Top Ten Tuesday, Throwback Edition: Ten of My Most Impactful Pre-High-School Reads

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

As of last Wednesday, my younger siblings are back in school. Fall has commenced in earnest in our household, and I've found myself reflecting fondly on those glory days of my youth, filled with plaid-skirted and khaki-panted uniforms, the holy grail snack of pizza Lunchables, and the long-awaited and oft-celebrated Read-In Day.

Thank goodness this week's Top Ten Tuesday theme is a "Throwback Freebie," so I can ruminate on the books of my youth, too!

What, you didn't think that I could grow to be this big of a book nerd, without having fostered the habit back when I was a kid, right? From waking up early on weekdays so I could fit a Magic Treehouse book into my busy schedule before going to school, to passing around Percy Jacksons like contraband around the lunchtable, to viewing Book Fair and Sustained Silent Reading days like they were national holidays, I've been this kind of a nerd since I soared through my first Bob book.

So, in celebration of the new academic year, here are ten of the books and series I remember loving back in elementary and middle school!

elementary, my dear reader

1. The Magic Treehouse series, Mary Pope Osborne
I'm not kidding when I say I used to wake up early before school to read one of these smart, short installments before being hustled off to second and third grade. Then, when I'd gotten home from post-school daycare, I'd sit on the couch and read another while my mom made dinner. I blame this series for my adamant need for historical context in period pieces.

2. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
One of the first books my Dad ever read us kids before bed, and one of the most frequent rereads when I need an extra shot of inspiration, this book remains one of my all-time favorites, even though it took me a little while after first hearing it to understand all of the witty wordplay. I will always and forever be a proud resident of Dictionopolis!

3. The Princess Tales series, Gail Carson Levine
While Levine's other books - including middle grade icon, Ella Enchanted - were also frequently found in my reading rotation, it was the petite and pastel Princess Tales hardcover series that originally won my heart. Set in the fictional kingdom of Biddle, this collection of brief fairy tales like The Princess Test, The Fairy's Mistake, and Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, were spunky and original, riffing on classic stories with hilarity and fun.

4. The Dragonriders of Pern series, Anne McCaffrey
You know how every classroom had that one girl who was obsessed with horses, or that girl who loved cats? Well, I was the girl who loved dragons. And Dragonsong's Menolly was probably one of the first blatantly feminist influences I remember reading. So, double foundational personality trait points, there!

5. A Series of Unfortunate Events series, Lemony Snicket
The fact that one of my favorite series from my youth has garnered such a sterling media adaptation, I can't tell you. I mean, the fact that they included one of my all-time favorite lines from the actual third book in the series - "If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats" - made me gasp out loud. This series made me think eating straight wasabi would be a good idea (Grim Grotto), and gave me second thoughts about attending a fictional boarding school (Austere Academy), as well as wildly misplaced conceptions about how precocious my incredibly young siblings would be (ie, Sunny). It definitely had a hand in forming part of my brain, which I'm choosing to believe is a good thing.

stuck in the middle with you

6. The Percy Jackson series, Rick Riordan
In what I can say was probably one of the only book clubs I've ever been a part of - and a definitely non-official one at that - my friends and I swapped around the books in this series as a part of a regular middle school cafeteria exercise. I have no idea whose copies the originals were, but since then, my younger sister and brother have invested in their own boxed set to share.

7. The Luxe series, Anna Godbersen
I can't remember if this series was actually billed as "Gossip Girl in 1899" or if that's just something that I used to label it in my head, but whatever the case, it's an apt description. Involving a set of friends experiencing love and scandal for the first time in the New York petticoat set, I was actually kind of embarrassed to be caught reading this at school... until some of the cool girls I sat next to in Social Studies complimented me on it.

8. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
While my great group of friends was in the midst of experiencing Percy Jackson, we were also undergoing a bit of a British Invasion, courtesy of two key members with family who were originally from England. Because of them, I got to experience the genius of British sci-fi humor, including Red Dwarf, and this genius book. We even celebrated Towel Day together in high school, and there's a pic of about five of us packing hand towels in our backpacks floating around on Facebook somewhere.

9. The A Great and Terrible Beauty series, Libba Bray
I still regularly read Libba Bray's amazing work - like the Diviners series, set in paranormally-inclined New York, or her standalone Beauty Queens (aka, the only Lord of the Flies female-driven homage anyone should be caring about) - but the first book that got me set on this brilliant author still got me a few weird looks once classmates read the back blurb. It became one of my defining regular series in middle school.

10. The Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling
Um, yeah, we all knew this would be here. What you might not have expected? That there was a period for about a year and a half, where - instead of seeking out any new or interesting reading material - I just reread a whole bunch of Harry Potter books over and over again. And not even in order, either! I just skipped around. I think I topped out at reading Prisoner of Azkaban a grand total of about13 times.

What's in your Top Ten? And what are some of your favorite school reading memories? Let me know, in the comments below!

Savannah's Side: Sorority Recruitment

In which I, Savannah, tell you a little bit about the personal doings of some of the aspects of my life that don't get as much airtime on the blog! 

Hello, everyone! Long time, no... write.

I've been meaning to update for a while now, but unfortunately, my schedule is keeping me pretty preoccupied... I'm currently in the thick of Panhellenic Formal Fall Recruitment at the University of Washington, during which I will be spending my time directing women undergoing the process, and counseling them on how to make the most of it, as a Recruitment Counselor!

Basically, in simplified terms, Formal Fall Recruitment (commonly termed "Rush," though we like to stay away from that word nowadays because of potentially stressful connotation) is the period during which women have the opportunity to get to know the 17 sororities on the UW campus, before school has officially started. It takes about a week, with women visiting and getting to know every chapter, and slowly whittling down their choices of the places they'd like to continue visiting, until they have selected their final three choices during Preference Round. After that, the sororities extend bids to the women they'd like to invite to be a part of their chapter!

(At least, that is the ideal situation. There's a lot more to go into involved in the "mutual selection process," with each sorority narrowing down the women they'd like to extend invitations to at the same time the women are making those distinctions for themselves, but at its most fundamental level, that's how Recruitment works!)

Confusing, I know. My job during all of this frantic business, is to tackle just that: confusion, on the part of the women who will potentially be the new members of the chapters they're visiting (hence their title, "Potential New Members," or "PNMs"). Also, homesickness, stress, disappointment, etc. Basically, as a Recruitment Counselor, I'm... counseling them through Recruitment. 

Not just on an emotional level, though. I'm also going to be living in the residence halls during the process, with PNMs who are staying on campus instead of commuting, and I'll be working alongside Panhellenic to monitor the sororities to make sure they don't go against the rules of Recruitment in any way, as well. I'm also helping running the computer system into which girls input their selections for each stage of the process, and I'll probably handling other odd jobs, too!

In order to be the best asset to these young women during the process, and present the most neutral and objective sounding board for assisting them in their decisions, I'm currently "disaffiliated" from my sorority; meaning, I won't be able to tell anyone which sorority I belong to, nor will they be able to talk about me, nor will any of my sorority sisters be able to contact me in any way (and vice versa) until I run back to my house on Bid Day (the day the sororities extend their invitations to the new members, and the Greek Community basically erupts into one great big party!).

It might sound a little lonely for me, because I suddenly have to go a week within spitting distance of the people I love, without getting to really acknowledge their existence, but fret not: I get to hang out with the amazing women in my Greek Community who have also made the decision to be Recruitment Counselors! I have two specific partners with whom I will be working most of the week, whom I already have come to know pretty well... Miko and Carley are the Beyonce and Michelle Williams to my Kelly Rowland.

In total, I'm incredibly excited for the opportunity to explore the general awesomeness of my Greek Community from another angle during the Recruitment process, and I'm really looking forward to this upcoming week, and especially Bid Day, on the 12th!

Until then, however, I'll relish my free time... especially because I've prepared for that time by downloading Isla and the Happily Ever After, Girl on a Wire, and Heir of Fire onto my Kindle Paperwhite already! So, be expecting to hear from me later about how my time on the streets of the Greek Community goes... I look forward to being able to write again soon!

Formal Fall Recruitment is a pretty action-packed time for the Greek Community here at UW... even during our downtime, we can still hear sororities practicing their Preference songs and Open House door chants through open windows! However, the rewards I have gained from being a member of my sorority - and the Greek Community in general - have truly shaped the direction I'm taking my life, and I strongly encourage all college-aged women to GO GREEK! 

I Need a New Planner! : Planner-ed Out Perfect, Part One

In case anyone was still harboring any suspicions about how much of a total geek I am, let me just lay this down for you: should any kind of producer feel the need to turn my life into a reality show, at some point in time, I will be seated in a confessional booth, talking about my adoration for... notebooks. Notebooks galore. Notebooks for blogging, notebooks for writing, notebooks for journaling, notebooks for random to-do lists that I just need to get out of my head, and especially, the best notebook, the high holiest of notebooks, the Emma Watson of notebooks... the planner. 

I am a planner freak. I love lists and making plans in general, and let's be real: I've got quite a bit in my life that requires wrangling, so with a planner, I have tons of room for making sure everything and everyone is getting taken care of! So with the impending school year, I am once again faced with the quandary of selecting my new planner. Seeking my stationery soul mate, I took to the Internet to find just the right one! 

LILLY PULITZER

If you're in college - and if you're in the Greek System - then you've seen these colorful planners dipping in and out of the totes and carryalls of many a sorority superstar. The tried-and-tested planners come with plenty of options in both print and sizing, and are chock full of lots of goodies, like stickers and fun illustrations for each month. They're also durable, and well-loved by basically everyone I know who owns one.

And funny enough, even though it is a brand-name planner, it costs about the same as the Etsy planner included in this post, and, depending on the size, even comes down to be one of the least expensive! So don't let the fancy pedigree get in the way of all your whimsical planning needs.

However, while they are the ultimate in collegiate chic planners... that also means that everyone has one. So, without as much expense, with all the bells and whistles, but without the unique quality that would make your planner stand out against the masses, the Lilly Pulitzer planner could be a serious contender.

My fave: Trippin' and Sippin' in the Large Agenda Size, $28

FILOFAX

So, I used to think this was kind of a retro-type option for how you were supposed to organize yourself, mainly because the last time I saw one of these puppies before this summer was back at our after-school daycare, in the "Pretend Office" bucket, along with brick-sized cellphones and fountain pens long missing ink.

However, nowadays, thanks to a veritable litany of Filofax users scattered all over Etsy and Pinterest, there are plenty of options for colorful customization, from free printable pages you can insert, to washi tape decorating tips and other ways to make it your own. 

However, this is also a reasonably expensive option... your average starter Filofax runs at about $50. And if, despite those alluring freebies, all that customization adds up to an ever-increasing budget, then the professionalism of this planner system might be well out of my college-student price range. 

My fave: Patent Personal Organizer, Pocket Size, in Lemon, $40.95

ERIN CONDREN 

A close runner-up for the Lilly planner in the hands of sorority women, Erin Condrens were made for the Panhellenic girls with too much passion for just one planner: if you like to-do lists, if you like doing the readings for the homework before class, and if you like organizing your closet by color, you'll like these planners. Hence, why I was originally planning on buying one before the last school year started!

However, don't go on the company's Facebook page: it's a veritable minefield of unhappy customers at the moment... yikes! Apparently, should the reviews and complaints ring true, the customer service department isn't the best at fixing mistakes, and production quality isn't always at its top form. 

So, is the astronomical cost worth all that hype (as well as all those unhappy reviews on Facebook?).

My fave: 2014-2015 Life Planner in Photo Floral, $50

PLUM PAPER PLANNERS ON ETSY

Lauded by many as Erin Condren's knock-off cousin, and touted by many a mommy blogger, Plum Paper Planners present a lot of options, without quite as hefty a price as some of their competitors. However, you also have to take into account that these aren't subjected to the kind of scrutiny that something like Lilly Pulitzer, or even a growing cult brand like Erin Condren, are, in terms of durability and user testing.

The planners are much more simplified in terms of layout: less colorful, with less flashy additions cluttering up the place. It also allows for more interior customization, with multiple planner options available - teacher and student planners, fitness planner, wedding planner, etc. - and tons of covers. .It's all a little overwhelming to sort through, but that just goes to show how much customization they offer

Also, unanimously in the fours and fives, the Plum Paper Planners have next to no unhappy customers. However, they're still asking for quite a bit in terms of pricing, at $31.

My fave: 2014 & 2015 Planner, Pennant Design, $31 (without customization)

MAKE MY OWN

No lie, this is how I got through this past summer: by printing out my own scheduling space, and storing it all in a 1/2 inch binder that we had lying around. Fully customizable contents, day-by-day sheets perfectly tailored to what I wanted, allowing me to micromanage my own matters to my very heart's content, my summer planner has been absolutely stupendous... but isn't really the right fit for my hectic school year schedule.

THE CHOSEN ONE

You're going to laugh. An afternoon after writing the first couple of sections of this post, I went to Target, and made a decision that my mama would be justly proud of: I went the thrifty route, and picked up a basic black Mead July 2014 - June 2015 Planner, for about $9. After so many colorful options displayed above, how did my brain rationalize such an austere, minimalistic decision? Well, let me tell you. 

With the above selections, I was perfectly ready to drop $50+ on a planner, and a part of me still thinks that would be a reasonable decision, due to the inhuman amount of time I spend with my that particular article of schedule organization. However, when I saw the Mead planner, I had an epiphany: I could spend $50 bucks on a colorful planner that was customized for me, but that I had no guarantee of liking, or I could buy a $9 planner and customize it myself! Instead of just a planner, I could now treat myself to back-to-school supplies like colorful pens, washi tape, stickers, and more, all of which I plan on using to make my new planner special. And because the planner itself already has open calendar space for the month of August, I can start breaking it in before school even starts! 

And hey, if for some reason the Mead doesn't work out, I can always buy a new kind of planner system at the start of 2015, and no harm done... but for now, I'm excited to get artsy! 

Thanks for sticking with me throughout this (incredibly long) planner journey. Look for future posts about the rest of my 2014-2015 school supplies haul, and other back-to-school topics, appearing on the blog in August!