An Update

Lately I've been really busy. Crazy busy, actually. That's really no excuse for updating my blog, but it's the only one I have. I mean, I'm in a Creative Writing class right now, so I'm doing a lot of writing, and I'm also in a Lit class, so I'm doing a lot of reading. But I'm not reading any fun books. And when I say "fun" I mean dystopian YA books. Ha. 

The other day I did something I've been meaning to do for a long time. I bought a journal. Oh, I know what you're thinking - this girl already has a shelf full of journals, what could she possibly do with another one? But I needed this journal. Truly. I had a specific image in mind and I found one at Borders the other day for only $3.50. Score!

So, the reason I bought this journal was because I had been looking for something to carry in my bag wherever I go to write stuff down. I mean, I love eavesdropping on conversations, and when I hear something that's especially clever or poignant, I want to write it down...except sometimes I don't have anything but a wal-mart receipt. So I wanted some small, compact, but resourceful and big enough to write even poetry/short stories in. That way, whenever a thought flits through my head, I can write it down immediately and keep track of it. Now it stays in my bag and I've already written down a poem. I'm kind of excited. I used to carry a notebook around with me, but I changed bags (that one fell apart) and this one doesn't really have room for a whole notebook. But this journal I got is perfect.

Classes, club activities, conferences, productions, and homework have all been consuming my life at this moment. That's why I haven't been blogging as diligently. I can't promise I'll have more posts soon, because I'm leaving for two different conferences in the next couple of weeks and then it's the long stretch towards finals, but I'll do my best.

My finals are DONE!

And all I shall be doing is READING! Okay, that's a slight exaggeration...I do need to get some sleep and eat sometimes as well. But seriously, if there was one thing that I highly neglected that should never be neglected, it was reading. Man, the day I was done with my last final I went to the library and maxed out my library card. It was great.

Now I have this glorious stack of books sitting next to me and I just can't help but beam with happiness. Okay, I've painted a picture of me with just a tad bit too much cheerfulness. I'm actually more subdued than that because I'm in the process of getting over a cold and I don't particularly feel like smiling at the moment, much less beam. So I guess here is a more realistic portrait. I'm laying on my bed, surrounded by piles of books, and while I'm not actually smiling, I am picking them up one by one and trying to decide which ones to read first. So now that I don't have that obnoxious thing called school in my life I have all the time in the world to get other things accomplished.

I actually have a list of things that I want to do.
1. Clean my room. This sounds petty and slightly insane, but because homework has been eating my life I've kind of let things go in my room and the messiness is starting to drive me insane.
2. Read, Read, Read. This is a no-brainer.
3. Write. I feel like I haven't written anything good at all. So I'm going to change that by keeping a journal with me at all times and jot stuff down in it...hopefully this habit will be so well-formed that by the time school starts I'll be able to keep it up.
4. Eat better. I need to work on eating a good breakfast every morning.
5. Exercise. I want to be healthy.
6. Get organized. This kind of goes along with my room, but also the files on my computer, the clothes in my closet, and the books on my floor. I want things that I don't use/don't need out of my life.

And I think that's all I can think of. But I'm off to read some more books and update Goodreads. I cannot believe that I only checked that website 5 or 6 times during the semester. I feel like I'm missed so much.

~currently obsessed with: The Tangled Soundtrack by Disney.

Horrible blogger...

I have 2 more weeks of school. Then finals. Then I'll be done. This is absolutely crazy! I have so many things and projects that I have to do! I feel like this semester has been one of the hardest and most busy semesters that I have ever had. I'm probably involved in too many social activities and clubs...but I can't imagine dropping any of them. This semester is also different in that I did not READ ONE SINGLE BOOK at ALL! Normally I'll break away and read at least a couple every month of some YA book that looks cool or something like that....but not this semester. I only read textbooks. I am SO looking forward to Christmas Break when I can read books! I haven't even hardly checked goodreads! This is just crazy.

All this to say...I'm a horrible blogger. Hopefully I'll get better in the future. I mean, at least I'm starting early right? Wwwaaayyy before New Year's resolutions.

BUT! I almost forgot! This is on a completely random note! But have you seen the movie Tangled? My oh My! I LOVED it....and I kind of don't want to say anything else because I'll set up preconceived notions in your head....you should just go see it...and I'm kind of obsessive because I bought the Soundtrack on amazon.com for $3.99! Booyah!

-This is me, being insane....listening to Mother Knows Best from Tangled.

La la la...

So I've been reading like a wild banshee. That doesn't even make sense, but I really wanted to type it. I've made several trips to the library, carting my bolsa with me to hold my 15-18 books that I always seem to come away with. I'm still desperately trying to get a summer job and so far I've applied to a lot of places...and I've heard back from a couple...and they've said no. I feel kind of pathetic, but I'm still hoping and praying that I'll find something. But in my spare time I read.

I guess the reason I'm reading so much is to make up for all those hours I devoted to writing papers and studying during the college semesters...but I've also decided that I'm going to set some goals for myself.

So here are my summer reading goals.

1. Get my to-read list on goodreads under 900 (I had originally made it under 1000, but now I'm thinking that will be too easy, so I've upped the ante.)
2. Read 100 Juvenile/Young Adult fiction books.
3. Read all the Newbery Medals (that I haven't already read, minus that one Newbery medal that our library doesn't own - drat!)

I've made brand new spankin' pages on my book reviews page for 2 and 3 on my blog and I'm working on getting them completely updated. You should totally check them out.

So those are my plans...and I'm sweepin' through them. I'm also listening to some good music on my iTunes. The Classic Crime is quickly becoming one of my favorite bands. And I get excited anytime I hear Children 18:3's newest song. I cannot wait until their new CD comes out in June.

So if my blogging updates have been kind of scattered or nonexistant, it is because I'm buried in a corner somewhere wolfin' down a book.

~Currently listenin' to:
Cover Your Eyes by Children 18:3

This is what happens...

When the sun is in the sky and all is well in the world you should not sit on a couch and decide to read a book in one sitting. You should especially avoid this if you can't even remember what the book is about, but only remember that it has been on your to-read list for ages and now you have an afternoon free. So I read a zombie apocalyptic Young Adult book in completely one sitting and didn't realize until I was done with it that the sun had set and all the blinds were up, letting the forest outside shift in the night wind.

Yeah, not the best idea. Oh, and I forgot to mention the book: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. It was good. Really good. I just couldn't tear myself away from the book and I had to tell myself to calm down and read the WHOLE paragraph before jumping to the next page to see if what was going to happen next. Man though, it wasn't really a happy book. It had some disturbing images and a lot of death, but it was sure thrilling and I sped through the entire novel like there was no tomorrow.

There's only one problem. Once I was done reading I was thinking, breathing, and seeing unconsecrated bodies leering at me all around the house. My legs were kind of shaky because I had been so tense while reading the book that I hadn't moved from my position for a couple of hours.

Needless to say, I did NOT want to be alone. The house was far too quiet and I couldn't quite distinguish between reality and fantasy. So it was a good thing my sister was home to distract me otherwise I probably would have gone crazy. It's even been hours since I read the book and Still whenever I hear an odd noise my heart kind of speeds up.

Gee whiz, I can only imagine what my dreams will be like tonight, but it was totally worth it. Haha.

~Currently listening to:
The Silver Cord by The Classic Crime

All I have been doing...

is reading.

I'm devouring books like a maniac. I just keep checking books out of the library and reading for hours every day. It's like I'm trying to make up for lost time.

Hey look, a contest.

So one thing that I really enjoy is looking at other people's book blogs. I like to see how they format their blog, what books they read, what posts they do on a weekly basis about reading. This blog is even holding a contest. But you need to enter soon - because it ends today.

I've been wondering what sorts of things I should add to my blog to make it more interesting...

My to-read list.

So, forgive the crummy picture (I took it with my webcam) but this is my to-read pile. Pretty much all of these books are ones that I won in Goodreads Giveaways and have not gotten a chance to read because I'm been fiendishly busy doing schoolwork. But now that it is summer I am going to read all of these and write reviews. I'm excited. I've also put a lot of books on hold at the library. So I'm going to intersperse these ARCs with other novels I've been meaning to read and hopefully I should be completely updated with all my ARCs and have review for all of them. That is my plan.

I'm free!!!!

Normally, I frown upon using excessive exclamation points to convey moods. But I thought I'd make an exception because I just finished my last final and I am now done with school.

I felt like it was cause for celebration and grammatical abundance.

My first two years of college: complete. I am now a junior. Summer has started. I can read so many books. I can take over the world. I can write poetry without the judgmental glances of homework. I can sleep in late. Yeah man. I'm kind of excited.

Plus, I know so many people who aren't going far away for the summer. So I can actually hang out with people. This is great.

~currently humming:
Free At Last by dcTalk

Finally!

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Anniversary!

Hey! I just realized that it is my two year anniversary for being a member of Goodreads! I've loved goodreads every since a good friend of mine recommended it to me a couple years ago. I'm actually quite obsessed with this website. I use it to keep track of every single book I read.

I've been steadily counting every book I've read since March 2008 and I've read 869 books! That's crazy! Although, I should note there are probably several hundred Children's book in that stack, but still, it's impressive.

I pretty much become a reading maniac when I'm not in school. I've only read 10 books this spring semester...that's pathetic. But on the other hand, good grades is not pathetic.

I've been seeing so many books that I want to read and I keep putting them in my to-read pile and it keeps growing larger and larger. One of my goals for this year is to get it under 1000 books...but we'll see how I manage that.

I'm excited for summer, but I have to get a job or an internship. And I should probably be looking into that sort of thing about now....hmmm.

I finished Fever Crumb and I'm working on a review. But I can tell you this.

I Loved It.

And I really want to know why the next book is not in my hot little hands. Gee whiz.

Listening to like a fiend because I'm pretty sure I'm in love with this soundtrack:
Where The Wild Things Are Motion Picture Soundtrack

Reading.

Lately I haven't read any non-textbooks. Sure, I have many a happy hour reading Jane Austen's novels for that class, but the majority of my reading is not for pleasure and fun. I am working on The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett right now. I am going to have to write a research paper on this novel as well. I am not looking forward to it because I am afraid I won't be able to delve deeper into the text and analyze it fully. *sigh* I also have several goodreads books I won that I haven't been able to read because I'm trying so hard to stay on top of schoolwork. I'm looking forward to spring break when I can hopefully manage to squeeze in a book or two. Maybe.

~Currently listening to:

Always Yours by Ruth