POPSUGAR Reading Challenge 2019

POPSUGAR Reading Challenge 2019

I don't know how long ago, but POPSUGAR has announced its reading challenge of 2019!! They have a whole slew of book categories that they put together every year and present to whomever wants to participate. Last year I said I wanted to do all of it. Oh, how naive I was back then. If you want to see my posts from last years challenge, just follow this link because I made a tag for them all.

This year, I'm hoping to do half of it, which is roughly what I ended up doing for the 2018 challenge. There are a lot of categories that I have never heard of before, some that I know will be challenging, and others that are going to be a piece of cake. This is why I love this challenge though: it is a perfect mix of difficult and doable. Challenges that are way too far out there become too daunting but challenges that are so basic and easy become boring after awhile. This is a nice blend of the two.

Some of the categories that I'm worried about this year are "a book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in the title," "a book set in Scandinavia," and "a LitRPG book." I had no idea what that last one even was for a while-- I had to look it up. (It means Literary Role Playing Game and includes books like Ready Player One by Earnest Cline.) But this is why I love this reading challenge every year: they come up with the most creative categories! And I'm definitely going to be picking up some random books because of it.


There are also some categories that I already know I'm going to finish right out of the gates, like "a book told from multiple character POVs" or "a reread of a favorite book," but this is what also makes this challenge really nice. I know that I will definitely be able to at least partially participate. I can challenge and make this harder for myself however much I want. It's up to me, but all the options are there.

I highly recommend this challenge. I've tried a couple of other ones and this has always been my favorite. I'll link the tag that I'm making for it to this post in case you want to follow along as see my updates on the challenge and if I review any books that qualify as being completed for this challenge. There's also a Goodreads group for this and I also highly recommend that because they'll help you find books to fit in categories that you don't necessarily know what to do with.


I'm really excited. I hope you're all excited for a new year of reading too. And Happy 2019!

Thanks for reading!

New Year's Resolutions 2019

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2019

Happy New Year! 2018 is finally over and thank the Lord 2019 is here. I hope everyone has a lovely time and stays safe (because there are some crazyyyyy people out there... we all know it).

As we move into 2019, I think I'm going to do resolutions. I... have not done these for years. Generally speaking, I think they are stupid, anxiety-inducing, and ultimately lead to disappointment. But I'm going to try them this year, and I think I'm going to try relatively small and obscure. Little things, like take time to relax and enjoy yourself once or twice a week. Simple things that are normally brushed aside in everyday life, at least for Americans in my experiences and observations. I'm also going to try to not give myself too many resolutions. I don't want to have a million things or even more than a couple big things to worry about and hold myself to. Straight up- I'm not there yet. And I think that's fine.

I feel like I'm rambling without really explaining. Let me rewind a bit.

When it comes to anything academically or professionally related, I'm on top of it. 110% and I'm not just saying that or trying to inflate an ego. I've had so many people come up to tell me in some variation how impressed they by my work ethic and organization and energy. Which all looks great, but I'm also not saying this as a good thing. It's not inherently bad either, but there's a flip side to it that I'm realizing more and more is not something that I want in my life. When someone works as much and as hard as I do, there is no time for personal reflection, fun, creativity, whatever you want to call it. My life is my work. And for some people that is fine. I don't think it's for me though.

Breaks like the one I'm on now help me realize that I want more than the life that I have led so far- and that's okay. And looking toward next semester, I'm going to have a lot more free time than I have ever been used to. For awhile, I was seriously considering trying to find a part-time job or internship to fill in the hours and bulk up my resume even more. And what I've come to as a conclusion though is that I need that time. I'm not completely sure what I want to do with my life yet or where I am supposed to go with it (yes, I am religious) but a terrifying place to start is to slow down and take the time that I will have offered to me next semester.


Why is it terrifying? Because I'll have time to myself! What if I get bored? What if I decided to change career paths? What if I become super annoying? What if something extraordinary happens? And that last one is a weird one, I know, but nonetheless there's a certain comfort in repetition and I think there's a good chance I'm going to be breaking up that repetition. "Extraordinary" may be a strong word choice, but there ya have it.

So my resolutions are going to be small, but they are going to be mine. And I'm going to shamelessly retake that time back for myself. Here are the few and abstract things that I want to resolve to do in 2019:

1) Be more creative!
>>> For me, this can really run the gambit of blogging to writing (which I sort of have talked briefly about here) to drawing to playing music to so many other options. I've always loved creative outlets though and I've always felt good after being creative as well, so added bonus.


2) Journal more
>>> In grand total in my life I am on my third journal. And while they are not necessarily small journals, I can't help but feel I should be on like a fourth or fifth because I started journaling years ago . I just really haven't set aside that time for myself very much over the past two years or so and I want to get back into it.

3) Pay attention to me

>>> Very vague. Very open to interpretation. Very intentionally so done. There's a lot of different ways I can do this and I'm not going to list them here because you can probably list your own for yourself. This is almost more of a motto for the year I think though because I've reached the point where not only can't I move forward in my life without knowing and taking care of myself, but I deserve to know and take care of myself.


If you stuck around through all this semi-emo, sappy whatnot, then great! Thank you! If you skipped to the end just now, LOL go back and reread so that you have more context. If you didn't read this whole thing, I really don't care. This post was mostly for me. :)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope your 2019 goes off with a great start!

Mary Poppins Returns Movie Review

Mary Poppins Returns

Movie Review

4.12 out of 5 Stars

In the surge of Disney recreating (or revamping) their classics, I distinctly remember what it was like when the trailer for Mary Poppins Returns first came out: people were beyond thrilled. Now, huge disclaimer... I'm not a huge Mary Poppins fan. I love Julie Andrews, and I liked the original movie, but I was never and still am not in love with the story or the character like I know a lot of people are. So for me, when the trailer came out it was more just a, "Oh, that's interesting," and as a blip on my radar that this was Disney's Christmas movie for the year.

(Completely random side note-- but I feel like I need to write a post about all of Disney's live action films and just sort of rant. I'm excited for some of them, like Aladdin and Mulan, but for real there's too many coming out overall.)

Back to Mary Poppins. I really enjoyed this film! I was a bit worried that it would just be completely the same as the first one, but it was actually really interesting to see how the crisis was different this time around and how it still tied together with the old one. It did seem a bit too serious at times-- they're dealing with grief and foreclosure for crying out loud-- but I think it showed a really accurate and tragic picture of what happens to kids when they grow up too fast. And this is where the heart of who Marry Poppins is and what she can do was really brought back to life: she taught the children how to be children again and thereby also teaching the audience how to be children again.


There was definitely a sort of light magic that was carried throughout the film. I have my worries about Disney as a whole at the moment in this regard, but watching this movie helped ease some of them. It was just good to see whimsy. Not comedy, not strong emotion, just whimsy. And original creativity. Yes, it is a continuation from a previous idea, but it was still different enough to be its own sort of story.


Another thing that I really enjoyed was the music. This may be an unpopular opinion... but I think I like this soundtrack more than the original soundtrack. But I mean, c'mon, "A Cover Is Not the Book" may be one of the best Disney songs ever written. Of course I'm partial because clearly I love books and all things literary related. You're reading this on a book blog for goodness sake. In all seriousness though I was blown away by the soundtrack. It was as vibrant and varied as the colors and emotions of the whole movie. The songs are catchy and Lin Manuel Miranda and Emily Blunt have wonderful voices.

Seeing Dick Van Dyke in this movie was fan-tas-tic. I may have not been a huge fan of the original Mary Poppins movie, but I loved Dick Van Dyke as Bert. He was easily my favorite character of that whole film, so it was amazing to not just see Bert's apprentice (Lin/Jack) but to actually see Dick Van Dyke IN. THE. FILM. Of course he was playing a different character, but man oh man did he own his role and choreography. It was such a great tribute I think I may have cried when he came on screen.


While so many things about this movie were great, there were just one too many moments where it got too dark for my taste in this genre and the acting seemed a bit awkward at times. Emily Blunt was amazing; never once did I not believe that she was Mary Poppins. But some of the other adults threw me off a little.

I also feel like I need to mention the costuming and overall design of the movie. The animation was perfectly nostalgic and rightly so because as I understand it they actually brought back the original animators from the first movie to do it again in this movie. But looking at Emily Blunt's wardrobe only, the pieces and small details are so stunning. The colors bring such life alone that combined with Emily's performance the entire screen was lit up with exuberance.


Mary Poppins Returns is of course a children's film, but let's be real: everyone could learn a lesson from watching Mary Poppins. It also makes me want to say that anyone who has kids or works with kids should see this film, because they are the Mary Poppins of the real world and children need to learn to embrace the imagination and enjoy their lives. We live in a immensely crazy world and you can see the strain of our world in children's eyes sometimes. It is truly tragic and the adults are the ones that can do something about it.

Thanks for reading!

The Best and Worst of 2018

My Favorite (and Least Favorite) Books of 2018

I don't think I would typically include a "least favorite" list from the year (because it could be mean-- maybe? possibly? idk...), but I read many a book for school this year that was published many ages ago, so I may be able to pull it off. Here we go! **rubs hands together** I also don't particularly feel like explaining each choice, so here are the lists and that will just about do it for this post. I'd be happy to answer any questions though about my selections should they arise.


Best Books of 2018
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Evelina by Fanny Burney
Red by John Logan


Worst Books of 2018
Feed by M.T. Anderson
Strangers to Ourselves by Julia Kristeva
The Popol Vuh
Too Bad! by Isaac Asimov
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

I briefly want to point out while I'm here that just because a book is on my "Worst Books" list does not mean that it's bad. It could just be that I didn't enjoy it as much as the other books from the year or I personally did not like it as much as others will.

Looking forward to 2019 I am so excited to see what I will be reading! With the way my schedule is currently set up, I'm thinking I'm going to be reading a lot of plays, so there may be more of those on this blog in the future. There are also supposed to be a bunch of great books coming out and I feel like a lot of new authors breaking through, which will be super exciting to see.

Thanks for reading!!!

Closing My 2018 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

Final Results of My 2018 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

As the year closes out, one of the things that I reviewed was how well I did with my 2018 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge. And I did... okay? I sort of stopped keeping track of these books for the longest time and have just recently gone back through my books of 2018 to see if any of them match the challenge categories. Overall, here are the categories that I accomplished and the books they correspond with:

CHALLENGE--------------------BOOK

book made into a movie you've already seen	Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
next book in a series you started	Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi
book involving a heist	The Purloined Letter by Edgar A. Poe
novel based on a real person	#GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso
book set in a country that fascinates you	The Rain Watcher by Tatiana De Rosnay
book about death or grief	The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh
book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist	Lover at Last by J.R. Ward
book that is also a stage play or musical	Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
book by an author of a different ethnicity than you	The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano
book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift	The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
book by two authors	Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings
book about or involving a sport	An Unexpected Christmas by Shannon Richard
book by a local author	The Ligher Issue 65 Vol. 1+2
book with your favorite color in the title	The Color Purple by Alice Walker
book with alliteration in the title	Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin
book with a weather element in the title	Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
book with an animal in the title	Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
book about or set on Halloween	The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
book with characters who are twins	Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward
childhood classic you've never read	Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
book that's published in 2018	The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
past Goodread's Choice Awards winner	Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
book you meant to read in 2017 but didn't get to	The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
cyberpunk book	Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
book by an author with the same first or last name as you	A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas

So in total I completely 25 books from the 2018 Challenge. I don't think that's too horrible... but considering that I wanted to complete all of the challenges it's a bit of a failure. Then again, the fact that I even made a tag for this challenge and sort of kept up to date with it like this shows significant improvement over previous year's participation.

Also, I know some of those titles may be a bit of a stretch to fit the categories, but I figured it's okay because there were a couple of books that I left off the list because I was not completely positive that it would qualify or I couldn't remember the details of it. So it balances out. Sort of. :)

I hope everyone else's reading challenges went the ways they wanted them to go and I look forward to challenging myself again in 2019!

Thanks for reading!

BDB Series by J.R. Ward-- Review of Books 7-9

Reviews of Books 7-9 in the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by J.R. Ward

In continuing this miniature tradition of reviewing this series in groups of three, here are my thoughts on books 7 through 9 of the series! Probably almost completely irrelevant because these books came out eons ago, but here are my thoughts nonetheless.


Lover Avenged (Rehvenge and Ehlena)
I did not really feel attached to Rehv and Ehlena until close to the middle of the book, which is sad for so many reasons in so many ways. It was a good book-- I have yet to read a bad book in this series-- but it just didn't grab my attention the way the other ones have so far. The ending though was really engaging and I couldn't put it down for about the last quarter of the book.

Lover Mine (John Matthew and Xhex)
I know people who are huge John Matthew fans, and this was like their favorite of all the books, but I don't really care for John Matthew that much. It's not like I don't like him, so much as I don't think he's as interesting as some of the other characters. The most interesting thing about him is the connection with Darius and I have yet to see that connection actually get made by any of the characters and I want it to happen SO BADLY. Xhex was also slightly frustrating in this book because I had always pictured her as more, for lack of better words, masculine. She was literally the definition of defying gender stereotypes and it was great! But there were moments in this book where it was sort of taken away from her, either in physical or emotional description. **sigh**

Lover Unleashed (Payne and Manny)
Like previously mentioned, I love Vishous. He is easily one of my favorite characters if not my all time favorite. And I know this book is technically about Payne and Manny, but isn't is also about V and Jane again? Because it sort of is and I loved reading those moments between the two of them where they really settle into their relationship and V becomes more open to expressing his emotions to Jane. It was amazing to watch. And Payne and Manny were great to see together as well, although I wish Manny had followed up on the testing thing that he could have done-- that would have been cool to get another vampire in the house. Other than that, I love Payne. I love that she straight up does not give a crap that she is a woman/female and she will do anything and everything that the guys do as well, without taking any flack from them at the same time.


And there they are! My comments for books 10-12 probably won't be up for a while because I still have to read The King and as it is the end of the year, I foresee a lot of more "fun" posts in the near future. So while you won't be getting my thoughts on the next three books for a bit, you will be getting other things!!

Thanks for reading!

Aquaman Movie Review

Aquaman

Movie Review

3.98 out of 5 Stars

I had so much fun watching this movie. As always and as I think many people probably sympathize with, I was fully expecting a dark and moody DC movie. I'm not even really sorry that those are my expectations for this brand because there is such a strong history of DC movies turning out way too angsty and broody. BUT, I think I will officially try to combat those expectations now because this is the second DC movie that I have seen and really enjoyed (the first being Wonder Woman).

Firstly, the colors in Aquaman were amazing. And I know I need to explain that more because it is an odd thing to say, so bear with me. Most of this movie takes place underwater, and as such, could have lent itself to naturally be very dark. However, not only were the cities bright and vibrant but the color scheme was so pleasing to the eye. It was full of violets and light blues and whites without being too dominating on those themes. It was beautiful. Plus, there were several gorgeous shots of the horizon with sunsets and sunrises and several scenes on land where it is blindingly (in a good way) sunny and richly colored.

Secondly, I thought there was a really nice balance between personalities and humor/seriousness in this film. The character of Aquaman, or Arthur, is naturally very irreverent and sarcastic which was refreshing to see in a superhero outside of the Marvel world where they all crack punch lines. Arthur was unique in this and I think is unique in this in the DC world. What this meant for the movie is that the humorous moments were much more organic and were very easily balanced with the other characters of the story.


Another thing that I really loved was Mera because I was not expecting there to be a strong female hero in this movie. Honestly, I had no idea who she was going into it because I don't read the comics and there's only brief glances at her in the trailer. I do wish there had been more of her however and more interaction between say her and Arthur's mom, even if it was at the end. This film would not pass the Bechdel Test, which is disappointing because I think it could have if it was written in a slightly different angle, but let's be real, I don't think any superhero movie passes the Bechdel Test. That needs to change.

As much as I loved this movie, there were a couple things that I straight up did not believe or that I thought were really awkward and drew me out of the film. Especially in the beginning of the movie, there was a fight sequence in a submarine that I thought was coming out of a 2000's cheap action movie. The music didn't help here either because it was almost epic music, but was sort of mixed with like an indie alternative vibe, and it just didn't work. It sounded and looked like something that would be in a movie spoofing Aquaman. Some of the other things were the Black Manta falling from a cliff, hitting a crap ton of rocks on the way down, with a failing and malfunctioning suit, and somehow surviving at the end? I'm sorry, but nobody would be able to survive that, so how the hell did he?


Awkward moments and scenes aside, the plot was fantastic and just serious enough without being too painstakingly dire. I really enjoyed watching the characters develop the way that they did, even if the relationship between Arthur and Mera moved too fast, and seeing how things finally unfolded in the end. It was great to see Jason Momoa on the big screen as well as Nicole Kidman, who is just genius in every role she plays, along with a bunch of other actors that I had either never heard of or hadn't seen in a while all really pull off great performances. All in all, it was a great dramatic movie to watch post-Holidays!


Thanks for reading!