Accent Challenge vlog, Part 1

It's sort of a Wordless Wednesday because I have a vlog for you! Sophia and I attempt to amuse you again with our (non)-accents!

Also, THANK YOU everyone who stopped by and commented on the Lovin' the Language Blogfest post! It brightened my whole week. I enjoyed seeing all your entries too!

Accent Challenge



Hope you enjoyed that! It's split up because it turned out to be kind of long, and I didn't want to overwhelm you with our randomosity.

Do you think you have an accent? Do you think WE have accents?

Part 2 will be up on FRIDAY! Hope to see you then!

Lovin' the Language Blogfest!

Today's special Monday post is brought to you by Jolene Perry's Lovin' the Language Blogfest!

I was psyched when I found out about this because I, too, am a lover of language. Beautiful writing - like really lovely, oh-that-could-be-poetry writing - takes my breath away. It pushes all my writerly readerly buttons. In fact, if you saw my Favorite Books blogfest post, you'll see part of why I love From the Dust Returned and The Last Unicorn so much is because the language sings. It does things I can only hope to aspire to.

So yeah, I love the language.

Here are the super flexible blogfest rules:

Pick any five lines (yes, it can be a few short lines that roll together. That's okay, and is probably what I'll do) from one of your WIPs. If you're feeling shy, and don't want to share from your own work, share from something you LOVE.

On June 27th (a dreaded Monday post) you can toss up some of your favorite lines - you know - the ones that make you want to jump up from your computer and raise your hands in the air when you get them down, or the ones that make you laugh, smile, or cry each time you read them.

Jolene herself confesses to being something of a blogfest rule-breaker. So, in honor of that spirit, I'm going to be breaking some rules myself this time around.

Instead of lines from 1 WIP, I'm sharing lines from a few. Why? Well, the current WIP has a few good ones here and there, but I have a few from others that I like better. :)

Here's a random sampling of some of my favorite lines from WIPs.

[From something old...]
1) It was a beautiful, delicate thing made of interlocked gears and fine coiled wire all encased in glass. Luminescent spell-fluid glowed within its small chambers, ready to be activated, and in the darkness, it seemed to the man as if he were holding a star.

2) Her memory was long, and the ghosts kept there stirred as she lost herself in the brushstrokes.

She could touch those flowers and be devoured with them by the pressing, encompassing dark.

[From something new...]
3) The girl cocks her head like a bird, pouting her lips at him. They are stained the reddish black of elderberries. “I know you in the sweetness of my marrow, the aching of my bones.”

[From Alz & my current WIP]

4) [Alz] "How far is the Bellows from here?"
The guard looked Cameron up and down.
"A good few miles," the guard replied. "You'll want to take a coach."
"Or I could walk," said Cameron.
"Aye, you could," said the guard, "and end up robbed blind and naked on the roadside."
"That bad, eh?" said Cameron.
"Maybe worse. Depends on the time of day." The guard squinted up at the sky, now a pale blue streaked with white cloudy wisps and the sun rising toward zenith. "Probably just robbed blind, roundabout now. Could end up dead, though, if you swagger through the Bellows flashing a sword around like that."

5) [Krispy] He cut a stark figure against the faded landscape like the first inked letter on a penciled page.


That's that! Thanks Jolene for having this fab idea, and thank YOU for reading!

Care to share a line or two (of yours or someone else's) in the comments? (That is if you're not already doing the blogfest) If you are doing the blogfest, let me know and I'll be sure to stop by!

See you Wednesday!

Randomosity on Fridays

I feel the need to blast Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night" right now because I am SO READY for the weekend!

Here's my Friday 5!

1. Tonight, I'm finally going to meet 2 Blogger friends IN REAL LIFE. I've been cyberstalking chatting and reading their writing since like college. So this is exciting times! I hope it doesn't turn horribly awkward...

2. Tomorrow (June 25), I'm going to go buy a book. Maybe even two. Maybe even one for you! At a bookstore. You should too, and then tweet about it with the hashtag #SaveBookstores. It'll be cool because there will be books and saving involved. Win/win!

For more info, check out Weronika Janczuk's #SaveBookstores post.

3. Last Sunday, I cleaned out my bookshelf. I realized I need another bookshelf. Even after taking out all my children's and baby books, I don't think I have enough room for all the "grown up" and not-so-grown-up books I've accumulated.

4. Last Sunday, my sister bought a bottle of OPI's "Shattered" nail polish. I still think it looks weird, but it's also pretty darn cool.

5. I'm going to a midnight showing of HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2!!! I've been hemming and hawing over it since it's technically a Thursday night, and girl's gotta work Friday, but at the prodding of the sister and the enthusiastic clamor of my friends, I said EFF IT and bought tickets.

As my college roomie tweeted to me: "yes dress up! It's the end of an era. I wish I had someone to go with me..."

I will be going with Sophia, my sister (the Slytherin), Ani of Anime's Musings (we'll be meeting for the first time!), and others. I think Sophia's going as Bellatrix. Now the question is, do I dress up as...

Generic Hogwarts Student / Cho Chang (hah)

OR

Sirius Black

?

What's your random this week? Anyone else going to a midnight showing of Harry Potter? Are YOU dressing up?

Be sure to come back MONDAY June 27 for an off-schedule post! I'll be participating in Jolene's Lovin' the Language (first ever!) blogfest, where we're required to share some lines we love from our WIPs or, if we're shy, lines from other people's stuff.

I'm super excited about this blogfest because if you couldn't tell from my Favorite Books blogfest entry, I do so love the language. I do hope you'll join us!

Favorite Book Blogfest

I am on a ROLL with these blogfest things this June. Too bad that wasn't on my resolutions list for this year because I'd be owning. :)

Anyway, you can still participate. Teralyn Rose Pilgrim is hosting this 3 day blogfest. Here are the deets:

1. Pick your top five favorite books
2. Between June 20 and 22, write one line of what each book is about and then write one line of why you liked it. Think of it like a twitter pitch for other people’s work. Semi-colons are cheating, but you can use them anyway.
3. Go to other blogs and discuss the books.
4. If you do not keep a blog, put your challenge in the comments on the day of the event.

So Jolene at Been Writing posted her blogfest entry on Saturday and broke the rules a bit. Instead of saying why she liked the book, she included a line or two from said book. I thought, Hey, that's cool. So I'm doing the same. Yeah, I just go around, sponging up other people's rule breaking ways.

Picking my 5 favorite books is CRAZY hard. A nigh IMPOSSIBLE task. I have a number of favorites, but they can't be ranked in any permanent way (they change up). Anyway, I did my best.

Here are 5 books I'm proud to have on my bookshelf.


1) The Last Unicorn: After learning she is the last of her kind, a unicorn journeys into the world to discover what has become of the others and to face the Red Bull that haunts their tracks.

Why I love it: It's an extended fairy tale with so much depth, and it has gorgeous prose.

"The unicorn lived in a lilac wood and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam, but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea."


2) From the Dust Returned: This is the collected stories of a special Family made of dust and dreams and untamed things and the foundling son, who wants so much to be like them.

Why I love it: It's a beautiful study of wonder, longing, and nostalgia. Plus, it has imagery and turns of phrase that make me long to be a better writer.

(From Chapter 5: The Wandering Witch)
"Into the air, over the valleys, under the stars, above a river, a pond, a road, flew Cecy. Invisible as autumn winds, fresh as the breath of clover rising from twilight fields, she flew."


3) Good Omens: The Apocalypse is nigh, but the Antichrist is missing, and a fussy angel and snarky demon, who aren't so keen on the End of Days plan, see it as their chance to stop the whole thing in its tracks.

Why I love it: Angels, demons, Horsemen, kids, a dog named Dog, prophecies gone awry (or not), and bucketloads of humor.

(Conversation between the angel Aziraphale & the demon Crowley)
"'There are people out there shooting one another!'

'Well that's just it, isn't it? They're doing it themselves. It's what they really want to do. I just assisted them. Think of it as a microcosm of the universe. Free will for everyone. Ineffable, right?'

Aziraphale glared.

'Oh, all right,' said Crowley wretchedly. 'No one's actually going to get killed. They're all going to have miraculous escapes. It wouldn't be any fun otherwise.'"


4) The Odyssey: With the end of the Trojan War, Odysseus can finally sail home to Ithaca, but after he ticks off Poseidon, the sea god, he is forced to journey through mythological Greece's most treacherous waters to find his way home.

Why I love it: It's an epic poem, which makes it EPIC, and I love Greek mythology. If it's translated well, the prose is spare but vivid in its imagery. I also have like 3 different copies of this book.

"But once your vessel has cut across the Ocean River / you will raise a desolate coast and Persephone's Grove, / her tall black poplars, willows whose fruit dies young. / Beach your vessel hard by the Ocean's churning shore / and make your way down to the moldering House of Death."

5) Sabriel: When her necromancer father goes missing, Sabriel leaves her boarding school on the non-magical side of the Wall for the magical Old Kingdom to discover her father's fate and to confront the dark force behind the rising Dead.

Why I love it: I think this is possibly the first new-at-the-time YA fantasy book I read as an actual YA that I really loved. The heroine kicks butt. There's mystery, danger, action, romance, and a really cool, well-developed magical world.

"Death and what came after death was no great mystery to Sabriel. She just wished it was."


Thanks for reading! What are your 5 favorite books and why? Have you read any of mine?


P.S. In case you haven't heard, the fabulous agent-writer extraordinaire Weronika Janczuk is doing a #SaveBookstores fest on June 25th, the first Saturday of summer. What do you have to do? Easy, go buy a book from a bookstore!

In fact, if A Nudge reaches 100 followers this week or next, I may buy one of YOU a book too. Just sayin.' But more on this perhaps Friday, while I mull it over. Any requests? ;)

Randomosity & Review: The Demon's Covenant

This is the last day in Sarah Rees Brennan Week! I hope by the end of this post, I'll have convinced you to pick up one of her books. :)

Before that though, a quick Friday 5 because this has been an oddly good week, despite... Well, here's the first of my 5 then.

1. Good things have happened this week, despite the fact that I am too close to the end of a book to return it to the library without finishing. This means I've racked up some overdue fees...

2. But on to the good things! I won copies of Hourglass, Blood Magic, and Imaginary Girls, all of which I've been eagerly anticipating. Now if only the mail would deliver faster...

3. The sister and I saw Florence and the Machine on Tuesday. That woman's voice is amazing. Then I let the sister drive us home. It was only her 2nd time driving on the freeway; we didn't hit anything. Yay!

4. Also, I bought a car this weekend.

5. Sophia and I filmed our next vlog yesterday! So, be on the look-out for that. Yes, there was boba. We still need a catchy name for these installments. Hmm...

REVIEW TIME! The Demon's Covenant

I tried to find the LEAST spoilery book blurb, and I have to say, I found a good one. It tells you who is in the book and the general idea without giving away ANY plot points - other than the general "supernatural things are menacing us" point.

Book Blurb (from Booklist review): Seventeen-year-old Mae’s younger brother Jamie is claimed by magicians known as the Obsidian Circle, and Mae once again appeals to friends Alan and Nick for help. Although the four come together to face the power-hungry magicians, internal doubts and treachery threaten the outcome. This delicious mix of magic, conflicted romance, and trust issues follows The Demon’s Lexicon (2009), but here Brennan’s writing is stronger and more confident.

Review: As I said at the end of my The Demon's Lexicon review, I liked this book more than the first. To begin with, I agree with the Booklist review where it says "Brennan's writing is stronger and more confident." Remember how I said I thought some of the transitions were choppy in Book 1? NO SUCH PROBLEM here! On top of that, the banter and humor were spot on. Lady can write some seriously funny dialogue. I had to keep from smiling at the book too much while I was reading.

SRB also really hits her stride with the character development and the sibling relationships. Last time around, we saw Nick and Alan's relationship from the inside via Nick's POV. This time, we get to see what it looks like from the outside - how their dynamic works and how it has changed from Book 1 to Book 2. It's really poignant to see the little ways and gestures with which the brothers show their care for each other. We also get a closer look at Mae and Jamie's relationship because Book 2 is told from Mae's POV. In the absence of involved parents, it's always been Mae and Jamie together against the world, and we saw that in Book 1, but now SRB tests that relationship by introducing third parties, who offer different things. She even commendably brings their absent mother into the story and deals with her relationship with her kids. As you know, I don't really like the ridiculously absent parents that often show up in YA (because parents are inconvenient for the story), so I was very pleased that SRB didn't just shove the mother aside.

Then there's individual character growth. Mae comes into her own in this one. She finds her own strength and starts to discover where she fits into this crazy world. And Nick! I did NOT forget about Nick because the change in him is arguably my favorite part of this book. We see him dealing with the consequences of last book, but we also see him trying to be better. It's hard to get into it without spoilers, but it's done so well. It is difficult and subtle and sweet, and SRB does it all without sacrificing character consistency. Nick is still that kinda scary, hot guy we met in Book 1, but he's also so much more and becoming more. That's really all I can say.

SRB also gives us glimpses of Alan and Nick's childhood, and these moments were so good. They were some of the most touching scenes in the book.

Oh, and there's kissing. I know some of you like a little romance with your hot boys and demons. ;) Last book, there wasn't so much with the romance, but this book's got it and it does not override the plot or the other relationships. (But it still smolders and sizzles.)

Some notes: I have few complaints. There's a point or two in the last 3rd of the book where I felt a few of the events were a little abrupt. So it was a little jarring and I had to stop and make sense of it, but other than that, there's nothing that sticks out in my mind.

Book 2 is told from Mae's POV, so some of you may miss Nick's POV. Some of you may be relieved it's not Nick. Depends on the reader. I was fine with both, but I will say Book 2 is easier to relate to because Mae is more like a regular person (i.e. she hasn't spent the bulk of her young life running away from and fighting magicians).

Book 3, The Demon's Surrender is told from yet another character's POV. It's a brave move by Sarah Rees Brennan as not everyone likes such big shifts, but I think she does it well, and the differing perspectives add extra layers to the characters and the story. It's also a very clever way of keeping things unpredictable as each character's POV limits their knowledge of varying aspects of the plot.

The Demon's Covenant in a nutshell: the stakes are higher, the emotions deeper, the world-building fuller, and the funny funnier. It left me desperate for Book 3 when I finished because as my sister would put it, s**t's getting real.

Wanna try before you buy? You can read Chapter 1 of The Demon's Covenant at SRB's website.

Hope you enjoyed my reviews for Sarah Rees Brennan week! Be sure to stop by YA Bibliophile for links to other blogs showing their love for SRB and her books!

Have I convinced you to try these books out?

What good things have happened to you this week?


P.S. The next FUN THING I'm doing on the blog is Jolene's Lovin' the Language blogfest on June 27th! Please, do join us!

Book Review: The Demon's Lexicon

Welcome to my actual post for Sarah Rees Brennan Week! In case you missed my abrupt Monday post, here's the gist.

The ladies of YA Bibliophile and The Reading Housewives of Indiana are co-hosting a week of celebratory blogging for cool beans author Sarah Rees Brennan and the release of her newest book, The Demon's Surrender. Yesterday marked the release of that third and final book in the Demon's Lexicon trilogy.

I AM SO EXCITED TO READ THIS LAST BOOK, GUYS. Sadly, I do not have it yet because Real Life is crazy right now, and I have to keep away temptation while I finish up the reading I'm in the middle of. BUT maybe this weekend, I'll reward myself with a book purchase.

You can check out my Monday intro post or click the image in the sidebar to find out more about Sarah Rees Brennan Week.

ONWARDS TO THE POST! I'm offering up a review of the 1st book in the trilogy, The Demon's Lexicon.

Do you like hot boys with knives?
Do you like sassy, fierce girls?
Do you like snarky banter and sibling relationships that'll break your heart?
Are you looking for a paranormal YA that's not all about the romance (but still gives a little)?

Then, you might want to check this book out. Also, if you like these boys who travel around the country hunting supernatural beasties...

Dean & Sam Winchester from Supernatural

You'll like Alan and Nick Ryves (though they look nothing like Dean or Sam, but they do remind me of them).


In fact, that was the sell my friend used when she recommended The Demon's Lexicon to me that long summertime ago. She said, "You should check out this book. It's about these two brothers who fight demons. It's kinda like Supernatural."

The School Library Journal review agrees: "Fans of the Supernatural television series will be hooked from the novel's opening lines (The pipe under the sink was leaking again. It wouldn't have been so bad, except that Nick kept his favorite sword under the sink.)"

Book Blurb (from goodreads): Nick and his brother, Alan, have spent their lives on the run from magic. Their father was murdered, and their mother was driven mad by magicians and the demons who give them power. The magicians are hunting the Ryves family for a charm that Nick's mother stole -- a charm that keeps her alive -- and they want it badly enough to kill again.

Danger draws even closer when a brother and sister come to the Ryves family for help. The boy wears a demon's mark, a sign of death that almost nothing can erase...and when Alan also gets marked by a demon, Nick is desperate to save him. The only way to do that is to kill one of the magicians they have been hiding from for so long.

Ensnared in a deadly game of cat and mouse, Nick starts to suspect that his brother is telling him lie after lie about their past. As the magicians' Circle closes in on their family, Nick uncovers the secret that could destroy them all.

This is the Demon's Lexicon. Turn the page.

Review: Let me tell you how this book is not like a lot of the paranormal YA books out there. First, there's a hot, mysterious, dangerous "bad boy," but he's the one telling the story. The book is told in Nick's close-3rd-person POV. He meets a strong-willed "damsel in distress" named Mae, except she's not actually the one in distress; her brother is and she'll do anything to save him. In classic bad boy fashion, Nick is a total jerk to her, except he isn't a jerk to her because he secretly likes her / she's his "own personal brand of heroine" / she reminds him of someone he lost. No, he's a jerk to her because Nick couldn't care less about her plight; he's got big enough problems on his own. Really, the only person Nick cares about is his brother Alan.

One of the things I loved about this book and its sequel is that the strongest relationships are sibling relationships. Nick is cold and distant, but he is fiercely loyal and protective of Alan, and Alan is devoted to Nick, even when it affects his own happiness. Mae and Jamie have distant parents, and so they have always relied on each other.

Secondary to the sibling relationships are the forming friendships. It was fun to see the dynamics between the siblings change and adjust when they were all thrown together in similar dire straights.

It's a refreshing turn from the prominent focus on romantic relationships in a number of paranormal/urban fantasy YA books. Of course, I like a little romance in my books (and I mean, with young adults, someone's probably crushing on someone), but it's nice to see a spectrum of relationships. And don't worry, there's a bit of romance in this series - just not so much in the first book (especially since it's told from Nick's POV).

So Nick doesn't exactly sound like a likable protagonist, and I'll be honest, he isn't most of the time. He kind of scared me, but I think that's the point, and it's actually another interesting and great part of the book. It's uncomfortable to be in Nick's head, but it's also fascinating trying to figure him out. He is complicated and nuanced with moments of both utter callousness and a kind of desperate vulnerability. You feel his struggle to understand people and you want so badly to understand him (I mean, he has to be more than just this jerk if Alan loves him so much, right? - oh and I haven't even TOLD you about Alan yet), and then...

Then, Sarah Rees Brennan pulls something pretty awesome, and suddenly everything MAKES SENSE. I'm going to leave it at that. It was one of my favorite things about the book and I refuse to spoil it for you.

Oh and Alan Ryves. Nick's older brother. Sweet, clever, noble (and maybe not-so-noble) Alan, who turns out to be more layered than a cabbage. I love him, like a lot.

Some Notes: Some caveats, The Demon's Lexicon was SRB's debut. As such, there were moments in the scene pacing that felt odd to me. Like I think the transitions from scene to scene sometimes felt choppy. I also wish there was more world-building. There are some supernatural things that are painted with broad strokes that I wanted a little more explanation for. (I get my wish in Book 2 though.)

The biggest issue I can see though is the not-so-likable protagonist thing. It will bug some people enough that they don't like the book or are wary of reading the sequel. For me, it was okay. Yes, it was hard to connect to Nick and yes, it wasn't exactly rainbows to be in Nick's head, but it was interesting and the other characters were engaging and relatable. And the payoff at the end was worth it all for me because I thought it was brilliant and well done (because SRB set it up throughout).

Also, if you read the 1st book and you liked it but are kind of wary of jumping into Nick's head again, NEVER FEAR! Book 2, The Demon's Covenant, is told from someone else's POV. Yeah, that's another thing Sarah Rees Brennan isn't afraid of pulling, giant POV switch. Here's another heads up: Book 3, The Demon's Surrender is told from yet another character's POV.

So, I liked Book 1, but I LOVED Book 2. A large part of it is because the new POV is easier to relate to, and I liked seeing what Alan and Nick's relationship looked like from the outside. Plus, SRB amps up the tension and emotion.

But more on The Demon's Covenant on Friday when I post up a review for that! See you then!

Have you read anything by Sarah Rees Brennan? What did you think?


Want a sample before you buy? You can read the first chapter of The Demon's Lexicon at SRB's site.

Be sure to check out both YA Bibliophile and the Reading Housewives to see what fun stuff they have going on today and to find out who else in the blogosphere is squeeing about the series!

Sarah Rees Brennan Week

Look! It's a special Monday post!

Just popping in real quick to let you all know that I'm participating in Sarah Rees Brennan Week, hosted by YA Bibliophile and The Reading Housewives of Indiana.

Basically, we're celebrating the awesomeness that is Sarah Rees Brennan and her Demon's Lexicon trilogy. The third book, The Demon's Surrender is out TOMORROW, and it is one of the books I've been most anticipating for 2011.

Be sure to check out YA bibliophile and The Reading Housewives today and throughout the week for book reviews, Sarah interviews, and (everyone's favorite) giveaways! Each day, they will also be linking to other blogs that are celebrating SRB Week.

Today, YA bibliophile is giving away signed copies of the first 2 books, The Demon's Lexicon and The Demon's Covenant.

And The Reading Housewives have an interview with Sarah Rees Brennan and a giveaway for a copy of The Demon's Surrender.

I'll be back Wednesday with a post of substance for the Demonic fun times. ;) See you then!

Randomosity on Fridays: Tagged! Meme

Happy Friday, lovelies! So I actually have no idea what this meme is called, but it has been making the rounds of the blogs I frequent. So now, it has come to me.

Thanks, Sophia.

Without further ado, the meme.

Do you think you're hot?
It would be conceited for me to say, so you can be the judge of that.

Yeah, I know. So attractive.

Upload a picture or wallpaper that you're using at the moment.
I'm not going to do this one because I'm using a generic Mac wallpaper. Like it comes pre-installed or whatever on the computer when you buy it. I chose the one called "Maple." It's kind of golden toned with close-ups of maple leaves.


When was the last time you ate chicken meat?
Snack before dinner tonight. My sister had left-over popcorn chicken from this local Taiwanese place. Fried deliciousness!


The song(s) you listened to recently.
- Ke$ha's "We R Who We R" - I was watching the Bookinistas celebration video for "Divergent," and this song was the backtrack.
- Katy Perry's "E.T." - heard it like 4 times in the 45 min it took me to drive home from work.
- Parachute's "Kiss Me Slowly" - My sister LOVES this band, and this song is off their new album. They wrote it with Lady Antebellum. This song captures so well the feeling of trembly expectation and a perfect, transient moment.



My sister is my go-to source for music. Yeah, she's cooler than me.


What were you thinking as you were doing this?
"I really need to finish that really overdue book, but I do also need a blog post. Uh, I'll just watch another interview with Tom Hiddleston..."

(He played Loki in THOR, and I loved him. As the amazing Sarah Rees Brennan tweeted: "Saw THOR. Whoever thought 'nobody will like adopted monster brother w/silver tongue, eerily pale complexion & secret pain' did not know me.")


Do you have nicknames? What are they?
I used to have a ton, but the 2 that currently get any use are Allie and Krispy. Yes, Krispy is a nickname that my friends actually use in real life.


Tag 8 blogger friends...
This would be easier if I could see my follower list and if I could remember who has already done this meme...

1. Xixi (Icy Roses)
2. Tere Kirkland
3. Danyelle Leafty
4. ali cross
5. Elena Solodow
6. Emy Shin
7. Ariana
8. Angela Felsted


Who's listed as No. 1?
Xixi! She's funny and sassy, and her blog was one of the first I followed.

Say something about No. 5.
Have you been to Elena's blog? There's always something new and amusing.

How did you get to know No. 3?
I don't even remember. Dany's blog was one of the earliest I started following, but I don't remember how I got there. Maybe I clicked her name because it's spelled all prettily. Started getting to know her by submitting a piece to one of her Character Voice challenges.

How about No. 4.?
Probably found ali through a combo of Elana Johnson's blog and her comments here. So glad I did because she's uber sweet.

Leave a message for No. 6.
Emy, blog more! I enjoy reading what you have to say. What have you been up to? :)

Leave a lovey dovey message for No. 2.
Tere, you are one smart, candid, and cool lady. Thanks for being such a cool interwebz friend, and if I had never wanted to visit New Orleans before, I do now because of your locale posts and because maybe I'll run into you IN REAL LIFE. Maybe?

Do No. 7 and No. 8 have any similarities?
They're both lovely ladies with a flair for words. Is that a cop out? Well, to be more specific, I love the whimsy, magic, and vivid imagery in Angela's poetry, and from what little I've read of Ariana's writing on her blog, there seems to be a similar tendency towards vivid imagery (and magic!).

And that's it! If you've already done this meme, sorry for tagging you again! I had trouble keeping track of where I've seen this meme before. That and my followers thing still isn't working, so I picked you lovelies off the top of my head.

If I didn't tag you, please share your answers to some of these questions in the comments! I'd love to get to know more of you / get to know you more.

Basically, I TAG EVERYONE. <3 Have a great weekend!

Cop-Out Wednesday

I didn't really have an idea for today's blog post, and I'm behind on several things, so this was going to be a short blog post anyway.

However, my ability to blog anything even vaguely coherent was nuked by the episode of Doctor Who my sister and I were watching. David Tennant is too good. This episode made me too sad to post.

The lesson to take from this is blog BEFORE watching emotionally wrenching episodes of Doctor Who (or anything). Although, in my defense, I didn't know it was going to be one of these eps, but I should've known better.

So I leave you with this question:

Do you read more than 1 book at a time? Why or why not? Which do you prefer?

See you Friday when I'll be answering a meme Sophia tagged me in!


P.S. The fabulous, kind, and awesome Elana Johnson has a book out! It's a little thing called POSSESSION, out yesterday. So CONGRATS to Elana, and you can check out the many amazing chances to win a copy of her book below:

Possession Bloghop & Contest

Possession Giveaway of Awesome

Randomosity on Fridays: Missing Out

Welcome to JUNE, everyone! We are 6 months into 2011, and I just realized I should probably do a resolutions progress report. Eep.

ANOTHER TIME.

I hope your Memorial Day weekends were wonderful, and if you didn't have the long weekend, I hope your weekend was itself wonderful.

Part of mine was spent vlogging. The other was spent at my friend's stylish house where we BBQed and played games and roasted s'mores. It was at this BBQ that I made up for 2 experiences that I should have had in college but did not actually have.

Thus we have the topic of today's Randomosity/Friday 5! I'm talking about all those things people usually do at specific times in their lives (e.g. High School, College, before *insert age here*) that I didn't do until later (or still haven't done).


1. Beer Pong: Yeah, until this past weekend, I had never played beer pong. I've seen it plenty of times in passing throughout my college career, but I never played or knew what was going on, except that a ping pong ball & table and cups of beer (in those ubiquitous red plastic cups) were involved. I didn't really play a match, but someone finally told me how it worked! Did you know you're not supposed to bounce the ball on the table?

2. "Chugged" beer: I say "chug" in quotes because it is a FACT OF LIFE that I cannot drink ANYTHING fast. So my teammates were dying at my slow drinking abilities during the first and only round of Flip Cup I've ever played (another booze game I missed out on in college). I also don't like beer, so that didn't help my speed. This experience also happened this past weekend.

3. High School Sweetheart: I was one of those people who didn't date in high school. So this thing that is often such a big deal in YA books and TV dramas? Never happened.

4. SPRING BREAK!!!: As in the kind of Spring Break that involves swimsuits, beaches, exotic locales, and a week of unsupervised debauchery. During my university years, I mostly flew home and bummed around town, especially since my Spring Break didn't usually line up with other people's. Boo.

5. Road trip with friends: I still have time to do this one, but I have not yet road-tripped with any of my friends. This needs to happen. I'm requesting one that involves mystery spots and historic sites.

So what about you? What things did YOU "miss out" on? When did you finally get clued in, if ever?

Happy weekend, lovelies! Thank you for all your sweet comments on the vlog! It was very encouraging, which means there might be more in the future! *hearts you all*