summer Review//The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Inidan

This is a continuation of my Summer Review series where I explore my relationship with assigned reading. 

Summer Review//The Lord of the Flies

I wanted to revive my old series of summer reviews. These are posts are about required reading I did over the summer. That said there is no summary or star rating of the book. However, these posts are more focused on my relationship with the book.

August Round-Up

Well, fall is in the air (though it doesn't officially start till the 21st does it?). I just finished high school orientation, which is every bit intimidating as it sounds. I'll catch the wisps of freedom as the impending start day of school comes. Yet, I still have summer reading to finish, but then I'll get to delve once more back into YA.

August has been a fairly slow month. I got back from camp and still miss dearly. On the bright side, I got to intern at a local real estate office and use some of my design skills from the blog. My grandmother also came to visit, after over a year separated I loved seeing her again. I can't wait to get back into the rhythm of reading.

Posts
July Round Up
Bookish Places
Room by Book//The Mind's Eye

Goals for September:
1. Try to schedule posts (yes, after years I still have a problem with this)
2. Settle into school
3. Read YA