a girl and her books

books, media, & feelings

[literary-ghosts]

16 years

Well. I've rediscovered tumblr. well, actually it's been here, but I haven't. I used to be so active on here and this was my "fandom sanctuary" -- the place where all my niche interests turn into my own personal *insert fandom*-con? Does that even make sense? I decided to randomly *really *log back in and take a look around because I have the Sunday scaries which is actually just the EVERYDAY scaries now and need a good distraction. Tumblr tells me that my little old blog is 16 years old. I recently turned 39 so that means that I signed up for this when was 23, when I was feeling very lost -- not knowing where my life was going. This means I didn't know what career I was really going to commit to or if I was going to ever get married or have kids. And now I'm here again -- I committed to the career that I'm still so unsure of, childless by choice, and single by choice and content for the most part. Still feel lost at times. But now the world is burning, every day there is something bad and terrible. The things that still hold true? I still love media and fandom. Books are my safe place. Music is my solace. TV and movies are my comfort. So I'm back on Tumblr, ready to sink into all my favorite things. Good to see you again.

[meloodrama-deactivated20171118]

crooked kingdom (2016)

[cassandrablake]

CROOKED KINGDOM COUNTDOWN: favorite quote

“some people see a magic trick and say, “impossible!” they clap their hands, turn over their money, and forget about it ten minutes later. other people ask how it worked. they go home, get into bed, toss and turn, wondering how it was done. it takes them a good night’s sleep to forget all about it. and then there are the ones who stay awake, running through the trick again and again, looking for that skip in perception, the crack in the illusion that will explain how their eyes got duped; they’re the kind who won’t rest until they’ve mastered that little bit of mystery for themselves. i’m that kind.”

[sizvideos]

[jhameia]

tonight’s aesthetic: Cookie Monster philosophizing in an art museum

[collinslily]

Literature ⇸ The Scorpio Races “It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.”

[literary-ghosts]

#ReadThemAllThon TBR

**all images created by Aentee @ MidnightReads.com; all credit goes to her (she’s also the wonderful host!)

So I’m participating in this great readathon based on Pokemon and I LOVE THE CHALLENGES. It’s going from today August 14 through September 4th. You guys should check out the information post here because it has all the information about points and giveaways. I’m just participating in the challenges and probably won’t be keeping track of my points though.

To earn my Boulder Badge, I’m going to be reading I’d Tell You I Love You But Then I’d Have To Kill You by Ally Carter. I’ve been wanting to read this for awhile now. it’s not too long either so it’s perfect for a readathon.

To earn my Cascader Badge, I’ll be reading Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow. I got an arc this when I went to Yallwest in April and now this is the perfect time to read it so that I review it! 

To earn my Thunder Badge, I’ll be reading something by Rick Riordan. Most likely The Lost Hero! I mean I own all his books pretty much anyway so I should finally start them. (Yes, I’ve read percy jackson at least the first 3.5 books and I already know what happens in the Last Olympian so I just want to move onto the Heroes of Olympus. Yes, this may be sacrilege to you but I don’t care bc i can do whatever i want lol)

To earn my Rainbow Badge, I’ll be reading None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio. This is about an intersex main character. 

To earn my Soul Badge, I’ll be reading The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith. The challenge description said to read something that is focused on romance and I picked this because it sounds fluffy and cute and it’s short too!

To earn my Marsh Badge, I’ll be reading or finishing Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead. I may change this later but I really want to finish this series. 

To earn my Flame Badge, I’m currently reading Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge. It’s a mostly red cover and I’m over half way through and so close to earning my Flame Badge!! 

To earn my Earth Badge, I’ll be reading Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott. I’m so over dystopian/post apocalyptic, but this is one of few on my shelves where I’m super excited about reading it!

I’m so excited to participate in this readathon. It’s not too late sign up according to the information post either!

[literary-ghosts]

Title: Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here Author: Anna Breslaw Source: Purchased Publisher: Razorbill Publication Date: April 19, 2016 Goodreads Link

Very few books can me make me laugh out loud once, let alone laugh out loud multiple times. But the best thing about this is that it made cry just as much. I went into this with adequate, maybe low expectations because i've read so many mixed reviews, but I came out of this absolutely loving this and becoming one of my all time favorites.

Scarlett's story just really worked for me. Her voice was authentic. I found her to be sarcastic, witty, and sardonic but in just the right ways. I can see why people either won't like her or find her to be "too much" but honestly, Scarlett is just flawed like everyone else. And that's what the most beautiful thing about this story is that it's about people and our perceptions of them. How sometimes people can so quickly judge others based on surface things. I liked how the truth of every character in this book was revealed layer by layer and not all is what it seems. And for me, the author didn't make it too melancholy or too cheesy. It was perfectly balanced.

Bonus: great friendships, great side characters, interesting parent-daughter dynamics that made me SUPER emotional, and a cute romance. Yea, Anna Breslaw fit all this into less than 300 pages and made it work. For me this was fantastic and you should definitely give this a go. 5 stars.

[literary-ghosts]

Title: Tonight the Streets Are Ours Author: Leila Sales Source: ARC copy (provided to me by my friend Riley last year from BEA) Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Publication Date: September 15, 2015 Goodreads Link

It's so weird that I read two books with such similar themes back to back. Tonight the Streets Are Ours deals with the same sort of theme of your perception of people vs. the reality of them. I enjoyed it, but it didn't have the same impact as Scarlett Epstein did for me for a couple of reasons.

I didn't connect with Arden on an emotional level at all. She sort of bland, but I could understand her struggle that in order for her to feel her worth she had to feel needed. I get that in some ways. Other than that I just couldn't connect at all. Second, this story just didn't have quite the emotional punch I wanted. A big thing for me in order to really love young adult contemporary is for it reach me at a deep emotional level. It has to really make me feel. This didn't really do that which is a shame because I loved Leila Sales other book This Song Will Save Your Life so much. Overall, I like this. 3.25 stars.

[theholtzmannlick]

Tag yourself

[literary-ghosts]

i finished the girl from everywhere and was pretty disappointed. gave it 2.5 🌟. my review is on goodreads if you're interested. these are my next reads and i am pretty excited. been hearing really good things about tiny pretty things lately and the last book in the remnant chronicles is coming out soon so i gotta catch up ☺️

[cosmicrhetoric]

ily: i love you

ilysm: i love you so much

iwhywakboiwnhyaa: i will have you without armor, kaz brekker. or i will not have you at all.

[literary-ghosts]

Honestly though I will never get tired of six of crows merchandise. Love the designs of @behindthe_pages 😍😍😍 best mail basically #bookstagram #sixofcrows #leighbardugo #crookedkingdom

[literary-ghosts]

it's taken me all day to decide what book i wanted to read next...all I wanted was some sort of ya fantasy. this is basically about time traveling pirates ⚔☠🕰⚓️✨☄ / / / / / / #books #bookblog #bookblogger #bibliophile #bookstagramfeature #booktube #yalit #igreads #booklr #ireadya #read #heidiheilig #currentlyreading #vscobooks #bookporn #📚 #epicreads #booknerd #📖 #booknerdigans #yalovin #yareads #thegirlfromeverywhere #bookaddict #amreading #instabooks

[copingnurse-deactivated20240217]

Dear Burned-out Nurse,

I am with you my friend. Work has been rough lately, right? Leaving it at the hospital isn’t always possible. It stays with you, keeps you up at night, as you replay “what ifs” and “I should haves.”

You’re dreading the next time you have to walk into that hospital. You’re tired of getting the sickest patients, or the ones with the angriest families. Because you’re great at your job and you’re nice, you get the difficult assignments. Part of you wishes you could quit caring and then maybe you’d have the easy patients for a change, then you could sit there on your phone, laughing with the rest of the group. But, you won’t do that, because you’d have to live knowing you didn’t do your best and that would feel worse than this.

You’re a good coworker. You are the one that helps everybody, the one other nurses get excited to see as a neighbor. Even when it’s 6 hours into your shift, you haven’t sat down, and you have hours of charting to do, when that coworker asks something of you, you say “Yes,” without hesitation.  Do not change that either. It’s worth it to be the one the baby nurse goes to, just to give her a bit of confidence. It’s worth it to help that mama nurse and hear some of her wisdom.

Maybe this job has broken your heart lately, like it has mine. Today was the first time I set foot into bed eight since she died in there one week week ago.  I entered the room and the flashback of her husband crying at the bedside, her laying there unresponsive, knocked the breath from my lungs. I paused, coming back to reality, before I could address the new patient in front of me. Caring hurts sometimes, but don’t give up you sense of empathy and compassion.

It’s hard to find people at home to listen, to explain the horrors you went through. Even when you don’t want to talk about it, what you saw at work is still playing in your mind. Your family doesn’t really understand, or they don’t want to hear gory details of someone else’s tragedy. They do not understand that it’s your tragedy too.

I hope you have some good days at work, sweet nurse. I hope you take care of yourself at home. I hope you’re reminded in little ways why you do this job.

Love, J-

[micdotcom]

[mindymcginnis-deactivated201805]

Releasing April 11, 2017 from Penguin / Putnam!

Khosa is Given to the Sea, a girl born to be fed to the water, her flesh preventing a wave like the one that destroyed the Kingdom of Stille in days of old. But before she’s allowed to dance – an uncontrollable twitching of the limbs that will carry her to the shore in a frenzy – she must produce an heir. Yet the thought of human touch sends shudders down her spine that not even the sound of the tide can match.

Vincent is third in line to inherit his throne, royalty in a kingdom where the old linger and the young inherit only boredom. When Khosa arrives without an heir he knows his father will ensure she fulfills her duty, at whatever cost. Torn between protecting the throne he will someday fill, and the girl whose fate is tied to its very existence, Vincent’s loyalty is at odds with his heart.

Dara and Donil are the last of the Indiri, a native race whose dwindling magic grows weaker as the island country fades. Animals cease to bear young, creatures of the sea take to the land, and the Pietra – fierce fighters who destroyed the Indiri a generation before – are now marching from their stony shores for the twin’s adopted homeland, Stille.

Witt leads the Pietra, their army the only family he has ever known. The stone shores harbor a secret, a growing threat that will envelop the entire land – and he will conquer every speck of soil to ensure the survival of his people.

The tides are turning in Stille, where royals scheme, Pietrans march, and the rising sea calls for its Given.

[cobaltcharlie]

Satisfied, princess?