Friday, May 29, 2015

Book Review- Little Women

For the literary movement challenge, woman's challenge, audiobook challenge and re-reading challenge I re-read Lousia May Alcott's novel Little Women.

Spoilers ahead! 

I've read this novel many times before but probably not within the last five years. I've become far more sentimental in the last couple years so I kind of gushed over some romance bits, which isn't normal for me. My poor cousins had to hear me go on and on about how much I loved Professor Baehr and how he needed to propose to Jo! Yep, I actually like Professor Baehr and Jo together as I like Laurie and Amy together. At the beginning of the book I moaned a little to myself that Jo and Laurie would be so cute together, but I concluded, like Marmee, that they were too much alike. So disagree with me if you will but that's my opinion. :) It was kind of helped along by the fact that the narrator of the audiobook did a really cute German accent for Professor Baehr. How could you not fall in love with that?

Sometimes Meg frustrated me... a lot. I don't have the personal struggles she has... being rich has never been on my bucket list so I think that's why I find it harder to understand her sometimes. Also, she's always acting so much like a... girl! For example: When John proposes to her and she plays with his poor affections for awhile because that's what other girls do! She does things like that other time but that's the first example I thought of. Sometimes I feel like she expects John to pick up on her subtle cues, which is something that I find very annoying about females! I'll admit, sometimes I do that, but I try not to. That's got to be annoying to guys and not at all helpful! I do love Meg, don't get me wrong, but sometimes she irks me.

Amy has grown on me since I first read the book. I see much more of her maturation throughout the story this time reading it than I have other times.

So random note. A lot of people say that this has great feminist themes and others say exactly the opposite and condemn it for not having strong enough feminist themes. I honestly didn't think it went either way. I'm not a feminist so I don't care if it doesn't have the feminist themes that other women want. I felt like though it was a good balance of the girls working hard and becoming independent but also finding love and settling down and getting married. As you all know, I just graduate from nursing school and once I pass my state boards I will be in a position to make a good income and be independent. However, my lifelong dream has always been to be a wife and mother and this has not been undermined by my getting a college education (I would actually much rather be a wive and mother than a nurse... not that I don't like nursing). I kind of feel that is how it is in Little Women... that's not a perfect analogy though and each of the girls are different.

Little Women goes in the transcendentalism literary movement because it focuses on independence, individuality and looking to self instead of wealth and status. The fact that Little Women is transcendentalism is it's main downside because sometimes that philosophy gets in the way of the beauty of the story.

So I know my thoughts were random and scattered but that's how I roll. ;) When you've read this book as many times as I have you don't know where to start a review or how to finish it. ;)

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Thursday, May 28, 2015

20 Books of Summer 2015

Technically I should probably be listing this with my other reading challenges but because it's only a summer challenge and I'm lazy I decided not to. ;)
This challenge is hosted by 746 Books and you can see more information HERE.
Listed below are the books I plan to read from June 1st to September 4th. They are separated out by first time reads and re-reads. I'd love to finish all of Arthur Ransom's series but I just listed the ones that fit into the 20 constraint. Since a majority of these are re-reads, I suspect they'll be pretty quick but I guess we'll see! :) Hopefully I'll finish what I planned to read and get done with the rest of the series too plus more! Well... I suppose I shouldn't be too ambitious. ;)
  1. Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens
  2. How Green was My Valley by Richard Lewellyn
  3. Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw
  4. Germinal by Emile Zola
  5. That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis
  6. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
  7. The Book of Three Lloyd Alexander (re-read)
  8. The Black Cauldron Lloyd Alexander (re-read)
  9. The Castle of Llyr Lloyd Alexander (re-read)
  10. Taran Wanderer Lloyd Alexander (re-read)
  11. The High King by Lloyd Alexander (re-read)
  12. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott (re-read) (audiobook)
  13. Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott (re-read) (audiobook) 
  14. Emma by Jane Austen  (re-read) (audiobook... maybe) 
  15. Swallowdale by Arthur Ransom  (re-read)
  16. Peter Duck by Arthur Ransom  (re-read)
  17. Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransom (re-read)
  18. Coot Club by Arthur Ransom (re-read)
  19. Pigeon Post by Arthur Ransom  (re-read)
  20. We Didn't Mean to go to Sea by Arthur Ransom (re-read)
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10 of my Favorite Film Characters

The sweet Heidi from Along the Brandywine (cool name for a blog right?) tagged me to name my 10 favorite film characters. :) Needless to say this will be hard list to make! To make it easier for myself I'm excluding characters from movies based on books and I'm not including characters from TV shows.
  1. Han Solo from Star Wars 
  2. Cosmo Brown from Singing in the Rain 
  3. Millie from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
  4. Bryan Crookshanks from Charade
  5. Martin Vanderhof from You Can't Take it With You 
  6. Longfellow Deeds from Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
  7. George Washington McLintock from McLintock 
  8. Nick and Nora from The Thin Man movies
  9. The Incredibles family from The Incredibles
  10. Detective Lieutenant Mark McPherson from Laura
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Wednesday, May 27, 2015

The Not-Your-Average Disney Tag

The amazing Olivia from Meanwhile in Rivendell tagged me in this fun Disney related tag! :)

  1. Favorite Disney movie of all time? Beauty and the Beast
  2. Favorite Disney Character? Belle
  3. First Disney movie seen in cinemas? I had to go look this one up. I actually haven't seen many Disney movies in theaters. I'm not counting the Pixar ones either that are for some reason are listed under Disney even though when they were made when Disney didn't own Pixar. Non-animated- The Lion the Witch and Wardrobe. Animated- Frozen... not positive on this because I might have gone and seen Up in theaters and that was after Disney owned Pixar but I still count that as Pixar so.... 
  4. What Disney item do you collect the most? Nothing? The music I guess. I have plenty of the music. 
  5. What is your favorite Disney song? Belle, Be our Guest, Under the Sea, Kiss the Girl, Poor Unfortunate Soul (I have a weird sense of humor?), I'll Make a Man out of You, That's How you Know, Love is an Open Door (cracks me up so much!), Do you want to Build a Snowman, I Won't Say I'm in Love (cracks me up a lot too!) and When Will my Life Begin. Honestly, there's few Disney songs I hate. They're so ridiculously catchy even though sometimes they are so ridiculously stupid! 
  6. Which Disney voice actor would you like to meet? Never really thought of meeting any of them. 
  7. Favorite Disney movie that is not a classic? Tangled! 
  8. Flounder, Sebastian or Scuttle? Sebastian! 
  9. Saddest moment in a Disney movie? Y'all know I'm not an emotional person so I've never cried over a movie but I have appreciate the sad moments. Probably Do you want to Build a Snowman makes me the saddest. It's very touching. I guess if we're counting Up as Disney then of course the beginning of it is beautifully touching as well. :)
  10. Which Disney princess has the best sidekick? Rapunzel! Because Pascal is hilariously silent and Maximus is awesome! 
  11. Of the lesser known Disney movies, which would you recommend? Snow White and the Seven Dwarves! I feel like no one really notices it as much as it was the first and not as great of quality but the story is fun and music is hilarious and fun! It was a favorite growing up... especially the Silly Song. :)
If you're a Disney lover (or hater too I guess) feel free to consider yourself tagged and answer the questions! :) 


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Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Ten Books I Plan To Have In My "Beach Bag" This Summer

I know I've dropped off the face of the blogosphere since last Tuesday but I was away since Thursday spending Memorial Day weekend celebrating my cousins' graduation up in Michigan. I honestly haven't opened my computer since then until now. So what I read then and all that happened will come in a later post but in short it was a lot of fun and I did read on the long car trip. :)
So today's theme at Broke and Bookish for Top Ten Tuesday is the top ten books I plan to have in my hypothetical beach bag this summer.
  1. Emma by Jane Austen (re-read)- I'm going to be hosting a Read-a-long for this book coming up pretty soon so stay tuned! It is the 200th anniversary of it's being published this year so I thought it was fitting. :)
  2. Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens- I try to read a Dickens every year so here's my installment! :)
  3. How Green was my Valley by Richard Llewyln
  4. Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw- I'm so excited about reading this! I've loved My Fair Lady for years and it's based off of Pygmalion. :)
  5. The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (re-reads)- So excited to re-read this series! It was a favorite growing up! 
  6. Germinal by Emile Zola- My first Emile Zola book! I'll see how I like it. :)
  7. That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis- About time I finished this trilogy! I think I've read one book each year since I started it! :(
  8. Swallows and Amazons and others by Arthur Ransom (re-reads)- Summer seems the perfect time to read these stories about sailing! Yes I'm already working on the first one with my little brother but there are many more to go in the series! 
  9. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee- Getting excited for this one! Not expecting another To Kill a Mockingbird but I think it will be good. :)
  10. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (re-read)- What better time for a farm story than the summer?
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Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday- Freebie

This week's Top Ten Tuesday theme is a freebie so I'm going with my Top Ten Literary Couples! :)
When I'm reading a book or watching a movie a lot of what I look for in a couple is respect and a great sense of humor. :) I think that is reflected in this list. :)
Obviously I couldn't just stop at ten! So here you go in on particular order!
  1. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
  2. Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
  3. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
  4. Eowyn and Faramir from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
  5. Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland from Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey
  6. Mr. Knightley and Emma Wodehouse from Jane Austen's Emma
  7. Fanny Price and Edmund Bertram from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park
  8. Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth from Jane Austen's Persuasion
  9. Elinor Dashwood and Edward Ferris from Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility
  10. Marianne Dashwood and Colonel Brandon from Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility
  11. Molly Gibson and Roger Hamley from Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughers
  12. Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe from L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables and others
  13. Arthur Clenham and Amy Dorrit from Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit
  14. Mr. Thornton and Margaret Hale from Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South
  15. Beatrice and Benedict from William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing
  16. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series
  17. Sir Percival Blakeney and Marguerite St. Just from Emmuska Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel 
And for the fun of it.... movie and TV show favorites as well! 
  1. Parker and Hardison from the TV show Leverage
  2. Amy and Rory from the TV show Doctor. Who
  3. The Doctor and River Song from the TV show Doctor. Who
  4. Martha and Mickey from the TV show Doctor. Who
  5. Nick and Nora from the Thin Man movies
  6. Han Solo and Princess Leia from the Star Wars movies
  7. G.W. McLintock and Katy McLintock from the movie McLintock
  8. Patty and Canoe from the movie That Darn Cat
  9. Marjorie Winfield and Bill Sherman from the movies On Moonlight Bay and By the Light of the Silvery Moon.
  10. Dr. Bradford and Paula Bradford in the movie The Ex-Mrs. Bradford
I'm sure I missed some great ones so comment and remind me! 

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Monday, May 18, 2015

Bout of Books #3- Wrap up Post

Bout of Books
It's been a fun Bout of Books though I don't think I was as motivated as I should have been throughout it. However, I did get a good chunk of reading done and that's what counts! ;)

Finished

  • The Fearsome Inn by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  • Zlateh the Goat and other stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  • When Shlemiel went to Warsaw by Isaac Bashevis Singer

In Progress

  • Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell- eight chapters
  • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (audiobook) (re-read)- six chapters
  • Trusting God by Jerry Bridges- six chapters

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It's Monday! And Life Goes On...

It's hard to imagine life outside of school when you're in the mist of it and even when you're just taking a break for the summer all you can think about is the next semester's school load. So now, even with being done with my associates, it still doesn't feel quite freeing. Partly because I'm diligently (lol) preparing for the NCLEX (nursing state boards) and partly because I know that eventually I'll most likely go on and get my bachelors. However, I have discovered that in this beautiful respite I have right now, that life does go on outside of school. I'm enjoying reading more and watching all the movies/TV shows that I've foregone for studying. I finished watching one of my new favorite TV shows Leverage last week and now I'm working on the last couple seasons of Psych. I broke off watching Psych a couple years ago at the end of season six and I'm just now getting back to it. I've heard these last couple seasons aren't as good anyways but I'd still like to finish it. After that I'm unsure... I'm torn between Stargate: SG-1 and Call the Midwife. I know I'd love them both so I just can't decide!
Anyways... reading!

Finished this Week

  • The Fearsome Inn by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  • Zlateh the Goat and other stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  • When Shlemiel went to Warsaw and other stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Currently Reading

  • Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell- Read-a-long is going well and so far I haven't fallen behind. ;)
  • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (re-read) (audiobook)- Such a fun re-read and beautiful to hear narrated by Barbara Caruso. 
  • Trusting God by Jerry Bridges- Really good! Getting close to the end. I'm trying to take it slowly and not rush it because I don't want to lose any of the deeper points in my rush. 
  • Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransom (re-read)- Reading aloud to my brother. No more progress this week. I had a cold so my throat couldn't tolerate it. :(
  • The Valley of Vision- I'm getting close to being done with this one too! This is one of my new favorite books and I could not recommend it more highly! It is a beautiful collection of Puritan prayers. My parents gave it to me for my birthday at the beginning of the year and since then I've been reading one or two prayers every night when I read my Bible. It had been a huge blessing in my life. 

Reviews posted this week



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Sunday, May 17, 2015

Bout of Books- Days 3&4&5&6

Bout of BooksMultiple day updates! Sorry but not sorry. ;) I've been too lazy and too busy to get these taken care of these Bout of Books posts. :(
So on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday I read:
  • Gone With the Wind- 3 Chapters
  • Trusting God- 5 Chapters
  • Little Women (re-read) (audiobook)- 4 chapters
I need to catch up on my reading more but I keep wanting to watch stuff instead. :( I did finally finish watching Our Mutual Friend. It was good but dragged in some places... but that's Dickens. ;)

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Saturday, May 16, 2015

Book Reviews- The Fearsome Inn, Zlateh the Goat and When Sheimel went to Warsaw

Growing up my family and I played authors a lot and Isaac Basheivs Singer was one of the authors in our authors deck. None of us had read any of his books but we loved saying the titles as they sounded so interesting. This year, when looking at books for the newberry reading challenge I saw that they had all been nominated for newberry awards and decided this was the perfect time to pick them up. :)

The Fearsome Inn

Goodreads Synopsis: Two witches, who practice their evil trade on lost travellers, are banished through the wisdom of a student of the holy cabala, and the power of his magic chalk.
Quite an interesting little book that reads much like a fairy tale. Kind of dark though! I don't mind that though. :)

Zlateh the Goat and other stories

Goodreads Synopsis: Nobel laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer introduces readers to the village of Chelm in this Newbery Honor Book. Chelm is a village of fools. The most famous fools—the oldest and the greatest—are the seven Elders. But there are lesser fools too: a silly irresponsible bridegroom; four sisters who mix up their feed in bed one night; a young man who imagines himself dead. Here are seven magical folktales spun by a master storyteller, that speak of fools, devils, schlemiels, and even heroes—like Zlateh the goat.
I think I preferred the short stories as opposed to the full length story like The Fearsome Inn is. They were sometimes kind of weird but really cute and oftentimes funny. 

When Shlemiel went to Warsaw and other stories 

Goodreads Synopsis: Eight stories based on traditional Jewish themes from Eastern Europe include: Shrewd Todie & Lyzer the Miser; Tsirtsur & Peziza; Rabbi Leib & the Witch Cunegunde; The Elders of Chelm & Genendel's Key; Shlemiel, the Businessman; Utzel & His Daughter Poverty; Menaseh's Dream; When Shlemiel went to War
Same as with Zlateh the Goat. Weird, cute and funny. :)

All three of these stories had strong Jewish themes so it isn't surprising to find out that Isaac Bashevis Singer was Jewish. This wasn't a downfall of it though. :)

These books all go towards the newberry reading challenge the TBR challenges. :)

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Friday, May 15, 2015

Graduated from Nursing School!!!!

Yesterday, after two too many years of nursing school ;) I finally graduated from nursing school! It's been a long road and you all, my poor blog readers, have had to hear me moan about it all this time. ;) I'm so thankful to be through it but I am also so thankful for the invaluable education and life lessons I have garnered from it. Next is taking my state boards, aka the fearsome NCLEX! So my moaning isn't over yet. ;)
Here are some pictures of the joyous occasion though!
Having a drink after finding out we passed with
my amazing nursing school friend April. We
couldn't have made it through without each other.
And yes that's A drink... mixed with orange juice no less! 
My little siblings and I before the ceremony! 

My parents and I. :) 
That's my Dad. ;) 

Thank you everyone for cheering me on through this nursing school marathon! It's been crazy fun! :)

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Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Bout of Books- Day 1&2 Updates

Bout of BooksI've been a little behind with the Bout of Books updates but I'm catching up! I had this little matter of a final that heavily influenced my future and work so I wasn't really having time for blogging. I did have time for reading though. :)
Oh, and yes, I PASSED NURSING SCHOOL!!! I'll be graduating at the nursing pinning ceremony on Thursday!!!! More details and fun pictures then. :)
So far for Bout of Books I've read:

  • Gone With the Wind- Six chapters
  • Little Women (audiobook) (re-read)- 1 chapter
  • Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories- COMPLETED
  • When Shlemiel went to Warsaw and Other Stories- COMPLETED
Pretty good so far! The two last are children's books so were fairly quick reads but I'm still proud of myself. ;)

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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Top Ten Authors I REALLY want to meet!

Fun topic! There are a lot of authors I like that for various reasons I'm not entirely intrigued to meet so this list does not reflect my favorite authors necessarily. :)
  1. Jane Austen
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien
  3. Charles Dickens 
  4. P.G. Wodehouse
  5. Agatha Christie
  6. Brian Jacques- I actually did meet him years ago when I was seven. 
  7. Samuel Clemens- AKA Mark Twain
  8. Charles Dodgson- AKA Lewis Carroll
  9. Harper Lee
  10. G.K. Chesterton 
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Monday, May 11, 2015

It's Monday! The Final

As you read this, I am most likely in the midst of my last final for nursing school! I appreciate your prayers. This semester has been challenging and fun all in one and in some ways it was my favorite semester and some ways I couldn't wait for it to be done (senioritis much?). However, I am grateful to have finally reached  the end and I'm looking forward with fear and excitement to taking the NCLEX (nursing state boards) and taking on a nursing job in the "real world". :) The pinning ceremony (basically a graduation ceremony for nursing) is later this week and then I'll be officially graduated! Not officially an RN yet though until I pass the NCLEX. :)
I'm also hoping that will give me more time to read. ;)

Finished This Week

  • none

Currently Reading

  • Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (re-read) (audiobook)
  • Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransom (re-read)- Still reading this aloud to my brother. I think it will be a slow process. He complains about it every time I have the time to read it to him but when I'm actually reading it to him he loves it. 
  • Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges
  • The Valley of Vision

Coming Soon

  • Dream Thief by Stephen Lawhead

Reviews Posted this Week


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Friday, May 8, 2015

Liebster Questions- Just for fun :)

Holly over at Nut Free Nerd posted some questions for the Liebster Award. I've already won several Liebster awards so I don't care about all of that but I do like answering questions. :)
Here are Holly's questions.

  1. Bookmarks or folding the pages? Bookmarks
  2. Paperback or hardcover? Hardcover 
  3. Socks or Barefoot? Barefoot
  4. Movies or TV shows? In the last few years I've watched more TV shows but before that I was definitely movies. I think though at this point in my life it's TV shows. I like watching a forty minute episode as opposed to a two hour movie... though sometimes it becomes two (or three!) forty minute episodes. ;)
  5. Pens or Pencils? Depends but normally pens. 
  6. Sci fi or fantasy? This is a hard question! I really knew little and had read or seen little with sci fi except Star Wars before a couple years ago and now I'm a big fan of it. However, I'm still a big fan of Fantasy... most notably the Lord of the Rings. I really don't feel like I can answer this question. 
  7. Series or stand-alones? I think stand-alones. 
  8. Rain or Snow? I HATE THEM BOTH!!!!!!!! Probably snow more though. Rain actually has benefits. 
  9. Shopping online or in stores? Depends. Probably online though. 
  10. Road tripping or flying? Road tripping. 
  11. Answering questions or asking them? So I feel like I'm contradicting myself after I just stated above that I like answering questions. To be clear, I like answering them when I have time to think about an answer... like when I'm writing a blog post. I do not like getting questions sprung on me. So I'd go with asking questions. :)

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Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Book Review- Boys of Blur

For the Full House challenge and the library reading challenges I read N.D. Wilson's novel Boys of Blur.
Synopsis from Goodreads: When Charlie moves to the small town of Taper, Florida, he discovers a different world. Pinned between the everglades and the swampy banks of Lake Okeechobee, the small town produces sugar cane . . . and the fastest runners in the country. Kids chase muck rabbits in the fields while the cane is being burned and harvested. Dodging flames and blades and breathing smoke, they run down the rabbits for three dollars a skin. And when they can do that, running a football is easy.  But there are things in the swamp, roaming the cane at night, that cannot be explained, and they seem connected to sprawling mounds older than the swamps. Together with his step-second cousin "Cotton" Mack, the fastest boy on the muck, Charlie hunts secrets in the glades and on the muck flats where the cane grows secrets as old as the soft earth, secrets that haunted, tripped, and trapped the original native tribes, ensnared conquistadors, and buried runaway slaves. Secrets only the muck knows. 
I've enjoyed all of N.D. Wilson's books so far and Boys of Blur was no exception! Think Beowulf as a boy's adventure novel and there you've got it! As you may remember, I read Beowulf at the beginning of this year and loved it so of course I couldn't help but love Boys of Blur. I'll admit it was a trifle confusing at some points and I think if you haven't read Beowulf you will probably find it very confusing but the thing about me is I just keep reading a book no matter how confused I am, maybe looking back to see if I can figure something out but most likely not even bothering to and in the end it all comes together and I don't care how confusing it was. Probably not a good policy over all but that's how I roll. I read too fast to... that's another bad policy I have. :(
I liked the characters in this story and I liked that N.D. Wilson gave them real issues that many children today are facing... child abuse, step-parents, divorce, ect. They aren't huge themes but they're definitely there and I like how they're dealt with.
Overall I thought it was a great boy's adventure novel and I handed it to my younger brother to read next as I'm sure he'll enjoy it too. :)

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Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Top Ten Books I will Probably Never Read

This week's them for Broke and Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday is the top ten books I will probably never read.
There are a variety of books that I'll probably never read for various reasons. For example, The Hunger Games... I know so much about them already I probably wouldn't enjoy them very much reading them at this point. Anyways, I'm not a big fan of dystopian novels. If you have a question about why I won't read something feel free to ask... if you want to try to convince me to read it... feel free to try. Jut know it probably won't happen. :)
  1. The Hunger Games 
  2. Divergent
  3. The Fault in Our Stars
  4. Gone Girl
  5. Twilight
  6. Fangirl 
  7. If I Stay
  8. Looking for Alaska
  9. The Notebook
  10. A Game of Thrones 
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Monday, May 4, 2015

It's Monday! One more Week and than Graduation!!!!


How do you like my new blog layout? I used to change my layout all of the time but then about this time last year I stopped. However, I'm glad I've done a change. :) My favorite part is my new header and the best part about the header is that it encompasses so much geekiness in one place!!!! No it doesn't include all of my favorite things but it includes the most important ones... Lord of the Rings, Pride and Prejudice and Doctor Who. :) I might do some more changes with the layout in the next couple weeks just to tweak it. We'll see. :)

I am really and truly in the last stretch of school! I just have this week of a preparatory class for NCLEX (Nursing state boards) and then my final and I graduate! There's also the little matter of actually taking the NCLEX but one thing at a time! ;)

I was able to (finally) watch the 2002 film version of The Importance of Being Ernest (I've already watched the 1952 version). I enjoyed it a lot, though it was weird seeing Colin Firth in a different roll than Mr. Darcy. It did have it's issues though. All in all though enjoyable. Both version are actually. :)

Currently Reading- I know it's a lot! This isn't normal for me. :)

  • Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges
  • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (re-read) (audiobook)- It's narrated by Barbara Caruso! I'm so thrilled! She narrated the Anne of Green Gables audiobooks that I listened to earlier this year and adored. 
  • Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransom (re-read)- As I said last week, I'm reading this aloud to my little brother. Surprisingly he's already starting to enjoy it. He kept me going four chapters straight the other day. My throat was getting really dry! 
  • The Valley of Vision

Finished this Week

  • Boys of Blur by N.D. Wilson 

Coming Soon

  • Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell- Readathon started this past Friday but I haven't quite yet. I've still got time! ;)
  • Dream Thief by Stephen Lawhead (re-read)

Reviews Posted this Week


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Friday, May 1, 2015

Bout of Books #3 Sign up Post!

It's time for another Bout of Books! This one starts the day of my final so it's perfect timing. I'll have tons of free time afterwards to read! :) Well... that is I hope I'll have tons of free time. ;)
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team
I'm excited to sign up and hopefully get caught up with some reading!
In May I have a few books "scheduled" to read for my various reading challenges so I'll be reading those for sure. Those are:
  1. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
  2. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  3. Dream Thief by Stephen Lawhead
I also hope to dive into some other books though. Those are listed below.
  1. Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
  2. Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard (re-read)
  3. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (re-read)
Are you joining in the Bout of Books? It's tons of fun! :)

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Birthday Month Reading Challenge- May

May has come with graduations and the much anticipated end of school!!!!! :)
I hope you're all keeping up with the Birthday Reading Challenge! If you're behind don't worry; I'm sure many of us are. ;) Just catch up as you can. :)
Here's a list of authors with their birthday in May. A more complete list is HERE.
  • Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • Walt Whitman
  • Tony Hillerman
  • Margaret Wise Brown
  • Margaret Rey
  • William Péne du Bois
  • Irene Hunt
  • Eleanor Estes
  • Daphne du Maurier
  • Richard Adams
  • Leo Lionni
  • J.M. Barrie
  • Edward Lear
  • L. Frank Baum
  • Arnold Lobel
  • Susan Cooper
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