currently.

I saw this last week on Kate Hart's blog, then Jessica Love posted, as did Katy Upperman. So we couldn't resist the steal.

Krispy

loving... The IMAGINE DRAGONS album. The Sister talked about it in her Fall Music Preview post, but now that I've had a chance to listen to it, I can add my vote to her rec. I'm especially digging the song, DEMONS.

 

reading... Tiger Lily, a riff on Peter Pan that I'm enjoying so far and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Yeah, I know. I'm nearly a decade late on the latter, but I have friends who loved it in high school, and the movie is out soon!

watching... Doctor Who, though we're becoming increasingly disenchanted with the way Steven Moffat is showrunning this thing. Moffat is good when he's good, but I think that's only in small, concentrated doses a la the classic episode "Blink."
Also watching, The Walking Dead - just started & my sister hates everyone, lol.
Aaaand college football (Cal Bears - already breaking my heart; UCLA Bruins - surprisingly good!)

thinking about... writing, actually. And how I'm so freaking behind on some stuff (not necessarily writing related). And where the heck did the summer go?

anticipating... October! Lots of exciting things planned for October! Concerts and travel! On a more timely/September note, anticipating so many books! Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan, which I'll hopefully pick up this weekend and Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys (which I've already pre-ordered).

wishing... More 3 day weekends! Seriously, I'm burning out.

making me happy This silly guy (and his Halloween bandana)

And as for Alz--

loving... Tea. Oolong milk tea floats and jasmine milk tea floats.  Also citrus tea.  And Thai tea with boba.

reading... Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder still, and also piecemealing my way through the increasingly problematic (over-written, culture appropriation & exoticizing, lack of research, etc.) Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff.  Also just finished Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan--I like some facets of it, but was ultimately underwhelmed and a little disappointed.

watching... Doctor Who, with Krispy & her sister.  Ditto everything she said RE: Moffat steamrolling the show into the realm of angry plot-holed unwatchableness.  I've also been watching 07 Ghost with Krispy, which we lovingly refer to as "fantasy anime" and "that anime where the protagonist is shackled hand and foot for like 8 episodes straight".

Dalek cupcakes for the Sister's birthday by our friend.

thinking about... Revision.  I have to sit on things for a long time after finishing them before I can go back and shred them.

anticipating... Shamefacedly, The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson.  I know, I know I panned the first book but my masochistic streak runs strong and there were enough hilariously bad moments of WTF-ery in the first book that I kind of want to read the second just to see if there are more.  Although after perusing the promo chapters online, I was saddened to learn that Elisa has (apparently) kept off the pounds and is no longer a fat princess.

wishing... I could carve better.

making me happy... Yogurt-flavored Hi-Chew candy.

Randomosity on Fridays: Fall Music Preview!

Hey all, I sort of didn't notice it was September already (I seriously dated something as August just yesterday) until I got slammed by Start of School Traffic this week while trying to get to work. You can't really tell by the weather; we're still cruising in the high 80s.

In any case, whether I like it or not, it's the start of the a new season and there are many exciting things afoot. Travels, shows, books, music!

So for this first weekend after Labor Day, we're bringing my Sister back in to give you a brief Fall Music Preview. Enjoy! (P.S. It's her birthday this weekend!)
------

Now that it's September, all the little kiddies have gone back to school and I am left feeling old and wondering what the heck happened to summer. When late September comes along, I'll be crying in a corner realizing that I am not going back to school. But with a new school year comes new music.

From what I've learned from all my internships, Fall is actually the busy time for music vs. summer (which is actually our slow season). Lots of new albums from some of my favorite artists have come out or are coming out, so here is a brief fall music preview. Go buy these albums because they are amazing. Hope you enjoy!

First up is the new album from Two Door Cinema Club that just came out this past Tuesday! If you get it at Target its $7.99 or you can get a deluxe edition at Best Buy for $9.99 that includes the new album with another live CD. The new album is called BEACON, and though I've only listened to it all the way through twice, I enjoy it so far! It's a bit different from the 1st album and has more mid-tempo songs, but you can still tell that this is the same band. You can definitely hear the growth in this album.

Songs I'm feeling at the moment are "Someday" (which sounds like the Two Door we all know and love) and "The World Is Watching," which includes a nice guest vocal from Valentina.



Next album is from one of my new favorite bands, Imagine Dragons. I posted about them last time when they just had their EP out. Now their full-length, NIGHT VISIONS, is out. I was so impressed with their EP that I knew I would not be disappointed if I bought the full album, and I'm not! The only issue I have with the LP is that a lot of songs from the EP are on it, which is fine since I love those songs, but I'm not used to having so many EP songs on an LP. This full length album continues to show the versatility of the band which was showcased on the EP. And as the check-out lady at Best Buy told me when ringing me up, "I don't get bored listening to this album."

 One of my favorites from this album is actually a bonus song on the Best-Buy version called "Selene." "Tiptoe" is also another great one. Trust, the whole album is amazing.

 


Now I'm going to introduce you guys to two very lovely British ladies. Their albums dropped in the summer months of July and August, but their music just fits much better with Fall.

The first is Jesse Ware with her album DEVOTION. If you are into mod, electronic, "I'm in a fancy modern restaurant/store" type music then you will definitely like Jesse. Some of her songs also remind of that chill vibe The Weeknd has. It's hard to describe her style of music, but just know it is great! She has such an amazing voice, and I love the feel of her songs. Plus, she is friends with the goddess that is Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine, so ya know Ima bit biased.

Some songs to check out from this album are "Wildest Moments" and "110%." Grooveshark is lame and doesn't have any from this album but "Valentine: is a great song too!

 

The next artist is Lianne La Havas with her album IS YOUR LOVE BIG ENOUGH. Lianne is a soulful singer, and it's crazy to think this voice comes out of someone at the young age of 23! It's one of those voices that you just fall in love with.

What really made me fall for her was the version of "No Room For Doubt" that she did for La blogotheque. I'll leave you with the album version of it, but definitely check out that version on youtube! Another song to listen to is "Don't Wake Me Up."




And with that, I leave you all. Hope you enjoyed these! Also, make sure to get the new The xx album called COEXIST next week (it is currently streaming in full on their website)! I saw them in July and died. Besides, their first album was SO GOOD, so check that one out too if you haven't.

Q4U: What are you looking forward to this Fall?

What We're Reading Wednesday

Krispy and I have been reading some surprisingly okay/even good books lately, and I realized we haven't done one of these look-at-what-we've-been-up-to-reading-wise posts in a while.  Take a gander at our recent reads!

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas - This is the book for which Krispy and I attended a book signing and were generally greatly anticipating for a multitude of reasons.  Krispy read most of it and then I stole it from her while she frolicked in Vegas, and then she stole it back, and I read it while I was at her house and finished it and had to wait impatiently for her to finish it so we could discuss.

Ultimately, she liked the book and I thought it was okay.  I probably would've been more frustrated/critical if I hadn't read the original online version of it; nostalgia hardcore factored into the experience.  A joint review of this light/diet-fantasy adventure is forthcoming.

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard - Krispy just finished this one and rather enjoyed it.  She also judged it to be a book thatI wouldn't immediately lambast with an F and 0 stars due to sheer character incompetence or stupidity, which means I have neutrally medium-high hopes for it.  She did say it was very plotty and we had an interesting discussion about racial stereotypes that may or may not be stereotypes and the difficulties involved in writing them in a historical/period piece like this.

Mind you, the racial discussion sprang from a minor part of the book.  Post on that possibly forthcoming.  In the meantime, Krispy enjoyed the Victorian zombies.

City of Fire by Laurence Yep - I found this MG book at the library and was like holy crap omg because it was Laurence Yep and alternate history San Francisco with shape-shifting dragons, magic, mythological creatures, and more multiculturalism than you could shake a stick at.

It started off amazingly awesome, well-researched and with glorious immersive world-building--but by halfway through, the book started to lag due to pacing issues and a very, very straightforward plot, and Big Reveals that were tossed off in a very flat informative manner.  I do want to read the sequel but I have lowered expectations.

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake - Krispy just got this one from the library and is reading it right now.  It is the much-anticipated (by us) sequel to Anna Dressed in Blood which we both enjoyed and never managed to write a review for, although you can get an idea of how much we liked it from the fact that it was all over our Class of 2011 YA Superlative Blogfest posts.

Krispy's not far in yet but likes it so far, and she'd better read fast because I want to read it too.  We don't read much YA horror around here just because we get distracted by shinier covers and titles, but Kendare Blake pens some good ghost stories.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder - A book about which we have both heard a great deal and which many people have urged us to read.  Krispy got it from the library and as usual I stole it from her.  The only other book I've read by Maria V. Snyder is Inside Out, which I liked but didn't love, and I can tell that Poison Study is her first book from the way it's written.

Which is not to say that it's not interesting and fairly well-written, mind you!  I do have some suspicions about a large plot point though.  Also, despite the fact that the heroine is around 16 or 17, this doesn't seem like YA and the publisher is not a YA publisher, so I'm not sure why I've seen it touted as YA.

That's what's on our current literary platter!  Fantasy, Victorian zombies, alternate fantasy San Francisco, horror and ghosts, and poison fantasy.  Delicious and deadly!

What have you been reading lately?  Old good books, new good books, much-recommended books?

Love Lists & Labor Day Laughs

Before we begin this post, I have one question: WHERE DID AUGUST GO???

That said, I saw people posting about their WIP Love Lists last week, thanks to YA Highway's Post on the topic. It looked like a lot of fun, so we're doing it now for our WIPs, even though we're like incredibly late to the party (like not even fashionably).

So here it is: Inspired by Stephanie Perkins’ post on Natalie Whipple’s blog, what is your novel’s “Love List”?

On top of that, my sometimes-old-timey-email penpal Tracey Neithercott expanded upon the love list by also including some visual & audio aids to illustrate her love list items. So, we're going to take a page from her book too.

*click images to go to source

Krispy's Love List (for something I'm kicking around in my head still)

a girl out of time
a desperate angel
family
unspoken things
benevolent demons
illegal magic
dreary dark days, black nights
decaying decadence
power out, empty streets
a tabby cat
a prince and his girl knight
trust and secrets
a dream of stars, moon, sun
a Queen and her Courts
glitter and gold
words, words, binding words
they speak to serpents, the silver-tongued
longing and loss and maybe love

Roughly: “There is no easy way from the earth to the stars.”

Source: Fashion Gone Rogue

Source: Irene by zemotion

Source: whitneycpbg.com

Source: Magali K.

Alz's Love List (partial inspirational soundtrack included!)

tall, dark, mysterious gentlemen
magic
silk embroidery
water, waves, salt and tears
good manners and bad manners
shapechangers
burn scars
sunken islands
beadwork
arranged marriages
nightmares come to life
silver shears
steel knitting needles
tea
duels
monsters of fire and shadow


NOW, since it is a LONG WEEKEND here in the U.S. because of Labor Day, I thought it'd be nice to leave you with some laughs.

First up, the K-Pop video sensation that's gone viral over the interwebs and become a meme. You might've heard people talking about doing things "Gangnam Style" and been confused (I was for a while because I was too lazy to look it up), or maybe you've even heard this Korean song playing on your Top 40s radio (I did this week!). Or maybe you've seen gifs.


See more on Know Your Meme

Well, this video is what they're talking about. It's silly, extravagant, catchy, AND it socially commentates! Have fun, and you're welcome.



Crash course on this sensation: Gangnam Style wiki entry
Also: the Atlantic's analytic look at the vid.

And your second laugh, the quirky HILARIOUS New Zealand duo known as Flight of the Concords reunite to write a song for charity! They interview school kids to help them write their song. Here's the result.



Incidentally, Jemaine Clement voiced the dastardly Nigel in the movie RIO, and wrote & performed Nigel's song "Pretty Bird." Best song in the movie!

And Bret McKenzie was the Music Supervisor THE MUPPETS movie, for which he won the Oscar for the song "Man or Muppet." He was also Figwit in the LOTR Trilogy, and he will be playing yet another elf (Lindir) in THE HOBBIT.

Source: G4TV

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Q4U: What's on your WIP Love List?

Wordless Wednesday: Boba in a different form!

Saw this on pinterest a while ago and wanted to try them. The sister found these.

BOBA POPSICLES.

And yes, they are delicious. BRB nomming.

Q4U: What do you wish came in delicious frozen form?

Randomosity on Fridays: Viva Las Vegas!

As I mentioned in the last post, it's been a busy time in the land of Krispy. There have been a few birthdays since the end of July to last week, mine included. (Thank you, by the way, for the birthday wishes!)

So there's been a lot of celebrating & I'm letting you peek behind the curtain. You can then make an informed decision about whether or not you still want to be friends with me. (It's okay. No hard feelings if you want to back away slowly. We know we're weird.)

I'm by no means much of a partier, but this summer found me roadtripping to Sin City twice in less than a month. Once was for my cousin's birthday, which was much fun and good prep for the second trip.

Photobombing our own photos after partying.

The second, most recent Vegas trip, was for my birthday and my bestie's sorta last hurrah girls' night out before she ties the knot next year.

Much ridiculousness ensued - most of it without the help (or hindrance?) of drinks.

We didn't even plan this pose. Just happened.
This is the result of years of friendship.

As usual, we imitated a lot of stuff.


And we danced. A lot. In The Library no less.


Like Ridiculousness incarnate. There's thankfully no video, but it probably looked a lot like this:

Thank you, Tom, for demonstrating our enviable dancing skills.

Upon seeing these gifs, the Sister exclaimed: Oh my god, I do that!

We also waved at cars.

And while we didn't get nekkid (like some certain Royals) or party with the Olympian whose catchphrase we borrowed (JEAH!) for the theme of our weekend (though he was in Vegas as well), we did in fact party with an Olympian.

This is Tim. He played Table Tennis for Team USA!

He had really cool pics from London, the Opening & Closing ceremonies, his matches, and everything! (Including pics with Kobe Bryant!)

We sang late 90s to early 2000s pop songs all the way TO Las Vegas and all the way back. Ah Backstreet Boys, you're an endless source of entertainment. Good times.

We are the (un)sexiest people I know.

The key to leading people to believe you're tipsy without actually being tipsy? Don't be afraid to completely make a fool out of yourself. Just takes an ounce of courage, loud music, BFFs, and some really spectacular dance moves.

As we say for writing first drafts, don't be afraid to suck (this coming from a girl who can't dance, trust). You'll have so much more fun. :)

Happy Friday and weekend, friends! I'm going to go sleep for a million years now (so exhausted!).

Source:  http://jezzeru.tumblr.com/post/29790014380 / studio ghibli

Q4U: What's the most ridiculous thing you've done in public?

Book Signing: Throne of Glass

HELLO EVERYONE! I know, I've been a stranger at this blog lately because as usual when I plan to do things like Camp NaNoWriMo, my month turns into a CRAZYFEST of social engagements. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE summer and all the fun times it brings, and I always immensely enjoy myself at these social engagements, but being an introvert, it takes a lot of energy out of me.

And let's face it darlings, I just had a birthday last week and I'm over a quarter century old now, and while that certainly doesn't make me OLD, it does mean I no longer have the amazing rebounding powers I once had as a 21 year old. I can no longer stay up all night, sleep for a few hours, and be fine and functional the next day.

But more on that some other time.

Earlier this month, we went to another book signing! It was for a little book you might've heard of around the blogosphere.

THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas.

It was very fun because Sarah is super sweet and personable, and her unique road to publication was especially interesting to us because we're internet junkies. For those of you who maybe didn't know, Throne of Glass was originally a fic posted online at Fictionpress.com (one of our old stomping grounds). Sarah Maas eventually took it down in order to pursue publication, but because of its many years online, she already had a loyal fanbase for the story.

While Fictionpress was sort of in the internet circles I frequented back then, I'm sad to say I never stumbled upon ToG, then called Queen of Glass. BUT Alz had! So it was really funny when I was telling her about the book way back when, saying things like, "It's crazy because I guess it used to be online and it came from the idea of 'what if Cinderella was an assassin?'!"

And Alz was like, "Um, is there a glass castle or something? This sounds like this fic I once read on FP..."

Sarah signing my copy of Throne of Glass.

So it was cool to hear Sarah talk about her Fictionpress experience and to hear about how she changed the original fic into the book it is now. And like I said, she was so very nice and funny, and her publication journey is so very cool and inspiring. Oh, and she did this super fun thing where she had everyone sign her copy of Throne of Glass, so that she'd have an awesome yearbook-like keepsake!

We're reading Throne of Glass now, and Alz is trying to remember how it differs from Queen of Glass. You'll probably hear more about this at a later time, but I've already picked teams. (Dorian all the way!)

ANYWAY, pictures!

Fellow Boba-4-Lifer Sophia was there too!

So, that's that! We'll see you all Friday. Hope your NaNos and writing/revisings are going well! Barring that, I hope you're at least having a grand old time. That's what I've been doing! :)

Q4U: Any of you reading Throne of Glass or planning to read it?


P.S. For those of you following my twitter, I'm sorry if my tweets this weekend were kind of crazy. I went to Las Vegas with my besties for my birthday, and we are ridiculous sorts of people. The theme of the weekend was "Aww, JEAH" to borrow a (an absurd but hilarious) phrase from Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte. I hope we were amusing and not annoying.