This post is a discussion of Rick Yancey’s The 5th Wave and its reflection on humanity’s anxiety around the future and the unknown. In particular, I want to talk about Yancey’s focus on the effects of the alien invasion on the characters within the story, especially: Cassie Sulivan, Ben Parrish, and Evan Walker.
Continue reading “The 5th Wave Book and Exploring the Fear of Human Extermination”I’m writing this post after procrastinating a long time. However, it was brewing for a while, so don’t worry. This is going to be good. Also: the title of this blog post is crucial. If you have not blended frozen bananas with a handful of spinach, along with some nondairy milk and a splash of agave, you are missing out, friend. It is the best mash-up ever. With that said, let’s discuss my top 10 book mash-up wishlist (even if a lot of them are unorthodox). **For more on Top Ten Tuesdays, check out this link.
Continue reading “Spinach and Bananas: My (Unorthodox) Book Mash-up Wish List”
While I did enjoy
The Final Empire novel, Brandon Sanderson completely blew me away with the sequel, The Well of Ascension. Here, I will gush, ooh, and ah over this powerful story about morality, duty, and love.
WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
Continue reading “Gushing over Brandon Sanderson’s The Well of Ascension”
I spend a lot of time online. Perhaps I’m not alone in this, but it certainly feels that way. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been trying out podcasts. To encourage regular listening, I’m hoping to share my favorites every once in a while. Let’s begin.
My favorite podcast in that regard, thus far, has to be Stuff Mom Never Told You. I can’t get over their episode on Miley Cyrus and racism, because oh my goodness this was mind-blowing and eye opening. Another really cool episode I had listened to was about African Americans and mental illness’ stigma. SO GOOD!
You have to check out “Talking in Circles” with Laura Miller. This lady is honest and raw, real about her mental illness and how it affected her pregnancy. She used to make YouTube video series with the same title. I’ll link it right here for you. My favorite episode of the podcast has to be the one with Jen Gotch who is also extremely open and frank about her own life as a woman with mental illness. Also: I am learning from her by rating my own wellness every day. Just to be self aware and honest with myself.
So, I don’t know if you heard of Yoga Girl. She had a book come out a few years back, and she is popular on Instagram within the yoga community. I like her a lot, as a person and as a yogi. Luckily for me, she has a podcast called “From the Heart.” My favorite episode thus far is one about grief. The guest on that episode lost her child. Pshaw. That episode was so powerful and moving. It still haunts me and drives me to do better as a human.
Do you have any favorite self improvement podcasts on iTunes? Please, share them with me in the comments! I want to learn more!
Welcome back to another Top Ten Tuesday. This week, the lovely meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish is fully back in the swing of things with a topic of recommending books. For me, I want to focus on the top ten books I’d recommend for those who are fans of bad-ass characters.
10. Graceling by kristin cashoreIn this world, some children are “graced” with special skills/talents. Our main character is graced with the ability to kill people. She is such a warrior and a brave girl. I would posit, though, that she’s not just a bad-ass in terms of physical ability. Her willingness to go against bullies and defy unjust rulers marks her as one of the most bad-ass characters I have ever encountered.
9. The Hunger games by suzanne collinsKatniss Everdeen is not the bad-ass some people know. I think, for me, she becomes a true fighter when she faces her trauma. While I understand this girl struggled from having such heavy burdens and responsibilities heaved upon her, I think she had the issues even earlier in her life. With all of these factors in mind, I think Katniss is survivor of really tough things and that makes her a bad-ass.
8.The vanishing throne by elizabeth mayAithinne and Karian are truly my focus in this series. They are the true bad-asses. I understand that Aileana is the heroine, and I love her, but she’s part of something much bigger. I like the exploration of trauma and abuse in this book in particular. The connection Aithinne and Aileana have is just fantastic, and bad-ass.
7.harry potter and the order of the phoenix by jk rowlingObviously, you have to read the stories leading up to this one, but oh man, how cool is it to see Harry as a teacher. To me, I don’t believe for a second that Harry would ever work for the Ministry of Magic. He’d be a professor at Hogwarts, to provide a home to those who, like him, have no home. In this book, he becomes this role of a mentor to a group of his friends, and guides them into a war. If that’s not bad-ass, I don’t know what is.
6. A Darker Shade of Magic by v.e. schwabBravery is recognizing you made a mistake, and handling the consequences. Kel and Holland have that in common. It’s also about loving people with kindness, as we see with Rhy. Lila is another bad-ass for all the sass she and Alucard exchange, all the fighting tips, all the magic lessons make me love her so much. She bravely steps into new roles for herself and pushes the boundaries of her definitions.
5. the demon king by cinda williams chimaI still am reeling from this book because Han and Raisa are bad-asses. Raisa who is passionate about learning about her people, goes out to experience life in her kingdom. Han, who has a mysterious background, takes an amulet and has to fend for himself in a dog-eat-dog world.
4. Vampire academy by richelle meadMost people would say that Rose Hathaway is the heroine of these tales. To me, I am more fascinated with Lissa. The element of spirit is hard to control, it seems, and she goes through quite the journey to develop her skill. Lissa is a bad-ass because she never uses physical force to settle her disputes. The older she gets, the wiser she becomes. I love her.
3. the darkest minds trilogy by alexandra brackenDystopia and special powers, concentration camps and kids working together: that is all I needed to hear to get this whole series. Ruby and the gang have so much potential right now.
2. The name of the wind by Patrick RothfussI know the main character is a bad-ass. Just look at that cover. Freaking yes! Kvothe, from what I know, narrates his life as a boy who is accepted in a magic school. In my head, at least, he becomes a bad-ass mage. Can’t wait to read this one.
1. legacy of kings by eleanor hermanAlexander the Great is clearly going to be a bad-ass in these books. People call him the Great for reasons. I cannot wait to see what he’s like in the story. Don’t really know much about the books, but I am excited!
As you may have read in previous blog entries, I will be participating in Emojiathon this month. But, I like to break down my June TBR by weeks to avoid getting overwhelmed.
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead(e?)
The Selection by Keira Cass
I obviously may rebel, but I think I just need to read some light stuff with Crooked Kingdom. This is important, especially after Lord of Shadows broke me.
T5W, or Top 5 Wednesday, is a meme that is run by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes. The Goodreads Group is right here, for you to check out topics and participate with us. This week, my T5W is about authors I want to read more from. Some of these authors, I have not read anything from at all. Others are ones I have read a work or two by them, and I want to read more. But, over all, they are authors I would like to read more from regardless of how much I have read from them already.
Let the list of my top 5 authors I would like to read more from begin!
I have read the first book of her Girl of Fire and Thorns. While her pacing is a little off in that book, I remain interested in her work because I am hoping to finish up that trilogy and read her new trilogy. She writes complex worlds and nuanced character development.
Slowly, I have been gathering up her books. Now that I have read the first book of Mistborn, I want to explore high fantasy some more. While I am interested in reading more Sanderson, I want to also read fantasy from women’s own perspective.
Having said that, I really enjoyed most of the Final Empire and so I want to read more Sanderson. Over the past year, I have been collecting some of his work (a lot of his work, actually). Part of this interest stems from selfish reasons. Sanderson talks about how he is a slow and steady writer, and I am pretty slow when it comes to writing as well. And, I think he writes poignant relationships, vast worlds; how can I not be interested?
Stardust is one of my most treasured movies, and I want to write fantastical and dreamlike narratives just like Gaiman. He seems to have a humble, yet strong sense of style and poise in his fiction. All I can think of is how great it would be to pick up some stylistic lessons from reading his work.
Lush beautiful writing, based on what little I have read from her, and culturally rich stories. As a wanna-be author of color, I am inspired by other women of color who write stories where they are meshing their cultural influences with traditional mainstream stories. So, Hades/Persephone story infused with Indian mythology is what I have heard about her first book, which sounds brilliant to me.
The lovely Mollie from MollieReads created the #Do-A-Thon. It will be taking place during the first week of May. The event involves finding ways to live more mindfully, and to tackle the challenging things we never quite get to do often. So, here’s my Do-A-Thon “TBR.”
I have a very bad relationship with my body. Over the years, I have developed some disordered thinking and eating. So, I want to: be more mindful of what I eat, how much I eat. Facing my own body image issues by being more understanding of my eating habits will scare me, I know it. But, I think it’ll help me a lot by challenging my self narrative.
Rather than being a product of medications’ side effects, I get to be in control of my food intake and wellness.
I need to sort through my closet and organize it better. In addition, I would like to revisit my poetry and wrap up some of the poems I did not finish. I have a lot of them jotted on my iPods.
This one makes me panic. I can try to comment on blogs more often during the week? And, I want to talk more on Goodreads and Twitter as well.
I am going to try to do yoga every day of that week as well, to help foster a gentler approach to my relationship with my body. I would like to introduce physical flexibility again, because it used to bring me so much joy. While I used to practice yoga before getting too sick, I have gained so much weight, that it will be a whole new experience now.
Probably, I will aim for practicing through Yoga with Adrienne.
Read for an hour or two every day! I feel much better when I read. And, I want to live tweet or GR update my way through my reading experience.
I am back with another Top Ten Tuesday list. Before I get too caught up in it, I want to link you to the Broke and Bookish, which is home for the Top Ten Tuesday topics and awesomeness. Go check it out! This time, our topic is top ten quickest reads. Because I have difficulty concentrating and sitting still (manic episodes happen), I don’t really ever read things in one sitting. So, “quickest reads” is what I’m going to be using for this entry.
Let’s begin.
I read this at the beginnings of my own illnesses’ manifesting. So, I was extra vulnerable, but I did finish it over a very short period of time. It really was a quick read, and one full of impact and resonance at that.
Cath and Levi are high on my list of favorite people I have encountered in fiction. Their story was incredibly moving and significant for me. That, coupled with the fact that this book deals with fanfiction, it made easy to love and speed through.
I flew through these books, because the series had a Gothic feel to it. Dark things are interesting to me. Not many people like these books, but I adore them. I even like the movie of the first book. Ethan and Lena had a compelling love story. Let’s not talk about the weird spin off thing that the authors tried to pull, because no…Just no.
Charming and endearing, this book was the sweetest breath of fresh air in literature that I have encountered that season of reading. It was such a quick read as well. I love Emily and Sloane, and Frank! If you want a feel-good read, check this one out for sure. I have a couple of Morgan Matson’s books left for me to read soon.
The cuteness is even more real for these books. Perkins knows how to craft interesting and sweet characters. I know the story-lines are not mind-blowing. But, they’re heartwarming and adorable. Sometimes, you need some nice fluff. This is just that. And, I flew through these books.
This is a serious-pants kind of book and I loved it so much that I read it fast. I even wrote a review about it. Kestrel is a clever and strong woman, and she was also inspiring in her self-awareness. Arin is also a good match for her in terms of strength and character. I cannot wait to finish this trilogy. I know I’ll be reading them fairly quickly.
What is this brilliance of this book! It’s out of this world good. I read it quickly because: 1) Alina, 2) The Darkling, 3) the magic, 4) the world
I will not even talk about how much I dislike Mal here. But, I want you to know that I dislike him, which makes me read even faster because I want to see what will happen with him and Alina.
One of my favorite stories ever is Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. I just love the characters (Baz and Penelope for the most part. I am unsure about Simon in general).
Obviously, it is hard not to speed through these books. They are just so good. And, while sometimes I express some dislike for certain elements of the books, I will always enjoy the stories. I read these books fast, ever time I read them. Humor, friendship, and adventure never looked so good.
All the shadowhunter stuff by Cassandra Clare made me read with enjoyment. I just love her characters, the diversity, the humor, the twists. All of it is just fantastic. I cannot express how thankful I am for these books and this badass author.
What are some of your quickest reads? Do you ever finish books within a day? Share your responses in comments!
She lived in a shoe-box thinking it a mansion. In her head, she dreamed of being someone else, of being blue-eyed blonde, stick thin and muscly.
Never mind her thick legs. Ignore this frizz like pineapple hair. She promised to erase her wilderness, her half-masked ambition, her enthusiasm. Instead, she would trade it in for a calm, cool, collected caricature to a charismatic clever creature. Shrewd and nonchalant, she would circle those goals, day after day.
Wrong.
Her mind was wrong, but it was made up.
But, she spent her time wishing to be different. Only to realize that she is wasting her glory days gorging and gawking at other brains, other dreams, other beings.
Perhaps, it is less about minding the gaps between her and the rest. More, it is more about feeling the cloth she is working with. Touching the seams and zippers, soothing velvet texture. Throwing it back and jumping off roof tops, cape bellowing behind.
“These are the glory days,” she would whisper to the stars.