Wednesday, November 25, 2015

November Morning






















Sunlight on the back lawn.

Crisp brown leaves.

November light.

I want to put it all down in words, no I want to crush it against my chest no I want to inhale it all and freeze the moment. I want I want I want I want I

Calm down.

Gaze serenely out the window.

Breathe in.

Hold your breath a moment.

Breathe out.

Watch the thoughts that take over.

Smile.

Sunlight bathing the tall trees.

Blue sky. 

Beautiful November morning.

Breathe.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Showcase Sunday #92

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme held by Books, Biscuits and Tea. It allows fellow bloggers to show off any books or bookish things they've compiled over the week.


Hey friends. I know it's been quiet around here, and unfortunately it'll probably stay like that for the rest of the year. I'll have some reviews go up and such. But 2016 will be when I'm back to the more frequent posting. It is what it is.
Soooo lots of fantastic books to show off. I've read quite a bit of them, which YAY! Some of the physical ones were ones I've read and loved as e-books so of course I need physical copies. I'm slowly buying through my long list of those books(read e-book need physical). Plus Winter was finally released. So of course I bought and devoured it. And if you saw my post from yesterday then you know how much I love it!


Purchased

Soundless by Richelle Mead
Winter(The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer

Addicted to You(Addicted #1) by Krista & Becca Ritchie
Ricochet(Addicted #1.5) by Krista & Becca Ritchie

Wicked(A Wicked Saga #1) by Jennifer L Armentrout
Pucked Up(Pucked #2) by Helena Hunting

Captive Prince(Captive Prince #1) by C.S. Pacat
Princes's Gambit(Captive Prince #2) by C.S. Pacat

E-Books Purchased


Netgalley


Any exciting books that you guys have picked up lately?

Happy reading!

Brittany



Saturday, November 14, 2015

Weekly Wrap-Up November 7th-13th


This week I managed to finish five books. Three physical book and two audio books. Three of the books were re-reads.


Cinder(The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer *****(re-read)
I am so glad to re-read the series in preparation for Winter.


All That Glitters(Geek Girl #4) by Holly Smale ****.5
Although Nick was missed in this chapter, this was my favourite from the series; so far. Harriet is still naive but I guess I'd chalk that up to her always seeing the best in people. That being said, Harriet did a ton of growing in this book. She's still quirky and geeky but also turning into a young women. And I cannot wait to see where her antics and modeling go from here.


Scarlet(The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer *****(re-read)
The series was even better the second time around. Which I didn't know was possible.


Cress(The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer *****(re-read)
Sign. I love Throne and Cress so much.


Winter(The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer *****
I don't want to say much, as you know even something small could be considered a spoiler. But I'm pretty certain I've never felt this happy and complete upon finishing a series. Definitely one of my favourite series' I've had the pleasure to read and fangirl over. Just like no book is better than the other(they are all perfection), it has hard to pick a favourite character from the very brilliant cast of them. I love Throne. I love Scarlet. I love Iko. I can't express how much I love them all. And the ships! My heart cannot contain the pure shippy goodness this series brings. I love all the humour and the subtle references to the fairy tales these books are based off of. This series just makes me very happy. I know it will be one I re-read every year with the small hope that Meyer will re-visit these characters somewhere down the road.






A photo posted by Brittany (@britsreadinglife) on

A photo posted by Brittany (@britsreadinglife) on



What did you guys read this week?

Happy reading!

Brittany

Friday, November 13, 2015

The Miracle that is Modern Technology

It all started with two cups of curried rice.

My husband -- an extraordinary cook -- mistakenly made two cups of rice instead of one. He'd added turmeric so the rice was bright yellow.

When we finished our tofu and broccoli, we wondered what to do with all the leftover rice.

"Can you freeze cooked rice?" he asked me.

"I'm not sure, you better look it up," I answered.

That's when the magic happened. He turned to his cell phone and switched on Google, the person we refer to as "the talking lady."

"Can you freeze cooked rice?" he asked.

It couldn't have been more than 10 seconds later that Google cheerfully announced that you could indeed freeze cooked rice, even if you were only saving it for one day. "Freezing the cooked rice will keep it from sticking," Google said.

I was at the sink washing dishes. "I can't believe this," I said. "What kind of world do we live in when we can get answers to so many questions in the matter of seconds?" It felt like magic to me.

And then this morning I had the same magical feeling. I got up before dawn to meditate and chant. I checked email and there was a message from my sister-in-law Fawn. She and my brother are enjoying an adventure in Italy and Fawn had taken a photo of a fabulous fruit and veggie store. She attached a photo of my brother chatting it up with the owner of the little store.

She had emailed us just an hour before (5:15 a.m. our time, 1:15 in the afternoon in Italy.) The email gave me a run of goosebumps. Here was the modern version of a postcard, arriving instantly  --instead of the way it used to be, when the postcards arrived a week or two after you were home from your trip.

What an amazing world. We have problems up the gazoo, but meanwhile, we have technology that is bringing minds and machines closer and closer together. Can you imagine if someone from the 1800s could see what we have become? Can you imagine someone from the 1950s, or the 60s, or even the 90s? Or even 2005.

I taught a journalism class at Georgetown in 2009. I called it "Journalism Upside Down." In other words, how were blogging and the Internet causing chaos within traditional media outlets. Newspapers were dropping like flies while blogs were flourishing like kudzu.

Imagine this: a student came to class one night and shared an exciting news event involving TWITTER. Senator Claire McCaskill had actually TWEETED (strange word we thought, kind of birdlike) from the Senate floor. We all marveled at this new "social media."

I asked the J-school grad students to consider this question: "Is it possible that at some point in the future we will get serious news from Twitter or Facebook or blogs?" It seemed rather far-fetched at the time, but we took up the question anyway.

And here we are today in a world where cell phone videos instantly make major headlines. Where social media is the breath of life to every political and social cause; where millions of people sign thousands of petitions by email every day; where viral messaging can bring the world's spotlight on horrifying police brutality. Or institutional racism.

The other day, I marveled when I saw a short video filmed as students protested institutional racism at the University of Missouri. The protests brought down Missouri's president. Once again students were showing how powerful social media can be. The protests, according to CNN, "took shape after the student government president took to Facebook in September to complain about bigotry and slurs."

That's what social media can do in the modern age. It is thriving as so many traditional news organizations are withering away.

I had another aha moment when that short video showed protesting students trying to block the reporters and photographers from covering the protest. "Give us some space," the students screamed. "Leave us alone." 

Here I was seeing something I never thought I would see: protesters who weren't dying for media attention! Remember all those 1960s marches on Washington -- protesters did everything they could to hook the press. (Remember how the press always played down the number of protesters?) 

Yesterday's New York Times featured a debate about why young people -- particularly young people of color -- distrust the news media. 

Today we live in a world where social media makes every single human being with a cell phone a reporter or a photographer or a videographer (those iPhone 6 cameras are amazing!) No longer is news gathering restricted to a select group of media elites. Nowadays every individual's voice can be heard en masse. 

Technology has done wonders for democracy.

Who knows were this speed of light technology goes next? I'm fascinated to find out. 

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Review: Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick

Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: November 10th, 2015
Pages: 400
Source: Publisher **I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
Rating: 1.5/5
Add to Goodreads

A teen is forced to make a fresh start after witnessing a violent crime—but love and danger find her anyway in this novel from Becca Fitzpatrick, theNew York Times bestselling author of the Hush, Hush saga.

Stella Gordon is not her real name. Thunder Basin, Nebraska, is not her real home. This is not her real life.

After witnessing a lethal crime, Stella Gordon is sent to the middle of nowhere for her own safety before she testifies against the man she saw kill her mother’s drug dealer.

But Stella was about to start her senior year with the boyfriend she loves. How can she be pulled away from the only life she knows and expected to start a new one in Nebraska? Stella chafes at her protection and is rude to everyone she meets. She’s not planning on staying long, so why be friendly? Then she meets Chet Falconer and it becomes harder to keep her guard up, even as her guilt about having to lie to him grows.

As Stella starts to feel safer, the real threat to her life increases—because her enemies are actually closer than she thinks…




I think my love for Becca Fiztpatrick's books piqued with her Hush, Hush series. And since I read them years ago I kind of don't want to re-read them in case I find out that I've outgrown that love. But having read Black Ice last year and finding it just good enough. And now with Dangerous Lies being not good enough. It seems her books are going down hill for me and that has me concerned that maybe it's time for a break-up. I don't want it to get to the point where it's terrible. So maybe the smart thing to do is to keep the fun memories of reading the Hush, Hush series and call it the end?

I'm going to do this review a bit differently because my issue with Dangerous Lies is the MC, Stella. For a character driven reader like myself, there was no way I could like this book with her as the MC. The writing was fine. The mystery had me turning the pages, when Stella was trying to get me to DNF. Although that being said, the ending was super anticlimactic and pretty much destroyed any enjoyment I was feeling.
Anyhow, here's my open letter to, Stella.

Stella, 

Here's my thing; I'm sorry your mom choose drugs over you. It sucks you witnessed a murder because of that. And it really blows that you're in the witness protection because of all of that. I understand you've left your life, your friends, everything you know. You're fretting over your safety. BUT that does not excuse you being a spoiled unappreciated brat with a piss poor attitude. You lashing out at the people risking their necks to protect you in no way makes me feel for you. In fact I see it as why even brother. Go ahead, move away from your safe house and see if you can keep yourself safe from some kind of mafia without any help. 

Seriously, I can empathize with your terrible situation. And I could excuse some anger. Because that would be natural. But you sure have a fucked up way of repaying the people doing their job to get you away from the danger your life was in. You're beyond rude to the US marshal accompanying you to your safe house. And than you have the nerve to not even say hello to Carmina(a retired cop) as you meet her for the first time; a women who has volunteered to house you. feed you, keep your secret safe, and you safe. It's like you feel it's your job to make her life miserable. And for what reason? You haven't even said hello to the women and you're already out to discredit her. What in the world... Your entitlement issues are misplaced.

Let's talk boyfriends. Which to me is hilarious. So you left, Reed, a guy you love and through being your boyfriend has now had to go into witness protection as well. Your thoughts are centered around him and how you can get to him, until the hot country boy next door has you intrigued. Chet is a good  and nice guy who is carrying a lot of guilt. The way I see it, you definitely don't deserve him. And I don't know how he's so blind to your true colours because it's not like you keep them undercover. Your insensitivity shines through. I do know that if Chet could read your mind, or knew all those thoughts you had upon meeting him and the subsequent interactions, he would want nothing to do with you. So much for grieving over, Reed

There were times when I was starting to warm up to you. Times when I was getting the impression you were maturing and growing up. Just getting a better attitude. But every single time your selfish, judgmental, insensitive and malicious words and thoughts would give me a nice big slap in the face. And thus be reminded that you are in fact, an asshole. I mean the dead baby bit. What in the actual fuck? Who in their right mind ever ever thinks like that? It left me feeling disgusted.
"I wondered if Inny ever wished it would die. No one wanted to give birth to a dead baby, but then again, no one wanted to be pregnant at sixteen, either" pg 210
You are self-centered and are one of those people that feels likes the world just owes them as you seem to know everything; how to act, react, what people deserve, etc... You can get off your high horse. Your lack of altruism will get you nowhere in life.

What you need to do, Stella is get over yourself. You definitely need good people in your life like Carmina and Chet. But firstly you need to talk to someone. I believe a good dose of therapy could do your life and attitude wonders. Like I said, you were in a fucked up situation. So even for someone that is an actual nice human being I would think therapy would be a must. You need time to reflect and having a professional help give you a major attitude adjustment might just make you a better woman. Otherwise I am glad to be out of your head because now I need to simmer down my irritation and annoyance; you sure had no problem keeping your finger on those buttons.

Good riddance,

Brittany


Saturday, November 7, 2015

Weekly Wrap-Up October 31st-November 6th


So I managed to finish eight books this week. Two being e-books. Six being physical books; two of them ARCs  and one a re-read.


Slasher Girls & Monster Boys by various YA authors **
I'm not the best with short stories as it's hard to get into them. Which makes it hard to enjoy them. But I always have good intentions going into an anthology. This was overall pretty terrible. Some of favourite authors even disappointed me. Here's a break down; 
Nova Ren Suma: The Birds of Azalea Street 3.5*
Carrie Ryan: In the Forest Dark and Deep 4*
Cat Winters: Emmeline 3*
Leigh Bardugo: Verse Chorus Verse 2*
Megan Shepherd: Hide-and-Seek 4*
Danielle Paige: The Dark, Scary Parts and All 2*
April Genevieve Tucholke: The Flicker, The Fingers, The Beat, The Sigh 3*
Jonathan Marberry: Fat Girl With a Knife 1*
Jay Kristoff: Sleepless 3.5*
Stefan Bachmann: M 1*
Marie Lu: The Girl Without A Face 1.5*
McCormick Templeman: A Girl Who Dreamed of Snow 2*
A.G. Howard: Stitches 2.5*
Kendare Blake: On the I-5 3*


Coming in From the Cold(Gravity #1) by Sarina Bowen ***
This is a quick alright romance. It'd be good for a cold and snowy night. But it's not one I'd really recommend. The characters and story line is pretty cliche and cheesy. I definitely was not surprised by either "twist". But overall enjoyable and if the second book is free on Kindle at some point than I'll definitely one-click.


November 9 by Colleen Hoover *****
Review to come.


The Anatomical Shape of A Heart by Jenn Bennett *****
Full review here.


Leveled(Saints of Denver #0.5) by Jay Crownover *****
It's one of the best surprises when one of your favourite authors announces a surprise release of a new book. Which is what happened here; about two books before said release. And even more exciting, it is a M/M romance. I know I'm not alone in getting a story on Lando, he definitely deserves a HEA. But for me I wanted to know him better. And the same for Dom. Both guys had a lot to work through. Crownover did this romance so well(as expected, she's yet to let me down). But what I'm finding is there's two types of M/M romances; one that is making a point that these is about two gay guys or one that is just a love story. And Leveled is definitely a love story. Which is what I wanted. Lando and Dom are so sweet and hot together. And for the most part honest as they work out their own heads. They are definitely one of my favourite Crownover couples now.


Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli *****(re-read)
I just needed some happy fuzzy feelings. For a few hours at least. And Simon always gives me those.


The Iron Warrior(The Iron Fey:Call of the Forgotten #3) by Julie Kagawa ****.5
Well that's that; seven books and the series if finally done. And a pretty solid ending at that. I will easily admit that the original half of the series is my favourite, but Ethan added a fun and amusing element to his end of the series. I of course wanted to see how it would all end, but what I most loved was seeing all my favourite characters come together to succeed. Especially Ash. I missed him the most. It was a bit to much of a HEA. But I guess that's better than the alternative. What makes me the happiest is that in the acknowledgments Kagawa says that no door is ever closed. So that makes me very hopeful to see more of The Iron Fey in the future.


Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick **
Review to come next week.









What did you guys read this week?

Happy reading!

Brittany

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Review: The Anatomical Shape of A Heart by Jenn Bennett

The Anatomical Shape of A Heart by Jenn Bennett

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: November 3rd, 2012
Pages: 304
Source: Publisher **I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
Rating: 5/5
Add to Goodreads

Artist Beatrix Adams knows exactly how she's spending the summer before her senior year. Determined to follow in Leonardo da Vinci’s footsteps, she's ready to tackle the one thing that will give her an advantage in a museum-sponsored scholarship contest: drawing actual cadavers. But when she tries to sneak her way into the hospital’s Willed Body program and misses the last metro train home, she meets a boy who turns her summer plans upside down.

Jack is charming, wildly attractive . . . and possibly one of San Francisco’s most notorious graffiti artists. On midnight buses and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who Jack really is—and tries to uncover what he’s hiding that leaves him so wounded. But will these secrets come back to haunt him? Or will the skeletons in Beatrix’s own family’s closet tear them apart?

Ah, what a wonderfully fantastic book. I will admit that when I first heard about The Anatomical Shape of A Heart, I put it on my TBR(as one does), but I wasn't like dying for it. But then my good buddy, Charnell was raving about it back in the summer. Even went on to say it's her favourite book of 2015. So of course that piqued my interest and made me need to get my hands on a copy. Charnell was not wrong, this book is a winner. It just felt so effortlessly written. The relationship was perfection. And the characters, ah, just so much personality.

I freakin' loved Bex. She's artsy, but not in a pretentious annoying way. Her wit and quirky geekiness shines through the pages. Seriously, I love the girl. What was also a great part of Bex was her relationship with her mom and brother. There's some bad blood with her dad, whom she hasn't spoken to in three years(which will come into play throughout the book), and you can definitely feel the lingering resentment in their household. But it's overshadowed by Bex, her mom and her brothers awesomeness. They talk to each other, they joke with each other, they hang out with each other, they fight with each other. Hey look, a real family dynamic. I LOL'd a bunch over what Bex's mom would say or do; like handing her boxes of condoms(with no shame); which I guess fits with her mom being "Nurse Katherine the Great". They would just act, joke and talk like adults. I absolutely despise when book parents treat their 18 year kid like they've never said a swear word or thought about someone sexually. Just c'mon. 

SHIP ALERT! From the second or third page of the book when Bex meets Jack well waiting for the the night bus they have an instant connection. It's a total meet cute in my book. They have some fun banter and the relationship just progresses in this really fun way. Although Bex is smart enough not to just hand her number out to anyone, she makes Jack work to find her and earn it. The relationship starts off totally relatable with the whole "why hasn't he called yet?" And the "oh my God, maybe he isn't into me!" Everyone experiences those moments.
The summary makes it seem like Jack is going to be this secretive closed off guy. But he's far from it. Nobody unloads their whole life on someone they just met and are trying to impress. You get to know the person, and when they trust you they start reveling their past and secrets; their life. Jack's life is far from easy. Well he is breaking the law by illegally painting graffiti throughout the city. But it's far more than that. And I just loved him. Jack is charming and good looking, sure. But also extremely sweet and caring. Just the kind of guy your mom wants you to bring home.

The Anatomical Shape of A Heart was also a very sex positive book. A lot of teenagers let their hormones guide them. But I absolutely loved how Jack and Bex were able to talk about sex in an honest way. They both had expectations and like Jack says, if they're not able to talk about them then they are not ready to act on them. Also it wasn't totally fade to black when they were ready. Just because this is a YA book Bennett didn't shy away from a positive sexual relationship between teenagers; all the words and acts that come with it.

The Anatomical Shape of A Heart also flawlessly adds diversity to the story. And it's not one of those where you figure the author just thought, "on no, I better add a gay character in to keep my book relevant." Diversity is life and you see that shown in here in  Bex's gay brother, and the mental illness shown and discussed positively(as much as it can). Nothing is just thrown in for the hell of it; that's Bex's family or Jack's or the plenty of non-white friends. I just felt the book wasn't trying to be diverse, it was just mirroring the real world, and I wish more books did that. I'm all for every book being diverse, but I also don't think it should be a thing we wish for anymore, they should just be.

I've read a bunch of books with characters who are artists or art is depicted in some way. But this is a first for me. I have yet to come across a book the focuses on anatomical drawings. It never even crossed my mind that there's people out there that draw still life of dead people or really their organs, cadavers, whatever. To me that's extremely disturbing. But that's mostly because I'm squeamish and would never want to think about someone actually sitting with a dead cut open body drawing their heart. I will admit to Bex/Jenn Bennett making it seem pretty cool though. Bex's expectations and than reactions to being around a dead body were pretty realistic too. The reality was definitely going to be different than the imagery she was use to. And I think a lot of us would think the same; if we can handle it in picture format how much different is the real thing? Obviously very different. As cool as Bex's art is, I definitely know I can only handle it in text.

Knowing me and my love/need for romance, The Anatomical Shape of A Heart is completely perfect in that department. *sigh* But it's so much more than that. There was no stupid relationship drama that happens in  90% of books. Bex and Jack were honest with each other, so the plot of the book didn't focus on them breaking up and finding their way back to each other. They got together and dealt with life together from that point on. Fucking yes. They're both becoming adults, which meant learning about their feelings and how to handle them whether with their parents, passions, futures, etc... Which is absolutely why The Anatomical Shape of A Heart is a new favourite. It is on point. And when I finished it I had to fight the urge to just start it all over again. Stupid TBR pile...

Happy reading!

Brittany

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Showcase Sunday #91

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme held by Books, Biscuits and Tea. It allows fellow bloggers to show off any books or bookish things they've compiled over the week.


Been a while since I posted one of these. So prepare for a bunch of books; bunch of new releases(I've read a good bunch of these too). How's everyone doing? I'm not technically unemployed anymore. I'm working part-time seasonal at my local Chapters. I spend a lot of time in there already, so now they're just paying me to actually be there. It's cool. Gets me out of the house a few hours a week until the new year.
A few weeks ago I went to Fierce Reads Takes TO; which included four lovely authors; Leila Sales, Josephine Angelini, Emma Mills and Leigh Bardugo. I had all four on the blog just before their tour stop here so it was fun to talk the them and them in return remember my blog. I'll post a few photos first than on to the haul.

Firece Read Takes TO

The authors

Giselle, me and Leigh Bardugo

The pile of signed books

Purchased

First & Then by Emma Mills
Six of Crows(Six of Crows #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Trial by Fire(Worldwalker Trilogy #1) by Josephine Angelini
Lumberjanes Vol 2 by Noelle Stevenson

Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall
Illuminae(The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Nuts(Hudson Valley #1) by Alice Clayton

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnson
Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman

E-Books Purchased

For Review

The Anatomical Shape of A Heart by Jenn Bennett
**Thanks to Raincoast for sending this my way**

Gifted

Alive by Chandler Baker
None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio
**Thanks to Giselle @ Booknerd Canada for passing these on**

Won

Madly(Potion #1) by Amy Alward
**Thanks to S&S Canada for sending my a finished signed edition**


What did you guys get this week?

Happy reading!

Brittany