Guys, I'm sorry, but I can't do it.
I'm not the kind of girl to just give up on a book very easily (don't ask my cousin. He'd say I am because I just couldn't get into Eragon, one of his all-time favorites). But I have to give this one up. I'm making absolutely no progress on it, and even when I do, I don't absorb much of what it is saying. Fahrenheit 451 is a book that I had heard a bit about before deciding to read it, and I figured it was an older "classic" that I should pick up and read. I started into it and it was pretty interesting. But by the time I got about halfway through, I lost all motivation. It became harder and harder for me to read. This book is one that is just constantly shoving information in my face. Sometimes the information doesn't make sense, sometimes it is just given to me so fast and in the midst of so much other information, that I don't absorb any of it. It has an interesting storyline, but there's no breaks to help me process what is happening and what it means for the story. Like I said, I hate just not reading it anymore, but I have so many books on my TBR list, and there's one in particular I just got from the library that I am so ready to read! I know that I either need to stop working on Fahrenheit 451 and just go for the new book, or I'll try reading both at the same time, and never end up reading 451. (plus, it's due back to the library, and I don't see the point in renewing it if I don't want to read it anyway.) So question for you: have you ever just stopped reading a book? Not because you didn't have time, but because you just no longer wanted to read it? You had no interest anymore? If so, what book?
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I remember when I was in middle school and I was obsessed with Taylor Swift. You know, the T-Swift that was a sweet teenager and was singing her country music about heartbreak (pretty much every one of her songs was my jam for a good five years…you know…angsty/lovestruck preteen…). I listened to her interviews and read all sorts of stuff about her, and I specifically remember her talking about how she alwaysalwaysalways had to have a pen or pencil and notebook with her at all times. She wrote all her own music, and inspiration would strike out of nowhere. So, she always made sure she had things to write with, that way, whenever the inspiration hit, she would be able to write down her lyrics and ideas.
I have learned that I have to do the same thing. Luckily now, it's easy just to type a note in my phone. But I even found myself at work when I was in high school, bored at the cash register when no one was coming in to the small grocery store where I worked. I would take the scrap papers we would write notes on and start writing sections to add on to the story I was working on at the time. I don't know how many pages I added because I was able to do that. (P.S. - I still do that once in a while at work. If I'm on a break or an idea suddenly strikes me, I pull out a paper and pen and start writing. I try to make sure it doesn't consume a lot of time and I don't focus on it, but I have to write down what comes to me!) This isn't only important as a writer, but it's important to me as a marketer as well. I love coming up with new ideas for promotions, but when I'm put on the spot, I can't come up with anything. Leave it to me to come up with the perfect idea when I'm working out or focused on something totally unrelated to the project! With blog posts too! Sometimes it's difficult to come up with new things to talk about (hard to believe with how much I like to talk…), but I'll be doing something menial and all of a sudden have to jot down a new idea for a post or post series. So if you're creative, whether it's writing, composing, marketing, or anything else, make sure to always have a pen available so that you can take down all of those fleeting ideas. They can be elusive, so it's important to take note when you can so that you don't lose out on the great ideas that you come up with! Since my blog is centered around books and tea (based on the C.S. Lewis quote), I figured it would be fun to take my summer reads and pair them with some of my favorite beverages. So enjoy my Book and Beverage combos! City of Bones & BeerEven though I wasn't a huge fan of City of Bones, I think it would be a great pairing with a nice CocO Stout from WestO Beer (a local brewery I love). The dry humor and crazy characters and monsters would just go well with the dark brew. Letter to My Daughter & TeaThis beautiful read would pair perfectly with a nice Tazo tea (particularly their Zen tea). The calm and reflective short prose pieces remind me of the calming lemon and mint tea. The Yada Yada Prayer Group & CoffeeYou've got to have a pick-me-up type drink for this crazy fun book! There are just so many characters with interesting lives and developments, and you have to have some type of drink (like coffee!) to keep you awake and on your toes for the book! Wedding Night & WineSing You Home & WaterThis is just such a real and down-to-earth book that would go well with the most down-to-earth drink: water! I love the realism and how connected I became with each character. The Silver Madonna & MilkI'm not a huge fan of drinking milk on its own, and nonfiction is also not my favorite thing. I think that this book about treasures fits well with some ice cold milk. (I know it's a weird one, but I think it works! :) ) Seraphina & OJOrange juice is about my favorite beverage. I just love juice. So this drink fits great with my favorite read of the summer: Seraphina. I think that the citrus and slight bite also just fits with Seraphina, who is sweet and trying to stay in the shadows, but has an attitude and strong personality and will.
Why I picked itI had decided to do a readathon throughout August and I chose the O.W.L. Readathon which was made by the booktuber, Book Roast. She and a bunch of others were doing their N.E.W.T.s but I hadn't gotten through the first round yet. So I wanted to pass Transfiguration, and to do so I needed to read a book with a cat on the cover or a book that featured transfiguration and shapeshifting. I looked up some ideas from Goodreads, and Seraphina popped up. I looked around my library for it, found it, and was very intrigued by the little bit I read inside the cover. SummarySeraphina has a foot in both the human and dragon worlds. Though there is peace between the two beings, there is still a lot of discrimination and fear. So she has to keep one half of herself a secret. Throughout the book we learn more about both worlds, Seraphina's special ability, and the peace treaty. There is obviously someone inside the castle (other than Seraphina) that is working both sides and trying to restart the wars. So with the help of her friends, Seraphina has to help keep the peace without giving herself away. What I LIkedEverything! I absolutely loved the new world. I was given a lot of jargon and language (that you could look up in the dictionary in the back of the book), and you could learn all about this new place. The traditions, celebrations, people, opinions, politics, everything. It was an entirely new world that I just got lost in. I loved it so much. I also loved that I could see a couple of budding love stories, but they didn't really come to be in the book. You could feel them and see them throughout, but I continued to wonder when they would actually come together. I also loved the characters. Seraphina is brilliant. I loved her little fidgets and quirks that I learned about her. I also loved the characters surrounding her. Each one of them had a different surprise that you learned throughout the book. Not only that, but at the end of the book, it takes a major turn from where you think it is heading. It was fabulously written, and I loved every minute of it. What I didn't LIkeHonestly there wasn't much. I kind of wish I had realized that there was the dictionary of the words at the back, because it would have helped me once in a while. But normally it was written well enough that I could determine what the word meant. Otherwise, I have no complaints. It was a beautiful read. Overall Impression🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟5/5 stars, highly recommend, please read it! I'm getting back into the YA novels, especially fantasy, because that was always my go-to growing up. This one surpassed a lot of the ones I've read recently. I got just a few pages in and was already totally and completely hooked. If you see this book, pick it up and read it. I'm getting ready to find the 2nd one of the series to read a soon as I can!
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AuthorJust sharing my passion of reading through my passion of writing. Archives
May 2020
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