Quick Note

Hi all! Just a quick head’s up!

Since this blog has turned mostly into discussions about books, I’ve tweaked the name just a tad to reflect that. I will still have random musing posts once in a while, but the vast majority of the content will remain about books: Book Reviews, Book Suggestions, Book Tags…what can I say, I just really like books. 😉

Thanks for sticking with me!
~Jess 😀

Pokemon Go Book Tag

So, I’ll be honest. I wasn’t tagged to do this. I just stumbled upon it on Accio Reviews and thought it looked fun, so I stole it. 😉

The first book that actually impacted me was “Fatso Jean The Ice Cream Queen” by Maryann MacDonald. Being a chunky gal myself, it was nice to have someone to identify with and inspiring to see her pull herself up and out of victimhood. — But the books that really started my LOVE of reading were the “Hardy Boys” books by Franklin W. Dixon. My Mom’s friend gifted one to me when I was 12 and I haven’t looked back since.

Ah, Sherlock, how I love thee. I have loved the Sherlock Holmes character since I was young. In fact, I’ve never come across an incarnation I DIDN’T love; even the movie with the dinosaurs and the cartoon where Dr. Watson is a cyborg. I just love this character so much!

Well, I definitely put off reading “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins for a LONG time. I ended up only reading it because the movie was coming out and I knew I’d cave and go see it with my friends and I LOATHE spoilers!

I’m going to go with a genre here. I love cozy mysteries. I don’t know why. I can’t stand the fact that the main characters all fall in love with the first man they come across or the fact that they do such STUPID things to solve the mysteries…but I can’t stop reading them! They are my guilty pleasure. 😉

“The Wheel of Time” by Robert Jordan. There are so many of them! I will eventually start them, though, because they sound interesting and everyone I know who is into reading is astonished that I haven’t tried them yet (apparently they are ‘right up my alley’ ::shrugs::).

Well, I’ve had quite a few books keep me up all night because I couldn’t put them down, but because they were scary? Hmm…I’m going to go with “The Screaming Staircase” by Jonathan Stroud. For a ‘kids book’, it definitely got my adrenaline up. Ooo, that reminds me, I need to buy the next book in that series…

I don’t really have one of these. I’m not fond of romance, so I don’t really have favorite couples very often. I DID enjoy “Carry On” by Rainbow Rowell, though, and thought Simon and Baz made sense as a couple. 🙂

“The Martian” by Andy Weir was an amazingly fast read for me. I read it straight in 6 hours. REALLY GOOD. I also really liked the “Wayward Pines” trilogy by Blake Crouch. Quick-paced and scary, but fun. 🙂

Oh, Harry Potter, I can’t seem to get enough of you.

“The Rest of Us Just Live Here” by Patrick Ness was REALLY good. Like reading a John Green novel set in the Buffy Universe that focuses on the background characters. I highly recommend that one.

I seem to be inundated by “Caraval” by Stephanie Garber lately…but it looks like a VERY interesting book!

I’ll be honest, I’m in the middle of collecting the Illustrated Harry Potter books even though I don’t REALLY need them, because I already own the entire set in hardback and a few of them in paperback…but…SO PRETTY!

I’m lame; I don’t really follow debut authors. I just pick out stories that sound interesting, usually without any knowledge of author-dom at all.

Aaannnddd, going completely against what I literally just typed…Neil Gaiman is a pretty sure bet for me. 😉

I’m going to steal AccioReviews’ idea here….JK!!! PLEASE GIVE US A MARAUDERS SERIES!!! We PINE for it!!! 😦

Well, that WAS fun! Feel free to steal this idea or start tagging your friends. 🙂

Book Review – Gone Girl

Book: Gone Girl – Author: Gillian Flynn

Genre: Mystery

Description from Amazon:

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? 

My Review:

I absolutely hated this book. Not a popular opinion, I know. But I am one of those annoying readers who has to like at least one of the characters in a book in order to like the book. No, they don’t have to be a great person; in fact, some of my favorite characters are villains. But they have to have some sort of reason for me to be interested in them: wit, charm, an interesting back story…SOMETHING. Everyone in this book is just plain despicable, with the possible exception of the sister, who is only in the book for a short time.

The only reason I finished the book was because of the mystery (no spoilers, promise) and how well it was written. The author did a great job of pulling you into the mystery of the story, so even when I couldn’t stand the actual characters any longer, I still couldn’t stop myself from reading it. So, kudos to the author on an interesting plot, but geez those characters are horrendous.

Similar Books:

Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins (I liked this one better 😉 )

Book Review – You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)

Book: You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) – Author: Felicia Day

Genre: Memoir, Geek

Description from Goodreads:

From online entertainment mogul, actress, and “queen of the geeks” Felicia Day, a funny, quirky, and inspiring memoir about her unusual upbringing, her rise to Internet-stardom, and embracing her individuality to find success in Hollywood.

Hilarious and inspirational, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is proof that everyone should embrace what makes them different and be brave enough to share it with the world, because anything is possible now—even for a digital misfit.

My Review:

I really enjoyed this book. My most favorite memoirs are ones where it feels like you are just chatting with an old friend, and this one definitely fits that bill.

Felicia is a wonderful mixture of timid and bold, personable and eccentric, impassioned and calming. She describes herself at her weakest moments with such raw emotion and grace that you can’t help but root for her like you would your best friend and be proud of her when she pulls herself back up.

I would highly recommend this to any of her fans, those in creative fields (especially acting or writing), or anyone else who just wants a good read about an interesting person.

Similar Books:

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened – Jenny Lawson