Currently

First, lets check in with my monthly blog goals:

• Reviewed 2 (here and here) of my unreviewed 12 books (I need to step up)
• Sent 1 review to Jagged Edge (I need to contribute more)
• Completed 1 link up with the.book.chat (Characters)
• Still need to complete my personal posts (I have 3 of them)

And now onto some fun things.  This is a weekly link-up with siddathornton, and I thought it would add some fun to this post!  I am currently:

reading: The Maze Runner and loving it, I'm only about a quarter of the way through but I have a hard time putting it down every night.
writing: Lots of yelp reviews, those will be included in an upcoming post!
listening: To the upcoming soccer match, GO USA!!
thinking: About all the fun things I will do when my parents come to visit.
smelling: The dinner RoB is cooking, I come home to deliciousness every day (I don't know what I'll do when he gets a job)
wishing: I was better at volleyball (we played in a pick up game last night and I was one of the worst out there)
hoping: The weather will be perfect for the weekend...
wearing: Boots and a raincoat. I was told it didn't rain in the desert but someone lied to me.
loving: That I got to play volleyball last night and soccer tonight!
wanting: The USA to beat Honduras tonight.
needing: A library card
feeling: Cold, the rain plus the strong AC at work has kept me chilled all day :(
clicking: A new way to read my blogs, since google reader will be going away very soon, I haven't found one that I love yet...any suggestions?

the.book.chat: Characters

One of my goals for this month was linking up more with sweet green tangerine and her weekly link up, the.book.chat.

The topic for this week is one that I’m having a hard time relating to (ha!).  It’s about characters that you relate well to.  I was hoping something would come to me quickly and that instantly I would know the most recent character I read that I really related to, but nothing came to mind.  I do remember many characters I don’t relate to: Amy from Gone Girl, Tris from Divergent, Bella from Twilight, Katniss from the Hunger Games, Annajane from Spring Fever, just to name a few. 

So then I started thinking that maybe I seek out books where I don’t relate to the character.  Aren’t books suppose to give you an escape? Take you to others worlds?  Maybe that’s more just my taste.  I don’t think I’d want to read about book about something similar to my life, and I think that translates to not wanting to  read about characters that are similar to me or that I can relate to.  One other thought I had was that I actually find ways in my mind to not relate myself to characters.  Whatever it is, I can think of a character in recent memory that I really relate to and I don't see that as being a bad thing!

the.book.chat link-up, short stroies

The link-up this week for the.book.chat is about short stories.  I don't read many short stories (although I would like to write one!), but when I do read them I enjoy them.  And I recently read a phenomenal one called The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu.  I heard about it from the Books on the Nightstand podcast (if you listen to podcasts, check this one out!). This story is available for free online through Suvudu, from when it appeared in Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine.  Even if you don't like Fantasy/SciFi, you should read this short story, it's only about 12 pages long but it is very touching and you might want to keep some tissues nearby!  I'm always amazed at how much an author can get through in such a short story, and this one has it all.  In keeping the theme with short stories, I'll keep this post short!

Head over to this link-up and join in!

Compose Yourself writing link-up!

We're back again with another creative writing link-up, Compose Yourself.  Nikki over and Travels with Pen and Paper started this link up and I hope some of you out there will join in!

This week's prompt was a bit harder for me to get into and I wasn't sure where my composition was going at times, but I feel like it all wraped up ok.  Now I think maybe I could've gone a different way with it, but too late for that now.  Maybe I'll change it up in the future to see if I could take it in a different direction, that could be fun, right?  Anyway, here is the prompt:

This has to do with writing from different senses. Have a sound, smell, or taste lead the way.

And now, for my submission:

Silence.  Pure white silence.  The feeling of nothing as soon as you step out into the falling snow.  Big flakes everywhere to mask all the sounds around you, you can’t even hear the traffic on the road just down the hill.  The peacefulness of a heavy snowfall is like no other.  The impact of the silence hits you immediately and wholly consumes you.  All thoughts leave your head.  No more worry or concern, just pure emptiness in the white landscape.  You soon forget why you even stepped outside and what your next step was going to be.  The silence takes over and the snow is mesmerizing.  Taking one more breath to enjoy the new found clarity in your mind, you look down and see the trash bag in your hand, and remember that you stepped outside for this purpose.  As you are brought back to reality you look around to observe all the things that were silenced by the snow storm.  The dog happily jumping in and out of the snow bank, and the snow falling off of a weighted down tree branch.  Taking just one more moment to recognize how silent it is and allowing your mind to be cleared one more time.

I'm pretty excited for the prompt next week and will happily do some "research" on a subject this week.  Maybe even I can get RoB in on the action! The prompt for next week is the appropriately named stalker prompt :) I love this because I feel like I do it in my head all the time:

Go to a coffee shop, park, anywhere you can people watch for a while. Craft a story around your observations. I.e. you see someone, why are they there? What do they look like? Are they happy, sad, mad? Are they alone, meeting someone? What’s their back story?  Or where are they going from there?

I hope some more of you will join in, and remember to link up over at Nikki's blog!

Les Mis Week 2, JVJ and Fantine

We are still cruising through Les Mis (the book) and we have completed and discussed the next two books. 

(See here for why we're reading Les Mis, and here for Week 1, The Bishop)

Volume 1 Book 2 - The Fall

The part we've been waiting for, Jean Valjean has made an appearance!  It seems to be the typical story we know from the musical he comes to a town and no one will let him work or stay at their inn because he is on parole.  The only place the will open it's door to him is the the Bishop (who we met in the first book).  You know the rest, while everyone is sleeping he steals the silver and when confronted with the law he says the Bishop gave it to him as a gift and the Bishop agrees and tells JVJ he must use the silver to become an honest man (The whole time I was singing all these parts in my head, like a crazy person!).

In between all the action in the book, you learn the history of JVJ and how he got to prison and why he spent so many years there.  A few points I found interesting were that his family (his sister and her children) didn't seem to really care for him but he went to prison because he couldn't provide for them anymore and stole some bread.   I thought maybe he would care about his family more or they would care about him, but apparently not.  The other thing I thought was interesting was how RoB and I disagreed on when he went to steal the silver if he also thought about killing the bishop.  I got the feeling that's what he was planning to do, but RoB says no, what do you think?

The very end of this book was depressing, with Gervitas and his stolen coin.  I realize that is JVJ's turning point and from then on he realizes he needs to become a good person.  But it was heartbreaking that he was stealing from a child.

Volume 1 Book 3 - In The Year 1817

Now we meet Fantine, and her baby daddy! But before we get there, there is a whole chapter about what is going in in France that year, I couldn't follow any of it and I skipped a large chunk of it.  Back to Fantine and her story. I didn't expect Fantine's lover to be a well off scholar (of sorts), and he seemed to fawn over her.  I thought he would be a worker or passerby that she had a short fling with, but this was more serious.  Until, of course, we realize he is leaving her.  The other part I thought was interesting was that he didn't even know about the baby when he left her.  Him and his buddies decided they were just going to string along these 4 ladies for a while and then tell them it wouldn't work because their families expect more of them, sigh.  This depressed me quite a bit, and I felt really bad for Fantine.

Next up we find out what happens to Fantine's child, and what has become of JVJ since he decided to become an honest man with the silver from the bishop.  If there is anyone else out there reading or has read this please chime in and let me know your thoughts!

I'm also tying this in with a link-up this week with the.book.chat over at sweet green tangerine and semi-charmed kind of life.  The topic this week is what are you currently reading, and I thought this fit it perfectly.  I do have to say that I enjoy reading something so well known and respected so when anyone asks me what I'm reading I don't have to explain what it is or explain myself for why I'm reading yet another YA book :)

Compose Yourself, Writing Link-Up

Nikki over at Travels with Pen and Paper has started a weekly creative writing link-up.  I helped her come up with a fun name for it and I'm finally getting involved and writing from the first prompt she had!  Read mine and let me know what you think (I'll happily take constructive criticism, as long as you're nice :), then head over and check out hers.  When you're ready, join in the fun! I can't wait to read everyone elses' submissions.
 
The prompt this week is (I guess it was last week at this point):

Make something conventionally beautiful seem ugly, or something ugly seen beautiful.

Here is my submission:

As I skidded out on my bicycle cursing the turd looking slug in the middle of the path, I thought to myself “Why the heck did I just avoid that?”  I could’ve easily run over the slug in the middle of the trail, avoided my now skinned up left leg, and continued with my ride.   From my place on the soft damp dirt I noticed the thing still moving, not realizing the chaos it just caused.  When I first saw it I didn’t realize quite how brightly colored it was.  It suddenly looked a radiant yellow not just a dull brown.  Slowly creating a slime trail behind it, the closer I got the more fascinated I was.  It had two perfect looking antennae on top of its head and two just below, nearby where a mouth might be.  The symmetry of these four were perfect.  The calmness the little guy showed in his slow trek across the trail was poised, without a care in the world.  Suddenly, I felt relieved that I hadn’t run over this creature.  He was magnificent, like only a banana slug could be.

Since I pretty much missed this week, here is the prompt for next Monday:

This has to do with writing from different senses. Have a sound, smell, or taste lead the way.

Book/Reading pet peeves, the.book.chat link-up

I've started following the blog sweet green tangerine and she does a great link up called the.book.chat which (obviously) pertains to books.  This week the topic is pet peeves relating to books and reading I don't have many but here are mine:

1. Too long or no chapters at all.  I like to sometimes read in really short spurts, like waiting to make coffee or comercial breaks of a sporting event, so breaking things up really allows me to read for short periods of time.

2. Someone trying not to spoil a book for me but still talking about it and spoiling it in a different way.  For example not telling me the ending but saying "That had the biggest plot twist I've ever read" then the whole time I'm reading I'm trying to guess the plot twist and it's not as exciting when I get to read it.

3. Christian Fiction, don't even get me started...

4. Weak, uninteresting female characters who rely on a man.

5. Hardcover books, I hate having to hold onto them and read these big bulky things, but I also hate waiting until they come out in paperback.

6. This is something I do that might be a pet peeve of others: if you are reading in public (transit, airplane, park, coffeshop) I will try to see what book you are reading and judge you for it (good and bad judgement :)

Check out the others in the link up!

Should I NaNoWriMo?

I love to read but I've never been much of a writer.  I don't think I've written a story or anything creatively since middle school (I didn't have to take a single engilsh class in college).  I enjoy writing (hence the blog) but I just haven't had much instruction or practice.  This brings me to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writting Month), where you are challeneged to write 50,000 in the month of November.  I think that I have good ideas for writing a novel but I've never sat down and organized my thoughts and tried to write them all down as a story.  I think I'm ready to try, and I think NaNoWriMo is a good opportunity for me to do just that.  I haven't signed up yet since I'm still a little unsure but I like the idea of it and I'm almost ready to pull the trigger!

I'm hoping to get some pointers from anyone out there who has done it before (or something similar).  I work full time so I'm worried about how much time I can commit and how to be the most productive with the time I have.  Should I update my blog during that month or devote all of my writing to NaNoWriMo?  How can I keep myself interested enough in my story to keep writing so much everyday? Anything else I should prepare myself for?

Since I think I will be writing a dystopic novel (my favorite genre right now), I decided I should read as much as I could in that genre before all the writting starts.  This brings me to the second point of this post a link up with Seven Day Push.  The challenge this week is to read a book and I will gladly take on that challenge.  I'm going to read Genesis by Bernard Beckett (a nice short book, yes) but it is one I've been wanting to read for a while.

Michigan Vacation Part 1: Football!!

So I realize I've been missing for a while (almost two weeks!).  And I thought it was about time I updated you on where I've been and what I was up to.  I was in Michigan for 9 days so lets start with the first event, Michigan Football!

We arrived at the Detroit Airport and waited what seemed like forever in the rental car line.  We had a small issue with the rental car, we had reserved a small compact car (since we would be driving a lot, and we love to be efficient) but they couldn't seem to find a small car for us so we ended up with a free upgrade to one of the smallest cars they had, a Ford Flex (not small at all, it seats 7, and is really just a minivan in disguise).  It was also super cold and raining, we were not ready for this weather!

Check that ext temp for September 30th!

We spent the first weekend in Ann Arbor mostly for the football game, but also got to see some old friends and eat at some favorite restaurants.  First I wanted to do this link up with the Belles of Saturday and show off some of my gameday pics (and try and expose their blog to some northern schools!):

I <3 Denard

If you look closely you can see the ball in the air headed for Vincent Smith!

The game was great and Michigan won 58-0, yay! (I realize I've missed two Fridays for Football Friday, but I promise this week will be a good one with the big game we have against little brother!)  There were some fun offensive plays in the game where we used two quarterbacks (Gardner at QB and Denard in the back field) and the awesome trick play where Vincent Smith (usually a RB) threw for a touchdown.  It was also nice to shut them out (even though it took a lot of mistakes on their part to help us with that).

Most important were the people I saw before the game while tailgating.  I got to see most of my closest friends from college and I saw every person I ever shared a room with (which is pretty good considering I live in CA and only make it back there once a year).  Its always so nice to see old friends and catch up with them and their lives.

Roomies 417 Michigan House, "Reunited and it Feels so Gooood" (thanks for the great pic Typh!)

After the game we bar hopped to see the rest of the games of that day/night.  Including Wisconsin destroying Nebraska and little brother (michigan state) beating that school down south (ohio state)!  I did all this with my girl friends since Rob was off getting a tattoo and then going to a "bachelor party".

As for the food we had throughout the day, we started the day with bagels, cream cheese and fragels from Bagel Fragel on North Campus (jalapeno bagel with parmesan artichoke cream cheese, yummy!). Then some great tailgating food and drinks (Apple Cider and Hot Dam!). For dinner we went to Cottage Inn, and I got a quick snack at NYPD!

A great day in Ann Arbor full of football, food, and friends!

More of my Michigan trip to follow...

Oh, How Pinteresting!

I've recently become obsessed with Pinterest (which is apparently a common thing :).  So I decided to join in with this link up over at The Vintage Apple and share some of my pins from this week!

                                                                           Source: kevinandamanda.com via Annie on Pinterest

                                                                     Source: shabbychicks.blogspot.com via Annie on Pinterest

                                                                             Source: realsimple.com via Annie on Pinterest

                                                                             Source: wabisabi-style.blogspot.com via Annie on Pinterest

                                                                                   Source: mymodernmet.com via Annie on Pinterest

                                             Source: houseofdesignblog.com via Annie on Pinterest

                   So many fun things! You can follow me on Pinterest here, and I'll gladly follow you back!

                                  

Friday Fancies: Game Day Chic!

Ok, I usually wouldn't participate is something fashion related (since I'm not very confident in my style) but this one was right up my alley!  I've also never done a link up so here's my first one through the blog {long distance loving}.

The outfit on the top is a super cute outfit, but if I'm being honest with myself I'd be wearing the outfit on the bottom on game day!

Top:

Yellow scarf, comfy "I feel hoMe", cropped jeans, dark blue nail polish and cute yellow flats.

Bottom:

Denard Robinson legacy jersey, Michigan adidas running shoes, and straight leg comfy jeans.

I will also have a football friday post later tonight.  Currently watching the Boise State vs Toledo game, hoping for the Broncos to win big (although things are looking a little shakey right now, uh-oh)!