After Shiver and Linger I moved right on to Forever because all I wanted was more of these characters. More of this story. I can’t remember enjoying a novel this much in a long time. I just felt completely sucked into their world and loved reading all the characters.

I think this was likely my least favorite of the three, maybe cause it was the end.

But I still loved it and wish there were more of them. I know the author has written other novels but I am not sure I will like them equally as much, however I think [...]]]>

After Shiver and Linger I moved right on to Forever because all I wanted was more of these characters. More of this story. I can’t remember enjoying a novel this much in a long time. I just felt completely sucked into their world and loved reading all the characters.

I think this was likely my least favorite of the three, maybe cause it was the end.

But I still loved it and wish there were more of them. I know the author has written other novels but I am not sure I will like them equally as much, however I think I have to try at least one now because if they’re half as good as these, I will love them.

If you’re looking for a quick, wonderful read, this is the series for you.

As soon as I finished Shiver, I moved right on to Linger which is super-rare for me since I like to take a break between books in a series.

But this time I couldn’t.

I just wanted to read more and more and see what happened. I loved the second book even more. I loved the additional characters and their stories and how it all weaved together. I couldn’t stop reading the novel and didn’t want to put it down for one second. That, to me, is the sign of a great book. I know that this isn’t everyone’s cup [...]]]>

As soon as I finished Shiver, I moved right on to Linger which is super-rare for me since I like to take a break between books in a series.

But this time I couldn’t.

I just wanted to read more and more and see what happened. I loved the second book even more. I loved the additional characters and their stories and how it all weaved together. I couldn’t stop reading the novel and didn’t want to put it down for one second. That, to me, is the sign of a great book. I know that this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but I really enjoyed it.

So much so that I moved right on to the third book.

I picked up Shiver because I saw someone comment on it on Pinterest. She said the series was fantastic and I just felt like reading another love story after Beautiful Disaster even if it was young adult and paranormal.

And I wasn’t disappointed.

I loved Maggie Stiefvater’s writing style and I read this book in a single day. I didn’t want the story to end and I felt connected to both of the main characters in different ways. I even liked the tertiary characters. Yes, as with most novels, I had issues with some bits and pieces but overall [...]]]>

I picked up Shiver because I saw someone comment on it on Pinterest. She said the series was fantastic and I just felt like reading another love story after Beautiful Disaster even if it was young adult and paranormal.

And I wasn’t disappointed.

I loved Maggie Stiefvater’s writing style and I read this book in a single day. I didn’t want the story to end and I felt connected to both of the main characters in different ways. I even liked the tertiary characters. Yes, as with most novels, I had issues with some bits and pieces but overall I swallowed the book up and felt contended at the end.

So much so that I decided to move on to the next in the series right away. Which is pretty much unheard of, for me. But maybe it was because I went through it so quickly and I just didn’t want it to end. So now I’m reading the second one and let’s hope it’s as good.

I can’t even tell you why I picked up Beautiful Disaster. Something about it pulled me in and once I started it, I did not stop for a minute. Every second I put the book down, I wanted to pick it up and read more. Even though the story is simple, the characters intolerable in their own ways, and there isn’t much of a plot, I still felt completely pulled in and did not want to stop reading it.

There were parts of the story that felt a little too close to home from some of my own college [...]]]>

I can’t even tell you why I picked up Beautiful Disaster. Something about it pulled me in and once I started it, I did not stop for a minute. Every second I put the book down, I wanted to pick it up and read more. Even though the story is simple, the characters intolerable in their own ways, and there isn’t much of a plot, I still felt completely pulled in and did not want to stop reading it.

There were parts of the story that felt a little too close to home from some of my own college years but other than that, I really just felt pulled into their story. I’ve never read this author before and looks like she’s not in print but digital only. However she does have two other books (albeit they’re YA and dystopian – when this one wasn’t) but I think I might venture and get one of her other books just to see if it’s her ability to create characters that grabs me or if it was particular to this one book.

Well back to dystopian this week with The Declaration. I must admit that I read this book in about one breath. It was hard to get into it in the very beginning and I never really connected with Anna all that much but Peter seemed very real to me and I think he was the reason I ended up finishing the book so quickly.

Which, of course, makes sense as he was the more real and less conditioned character. I liked this book and will likely read the others. Alas, not right away. I often tend to prefer to take [...]]]>

Well back to dystopian this week with The Declaration. I must admit that I read this book in about one breath. It was hard to get into it in the very beginning and I never really connected with Anna all that much but Peter seemed very real to me and I think he was the reason I ended up finishing the book so quickly.

Which, of course, makes sense as he was the more real and less conditioned character. I liked this book and will likely read the others. Alas, not right away. I often tend to prefer to take a break between my “series” books and give myself room to think about them for a while and digest each book.

A slightly unusual version of dystopian novel compared to the others. And while there was a lot of violence, it was more real since it wasn’t so constructed like many of the other dystopian novels. Which, for me, made it that much more harrowing.

I’ve been meaning to talk about holiday reading for a while now. During the holiday season, I tend to read a lot of books. Generally they are either reflection-based or art-related. I tend to save them and then savor them during the holidays. Here are the ones I read this holiday season.

Most of the reading this time around was art books I’d been saving. I did read two (actually three but the other one I will write about separately) books that were more on the reflective side. Two of them were by Sark: Transformation Soup and Eat Mangoes Naked [...]]]>

I’ve been meaning to talk about holiday reading for a while now. During the holiday season, I tend to read a lot of books. Generally they are either reflection-based or art-related. I tend to save them and then savor them during the holidays. Here are the ones I read this holiday season.

Most of the reading this time around was art books I’d been saving. I did read two (actually three but the other one I will write about separately) books that were more on the reflective side. Two of them were by Sark: Transformation Soup and Eat Mangoes Naked I read her last year during the holidays and I’d liked her so I bought a few more of her books and saved them. I did enjoy both of these and if Sark is your cup of tea, I think you would, too.

Then I read a bunch of art books. I’d been saving How to Make a Journal of Your Life for months. A little book on how awesome it is to keep journals. It covers journaling, sketching, taking photos, and collecting ephemera. It’s small, a quick read, and quite wonderful.

Since I wanted to keep art journals, I’d bought both The Decorated Page and Artist’s Journal Workshop for this purpose. I will admit that I didn’t read them for too long. But I loved both of these. Especially the latter. I loved loved loved that book.

Excellent examples of sketching, drawing, art journaling. Really worthwhile.

And since I was interested in sketching, you knew I was going to have to read at least one Danny Gregory, right? Creative License is one of the best books on sketching ever. Inspirational, lovely to look at, practical and just way too enticing not to read.

If you’re interested in sketching or into sketching, you must not miss Danny Gregory. He’s exceptional. I am confident every one of his books must be amazing.

I also bought 30-minute sketching because I read about it in Junelle’s blog. (Or I think I did.) This is a small book. quick to read and covers mostly watercolors. It’s wonderful. Don’t let its size fool you, there’s A LOT of information in this little book.

And specifically on watercolors I read Keeping a Watercolor Sketchbook. Another incredible book. Brenda’s an amazing artist. Oh to have that talent. This book is in detail, and I’ll be honest, I am still reading it. I just want to savor every page of it and make sure I learn as much as I can from it.

And there we go. Those are some of the books I read during the holidays. Every one of them was awesome. And getting to savor them during the holidays is an extra luxury. Have you read any good art books lately?

Now that I was on a dystopian roll again, I decided to plunge right in and read Incarceron which I’d been putting off for months as well.

Even though there were parts that were very unappealing to me, I finished the whole book in a day. Somehow, the story sucked me in and wouldn’t let me go. I liked both of the characters’ stories and I really wanted to see how the whole thing would play out. I just didn’t want to stop reading it.

Once I finished it, I resisted the temptation to jump into the second one. I know [...]]]>

Now that I was on a dystopian roll again, I decided to plunge right in and read Incarceron which I’d been putting off for months as well.

Even though there were parts that were very unappealing to me, I finished the whole book in a day. Somehow, the story sucked me in and wouldn’t let me go. I liked both of the characters’ stories and I really wanted to see how the whole thing would play out. I just didn’t want to stop reading it.

Once I finished it, I resisted the temptation to jump into the second one. I know sequels are rarely as good and I often like to take some time in between just to let the story digest in my brain. Eventually I will read Sapphique as well, I’m sure.

After having read the Lauren Oliver’s previous book and loving it so so much, I was almost reluctant to pick up Delirium because, for me, there was no way it could measure up to the previous one. And I wasn’t so thrilled that the writer was jumping on the dystopian bandwagon.

I put it off for a while but then finally picked it up.

And I was right.

While the novel is ok and she is definitely a fine writer, this book was nowhere near the caliber of the previous one for me. It didn’t have the profound [...]]]>

After having read the Lauren Oliver’s previous book and loving it so so much, I was almost reluctant to pick up Delirium because, for me, there was no way it could measure up to the previous one. And I wasn’t so thrilled that the writer was jumping on the dystopian bandwagon.

I put it off for a while but then finally picked it up.

And I was right.

While the novel is ok and she is definitely a fine writer, this book was nowhere near the caliber of the previous one for me. It didn’t have the profound effect and I particularly didn’t care for the ending. All in all, this was just another YA dsytopian novel whereas Before I Fall truly had a lasting effect on me.

I look forward to more books by her nonetheless as she’s definitely a great writer.

I picked up Songs for a Teenage Nomad randomly. I wanted something lighter and not dystopian. And this fit the bill. I read it quite quickly and enjoyed it. The writing style didn’t get in the way of the story and I liked the protagonist and enjoyed the story.

I also enjoyed the references to music, especially since it was the music of my time.

I’m afraid I don’t have a lot to say about this one but that I enjoyed it.

As I decided to take the journey to getting to know myself better, one of the books that was recommended was Personality Plus so I bought it and did the test and made Jake do it too.

As it is often with these things, it’s hard to generalize and put people into boxes. People are more often shades of gray than they are black or white.

However, each of us did fit into specific sections more strongly than others and reading about my type and jake’s type and how we interact was really useful for me and I [...]]]>

As I decided to take the journey to getting to know myself better, one of the books that was recommended was Personality Plus so I bought it and did the test and made Jake do it too.

As it is often with these things, it’s hard to generalize and put people into boxes. People are more often shades of gray than they are black or white.

However, each of us did fit into specific sections more strongly than others and reading about my type and jake’s type and how we interact was really useful for me and I think it was/is for Jake too. It’s something I want to learn to keep in mind because it is a reminder that he is who he is and he is different than I am and that I don’t have to be embarrassed to be who I am and instead embrace my strengths and make good use of them.