Only On Page 18

So, I'm only on page 18 of The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, but I am already in love with it. I know that the main character is really whiny and such, but I really like it so far, which is good. Also, I opened to a random page and the first sentence I saw was "Anyway, I kept walking around the room waiting for this prostitute to show up." So, yeah.

My Birthday Book Haul

I got seven books, and yes, many care classics.

1. The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud

2. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Writings by Washington Irving

3. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

4. Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm (Illustrated by Arthur Rackham)

5. Aesop's Illustrated Fables by Aesop

6. Modern Romance by Aziz Anzari and Eric Klinenberg

7. Noggin by John Corey Whaley

10 Reasons Why I Love More Happy Than Not

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

1. Bronx
2. Diverse Book
3. Leteo Institute
4. That one scene though (even if you've read the book, you probably don't know which one I'm talking about)
5. The End...
6. Smiley Faces
7. Different Type of Romance Story
8. Poverty
9. His Entire Family
10. Adam Silvera and Aaron Soto's Similarities

This book is just so great and makes you feel so many emotions, I SUPER highly recommend it to everyone.

I also got to meet Adam Silvera on the 18th of June at Anderson's bookstore, and he is honestly the greatest person.

My Complete TBR Pile

So, since I'm in a a reading slump, I'm going to make myself do something will all my books by putting them in a list here:

(roughly what order I want to read them in, but not really)

1. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
2. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
3. The Cost of All Things by Maggie Lehrman
4. The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi
5. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
6. The Revenge Playbook by Rachael Allen
7. Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
8. Endgame: The Compelete Training Diaries by James Frey
9. The Tightrope Walkers by David Almond
10. Emancipated by M. G. Reyes
11. Blind by Rachel DeWoskin
12. The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
13. Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
14. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
15. Made For You by Melissa Marr
16. Lies I Told by Michelle Zink
17. How To Win At High School by Owen Matthews
18. The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma (I'm actually about 100 pages into this one, but haven't        really gotten into it yet)
19. Every Day by David Levithan
20. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
21. Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen
22. City Love by Susane Colastani
23. The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West
24. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
25. 1984 by George Orwell
26. Animal Farm by George Orwell
27. Pivot Point by Kasie West
28. (almost forgot about this one) All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (I'm reading this         very slowly on purpose, and am a little less than 100 pages into it)
29. Cinder by  Marissa Meyer
30. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
31. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
32. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
33. The Printers Devil by Paul Bajoria
34. Diary of a Waitress  by Carolyn Meyer
35. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
36. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
37. The Wasteland and Other Poems by T. S. Eliot
38. (again, almost forgot) Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

(lent books TBR pile)
1. The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delany
2. The 100 by Kass Morgon
3. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
4. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
5. Prodigy by Marie Lu
6. Champion by Marie Lu
7. The Young Elites by Marie Lu
8. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
9. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

My birthday is also coming up, so this will be out of date very soon.

This Is Where The World Ends by Amy Zhang Cover

Okay, so Amy Zhang is one of my favorite authors/people, and I've been waiting for this cover for ages, so without further a do:

Sadly, the release date has been set back to March 22, 2016 instead of September 8, 2015. But still, NEW AMY ZHANG BOOK!!!

Pre-Order: Amazon
                  Barnes and Noble
                  IndieBound
                  Book Depository

So...I'm in a Reading Slump

I CAN'T GET INTO ANY BOOKS AND IT'S SUPER UPSETTING!!!

I haven't finished a book in over a week, and I'm partially through like five books. My thought for the summer was to just read all the things, but now I can't get into anything.

I JUST WANT TO READ!! JUST LET ME READ!!! READING SLUMPS ARE THE WORST!!!!!

Ten Reasons Why I Loved Extraordinary Means

Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider

1. Dual POVs
2. A Female and Male POV
3. Tuberculosis
4. Sanatorium
5. Escaping
6. Feels
7. Strong Work Ethic on Lane's part (Until...you know...)
8. Starbucks
9. Kettle corn
10. Fake Drugs

Post- Rant: Writing (from earlier today) Count'd

What I've been trying to tell myself is that it really doesn't matter how old you are when you get published. This is true, it's just very hard to tell yourself. But then I remembered Gayle Forman's tweet about how it shouldn't matter what age you are when you get published. This is a correct fact.

It really doesn't matter if you're 10 or if you're 80, because you're still getting your story out there. You are still showing the world that you have a story to tell. I think this is why this topic especially upsets me, because people who debut young get more attention than those who do it in their middle age, or even elderly years. The authors age shouldn't matter in the amount of publicity a book gets, because it's the story.

It is the story. (I have to keep telling myself this or I'll freak out once again.)

So, I've decided that I won't care (it'll still bother me), but I will know that it does NOT matter if I'm a published author before I get out of high school. I should just do my best, and whenever my best is acceptable into the publishing world, I will be happy with it.

Writing.

This is just going to be a ranting post. Sorry.

Okay, so today I found out that the author of Popular is only 15. Some of my writing idols were young when they got their debut published (Amy Zhang- 18, Alice Oseman-19, S. E. Hinton- 19, Veronica Roth- 22), but this just makes me feel so crappy. She wrote it when she was 13 and it was on the New York Times Bestseller list. (I am applauding you, I just have jealousy issues.)

I have been trying so hard since I read Divergent to be the best writer that ever lived. I have written, like, four full length novels, all of which were crap, but whatever, in addition to a million zillion partials that were going no where, or I didn't know how to write, or was scared to. I have followed all the writing tips, I have written thousands of words in a day, I have tried not to put pressure on myself. I OWN 30 UNREAD BOOKS BECAUSE I WANTED TO GET A VIEW OF DIFFERENT WRITING STYLES.

I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING THAT I CAN POSSIBLY THINK OF TO DO TO MAKE MYSELF A BETTER WRITER AND I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING WITH IT!!!

I HAVE BEEN TRYING SOOOO HARD FOR SO LONG!!! AND I KNOW THAT I'M NOT VERY OLD, BUT IT STILL MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I'M FAILING AT LIFE AND SHOULD JUST GO INTO SOME OTHER FIELD!!!

(I should probably just rant to one of my friends or something, but whatever.)

AND WHENEVER I HEAR PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT WRITING I ALWAYS THINK THAT I'M BETTER THAN THEM, BUT I'M TOTALLY NOT BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE. THEY'RE JUST AS GOOD, PROBABLY BETTER, BUT IT'S MAKING ME FREAKING PISSED OFF!!!!

If I keep ranting I will probably start crying and calling myself pathetic.
I should probably go talk this out. I'm not going to.

I am totally fine with J. K. Rowling writing Harry Potter, and I am so cool with Suzanne Collins writing The Hunger Games, I am willing to sit back and enjoy all of Lauren Oliver's books. But what I can't stand is people being a person before I will be.

I don't have to write the best book of all time, I don't even have to write a book that multiple people read, I just need to write a book that makes someone happy. I need to write a book that people will tweet at me saying how much they love it. I need to write a book that will help me with my college application.

I JUST NEED TO BE A SOMEBODY! I CAN'T BE NOBODY ANYMORE!! I'M SO DONE WITH PEOPLE REFERRING TO ME BY THE CLOTHES I'M WEARING!!!





So, for future me, please look back on this when you're feeling terrible about yourself.

10 Reasons Why I Love Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

1. Schizophrenia
2. Schizophrenia isn't the plot
3. There are many layers to the book
4. Feeling the uncertainty of it all
5. The cover art/ illustrations inside the book (you'll see)
6. Lobsters
7. Red Hair
8. Charlie...
9. Spray Paint
10. Mental Health Matters

Happy Fathers Day!

My Dad does the garden, so I thought I'd take pictures to make it seem (more) beautiful. 

     

           

10 Reasons Why I Love Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby 

1. Magic Realism
2. Bees
3. *spoiler*
4. That horse...
5. Roza
6. College Essays
7. Cover, Beautiful Writing
8. Corn
9. Finn and Petey
10. Everything about that book, just so good.

I also got to meet Laura Ruby at Anderon's Bookshop in Naperville, IL. She's super nice.

(Laura Ruby, Me, Adam Silvera, Martha Brokenbrough)

Top Ten Reasons Why I LOVE My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga 


1. Physics Nerd
2. Classical Music Nerd
3. DIVERSE BOOK
4. Understanding of Race Relations
5. Brings light to a concept I was unaware of at the time (suicide partners)
6. Mental Health Matters
7. Beautiful writing
8. You can feel everything
9. The Cover (which has changed many times...)
10. Hope, Pain, Numbness


I've also met Jasmine Warga, and she is the sweetest person ever, and I want her to be my best friend.

(I know, great picture (sarcasm))

Look What I Have

This is the German edition of My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga.

I just loved this book sooooo much that when presented the opportunity to get a German edition of it, I had to take advantage. 

Read it! 

Synopsis (via goodreads):

Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness.

There’s only one problem: she’s not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel’s convinced she’s found her solution: a teen boy with the username FrozenRobot (aka Roman) who’s haunted by a family tragedy is looking for a partner. 

Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other’s broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together. Except that Roman may not be so easy to convince

June TBR Update

I've only finished Made You Up and Top Ten Clues You're Clueless, and have returned Kalahari to the library (I want to read it, but right now just ins't the time). I'm also adding The Game of Love and Death to my TBR, because I'm meeting the author on Thursday!!! (that said, I'm also meeting Laura Ruby and Adam Silvera).

My friend also gave me 11 books that I have to read, and that is kind of overwhelming me when I combine it with my already huge TBR.

Weekend Movies

So, I watched Interstellar this week. OH MY GOSH THIS MOVIE IS FLAWLESS!!! It doesn't take over The Imitation Game as my favorite movie, but I'll admit that Interstellar is a better movie.

The whole idea of it isn't my favorite, but the production, editing, and visual effects are absolutely perfect, and I can't think of a movie with better. It have no words for it. It's just too good.

I also watched the final Night at the Museum. I really liked the first two movies, and this one as well. It's not because it's an exceptionally amazing movie, but it's because I just love how good it is for a movie targeted at children. It's worth watching, it really is.

Ten Reasons Why I Love Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas

Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas

This is actually a very appropriate type of review for this book, because each chapter starts with a list.

1. Each chapter starting with a list
2. Mental lists (I use them a lot)
3. She's diabetic, and how many characters are diabetic?
4. It's a very sweet story that can just make you feel good
5. Christmas Time!
6. Crushes are so much fun (sometimes...)
7. They grow together
8. It voices a lot of problems that I always think about, but can never say
9. It voices a lot of lies that I always think about, but never say
10. Red Head

(There are more than ten reasons why this book is great, but I'll keep it down to ten)

Today

This is what I'm doing today.

Actually, I also watched Big Eyes (with Amy Adams), and it was really good. In the past coulple days I've watched Birdman, This Is Where I Leave You, The Hundred Food Journey, and Big Eyes. The rest of these films were eh, but Big Eyes was just so amazing, and everyone should watch it.

Movies

This summer I've decided that I'm going to watch movies that I need to see, this year I've already watched:

Forrest Gump
Cast Away
Ferris  Bullers Day

I am going to watch this week:

Birdman
This Is Where I Leave You
Rain Man
Big Hero 6

Possibly, other

My Favorite Movies are:

The Imitation Game
The Maze Runner
Still Alice

Birthday Wishlist

Books I hope to get when my birthday arrives:

1. The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno
2,3. Eat Brains Love and Undead With Benefits by Jeff Hart
4. Life by Committee by Corey Ann Haydu
5. A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Also, I want the German edition of My Heart and Other Black Holes, and the British edition of The Alex Crow.

I have wanted these books for a long time but have either not had the money for them, or have been too busy to get and read them (this means that I REALLY want them).

June TBR

I know I'm late, okay. I KNOW.

1. Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
2. Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
3. The Tightrope Walkers by David Almond
4. Emancipated by M. G. Reyes
5. The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma
6. Blind by Rachel DeWoskin
7. Kalahari by Jessica Khoury
8. Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas
9. The Revenge Playbook by Rahcel Allen
10. The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi


Also, hopefully:
Everyday by David Levithan, Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys, Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein, All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh, Lies I Told by Michelle Zink, How to Win at High School by Owen Matthews, Made For You by Melissa Marr, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West, Pivot Point by Kasie West, Someone Like you by Sarah Dessen, City Love by Susane Colasanti, and the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews


THIS IS THE FUNNIEST BOOK I'VE EVER READ!!!
I'm not kidding.

A lot of people told me that this book was funny, but I didn't quite believe them. I should've. This book is hilarious.

There's not much more for me to say. Wait, it's also a movie. (June 12, 2015)

Favorite Books of 2015 (so far)

1. My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga



2. Solitaire by Alice Oseman



3. Bone Gap by Laura Ruby



4. Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby



5. The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith




Links to Goodreads and Twitter

Top Ten Reasons I LOVE Sherlock

I WATCHED SHERLOCK OVER WINTER BREAK AND OH MY GOSH IT'S TOO PERFECT FOR WORDS!!!

SHERLOCK:

1. BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH AND MARTIN FREEMAN HAVE A PERFECT BROMANCE
2. THE WRITING IS UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING
3. SO MANY ELEMENTS OF SO MANY HOLMES STORIES IN ONE EPISODE
4. MORIARTY IS AWESOME
5. I LOVE MARY WATSON, SHE IS PERFECT
6. SHERLOCK FOR THE MODERN AGE
7. THE FANDOM IS AMAZING
8. MIND PALACE!!!!
9. THE WOMEN
10. FILM EDITING = EXTRAORDINARY

Top Ten Reasons I Loved Solitaire by Alice Oseman

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

1. It's British (Originally published in Britain)
2. There are many problems faced (like the real world)
3. Mental Health Matters
4. Amazing character arcs
5. Super honest main character
6. The main characters brother is homosexual (it's more diversity than most books) (depression is            also a form of diversity)
7. True relationships with friends
8. Solitaire.
9. Wonderful cover (matches story perfectly)
10. Alice Oseman was 17 when she wrote this (impressive!)

Jackaby by William Ritter (AKA my 2nd Favorite Book of All Time)

How could you not love that cover? It's just too amazing. That is actually why I picked up this book, and it has been one of the best decisions ever made by myself.

The writing is beautiful, and the idea for the book isn't just convenient, it's a plot for the supernaturalness to it.

This book is not for adults (unless they want to read it, then go right ahead) because it has a fairly basic plot. If you're looking for something more powerful (that just tells you that) then this isn't the book for you either. This is the book for the person who loves Sherlock Holmes, and who loves smiling and laughing at things that don't have to be laughed at, and the person who just wants to love something.

I can understand that people have found things in the story that they don't like, but as long as you aren't cynical while reading, the story is just perfect. REMAIN YOUTHFUL! PLEASE WORLD!!!

So, yes, this book is my second favorite book of all time. (1- The Chocolate War, 3- Divergent)


P.S. The Sequel is called Beastly Bones


Come on, it's beautiful.

So, I've Read A LOT of Books

I've read: 

Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children

Hollow City

The Fall (Ransom Riggs)

Asylum

Sanctum (Madeline Roux)

Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda (Becky Albertalli)

I Was Here (Galye Forman)

None of the Above (I. W. Gregorio)

Vanishing Girls (Lauren Oliver)

Solitaire (Alice Oseman)

Even In Paradise (Chelsea Philpot)

Jackaby (William Ritter)

Bone Gap (Laura Ruby)

Extraordinary Means (Robyn Schneider)

Imaginary Girls (Nova Ren Suma)

My Heart and other Black Holes (Jasmine Warga)

The Distance Between Lost and Found (Kathryn Holmes)

Liars, Inc (Paula Stokes)

No Parking at the End Times (Bryan Bliss)

Endgame The Calling (James Frey and Nils Johnson-Shelton)

Unravel Me

Unite Me

Ignite Me (Tahehreh Mafi)

The Prey (Tom Isbell)

The 5th Wave(Rick Yancy)

The Cemetery Boys (Heather Brewer)

Bossypants (Tina Fey)

Still Alice (Lisa Genova)

Paper Towns (John Green)

Crash and Burn (Michael Hassan)

Alan Turing: The Enigma (Andrew Hodges)

The Duff (Kody Keplinger)

Things We Know By Heart (Jessi Kirby)

Death of a Superhero (Anthony McCarten)

Code Name Verity (Elizabeth Wein)

The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)

Yes Please (Amy Poehler)

The Last Time We Say Goodbye (Cynthia Hand)

Red Queen (Victoria Aveyard)

And Ember in the Ashes (Sabaa Tahir)

Fault Line (C. Desir)

Pointe (Brandy Colbert)

The Art of Secrets (James Klise)

Grasshopper Jungle

The Alex Crow (Andrew Smith)

The Complete Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

H2O (Virginia Bergen)

Anatomy of  a Misfit (Andrea Portes)

Written in the Stars (Ashia Saeed)

So now I feel like I can have a more justified view of the bookish world.