Tag: GayleForman

Reading + Writing Update!

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This is my second time writing this because airport wifi is terrible and didn’t want to save anything I had written.

Anyways, I wanted to say sorry for falling off the face of the blogging world for the past week. I was on vacation and while I originally planned to upload during my time away (I even pre-wrote a few for the first few days I was on vacation in California), I ended up not writing anymore and not having any inspiration either for posts either. However, it was a nice creative break especially since April is going to be a month filled to the brim with writing and reading related things! So since I am on my way home and will be back tonight which is Saturday although when you see this it will be Sunday…anyways expect a normal upload schedule for next week!

I didn’t get as much reading done as I originally hoped, but I did manage to get some done while traveling. Going into this vacation, my original plans were to finish Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova and read about 100 pages of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I did not accomplish any of that. I did get to about 150-something in Labyrinth Lost which means I am halfway through the book and still got a good chunk to go. The book started off really strong and I was interested and excited, but towards the middle things became a little confusing for me and the pace kind of just lulled. I do plan on finishing it though and I am really hoping it will pull through for the last half! As for The Book Thief, I think I only read about 50 pages meaning I still have 150 pages left to go, and all of that has to be read by Wednesday! Anyways, I also started reading an unexpected book that I picked up because I happened to be in the right city when a certain author was having a book signing for her new book…and that book is I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman! I just happened to be in San Diego the right day, and I was so excited to see her in person and listen to her not only talk about her new book, but also the writing struggles she had gone through in her career. I have read a few of Gayle Forman’s other books, such as If I Stay, Where She Went, One Day, and One Year, so I was really happy to meet an author that I thought so highly of. It was a lot of fun and was actually my first book signing! I would definitely recommend keeping an eye open at your local bookstores for events like these because it was worth it.

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Wow, that was a long reading update so get ready for a probably lengthy writing update too! As this post is coming out, it is Sunday, April 1st, AKA Camp NaNoWriMo day 1! I have been viciously planning and researching and tying up all the loose ends of my outline this past week, and only just now am I (kind of) ready to write. I have left my outline loose on purpose because I have realized over the years I work better with less structure so I don’t lose inspiration and momentum throughout writing. If you too are just finishing your outline, or looking for some inspiration to give you that final push then check out my Camp NaNo prep posts which will be linked down below. Overall I was really proud with all the work I got done on my outline during my vacation, and it just proves to myself how passionate I really am about this project and now I just cannot wait to dive into this new world! Another writing project I want to start on is this really short story idea I have that was inspired by a literary magazine’s current submission prompt, so fingers crossed I can quickly pump out that story for April 6th which is the deadline! Hopefully I am not putting too much on my plate but I am sure I can get most of it done…right?

Anyways, that was my really long reading and writing update and I hope you enjoyed! Keep an eye out for my upcoming blog posts this Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday because I will be returning to my regular posting after my unexpected hiatus. Don’t forget to check out the blog posts linked below for some more writing and book related content!

Last Blog Post: April Anticipations

Camp NaNo Prep: Outlining Tips, Creating Characters, Research

Other Places You Can Find Me:

Twitter:@zoermathers

Pinterest: @zoermathers

 

Fall Reading Recommendations!

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Fall is my favourite month because the weather has cooled down so it isn’t 100 hundred degrees anymore, and it is the perfect time of the year to curl up and read a good book with a cup of hot tea or coffee. Personally, I feel like the books I read in the fall are more heavy and dark books, so here are a few recommendations!

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

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This is the perfect book to read in the fall because it is dark and mystical and is definitely a page turner. The Raven Boys follows a cast of different characters and one of them is Blue Sargent, a girl from a family of psychics who doesn’t seem to possess the same gift. That is until one night she sees a ghost of the soon-to-be dead and he introduces himself as Gansey. Blue is mystified at how she could see him, but when she meets the real Gansey one day, things flip upside down. I really enjoyed this book and am excited to continue on with the series this fall!

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

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Throne of Glass is a dark, high fantasy series that has magic and assassins, and is overall a very complex and interesting story. While I am not a huge fan of the books after book two, I did really enjoy this first one and am dying to give it a re read. Throne of Glass follows an assassin named Calaena Sardothian who has been let out of a slave camp so she can participate in a tournament to become the king’s personal assassin. There is a lot of action, romance and adventure and while it has been a while since I first read it, I remember that I loved it!

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger by Stephen King

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I would say all of Stephen King’s books are very dark, so I had to add one to the list. This is the first book in The Dark Tower series, which has been recently adapted into a movie. Since I have only seen the movie and haven’t read the book (yet), and since the setting sounds pretty complex I won’t try to explain it because I would probably not do it justice! It does sounds like a very adventurous and entertaining read though, and am excited to get to it this fall.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

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This is a contemporary book that follows a girl named Mia Hall. Mia strives to get accepted into Julliard and live out her dreams of playing the cello, but that is all jeopardized when she and her family get into a car crash. We follow Mia in the past and present, and learn more about her as well as what is going on around her during the crash. This is also a movie, which I really enjoyed, and is dark and sad, but also happy and fluffy a lot of the time!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

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The Hunger Games may be one of the darkest books out there because of its concept…but I think that is what makes it so appealing. The Hunger Games, if you didn’t know, follows our main character Katniss who lives in a society where at the age of 12, you are reaped among others to participate in the Hunger Games, where 24 kids are placed in an arena and forced to kill each other to win. The movies are amazing and the books are also good and very fall appropriate so definitely check them out if you haven’t already!

Those are five book recommendations for fall and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Reading/Writing Update!

Top 5 Books I Read in Fall!

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I read quite a few books over the months of September through to November, and overall, I was very happy with them! Despite the large amount I read though, I am only going to be sharing my top 5 favourites I read this month, otherwise this would be a very long blog post.

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier – Ruby Red follows a girl named Gwen who is from a family of time travelers, but she herself is believed to not have inherited the gift but her cousin, Charlotte supposedly has. That is, until she finds herself transported back in time and realizes that she is the one who has the abilities, not her cousin. I adored this book, and also the rest of the trilogy equally. The action and snippets of history were very enriching and the whole cast of characters were very entertaining and I just loved reading about them! 4.5/5 stars

Just One Day by Gayle Forman – Just One Day is about a girl who is on a senior trip in Europe and after meeting an intriguing boy, they run off to Paris and live wildly for a day. The next day though, he has mysteriously disappeared and she is led to believe that he just abandoned her. Throughout the novel, we follow her as she tries to cope with the abandonment, all while wondering why he left her. I really enjoyed this book, it was light and fluffy at the beginning and got quite darker towards the end. I did think that sometimes the main character was being slightly dramatic, because what did she expect? That they were going to fall madly in love? But overall it was a very fast paced read that I do really recommend! 4.5/5 stars

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han – In this book, we follow Lara Jean, a young girl who for the longest time has wrote a love letter to all the boys she has ever loved before, but when they are all mailed out she jumps into a plan to prevent her current crush from knowing she truly does love him. I don’t want to say anything else because I didn’t know anything about it going in and I personally think it is more fun that way! Honestly though, I loved this contemporary story. Is was humorous and relatable and just so entertaining. I cannot wait for the 3rd book to come out because I need more! 5/5 stars

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson – In this book, we follow 2 twins, June and Noah who when they were younger were very close, but after a tragic event they drifted apart and are practically strangers to each other. In Noah’s POV, we go back to their past when they were about 13, and in June’s POV we follow them in their present, 3 years later. I really, really enjoyed this book because it dealt with issues I don’t see enough in books, and also kept it real and raw. It was definitely a sadder and darker contemporary but nonetheless it was amazing! 5/5 stars

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling – In the 4th book of the Harry Potter series we watch as the Triwizard tournament comes to Hogwarts, and how it affects the lives of Harry, Ron and Hermione. This book is my favourite book in the series because it is very fun to watch the events of the Triwizard tournament, and I also like meeting the new characters! This was a re read but it was just as amazing this time as it was the first! 5/5 stars

These are my top 5 favourite books that I completed in fall and I hope you enjoyed! Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Books I Want to Finish Over the Holidays!

 

Feel Good Books

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I don’t know about you, but I love to read books that make me feel good. My definition of that is books that have a storyline or character that I can relate to and then I get to see them have a “happy ending”. Reading books like that just makes me hopeful and well, feel good. Here are a few of my favourites and I hope you try at least one out!

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen – I feel like this story is a story that lots of people can relate to. It involves family drama and tension which I think is an aspect in novels that isn’t put in the spotlight enough. Saint Anything is about a girl named Sydney who is used to living life outside of the spotlight, that is, until her brother is arrested. It follows her moving to a new school and making new friends and overall is a really great story that leaves you feeling all warm and tingly at the end!

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins – This is honestly one of my favourite books ever. The characters are so real and have normal day to day struggles that every single person can relate to. It follows Lola, a unique and expressive girl who is having a great life until everything is flipped upside down when her old neighbour and first love, Cricket Bell, moves back next door.

Just One Day by Gayle Forman – I have mentioned this book recently because I just read it not that long ago. Just One Day is a cute, realistic read that shows that not everything goes as plan but that doesn’t mean it will have a bad outcome. It’s about this girl named Allyson who is on a trip around Europe which is coming to an end until she meets a boy named Willem and runs off to Paris with him. They spend an incredible day together until she wakes up and he’s just gone. The book follows her life after that, all the ups and downs, and the undying urge of figuring out why he left without an explanation.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling – This is very different from the other books I have mentioned and it doesn’t fit my definition of a feel good book but it just does make me feel good when I read it, and I am sure lots of you can relate. Something about the world and storyline just makes it fit into this category and I just love it.

Those are a few recommendations and I hope you enjoyed this post! Don’t forget to check out my last post: Motivating Yourself to Write and I will see you in my next post!

September 2016 Wrap Up

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I cannot believe September is already coming to an end! I think it was a pretty good reading month for me, compared to last month, and I am happy with all the books I read so here they are!

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier – This is the first book in the Ruby Red trilogy which is fantastic by the way. It follows Gwen, a girl born into a family of time travellers but is believed to not possess the gene. That is, until she is thrown back in time and is now forced to pursue time traveling along with her stunningly attractive male partner, Gideon. I absolutely adored this book and it has a unique idea compared to some of the other books I have read! 4.5/5 stars

Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier – I just had to pick up the second book as soon as possible in the Ruby Red trilogy, and despite it being a middle book, I wasn’t disappointed at all. I loved how the story was still interesting and had me wanting to just keep reading and reading and reading. 4.5/5 stars

Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier – This is the final book to the Ruby Red trilogy and I just thought it was so good! Everything panned out how I wanted and a few things definitely surprised me. I was getting a bit frustrated with some of the relationships (in a good way) but everything worked its way out somewhat neatly and I just adored it so much, along with the whole trilogy. 4.5/5 stars

Just One Day by Gayle Forman – After reading the amazing Ruby Red trilogy, I began falling into a terrible reading slump. On a whim though, I picked this book up and just loved it. The plot line and characters were so much fun that I just sat down and read for hours. Towards the end of the middle I felt like the story was loosing some of its energy but it definitely had me wanting to pick up the next one, Just One Year. 4/5 stars

Sadly I didn’t finish the 3rd Harry Potter book this month because I got caught up with the Ruby Red trilogy, but I am reading it right now and plan on finishing it by the end of the weekend so I’m keeping my fingers crossed because I need to get the 4th one read too! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this post and I will see you in my next one 🙂

Books That Will Conquer Your Reading Slump

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I have done a blog post like this before but since then, I have read many new and amazing books that have pulled me out of a reading slump. Recently, I just got out of a reading slump and I am going to add the book that got me out of it in here because for a lot of you, I think it would do that as well!

Just One Day by Gayle Forman – I read this book in literally just one day (haha) and it was such a relatable and fast paced story that got me out of my terrible and dark reading slump. Just One Day is about a girl name Allyson who is on a trip to Europe and while she is in England, she meets a boy named Willem and runs off to Paris for a day with him. She starts developing feelings for him that she thinks he returns, that is, until she wakes up the next day and he is just gone…after that, she continues on with her life until she picks up the courage and heads back to Europe in search of answers.

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier – I absolutely loved this book because it was just so much fun and action packed that it kept me on my toes the whole time. Ruby Red follows a girl named Gwen who was born into a family of time travellers but doesn’t have the gene. That is, until she begins having the symptoms and is thrown back in the past totally unprepared. Now she gets to take the place of her cousin Charlotte, the one believed to possess the ability to time travel, and have an annoying yet very attractive partner.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – Honestly, this book is fantastic for getting you out of a slump because it is incredibly relatable and enjoyable. Fangirl follows a girl named Cath who is beginning her first year of college along with her twin sister, Wren. While Wren is more outgoing, Cath tends to lean on the quieter and shy side. That is, until she meets her roommates friend, Levi, and everything slowly begins to change.

Those are a few recommendations and I hope you enjoyed!