tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38739827365920504452024-03-17T22:03:35.342-05:00The Scribbling SpriteBook reviews, memes, author interviews. We love YA (Young Adult) books.TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.comBlogger155125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-53867109735714439572016-08-10T07:30:00.000-05:002016-08-10T07:30:12.487-05:00Review: Child of the River by Irma Joubert<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29388853-child-of-the-river">Child of the River</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3163513.Irma_Joubert">Irma Joubert</a></b><br />
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<b>My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1694217410">4 of 5 stars</a></b><br />
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<b>Genres: Historical Fiction; Coming of Age; Christian</b><br />
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<b>Pages: 400</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">Persomi’s dreams are much bigger than the world of poverty and deprivation that surround her in the Bushveld of the 1940s and 1950s in South Africa.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">Persomi is young, white and poor, born the middle child of illiterate sharecroppers on the prosperous Fourie farm. Persomi’s world is extraordinarily small. She has never been to the local village and spends her days absorbed in the rhythms of the natural world around her. Her older brother, Gerbrand, is her lifeline and her connection to the outside world. When he leaves the farm to seek work in Johannesburg, Persomi’s isolated world is blown wide open. But as her very small world falls apart, bigger dreams become open to her—dreams of an education, a profession, and of love. As Persomi navigates the changing world around her—the tragedies of WWII and the devastating racial strife of her homeland—she finally discovers who she truly is and where she belongs.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">A compelling coming of age story with an unlikely and utterly memorable heroine, Persomi’s English language publication solidifies Irma Joubert’s important place in the canon of inspirational historical fiction.</span></span><br />
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You know you've finished a good book when you come the end and your first thought is "but I don't <i>want</i> it to end!" That was me reading <i>Child of the River</i>. This was a really compelling read, rich in history and character development.<br />
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For those of you who aren't really readers of Christian Fiction, don't let those reservations keep you from reading this book, because <b>this is the best kind of Christian Fiction</b>. No sermons here. Rather than hitting us over the head with her message, the author lets her faith naturally seep into her writing, but you will notice themes of justice and doing what is right throughout this novel.<br />
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The writing was a little choppy in the beginning, but it started to flow better and become easier to read a few chapters in. Just like the protagonist, Persomi, this story really came into itself as Persomi grew older. The many characters were confusing in the beginning, and I felt a little detached from Persomi and the rest, but by the end it was the characters I most appreciated.<br />
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Persomi's growth as a character was amazing, and <b>her story was never uninteresting</b>. Her growth from a poor bywoner's daughter to a successful lawyer was something to see. I love a story that makes me really feel things, and this book had me smiling and worried and excited and confused. There were some slow parts, however, and those who are interested in a fast paced novel with lots of action should probably look elsewhere.<br />
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I loved the setting of South Africa during World War II, but I did feel like some elements of the setting and story could have been better explained. As I'm not familiar with this part of history in South Africa, it took me awhile to understand everything that was going on.<br />
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This book was translated from the author's native Afrikaans, which may have been why the writing felt just little "off" sometimes. That, and I read an ARC. But overall, it was very well written.<br />
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I love coming of age stories, especially ones that continue into the character's adulthood. This book shouldn't have surprised me so much, but it did. I highly recommend it.<br />
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<u>Content:</u> This book deals with prejudice and racism. It is absolutely clean.<br />
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**I received a copy of the book from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/36978618-ally-the-scribbling-sprite">View all my reviews</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Child-River-Irma-Joubert/dp/0718083105/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470769454&sr=1-1&keywords=child+of+the+river">Amazon</a> </div>
TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-74742417158575807832016-08-09T08:00:00.000-05:002016-08-09T08:00:19.955-05:00Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Standalone Novels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/">The Broke and the Bookish</a></div>
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Today's "Top Ten" topic is to choose a past topic you missed out on. I chose Top Ten Standalone Novels!<br />
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Confession: I don't even know if this was a past topic, but if not, it totally should have been and I'm going to do it anyway. So here we go.<br />
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I hear a lot of complaints around the blogosphere about how many series and trilogies and duologies, etc. there are, and how little standalones we see getting published. When books that stand alone are such wonderful things! Series are too, of course, but it's nice to sit down with a book and know that you're going to get the full story, with a proper ending and everything--without having to wait for the next book. And the next, and possibly the <i>next</i> one, and so on.<br />
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SO. If you're looking for your next great read, but don't want to commit to a series, I highly recommend these titles. :D<br />
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My Top Ten Standalone Books</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rsaOHmU1F7Hv_45STCXFvGrHvM_6ffQfN96A1eNqk0tuGqfSM50W7_uY0ee8rK5PzN_peVkcTliB986h5AUWr-s6Ts3B48WsAFDQW2v558pJOLhPepoqPUEowP_vEFOQ-kKWTfQx-wo/s1600/tiger+lily.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rsaOHmU1F7Hv_45STCXFvGrHvM_6ffQfN96A1eNqk0tuGqfSM50W7_uY0ee8rK5PzN_peVkcTliB986h5AUWr-s6Ts3B48WsAFDQW2v558pJOLhPepoqPUEowP_vEFOQ-kKWTfQx-wo/s320/tiger+lily.jpg" width="211" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>The Scorpio Races</i> by Maggie Stiefvater (fantasy)</b> </span><br />
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This one was so compelling and beautiful. The writing and the characters will stick with you for a long time.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>The Night Circus </i>by Erin Morgenstern (fantasy)</b></span><br />
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Complex. Magical. Mysterious. Enchanting. This book's strongest points are its lyrical writing and beautiful imagery.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Tiger Lily</i> by Jodi Lynn Anderson (fantasy)</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPTgsHOVmQ9dk7jsnpwxi9dTAqJIcjEz8puOw9cn8U6u39uxGIkWzBKOi_i-p2HiUnbjw2lADD-_aU5joSfVU53KlJbo6-bg-E0fE_B3OZoudaSiSMaNMVojKJBMVJHiwinN29r2Zsjs/s1600/made+you+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPTgsHOVmQ9dk7jsnpwxi9dTAqJIcjEz8puOw9cn8U6u39uxGIkWzBKOi_i-p2HiUnbjw2lADD-_aU5joSfVU53KlJbo6-bg-E0fE_B3OZoudaSiSMaNMVojKJBMVJHiwinN29r2Zsjs/s320/made+you+up.jpg" width="213" /></a> If this book doesn't touch your heart, you're probably not even human. This is a spin on <i>Peter Pan</i>, but don't expect a typical fairy tale retelling (and ending). This one's unique.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>The Distance Between Us</i> by Kasie West (contemporary)</b></span><br />
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So, I recently binge read all of Kasie's books that I could my hands on.... and this one is by far my favorite. So. Much. Sarcasm. And a cute romance. :)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>The Forgotten Beasts of Eld</i> by Patricia A. McKillip (fantasy)</b></span><br />
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It's been a looong time since I've read this one, but I just <i>know</i> I would still love it if I read it again. Which I will. Someday!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2Kvs_8dOmR1du-D766xyiyM1R2ER-jrMlJfcX0jN_2JzGECZZQh7qrHbvNd7ryJ7IYuxKBsZeQMBq4J6nBuFrSceaacLa09vsIzREYOdQX82sdUY5g9UdFEKeMUR3NgTxjAdN0ZVlcM/s1600/whistling+past+the+graveyard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2Kvs_8dOmR1du-D766xyiyM1R2ER-jrMlJfcX0jN_2JzGECZZQh7qrHbvNd7ryJ7IYuxKBsZeQMBq4J6nBuFrSceaacLa09vsIzREYOdQX82sdUY5g9UdFEKeMUR3NgTxjAdN0ZVlcM/s320/whistling+past+the+graveyard.jpg" width="211" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Made You Up</i> by Francesca Zappia (contemporary)</b></span><br />
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Another recent read that just blew me away. The pages flew by for me in this book about a girl with schizophrenia, and I was so caught up in Alex's story. I loved how everything came together.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Summers at Castle Auburn</i> by Sharon Shinn (fantasy-ish, coming of age)</b></span><br />
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This story was definitely character-driven. It was mostly about Coriel's journey as a person, and I <br />
loved it. A light-hearted comfort read!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Whistling Past the Graveyard</i> by Susan Crandall (historical)</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1UiPfv847CG9-6t53vyfTT6W_aBH6Z1VLULaVisLWz0_pfoKIbuS0flO5RTHxFAkEUYJ1vb9xEy77Gm_nn7VZTZbpDsElvn7u8isWFrw7S3scB9NuT_T9qsN_gGga7T0r6zFZnDnJVg/s1600/the+kite+runner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1UiPfv847CG9-6t53vyfTT6W_aBH6Z1VLULaVisLWz0_pfoKIbuS0flO5RTHxFAkEUYJ1vb9xEy77Gm_nn7VZTZbpDsElvn7u8isWFrw7S3scB9NuT_T9qsN_gGga7T0r6zFZnDnJVg/s320/the+kite+runner.jpg" width="196" /></a>This was fun, yet deeply moving. And 9-year-old Starla was a hilarious and likeable narrator.<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;"><i>The Kite Runner</i> by Khaled Hosseini (historical)</b><br />
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Again, it's been awhile since I've read this. But this is a story that stays with you.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Between Shades of Gray</i> by Ruta Sepetys (historical)</b></span><br />
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During World War II, a girl is forced, under Stalin's orders, to work in a camp in Siberia and suffers from cruel conditions. Beautiful and heartbreaking.<br />
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<b>Have you read any of these? What is your favorite standalone novel? Do you prefer standalones or series? Also, leave me a link to your TTT!</b></div>
TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-73756074357442368132016-08-03T09:17:00.000-05:002016-08-03T09:17:01.868-05:00Review: Iron Cast by Destiny Soria<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1t9Ux-n8rHUwSnk9jYHttaUwSx-8d3-YRp_bNpHlGQ2aRHI0sFb2lzhlq9HN6w_DctUIDm87A6TuLcdUBZWsonJ9hTX4fyCQA_OmnWIx7J8sGayeATkA8THes4JtutUDtsgeq354dA4/s1600/iron+cast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1t9Ux-n8rHUwSnk9jYHttaUwSx-8d3-YRp_bNpHlGQ2aRHI0sFb2lzhlq9HN6w_DctUIDm87A6TuLcdUBZWsonJ9hTX4fyCQA_OmnWIx7J8sGayeATkA8THes4JtutUDtsgeq354dA4/s320/iron+cast.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;"><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28818313-iron-cast">Iron Cast</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14757755.Destiny_Soria">Destiny Soria</a></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;"><b>My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1671681068">4 of 5 stars</a></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;"><b>Genres: Historical Fiction; YA; Fantasy</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;"><b>Pages: 384</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">It’s Boston, 1919, and the Cast Iron club is packed. On stage, hemopaths—whose "afflicted" blood gives them the ability to create illusions through art—captivate their audience. Corinne and Ada have been best friends ever since infamous gangster Johnny Dervish recruited them into his circle. By night they perform for Johnny’s crowds, and by day they con Boston’s elite. When a job goes wrong and Ada is imprisoned, they realize how precarious their position is. After she escapes, two of the Cast Iron’s hires are shot, and Johnny disappears. With the law closing in, Corinne and Ada are forced to hunt for answers, even as betrayal faces them at every turn</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, I loved this book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It took me a little while for me to get into it and care about the characters, but once I did there was no turning back. And once I was halfway through I couldn't stop reading.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There were a lot of things to enjoy in this novel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I mean, <b>the friendship</b>! Corinne and Ada had an <i>awesome</i> friendship. They were there for each other. They sassed each other. They had their ups and downs. They were definitely some strong female characters and I loved their sisterly bond.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And <b>the budding of romance.</b> I admit, Corinne and Gabriel seemed weird to me at first, but they had something cute and I was rooting for them in the end. And Ada and Charlie were adorable. The romance was well written, but it didn't overtake the story (or the friendship. Cuz that is what's important). Seriously, props to the author for this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Characterization.</b> These were some well-written and complex characters. I wanted to share quotes with y'all so I could showcase just how awesome Ada and Corinne are, but the Kindle app deleted my highlights.... :( So, you'll just have to take my word for it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">ALSO. I love what the author said about her characters.</span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I started Iron Cast, I decided to write about the women I knew to be real, not the one-dimensional caricatures to which we are frequently reduced. It was also important to me that Ada and Corinne have a friendship that wasn't riddled with the jealousy and competitiveness seen so often in popular media. I wanted to write something that reflected the friendships I have in my own life.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I just appreciate that. Thank you Destiny Soria!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So overall, great characters, great friendships, great romance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As for the plot, it could have been faster moving, but it was enjoyable and there twists I didn't see coming. The magic system ("Hemopathy," it's called) was really interesting and, I thought, unique. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One thing did bother me, however. Now, maybe I was just completely blind, but I don't think the author threw in enough details leading up to the big reveal in the end. There was one fact she just kind of threw in there at the end, and I just wish I could have traced all the elements that made the plot come together throughout the ENTIRE story, but it mostly all came at the end. Not a huge complaint; I just thought it would have made for a tighter, more interesting plot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To summarize, though, I thought Iron Cast was excellent. Definitely keep your eye out for this one in October!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Content: There might be some mild language. I would label it a clean read.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/36978618-ally-the-scribbling-sprite" style="line-height: 21px;">View all my reviews</a> / <a href="http://destinysoria.com/">Author site</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Cast-Destiny-Soria/dp/1419721925?ie=UTF8&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1419721925&linkCode=as2&redirect=true&ref_=x_gr_w_bb&tag=x_gr_w_bb-20">Amazon</a></span></div>
TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-42993399546334558052016-07-20T10:43:00.001-05:002016-07-20T10:43:09.881-05:00The Zombie Apocalypse Book Tag<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx57CGDXbUBFns3m_LmRV7KmStk9_XdSgH0tQwEUlmO8UZFycDphujUQ3nBjpItXdc7MXRKhRCWBmN7sbzzCIbcoGH5JF2lw7R5ixSssepG_rCbzON9sNN9t57nsQsCzBbIeZE22Dxoxo/s1600/zombieapocalypsebooktag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx57CGDXbUBFns3m_LmRV7KmStk9_XdSgH0tQwEUlmO8UZFycDphujUQ3nBjpItXdc7MXRKhRCWBmN7sbzzCIbcoGH5JF2lw7R5ixSssepG_rCbzON9sNN9t57nsQsCzBbIeZE22Dxoxo/s640/zombieapocalypsebooktag.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri";"><span style="line-height: 19.404px;">I saw this tag on <a href="http://aworldbetweenfoldedpages.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-zombie-apocalypse-book-tag.html">A World Between Folded Pages</a> and decided to do it myself!</span></span>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 19.404px;"><u>Here are the rules:</u></span></span></div>
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<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Pick 5 books (favorites or random but know the characters).</span></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Write the name of the books on strips of paper.</span></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Draw one piece randomly for it to be your book/choice</span></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Open to a random page and use the first name you see to answer question 1.</span></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Use the same book for question 2, but turn to a different page.</span></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Repeat the steps 2-5 till you answered all the questions.</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: calibri; line-height: 19.404px;">I just picked 5 well-known books off my shelf. Now to meet my team. Here we go!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px; text-align: center;">1. The first person to die: Levana (HAHAHA. Well, that's convenient. Probably the team banded together to kill her before the zombies even could. We just killed off Levana for you, Cinder! You're welcome.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px; text-align: center;">2. The person you trip to get away from the zombies: Cinder (Uh, she's cyborg. She'll live.)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 27px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: x-large;"><u><i>Inkheart</i></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px; text-align: center;">3. The first person to turn into a zombie: Capricorn (Oh my goodness, look all the baddies on my team! What unfortunate fates they are meeting.... I promise I did not rig this.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px; text-align: center;">4. The person that trips YOU to get away from the zombies: Meggie (I. am. appalled. And wondering why Meggie doesn't just read us into a book and out of this situation.)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: x-large; line-height: 27px;"><u><i>Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince</i></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px; text-align: center;">5. The idiot of the team: Harry Potter. Well, if Harry's the most idiotic of the team then I guess we're doing pretty well overall.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px; text-align: center;">6. The "brains" of the team: Albus Dumbledore. Big shocker.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4SqWUDByZch7LkarA2Y7ujXlXx8ims1OTh2As36zS6lDPSBYAIX9TKhQJowAt1KyvEWoaz0-xAclCBN3MYHMlz6qOfFcE5PLtf5hCV8biu2FgN0s3UWyxIS1g28YhEProAyU0vtz4vM/s1600/dumbledore.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4SqWUDByZch7LkarA2Y7ujXlXx8ims1OTh2As36zS6lDPSBYAIX9TKhQJowAt1KyvEWoaz0-xAclCBN3MYHMlz6qOfFcE5PLtf5hCV8biu2FgN0s3UWyxIS1g28YhEProAyU0vtz4vM/s640/dumbledore.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hercampus.com/school/xavier/top-10-things-you-don-t-learn-manresa-harry-potter-gif-edition">source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 27px; text-align: center;"><u><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: x-large;">The Selection</span></i></u></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px; text-align: center;">7. The team's medic: Maxon. I'm not sure how I feel about this.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px; text-align: center;">8. The weapons expert: America. Right. Moving on, then.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: medium; line-height: 27px; text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: x-large; line-height: 27px; text-align: center;"><i> <u>Pride and Prejudice</u></i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px; text-align: center;">9. The brawler: Elizabeth Bennet. I haven't read or seen Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but yeah, this is pretty great.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz-s062bD0sLTK8trqDnB5SE-4r3slBBfN_DnaMG3cwEt7aFbkZbgiVI-E9-ii3UXM1Ouyd9eAj1ZsuJT6jlKbcr-YRA1lVeKNF7cfXU0xP73bYZ9_PDSJ4tfqUdzQ6D7qKyLz4i2Qdcs/s1600/ppzombies.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz-s062bD0sLTK8trqDnB5SE-4r3slBBfN_DnaMG3cwEt7aFbkZbgiVI-E9-ii3UXM1Ouyd9eAj1ZsuJT6jlKbcr-YRA1lVeKNF7cfXU0xP73bYZ9_PDSJ4tfqUdzQ6D7qKyLz4i2Qdcs/s640/ppzombies.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hercampus.com/school/xavier/top-10-things-you-don-t-learn-manresa-harry-potter-gif-edition">source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px; text-align: center;">10. The Team Captain: Mr. Darcy. YEAH, HE IS.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzG1PBT98Z32SQpvKXrpnkS0sE0Wb4Z8zDkpwoYCTbTo7IJu0huBbWqFIAQi9B6sT379hALzxx_-0HOxtMFJgR1S8le7gsZRl3lKu08ja-d5PhQYsu1rMaMrWHPBh5CgYez38nEZgzMg/s1600/darcy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzG1PBT98Z32SQpvKXrpnkS0sE0Wb4Z8zDkpwoYCTbTo7IJu0huBbWqFIAQi9B6sT379hALzxx_-0HOxtMFJgR1S8le7gsZRl3lKu08ja-d5PhQYsu1rMaMrWHPBh5CgYez38nEZgzMg/s640/darcy.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.popsugar.com/love/Colin-Firth-Mr-Darcy-GIFs-35676570#photo-35676570">source</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I tag Alexa @<a href="https://thessalexa.blogspot.com/"> Summer Snowflakes</a>!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>Question time! If you could choose a zombie apocalypse team of book characters, who would be your top five picks?</b></span></div>
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TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-44914637967962023502016-07-05T08:48:00.000-05:002016-07-05T08:48:57.594-05:00Top Ten Books I Enjoyed That Have Under 2000 Ratings on Goodreads<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MgZUg-eqUZoAr2t2XZPBnnsle80hPmf-G-Kq9xxn4VNoJC87A1kT_gzS4B63VoQnVh594a41Xi5_VTzh_GWIiq2DIwki-RdUdKB8floM1c2j4Kbv7xaIProlWtMm6jUTNtQDnRs7BXE/s1600/toptentuesday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MgZUg-eqUZoAr2t2XZPBnnsle80hPmf-G-Kq9xxn4VNoJC87A1kT_gzS4B63VoQnVh594a41Xi5_VTzh_GWIiq2DIwki-RdUdKB8floM1c2j4Kbv7xaIProlWtMm6jUTNtQDnRs7BXE/s640/toptentuesday.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcrbmpiPexZy04-u70y_jLzUL875CGVq_KaPie0wEoIyqWpB0rhfDnwjLtEUJI-Pxe1I9WnOv4TkqOgcUAOXZfgJcvN5yDDEGx94TNoqoDqlPIKjSemfbNfY81S4LKP0OjOGnFFiVUUk/s1600/The+Lilly+Stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcrbmpiPexZy04-u70y_jLzUL875CGVq_KaPie0wEoIyqWpB0rhfDnwjLtEUJI-Pxe1I9WnOv4TkqOgcUAOXZfgJcvN5yDDEGx94TNoqoDqlPIKjSemfbNfY81S4LKP0OjOGnFFiVUUk/s320/The+Lilly+Stars.jpg" width="206" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rjskTqdErykNcpra3q4XpLVcQFTugsnYrYjuIk09wMxP7XDwUQgLtsaZGZwcdulM793YWgzTDkarKjqmycNWq1qMK003lemcNr1QLVZcTlEDJBOtB6_uy2LrpxkE4QK9dqd9er2bcnA/s1600/The+Forgotten+Princess+of+Elmetia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rjskTqdErykNcpra3q4XpLVcQFTugsnYrYjuIk09wMxP7XDwUQgLtsaZGZwcdulM793YWgzTDkarKjqmycNWq1qMK003lemcNr1QLVZcTlEDJBOtB6_uy2LrpxkE4QK9dqd9er2bcnA/s320/The+Forgotten+Princess+of+Elmetia.jpg" width="211" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNNgLU4SWbD9hPJepW4EUvd1E4iQ9tK-SK5UWX5ffbqqk6D2BbhlFTyIaSuiaj5ntxgQO9P-vBpWOuF8n1xrc8d_fc_cMxAiuWi9GlrvZVYr1_BEIwwnuTlT_wuMgU1cPJ4gKm0NvZO30/s1600/the+mirror+king.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNNgLU4SWbD9hPJepW4EUvd1E4iQ9tK-SK5UWX5ffbqqk6D2BbhlFTyIaSuiaj5ntxgQO9P-vBpWOuF8n1xrc8d_fc_cMxAiuWi9GlrvZVYr1_BEIwwnuTlT_wuMgU1cPJ4gKm0NvZO30/s320/the+mirror+king.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28074404-the-lilly-stars">The Lilly Stars</a> by Erin Waters | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23350763-the-forgotten-princess-of-elmetia?ac=1&from_search=true">The Forgotten Princess of Elmetia</a> by Rachel A. James | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22909838-the-mirror-king?ac=1&from_search=true">The Mirror King</a> by Jodi Meadows</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26074185-ruined?ac=1&from_search=true">Ruined</a> by Amy Tintera | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6449641-though-waters-roar?ac=1&from_search=true">Though Waters Roar</a> by Lynn Austin | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18815156-the-revised-life-of-ellie-sweet">The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet</a> by Stephanie Morrill</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16135535-awakening-foster-kelly?ac=1&from_search=true">Awakening Foster Kelly</a> by Cara Olsen | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18214156-moonblood">Moonblood</a> by Anne Elisabeth Stengl | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18143692-water-walker?ac=1&from_search=true">Water Walker</a> by Ted Dekker</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16103816-captives?ac=1&from_search=true">Captives</a> by Jill Williamson</span></div>
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<b>Have read any of these? Any underrated gems you would add to the list?</b></div>
<br />TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-34732162604092278682016-06-16T09:00:00.000-05:002016-06-16T09:00:13.407-05:00Review: Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26074194-queen-of-hearts"><br />Queen of Hearts</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6520834.Colleen_Oakes">Colleen Oakes</a></b><br />
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<b>My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1489033236">3.5 of 5 stars</a></b><br />
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<b>Genres: YA; Retellings; Fantasy</b><br />
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<b>Pages: 320</b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; line-height: 21px;">As Princess of Wonderland Palace and the future Queen of Hearts, Dinah’s days are an endless monotony of tea, tarts, and a stream of vicious humiliations at the hands of her father, the King of Hearts. The only highlight of her days is visiting Wardley, her childhood best friend, the future Knave of Hearts — and the love of her life.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; line-height: 21px;">When an enchanting stranger arrives at the Palace, Dinah watches as everything she’s ever wanted threatens to crumble. As her coronation date approaches, a series of suspicious and bloody events suggests that something sinister stirs in the whimsical halls of Wonderland. It’s up to Dinah to unravel the mysteries that lurk both inside and under the Palace before she loses her own head to a clever and faceless foe.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; line-height: 21px;">Part epic fantasy, part twisted fairy tale, this dazzling saga will have readers shivering as Dinah's furious nature sweeps Wonderland up in the maelstrom of her wrath. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; line-height: 21px;">Familiar characters such as Cheshire, the White Rabbit, and the Mad Hatter make their appearance, enchanting readers with this new, dark take on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.</span><br />
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This is the story of the young Princess of Wonderland, soon to become Queen of Hearts, Dinah. You would think life would be a dream for the princess. The people should dote on her, adore her as their future leader. But that is not so.<br />
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Even Dinah's father, the king, has no respect for her. Since her mother died, she has been groomed to become queen, but she wonders if she will ever be treated like one. There are only a handful of people whom she feels comfortable with--a few servants in the palace; her very timely tutor, Harris; her somewhat mad brother, Charles; and her best friend and love, the future Knave of Hearts, Wardley.<br />
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Mmk. Let's get to it. I really liked this book. Here's why. *throws list at you*<br />
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<ul>
<li>DINAH. <b>I just want to squeeze her.</b> She'd probably bite me, but still. Dinah was an imperfect, quick-tempered character and I rooted for her for the entire book. She wasn't always likeable, but I think I understood her to some degree.* Her circumstances weren't ideal and, even though she made some bad choices and quick judgments, it was easy to sympathize with her. Dinah had a lot of compassion inside of her, even if buried deep. She loves her advisor, Harris--and her feelings for Wardley leave her raw. She's so <i>human</i>. She could be selfish. She was unfairly harsh to her sister, Vittoire. And it was just <i>sad</i> to know where she was heading--glimpsing good and evil inside of her and wanting the good to win, but knowing how everything turns out in the original story.</li>
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((* I dressed up as the queen of hearts for Halloween one year, and let me tell you, screaming "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS" at random small offenses is the best. Ok, so I'm not a fan of the actual heads rolling part, but in some small way I think I understand the queen of hearts. *nods*))</div>
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<li><b>It's kind of dark</b>. *shrugs* This is a positive for me. There are beheadings and torture and a lot of cruelty. Evil was real and prevalent in Wonderland.</li>
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<li><b>The mystery</b>. I have no idea how everything is going to turn out. I thought the mystery surrounding Vittoire and the king's plans was very interesting. At the same time, though, I feel this book left me with <i>too</i> many questions unanswered.</li>
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<li><b>The setting</b>. Oakes creates a really cool and creative version of Wonderland. </li>
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But there were also things I wasn't a fan of.<br />
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The plot was definitely lacking something. The story felt very short too. I was invested in the story, but everything happened so fast that I felt like it ended before Dinah's story truly <i>began</i>.<br />
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I feel like many of the characters were lacking development as well. I loved Charles and wish his character had been explored further. We know next to nothing about Vittoire. And all we know about the King is that he's a despicable and evil man who only cares about his own power. Why is he the way he is? Who knows.<br />
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I liked Wardley, most of the time. He was sweet and protective, but also confusing. I didn't really understand his motivations, and I'm not sure I want him and Dinah to get together...<br />
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As for the "enchanting stranger," he barely made an appearance. I was a little disappointed with his part in the sto<span style="font-family: inherit;">ry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So yeah, I wish there had been more development of the plot and more complex characters, but overall I really liked<i> Queen of Hearts</i>. Looking forward to the next book.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">If you're interested in this book, I would say give it a try.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><u>Content warning</u>: Heads roll.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/36978618-ally-the-scribbling-sprite">View all my reviews</a> / <a href="http://colleenoakes.com/">Author site</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Hearts-Colleen-Oakes/dp/0062409727/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465856782&sr=1-1">Amazon</a></div>
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TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-91645814332510953362016-06-13T09:00:00.000-05:002016-06-13T09:00:06.166-05:00The Mid Year Freak Out Tag<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Saw this tag on <a href="https://26countlesspossibilities.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/mid-year-freak-out-tag-2/?c=876#comment-876">26 Countless Possibilities</a> and decided to do it myself!</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Best Book Read in 2016?</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15995747-the-raven-boys">The Raven Boys</a> by Maggie Stiefvater. Why did it take me so long to read this gem of a book?</div>
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Special shout out to Ruined, An Ember in the Ashes, and Whistling Past the Graveyard--other five star reads.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Best Sequel You've Read so Far in 2016?</b></span></div>
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I've only read 5 sequels so far, but I really enjoyed <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20443207-the-winner-s-crime">The Winner's Crime</a> by Marie Rutkoski. <i>Although</i>, I'm currently reading The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater and feel it will most definitely become a favorite.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>New Release You Haven't Read Yet But Want To?</b></span></div>
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There are way too many. But I would especially love to get my hands on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24934065-rebel-of-the-sands">Rebel of the Sands</a> by Alwyn Hamilton.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdrLN23P6UFe-ZzQ3t_Oa5pi6tfs40RL9hnhx2ao-TnOAkxqzPIAW0H6MjSPY-LSXK4ve0OeVYe-gert-fPPVTytqHd27C8ZXB5-YLWN0hk6BdDeGq4-489WD69PZJuO2-eLZoSu4Y9c/s1600/rebel+of+the+sands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdrLN23P6UFe-ZzQ3t_Oa5pi6tfs40RL9hnhx2ao-TnOAkxqzPIAW0H6MjSPY-LSXK4ve0OeVYe-gert-fPPVTytqHd27C8ZXB5-YLWN0hk6BdDeGq4-489WD69PZJuO2-eLZoSu4Y9c/s320/rebel+of+the+sands.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Most Anticipated Release(s) for Second Half of 2016?</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29056083-harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child">Harry Potter and The Cursed Child</a> by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany.</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25558608-a-torch-against-the-night">A Torch Against the Night</a> by Sabaa Tahir</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28448077-like-a-river-glorious">Like a River Glorious</a> by Rae Carson</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25566212-heartless">Heartless</a> by Marissa Meyer</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Gxxhd9Q4JTE8iOh3RSLJ8mFWGLLLxwMpVzpAoWWfR4CeHqOuG7ir6cQI7rb2SxThnE2h14a4oFsXNRkcSsyt9LuceW0sc8m1oE61rUib67MFRkGa4DJoMEK_rC2i8mRVWucT2Oy7vuQ/s1600/harry+potter+and+the+cursed+child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Gxxhd9Q4JTE8iOh3RSLJ8mFWGLLLxwMpVzpAoWWfR4CeHqOuG7ir6cQI7rb2SxThnE2h14a4oFsXNRkcSsyt9LuceW0sc8m1oE61rUib67MFRkGa4DJoMEK_rC2i8mRVWucT2Oy7vuQ/s320/harry+potter+and+the+cursed+child.jpg" width="208" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNLQvCqO0fiyrw_YGptiipyTe46HDemmwaKBlHDjOEp3dUmYTw8NjeRRlH8MCYPJop4HrLKnJkA9ZzUCRxtW1qP6xdjrcac0GndC81pNgxaK-H6SocpP09xfUWxy7-PfASj8EQnlYBoVI/s1600/a+torch+against+the+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNLQvCqO0fiyrw_YGptiipyTe46HDemmwaKBlHDjOEp3dUmYTw8NjeRRlH8MCYPJop4HrLKnJkA9ZzUCRxtW1qP6xdjrcac0GndC81pNgxaK-H6SocpP09xfUWxy7-PfASj8EQnlYBoVI/s320/a+torch+against+the+night.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-hyicy_Jkq9xF8LSwfWJw8cBrxFObcDeA2KoyP1ZcT21fuZsnryAxCX7DzKjudFP7MuNRCvJM2iZXPSUvEr-aaWqZ74yzU2rN1e_ZZBa52_7YB-lMx3PhQMZy4viZhJKt7lIEVsRGrVs/s1600/like+a+river+glorious.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-hyicy_Jkq9xF8LSwfWJw8cBrxFObcDeA2KoyP1ZcT21fuZsnryAxCX7DzKjudFP7MuNRCvJM2iZXPSUvEr-aaWqZ74yzU2rN1e_ZZBa52_7YB-lMx3PhQMZy4viZhJKt7lIEVsRGrVs/s320/like+a+river+glorious.jpg" width="211" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8w7bbEYyJ0-40vOBkw4qcVJ8dhaCgdFu3DmsQXm2vNofLijU1KmdXP6RK49YdF-eu7KPLcCYpmDbxnXbbODS5AkB5RnkoIjajINa2cr5yO3tJRC5RoY7ji9tm77U1-b2ObxXOVnxR9wM/s1600/heartlessmeyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8w7bbEYyJ0-40vOBkw4qcVJ8dhaCgdFu3DmsQXm2vNofLijU1KmdXP6RK49YdF-eu7KPLcCYpmDbxnXbbODS5AkB5RnkoIjajINa2cr5yO3tJRC5RoY7ji9tm77U1-b2ObxXOVnxR9wM/s320/heartlessmeyer.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Biggest Disappointment?</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9565548-grave-mercy">Grave Mercy</a> by Robin LaFevers. <a href="http://thescribblingsprite.blogspot.com/2016/05/review-grave-mercy-by-robin-lafevers.html">My review.</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4bwqlUqXJUvrQU7BHjkkGW1ywF6IW_awZunuUad0p71FQA_QF7O-XUg6sQ8fzzYiD5arfext_8nV7zpF96_T7qvOyWR7usfoBjmhKv6-IihlmAm_eE3FjaNlu3h_KahMWdjYLO8rKCZM/s1600/grave+mercy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4bwqlUqXJUvrQU7BHjkkGW1ywF6IW_awZunuUad0p71FQA_QF7O-XUg6sQ8fzzYiD5arfext_8nV7zpF96_T7qvOyWR7usfoBjmhKv6-IihlmAm_eE3FjaNlu3h_KahMWdjYLO8rKCZM/s320/grave+mercy.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Biggest Surprise?</b></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmVm7zyV-JozxlnJ1C5flc6vd8mLL-ssB4wXhSDd30w4RHJTFvpR04O-q1gDS5exbUGhyphenhyphenEDYEJJ2SdffT02uanbU0fz-_ONhC2tmn8HvoYtgfErA3gIllHvR1hoUrhkjhU5XV6KZ8LJk/s1600/surprise.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmVm7zyV-JozxlnJ1C5flc6vd8mLL-ssB4wXhSDd30w4RHJTFvpR04O-q1gDS5exbUGhyphenhyphenEDYEJJ2SdffT02uanbU0fz-_ONhC2tmn8HvoYtgfErA3gIllHvR1hoUrhkjhU5XV6KZ8LJk/s400/surprise.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/Surprise-GIFs-32385913">source</a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13138635-these-broken-stars">These Broken Stars</a> by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. I didn't expect to love it as much as I did! <a href="http://thescribblingsprite.blogspot.com/2016/02/review-these-broken-stars-by-amie.html">My review</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlywmV2Rzs_Vsag9LvjMdimKdyBhs9j-3w16mi3Ot4mMe1ba2VYXW2a_NipbDlYcBMI07zeuIgFspSYnjt277EhC2bAOOx0FK9uKJ9hCvFmjheOZlBXWkvGrBoyFisSNmk7XUUB3LMhHs/s1600/these+broken+stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlywmV2Rzs_Vsag9LvjMdimKdyBhs9j-3w16mi3Ot4mMe1ba2VYXW2a_NipbDlYcBMI07zeuIgFspSYnjt277EhC2bAOOx0FK9uKJ9hCvFmjheOZlBXWkvGrBoyFisSNmk7XUUB3LMhHs/s320/these+broken+stars.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>New Favorite Author?</b></span></div>
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Sabaa Tahir, the author of the wonderful <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20560137-an-ember-in-the-ashes">An Ember in the Ashes</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_n_nkif8t7Swv-MSBlVoXYGURcn0ltkEUc4ij7wWnS6bw-UiZcTJRzELaIKVafk5aN4Oam40YpX1mFz9RUUcNFr_X51LKdDja-dPzn4GR399S-5E7dO85m0EWTnqbl7qZ4q42s2Hg0k/s1600/an+ember+in+the+ashes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_n_nkif8t7Swv-MSBlVoXYGURcn0ltkEUc4ij7wWnS6bw-UiZcTJRzELaIKVafk5aN4Oam40YpX1mFz9RUUcNFr_X51LKdDja-dPzn4GR399S-5E7dO85m0EWTnqbl7qZ4q42s2Hg0k/s320/an+ember+in+the+ashes.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Newest Fictional Crush?</b></span></div>
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I'm with Sierra on this one. The Raven Boys! Yes, yes, all of them. Maybe Ronan not as much as the others, though. Love him, but I fear we would clash quite a bit.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Newest Favorite Character?</b></span></div>
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Ahem. I have more than one, thank you. Starla from<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16058610-whistling-past-the-graveyard?ac=1&from_search=true"> Whistling Past the Graveyard</a>. Blue and The Raven Boys from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15995747-the-raven-boys">The Raven Boys</a>. </div>
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*hugs them*</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSPKr4ee4_H4xoftf0Iqcb2xaAccjrDStGua2-gXoRTXioy0I8hDHsTNX4BFPFnCAqUcB6mF7s8NRnJBcAM0l9dtKIHGwMWna-W4l-ONSI-kflVG2naJ9Rn87fSZOk0-zUMdR3S7O_2KA/s1600/hugs.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSPKr4ee4_H4xoftf0Iqcb2xaAccjrDStGua2-gXoRTXioy0I8hDHsTNX4BFPFnCAqUcB6mF7s8NRnJBcAM0l9dtKIHGwMWna-W4l-ONSI-kflVG2naJ9Rn87fSZOk0-zUMdR3S7O_2KA/s400/hugs.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/love-black-and-white-cute-14jQlxpZSaXisE">source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Book That Made You Cry?</b></span></div>
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HAHAHA. No. I have not read a book that could penetrate my cold, dead heart.</div>
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Whistling Past the Graveyard was touching, though.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Book That Made You Happy?</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25689074-stars-above">Stars Above</a> by Marissa Meyer</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNiWB_cURulOuEe4wOQ58UCr2xesVidEE85GFS3_TufDw6PewkLiTB2X5_Ea0mdgQQk8Tb-a4AKSFbSRRk91H4US60nBvceoTPdwe1TV3kslRFzUQvwrVjqWBN3os50y53oujk05IFBnY/s1600/stars+above.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNiWB_cURulOuEe4wOQ58UCr2xesVidEE85GFS3_TufDw6PewkLiTB2X5_Ea0mdgQQk8Tb-a4AKSFbSRRk91H4US60nBvceoTPdwe1TV3kslRFzUQvwrVjqWBN3os50y53oujk05IFBnY/s320/stars+above.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Most Beautiful Book You Bought So Far This Year?</b></span></div>
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I bought this really pretty edition of Pride and Prejudice.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitVq_lHGD_OGCo54LdTrZZUha1Cjw05gJujdqgnwfJj6ixqWpwqhESCDo9fpRTkw-VonhqOxK-qphrTainwHXv-_nZCsmTMfdVq4H6XXvobMyIRYHCzMHVwmMCwdZdyAyq6RoWJyXQYVk/s1600/pride+and+prejudice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitVq_lHGD_OGCo54LdTrZZUha1Cjw05gJujdqgnwfJj6ixqWpwqhESCDo9fpRTkw-VonhqOxK-qphrTainwHXv-_nZCsmTMfdVq4H6XXvobMyIRYHCzMHVwmMCwdZdyAyq6RoWJyXQYVk/s320/pride+and+prejudice.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/182073787474?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true">source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>What Books Do You "Need" to Read by the End of the Year?</b></span></div>
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War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. (I'm on chapter 3. We'll see what happens).</div>
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Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater</div>
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The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater</div>
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Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier</div>
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Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo</div>
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+ a gazillion others.</div>
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<b>I tag anyone who wants to do this! If you do it, leave a link to your post in the comments because I'd love to see your answers!</b></div>
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TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-46167952488585565572016-06-08T09:00:00.000-05:002016-06-08T09:00:08.002-05:00Review: Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzZa58751w1L0I8-kqLo-B7ewtgnK_GGssXJpPs_DEQpfYLx6Yp-S30VpLfcR_R9KnCAcR8cEhipgh8GfucYjL0JVxAs6WK3dNT2DHdG42frrV3Z47zMmTdyxagBkrDKdBwfGhbVFLnM/s1600/warbreaker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzZa58751w1L0I8-kqLo-B7ewtgnK_GGssXJpPs_DEQpfYLx6Yp-S30VpLfcR_R9KnCAcR8cEhipgh8GfucYjL0JVxAs6WK3dNT2DHdG42frrV3Z47zMmTdyxagBkrDKdBwfGhbVFLnM/s320/warbreaker.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1268479.Warbreaker"><br />Warbreaker</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38550.Brandon_Sanderson">Brandon Sanderson</a></b><br />
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<b>My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1638623096">2 of 5 stars</a></b><br />
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<b>Genre: Fantasy</b><br />
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<b>Pages: 652</b><br />
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<em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">Warbreaker</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"> is the story of two sisters, who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, the lesser god who doesn't like his job, and the immortal who's still trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">Their world is one in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren's capital city and where a power known as BioChromatic magic is based on an essence known as </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">breath</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"> that can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">By using </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">breath</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"> and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be accomplished. It will take considerable quantities of each to resolve all the challenges facing Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris; Susebron the God King; Lightsong, reluctant god of bravery, and mysterious Vasher, the Warbreaker.</span><br />
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After constantly hearing about Brandon Sanderson's sheer awesomeness and writing talent, I was ready to love this book. I TRIED to love this book. <br />
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But it just didn't impress me. None of the characters really wowed me. I liked Vasher, but he didn't get nearly as many chapters as anyone else. Lightsong (a god, or "Returned"), Denth and Tonk Fah (mercenaries) rather aggravated me, though I think they were meant to be funny. Lightsong had his moments, though. See, here:<br />
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“I try to avoid having thoughts. They lead to other thoughts, and—if you’re not careful—those lead to actions. Actions make you tired. I have this on rather good authority from someone who once read it in a book.”</blockquote>
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Good one, Lightsong.<br />
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As for Siri and Vivenna, I liked them, but I didn't feel like they DID much because so much of the story was spent in their HEADS. That's a pet peeve of mine. Because the real story does not happen in their thoughts (*yawn*) but in the real world. And I wanted more of what was happening in (you guessed it) <em>the real world</em>.<br />
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So, basically, the characters weren't that impressive. The plot was interesting, but could have been condensed into a lot less pages. <br />
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The magic system was cool, though it was overexplained. And there were a couple of twists I liked. And I loved the ending, though it felt kind of rushed compared the rest of the story (which droned. on. and. on.).<br />
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I was informed by someone else that this is probably Sanderson's worst work. You may disagree, but that seems to be the general consensus. I will definitely be giving his works another try. I'm not in love with <i>Warbreaker</i>, but I am intrigued.<br />
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<u>Content</u>: Ehrm.... Let's see. I think there's some minor language. And exclamations like "Colors!" are used as swear words. Sex between two characters is implied but not described.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/36978618-ally-the-scribbling-sprite">View all my reviews</a> / <a href="http://brandonsanderson.com/">Author site</a> / <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765320304/ref=x_gr_w_glide_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_glide_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0765320304&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">Amazon</a></div>
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<b>Have you read <i>Warbreaker</i>, or any of Sanderson's other books? What work of his would you recommend I read next?</b></div>
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TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-77281486679011838952016-05-27T09:00:00.000-05:002016-05-27T09:00:07.221-05:00Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9565548-grave-mercy">Grave Mercy</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6914204.Robin_LaFevers">Robin LaFevers</a></b><br />
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<b>My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1250906251">1 of 5 stars</a></b><br />
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<b>Genres: YA; Fantasy; Historical; Romance</b><br />
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<b>Pages: 550</b><br />
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<em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?</em><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?</span><br />
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I know, I know. I hardly ever give out the dreaded one star, and now here I am, doling out that tragic rating to an insanely popular book? </div>
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Let me explain.</div>
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I hardly ever give out one star ratings, because when I dislike a book I usually don't finish it. And I won't rate a book I haven't finished. But for <i>Grave Mercy</i> I pushed through somehow. Partly because I kept holding out hope that it would get better (it didn't) and partly because I just wanted to finish an audiobook for once. (<b>So I settled on listening to 550 pages of excruciating narration instead of listening to common sense and DNFing this</b>). *sigh* It's casual. </div>
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At least now I am able to give you my fully informed opinions. Please don't hurt me.</div>
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....</div>
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Oh, fine. I'll start with the good things.</div>
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<b><u>Things I Liked:</u></b></div>
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<b>- The premise is neat</b>: Ismae is a handmaiden to Death and works with a bunch of assassinating nuns. Weird, yes. But <i>cool</i>!</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; line-height: 21px;">“'So.... You are well equipped for our service.'</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: merriweather, georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">'Which is?'</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; line-height: 21px;">'We kill people.'” </span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><b>- Political intrigue:</b> Ok. So I liked this and didn't like it. I like that politics were an important part of the story, because you don't really see that a lot in YA fiction. But .... I didn't like that it was such a<i> gigantic </i>part of the story. Basically, it got boring. But parts of it were interesting, so I shall put it under this list because.... that's it. That's my list of Likes.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">Moving on, then.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><b><u>Things I Didn't Like:</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><b>- The characters: </b>The worst thing that can happen to me when reading a novel is not being able to connect with the characters. I want to love them and sympathize with them. But for these characters.... I felt nothing. Except frustration, and mainly towards Ismae.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">Oh, Ismae. Being inside of your head was--frankly--weird. And disturbing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">And not just because she's an assassin. I knew that going into this. But Ismae... she was SO concerned with appearances, and made SNAP judgments about people. She also had to ponder over everything that just happened to her, or what <i>could</i> happen to her in her future. Seriously. So. Much. Pondering. I just didn't care.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">Oh, and she also hates all men. Which, okay, considering her background, I get that. But she was so stubborn. And wouldn't <i>reason</i>. She just had to be<i> right</i> about everything, period. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">Oh, but she was still okay with seducing men if that's what it took for her to kill them. Same went for other girls at the convent.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">Just .... no.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">And as for the other characters .... well, none of them were particularly interesting. I think I'll leave it at that.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><b>- The plot:</b> It just wasn't interesting. And it was very slow paced. Like I said, a large chunk of the novel was just Ismae thinking about things. *yawn* I wanted <i>action</i>. I wanted <i>mystery</i>. That just wasn't there for me.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><b>- The romance:</b> Oh, goodness. You want the romance between Ismae and Duval in one word? <i>Bland</i>. It didn't even make sense. They didn't like each other at all.... and then suddenly they were in love? The romance wasn't developed very well in my opinion. LaFevers never really showed us WHY Duval liked Ismae and WHY Ismae liked Duval. The story would have been better without a romance, or a least a better developed one, I think.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">“I comfort myself with the knowledge that if Duval ever feels smothered by me, it will be because I am holding a pillow over his face.” </span></blockquote>
So, she thinks about killing him.... but then he wins her over because .... he's .... kind?<br />
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Yeah, I really don't know.<br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><b><u>In short:</u></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><i>Grave Mercy</i> had a great premise, but the execution fell flat for me. A lot of people have really enjoyed this book, though. So, if you really like reading about politics and murder and stuff, you may like it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">But, you have been warned.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/36978618-ally-the-scribbling-sprite">View all my reviews</a> / <a href="http://www.robinlafevers.com/">Author Site </a>/ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Grave-Mercy-Fair-Assassin-Trilogy/dp/0544022491/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464312234&sr=8-1&keywords=grave+mercy">Amazon</a></div>
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TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-76248740286084893792016-05-16T10:01:00.000-05:002016-05-16T10:01:00.952-05:00My Summer Reading List<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If there's one thing I've missed about not being in school, it's having time to read! It's summer break for me, so I'm really excited to get started on as many of these titles as possible. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>Classics</u></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Reread)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3BrDqN071hTt4ncy7vVFJBjQ3YfLQ2Fnl67tBRGdIlCM_uEyv2EHzyiHHWZiqDcsMMqJUCGdOPL2XWasELMkLHyJA9z195_pDsStdisXW8t757sinBbP0ax_ekkPX-V0qWtekO8Qc2c/s1600/IMG_2976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3BrDqN071hTt4ncy7vVFJBjQ3YfLQ2Fnl67tBRGdIlCM_uEyv2EHzyiHHWZiqDcsMMqJUCGdOPL2XWasELMkLHyJA9z195_pDsStdisXW8t757sinBbP0ax_ekkPX-V0qWtekO8Qc2c/s320/IMG_2976.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They look so pretty on my shelf!</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">Audiobooks</span></u></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling(Reread)</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (Reread)</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Reread)</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why, yes, I am reading Harry Potter for the hundredth time.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>After all this time?</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-size: x-large; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Always</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>Library</u></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Crown by Kiera Cass</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Siren's Fury by Mary Weber</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.38; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Allegiant by Veronica Roth</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When We Collided by Emery Lord</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Star-touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.38; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.38; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.38; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Stars Above by Marissa Meyer</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And I've already made some progress this summer!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Currently Reading</u></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Read so far</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers (finally finished this one--my first completed audiobook!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Storm Siren by Mary Weber</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I know--this list is long and (who am I kidding?) I won't listen to that many audiobooks. But it's worth a shot! And I like having goals to shoot for.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">Have you read any of these books? What would you recommend to me?</b></div>
</span>TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-24202463824111511292016-02-25T19:57:00.001-06:002016-02-25T19:57:45.636-06:00Farewell, Alison. (And a Short Hiatus)Hey everyone! I just wanted to inform you that Alison will no longer be blogging at the Scribbling Sprite due to personal reasons. I'll miss her, though, and I hope you guys will too! So please be sure to give her a friendly farewell in the comments. She's been a great co-blogger!<br />
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Also, I will be going on a slight hiatus. Spring break is coming up, and I'm going on a mission trip (yay!) but I won't have time for blogging (boo). So I don't know exactly when I'll return.<br />
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That is all. I guess you may leave. Or you could, you know, sit and stare at the screen and cry about all this. I totally understand *nods understandingly*<br />
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K, bye!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDy5baEwIZrlY7J6MvHiznV7Y_gfjul44e4Z9bdKGrx_Tfv66hMBF3MiEPpp4ENniM9Dnm7DfORZCwI2A6SDfXEgcJYNqKZYRf_ggOgmiM4f8bI1El7RR2BLqU-lcKCUL3b1sKqEXxuj4/s1600/Ally+Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDy5baEwIZrlY7J6MvHiznV7Y_gfjul44e4Z9bdKGrx_Tfv66hMBF3MiEPpp4ENniM9Dnm7DfORZCwI2A6SDfXEgcJYNqKZYRf_ggOgmiM4f8bI1El7RR2BLqU-lcKCUL3b1sKqEXxuj4/s200/Ally+Signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-61590861894784035672016-02-19T10:06:00.000-06:002016-02-19T10:06:02.095-06:00The One Lovely Blog Award<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5KcrHkuWjilYQ72XudnBW5rT8sPTIscYe7WvmKsZlbazd8AdxR52fSUPX_NtLZn8r3WgL7WXmsS0ChvzD9tFTLSLewqkp7p-r-fycTHexwx8Pf_2S7UCN_j6djx8ptZgMMXRs_DBJIM/s1600/one-blog-lovely-award.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5KcrHkuWjilYQ72XudnBW5rT8sPTIscYe7WvmKsZlbazd8AdxR52fSUPX_NtLZn8r3WgL7WXmsS0ChvzD9tFTLSLewqkp7p-r-fycTHexwx8Pf_2S7UCN_j6djx8ptZgMMXRs_DBJIM/s640/one-blog-lovely-award.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Alexa @ Summer Snowflakes tagged us for <a href="http://thessalexa.blogspot.com/2015/09/tag-week-one-lovely-blog-award.html">The One Lovely Blog Award</a>. Back in September. Heh. Okay, so I forgot, but I HAVE IT TOGETHER, I PROMISE.</div>
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Actually, this is an accurate picture of me right now...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcfZeTB7O5a6oiugkBmw1I9-UqjvMeU3YnyVw-LAchQ2-YGlNJMiSV7GDjwetIW5zXJ9lGQEUgMY24ncZGWrhWbmTP0-H4LX85apnePz5z-Ms2-QkFMm773aRie0muj9QxACUYInWwTcQ/s1600/i+have+it+together.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcfZeTB7O5a6oiugkBmw1I9-UqjvMeU3YnyVw-LAchQ2-YGlNJMiSV7GDjwetIW5zXJ9lGQEUgMY24ncZGWrhWbmTP0-H4LX85apnePz5z-Ms2-QkFMm773aRie0muj9QxACUYInWwTcQ/s400/i+have+it+together.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Like I said, <i>completely</i> together!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Onto the rules!</span></span><br />
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<h3>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;"><u>One Lovely Blog Award</u></span></span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">1. Link back to the blogger who nominated you.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">2. Posts seven facts about yourself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Nominate 15 bloggers of your own.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><b>Ally's facts:</b></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><br /></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Pirates of the Caribbean is my favorite Disney movie.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWTk2-h75S5SxytRl0-Xaxqk-m_sC6I0k_ErbCLQNWrX1Tto8DjoRVf8rQeu134MAr3yo-359Qkj_jNkooIbp2V2cGlgQkE1FZipyxCBPGJC_Rb_tEN0hbkClHHWuZXOb4pm-uMkZCPI/s1600/jar+of+dirt.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWTk2-h75S5SxytRl0-Xaxqk-m_sC6I0k_ErbCLQNWrX1Tto8DjoRVf8rQeu134MAr3yo-359Qkj_jNkooIbp2V2cGlgQkE1FZipyxCBPGJC_Rb_tEN0hbkClHHWuZXOb4pm-uMkZCPI/s400/jar+of+dirt.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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Closely followed by The Kid.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW37X0L8HvOzGUPk-qD0y_SC8XbN3v9U07TzWE6fifVzGfWx4Bf4xe_-3acYLAElKL2-zufmGyp4Lli1Z9Sdj9V0NxGqvB7vdxFvZXoP_W983JeGi9Be-P2yQ6o7jZAVgMKg3K7JcUvl8/s1600/wambulance.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW37X0L8HvOzGUPk-qD0y_SC8XbN3v9U07TzWE6fifVzGfWx4Bf4xe_-3acYLAElKL2-zufmGyp4Lli1Z9Sdj9V0NxGqvB7vdxFvZXoP_W983JeGi9Be-P2yQ6o7jZAVgMKg3K7JcUvl8/s400/wambulance.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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2. I am a middle child</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtXGvlcuft1oIYACqQ7Xu2oE63s-gNI6doQMaOV2ohNnMFmcNjz7YH4BP66C2iRIB9QsW1i2m4BxnvOMBkMRpXD-K9Ho-9A2lDvP7cq6UnuDELWJIfAx7k4xtl_uvVt2yxFGIIMAwVEk/s1600/middle+child+swag.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtXGvlcuft1oIYACqQ7Xu2oE63s-gNI6doQMaOV2ohNnMFmcNjz7YH4BP66C2iRIB9QsW1i2m4BxnvOMBkMRpXD-K9Ho-9A2lDvP7cq6UnuDELWJIfAx7k4xtl_uvVt2yxFGIIMAwVEk/s400/middle+child+swag.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://izismile.com/2013/01/08/the_hardships_of_being_the_middle_child_19_pics_8_gifs.html">Source</a></td></tr>
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3. I love cookies more than the cookie monster himself.</div>
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In fact, I live by his motto.</div>
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<i>"Today me will live in the moment. Unless it's unpleasant. In which case, me will eat a cookie."</i></div>
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4. Oh, and cake is good too.</div>
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5. I might be somewhat obsessed with Full House.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhuuEEH4HHea5LyuMj6_h3dKzRikAW6TOy1ZbGoS_jPIQoc7Egg44YsO495e-AxE6SuSbsX7pMvYulNrL0pqBlKymuJ_4DtoPfAAxXo5C6dccB9xpFANrLoxGKY86OL6nj_82Z5XJDfNU/s1600/cut+it+out.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhuuEEH4HHea5LyuMj6_h3dKzRikAW6TOy1ZbGoS_jPIQoc7Egg44YsO495e-AxE6SuSbsX7pMvYulNrL0pqBlKymuJ_4DtoPfAAxXo5C6dccB9xpFANrLoxGKY86OL6nj_82Z5XJDfNU/s400/cut+it+out.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.reactiongifs.us/cut-it-out-full-house/">source</a></td></tr>
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6. I'm an an INTP. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9eJse-r4lE6IkV45lEi6hg9_y6QhyFRlgGgpPkewDnfuVoLFKLyyTZWleq96_9zVIaeKy6wLNtivEJV7J39lgmY1NgBdhaL0bp7RPaJnO5U2cPYJ8O5hCGfeGslCcqBTavgEJTQxjHno/s1600/intp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9eJse-r4lE6IkV45lEi6hg9_y6QhyFRlgGgpPkewDnfuVoLFKLyyTZWleq96_9zVIaeKy6wLNtivEJV7J39lgmY1NgBdhaL0bp7RPaJnO5U2cPYJ8O5hCGfeGslCcqBTavgEJTQxjHno/s400/intp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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7. Basically, I just love all junk food.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4siVzo-ld-rOhPC361F2p-37Tqkb6fKWFSCbXHPO0XktB0qrMfjSKgFbpDrus7Om0ntpj-ZD9q46xfuZJNQqQijF4rJXg_wIcYsmsUSfnM4ykApHqOa3zV90sBCBGhllUg1iUFtTXUb4/s1600/where%2527s+the+pizza.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4siVzo-ld-rOhPC361F2p-37Tqkb6fKWFSCbXHPO0XktB0qrMfjSKgFbpDrus7Om0ntpj-ZD9q46xfuZJNQqQijF4rJXg_wIcYsmsUSfnM4ykApHqOa3zV90sBCBGhllUg1iUFtTXUb4/s400/where%2527s+the+pizza.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgif0T6LMImcXQnbYyMUbWxscffwPCcMlMgelqRu6DaKPBB_mr-l1pKpP9O5SzfGlhoQIGYiA3Kqia_VFh9-DE5JUZqmr3SJt8Y0yOJ-C9scM_1f6G1CH_2DgZr7bP2xPxb4N0pbBcoCoE/s1600/potato+chips.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgif0T6LMImcXQnbYyMUbWxscffwPCcMlMgelqRu6DaKPBB_mr-l1pKpP9O5SzfGlhoQIGYiA3Kqia_VFh9-DE5JUZqmr3SJt8Y0yOJ-C9scM_1f6G1CH_2DgZr7bP2xPxb4N0pbBcoCoE/s400/potato+chips.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">*whispers* Top that, Alison.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><u>Alison's facts</u></b></span></span></div>
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It's on, Ally.</div>
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1. I am a big theatre kid. I have been in a few shows, and even if I'm just in the ensemble, I am always at home on the stage.<br />
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<img alt="Because Hadley is cute | Imma have to agree with you on that. The man is precious." height="191" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/32/ad/ef/32adef13ecf5111ef150c5f4f248a80c.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/32/ad/ef/32adef13ecf5111ef150c5f4f248a80c.jpg">source</a></span></div>
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This is partly why I am so dramatic all the time.<br />
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<img alt="TGIF - humor gifs ...For more funny gifs visit www.bestfunnyjokes4u.com/" height="256" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/21/91/9a/21919a5445b98e7745a02d887721b241.gif" width="400" /><br />
<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/21/91/9a/21919a5445b98e7745a02d887721b241.gif"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source</span></a></div>
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2. I also loooooove Broadway shows. Even though I don't have enough money to see them. I settle for soundtracks and movie versions of the shows I have heard of. Except Newsies.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><img alt="no one does this better than Steele" height="223" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/59/99/cb/5999cb2d7387a5cfc106bacd8c29f014.jpg" width="400" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/59/99/cb/5999cb2d7387a5cfc106bacd8c29f014.jpg">source</a></span></div>
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It was on tour and my friend called me the night before with an extra ticket. So basically my dreams came true.<br />
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3. I quote TV shows and movies ALL the time. Most of the time it goes unnoticed or I just get funny looks for my creepy quotes. But occasionally there is someone who gets it and we have a moment.<br />
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<img alt="will always" height="225" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/f3/be/be/f3bebe8cfb6e12c47e960d1dc149074f.gif" width="400" /><br />
<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/f3/be/be/f3bebe8cfb6e12c47e960d1dc149074f.gif"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source</span></a><br />
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4. I really like puzzles, partly because I can sit for hours and listen to music while I do them. When I get a challenging puzzle that I really like, my family has to drag me back into the real world.<br />
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<img alt="andy richardson | Tumblr OH LOOK YOU CRUSHED MY SOUL" height="320" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/fc/3f/eb/fc3feb2c1b74c7ef00a0baa8f2de7803.jpg" width="320" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/fc/3f/eb/fc3feb2c1b74c7ef00a0baa8f2de7803.jpg">source</a></span><br />
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5. I am an excessive shipper. Sometimes very excessive. It often comes with a lot of emotional pain.<br />
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<img alt=" " height="320" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/95/26/3d/95263d3c020ac030cbe4d0f31076aac3.gif" width="281" /><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/95/26/3d/95263d3c020ac030cbe4d0f31076aac3.gif">source</a></span></div>
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6. I am an ENFP.<br />
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<img alt="More Than Words inspiring quote. "There's a fine line between genius and crazy... I like to use that line as a jump rope.": " height="316" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/23/c3/94/23c394b254c949eeabd3a9513ebb4b3e.jpg" width="320" /><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/23/c3/94/23c394b254c949eeabd3a9513ebb4b3e.jpg">source</a></span><br />
<img alt="It is at this time Fi has begun to want to wildly gesticulate and panic about the ever ensuing day ahead. Almost busted my shins on the stairs while flying up after meeting Dee this morning... and oh yeah I've been up since about Monday morning... just had figure that damn cognition out man... wow... seriously tho Thank You God for understanding... twice (8/28/13): " height="320" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/a9/89/7f/a9897fc899a6a8ab20238dca92a784d2.jpg" width="310" /><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/a9/89/7f/a9897fc899a6a8ab20238dca92a784d2.jpg">source</a></span><br />
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7. My dream is that my future husband will refer to this scene when figuring out how to propose.<br />
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<img alt="I’ve never seen so many books in all my life! I can’t wait to see this scene live action." height="400" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/b6/50/53/b65053392440a024e1129538a6d1b5e7.gif" width="328" /><br />
<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/b6/50/53/b65053392440a024e1129538a6d1b5e7.gif"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source</span></a><br />
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I think I did well enough to at least rank with Ally ;)</div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>We tag <u>these</u> select few:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://semilegacy.blogspot.com/">Heather</a> / <a href="http://randommorbidinsanity.blogspot.com/">Alyssa</a> / <a href="https://aerykah.wordpress.com/">Aerykah</a> / <a href="https://butterfliesoftheimagination.wordpress.com/">Ana</a> / <a href="https://hislittleelephant.wordpress.com/">Koko</a> / <a href="http://www.alittlebitofsunshineblog.com/">Noor</a> </span></span></div>
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And of course anyone else who wants to do this.</div>
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TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-72627011450601310272016-02-16T08:19:00.000-06:002016-02-16T08:19:06.668-06:00Quotables: Quotes About Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_p6wjk6ZRKP3HdbQmAExY-sb7m7md2RMpR1dVfnYLe6Ba1h-FQQgK-bB9jSS4VnHre-fe4f6RA9NLIMWpzgQhthuwnSMtX2ByREz0ID8tW9d7xFisu4MJzrZVCc07Vgld3wNww6N1J0/s1600/quotes+about+books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_p6wjk6ZRKP3HdbQmAExY-sb7m7md2RMpR1dVfnYLe6Ba1h-FQQgK-bB9jSS4VnHre-fe4f6RA9NLIMWpzgQhthuwnSMtX2ByREz0ID8tW9d7xFisu4MJzrZVCc07Vgld3wNww6N1J0/s640/quotes+about+books.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; line-height: 28px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">"A room without books is like a body without a soul."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; font-size: x-large; line-height: 28px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">– </span><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Marcus Tullius Cicero</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #303030; line-height: 28px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Books are a uniquely portable magic. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #303030; font-family: inherit; line-height: 28px;">– </span><b style="color: #303030; line-height: 28px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Stephen King</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #303030; line-height: 28px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">"I find television to be very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go in the other room and read a book."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #303030; font-family: inherit; line-height: 28px;">– </span><b style="color: #303030; line-height: 28px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Groucho Marx</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="color: #303030; line-height: 28px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinY1ZrKmHNvSfBkKdsrL5ZDAl19xfhm0AKW_kxmXK8WgHcok6DFR_ohuKZoyuL6lISjUefW7LQVkLJDhJzgxySuarjtJ2nIWwjDA3Us9FhPeL7LLG3kEa2jxrNCZWGdtcWpjaxftpsq_A/s1600/book+quote+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinY1ZrKmHNvSfBkKdsrL5ZDAl19xfhm0AKW_kxmXK8WgHcok6DFR_ohuKZoyuL6lISjUefW7LQVkLJDhJzgxySuarjtJ2nIWwjDA3Us9FhPeL7LLG3kEa2jxrNCZWGdtcWpjaxftpsq_A/s400/book+quote+1.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/276478864597496570/">source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="color: #303030; line-height: 28px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">―</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1265.Jane_Austen" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;">Jane Austen</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">, </span><span id="quote_book_link_50398" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/4039699" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Northanger Abbey</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">― </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1406384.John_Green" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;">John Green</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">, </span><span id="quote_book_link_11870085" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/16827462" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">The Fault in Our Stars</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px;">“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">― </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4398096.Charles_William_Eliot" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;">Charles William Eliot</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px;">“Sleep is good, he said, and books are better.”</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">― </span><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/346732.George_R_R_Martin" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">George R.R. Martin</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px;">“When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">― </span><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/706620.Desiderius_Erasmus" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Desiderius Erasmus</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px;">“Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn't carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">― </span><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3389.Stephen_King" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Stephen King</span></a></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/113153009361449482/">source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px;">“Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">― </span><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/425221.Henry_Ward_Beecher" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Henry Ward Beecher</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px;">“I cannot live without books.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">― </span><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1673.Thomas_Jefferson" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Thomas Jefferson</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px;">“That's the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">― </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3670.Jhumpa_Lahiri" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;">Jhumpa Lahiri</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">, </span><span id="quote_book_link_10127" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/16171" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">The Namesake</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px;">“Stories never really end...even if the books like to pretend they do. Stories always go on. They don't end on the last page, any more than they begin on the first page.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">― </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15873.Cornelia_Funke" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;">Cornelia Funke</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">, </span><span id="quote_book_link_28195" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1567967" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Inkspell</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px;">“Isn't it odd how much fatter a book gets when you've read it several times?" Mo had said..."As if something were left between the pages every time you read it. Feelings, thoughts, sounds, smells...and then, when you look at the book again many years later, you find yourself there, too, a slightly younger self, slightly different, as if the book had preserved you like a pressed flower...both strange and familiar.”</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21px;">― </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15873.Cornelia_Funke" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;">Cornelia Funke</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">, </span><span id="quote_book_link_28195" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1567967" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Inkspell</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px;">“If you take a book with you on a journey," Mo had said when he put the first one in her box, "an odd thing happens: The book begins collecting your memories. And forever after you have only to open that book to be back where you first read it. It will all come into your mind with the very first words: the sights you saw in that place, what it smelled like, the ice cream you ate while you were reading it... yes, books are like flypaper—memories cling to the printed page better than anything else.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-- </span><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Cornelia Funke</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://thescribblingsprite.blogspot.com/2015/04/quotables-roald-dahl.html">Quotables 1: Roald Dahl</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://thescribblingsprite.blogspot.com/2015/08/quotables-a-milne-author-of-winnie-pooh.html">Quotables 2: A.A. Milne</a></span></span></div>
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TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-871273025096687382016-02-12T07:00:00.000-06:002016-05-15T17:44:03.849-05:00Review: The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryyAEQ4mVvHjH2-Yq1DVuUN6rihmpeUTmjBUTz8PZrH0aiAUGer4E1Gr4sI-1WMinN76SwODl5h_Hcig6X-meOELHFgtTVAez0ez1UhQ9DZth6fQuUd4CRim8a4MjQYDceka2wPqN_gQ/s1600/the+golden+braid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryyAEQ4mVvHjH2-Yq1DVuUN6rihmpeUTmjBUTz8PZrH0aiAUGer4E1Gr4sI-1WMinN76SwODl5h_Hcig6X-meOELHFgtTVAez0ez1UhQ9DZth6fQuUd4CRim8a4MjQYDceka2wPqN_gQ/s320/the+golden+braid.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25290956-the-golden-braid">The Golden Braid</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3408059.Melanie_Dickerson">Melanie Dickerson</a></b><br />
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<b>My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1502771386">3 of 5 stars</a></b><br />
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<b>Genres: YA; Christian; Historical; Romance; Fairy Tale</b><br />
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<b>Pages: 320</b><br />
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"<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">The one who needs rescuing isn’t always the one in the tower.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Rapunzel can throw a knife better than any man around. And her skills as an artist rival those of any artist she’s met. But for a woman in medieval times, the one skill she most desires is the hardest one to obtain: the ability to read.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">After yet another young man asks for Rapunzel’s hand in marriage, Mother decides they need to move once again, but this time to a larger city. Rapunzel’s heart soars—surely there she can fulfill her dream. But Mother won’t let her close to a man. She claims that no man can be trusted.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">After being rescued by a knight on the road to the city, and in turn rescuing him farther down the road, Rapunzel’s opportunity arrives at last. This knight, Sir Gerek, agrees to educate Rapunzel in order to pay back his debt. She just has to put up with his arrogant nature and single-minded focus on riches and prestige.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">But this Rapunzel story is unlike any other and the mystery that she uncovers will change everything—except her happily ever after."</span><br />
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It's no secret that I'm a fan of Melanie Dickerson. She writes sweet, clean fairy tale retellings, and I always finish her books quickly and with a smile on my face--as cheesy as that may sound. My tastes had somehow changed a lot since I last read one of her books (honestly, I've become a bit tired of Christian Fiction), and I found myself being more nit-picky than usual. A few things niggled at me while reading, so I decided to divide this review up into things I liked and disliked. </div>
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<u>What I Liked:</u> </div>
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<b>Rapunzel</b>: She was fun, she was capable, she was sweet. She wasn't super tough or anything, but she was still a strong character and I enjoyed reading about her. The only thing I dislike about Rapunzel was her attitude towards her mother, but I'll talk about that later.</div>
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<b>No Insta-love</b>: *throws confetti* I liked the romance, because it was sweet. This could have gone like your typical fairy tale but it didn't. It wasn't *BOOM* love at first sight, so that was a relief. The romance wasn't <i>super</i> well-developed, but as I said, it was sweet.</div>
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<b>The Setting</b>: Medieval Germany! I liked returning to Hagenheim.</div>
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Ohhh, and the cover is super pretty!!</div>
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<u>What I Disliked:</u><br />
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<b>The HAIR</b>: Yeah, I know, this is a Rapunzel retelling. And there's literally hair in the title. But there was so much emphasis placed on Rapunzel's beaauuutifulll golden hair. Every character was obsessed.<br />
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Gothel: You MUST cover your hair, or men will see it and <i>want</i> you.<br />
Rapunzel: Yes, Mother!<br />
Gerek: Why do you cover your hair? None of the other girls do. Why do you cover your hair? Why, Rapunzel? Why?<br />
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Really. I got tired of all this hair talk. Fast. Because covering your hair didn't seem that important to me in the grand scheme of things. What the hair thing did do for the story, however, was give us a larger glimpse of the relationship between Gothel and Rapunzel. Which is, um, another thing that bothered me...<br />
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<b>Rapunzel's attitude toward Gothel</b>: Rapunzel let Gothel (her mother) walk all over her. Yes, there were a few instances of defiance, but it just wasn't enough. Gothel was obviously not right in the head. She just didn't make any sense most of the time, and Rapunzel realized this (sometimes...) but was still "Yes, Mother Gothel. Of course, Mother Gothel." Now, really. Just because a woman raises you doesn't mean you should overlook all of her INSANE tendencies. I mean, really Rapunzel. You're a smart girl, so<i> use your brain.</i><br />
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<b>Gerek's stupidity</b>: That's a bit harsh, but I'm good at being harsh, so let's go with it. I <i>liked</i> Gerek. No, really. He was grouchy and prickly <b>and I can relate okay</b>? But he was pretty sweet too, actually. Buut, I also like logical things and the way that he thought was just....not. Gerek's thoughts (and I cringe at this) were basically, "if my dad was cruel and beat his wife then I must be the same! Therefore I can never marry a girl that I could actually love." Hahahahaha. NO. And maybe I'm cruel for not having any sympathy<b> but that is so illogical</b>. I just can't.<br />
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<b>It was preachy</b>: I'm always wary about including a criticism like this, because I'm a Christian! I appreciate authors trying to spread the Christian message, but I think that too often the plot of a story is sacrificed to do so. Personally, I think that if you are strong about your beliefs they should seep into your writing. But trying to pound them into your book so much that we're reading a sermon in the fourth chapter (and this is just an example; not trying to insult Melanie!) well, that's a little off-putting. And in this book, I felt that the reading lessons between Gerek and Rapunzel were just there to preach at the readers (they were using the Bible). Somewhat related to that, this book also used one of my least favorite plot devices. (Highlight to read spoilers) <span style="color: white;">Towards the end, when Gerek was looking for Rapunzel, he only found her because God spoke directly to him.</span> That was just too easy, in my opinion.<br />
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<b>Overall thoughts:</b> I should mention that this is the sixth book in the Hagenheim series, but could be easily read as a standalone. It was a sweet, fun, clean read, and I basically swallowed in one gulp. Recommend for fairy tale lovers, fans of Melanie Dickerson, and fans of clean and simple romances. Wasn't a favorite of mine (please forgive my nitpickiness!!), but I'll still be looking out for more releases by Melanie!<br />
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<u>Content</u>: Kissing. That is all. Clean!<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/36978618-ally-the-scribbling-sprite">View all my reviews</a> / <a href="http://www.melaniedickerson.com/">Author site</a> / <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XPV60U0/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1">Amazon</a></div>
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TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-88834635626751348442016-02-09T07:00:00.000-06:002016-02-09T07:00:24.615-06:00Top Ten Fictional Couples (OTPs)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2hMCbInTM_UhgEj4tePJiFSPT-2boE2OlURpPhBqjhhxZFNtbwVGCDy70ZNF-za1yvGm6P9g6NDXXkbEgvtq4bekyig9yPvqnE-ITL76WKJOEc5tKfKetzI4OFHjTOmFOn1khMxMA8k/s1600/toptentuesday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2hMCbInTM_UhgEj4tePJiFSPT-2boE2OlURpPhBqjhhxZFNtbwVGCDy70ZNF-za1yvGm6P9g6NDXXkbEgvtq4bekyig9yPvqnE-ITL76WKJOEc5tKfKetzI4OFHjTOmFOn1khMxMA8k/s640/toptentuesday.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/">The Broke and the Bookish</a>.</div>
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In anticipation of Valentine's Day, this week's topic is: </div>
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<u>Top Ten Fictional Couples (OTPs).</u></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anne and Gilbert, <i>Anne of Green Gables</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enna and Finn, <i>Enna Burning</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Harry and Ginny, <i>Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Princ</i>e</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiovKyLyH2XOzn6Aml0T_nZfMOQGHcaMspcz1JLzqWOETJZ4EKzttSk5JXV-SNhiTLWh3x9pD_cfrjugEw8IOOvnz6u6jdQjmpkXUdL7D5VNNYwAN7aQbiooBZjkhRudVBmowfdhgPSLVA/s1600/cress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiovKyLyH2XOzn6Aml0T_nZfMOQGHcaMspcz1JLzqWOETJZ4EKzttSk5JXV-SNhiTLWh3x9pD_cfrjugEw8IOOvnz6u6jdQjmpkXUdL7D5VNNYwAN7aQbiooBZjkhRudVBmowfdhgPSLVA/s320/cress.jpg" width="211" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipaa2IN0lRdEIMmM7FRtIsIuItaftOKVcxfdvnw79s0nQIgFbtB2A9LcvXuog4dwlhH5lA6zF3ArTMDGNIXtG9Avqr8-JkoEctSNvzfy0wiDlGJO5kaczRuffM_dheH7RLYaASAAPRkrI/s1600/these+broken+stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipaa2IN0lRdEIMmM7FRtIsIuItaftOKVcxfdvnw79s0nQIgFbtB2A9LcvXuog4dwlhH5lA6zF3ArTMDGNIXtG9Avqr8-JkoEctSNvzfy0wiDlGJO5kaczRuffM_dheH7RLYaASAAPRkrI/s320/these+broken+stars.jpg" width="210" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnrr5ixIxubrQxNOw1QkcU-vagBg6eqA_VPC9n3b5axBohXq0tbvxaCmddueujDOpxep_injgnT3QTikK2YfH_eZwg2AoEjTsuLr9xMIflyiuMTegrDxttMM2X2I9Oo7AwUGKDWVPgKs/s1600/the+wrath+and+the+dawn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnrr5ixIxubrQxNOw1QkcU-vagBg6eqA_VPC9n3b5axBohXq0tbvxaCmddueujDOpxep_injgnT3QTikK2YfH_eZwg2AoEjTsuLr9xMIflyiuMTegrDxttMM2X2I9Oo7AwUGKDWVPgKs/s320/the+wrath+and+the+dawn.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Cress and Thorne, <i>Cress</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lilac and Tarver, <i>These Broken Stars</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Shahrzad and Khalid, <i>The Wrath and the Dawn</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erik and Eadlyn, <i>The Heir</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Gabriella and Marcello, <i>Waterfall</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Todd and Christy, <i>The Christy Miller Collection</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Elena and Hector, <i>The Girl of Fire and Thorns</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<b>Those are my top ten YA OTPs! Share your own, or leave the link to your TTT in the comments!</b></div>
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TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-46165232048233262382016-02-06T07:00:00.000-06:002016-02-06T07:00:02.910-06:00Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, Aerykah @ <a href="https://aerykah.wordpress.com/2015/08/27/sisterhood-of-the-world-bloggers-award/">Expressions of Me</a> tagged me for this award in... August? Yeah, I'm just way behind in things...<br />
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So, without further ado, I give you...<br />
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<u>The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award</u></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Here are the rules:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">1. Thank the blogger who nominated you, linking back to their site.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">2. Put the award logo on your blog.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">3. Answer the ten questions sent to you.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">4. Make up ten new questions for your nominees to answer.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">5. Nominate ten other bloggers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><u>The Questions</u></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1.</strong> Are you a movie/book quoter?</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> - YES. Especially The Princess Bride, Harry Potter, Winnie The Pooh, and The Hollow Kingdom.</span></div>
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<i>"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"</i></blockquote>
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<strong style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2.</strong> Would you say you’re an introvert or an extrovert? - Introvert. I love people, but I <i>need</i> my alone time.</div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3.</b> Are you sarcastic?</span> - Whaaat? Noooo....</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4.</strong> What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> - Moose tracks! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">5.</b> Do you play any musical instruments?</span> - Air guitar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">6.</strong> Do you schedule your blog posts or post whenever you can?</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> - At the time of writing this, I have several posts scheduled. <i>This</i> post will be scheduled. Of course, by the time it's posted, I may have no plan whatsoever and posts may be scattered. *shrugs*</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">7.</strong> If you could travel to any place on earth, where would you go? </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">- I couldn't pick <i>one</i> place. But I do have a <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/allynicoler/wish-i-could-go-there/">pinterest board</a> of places I'd like to see someday!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8.</b> What is your favorite princess movie? </span>- I <i style="font-size: 16px;">love</i> princess movies! Except for Cinderella... I think I'd have to go with <i style="font-size: 16px;">Mulan</i>. Most people seem to count that as a princess movie? But <i style="font-size: 16px;">The Princess Bride</i> is a close second!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 24px;">Let's face it. The animated Disney's Cinderella is basically a romanticized Tom and Jerry. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Disney?src=hash">#Disney</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cinderella?src=hash">#Cinderella</a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 24px;">— Ally Randolph (@scribble_sprite) <a href="https://twitter.com/scribble_sprite/status/570335838518669313">February 24, 2015</a></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">9.</b><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </strong>Who is your favorite author? (you can list more than one)</span> - Oh, bless you, Aerykah! (I would have cheated anyway, buuut) J. K. Rowling, Erin Morgenstern, L. M. Montgomery, Marissa Meyer, Rae Carson, Ted Dekker... To name a few?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">10.</strong> What book(s) are you currently reading?</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> - At this time I am currently reading The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson and Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers (audiobook).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLUJav44nufmB6swRAECHKHpieu4DQGXTBN_tERJ48NJkNqgq6YAIo_VM3gg8do-p1Akd3rRiGgNP3HaEYwpJf9wfoC2mPaNhXDncLmvxm6O_dSfETVbYMgoaWJ3V43oI4tdXyWWE0PQ/s1600/the+golden+braid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLUJav44nufmB6swRAECHKHpieu4DQGXTBN_tERJ48NJkNqgq6YAIo_VM3gg8do-p1Akd3rRiGgNP3HaEYwpJf9wfoC2mPaNhXDncLmvxm6O_dSfETVbYMgoaWJ3V43oI4tdXyWWE0PQ/s320/the+golden+braid.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWRMTNyWH-PuTqF_Yy6tzilMd0o8s34IBvDh6RtSa1hK-hCyJEHAs8Ysx1NvM-SBiTvErK5a2Fr7_qUkZopKweqvI8_MR6UPhPJ6plWkuPA7yRWMu1j2iJ8_lH8zfpN2-o73oKlA5QR0/s1600/grave+mercy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWRMTNyWH-PuTqF_Yy6tzilMd0o8s34IBvDh6RtSa1hK-hCyJEHAs8Ysx1NvM-SBiTvErK5a2Fr7_qUkZopKweqvI8_MR6UPhPJ6plWkuPA7yRWMu1j2iJ8_lH8zfpN2-o73oKlA5QR0/s320/grave+mercy.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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(Actually, now I'm reading A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab). XD</div>
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<u><b>Questions for the tagged</b></u></div>
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1. Spring, Summer, Autumn, or Winter?</div>
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2. Favorite place you've visited?</div>
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3. What type of music do you listen to? (Genre, artists, songs?)</div>
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4. What is your favorite book <i>cover</i>?</div>
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5. Do you like carrots?</div>
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6. What is your favorite word? Least favorite?</div>
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7. What's your favorite genre to read? To watch?</div>
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8. Best 3 TV shows you've ever seen?</div>
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9. Have you ever danced in the rain? (You should. It's good for the soul.)</div>
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10. Last book you finished?<br />
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<u>I nominate these lovely followers!</u></div>
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<a href="http://sparrowsflysouth.blogspot.com/">Emily</a> / <a href="http://splash-of-ink.blogspot.com/">Sunny</a> / <a href="http://plottingertwist.blogspot.com/">Hannah</a> / <a href="http://itssimplygrace.blogspot.com/">Grace</a> / <a href="http://keturahskorner.blogspot.com/">Keturah</a> / <a href="http://myaddictionbooks.blogspot.com/">Carina</a> / <a href="http://elvishpensfantasticalwritings.blogspot.com/">Alea</a> / <a href="http://awritersfaith.blogspot.com/">Katie</a> / <a href="http://britthebooknerd.blogspot.com/">Brittany</a> / <a href="http://theartistlibrarian.blogspot.com/">Jen</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGyVDHMH786Q2vh4u7AuhEmMnpU_5oMysmLNE0JfM5LsXcahaJvTehEjPVAppFAWPyUo6Xr0HCChBbR5N3M20wKtSJn9hY-KWt3q9GajPr6uhJdnWq2VOxzg8EYXqTHLNOSjIQVOYjKA/s1600/Ally+Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGyVDHMH786Q2vh4u7AuhEmMnpU_5oMysmLNE0JfM5LsXcahaJvTehEjPVAppFAWPyUo6Xr0HCChBbR5N3M20wKtSJn9hY-KWt3q9GajPr6uhJdnWq2VOxzg8EYXqTHLNOSjIQVOYjKA/s200/Ally+Signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>I love tags/awards! Feel free to answer one of the above questions in the comments. Also, please share: what is your favorite book/movie quote?</b></div>
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TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-85289968582592824682016-02-02T22:33:00.000-06:002016-02-02T22:33:02.478-06:00Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKe4IlalIZepNOgLKsXorUkCJLrEMdef-LH84cuEHY8byAVbhJLrTFQst-IrZRFxjLpjwwJpZx8HK5PtFSAzv1U8DoHAVI-JoqGJZmmMpIovEuqJB2PjkZYksMxdo6oQQLF-3Hnbagry4/s1600/these+broken+stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKe4IlalIZepNOgLKsXorUkCJLrEMdef-LH84cuEHY8byAVbhJLrTFQst-IrZRFxjLpjwwJpZx8HK5PtFSAzv1U8DoHAVI-JoqGJZmmMpIovEuqJB2PjkZYksMxdo6oQQLF-3Hnbagry4/s320/these+broken+stars.jpg" width="210" /></a><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13138635-these-broken-stars">These Broken Stars</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5360335.Amie_Kaufman">Amie Kaufman</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4615776.Meagan_Spooner">Meagan Spooner</a></b><br />
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<b>My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1489860057">4 of 5 stars</a></b><br />
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<b>Genres: YA; Science Fiction; Romance</b><br />
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<b>Pages: 378</b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">"Luxury spaceliner Icarus suddenly plummets from hyperspace into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive – alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a cynical war hero. Both journey across the eerie deserted terrain for help. Everything changes when they uncover the truth."</span><br />
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<u>Review</u></h3>
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I wasn't expecting to completely fall in love with this book. Yet I was pretty much head over heels by Chapter 2.</div>
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I <i>have</i> to start this review with the characters. Because the protagonists are what made<i> </i>this novel. Tarver Merendsen is a young soldier, famous for his acts of courage in war. He's instantly drawn to Lilac LaRoux when they first meet--until he finds out who she really is. That is, the daughter of the richest man--well--<i>ever</i>. Tarver knows that he, not coming from any means, could never be with someone like her. (In other words, <i>her daddy would kill him</i>). Sounds reasonable, no?</div>
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So a wall is erected between them. Actually, after an... <i>incident</i>... they don't even <i>like</i> each other. (NO insta-love here, my friends!!). And then the crash happens. And Lilac and Tarver are thrown together by circumstance (<span style="font-size: x-small;">actually, I think it was Amie and Meagan?</span>). They must travel across a deserted planet to seek help, learn to depend on each other for survival, and <i>try</i> not to think about the whispers that keep following them.</div>
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My initial thoughts: Oh, really? A journey across deserted terrain? Booorrrrrinng. But that's where I was <b><i>wrong</i></b>. Remember what I said about the characters making the novel? Well, they really did.</div>
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Lilac and Tarver were instantly likeable and I seriously loved their dynamic. True, I usually prefer more action and a more complex plot, but the story of these two people completely captivated me. Their interactions with each other could be tense and complex and yet so funny (Oh, the snark). I like how their relationship wasn't rushed. They initially disliked each other; they were at each other's throats most of the time (fun!). But they had to learn to rely upon each other. Eventually they became friends. Then they became more. I think that throughout the course of their journey they came to know and understand each other. I thought it was a beautiful progression of their relationship.</div>
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My major complaint is that I wish the story were a little more science-y and a little less romance-y. Both aspects of the novel were written well, in my opinion. Like I said, I loved the romance. And the science fiction aspect was really cool too. I just wish we had seen a <i>little</i> more of that.</div>
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Tarver's and Lilac's narration was almost enough to make up for that, though. There was one moment in the story that had me absolutely <b><i>reeling</i></b>. And the writing? Beautiful. I couldn't stop reading and finished this book in less than a day. Absolutely recommend it to those who love romance and science fiction!</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I had been so sure my father was coming for me, but now it's hard to find that certainty. This is a wilderness waiting to swallow me; I'd barely make a dent trying to fight it. There are no rules for me to learn, no points to be scored, no bluffs to be called. This is a hell I've never imagined.</blockquote>
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And I think I'm going to die here.</blockquote>
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<u>Content:</u> Minus one star for some mild language and innuendo.</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/36978618-ally-the-scribbling-sprite">View all my reviews</a> / <a href="http://amiekaufman.com/">Amie's site</a> / <a href="http://www.meaganspooner.com/">Meagan's site</a> / <a href="http://www.amazon.com/These-Broken-Stars-Starbound-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00CXXEX0A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452313590&sr=1-1&keywords=these+broken+stars">Amazon</a></div>
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<br />TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-51938410303847551712016-01-30T07:00:00.000-06:002016-01-30T07:00:08.424-06:00January Wrap-up<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<u>January Wrap-up Post</u></h2>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Books Ally has read:</span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXNqnBil6XNdzoCfRNquJ2KGYodpoMGHQcDpIAQOTWuC8q_VKObSg9qBQ9_Qr3_ywUTC1lj3R3b6uMfapcg9-IHI2UT3WyAVP01KoLt-CYnqGsM1GDk1ggq4LcgxNRVRrFFoDWz1eumA/s1600/these+broken+stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXNqnBil6XNdzoCfRNquJ2KGYodpoMGHQcDpIAQOTWuC8q_VKObSg9qBQ9_Qr3_ywUTC1lj3R3b6uMfapcg9-IHI2UT3WyAVP01KoLt-CYnqGsM1GDk1ggq4LcgxNRVRrFFoDWz1eumA/s200/these+broken+stars.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QpnEHIP8C3kyj0Jp-GG_HlgQoLFAJulyWUH8eHVn93wZverqjby5_DzUxt-58dtuHTdiHwqHZ992uSpSDOpsDwjPw7aMe2mWfv1pbOQdLGHI4dNMVB3w69erVZovkge3GcaKMVWNSgk/s1600/the+golden+braid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QpnEHIP8C3kyj0Jp-GG_HlgQoLFAJulyWUH8eHVn93wZverqjby5_DzUxt-58dtuHTdiHwqHZ992uSpSDOpsDwjPw7aMe2mWfv1pbOQdLGHI4dNMVB3w69erVZovkge3GcaKMVWNSgk/s200/the+golden+braid.jpg" width="125" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7yMBcjUUdyy6pGSz41RIy3H963J86H6adzxINzLZ0y_d6ERJ1_MtInHZL69_8MjqELqr7MEI3FfiWiVrtAtngAkKS3rgTdNlvGRf5G4opNWcwgBV5AEQOTWMh0RcYFs9uJHzVKAp1xII/s1600/an+ember+in+the+ashes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7yMBcjUUdyy6pGSz41RIy3H963J86H6adzxINzLZ0y_d6ERJ1_MtInHZL69_8MjqELqr7MEI3FfiWiVrtAtngAkKS3rgTdNlvGRf5G4opNWcwgBV5AEQOTWMh0RcYFs9uJHzVKAp1xII/s200/an+ember+in+the+ashes.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoFYTe9I5gglafxUffg3KpF9Wi1v89x2HGU6aiZb0OlbFB_JjljZUm8zTYP4_Pi44TsR-JRwQ5q9YVfxsI6qkBEoDz4u3XennQQEkql1L8UuyZQshrKkFNJ5cXoVz-KwB9UEemla3szvE/s1600/lament.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoFYTe9I5gglafxUffg3KpF9Wi1v89x2HGU6aiZb0OlbFB_JjljZUm8zTYP4_Pi44TsR-JRwQ5q9YVfxsI6qkBEoDz4u3XennQQEkql1L8UuyZQshrKkFNJ5cXoVz-KwB9UEemla3szvE/s200/lament.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYFk-KkbFjHig1Kp433JQlYfnvAhEOm1yw9w2-wnEP8RM2MdJZvj9RORpDHiYVKpS9bJ0GB63zaDuJszPUFCiTQYAWotc3UP7QntIyjLsE9TO6rkcKlCnk4ig5HdHvKetICfuH9P9Fur4/s1600/salt+and+storm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYFk-KkbFjHig1Kp433JQlYfnvAhEOm1yw9w2-wnEP8RM2MdJZvj9RORpDHiYVKpS9bJ0GB63zaDuJszPUFCiTQYAWotc3UP7QntIyjLsE9TO6rkcKlCnk4ig5HdHvKetICfuH9P9Fur4/s200/salt+and+storm.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAu-gL2qaVzInTVWPY4WlZmwIG-Eh4vE8zq0kOdpA-1vORqeKYW377KBMV9bTqZuIDYHKGiGWDc5vyIjbBDf55ikVus9E1JkBqqjPH8Vk5-IfEEuiYK7o4zBCBrIO6tNZyOvjEWlEAp9k/s1600/the+winner%2527s+curse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAu-gL2qaVzInTVWPY4WlZmwIG-Eh4vE8zq0kOdpA-1vORqeKYW377KBMV9bTqZuIDYHKGiGWDc5vyIjbBDf55ikVus9E1JkBqqjPH8Vk5-IfEEuiYK7o4zBCBrIO6tNZyOvjEWlEAp9k/s200/the+winner%2527s+curse.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglUweXuOWZHY8rbHjmmOrxeluphP4gD9IKBHcStfUV0ZDh_lU0pRHPOaqpgn-PyR0sjCRZUgg8u1RZp0GC_5mZJIMyBiNlCYyXtZKF9bbOrUUuXYrw5wq_moswz_GdLXvSM5FK6f8M4MI/s1600/tartuffe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglUweXuOWZHY8rbHjmmOrxeluphP4gD9IKBHcStfUV0ZDh_lU0pRHPOaqpgn-PyR0sjCRZUgg8u1RZp0GC_5mZJIMyBiNlCYyXtZKF9bbOrUUuXYrw5wq_moswz_GdLXvSM5FK6f8M4MI/s200/tartuffe.jpg" width="125" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNiCoWkPZr6-OGvKX3aK39AJO4lTDmCFtiqiFY4ZUstr_JunE9KbiZ9nkl2pV_0bn65CvkuYoeN_8uYddgBz5uiSH0MWHLhJW3ls2B3wahk8841vSljHkha6lrwxGWrnfc-dVVoRb_0iM/s1600/grave+mercy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNiCoWkPZr6-OGvKX3aK39AJO4lTDmCFtiqiFY4ZUstr_JunE9KbiZ9nkl2pV_0bn65CvkuYoeN_8uYddgBz5uiSH0MWHLhJW3ls2B3wahk8841vSljHkha6lrwxGWrnfc-dVVoRb_0iM/s200/grave+mercy.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3112850-lament">Lament</a> by Maggie Stiefvater: 2 stars</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16069030-the-winner-s-curse">The Winner's Curse</a> by Marie Rutoski: 4 stars</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/428076.Tartuffe">Tartuffe</a> by Moliere: 4 stars</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18302133-salt-storm">Salt and Storm</a> by Kendall Kulper: 3 stars</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9565548-grave-mercy?ac=1&from_search=1">Grave Mercy</a> by Robin LaFevers: 1.5 stars<br />
(I have, like, two chapters to go, but I think I can safely rate it at this point.)</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25290956-the-golden-braid">The Golden Braid</a> by Melanie Dickerson: 3 stars</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13138635-these-broken-stars">These Broken Stars</a> by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner: 4 stars</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20560137-an-ember-in-the-ashes">An Ember in the Ashes</a> by Sabaa Tahir: 5 stars</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Books Alison has read:</span></h3>
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NONE. :P January has been a ridiculously busy month for Alison. Although, by the time this is posted she may have finished the Maze Runner. STILL. You should all give her awesome book recommendations in the comments. (She likes sci-fi and fantasy). GO.</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Posts:</span></h3>
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<a href="http://thescribblingsprite.blogspot.com/2016/01/confessions-of-another-book-drunkard.html">Confessions of Another Book Drunkard</a>: In which Alison responds to my previous post and rebukes me for dog-earing pages.</div>
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<a href="http://thescribblingsprite.blogspot.com/2016/01/review-ash-and-bramble-by-sarah-prineas.html">Review: Ash and Bramble by Sarah Prineas</a>: In which I give a conflicted review about a slightly dark Cinderella retelling.</div>
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<a href="http://thescribblingsprite.blogspot.com/2016/01/abba-book-tag.html">The ABBA book tag</a> by Ally: In which there are books! Song Lyrics! And fun!</div>
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<a href="http://thescribblingsprite.blogspot.com/2016/01/top-ten-2015-releases-i-meant-to-get-to.html">Top Ten 2015 Releases I Meant to Get to but Didn't</a>: In which I list all the books I waaant this year.</div>
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<a href="http://thescribblingsprite.blogspot.com/2016/01/2016-ya-releases-im-looking-forward-to.html">2016 YA Releases I'm Looking Forward To</a> by Ally: ^^saaame!</div>
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<a href="http://thescribblingsprite.blogspot.com/2016/01/title-tangents.html">Title Tangents</a> by Ally: In which a story is made out of book titles.</div>
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<a href="http://thescribblingsprite.blogspot.com/2016/01/top-ten-books-i-recently-added-to-my-tbr.html">Top Ten Books I Recently Added to my TBR</a> by Alison: In which Alison really needs to read these books.</div>
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<a href="http://thescribblingsprite.blogspot.com/2016/01/review-of-walk-on-earth-stranger-by-rae.html">Review: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson</a>: In which I review a new favorite book.</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Posts from the blogosphere:</span></h3>
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<a href="http://paperfury.com/book-blogger-social-networking/">How to (Nicely) Attack People With Friendship on the Internet</a> by Cait @ Paper Fury</div>
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<a href="http://randommorbidinsanity.blogspot.com/2016/01/7-types-of-villain-deaths-which-is-best.html">7 Types of Villain Deaths</a> by Alyssa @ The Devil Orders Takeout</div>
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<a href="http://thessalexa.blogspot.com/2016/01/two-year-blogoversary.html">2 Year Blogoversary</a> by Alexa @ Summer Snowflakes</div>
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<a href="http://bookishserendipityco.ipage.com/chapter-1-generic-ya-dystopian-novel/">The Generic YA Dystopian Novel</a> by Jessica @ Bookish Serendipity.</div>
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<a href="http://genie-inabook.blogspot.com/2016/01/introducing-title-tangents.html">Introducing Title Tangents</a> by Eugenia @ Genie in a Book</div>
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<a href="http://opalswirls.blogspot.com/2016/01/more-writer-problems.html">More Writer Problems</a> by Opal @ Opal Swirls</div>
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<b>We are Currently...</b><br />
<br />
Reading: Unwind by Neal Shusterman<br />
Watching: Lost & Alias<br />
Listening: Phillip Phillips!<br />
~ Ally<br />
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Reading: An Ember in the Ashes<br />
Watching: Criminal Minds<br />
Listening: Hamilton (The Schuyler Sisters)<br />
~ Alison<br />
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<b>That was our month! Tell us about yours.</b></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-1198383930060769382016-01-29T12:49:00.000-06:002016-01-29T12:49:02.345-06:00The Hunger Games and My Christian Faith<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the essay topics for my English class was 'a secular book that has meant the most to your faith.' After pondering on that for quite awhile, I finally settled on The Hunger Games for its themes of sacrifice, nonconformity, and courage. I thought I'd share with you guys my essay. Let me know your own thoughts on the matter!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Hunger Games and its Impact on my Faith</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I volunteer as
tribute!” (Collins 22). These are the four words that plunge
Katniss Everdeen into a deadly game of survival and wits in the novel
</span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Hunger Games</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by Suzanne Collins. “Kill or be killed”
becomes the rule she and 23 other kids must live by in the Games.
Death is everywhere, deceit is the norm, and compassion is rare—yet,
despite the prevailing darkness in this fictional world, this book
has had a significant influence on my Christian faith.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the moment she
volunteers for the Games, sacrificing her own safety for her beloved
sister Prim, Katniss is constantly being made into something she is
not. First it is the Capitol's stylists that want to make her into
something beautiful (by </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">their</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> standards) despite the
discomfort it causes her. Still others want to put words into her
mouth </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for her own good</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">—but all Katniss wants and needs is to
look and feel like herself. This struck me as a poignant illustration
of the world and its assertive influence on me. Like Katniss, I feel
myself being molded into the person I “should” be, by the world's
definition, and not the person I really am.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In order to survive,
it seems Katniss must stoop to doing things that are against her
nature. Even before she steps foot inside the arena, a battle between
good and evil is waged within her. Will she kill others to save
herself? Her instinctive answer is </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">yes</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. She is immediately
distrustful of those who surround her, even those who show her
kindness, such as Peeta, a competitor in the Games. The conflict
within Katniss is palpable. She doesn't want to grow to like or
trust Peeta because she knows he must die. She even contemplates the
fact that she may be the one to kill him. But Peeta says something
that makes an impression on her. He said that he wanted to prove that
the Capitol did not own him, and show
that he was more than just a piece in their games (Collins 142).
Although she initially brushes them off, the effect these words have
on Katniss is profound. The Capitol will never have her completely.
Nevertheless, Katniss does kill others—young people like her—in
the games. In one of those instances there is no conflict within her,
no warring between what is right and wrong. She takes a life out of
anger and revenge, and in that moment the darkness wins out. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
I can
relate to Katniss.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The world is
constantly whispering “</span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">conform</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">” to me, just as the Capitol
shouts “</span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">KILL</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">” at Katniss. Sometimes I wonder if my walk as
a Christian is really worth it. Katniss gave in to the darkness. As
have I, in the past. But in Katniss' story there is an underlying
hope that there is more to life. There is always a choice. And there
is always a way to beat the forces of darkness and for good to
prevail.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Hunger Games</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
does not end wrapped up neatly and tied in a little bow. It couldn't.
It does, however, present us with hope, because in the end Katniss is
not a pawn in the Capitol's games. She doesn't remain untouched by
the horrors of the games, but in some ways she is better for them.
She is not just a tribute. She is the girl on fire, a symbol to the
rest of Panem which meant that they could defy the Capitol and </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">win</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just as Katniss did,
I will have to make sacrifices as a Christian. There will be times
when I will be surrounded by evil and tempted to give up. I will have
to confront the evil inside of me [“For out of the heart come evil
thoughts. . .” (</span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New International Version</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, Matt. 15:19)].
and I will struggle to stay true to myself. I will have to learn to
trust the people I need to trust, to lean on others when I can't do
everything by myself, and to help others even when it may not benefit
me. It will be difficult, but I have been given more than just a “may
the odds be ever in your favor” (Collins 19). God is on my side—and
at the end of all the darkness, the pain, and the suffering of this
world, I hope will come out changed for the better. Like the girl on
fire, I want to defy the world and win.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQ6FQrYr9sHty3nSq6gvKG88Ago964ijgtGfeQOnN_IySq8OaAmsm2k4SHMikNDFXoMZcOACgbY3w4o1E_jteJb6HJeZR5N6rBqtnc1-E8GFOC5Fsyzlt0lSVclgYl_SghfCk80dAyYw/s1600/hope+hunger+games.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQ6FQrYr9sHty3nSq6gvKG88Ago964ijgtGfeQOnN_IySq8OaAmsm2k4SHMikNDFXoMZcOACgbY3w4o1E_jteJb6HJeZR5N6rBqtnc1-E8GFOC5Fsyzlt0lSVclgYl_SghfCk80dAyYw/s400/hope+hunger+games.png" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.deviantart.com/morelikethis/369131052"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">source</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That was my essay, but there were a few things I wish I had expanded on. I'm not saying that the parallels I've found to a Christian's walk are clear or intentional. A lot of things were different for Katniss. The lines between good and evil were a lot more blurred. </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Was</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> it wrong to kill in that arena? It haunted Katniss, yes, but then it </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">was </span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a game of survival. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still, I did describe Katniss's committing that murder as giving in to the darkness. But aren't we faced with difficult choices in the world as well? Even though it's hard to say what was the right or wrong thing to do, when Katniss performed that act she was doing exactly what the Capitol wished her to do. I think a lot of us can relate to being faced with difficult choices. We've all failed at some points, but the best thing we can do is to seek forgiveness, seek strength, and just keep going.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wish I could expand even further, but I have so many thoughts on this topic! I'd love to hear yours. Is there a secular book that has meant a lot to your faith?</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-6511713468126960262016-01-26T21:06:00.000-06:002016-01-26T21:06:01.695-06:00Top Ten Fictional Characters in YA Novels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/">The Broke and the Bookish</a>.</div>
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<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Top Ten Fictional Characters in YA Books</u></span></h3>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Thorne & Cress from <i>The Lunar Chronicles</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Yes</i>, I'm counting them as one! Thorne was hilarious, Cress was adorable and together they were super cute and did heroic things.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">"Cress, do me a favor. Make sure I don't shoot anyone we like."</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Anne Shirley from <i>Anne of Green Gables </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Anne will always be number one for her imagination, wit, and flair for the dramatic.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>“My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes.” </i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Elisa and Hector from <i>The Girl of Fire and Thorns </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
I thought they were both very strong characters, and I loved their development.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>“Well, we'll have no more of such foolishness," I say harshly, to cover the wavering in my voice. "We're getting married, and that's that.” </i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Seraphina from <i>Seraphina </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
She was brave, she was passionate, she was... a bit odd. I just loved her voice!</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Copse; line-height: 23.562px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="font-size: large;">"I remember being born.</span></em></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Copse; line-height: 23.562px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="font-size: large;">In fact, I remember a time before that. There was no light, but there was music: joints creaking, blood rushing, the heart's staccato lullaby, a rich symphony of indigestion. Sound enfolded me, and I was safe."</span></em></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Harry from <i>Harry Potter</i></span><br />
<br />
The Boy Who Lived! Despite his attitude in the fifth book, I finished the series with so much love for Harry. After tagging along with him in his adventures through SEVEN books (and I've read them several times) I've grown to love his character. And that cheek!<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>“Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?"</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>"Yes," said Harry stiffly.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>"Yes, sir."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>"There's no need to call me "sir" Professor."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>The words had escaped him before he knew what he was saying.” </i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Hermione from <i>Harry Potter</i></span><br />
<br />
Brave and insanely smart. I've always loved that she was a little bit bossy too. And I sympathized with her when she had to deal with Harry and Ron when they were in their moods. Actually, Harry AND Hermione had to deal with that, come to think of it...<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>“Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have.” </i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Tiger Lily from <i>Tiger Lily </i></span><br />
<br />
Oh, Tiger Lily. She was just so strong and stoic. She finally opened her heart up, only to have it broken. I just <i>felt</i> for her.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>“To love someone was not what she had expected. It was like falling from somewhere high up and breaking in half, and only one person having the secret to the puzzle of putting her back together.” </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Puck Connolly and Sean Kendrick from <i>The Scorpio Races </i></span><br />
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They were just so deep and complex and I loved them!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>“I say, 'I will not be your weakness, Sean Kendrick.'</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>Now he looks at me. He says, very softly, 'It's late for that, Puck.” </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Marak from <i>The Hollow Kingdom</i></span><br />
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Marak cracks me up. Even if he is one of the ugly goblin kings who steals humans to take as brides. <i>Loved</i> him. He gets two quotes.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>“Forks are absurd, he scoffed. They insult your food. They make it think you're killing it twice.” </i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>“Don't fret. We'll just have to find something else you're good at besides killing people.” </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Razo from <i>The Books of Bayern</i></span><br />
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Razo was so sweet and funny. I was so glad when he had his chance to be heroic!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>“Razo hopped back up and adopted a posture that said he was completely unruffled, never had been, and in fact was ready to do something manly like lift boulders or swallow live worms.”</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Ella of Frell from <i>Ella Enchanted</i></span><br />
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Who couldn't love spunky Ella?<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>“It is helpful to know the proper way to behave, so one can decide whether or not to be proper.” </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Howl from <i>Howl's Moving Castle </i></span><br />
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So, this may be closer to MG or children's fiction, but I'm listing him anyway. Howl is so funny, and his oddity quickly endeared him to me.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 21px;"><i>“Yes, you are nosy. You're a dreadfully nosy, horribly bossy, appallingly clean old woman. Control yourself. You're victimizing us all.” </i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 21px;">Tarver and Lilac from <i>These Broken Stars </i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">This was a very recent read for me, but I very quickly fell in love with these characters.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>“Where will I sit?” </i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Sit? Why, on this comfortable chaise longue I’ve carried here for you in my pocket, Your Highness, so glad you asked. </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><b><strike>Shoot, I did 13 again.</strike> Today was a freebie, and the characters are generally my favorite aspect of a novel. What are some of your favorite fictional characters? And feel free to leave a link to your own TTT below!</b></span><br />
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TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-50133780694658789002016-01-22T12:01:00.000-06:002016-01-22T12:01:00.146-06:00Review of Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17564519-walk-on-earth-a-stranger">Walk on Earth a Stranger</a> (The Gold Seer Trilogy #1) by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4074051.Rae_Carson">Rae Carson</a><br />
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My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1248803089">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
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Genres: YA; Historical Fiction<br />
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<em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">"Gold is in my blood, in my breath, even in the flecks in my eyes.</em><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">She also has a secret.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey."</span><br />
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When I first found out this was going to be released my reaction was akin to that of a child getting her favorite toy back after a long and dreadful period of time-out. Because the period between Carson's releases is, in essence, <b>a literary time-out</b>. How can I enjoy life to its fullest in this time?<br />
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I can however, share my <strike>obsession</strike> love of her books, because I am a generous bookworm and believe that no one should be so sadly deprived.</div>
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<i>Walk on Earth a Stranger</i> is different from <i>A Girl of Fire and Thorns</i> in that, except for Lee's special abilities, it is less of a fantasy and almost wholly Historical Fiction. Not having read much Historical Fiction in the YA genre, I was really interested in how Carson would execute this story. I wasn't surprised to find myself completely swept up in Lee's journey.</div>
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The trials she faces, the fears she had of being labeled a witch, and her struggle just to survive--these all endeared her to me and had me rooting for her throughout the entire novel. </div>
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This is mostly a character-driven novel, but there are several conflicts they had to face. I loved the complexity of the characters, and seeing the way they interacted with each other. There was a lot of tension, a lot of compassion, and a lot of strife between them, which was so fascinating to see.</div>
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The romance was very light, and plot wasn't romance-driven at <i>all</i>. There was still romance (or at least, a promise of romance), but there was more of a focus on friendship, which is refreshing to see!</div>
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One thing I would have liked to see more of is the use of Lee's gift. I was looking forward to the magical aspects of the story, so I was just a bit let down when that didn't come into play as much as I'd hoped.</div>
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Despite that, I loved this book in its entirety! Absolutely recommend it to anyone who loves Historical Fiction or has enjoyed Rae Carson's <i>A Girl of Fire and Thorns</i> series.</div>
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Content: I can't think of anything except mild violence? This one is definitely clean!</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/36978618-ally-the-scribbling-sprite">View all my reviews</a> / <a href="http://www.raecarson.com/">Author site</a> / <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Earth-Stranger-Gold-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00RLR9TSE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452095794&sr=1-1&keywords=walk+on+earth+a+stranger">Amazon</a></div>
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<b>Why are you still here? Go read one of Rae Carson's books! Or leave a comment on what you thought of </b><i><b>Walk on Earth a Stranger</b></i><b> below. :)</b></div>
TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-42802797244529135482016-01-19T07:00:00.000-06:002016-01-19T07:00:16.774-06:00Top Ten books I recently added to my TBR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Top Ten Tuesday was created by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/">The Broke and the Bookish</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Top Ten books I recently added to my TBR.</u></span></h3>
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This week's Top Ten Tuesday are the ten books most recently added to my to read list. A lot of these shouldn't be on here. But I am running behind the bandwagon. </div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large;">The Maze Runner</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1)" height="400" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375596592l/6186357.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="263" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6186357-the-maze-runner" style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">source</a></td></tr>
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I'm not sure if this completely counts, because I got it from the library the other day, but I'm gonna put it up here anyway.</div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large;">Uglies</span></div>
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I know a few people that have read this and the idea of it intrigued me, so I recently put it on the TBR shelf.</div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large;">Twelve years a slave</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18478222-twelve-years-a-slave?ac=1&from_search=1" style="font-size: x-small;">source</a></td></tr>
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I discovered that my family actually owns a copy and that I want to read it at some point in my teenage years.</div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large;">Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2)</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13206760-scarlet?ac=1&from_search=1" style="font-size: x-small;">source</a></td></tr>
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Cinder was the first book review I did, and I loved the book, but the library never had Scarlet when I was there and at the time I didn't have any money so I kept forgetting to get it. It has recently been re-added to my TBR shelf.</div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large;">Eyes wide open (The Outlaw Chronicles #1)</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17305439-eyes-wide-open?from_search=true&search_version=service" style="font-size: x-small;">source</a></td></tr>
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I tried a Ted Dekker book before, and I just couldn't figure out how to read mystery, I have never been into mystery before(outside of Nancy Drew). But I'm gonna give this one a chance, mostly because from what I've read of Ted Dekker, He's a really great writer.</div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large;">Sing (The Homeward Trilogy #2)</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6973799-sing?ac=1&from_search=1" style="font-size: x-small;">source</a></td></tr>
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I read the first book in this trilogy a while back, and from what I remember it was pretty good. I saw the series at the library and I remembered the first one, so I thought I'd add this one to my TBR shelf.</div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large;">The Hunger Games</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)" height="400" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1447303603l/2767052.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="268" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2767052-the-hunger-games" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">source</span></a></td></tr>
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I have actually read this whole trilogy already, but I recently decided that I need to read all of them again. So technically this goes on the To-Be-Re-read shelf.</div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large;">Any of the 53 Star Trek books on my bookshelf(that I haven't read yet).</span></div>
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Some friend of a friend was selling a whole bunch of stuff, and I bought 50 Star Trek books(from TOS to Voyager) for 20 dollars. It was a good day. </div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large;">Wendy Darling</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Wendy Darling: Stars" height="400" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1426781476l/25175898.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="257" /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25175898-wendy-darling?ac=1&from_search=1">source</a></span></div>
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I saw this one at the library, and read the back cover. Not only did it look good, but I generally like Colleen Oakes, and Peter Pan is one of my favorite fictional characters, I love spin offs of the original Peter Pan story.</div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large;">Anne of Green Gables</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8127.Anne_of_Green_Gables?ac=1&from_search=1" style="font-size: x-small;">source</a></td></tr>
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I don't know why I have yet to read this series, Ally keeps telling me to, and I know it's gonna be good. But I WILL read it eventually.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEindVoOfJVW1aR7QqAAzAI-2_idVo-Aw-ij88g75PzoCIs0_q5oVhs55fIsLKRvIG4_QBT8QYEuks4aXOyr3ijzf0qlEyRaWo02A8lCKhfzfpAoFFQM3IVFpQuXWq8rqFzxqjUsS5WHTME/s1600/Alison+Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEindVoOfJVW1aR7QqAAzAI-2_idVo-Aw-ij88g75PzoCIs0_q5oVhs55fIsLKRvIG4_QBT8QYEuks4aXOyr3ijzf0qlEyRaWo02A8lCKhfzfpAoFFQM3IVFpQuXWq8rqFzxqjUsS5WHTME/s200/Alison+Signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06531612428030132299noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-29688683810191450202016-01-18T07:00:00.000-06:002016-01-18T07:00:18.414-06:00Title Tangents<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2gbk29-gBYfvJOlr_ThYjDiJQ3EtXCNfGjIHd-7Ue5jWDQPkhjCK6J-QjKFCj5-9uiVyvWDDOQu48ETUDV8jhemmj94uSb5YxZCZ7LSe4-8EELjkcd3EYDMmxtficaC-NnZG28VsFQkI/s1600/title+tangents.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2gbk29-gBYfvJOlr_ThYjDiJQ3EtXCNfGjIHd-7Ue5jWDQPkhjCK6J-QjKFCj5-9uiVyvWDDOQu48ETUDV8jhemmj94uSb5YxZCZ7LSe4-8EELjkcd3EYDMmxtficaC-NnZG28VsFQkI/s640/title+tangents.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Title Tangents is hosted by <a href="http://genie-inabook.blogspot.com/2016/01/introducing-title-tangents.html">Genie in a Book</a></div>
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<u>Here are the rules, as written by Eugenia:</u></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Every two weeks there will be a list of 5-10 books whose titles you have to somehow integrate into a paragraph of ~ 200 words. This is just a rough guide, if you are a little under/over it's up to you :) (I don't think anyone is going to be sitting there counting the words on the screen, and definitely not me!)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Highlight/use a different coloured font for the titles</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">The fun thing is, it can be as whimsical or realistic, serious or downright hilarious - the situations those titles find themselves have endless possibilities. The characters, settings, and whether there's dialogue or not are entirely your choices</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Take a screenshot/type up your paragraph </li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Link back to Genie In A Book with the blog banner on your post</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">There will be an optional theme each week, such as book titles from a particular genre, author, series etc. which I'll put to a vote.</li>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><u>The Titles!</u></span></span></div>
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<b><u>My Title Tangents</u></b></div>
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They <span style="color: #674ea7;">all fall down--</span>the <span style="color: #674ea7;">pieces of sky--</span>shattering into oblivion. They call this the New <span style="color: #674ea7;">Genesis</span>, but I know what's really happening. Our world is slowly disappearing--piece by piece. And I'm <span style="color: #674ea7;">torn</span>. Do I stay with <span style="color: #674ea7;">The Protected</span>? My family? They say that blood is <span style="color: #674ea7;">thicker than water</span>, but I think I've already made up my mind. I finger the crumpled paper in my hand, playing the words over in my head. I've memorized them by heart:</div>
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Lia,</div>
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It's lonely up here, <span style="color: #674ea7;">from where I watch you</span>. I would have stayed with you, if I had my choice. But they'll always see me as the boy in <span style="color: #674ea7;">the skin of a monster</span>. You're the only person I'll miss.</div>
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And, Lia, if you ever miss me--and that might be too much to hope for--just look up. And know I'll be waiting for you.</div>
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- N.</div>
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I blink hard, fighting tears. I have to do this, not for Noah, but for myself. So<span style="color: #674ea7;"> what happens now</span>? I go.</div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">738 days</span>. In 738 days I will see my family again.</div>
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If all goes well.</div>
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<b>Thank you, Eugenia, for hosting! That was a lot of fun. Despite what looked like a lot of contemporary titles, I decided to go the dystopian route! Did you do title tangents? If you did, feel free to leave a link to your post below!</b></div>
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TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-59614684944394645662016-01-15T07:00:00.000-06:002016-01-15T07:00:01.402-06:002016 YA Releases I'm Looking Forward To<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieK9xipiUPI3hQqC8vYBYavNCjUvVfj_MGAL7635S482LEWZBZhyTK3gSfqjD4-4VUeTfgFycHmFrgPYb4BmGRxYBosartf2L4kL5UAXA1J35nKNsn7U0UHZrJsXOWnVG4I-4URh-bqUc/s1600/2016+YA+releases.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieK9xipiUPI3hQqC8vYBYavNCjUvVfj_MGAL7635S482LEWZBZhyTK3gSfqjD4-4VUeTfgFycHmFrgPYb4BmGRxYBosartf2L4kL5UAXA1J35nKNsn7U0UHZrJsXOWnVG4I-4URh-bqUc/s640/2016+YA+releases.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
18 YA Books That Release in 2016</h3>
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Yes, yes. I know what you're saying. That's a LOT of books! But since when have I ever been able to narrow things down?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_6Dnzzp1YV_MkjQF4sUyyAClsUaLHzDIr9NFoQnklCUssM3x9iyN-1zCUnQyl7ua1NJG_3SUYQ-Si28FrXJunnMWK6asWZOUUu5QDStg_QmKSHPyOdmUFJEnk1Kc4hsfrxjceqfbzww/s1600/This+savage+song.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_6Dnzzp1YV_MkjQF4sUyyAClsUaLHzDIr9NFoQnklCUssM3x9iyN-1zCUnQyl7ua1NJG_3SUYQ-Si28FrXJunnMWK6asWZOUUu5QDStg_QmKSHPyOdmUFJEnk1Kc4hsfrxjceqfbzww/s320/This+savage+song.jpg" title="" width="212" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXFKV1G7uEnCpIMOZHlD1ng9TJhm8ixmtB3FUr7Ii7Lql2yMOxow9ziWF8Q81zyLAszf96L_cTJv1IutDVzQCFLaaHe0lDISoQQwoHaUq799TanTsPH22sRJLJsAJgy8fNHSKnw1mPtI/s1600/when+we+collided.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="When We Collided by Emery Lord" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXFKV1G7uEnCpIMOZHlD1ng9TJhm8ixmtB3FUr7Ii7Lql2yMOxow9ziWF8Q81zyLAszf96L_cTJv1IutDVzQCFLaaHe0lDISoQQwoHaUq799TanTsPH22sRJLJsAJgy8fNHSKnw1mPtI/s320/when+we+collided.jpg" title="" width="208" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXITjqrw1GM7LSRI5OCOhzSc78olOuOJD689R55pU_fyc3dWghnTndwnGWKGzTgW4c4aHKjBvP09Vr8EqfHWRkp2SK_rd6EFTTqlky6hGAnwpFMktc4zDTdRp09fMGsUc2w669UcOa-A/s1600/Truthwitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Truthwitch by Susan Dennard" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXITjqrw1GM7LSRI5OCOhzSc78olOuOJD689R55pU_fyc3dWghnTndwnGWKGzTgW4c4aHKjBvP09Vr8EqfHWRkp2SK_rd6EFTTqlky6hGAnwpFMktc4zDTdRp09fMGsUc2w669UcOa-A/s320/Truthwitch.jpg" title="" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23299512-this-savage-song">This Savage Song</a> by Victoria Schwab. Okay, so no, I haven't read anything Schwab has published, but ALL of her books sound so good, and if A Darker Shade of Magic is as good as everyone says it is, I <i>will</i> be reading this one! I mean, sci-fi/fantasy that involves battling monsters? Yes, please.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25663637-when-we-collided">When We Collided</a> by Emery Lord. Because I don't read a lot of contemporaries, and this one is supposed to be deep and beautiful and lovely. *sigh*<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21414439-truthwitch">Truthwitch</a> by Susan Dennard. Why is this on my to-read list, you ask? <b>Because it's supposed to embody all that is EPIC.</b> Or so I've heard. And it's already been published! *squeals*<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPvPKmwHekKs_NS1iJ3cB-HFsKG-aKn0AYL4tzB3xaXWJ0HNZVJOE1cpSEzUWNQUbsmhxbKbAF_p3twGBAeTCRt5UJM59Adh0zFVHBi0PgBoiUtxlVNEs_L8LWdXmsnFAlb1eJ4k7gRQw/s1600/three+wishes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPvPKmwHekKs_NS1iJ3cB-HFsKG-aKn0AYL4tzB3xaXWJ0HNZVJOE1cpSEzUWNQUbsmhxbKbAF_p3twGBAeTCRt5UJM59Adh0zFVHBi0PgBoiUtxlVNEs_L8LWdXmsnFAlb1eJ4k7gRQw/s320/three+wishes.jpg" width="210" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3DWqYcNrQevdjfPzs2nwjLgYXeXZaZ1AA9fYXIqFxOQ9VFjp1spIhbRuxvI6vhW-Vi3yQkndcD3owMlikJSRH2wnu0wNSMX6qp5jzsA1izlAzr9qYJN4vF5VpMcyNk4T_JLJW00M4vk/s1600/stars+above.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3DWqYcNrQevdjfPzs2nwjLgYXeXZaZ1AA9fYXIqFxOQ9VFjp1spIhbRuxvI6vhW-Vi3yQkndcD3owMlikJSRH2wnu0wNSMX6qp5jzsA1izlAzr9qYJN4vF5VpMcyNk4T_JLJW00M4vk/s320/stars+above.jpg" width="212" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8BLRpvxTBdyDP_aAw1IaV8s_lOZ5xKLfL3TzGjjBYTY4vLNuJ-TIlVrrkhgZpysPqQsD7hSEJIBJMXxZfdShVihFsZWxugACDZetEt8L1TEj9mY-D9FgQjz6fJy4_h9xhLr1CNG1pEg/s1600/the+rose+and+the+dagger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8BLRpvxTBdyDP_aAw1IaV8s_lOZ5xKLfL3TzGjjBYTY4vLNuJ-TIlVrrkhgZpysPqQsD7hSEJIBJMXxZfdShVihFsZWxugACDZetEt8L1TEj9mY-D9FgQjz6fJy4_h9xhLr1CNG1pEg/s320/the+rose+and+the+dagger.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27970435-three-wishes">Three Wishes</a> by Lisa T. Bergren. *stifles screams* This series branches off the River of Time series and my heart almost can't take it. Also, time traveling. Need I say more?<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25782255-stars-above">Stars Above</a> by Marissa Meyer. I am obsessed with the Lunar Chronicles. Gimme those stories!<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23308084-the-rose-and-the-dagger">The Rose and the Dagger</a> by Renee Ahdieh. The Wrath and the Dawn was lovely.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcr_ENsjn1ta2r79-Fh7HyGL59AoQfTZ7GLRHtca79_Ys86AjK5N9NRWaSnqwS2zmPqCdRBkTcDZ25K-cgAu0wA2uMQ5dpk2_wOJ1sI4yrvbntM5BdxosaBepVY8LSeiVUQZ8yUtQgr7Y/s1600/beyond+the+red.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcr_ENsjn1ta2r79-Fh7HyGL59AoQfTZ7GLRHtca79_Ys86AjK5N9NRWaSnqwS2zmPqCdRBkTcDZ25K-cgAu0wA2uMQ5dpk2_wOJ1sI4yrvbntM5BdxosaBepVY8LSeiVUQZ8yUtQgr7Y/s320/beyond+the+red.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_g85H8UhuSzVPQlmCWsiZiiLTD0QYe4EEcOicFFQzIChZ_tqsB6pIQB9iu9KcxTbB5LCd0Ji8a8uG_NIF4IzwyUvPbzc_Xy8xj3dIdEN-5uj5THWkZWhZV7CoQD78HctIsJWnkON_6mc/s1600/These+Vicious+Masks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_g85H8UhuSzVPQlmCWsiZiiLTD0QYe4EEcOicFFQzIChZ_tqsB6pIQB9iu9KcxTbB5LCd0Ji8a8uG_NIF4IzwyUvPbzc_Xy8xj3dIdEN-5uj5THWkZWhZV7CoQD78HctIsJWnkON_6mc/s320/These+Vicious+Masks.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpgbfDaYGLsBb6NpyikXzupnZuA3BUSoV4NxECFkOVVYgoHJt84oQe99pqPp-8sh7Rv-t6BD5hWkywh5GctWpe79dZcrYOR2m4YHL9VPQJ6p1_yLndLmyr_3NlRCU7bxIjzJz3BOW8ZA/s1600/The+Crown%2527s+Game.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpgbfDaYGLsBb6NpyikXzupnZuA3BUSoV4NxECFkOVVYgoHJt84oQe99pqPp-8sh7Rv-t6BD5hWkywh5GctWpe79dZcrYOR2m4YHL9VPQJ6p1_yLndLmyr_3NlRCU7bxIjzJz3BOW8ZA/s320/The+Crown%2527s+Game.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23346218-beyond-the-red">Beyond the Red</a> by Ava Jae. ALIENS. I don't read enough books with ALIENS.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26090991-these-vicious-masks">These Vicious Masks</a> by Tarun Shanker. I'm sorry, but Historical Fantasy?? Jane Austen meets X-Men?? That gets PRIORITY.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26156203-the-crown-s-game">The Crown's Game</a> by Evelyn Skye. Because 1. Russian culture and 2. MAGIC.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpTPKU0kSTX1SEO-ZOzL2FY7Uh2isSuC8gwd8W8TrBFz9925-1vtDFdhH0poYPXkhc63ETn2ICzs0DX5vrJHZ5hmONRKLeJdAuFV51he4XFq4ou1kJ3Yg7oyvtd5g-2hZmhs7w6Y3rkZo/s1600/i+love+magic.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpTPKU0kSTX1SEO-ZOzL2FY7Uh2isSuC8gwd8W8TrBFz9925-1vtDFdhH0poYPXkhc63ETn2ICzs0DX5vrJHZ5hmONRKLeJdAuFV51he4XFq4ou1kJ3Yg7oyvtd5g-2hZmhs7w6Y3rkZo/s640/i+love+magic.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/search/proffesor-mcgonagall">source</a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNbTISHMtozHig95xX5q6iqdMEHhPfh-PM-ITcPNyFxQ4YDdaJBvt82jJHhwq5bElfO011Sq_vBGIPM6RUdQxf_SKDf65hxyqvkV2qD11mAg4ueRp5k6zWKzlzXbDKVPe8EX88vCdi3Q/s1600/rebel+of+the+sands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNbTISHMtozHig95xX5q6iqdMEHhPfh-PM-ITcPNyFxQ4YDdaJBvt82jJHhwq5bElfO011Sq_vBGIPM6RUdQxf_SKDf65hxyqvkV2qD11mAg4ueRp5k6zWKzlzXbDKVPe8EX88vCdi3Q/s320/rebel+of+the+sands.jpg" width="211" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD44iA6sqBa_c3RZMCpnN5OFVo-uzLv5cCwmr6XGV4fl0APKOsxZU7swAKQGoBW70kiQgHxaIuKxWU8kLIjRdxY_gKmUMsDpLuh5ZMmA4T-I6TamR_Mo6z5oKjeVP02Ogn-FytCMAHYw4/s1600/the+girl+from+everywhere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD44iA6sqBa_c3RZMCpnN5OFVo-uzLv5cCwmr6XGV4fl0APKOsxZU7swAKQGoBW70kiQgHxaIuKxWU8kLIjRdxY_gKmUMsDpLuh5ZMmA4T-I6TamR_Mo6z5oKjeVP02Ogn-FytCMAHYw4/s320/the+girl+from+everywhere.jpg" width="211" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7nwG4ttA3xVhF9D0vGWTcd8FbZepxi_qY0-kiXK1IgpqgXs9-sJ4sqUPU2-Vq4JXRdtr44rpApat4PjG93fJkNPyNa1VCsnXbzhi7yfdVDMq2hMWL-9PBaVC5w69Z0t1wrb2kY9Pkuf8/s1600/ever+the+hunted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7nwG4ttA3xVhF9D0vGWTcd8FbZepxi_qY0-kiXK1IgpqgXs9-sJ4sqUPU2-Vq4JXRdtr44rpApat4PjG93fJkNPyNa1VCsnXbzhi7yfdVDMq2hMWL-9PBaVC5w69Z0t1wrb2kY9Pkuf8/s320/ever+the+hunted.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24934065-rebel-of-the-sands">Rebel of the Sands</a> by Alwyn Hamilton. Mythical beast. Twu wuv. Oh yeah, and <i>more magic</i>!<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21979832-the-girl-from-everywhere">The Girl from Everywhere</a> by Heidi Heilig. Sci-fi. Fantasy. A time traveling ship!<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28114396-ever-the-hunted">Ever the Hunted</a> by Erin Summerill. A girl who tracks criminals. A dangerous quest. And <i>murder</i>. *gasp*<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybvWe8uc0qxJspQk05Az5kqEGBa-fzm2yFiWAQl9gEfx-E6dQQlcQNetN0xLS6TlztUaclUU21dWrEJzMmRRQuq-CQCprzGCZbdibbMHmgZD9WK9HTjoBS71WO204cTBW2PjErWhyOGo/s1600/heartless+by+meyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybvWe8uc0qxJspQk05Az5kqEGBa-fzm2yFiWAQl9gEfx-E6dQQlcQNetN0xLS6TlztUaclUU21dWrEJzMmRRQuq-CQCprzGCZbdibbMHmgZD9WK9HTjoBS71WO204cTBW2PjErWhyOGo/s320/heartless+by+meyer.jpg" width="214" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghGIBiR1pQrd5uqr0xwSFH6W9z0-lDz1RKB6atjVvY2Z0BvbHiSqEqB2MwcVK0u_htDYyUVQxWJSte8E_R31BLE8u2jWlcLiCvN3J9AQ61ef2EaG36Y5alKDIARO-DnvrtBpE1D-kksl0/s1600/the+crown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghGIBiR1pQrd5uqr0xwSFH6W9z0-lDz1RKB6atjVvY2Z0BvbHiSqEqB2MwcVK0u_htDYyUVQxWJSte8E_R31BLE8u2jWlcLiCvN3J9AQ61ef2EaG36Y5alKDIARO-DnvrtBpE1D-kksl0/s320/the+crown.jpg" width="211" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAyJibvR9ominrVs0AIxQ_HNzCyi9Wd-IjmUCrqYtpFek66gIDP7zdUuHEPclPTzIf4mvIDsvvtb8RGsyPFFH2i3tFyLsXySBYbsfmDMN4rn-mVVqbKSxAUEpTJyflr7X5QvdmNwcr_k/s1600/the+mirror+king.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAyJibvR9ominrVs0AIxQ_HNzCyi9Wd-IjmUCrqYtpFek66gIDP7zdUuHEPclPTzIf4mvIDsvvtb8RGsyPFFH2i3tFyLsXySBYbsfmDMN4rn-mVVqbKSxAUEpTJyflr7X5QvdmNwcr_k/s320/the+mirror+king.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18584855-heartless">Heartless</a> by Marissa Meyer. It doesn't have a cover yet, but obviously I couldn't leave this one out because 1) It's about the Queen of Hearts and 2) <b>Marissa Meyer, </b>the queen of all authordom! <span style="font-size: x-small;">Yes, that is a word...</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27829330-the-crown">The Crown</a> by Kiera Cass. *grips heart* *staggers around* *faints* Yeah, I just want that dress. AND TO READ THIS BOOK!<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26000259-the-mirror-king">The Mirror King</a> by Jodi Meadows. After the perfection that was The Orphan Queen? I think SO.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25733272-blackhearts">Blackhearts</a> by Nicole Castroman. Let's see...<i>more</i> Historical Fantasy!!! (I LOVE this trend!) <i>And</i> Blackbeard. That's a no-brainer, people.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25733273-assassin-s-heart">Assassin's Heart</a> by Sarah Ahiers. It's like Romeo and Juliet. With Assassins.<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25891587-the-beautiful-pretender"><br /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25891587-the-beautiful-pretender">The Beautiful Pretender</a> by Melanie Dickerson. She writes sweet, clean fairy tale retellings, and I always get caught up in them!<br />
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<b>That's what I'm looking forward to in 2016! Are you excited for any of these titles? What are you looking forward to in 2016? Aaand, what's your favorite book cover from the above?</b></div>
<br />TheScribblingSpritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14594958277392976297noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873982736592050445.post-39706742333802994172016-01-12T07:00:00.000-06:002016-01-12T07:00:06.066-06:00Top Ten 2015 releases I Meant to Get to but Didn't<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjm6UY5lZV6AaZAaOIaDQ_VGICqAYcbOTtgwvfjSgGiPn0VBYD7YdokiVzUzSPZN_F35wMNic_ChG3ShQR0Jj2Nz0dql5xMRcI3gFUWlp8IxgOoCS_O5edEOZVTDsixJ8xhxqg4uyb8A/s1600/toptentuesday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjm6UY5lZV6AaZAaOIaDQ_VGICqAYcbOTtgwvfjSgGiPn0VBYD7YdokiVzUzSPZN_F35wMNic_ChG3ShQR0Jj2Nz0dql5xMRcI3gFUWlp8IxgOoCS_O5edEOZVTDsixJ8xhxqg4uyb8A/s640/toptentuesday.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/">The Broke and the Bookish</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Actually, there were more like 22, but I'm sticking to ten this time. No, really!</div>
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Look at these <i>beauties</i>! I think the first three (<i>Six of Crows</i>, <i>Illuminae</i>, and <i>A Darker Shade of Magic</i>) will be my top priority in 2016. Have you read any of these? What would you recommend I read?</div>
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