What Happens When I Like a Book But Then I... Don't

This happened to me three different times. The first time I read a book, I really liked it. Like 4-5 stars. But then I read it again and saw flaws with it that I didn't see before. Flaws that I couldn't look past the second time. Or I'll be having a discussion with someone and they'll bring up a point that I never thought about and I get that feeling like "oh crap, I don't think I like this book quite as much as I think I did."

I used to be very generous with my ratings. If I didn't really like a book but I like the author, it still got 4 stars. I hardly handed out 2 stars and I never gave out 1 stars. I was scared to hurt feelings. I was scared of looking mean. But now I realize that I'm entitled to my opinions and I'll rate a book two stars if I thought it was horrible. I'll rate a book three stars if I enjoyed it but wouldn't go out of my way to purchase it or read it again.

So what do I do? Do I go back and fix my ratings to my true feelings or do I leave them as is? There was a book that I wasn't too fond of but I put it as 4 stars because I liked another book by the author. As soon as I realized I didn't actually like said book, I went back and changed my rating to three stars. Then I changed it to two. It's not even that the book changed. It's just that I wanted to be honest with my opinions and I changed my view on things.

But is changing a rating to a lower star just because I notice that the way the character always starts a sentence with "yeah no but"? (this is just an example) And how much do I mark down if I notice something that I never noticed before? One star? Half a star? Does it depend on how much I notice has changed? If there is a review, should I edit the review and say that my opinion changed and I lowered the rating?

With Goodreads, it's easy to change the rating but do I go through the hassle of changing the rating on everything else that I rate things on? Do I go through and edit the review that I have written in three different places? Am I really this lazy?

So let's talk: What do you do when this happens? Has this happened to you?

September Recap

Books read this month:

Twitter review (140 characters or less):
This book was gripping, intense, and full of twists and turns. I was hooked from the first to the last page. A must read for everyone.

Read from August 30-September 1

Twitter review:
Swoon filled. My sexual tension is rising. Good plot. Extremely funny. Intense moments. Janet Evanovich does it again! (Ranger is still bae)

Read from September 1-September 5

Twitter review:
Ranger is forever my favourite male character after this book. I could not stop reading it. It's funny, intense, and sometimes really sad.

Read from September 6-September 7

Twitter review:
Dickie Orr was involved. I laughed until I cried and I was so nervous I could barely read. The more I read, the more I love Stephanie.

Read from September 7-September 13

Twitter review:
Why did it take me this long to read this book? I loved everything about it. The characters were real. The plot was intense. I couldn't get enough.

Read from September 13-September 19

Twitter review:
This book was adorable and made me feel so many different ways. I'm so glad I found this on Netgalley. Pick it up; you won't regret it.

Read from September 19-September 20

Twitter review:
I NEED a whole series devoted to an undercover cop. I didn't think it was possible to get better after In The Woods but it did. Read this!

Read from September 20-September 26

Tana French is quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me. I loved both books that I read by her and I'm already planning on reading Faithful Place in October. I have no doubt that the series gets stronger as it goes on and I'm so excited to see how it goes. I also really enjoyed reading more Stephanie Plum. I wanted to get further in the series, but I'm happy with my book choices that I made this month. I'm hoping that October brings just as many great books.

This month I:

• Turned 21! 
• Got a new phone (Galaxy s3)
• Worked a ton
• Watched my favourite baseball team win the central division
• Went to a few baseball games
• Bought tons of books
• Found a new author
• Bought new shoes
• Getting closer to figuring out what I want to do with my life

So lets talk: How did you do in September? Did you find any new authors?

How The Internet Has Changed Me As A Reader

Before I made a Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and book blog; I just read. I read old ratty paperbacks that were older than my dad. I bought all of my books used and didn't think twice about it. I just did not think about how my books looked because I thought the only important thing was reading the book and enjoying it.

I realized when I got on Tumblr that it was different. I was different. I saw post after post about how it's a cardinal sin to dog ear books. (Which I do.) I saw people cringe at books in a series being a different edition (?? I was very confused by this.) I saw posts about how hardcovers are the end all be all for book lovers because they are "prettier", I saw people say that anyone that eats while eating are sloppy, post after post was saying that what I did was a cardinal sin.

I didn't know if I was reading all wrong this whole time or if it's just because these people are on the internet and showing pictures of their books all the time. When I first got into the book community, I didn't even know that was a thing.

I've changed because now I see that hardcover copies usually are a little nicer. Neat bookshelves usually are pretty nice. Eating while reading is sometimes a struggle (Even though I still do it.) Basically, I think twice before I do things with my books. Some things will never change, though. I'll always dog ear or highlight in books. I'll probably always snack while reading. And I'll probably still use MY books as coasters.

If I can still read the words in the book, I don't care what I do with the book. That will never change. But I have definitely felt a shift in how I look at books, especially at bookstores.

Has the internet changed you as a reader as well?

When Not To Write a Review

Lately I've been finding books that I just don't want to write reviews for. There are some that I plan on writing reviews for and then when I go to sit down with my notes, I just don't, and can't, do it. So then I have to think to myself "what is making me not want to write the review?"

Sometimes, I like a book too much to where whatever I write is not going to do it justice and I don't even attempt to get my thoughts down. Sometimes I get half way through a book and I realize that it's going to be one of those books that changes my life and I just need to spend the rest of the book enjoying it instead of analyzing everything. Night Film by Marisha Pessl was one of those books for me. I read it last month and haven't even tried writing a review for it because I just enjoyed it too much. I needed to just enjoy it.

Sometimes, I hate a book so much that I couldn't possibly write a review without it sounding like a big rant. I want my reviews to be nice and well thought out, even if I didn't like the book. I want to rationally discuss what I did or didn't like about books. There are some books where I just can't do that, so I choose not to write reviews. Those books I finish just so I never have to think about them again. I don't want to think about the book and I don't want to write a review. So I don't.

Sometimes, I read a book knowing from the start that I'm not going to be writing a review. We all need these books once and a while. If every book I read needs to be analyzed, them I'm not going to enjoy reading as much. So maybe one book a month is just a laid back book that I don't analyze. I just read. It's made reviewing more fun for me and it's made reading more fun for me.

If I don't feel like writing a review for a book, I don't. I don't do it because I won't be into it and the review will reflect that. I want my reviews to be fun but not sloppy. I can't do that if I don't care about writing the review. We all need to take breaks from writing reviews sometimes.

So, how do you decide when you're not going to write a review?

Favourite Place to Read

BOOKISH DISCUSSIONS

If I had to think of the one place where I just get into the zone of reading, what do I think of? Do I think of Sunday mornings with a cup of coffee? Do I think of Friday nights when I know I have the whole weekend ahead of me to do nothing but read? Do I think of long car rides across Michigan? Or do I think of the chair in the living room?

The surprising answer is in the car. I love reading in the car. If I'm going on a long trip, I'll take a few books with me and just read in the car while listening to music. 

I don't have my license so anytime I'm in the car, I'm not driving. I am free to read as much or as little as I want. I usually read in the car no matter where I'm going, even if it's just a trip to the store in the middle of the night. 

I don't get car sick so looking down at my book does not affect me the way it affects some other people. I could sit in a car for 6 hours and read the whole time and not feel queasy once. It's a great skill and I'm glad that I have it.

I just love reading in the car. I used to live 2.5 hours away from my boyfriend so the trip would get very tiring, especially if I was running on little sleep. To keep myself awake, I would talk to him and read. Now that I am living here, I'm not going on long car rides anymore but I do still read in the car.

I am really glad that I have the ability to read in the car as much as I can. I know not everyone can. So, what is your favourite place to read?

Review: Eleanor & Park

Book: Eleanor & Park
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Format: Hardcover
Own or borrow?: Borrowed from library
Published: February 26, 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Two misfits. One extraordinary love. Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor. Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park. Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. [Via Goodreads]

The Good:

Eleanor was a strong character. She was realistic and it was easy to root for her. She was someone that I would like to know in real life. I wanted to give her a hug and tell her everything was going to be okay. She was smart and I loved the book from her perspective. 

Their relationship was fun and at times I really felt like it could really be true. Neither of them tried to purposely make the other mad. They worked together to make life easier for the other.

The ending. I think the ending was the strongest part of the book. I was so emotional at the end and I started crying and it was just a perfect way to end the book. I'm not sure how many other people like the ending, but I thought that it was more realistic than most other endings to books. I could easily see something like this happening in real life.

The book made me feel all emotions. Happy, sad, angry, confused, exhilarated, giddy, fangirly, and resentment. I may not have liked some parts of the book but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a wide range of emotions.

I loved the 80's references.

The character development.

The Bad:

There were a few parts in this book where I really cringed at how the characters were described. Park was the weak Asian kid and that's just stereotypical and I was uncomfortable about it. I also didn't like how the two black girls in the books were seen as ghetto almost. No one wanted to talk to them and they spoke differently than everyone else. 

Park was an asshole. I am still not sure how I felt about him. He made me mad more than anything else. I can't really even pinpoint exactly what he did anymore, but I just know that I wasn't too fond of his character.

I had a hard time believing their relationship (when I didn't love it.) It just seemed forced to me.

The book was just slow at times.

The Ugly:

The insta-love. Seriously, it was really weird to me how fast their relationship progressed. That's why it was hard to believe for me. No one falls in love that fast.

This should be in the good and the ugly because I liked this part of the book but it was ugly: her relationship with her step dad. Her step dad made me cringe and I hated him so much.

If you don't mind insta-love and you love a good story with great character development and realistic characters, this may be the book for you. Even though there were things that I didn't like, I'm still glad I read it and I hope Rainbow Rowell continues to write books. She's obviously very talented.

Are Endings Of Books More Important Than The Rest?

BOOKISH DISCUSSIONS

When reading a book, the ending can sometimes make or break the book. For me, it's what I remember most. I may not remember what Amy and Nick from Gone Girl were fighting about at the beginning of the book, but I sure remember the ending. Endings are the last thing we read and usually what sticks with us the most. So are they more important?

To me, an ending can take off a whole star or add a whole star if it's really thought out and ends in a great way. A few weeks about I read We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Truthfully, the whole book was going to be 2 stars for me. I wasn't that interested in it and I felt like I was lied to about it. But that ending. The ending saved the book for me. It turned out to be a 3 star book. I've also read books that I really liked and it would probably be a 4 or 5 star rating but the ending was disappointing, rushed, or not well thought out and the rating shoots down to a 3 star or 4 star.

Basically, endings are super important to me. Should they be, though? I think, personally, since I read a lot of mysteries it is okay that endings are important to me. If a book takes 300 pages to set up this awesome story about who the killer is and then just says "oh and this is who it is" then it'll ruin the whole book to me. I expect books, especially books where there is going to be a big twist in the end, to have a good ending.

I'm a little more lenient with romance and YA because I read contemporary. At the beginning of the book, we know that at the end they will be living happily ever after. For contemporary, I expect the middle to be better than the rest. I can handle a slow-ish start and a fast or slow ending with contemporary as long as the middle is spectacular.

So endings, important or just another part of the book? Share your thoughts!

I'll Always Appreciate John Green Even Though I Don't Like His Books

BOOK DISCUSSIONS

Even though I don't like John Green's books, I am still always going to be thankful for his books.

You're probably thinking, "how does that work? What do you mean?"

Let me back up a little. During all of 2012, I was not in the best mindset and I stopped reading. I hardly picked up any books. I didn't buy any books except for a Sarah Dessen box set. The only books I read that year were the Sarah Dessen books and this old book about the 1984 Detroit Tigers written by Sparky Anderson. I worked third shift and would read that book about the Tigers at work over and over and over. 

Then one day I got fired. I didn't know what to do. I was upset and stressed and just wanted to wake up and have it be a dream. But it wasn't. So, my dad tried to cheer me up by taking me to Barnes & Noble.

As I was browsing, I realized how out of touch I was with books. I had seen some I had heard about, but I wasn't on the internet a whole lot at the time and didn't follow new releases or anything like I do now. Anyway, I saw "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green. I liked the cover and I read the blurb and decided it was the perfect book for my depressed mood. I had never heard about the book so I had zero expectations going into it.

I went home and read it in four hours and then bought the rest of his books. Including his co-written books. I realized, through John Green's books, that I did still love reading. I just needed that little push. So even though I don't really like his books, (I know, I know I'm sorry!!) his books pushed me to start reading again and start buying books. I fell in love with books and reading again because of The Fault in Our Stars. So even though I would call it The Fault in Our Three Stars (that's what I rated it on Goodreads) it was still influential to me and I'll always be grateful for that book.

So tell me:

Do you have any authors/books that have helped you out of big book slumps? Do you still like that author/books?

What I Want To See From More Women Characters

BOOKISH DISCUSSIONS

Maybe it's just the books that I'm choosing, but it seems that most women that are in the books that I'm reading are SO one dimensional. They may be really passionate about one thing (that one thing usually turns into a guy by the end) and that's it. Other than Stephanie Plum who is a sports fan and loves her job, but even the hockey is on the sidelines. What I'm getting at is, most women in books are not well written in my opinion. Sure, we may like them but are they well written when we distance ourselves from them after a few months and really, really think about them?

I try to think like an author. I do. I think to myself "gee I bet it would be really hard to make someone three dimensional" but then I remember how easy it would be to describe a girl wearing a dress one day and then the next day chugging a beer at a baseball game. I remember that it's possible to write a girl that is at ballet lessons in her pink frilly tu-tu and then goes home to put on her all black outfit and does witchcraft. See how easy that was? Now imagine that character. Imagine that second character. That was be AWESOME to see in a book.

But I've never seen that. I've seen girly girls and I've seen "tom boys" but I've never seen a girl that was both. I've seen "dainty" girls and I've seen hardcore devil worshipping girls, but I've never seen a girl that did both. But you know what I see in real life? Me. A girl who owns more pairs of heels that I like to admit but also spend 20 Friday's a year in downtown Detroit at a baseball game.

I hardly see any characters that enjoy sports unless they are men. Meredith in Anna and the French Kiss played soccer and it was mentioned in the first 20 pages that she has a Cesc Fabregas poster on her wall. I was SO excited for this character because Cesc is one of my favourite soccer players and I was so excited to finally have a character that loved soccer. You know what I got after that last mention of the poster? About four sentences of how Meredith was off playing soccer. Okay yes, Meredith wasn't a main character and this was a romance that had nothing to do with Meredith, but it still annoyed me because I got one character that was sort of like me and she is pushed to the sidelines and forgotten. I was talking to someone that has read the book more than once and couldn't even remember who Meredith was.

Lindsay Boxer from the Women's Murder Club by James Patterson likes baseball but she only watches it when it's on tv and if Joe is watching it. Baseball is only ever mentioned if Joe is watching it. Sure, you could say they are mysteries books and don't need to talk about baseball, but why is it not possible for her to sit down and watch a game by herself?

People could probably make a lot of excuses as to why these things aren't mentioned, but if someone can go in detail about the food they ate for dinner then cant they take one paragraph a book to talk about a sport that the character loves? If an author doesn't want a sport to get in the way of a "girly girls" image, then say she used to like sports. It's not difficult to write that in. Background information is important.

Of course, this is just me. Maybe someone else wants more female characters to enjoy playing chess. Maybe someone else wants more female characters to stand up for abortion or for anti-abortion. Maybe someone else wants female characters that worship the devil. Everyone wants something different, so this is just my opinion. I just want more characters that are a little more like me.

So, what would you like to see in more characters? Or do you like how it is now?

Free Time Fridays [1]

Free Time Fridays is a weekly meme created and hosted by eatupmyfreetime. On Fridays we will recap how we spent our free time during the week + our plans for the weekend! ie. Did you read? If so, what books? Did you shop? Listen to any cool tunes? Binge watch any cool TV shows? Take any trips lately? I want to hear all about it!! You can either mention ALL of the ways you spent your free time that week or focus on one activity. Whatever your heart desires!

How I spent my free time this week:
I didn't actually have that much free time this week. On Tuesday I had my first day of work. I worked Wednesday and Thursday. Tonight I have a baseball game to go to. When I wasn't at work, I was usually sleeping or writing things for my blog.
I really hardly read this week and I'm really upset about it. I wanted to read about 800 pages this week but Tuesday and Wednesday I read around 50 pages total. I may start taking my book to work with me and reading on break.
In the "free time" part of my week it was pretty boring. But other than that I had a great week!

Plans for this weekend:

Friday night I am going to a baseball game. Saturday I work from 3 pm to 11 pm. Sunday I am not working. Hopefully I'll get a bunch of reading done and maybe I won't even leave the bed. I forgot how tiring working 8.5 hour shifts everyday is, but I'm really enjoying the job so far.

How did you spend your free time this week? I'd love to hear about it!

August Recap

On my WordPress, I would do a monthly favourite where I list the books I read that month and which was my favourite and why. I may mix it up a little, but I will still do my monthly post.

In August I had Bout of Books for a week, so I pushed myself to read a lot of books and more specifically, a lot of pages

Books read:

• The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
• Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
• Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
• If These Walls Could Talk by Mario Impemba
• Wicked Sexy by Anne Marsh
• Night Film by Marisha Pessl
• We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
• The Wicked Merman by Kelly Aplle
• The Wicked Naga by Kelly Apple
• The Wicked Minotaur by Kelly Apple
• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
• The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle
• Since You've Been Gone by Anouska Knight

Altogether, I read 4923 pages

I would have to say that this month there is a tie for favourites. Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door win the honours this month. Both books are so adorable and fresh. They are different than most of what I've read of YA contemporary because the characters felt so real. My reviews for both of these books will be posted later this week so watch for both of those!

Night Film was also a great book that will stick with me for months. That probably would have been my favourite if Anna and Lola weren't read this month. It was creepy and exhilarating. Definitely a re-read.

This month I:

-This month I participated in Bout of Books. I found tons of new blogs and that is when I decided to switch my blog over to Blogger. I realized what I was missing out on when I wasn't using a self hosted WordPress. 

-I got a new job! I put in an application and within a week I was taking my drug test. I start this week and I couldn't be more excited.

-I made a new blog (obviously!) I'm enjoying myself so far and I've found the "honeymoon" phase of blogging has returned to me. I have so many plans for what I want to do with this blog and I've glad that I have ambition to do it.

-I started tracking how many pages I read a month/day/week/year all of it. For me, personally, it seems like a better indicator than books read. I mentioned a few days ago that I randomly will pick up new books to read them. When I do this, if I don't finish the book then I can't put it down for "read" on read-a-thons or monthly recaps like this. So I have now decided to make my goals pages related, which I mentioned in my September TBR yesterday

So, let's talk: How did you do in August? Bookish or non-bookish! What are your plans for September?

The Sunday Post: New Blog, New Books, New Beth

This week:
This week was a little different for me. A few days ago I switched over from WordPress to Blogger. I spent a lot more time trying to figure out WordPress than it took me to actually make posts, so I decided to switch over. I'm loving Blogger so far and I think I'm here to stay, at least until I can get a domain and go explore the Plugins at WP. I also put in an application for a job at an assisted living facility. About three days after that I got a call asking for an interview. Less than two hours after the job interview I got a call saying I had the job. I start this Tuesday! So, life seems totally different now than it did last Sunday. It's a good one, though and I'm really happy.

This week on my blog:

Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday [1]

Wednesday: My Reading Quirks

Thursday: Review: Fangirl

Friday: Review: The Stranger Beside Me

Saturday: My Love For Libraries

What you'll see this coming week:

Monday: September TBR

Tuesday: August Recap

Wednesday:Wishlist Wednesday

Thursday: Review: Anna and the French Kiss

Friday: Free Time Fridays

Saturday: Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door
Sunday: The Sunday Post

Books read this week:

The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle (finished)

Since You've Been Gone by Anouska Knight (finished)

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Books received this week:

I got four books from the library-

• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
• In The Woods by Tana French
• A Tap on the Window by Linwood Barclay

I got Landline by Rainbow Rowell from a giveaway I won.

Boyfriend bought me Rumble by Ellen Hopkins for an early birthday present

Goals for this week:

I'd like to finish a few of the library books that I got this week.
Read at least one Stephanie Plum book (this will be talked about in September TBR) 

I'd like to get a few reviews written that I've been slacking on.

I'd like to read at least 800 pages this week.

Have fun at work and don't get lost.

Have a good week everyone! Happy reading :D

My Love For Libraries

BOOKISH DISCUSSIONS

If you follow me on Tumblr, then you probably know how much I use the library. I work there every Thursday and I come home with at least one book every week. That may not seem like a lot, but when I'm trying to read my own books, it seems like a lot. Ask my boyfriend; he is progressively rolling his eyes every time I bring a new book home from the library. I currently only have nine books on hold at the library. Notice the "only" there. I had about 15 at one point and will probably be adding more soon.

But why do I love libraries so much? Why do I choose library books over my own most of the time?

1. It gives me ambition to read the book. I know that sounds really weird. It probably doesn't really make sense. But when I get a book from the library, knowing that I only have three weeks to read it, I get excited to read it and I want to read it right away. If I have to read a book in a certain amount of time then I will read it a lot quicker than when I know I can set it down whenever I want. I have a few of my own books that I've been trying to read for weeks now but always seem to just set it down because I know that I can.

2. It gives me incentive to treat books better. Confession: I'm not very nice to my own books. I dog-ear. I eat right over them. I bend back the front cover. If I've had a book for over a year and I've read it more than once, it probably looks very well loved. I've been known to highlight in very few books. But still, highlight! I toss books around. I find them under beds. I have used books as coasters. I am not good at taking care of my own books. Using library books reminds me that I shouldn't do some of these things with books, and I've gotten better at not doing some of these.

3. Even when I don't have money for books, I can still read new books. I have quite a few books. Not nearly as many as other people I've seen, but that's okay. I don't have a lot of money to spend on books right now. But I do have a well used library card and it allows me to get tons of books FOR FREE. There are so many books at my library that I would like to read but may only read once and would rather spend the money I have on books that I'll read more than once.

4. I have stepped out of my comfort zone. Before my senior year of high school, I was all about YA. That's all I looked at and all I read. But then my senior year, the school librarian shoved a mystery book in my hands and said "try this" and I was hooked. For years, mystery was my main focus. I occasionally read something else, but mystery was what I wanted to read the most. I used the school library to get me more mystery books. The librarian gave me recommendations and I sucked myself in to the world of mystery. Earlier this year, I moved to a different city that has a HUGE library (the one I work at now) and there are so many books to choose from it's almost stressful at times. The YA section is better than any section of any library I've been at. Thanks to Tumblr, I went back to YA. I didn't give up on mystery, but I stepped out of the comfort zone and read more YA, non-fiction, and chick lit/romance. Instead of going to a bookstore and spending $20 on a book I MIGHT like, I go to the library and pick up a book I might like and if I do, then that's awesome! I stepped out of my comfort zone and found a book I like! If I didn't like it, then I'm glad I didn't spend money on it! It's a win/win for me.

5. It's just a nice place to hang out. Don't get me wrong, I love laying in bed at the end of the day and reading a few pages. I love sitting in my chair and reading for a few hours a day, but my favourite place to read is at the library. It's quiet and everywhere I look is books. I can take my stack of books and sit in a big comfy chair upstairs and just read for a couple hours. No one judges me, no one pays attention to me, and I can just focus on reading.

What about you? Do you spend hours a week at your local library? What are your reasons for why you love the library?

Review: The Stranger Beside Me

Book: The Stranger Beside Me | Author: Ann Rule | Started: July 31, 2014 | Finished: August 3, 2014 |Format: Large print hardcover | Own or borrow?: Borrow from library
Synopsis: How could someone so handsome, charming, and brilliant in fact be such a monster. And when you work side by side with that person, how could you not know. That's how Ann Rule felt when she began to put together the true picture of her former co-worker and friend. Ted Bundy was on the verge of a dazzling career, and at the same time was one of America's most wanted. On January 24, 1989, he was executed for the murders of three young women, having confessed to taking the lives of at least thirty-five more. This is the story of one of the most fascinating killers in American history -- of his magnetic power, his bleak compulsion, his double life, his string of vulnerable victims. It is also the story of Ann Rule, and putting together the pieces of the biggest story of her life. Twenty years after it was first published, The Stranger Beside Me remains a gripping, explosive, true-crime classic

Everyone has heard of Ted Bundy. You've probably been living under a rock if you haven't at least heard his name. But this book goes into depth about who Ted Bundy really was. It was creepy and scary and heartbreaking. 

This book was so different than anything else I've ever read about Ted Bundy. This book was more real. Sure, his Wikipedia page tells me that he was a politician-to-be, but this book taught me so much more than that.

This book is rated four stars when it should be really a three. Four stars for me mean that I would recommend it to a lot of people. Three stars means I would recommend it to people that asked for the specific genre. I would not recommend a book like this to anyone that did not want to read a book like this. There are many people that could not and would not read a book like this. But I enjoyed it so much that I bumped it up a star.

So what did I like about it? First, it humanizes the victims. Go to Bundy's Wikipedia page and what do you learn about his victims? Their names, ages, and what state they were killed in. But this book tells us what they were like before they were killed. Ted Bundy became the famous person out of the situation and this book brought to light and made the readers never forget that these women were real people.

I also liked that it was written by someone that knew Ted personally. She started writing the book before she knew it was Ted and she continued to write the book after she found out it was him. We got to see a side of Ted that no one else could have written about- because she was actually there. In a way, she humanized Ted as well.

The only reason it's not 5 stars is because the end was kind of slow at times. It was more about her life post-Bundy. And that's totally fine. I expected she would bring herself into the story at least a little bit considering she knew him personally and was allowed to write whatever she wanted. But that doesn't mean I was zipping through it like I was the rest of the book.

Ted Bundy was a scary guy. Everyone knows that. This book made me paranoid. I was scared to be on the downstairs floor at night if everyone else was upstairs. And I continuously checked under the car and in the back seat if I were leaving the house late at night. I was jumpy and nearly had a panic attack when I saw a deer in the backyard at three in the morning. Do not read this book if you easily get scared.

It was such a good book, but by the end I was getting so paranoid that I read 600 pages in two days just so I could finish it. I would definitely recommend it to people that are interested in Bundy or true crime. Extremely well written about an extremely interesting subject. Just scary. 

Review: Fangirl

(Previously posted on my old book blog. I'm slowly switching over most of my review/monthly favourite posts.)

Book: Fangirl

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Started: August 7, 2014

Finished: August 11, 2014

Format: Hardcover

Own or borrow?: Borrowed from library

Synopsis: In Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? Open her heart to someone? Or will she just go on living inside somebody else’s fiction?

Cath may be the most selfish fangirl. This whole book is all about her, her, her, her, her, her, her when it comes to fandom.

I am not a huge “fandom” person. I’ve never been to a midnight release for anything, I’ve never tried writing fanfiction, and the only fandom that I’ve been in that lasted longer than a few months was sports fandoms. So I may not be the best person to judge a book about fandoms and fangirls. But I do know that the most important part of sports fandom to me is the other people. Talking to other people. Crying over sports with other people. Seeing the same tweet 37 times from 37 different people because no one knows what else to say other than “ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW DID THAT JUST HAPPEN.” I am not a fangirl and I may never be. But as far as I’m concerned, neither is Cath.

Cath never talks about midnight releases (except once). She never talks about being on forums with other people until 5 am. She never talks about other people, period. You know what she does talk about? How many page views her fanfiction story gets. Seriously. That’s about the depth of her “fandom” that she goes into.

I know for a fact that Rainbow Rowell has a Tumblr (because I follow her) so why doesn’t Cath have one? Like I said, I’m not part of a fandom. But I do know that Tumblr is FILLED with fandoms that just go crazy. When Supernatural and Game of Thrones or Sherlock or whatever is on, you can tell. There are thousands and thousands of people on Tumblr and Twitter that are joined together and talking to each other about these shows. Cath is too busy writing her fanfiction and not talking to anyone else about the actual books to worry about Tumblr though.

I should also state that I’ve never read Harry Potter. Simon Snow is Harry Potter. I could tell and I’ve never read it. I have no problem with this. I’m sure others have because they DID read HP, but to me it didn’t make a difference because I haven’t read what Simon Snow is based off of.

Now, onto other matters. I liked Cath. And other times I wanted to punch myself in the face because I couldn’t punch her. How the hell did she get into a junior course without having any other writing experience except for her fanfiction, that she obviously didn’t turn into the school? Did she just write them a letter “hey I’m a good writer, put me in this advanced class as a freshman”? She also was very uppity about who constitutes as a fangirl and who doesn’t. She sees a girl wearing a sports shirt and then says “she doesn’t look like a fangirl” yeah god forbid she not wear Simon Snow t shirts every single freaking day of her life. I’m not even going to get into when she refused to go to the dining hall. Over it.

At this point you’re probably wondering “how did you give this four stars if you are complaining about it this much?” Well because I actually didn’t hate the book. I rather liked the book. I would reread it. I just didn’t like some of the things in the book and I needed to complain about them.

Now onto the things I did like! Rainbow Rowell has a way of writing relationships between characters that make me feel everything they are feeling. When Cath would talk about how worried she was about her dad, I wanted to call my dad and make sure he’s alright. When Cath was worried about her sister, I wanted to call my siblings and tell them I love them. Rowell writes characters so well.

Weirdly, I think my favourite relationship in the book was between Cath and Wren and their mom. I have the same type of mom as them and one of my sisters is exactly like Wren when it comes to our mom. I am exactly like Cath. I saw a lot of me and my sister and my mom in these parts.

I don’t think I can’t talk about Levi. At first I didn’t see them being together. I didn’t think it fit. But I grew to love them together and think they are adorable. As someone that frequently reads to her boyfriend, I think it was a good part of the book, especially since Levi “isn’t a reader.”

Overall, this was a strong book and I can see why people like it. I can see why it has so many 5 star ratings, but I can also understand why it has lower ratings.

Have you read it? What are your thoughts?

My Reading Quirks

When I talk to other readers, many of them tell me that they just sit down at the end of the day and read as much as they can. This especially works for people that are busy during the day. Since I don't work right now, volunteer one day a week, and do school online- I have all the hours in the day to read. (Unfortunately, 10 of them are spent sleeping). So this is just a list of things that I, personally, do as a reader.

• I will randomly pick up a book and just read a few pages of it and then set it down and read the book I already have been reading

-A few days ago I decided I was going to read "10th Anniversary" by James Patterson but I went upstairs and grabbed "Confessions of a Shopaholic" by Sophie Kinsella and just sat down and read 13 pages. Do I know why? No idea. I just picked up the book and started reading it. I've also been known to be reading two books at once and then add a third and leave the other two alone until I finish the third and then I'll go back to the first two.

• I hate read.

-I KNOW I could spend my time reading a book that I'm going to love, but instead I spend seven hours reading a book knowing that I'm going to hate it. I usually live-blog it on Tumblr so other people have to deal with it as well. I've always done this. Whether it be books, articles, or comments on the internet. I am naturally drawn towards something that is going to annoy/anger me.

• I love using scrap pieces of paper, receipts, and sometimes even (unused) napkins as bookmarks.

-I do own a few bookmarks, but most of the time it's a receipt or a scrap piece of paper. Since a lot of books I've been reading lately have been library books that were on hold, most bookmarks are my hold slip from the library. Bookmarks are cute but I use them for show mostly. If I'm sitting at home and have to set my book down, I'm going to just use whatever is around. 

• Even though I have tons of books that I own, I am addicted to the library.

-I'm not sure if it's because I volunteer there once a week so I can easily go there to get books, but I have been getting so many library books and leaving my teetering stack of already owned tbr books alone. I've read 14 books this month. I owned 3 of those. Technically only two because the other book is the boyfriend's book. The rest were library books or books I borrowed from someone else. 

So that's my reading quirks. Do you have any of these? Do you have any interesting ones?

Top Ten Tuesday [1]

Technically, this is not my first Top Ten Tuesday, but I am starting clean on it. I'm going to try to do this on a regular basis again. Anyway, Top Ten Tuesday was created and hosted by Broke & Bookish. It's simple: they give you the topic and you write down your top ten things in x topic. There is also no obligation to do a full ten if you just can't think of ten. It's fun, it's (sometimes) easy and it's a great way to find new books from other bloggers and a great way to find other bloggers!

This week's topic is: Top Ten Books I Want To Read But Don't Own Yet

Some of these are older and I just haven't found them at the library or the used book store and some are new and I don't have money to pay for them. They are also in no particular order. Just books I really want to read.

Thoughts:

Landline by Rainbow Rowell- This has been on my radar for a few months. It came out in July 2014 and I haven't had the money for it. But! I won a giveaway last week and this was the book that I picked so it is en route to my house. Technically, I could take this off the list since I ""own"" it, but I don't trust the mail system and will only believe it when I have it in my hands.

I am Zlatan by Zlatan Ibrahimovic- Zlatan is everything. Seriously. He's kind of an asshole but he's also supportive and funny and seems like a good person. He's just Zlatan and there is no way to explain him otherwise. When I found out that Zlatan was writing a book, I needed it. Unfortunately I haven't gotten it yet. (Published June 2014) Technically, this book was published in 2011 I believe but it was translated from Swedish to English and published this year. I will probably cry when I finally get this because I love Zlatan.

Manson by Jeff Guinn- It's true. I like true crime and I am interested in serial killers. It's weird and I don't like to think about it too much. This book is actually first on my "to-read" list on Goodreads. I've wanted to it read it for years now and just haven't found it yet. Maybe I'll look at the library tomorrow. This isn't the only book about Manson on my list, either. (Published: August 2013)

Columbine by Dave Cullen- Everyone knows about Columbine. Truthfully, I don't know a whole lot about it other than it was one of the biggest American tragedies to happen. This has been on my radar for a long time and I just haven't taken the initiative to find it. I may also have to look for this one at the library tomorrow. I have looked for it at bookstores but haven't found it yet. (Published: April 2009)

Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich- Really this one doesn't have to be on my list because I haven't read the rest of the books up until this point. I could fill out the rest of the list with just Janet Evanovich books because I don't own 16, 17, 19, or 20 either. We'll let that slide. This has been one of the books I've been most excited for this year. I love Janet Evanovich and can't wait to read the rest of the series. (Published: June 2014)

Rumble by Ellen Hopkins- I saw this book at Meijer a few days ago and I literally pet the book and picked it up and hugged it. The cover is BEAUTIFUL. The story is just as heartbreaking as her other ones. It's the same amazing prose that she's used in the rest of her books. I nearly cried when I saw it. Unfortunately, I didn't have money and couldn't buy it. I tried to hint at my boyfriend (ALSO IF YOU READ THIS HERE IS ANOTHER HINT) I want this book for my birthday or just as a "hi I got you this book because you were emotionally invested in this book before you even read it" type of thing. I'm so excited for this book. I don't know when I'm going to get it, but I do know that I'm going to love it. (Published: August 26 2014) As I'm writing this, it's 6 days early so Meijer had it early and I might have missed my chance but THAT COVER

Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi- Technically this book is about 100 feet away from me. I could start reading this in 15 seconds. But that's my boyfriend's mom's copy and I don't want to steal her book. She's the one that told me about this book and I'm interested in learning more about Manson, so I want to read this book. Maybe I'll borrow her copy at some point but I would like my own copy as well.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie- I know, I like mystery and haven't read any Christie. It's weird. I feel wrong. BUT this book is at the library waiting for me to pick it up. I actually had it a few weeks ago but had to return it without reading it, so I ordered another one right away. I have heard so many good things about this book and I'm so excited to read it. 

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins- I recently read Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door. I loved everything about Stephanie's writing, her character development, and everything else about her books. So obviously I'm excited to read Isla. Since it just came out and it's a month before my birthday, I'm not allowed to buy anything including this book. It was on my birthday list so hopefully someone gets it for me. I can't wait to be bad into the world of Stephanie Perkins.

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover- Only a few months ago I had no idea who Colleen Hoover was. Now I have read four of her books, one of them twice, and have another one on hold at the library. Ugly Love seems to be just as good as the others and I can't wait to get this one. I don't have it on my birthday list so if I get money for my birthday I will definitely be buying it for myself. I need this book in my life, like yesterday.

So that is my top 10. What's on yours? Have you read any of these books? Are you excited for any of these as well? Share your thoughts!