Discussion #21: Audiobooks

For the longest time, I was iffy about audiobooks. First of all, because I don't have a car, and we all know that the best place and time to listen to an audiobook is on a long road trip. Recently, I've started listening to audiobooks more in an effort to get into reading again. I would recommend this for anyone, actually. Audiobooks are quite interesting, unless the reader's voice is really faint and soft-- you want to find a really good voice, because when you're listening to an audiobook, it's not your voice in your head, but someone else's voice.

I've noticed that I'm listening to books that I don't have any motivation to finish on my own. It helps. It's kind of slow sometimes, especially if you try to read along, but it's an interesting experience. What do you guys think about audiobooks?

I just signed up on audible.com -- you guys can get your first book for free!

Discussion #20: Why Book Covers Are Important

Note: This is a matter of my own personal opinion. If you might find this kind of post offensive, please do not read. Thank you!

Before, I did a discussion post regarding whether or not you should judge a book by its cover. (The answer is no, btw.) HOWEVER-- This is different. This post, as you may have guessed, is regarding WHY having a nice book cover is extremely important.

Here are three plain reasons why:
1. I don't want to be seen in public with an ugly book.
2. If the book cover is unattractive, then it sells terribly. (You already know. You can have the best synopsis in the world, but if that cover is ugly, there is a very small chance that someone will be attracted to it in the first place, pick it up, and read it. Much less purchase it.)
3. People say to not judge a book by its cover, but a lot of us do it anyway.

I think you can agree with me that the cover is what attracts a reader to a book in the first place, right?

Let's say that an ugly book is stacked with other pretty books at a bookstore. The buyer would be attracted to the pretty books. Yes.

Let me just say that I've encountered a handful of people that thought "The cover was pretty, so I bought it. I don't even read." Those little shits didn't even read the synopsis  Personally, I don't do it, but a lot of people do.

I can recognize what type of book a book is because I've been book blogging for quite a while. I know what a stereotypical dystopian novel would have as a cover, or a contemporary romance novel. Those covers attract me.

So, friends:

The cover matters. A lot.

Discussion #19: Integrity

Ok, I've been doing a bunch of discussion posts recently, and they were kinda rants.. And I'll be honest, discussions are something to post. Unfortunately, I haven't been reading books recently, so not much reviews..

But I do have something to say. This is sort of a spinoff from last week, where I wrote about authors who bought their fake 5 star reviews.

Have you ever come across a book that said, "The next Harry Potter!" Or whatever? I have. A lot of times. I don't want to mention any specific titles because I might offend someone with my personal opinion, so I'll leave it to anonymity.

Yeah. I fucking hate when that happens. I know that it's obvious that Harry Potter is a great, renowned hero in modern literature, and he's dear to most of our hearts. (Am I right or am I right?) But it is NOT OK to claim that your book is "the next Harry Potter." No, what did you want to do? Recreate the cupboard under the stairs, the tell-tale lightning scar? Hogwarts? Wizard chess? Chocolate frogs? What the fuck did you want to do? Maybe I might be one of the only people getting offended at something so little, but...

If you're trying to say that your protagonist will be a great hero just like Harry Potter, then say something about heroism. Don't compare him/her to Harry freaking Potter. You will disappoint so many people. Unless, you know, you know you will be bigger and more loved than JK Rowling.

It's all about integrity. Please, don't claim that it's the next Harry Potter when it's really not. Compare your protagonist to Harry, sure. But don't say that your book will actually be loved as much as JK Rowling's works. Please don't. I mean, if you do, might as well just stick to fanfiction and carry on the Hogwarts world from there.

Discussion #18: It's Too Long...!

No, fuck you. No it isn't.

Sorry, ignore that first line. I just got really irritated. So-- as some of you might know, I am a bookaholic. Or at least, I used to be. (What happened? AP classes happened.) Fortunately, people still know me as the girl who reads hella (obviously I'm from NorCal. Who else uses "hella?") or "the crazy book lady." Yeah, seriously. And I find it really funny and satisfying whenever someone asks me for book recommendations. Especially people I don't know that well. Like, wait, how do you know I read? I love my reputation. And then I go on and on and on, listing my all time favorite books/series, Harry Potter (OH MY GOD YOU HAVE TO READ HARRY POTTER), everything Cassie Clare (READ MORTAL INSTRUMENTS AND INFERNAL DEVICES PLEASE)... Usually I suggest mainstream books first. It's my test to see if they're genuinely interested.

Like when Malcolm suspected Macduff of being a spy for Macbeth so he was testing him. Get it? That's the first and only Shakespeare reference I'm making for today..

So, anyway, I recommend Harry Potter and, guess what? "It's too long! Give me something shorter!"

There are so many things wrong with that statement.
1. Reading for leisure? Then I don't see why a long book would be such a problem, because there isn't a due date, is there? Regardless of how fast or slow you read, HARRY POTTER SHOULD BE A PREREQUISITE TO ASPIRING BOOKAHOLICS. I'M SERIOUS. Does it discourage you that Harry Potter is such a long series? Well suck it up, because it's good and that's all that really matters.
2. Asking me for a recommendation? Don't expect me to recommend something like Diary of a Wimpy Kid. If you ask me for a recommendation, expect something big. Don't ask for something small because the big books are usually the good ones. AND I'M GIVING YOU THE GOOD ONES. GOSH.
3. There is no such thing as "too long." A book can be as long as it needs to be. Unless there's a whole bunch of extra shit that's totally unnecessary to the storyline. But if it were a bad book, I wouldn't even recommend it.

HONESTLY I DON'T SEE WHAT'S SO DISCOURAGING ABOUT A BIG BOOK??? There's nothing wrong with hundreds of luscious pages, as long as the author is good! Gosh people are so impossible. They want to read more, yet they don't want to read. I M P O S S I B L E.

Discussion #17: Don't buy 5 Star Reviews

So, recently, I'd read an article about indie authors who buy their 5 star reviews. See it here: http://lucypireel.wordpress.com/2014/03/09/cheating-the-reader/

I don't care if you are desperate to get your book out in the open; don't buy your fucking 5 star reviews.

Bloggers like me get tons and tons of review requests, and sometimes we can't even accept them all, much less than read them AND like them all. What pisses me off the most is when authors get mad at us for writing negative reviews. I've posted a couple of discussion topics in this category a while ago, but I just need to RANT.

So, a simple numbered list to authors who bribe their readers for 5 starred positive reviews:

1. You are cheating the people who actually read those reviews and let those reviews determine their opinion of whether or not they should like it.
2. No offense, but if you have to bribe to get good reviews, maybe you should really stop writing...
3. True, you may get some good reviews with monetary compensation, but most of us have review policies. And those review policies say that we can't be bribed into dishonesty to make you look good. And so, some of us get gravely offended when you offer us monetary compensation.
4. Fuck you.

Discussion #15: Lynn Shepherd Against JK Rowling

Lynn Shepherd doesn't get it.

So, before I launch into a heated discussion about this topic, here are two posts you should probably read first (You won't get what I'm rambling about if you don't):

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/lynn-shepherd/jk-rowling-should-stop-writing_b_4829648.html

http://bookriot.com/2014/03/03/j-k-rowling-can-do-what-she-wants/

Well, the thing is, Ms. Lynn Shepherd had posted an article on Huffington Post, called "If J.K. Rowling Cares About Writing, She Should Stop Doing It." Now, before I start ranting about everything already wrong with that title, let me just make a quick point: Lynn Shepherd said that she has not read a SINGLE WORD OF J.K. Rowling's.

That's like me saying I fucking hate Nash Grier despite how I've never watched any of his vines.

Or me bashing Fifty Shades of Grey although I've never read it.

Or ANYONE saying they hate a certain food they've never tried.

I'm sorry this makes me so angry I just don't know what to type.

Discussion #14: The Struggle of Reading Shakespeare

(Well, mainly because I ran out of queued posts, so I was like, why not?)

Well, if you're friends with me on Goodreads or go to school with me or something, you would know that I am currently reading Macbeth, by William Shakespeare.. As I'm typing this I'm waiting for the movie on Youtube to load so I can actually understand what the hell I just read in Act 4. This is my second Shakespearean reading, and actually my first independent Shakespeare reading-- (no way would I have been able to read Romeo and Juliet all on my own) without teacher guidance.

READING HIS BOOKS IS A REAL STRUGGLE. (And here I'm assuming that Shakespeare has actually written the works despite all the controversy going on and the movie Anonymous wHICH JUST SO HAPPENS TO STAR JAMIE CAMPBELL BOWER that says Shakespeare was too fucking poor to know of noble life and to write this amazingly well fuck it) I'm guessing that most of you are pretty familiar with Shakespeare and have read a couple (if not all) of his works. But those of you that haven't read Shakespeare yet, go ahead and read! Despite it being a struggle, I actually enjoy reading him. He's pretty unique. (I mean, what other books have crazy main characters that kill everybody in his damn way to become king? Don't forget the hallucinations. Don't.)

"What, you egg?" IV. iii. 94

I'm fucking dying. Best line in the entire book so far. Shakespeare is HILARIOUS. Well, he can be. As long as you understand him... Once you do that, you can totally laugh at all those not-so-hidden jokes. For a first time reader, you need a few resources. And I use all of these.

1. Youtube
Youtube is so important to me in reading this play. Because oh my god if I didn't have Youtube to give me a visual I would DIE. There are so many good videos on Youtube right now.

2. Sparknotes
Sparknotes is your friend. A really good analytic friend who helps you get through writing assignments.

3. Cliffsnotes
Cliff is also your friend. Not to mention hilarious.

I don't even want to mention taking notes as you go because I believe that is tedious. But different things work as you go.

4. Self Endurance
Don't DNF it. You'll never get anywhere. I know it gets tempting, especially if you're reading his stuff just for fun and not for a school assignment that you'll be graded on, but it's also super fun to actually know what's going on instead of "reading" the entire thing. Which I used to do with classics.

So, yeah. What about you? What other authors that you have come across are terribly challenging to read, but enjoyable?

Discussion #13: Reviewer's Responsibility

I feel like I wrote about this already (but really this blog is just endless rants so it hardly matters). This is a barely controlled rant. Repeat, barely controlled rant.

So, as a reviewer we are pressured about many things.

• updating consistently
• posting up a review for an ARC BEFORE the publishing date
• blog tour responsibilities
• being honest
• integrity & living up to what yous say you do
• negative reviews
• time management

At least, that's what I always suffer. I know that as a blogger, I signed myself up for all this, and so there's really no point in complaining about it. I mean, I think all this is fun, but something provoked me to make this post.

Discussion #13: So many books, so little time.. This again!?

So, I've run out of scheduled posts, and I feel so guilty because I haven't read since August. That's like, extremely sad. No books = no book reviews, and book reviews make up most of my blog posts.

I've titled a discussion post with "So many books, so little time.." before, hence the "This again?!" part of it.

I just wanted to discuss with y'all, reading should be viewed as a sacred pastime and there's supposed to be time for it every day, but frankly, for me, I've had no time at all since school began.

I feel stupid for taking two AP classes without getting the feel for it first.

Each day I'm working until 11PM with homework, or even later, and getting around 5-6 hours of sleep-- before, I usually got 8-9.

And now there's no time to read.

I itch to get some reading done, but I also itch to balance my grades..

What do you guys think? Is reading as important as schoolwork, and should it be viewed as a sacred pastime?

Discussion #12: The Perks of Having a TBR List

 Do you have a whole bunch of books to read? Is that pile growing endlessly because you can't control your bookaholicness? Yeah, same here. (Assuming you said yes. LOL.) There are many perks to having a physical TBR list, aka To Be Read list. My own personal list, currently, is displayed in this post. Gorgeous, right? Three freaking pages. I'm nearing four because page three is already starting its fourth column. Some readers just go with the flow and read whatever they want to read whenever they want to read it, and that's pretty cool. They don't seem to need a TBR list because they just pick up books at random, one at a time. But most of us readers just buy books and never seem to stop. But bloggers. Book bloggers are also readers. We also buy books and never stop. But we also have ARC copies, blog tours, review requests from authors.. Needless to say, blogging has a lot of reading involved, and it's fun!


My own personal TBR checklist has a quote on the top: "To read or not to read- that is the question." Honestly I don't know who I'm quoting, but hey. I like it! Below is my chart of what each symbol/color means:

Discussion #11: The Purpose of Having a "Review Policy" Page & Other Specifics On Your Blog

Recently, I went on Twitter, and a specific tweet reminded me of something. Once, way earlier in my blogging years, an author asked me to review their book, so of course I said yes, of course, because I would feel bad if I didn't-- and the book wasn't even in my comfort zone. I tried reading the book, and I'd ended up skimming to the end (because I couldn't DNF it. I would feel bad. I promised a review.) So I reviewed it, and it was really bad. (My review was really bad, since I was a fobby reviewer.. I think I still am, but definitely better.) I wrote a really negative review, as much as I hated writing it. And guess what, the author comments on my posts and says something like, "Don't believe what this blogger says. I'm the author. I swear it's good." And, I'm just like, "Aren't I entitled to my own opinion? Like, are you kidding me?"

Discussion #10: False Flattery

Well, as an aspiring writer, I show my work to my friends (and, to my sister, who happens to give me the most criticizing comments EVER, which I am frankly grateful for), and sometimes I can't help but think that they're giving me false flattery because

a) I'm their friend
b) They don't want to hurt my feelings

Well, basically, those two reasons could be merged together into 'they don't want to hurt my feelings because I'm their friend.' I do accuse those people of false flattery, LOL. And I'm sort of scared to go out there and get in a critic group or something like that because I don't know if I can stand all the criticism. Fine, in my speculation, I guess you're right, Cynthia, if you ever read this post..

So my friend Cynthia, who is the YA author of Transcendence and Dirty Little Secrets, apparently continues to advise me to NOT get published until I'm twenty years old. Okay, I'm impatient. Especially when I see all those authors out there under twenty..

Whenever I give people my writing to read I just hope that they'll give me both positive feedback and negative feedback. This is why, as a reviewer, I'm not afraid to criticize..

So, my sister. (Yeah yeah I know you're reading this because you're such a blog stalker, meimei)

When I give her my writing to read, she just shouts out her thoughts like there's no tomorrow.

-They talk too much!!
-She's so annoying!! Like I wanna kick her in the face and ugh she's sooo like you
-Oh my God!!
-You're so not original!
-This makes no sense!!
-He smirks too much!!
-He's so mean!!

Yep, and I just laugh but I keep these things in mind.

I can't really look over my own writing and suddenly discover something wrong with it, well, because, for example, if I want to know whether or not my guy character is considered hot, I can't really read over what I wrote and see if I start to swoon. I can't, because he's my character and I created him, I can't really just say OHH MY GOD YAHHH THIS IS SO SEXY as I type because that would sort of be calling my own brother hot.

So I do need other people to help me discover things, and maybe their flattery is real, but I'd like to hear something that would help me improve. I don't want something discouraging or negative..

Being a writer is so much harder than I had originally thought.

Discussion #9: Kinds of Librarians

So, recently, I've been talking about our school's librarian in a very bitter manner, and may he never ever see this post. LOL. I just wanted to talk about the kinds of librarians that I meet. Even though the general stereotype is something like this:

That's just the major stereotype, as if all old ladies like to sit in libraries and do nothing but smell dusty books and tell people to shut their cakeholes.

Anyways, I'll just start out by describing our school's librarian.

He's scary. So, when your voice rises above a little hiss of a whisper, he comes over to you and tells you to shut up in his own way. It's not whispering if I can hear you all the way over there. Well, screw him. It's not my fault I whisper loud. I really do. I'm a loud person.. So when we all sit down, all he does is stare (glare) at us with those creepy eyes that just want to pierce your soul and kill your being! That's seriously ALL he does for the whole entire 30 minutes of lunch. I just hate him so much oh my gosh. Maybe I'm being a little immature about this whole thing, but come on! WORST. LIBRARIAN. EVER.

So, just a few days ago, I went and sat down between two aisles to avoid his gaze, and it was actually nice in there. Ugh.

So after he told me to shut up for the billionth time, I told myself that I would be quiet. So I just move to a different table-- however, my whole group follows me, so I move to another table, and they still follow me. So I move to another table and stay there all alone. So my friends are VERY, VERY loud, perhaps even louder than me, so they just start whispering like there's no tomorrow and a few seconds later, they don't even bother to whisper. They just start talking. What pissed me off is that the librarian LET them talk, and they're so much louder than I ever was! So then, when they got a little louder, he just walks over to them and tells them, "I'll take it away if you guys can't be quiet."

Come ON. That's WAY nicer than "It's not whispering if I can hear you all the way over there."

I HATE HIS GUTS I JUST WANT TO SMASH HIS FACE UGH WHAT KIND OF LIBRARIAN IS HE

Well, I kind of just realized why I made this post in the first place. It's not to rant about our school's librarian, or to tell stories of my personal life, which I just did.. but I want to talk about the types of librarians that I've encountered.

- The ones that say nothing all day but BE QUIET! (Ahem)
- The ones that help you when you need assistance in finding books
- The librarians that have read everything and are very attentive and nice
- The ones that do nothing but sit there and do who-knows-what on the computer

I think that if a librarian is not going to be nice and attentive and helpful, they might as well not be a librarian at all. A library is supposed to be a nice environment. I get it, you have to be quiet, but really, it's not a librarian's job to tell everyone to shut the hell up. It's annoying. So annoying that I had to make a post about it.

I mean, I have no experience, but since I'm a library volunteer, I think that I know the vague idea of what a librarian should be like.

It's just.. UGH HE IRRITATES ME 

I hope that many of you have found this post amusing.. because I think I've ranted enough about this topic...

Happy reading, guys!

Discussion # 8: So many books, so little time

As some of you may know, I complain and rant all the time about not having enough time to read. I mean, I do it every day. I'm at school, and I just get the urge to start crying because I don't have enough time to read and I'm just overwhelmed by all the books I have on my hands.. If you look at my TBR list, it's just crazy huge. It's a checklist of 3 pages and there are, about 30-40 book titles on every page. And yes, there are more blank squares than checked ones.

Btw, yes, I will despise anyone that says, "AIN'T NOBODY GAT TIME FO BOOKS." I'll just boil up and screech back at them, "AIN'T NOBODY GAT TIME FOR YOU." Yes, very indignant indeed.

I remember a long time ago, in the very beginning of summer 2012, before I even started this blog, I had to go through this drastic time period in which I had nothing to read. At all. I didn't go to the library that time because I just despised the library back then for my own reasons.. I think I still despise libraries with grumpy old men as librarians that have nothing to do but assist people with their math homework and  tell people to shut up, aka my school's library  (Mainly, I just hated the way that people abused books just because they were library books. As a worker at the local library, I know that there are boogers on not only the juvie books. ugh. Filthy, beat up, and stinky. Worst of all, you have to return it. Even when you love the book so much.) Anyways, back to the point. That time period was so drastic because I really had nothing to do. I don't think I want to have another one of those moments where I have nothing to read because that's just terrible. I'd rather have a lot to read at once and be overwhelmed than have nothing to read and to be bored to death.

However, it doesn't mean that I like having so much books to read and so little time that I just want to cry. If I had all the time in the world, and if I weren't so good at procrastination, or maybe if I just shut up for once and concentrated on reading  then I wouldn't be quite so overwhelmed.

I haven't done a blog tour in SO long, because it's just too much. I can't organize all this extra stuff and read the things that I want to read, and falfkjdal;jksj just ugh. I've been slowing down with my reading recently (which is the worst feeling in the world) and I could be reading right now but instead I'm just ranting about how I don't have enough time.

Basically, this is what I say way too much:

1. So many books, so little time.
2. I need more money so I can buy more books!
3. I could be reading right now.

I can't really emphasize number three more than that. I say that all the time, and even when I have leisure time I find myself drifting towards the computer and, next thing you know, I'm watching Vampire Diaries or aimlessly scrolling through my email, or Facebook (which is really dry, honestly), or Twitter, or Tumblr, or anything else. I'm a terrible person, LOL

CURSE THE BLASTED ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY! Except I couldn't live without it. Wow, I have such a love-hate relationship with technology. Gosh.

I wonder how things would be like if I lived in the 19th century when there was no advanced technology at all, ugh.

Discussion #7: Romance

I think almost everyone has their own connotation when they hear the word "romance." For a while, I was conflicted about what my favorite genre really was--- Fantasy? Dystopian? Paranormal? Contemporary? I decided that I didn't really have a favorite genre. Until I realized that romance is what I can't live without. In almost every single book review, I talk about the book's romance, how it was perf, or how it sucked, or the book could have done better without it. Well, I guess now I know what my favorite genre is.
Without romance, the book would be kind of dry. Well, that's in my opinion, anyway. Unless it has a lot of other things in it that make it so awesome that it doesn't need romance at all.
But (the magic word), just because there's romance in a book doesn't mean I like the book. There are several kinds of.. 'romance.'

1- Love @ First Sight

I mean, this is cute in fairy tales, but no. I just don't like love at first sight at all because it's not real. It's superficial, like, 'you're my prince in shining armor! I love you!' It misleads the real definition of love.

2- Hate @ First Sight, but Love Comes Later On

I think this is my absolutely FAVORITE. I just love it when they HATE each other and then grow to love each other. Just wonderful.

3- Awkward Romance

Just read Shadow by Jenny Moss and you'll just understand what I'm talking about. Ugh, the romance in that book was terrible. I think the author was trying to do the hate at first sight thing, but apparently it didn't work. It was just so awkward.

4- Way-Too-Forward

Do I really have to explain this one? Well, let's see. Erotica by chapter 2?

5- Friends at First, Lovers Later

Somehow I can't help but think of Mortal Instruments. Yeah, Simon was really awkward.. But everyone loves Simon, right?
I can't help but frown at this one, even though some authors make it so cute. I don't like it when the friendship bond breaks and a romance one forms. It's just.. ugh. And then the romance one breaks too.. and nothing's there anymore because most of the time, it's too awkward to become friends again.

6- Molasses Romance

This is sometimes cute. Just sometimes. But I hate it when the romance just appears at the very end of a story, spontaneously and out of nowhere. Like, if you're gonna be like molasses, might as well not be there at all.

7- Denial Romance
The 'NO I DON'T LIKE HIM' and 'NO I DON'T LIKE HER'
But then they actually do like each other very very much. That's sort of what I'm trying to do with Incend (I tried to do the haters @ first but I couldn't omg). I'll try not to make the characters too annoying.. LOL.
------------
I doubt these are all, but that's all I can think of on the top of my head.
Moral of this post? Just because there's romance, doesn't mean I'm a happy girl.

Discussion #6: When Books Become Movies

Well, in this topic, people are either:
-I want to see all my favorite books made into movies! That would be so awesome!
..or..
-I hate it when books become movies. The movies always ruin the books.

I, for one, am in between. I love love love it when my favorite stories come to life on the big screen, but I just hate it when the movie 'messes up' the book. By 'messes up,' I mean a few things:
-Movie does not have the same storyline as the book
-Actors/actresses are not identical to the book character
-Movie makes no sense but the book does
And those three things make the people who've watched it but haven't read it NOT want to read it, and the people who've watched and read it very, very angry.

But of course, there are always those movies that fit perfectly, or almost perfectly with the book.
But yeah, book movies, I will always go watch, but I'll either love it or hate it and/or think that the people who haven't read the book won't get the movie at all.

I'd like to make some examples. They're in no specific order.

Harry Potter.
This is one of those that are almost in PERFECT coordination and make PERFECT sense. The actors and actresses are PERF.

Twilight.
This was a big one. Actually, the only movie I watched was Breaking Dawn part 2. I've read all the books. The books were wonderful. I tried watching Twilight, but halfway through I couldn't go on. I think, personally, the movies ruined everything. It was supposed to be Team Edward. Jacob is just such a stupid in-the-way guy. But yeah, there just has to be more Taylor Lautner fans than Robert Pattinson fans. Gosh, it just ruined everything. NOT THAT MUCH PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ON TEAM JACOB

So yeah, I'm not going to bother watching the movies. Although Breaking Dawn part 2 was pretty awesome.

But really, some people just hate Twilight because of the movies and they've never even read the books. Ugh.

The Lightning Thief.
I can't be the only one that was disappointed at this. Annabeth was blonde in the book, dangit! I don't really think that the actress dying her hair blonde for Sea of Monsters is really gonna matter. I mean, the Lightning Thief movie was great, but..

The Hunger Games.
I figured that the story doesn't make sense to those people who haven't read the book. At least, for most people. It wasn't too good. Although I did like Jennifer Lawrence.

Narnia.
I just love Narnia. But Edmund was supposed to be blond (Not that I mind Skandar Keynes hehehe) and Peter was supposed to have black hair. However, I don't really think hair color matters at all. I wish they'd made movies out of all the books, though. But yeah, the movies were awesome.

Beautiful Creatures.
I think it coordinated pretty well with the book but, actually, I don't think it would have made much sense to the people who haven't read the book.

Safe Haven.
Oh my gosh, I loved this movie. It went well with the book. However, I wasn't happy that they changed a few things and left out some important things from the book.
--------------
I always say "The book was better." And that will be true forever.. at least I think so.

Discussion #5: What I'm Thinking When I Write

Man, I thought writing would have been easier, especially when all those authors just make it look so easy. Well, I don't count as an author (yet, muahaha), but after writing 121 pages (yes, I have written that much of Incend -yes yes yes-), I find that it's not easy at all. It's pretty hard.

It's way more than 'Once upon a time.' It's more than a beginning, a middle, and an end. Here's what I'm thinking while I write.

1. Gosh I'm so bored my readers are going to hate this
2. I can just see all the negative reviews on Goodreads.. if this gets any reviews at all
3. I'll just be one of those self-pubbed authors cos' no literary agents are gonna accept this crap
4. What that makes no sense
5. SHIT I FORGOT
6. Yes yes muahahaha dieee
7. omg this is going to be such a tragedy
8. My readers will hate this
9. WHAT WILL MY READERS THINK
10. Ew what is this
11. Merde I'm not getting anywhere with this
12. Holy shit he sounds perverted
13. He smirks too much
14. Shall I start the romance
15. How do I do this
16. Romance authors make it look so easy how do I even
17. Omg I can't anymore
18. So cocky he's annoying
19. Why am I making my characters so.. like me
20. WHAT WILL MY READERS THINK

As you can see, number 1, 9, and 20 cross my mind constantly, and that's what I'm really worried about. Since I'm such a judgmental person when it comes to books and reading and authors and their writing style, I just can't help but think about how other people like me will criticize my work. -sigh-

I think I need to loosen up and just enjoy writing the story instead of worrying about what other people will think-- but then again, isn't that what really matters in the end? Anyways, I'd like to share a quote with everyone today, especially with my fellow aspiring writers.

"Don't be afraid to write crap in the beginning."--Marie Lu, Author of the LEGEND trilogy.

Discussion #4: Why Start Book Blogging?

This is something fun to write about, and this goes to the people out there that are unsure about making a blog and/or writing reviews. There are many perks, as you can see.

1. It's fun!

Well, my fun and your fun could be two very different things, but I have a feeling that everyone on this planet have a vague general idea of what fun should be. But yes, book blogging and reviewing is really fun.

2. Interaction with other bloggers

When I started my blog, I was pretty clueless of all the other book blogs out there. But when I slowly immersed myself in the blogosphere I realized that everyone is so nice and friendly and they all have amazing blogs!

3. Author connection

I think this is my favorite out of all of them. Really, I love it when an author emails me! It's just so cool. Ermahgerd. 

4. Easier access to review copies

If you have a blog, and lots of followers, then you'll have something to put in that email to that one publisher, about requesting a review copy, right? 

5. A good occupation

Once again, blogging is FUN! It's something good to do-- better than sitting on your couch and watching TV, or playing video games, right? It's productive.

-----------------------

That's really all I got. But yeah, ever since I started blogging, I've gained a whole new experience! So if you're hesitating about making a blog right now, hesitate no more~

Happy reading, y'all.

Discussion #3: Don't Judge a Book by its Cover-- Rubbish or Not?

Okay, okay. A lot of people say to not judge a book by its cover, but what can I say? Everyone does that, and you've gotta admit that that's true.

In my opinion, I think the saying isn't completely rubbish.. after all, it's wrong to judge, but there's nothing wrong with forming opinions or analyzing from looking at a cover, which I think most readers do. (However, there are those 'readers' that just read books because of their pretty covers and for the sake of reading a book-- tbh those readers are not very readeriffic)

When you pick up a book, I think the cover is the first thing you look at, right? Well, at least I think that's true for at least 90% of people.

Even if it's wrong to judge a book by its cover, I'm not saying that covers don't matter. Like, let me just say, an ugly-butt cover won't get the book anywhere unless the reader doesn't care about the cover at all (which is rare). The cover is what actually draws the reader to a book in the first place, and get them to pick it up. If they want to form opinions, judge, or analyze, or whatever, that's their decision. If they like the synopsis then they'll give the book a try! See, that's why a cover's so important.

I'll admit that most of the books I've read have pretty covers. And that's probably due to my pretty-cover obsession, or it's just simply because the covers are gorgeous and attract lots of people.

The saying "Don't Judge a Book by its Cover" isn't rubbish, not really.

Discussion #2: Hot Fictional Characters

People probably know me for my crazy fictional infatuations. Well, at least you can't get pregnant from reading a book and swooning over a fictional character's HOTNESS.

Some people (very ignorant people, if I may say) wonder how I can have fictional infatuations without knowing exactly what the character looks like. Well, do I really have to say that it doesn't matter what a character looks like? The tanned skin, the tousled hair, the dreamy eyes, and the abs are all a huge gigantic PLUS to the sexy arrogance that they give off.

And yes, the sexy arrogance is EXACTLY what makes a fictional character infatuating.

However, there may be other aspects of a character that aren't arrogance that still make them swoonable-- and those aspects don't include physical appearance. One thing is kindness, and another would be humor. Although physical appearance is a huge plus, I've got to admit. Without arrogance or kindness or humor, physical appearances are nothing.

Hot fictional characters may sometimes seem unrealistic, but if they exist in the world of fiction, why can't they exist in our world of realism, right? That probably made no sense. But yeah. 

That's really it. Stay tuned for upcoming discussions; happy reading!