Tag Archives: Reading

Book Review: Looking For Alaska

I know, I know, so many John Green books lately. I bought 3 of them in the same day, so yeah. I promise the next book I review will be written by someone else.

As with everything I’ve read by him so far, I loved Looking For Alaska. Miles “Pudge” Halter goes off to boarding school, looking for his great perhaps. There he meets Chip “The Colonel” Martin, a pranking master, Takumi the unlikely MC, and Alaska Young. Miles is a fan of biographies, and even more so of famous last words. It’s a morbid fascination, but not as bad as some interests.

Alaska is a wild, messed up girl. She drinks, she smokes, and lives life dangerously. She’s kinda the very definition of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She’s a master pranker as well, and the pranks that Alaska and The Colonel pull off are legendary.

But late one night, something terrible happens, leaving Miles with a Virgins Suicides type situation.

Final Verdict: I recommend this book, I adored it, for the exact comparison that I made above. The book ends feeling very much like the Virgin Suicides, and that is one of my all time favorite books.

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Book Review: The Never List

Sarah and Jennifer are really careful, trusting their never list to keep them safe. A list they created after a horrible accident, one that made them more like sisters than friends. But one night they accidently break the worst possible rule they could on the never list and it costs them their freedom. Ten years later, Sarah is still trying to cope with the fact that Jennifer didn’t make it out of the cellar with her, and that the man who kidnapped them might be getting out for parole. Sarah decides she needs to find more evidence to keep that horrible man locked away.

The Never List by Koethi Zan was released early this year and I grabbed it while I was in a hurry at the library solely based on it’s title and the cover. I had absolutely no clue what it was about when I checked it out. I enjoyed this book. It’s dark and twisted, with plenty of things that you absolutely do not expect to happen. I think what made this book a bit darker for me, is that I have my own Never List of sorts. I grew up being very aware of the terrible horrible things that could happen to me. I still follow some of those rules I made up for myself, while others have proved to be unnecessary. However, reading this book, where these girls did everything they possibly could to keep themselves safe and they still ended up in this situation, absolutely horrified me. They were so careful, and they didn’t even mean to break the rule, it just happened.

Final Verdict: I fully recommend this book, I adored it and it’s going on my books I’ve read but want to buy and read again list.

Today’s outfit is actually a variation of one that I made a wishboard for last year.

I’m wearing a sweater from Gap, and the Victoria’s Secret Most Loved Leggings, my socks are from Target’s $1 section last Valentines Day.

On My Face: Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Siberia, Nars Blush in Deep Throat, Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla and YSL Babydoll Mascara. Hair tie: Emi-jay. Glasses: Kate Spade

This is definitely an outfit that is cozy and comfortable, which was necessary because I sat down with this book and finished it all in one go. I like to be really cozy and comfortable when I read thrillers or horror novels, because it’s much easier to deal with the horrors of the world if you’re safe and cozy at home. I mean that’s so obvious that even Tool has a song about it.

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Book Review: Cemetary Girl

I’m going to open with there’s no outfit for this one. I said that I would include an outfit if I were particularly affected by a book, and then just somehow got in the habit of posting an outfit with each review. However that’s not why there’s no outfit, honestly it’s just that I’m sick again, and from now until July you’ll be hearing that a lot. Between allergies and having a low immune system, I’m just constantly ill. It’s why I’ve done a couple of sick day posts. I will try my best to get Stylish Sundays up each week, but I can’t promise that the book reviews will always have an outfit.

Now onto the book review:

As you can see I picked this book up at Target and then ended up loaning it to my mother the same day. This book is incredibly disturbing. I didn’t find it as disturbing as my mother found it, but even so. However my Mother has two girls, and I have one boy so that might have effected things a bit. Especially when you consider my mom has read some incredibly fucked up books and not batted an eye.

It’s about the Stuart Family, Tom, Abbey and Caitlin, and the aftermath of Caitlin’s disappearance when she’s 12 years old. She’s found 4 years later eerily calm and unwilling to talk about the time she was gone. When an arrest is finally made she refuses to testify against him.

Having just had his marriage dissolve, Tom is obsessed with finding out what happened to Caitlin while she was gone, even going so far as to using her as leverage with her kidnapper to get them both to talk.

I found the whole book to be creepy, and I sympathized the most with the Father until the end when his obsession with finding out what happened to her sends him off the deep end. In the end I was just disturbed by everyone. I absolutely hated the mother, and found her behavior to be not only pathetic, but weak and selfish. She finds her religion, which is not a bad thing to do when your child is missing. I’m not a church goer now, but I can’t say I what I would do if my son were to go missing. No, the worst part is it’s implied that she cheats on her husband with and then she leaves him for the Church’s pastor. The only one that I didn’t end up hating was Caitlin and that was only because I attributed her behavior to what she’d been through the last 4 years.

Final Verdict: I don’t know if I recommend this book. I think I was too disturbed by it, it didn’t give me nightmares or anything, but I can’t see picking it up for a re-read anytime soon. If you’re into this sort of book then go for it.

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Book Haul

Or The Scary Season Is Coming

I don’t know about you, but what I’m reading usually changes with the seasons. Spring and Summer I like to read light, everyone is falling in love, type books. But come fall and winter, I love mysteries, and dark, creepy or scary books. I’m not sure if it’s just me getting ready for my favorite holiday, but come the colder seasons I am all about the creepy stuff.

Not all out horror, don’t get me wrong, but you won’t catch me watching the final destination movies (save the second one that Ryan made me go see, and then didn’t show up for you ass!), but when it comes to books I like to read things that I could never ever watch on T.V.

Which brings me to this book haul.

Why yes that is Howl on the edge of the picture. Photobombing is an art and he has got it down, just go look at my last haul. From Left to Right they are, Dream With Little Angels by Michael Hiebert, Cemetery Girl by David Bell and Sharp Objects By Gillian Flynn. I’m probably most excited for Sharp Objects, because it was recommended by ChapterStackss or Katie on Youtube. She is probably my favorite youtuber. I followed her from her beauty channel to her booktube channel and every book that she’s recommended that I’ve read, I’ve adored. She’s actually who inspired me to start doing book reviews on my blog, so go check her out!

As you can see I bought these books from Target, and I haven’t read any of them yet. I’m really excited to get reading them, but I actually have another book to read first. It’s called Getting Rooted in New Zealand by Jamie Baywood and after I’ve read it I get to do a mini interview with the Author that I’m very excited about. I kinda consider it my last light and girlie book of the summer. What books are you looking foreward to reading this fall?

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Book Haul

Or Something Tangible

I haven’t bought an actual book for myself for ages, until earlier this week. I just couldn’t help it, I’d recently my favorite booktuber ChapterStackss do a book haul and it made me want to buy a real book. So when I was at the grocery store I picked up one.

Laura Lamont’s Life In Pictures. The title and the cover appealed to me so I picked it up. Terrible reasons to buy a book, probably. Will I enjoy it? I dunno you’ll find out in an upcoming book review.

When I was picking out the book above, I picked up a book, handed it to my husband and said I really want this book, but I feel weird about buying a book with a movie cover. So he bought it for me instead.

Ta da, it’s the Bling Ring. I was said I missed this in theaters, and now have to wait until it comes out on DVD in September. I don’t mind the cover of this so much. because I have an Emma Watson can do no wrong mentality. Seriously I adore her. Plus it was a present and you just can’t hate on a present. Unless it sucks, or they gave you the same thing last year.

The grocery is probably the best time to buy me a present. I am so distracted and freaked out that you could be walking around naked and I wouldn’t even notice. It’s even worse if I have my son with me, because I got lost in a mall once when I was little and I’m terrified he’ll run off somewhere without me noticing. I was aware that my husband was carrying around something, but I had no clue he bought this until we got home.

I’m so excited to be reading a real book again. I love my nook and ipad and I adore reading on both of them, but sometimes you just need something tangible.

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