Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I Almost Put Down (But Didn't)

"Top Ten Tuesday" is a weekly countdown meme, hosted by the Broke and the Bookish!

Just earlier this week, after regaining my reader appetite after the fluffy marshmallow of a novel that was The One, I immediatley tucked into Cruel Beauty, by Rosamund Hodge... and found it sticking in my throat a bit. However, I finished the novel, and enjoyed it pretty well. Therefore, it's only fitting that this week's Top Ten Tuesday Topic was books that almost ended up on the DNF pile... but managed to pull through!

Cruel Beauty, Rosamund Hodge

A slow starter, with a little too much hype in the way, and conflicting accounts of what the story was based off of... for instance, people described it to me as Beauty and the Beast, but having been scholastically involved with the cultural intimacies and history behind that particular fairy tale, I can say with no short amount of certainty that it would have been much better to have ascribed it to Greco-Roman mythologies. 

Final Decision: Glad I Finished.

Timebound, Rysa Walker

Yet another slow starter, with some weird world building, especially due to the fact that time travel is involved. Time travel is just so freakin' aggravational.

Final Decision: Glad I Finished. 

Bossypants, Tina Fey

This might get me some heat, but by about 20% into this set of comedian memoirs (which is one of my favorite splinter genres!) I was tired of Fey's endless quipping... less jokes, more story! There just wasn't really much emotional "realness," which was what I was looking for, as opposed to sheer stage presence and brand extension.

Final Decision: Should Have Put it Down.

The Thousand Names, Django Wexler

The entire genre of martial fiction was a new one for me, and while I thought the battle explanations and detail paid to the movements of warfare were incredibly interesting... they also get quite a bit boring after about 200 pages without much other plot. 

Final Decision: Maybe Skip Ahead to the Next Chapter? 

Everneath, Brodi Ashton

Boring. Boring. Just, SO boring. Unpopular opinion, I know, it was just highly unbelievable, unrealistic, unmanageable in terms of the sort of stuff characters could get away with... 

Final Decision: Should Have Put it Down. 

Anna Karanina, Leo Tolstoy

I don't need to explain much to you people how much effort a 1,000 page novel is. But SO WORTH IT.

Final Decision: You Finish What You Started, or your Book Nerd Membership is Automatically Revoked. 

The Flight of Gemma Hardy, Margot Livesey

A revamp of Jane Eyre for the modern European woman, it was a solid book in itself, but it frustrated itself a little bit by attempting to adhere to the Bronte basics. Would have been improved vastly by simply not calling itself a version of the classic.

Final Decision: Glad I Finished.

The Firm, John Grisham

I don't love thrillers; that's kind of an obvious thing that I'm not too shy about saying. This is just a fairly suspenseful one... and we all know how I get when things are super-suspenseful...

Final Decision: Yeah, I Guess.

Neuromancer, William Gibson

Sci Fi epic glorified by my father, consumed during my sophomore year of high school while studying for Finals. Too much attention to science fiction detail work and world-building, not too interesting of a plot, and more important things going on in my daily life? Yikes.

Final Decision: At Least Now I Can Say I Read it.

Splintered, A. G. Howard

I'm leery of basically every single take on Alice in Wonderland ever written/produced/whatever ever, EVER... especially those whose character direction sounds like they escaped from a 2004-era Hot Topic kid's daydreams. 

Final Decision: Meh, it's Deece. (But I'm not going to continue the series).

What's your Top Ten this Tuesday?

Stacking the Shelves: Cram Sesh

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly Saturday book meme from Tynga's Reviews, all about sharing the books you've added to your shelves over the course of the week.

I'm now beginning to reach the impass this week where even I'm starting to get annoyed with myself about how much I complain about how busy I am. I think it's mainly because now, I feel like it's just wasted air that I could rather be using to uncompact my schedule. Don't know if that's happening anytime soon, though. Which is why, of course, I decided to go on a bit of a book impulse binge this week...

Stress gives me acid reflux, and acid reflux makes me stressed. Books are really the only means of fighting it; it's a kind of basic decision to make at this point, really. So, in the scant amounts of free time this week, I purchased the following pain releivers:

Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross

The One (The Selection) by Kiera Cass - FINISHED

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge - CURRENTLY READING

Clearly the path to heaven is paved with fairy tale adaptations. Also, I figured I'd put in those last two addendums for a little more clarity about how I'm really only a danger to myself, in terms of stress. And yes, the fact that the cover layout couldn't all fit neatly on one line DID give me more of it. 

What are you stacking your shelves with this week?

I'll Love You Forever, I'll Like You For Always: My Top Pick Gifts for Mother's Day

They're the ladies who raised us... which means that our current predelection to pick up anything with a pretty cover and a thick spine was probably all their fault. Time to thank the women in our life by repaying their kindness with a couple new reads, and maybe a few other things, as well! 

However, no two Moms are alike... how are you supposed to tell what gifts she'd appreciate most? Here, for your benefit, I have assembled a sort of Fearless Female Field Guide, in celebration of Mother's Day! 

For the City Mom

Spotted in the wilds of the Downtown area sporting black flats and a carefully-propped straw fedora, wheeling her baby around town in the Ferrari of strollers with the latest issue of Vanity Fair peeking out of her sleek leather tote, the City Mom is a force to be reckoned with at the checkout lines of Whole Foods and Mommy-and-Me Yoga classes alike. This metropolis mama always knows what everyone's talking about... so why not get her a Mother's Day gift that will set everyone else's tongues wagging?

Birchbox Beauty Box Subscription

Paris: the Novel by Edward Rutherfurd

DIY to Die For: Pasta Necklace Upgrade

Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist Cookbook

This ultra-modern mama might just love a couple new products to update her daily regimen and a chic update on an old mother's day classic, especially when paired with a glittering novel dedicated to the City of Lights and a sassy way to glam up old cocktail classics. 

For the Momaholic

How does she do it all? Between working a stellar job from 9 to 5, running errands before picking the kids up from the bus stop, getting the kids to piano lessons and art classes in equal measure, and always acting the perfect hostess, the fearless team captain, and the mama bear, when she needs to be, Momaholic is equally adept at running the household and running in heels. A superwoman who always knows what you need before you even need it, Momaholic deserves a second to lay back and soak up the fruits of her labor. 

LUSH Bath Bombs

Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead

DIY to Die For: Indoor Terrarium

Delicious! by Ruth Reichl

Help mommy dearest unwind with some luscious bath bombs, or a unique, self-made way to bring the outdoors inside, as well as a bookish escape to East Coast elitest society or a new set of memoirs from Gourmet's favorite female.

For the Soccer Mom

The quintessential mom-on-the-move, this mother is commonly found on the sidelines of soccer meets, the waiting rooms of ballet dance classes, and the bundle-pack snack food sections of Costco. Commonly identified by the "My Kid is an Honor Student" bumper sticker proudly sported on the back window of her SUV, and the chic athletic gear that she feels looks best paired with a baseball hat repping her kids' school, Soccer Mom is a women who has always worked to support the whole team... which means that she definitely deserves a MVP nod this Mother's Day. 

Lulu Lemon Headbands

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

DIY to Die For: Team Shirt Blanket

It's All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great by Gwenyth Paltrow

Sporty moms will love a high end headband and a homemade blanket of team memories, especially when cuddling up after the big game with a thriller that will get her heart pumping, too, or a cookbook full of healthy, family-friendly basics.

For the Mommy Blogger 

The sort of second-cousin to the City Mom and the Momaholic, this ultra-classy harbinger of good taste and telling it like it is knows her way around a good Wordpress layout. A fan of DIY arts and crafts and a good sass session, the modern-day Mommy Blogger always keeps her iPhone handy, her earrings out of baby's reach, and her Instagram suitably populated with pics of you, your breakfast, your dinner, and everything in between. Still, at the end of the day, you know she loves you more than all the pins on Pinterest. 

Yankee Candle Scented Candles

Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

DIY to Die For: "Best Mom Ever" Tote Bag

Let's Pretend this Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson

This hip mama will love writing posts to the scent of a new candle and toting her iPad easily to the next new adventure in a bag all her own, just as much as a cookbook from one of the web's fave foodies and a funny book of memories from a well-known blogging personality. 

For the Seattle Mama

Nothing compares to the general awesomeness of the PNW, and if you ask completely-objective, entirely-unbiased lil' old me, the tech mecca and hipster paradise that is the glimmering focal point of Washington state has got to be one of the MOST awesome... which is why you should take a good look at the women who built it! To the ladies who get up early to feed their backyard chickens, to the blue-tarp campers whose summer revolves around Rainier, the Seattle Mommy wears many shoes: the fast-track sneaker, the ever-useful rainboot, and the power-player high heel, to name a few.... but today, she deserves to kick up her feet! 

Julep Nail Polish

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

 DIY to Die For: Personalized Coffee Mug

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Mama will love a bright new shade from the Seattle-based nail care brand, especially when paired nicely with a new way to sip her favorite blend. A memoir of a trek among some of the PNW's most beautiful, and a snarky new best-seller set in the Emerald City go great with her morning cup of coffee.

What are you getting your Mom this Mother's Day?

College Fashion Post Link Up: Eleanor and Park

Its always a fantastic moment when you realize that you're just making life hard for yourself, and there's a far easier method of conducting things than what you had originally anticipated. Case in point: after agonizing for a week over having to find time in my schedule to read a new book for an upcoming College Fashion post, but woefully unable to come across a title suitably interesting, well-known or relevant, I was mindlessly scrolling through my Twitter feed and came across a message about Rainbow Rowell's recent movie deal, where her standalone romance Eleanor and Park was acquired by Dreamworks. And thus, Eureka! I no longer had to expend quite so much effort, having read this book before. (Go Team Me.) In the end, I think I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, being that I essentially wrote the whole thing in one day while also suffering from some emotional upheaval and also being tasked with creating a vital asset to our sorority's Recruitment in the same weekend. If anything, this sweet story of love, and what it takes to fight for it, probably injected some much-needed hope into my schedule. At the very least, it gave me some pretty kick-ass musical accompaniment inspiration. 

So, check out my College Fashion post dealing with looks inspired by one of YA's newest darlings - and the darling romance that she created - right now! (Or, you know, check out the looks inspired by her other YA standalone, Fangirl!) Just to entice you further, how about a sneak peek of my favorite outfit from the article, styled around the concept of making the '80s fresh again, and based off of the 1986 time stamp on the narrative of Eleanor and Park: 

Check out the rest of the E&P looks and the article here!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Darkest Part of the Forest

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that gives bloggers the opportunity to highlight upcoming releases about which they are extremely excited. 

This week, I'm favoring a bit of fantasy and fairy tales in my life - mainly because I spent an hour or so just this morning finishing up the last installment of Kiera Cass' The Selection series, The One, but MORE ON THAT LATER - so when I saw that Holly Black had a new fantasy set to debut early in 2015, you could say that I got a little bit irrationally excited. Set for publication on January 13th, 2015, is Holly Black's The Darkest Part of the Forest. 

In a world where monsters run rampant and fairies live alongside humans in semi-harmony, Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the town of Fairfold. Primarily a tourist attraction full of harmless magic, Hazel knows how deadly the fairies could really be, and knows how to stop them... at least, she has before. 

Meanwhile, in the heart of the woods, a boy lies in a glass coffin, with horns on his head, and ears as pointed as knives. Ben and Hazel were both in love with him, at one point. 

Having slept through generations, one day, he awakens. 

And suddenly, nothing will ever be the same. All of those years Hazel has pretended to be a knight, are all she really has to defend herself now, but with the whirlwind of new love, old loyalties, and the pain of betrayal, those years seem to be lost in the shuffle. 

Why am I excited? 

Oh, come ON, what do you mean, I have to wait until the new year? Holly Black is a master at this kind of thing, and I cannot wait that long to get my hands on it. From co-writing The Spiderwick Chronicles with Tony DiTerlizzi, to the Modern Faerie Tales series, to even last year's The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, Holly Black knows how to please her audience with creepy, twisty humor, and this time, we're heading straight back into fairy tale territory. 

Besides, holy moly, is that cover five million kinds of gorgeous. I need it.... NEED it. Give it too me now! 

What are you waiting on this Wednesday? 

Stacking the Shelves: I'm Halfway Gone

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly Saturday book meme from Tynga's Reviews, all about sharing the books you've added to your shelves over the course of the week.

Quelle surprise, it's Week 5, I'm a little bit over a month out from summer, sunshine, and relative freedom, and I'm stressed out of my mind. Not only is it the ever-increasing workload and my ever-diminishing motivation to do any of it, but also the sunshine, the promise of better work that I can work out for myself, the buzz around our sorority of the approaching Recruitment season, and the excitement of The Cheerleader's senior year of high school and all it's accompanying excitement. 

So, naturally, instead of doing absolutely anything I was supposed to do on Thursday - I may or may not have taken the unnatural 85 degree Seattle weather to skip my classes and lay out on the lawn all day, oops! -  I decided to purchase a couple of books instead. (Don't worry, Dad, they were all about $1.99 each, so no major wallet burn here!) 

Xenophobia, Peter Cawdron

 The Shoemaker's Wife, Adriana Trigiani

           

The Perfume Collector: A Novel, Kathleen                                               Tessaro

                 The Orchardist, Amanda Caplin

                           Serena, Ron Rash

       All the Summer Girls: A Novel, Meg Donohue

                 Vintage: A Novel, Susan Gloss 

Coming Attractions: May

{April showers bring May flowers, in this adorable desktop wallpaper from Craftberry Bush!} 

Well, if March was a month of hard work, April was really a month of re-acclimation to not having quite so much hard work, but working hard nonetheless, you know? What I mean is, instead of having quite so many side projects requiring my attention, I had to shift the focus back to schoolwork, which is now quickly threatening to kick my butt, as well as everything else going on in this beautifully busy Spring. 

May is everything I've been waiting for. The school year is drawing to a close, some big projects that have been in the works for a while are entering their final stages, and Seattle's finally getting to see some sunshine around here! Not to mention my darling sister, The Cheerleader, is finally graduating high school in about a month, and not only is she celebrating that specific milestone of her life, but she's also starting to take the time thinking about her future... more specifically, her future here, with me, at UW! May is a time for looking forward, to summer, to fun, to not being tethered to my planner all the time with so much going on.

APRIL HIGHLIGHTS

{scheduling some much-needed coffee dates with my wonderful Little; the first backyard fire pit of the season, with many more roasted marshmallows to come; beautiful weather taking over the Emerald City, in the view from my window} 

• My most popular post this month: Top Ten Tuesday: Books for Fans of Once Upon a Time (even though it was only published yesterday!) 
• My College Fashion posts from this month: The 100 and Weetzie Bat. 
• My favorite post I wrote this month: The Origin Difference: What Formats Do You Favor? 
• Books I've read this month: Despite not having posted any reviews this month, I actually managed to read six books, three of which were for school, and two of which were for College Fashion: 
• Kass Morgan's The 100
• Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina
• Francesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat
• Carla Trujillo's What Night Brings
• Marissa Meyer's Scarlet
• Ford Maxford Ford's The Good Soldier

these are a few of my favorite links...

1. Author Alexandra Duncan tackles censorship and slut-shaming after her book Salvage was shelved onto a "Slut" shelf on Goodreads, by launching a giveaway to spread the word on some of her favorite "sluts" from books, an endeavor in which she has been joined by fellow YA women Beth Revis, Megan Shepard, Sharon Biggs Waller, Jessa Hollbrook and Trish Doller. Write on, ladies! 

2. When I saw all the hype leading up to the release of Dorothy Must Die, I thought I smelled a rat... and that rat turned out to be James Frey! Why everyone should be boycotting Full Fathom Five. 

3. Buzzfeed is a wondeful site for time wasters, but instead of spending a couple minutes on their random quizzes or ridiculous videos, why not tackle 36 Life Changing Poems Everyone Should Read, instead? 

4. However, I can't deny that the levity of Buzzfeed's lists don't appeal to me, too: here's a list of the 26 Types of English Majors you'll meet in your department. 

5. And, if you are, like me, recovering from a several bout of mental drought - ie, the unforgiving, merciless Writer's Block that came to Seattle alongside all this beautiful weather - try getting a little inspiration from this incredibly well-done video about Writer's Block, by British YouTuber KickthePj. 

quote of the month