Gifting Books

This blog has been all about books and reading. Its also been about how reading and books affect the lives of people and those around them. I really believe that books help to shape who we are. They give us a chance to escape reality and all we have to do is take it. Since Christmas is only about two weeks away, and its on everyone's mind then why not talk about getting and giving books out for the holidays.

Giving people books can be tricky sometimes and for several reasons. One, you don't know what books they like to read. Sure you can always ask but just because they like a genre doesn't mean that they will like the book that you happen to pick out. Two, so say that you do know what they like to read which definitely makes things easier but there is still a hitch. Depending on when you picked up the book, there is a chance that they could have already read that book. If that does happen, its not completely doom and gloom. That book could be a book they've read sure, but it also could be a book that was so enjoyed and loved that whomever gets it will gladly read again. These are a few reasons why giving a book as a gift can be tricky but its also very rewarding at least in my opinion.

I believe that when someone gifts a book, they are opening up a whole new world. Even more so when the book they are gifting is one that they have loved. I think its one of the best ways to get to know someone. When you share a book, it's like another connection is born between the pages and ink. It's a really great feeling knowing that someone is giving you the chance to make new connections and that they want to give you to chance to have the same great time they did. I think that when a book is shared between people then those people have a better understanding of each other. A book opens you up to new thoughts, experiences and sometimes even new worlds. So when that process is shred with someone else, it's a great time. I know that with my friends since we are all big bookworms, it's amazing to be able to talk about the characters as though they are as flesh and blood as we are. There is this quote that I found once that I like and it makes a really good point.

This is very true. While two or more people can share a book and love it, what each reader interprets and takes from the story is unique to the reader. It's pretty amazing to me that people can read the same book cover to cover and its still different for each individual. In short, gifting books can be tricky but I think its something that is definitely worth the risk. 

Happy Holidays everyone and happy reading!

Tales As Old As Time

Fairy tales are a part of everyone's life. Whether it be the occasional Disney binge day or a story that you read as a child. Fairy tales give us the ability to see that happy endings do happen and a chance to slip out of reality for awhile. Of course, Disney's version of events isn't exactly what happened. The original fairy tales by the Grimm Brothers, Hans Christian Andersen, and others were much darker. For example, in Cinderella in order for the evil stepsisters to fit into the glass slipper they cut off parts of their feet. Not exactly the pretty picture that Disney painted. Not to say I don't love Disney. I'm a huge Disney fan. It's something that is interesting to me about how many different takes there are on these beloved fairy tales.

I recently started watching Once Upon a Time (OUAT), which as the title indicates is a show from ABC about all the different fairy tales come to life and clashing with the modern world . To name just a few characters there is Snow White, Captain Hook, Prince Charming, the Evil Queen, and tons more. It was really interesting to me how the show took the characters that we all know and still managed to create something new. They have the villain being a hero and a hero as a bad guy. It was very different seeing some of my favorite characters being portrayed as something else. I went from watching the Disney version where good and evil are very clearly defined to a TV show that proves no one is all bad or all good. Now here are gonna be some spoilers so if you ever plan on watching this show, you should stop reading now.

                   SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

For an example, I grew up with Peter Pan being a good guy. But in OUAT, he is a bad guy and Captain Hook ends up being a good guy who is fighting for the love of main character, Emma Swan. It was really hard for me at first to see one of my favorite characters as a villain. He wasn't even a small villain. He was the main advisory for a good chunk of season three. Instead of being the mischievous boy who never grows up, he is the villain that tricks a boy into giving him his heart in order for Pan to live. In one episode, we get Pan's back story and a surprising connection to Rumpelstiltskin, who is another villain and oddly a hero. We find out that Pan was Rumpelstiltskin's father that gave him up to live in Neverland and thus Peter Pan was born.

I just find it amazing how the same story can be told in so many different ways. There is the darker version of the Grimm Brothers. Then you have the sugar-coated Disney and then there is OUAT. All have a place in people's lives and they all provide us with something. For me, Disney is part of my life. I grew up watching the movies. Disney gives me a chance to break away from reality, see the magic, and all the happily ever afters that we don't get in everyday life. OUAT shows us that not everything is always cut and dry. OUAT is more real life even though its based on fairy tales. It shows that not all villains are completely evil and not all heroes are completely good. Life is much to complicated for that. All in all, it's amazing to me that the books about these characters that were written so very long ago can be turned into movies, and shows that will stay with us for a long time to come.

Long Over Due

A few times, I've mentioned my love for Barnes and Noble. Well, I say love when I really mean obsession but you get my point. It is one of my favorite places to go. But its also dangerous because then I add several more books to my never-ending reading list. I swear if I actually wrote it all down, I think I'd have over a hundred books.

Since I got out of class early this week, and I had some time to kill before I met up with my best friends, I decided to drive head on over there. It was long over due. I think the last time I went there was at least three months ago. Considering I used to go there every couple of weeks that was quite a long time for me.

Usually my friend, Courtney and I go there together because she is a huge bookworm too. When we hang out we end up there at some point. Its like we can avoid it even if we tired, though honestly we don't try at all. Barnes and Noble is right up there with the library in my book. Anyway, back to my story. This time I went by myself and I found about twelve more books to add to my list. A few I had already known about but I didn't know they were out yet. What's even better is when I find that an author that I love has come out with a new book. It always gets me excited to read it. I always get a good feeling walking through those doors and seeing all the new books on the shelves. 

Here are a few of the books I found:

                       

Dangerous Lies was an exceptionally good find because I didn't even know she had a new book out. All the books I've read by Becca Fitzpatrick have been super good! She wrote the Hush, Hush saga, Black Ice, and that's just the more recent and more popular books. This one is about a girl who is the star witness in the murder trial of a big drug dealer and she is in the Witness Protection Program. She has to stay under the radar but trouble seems to have a way of finding her. It definably had chills running up and now my back when I read the summary of it. Also I know after reading her other books, that she is sure to deliver a fantastic novel.

The White Rose is the sequels to The Jewel. I loved the first book. For anyone who has read The Selection series by Kiera Cass then you would defiantly like this series. Its about a society in which girls are bought by the wealthy women that live in the Jewel, which is like their capital, to bear children for them. Its a great book about not being in control of your our body and the cruelty the owners show their surrogates. I have no doubt that the sequel will be just or maybe even better than the first book.

Survive The Night is about an all night underground rave in the tunnels of New York. It's one hell of a party until Casey, main character, finds a murdered girl in the tunnels. Then she and her friends, desperate for help search for a way out. But will they find help before they are hunted down by who or what killed the girl? Who knows, but I for one am excited to read this one. Hopefully it won't lead to any nightmares. :)

Here's to my new finds and hopefully I'll get to them before too long. I hope I'll find the time to visit Barnes and Noble again soon and get even more books to stock up on the cold days ahead.

Happy reading everyone!

On The Go

Road trips are always fun. Whether it be to a amusement park, seeing family, or just because you felt like it. There is something about getting in the car and getting away from the chains of everyday life. My family is big on camping. Its one of my favorite parts of summer. I love getting the chance to get away from the normal day to day activities. It's where I get a ton of reading done. Both in the car ride there and once we are at the campsite.

Since my mom always liked to go somewhere different, that meant at least a three hour drive. Sometimes more if we decided to go to the UP. Packing six kids into a car for a three hour plus drive wasn't always easy. My brothers and I learned very quickly that we had to keep ourselves occupied. So I always made sure that I had a book. Actually, I always made sure I had several books depending how long our trip was.

Reading in the car isn't always the greatest of places but I made it work. Mostly by taking breaks when my eyes would start to hurt.

All of my extended family lives in Muskegon, Grand Rapids, and some of them are even out of state. When I was younger, we used to have a family reunion every summer. It used to be the family canoe trip down the Rifle River. But it had since changed to the family kayak trip because kayaks are much easier to handle down that river. If you've never been on the Rifle River, its a fairly large river and its very fast. I was never particularly interested in going down the river once I was old even to go. I had this fear that if the kayak tipped over (and on the Rifle, you will tip at some point) I wouldn't be able to get out and I would drown. Not a really rational fear but very few fears are rational.

Since I stayed behind I would fill my day with going to the beach and reading the many books I had brought with me. The quiet that I get when I go camping is perfect. It's nice to be able to unplug from the outside world every now and then.

I remember when my brother, Evan was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood in Georgia. It had finally worked out for us to go see him and have a nice vacation. Since we were driving down there rather than flying, I knew I was going to need lots of books to get me through the trip. If you have even done the summer reading program and you get a tote bag as one of the prizes, I filled one of those to the brim and then some with books. It was so heavy and I really thought I was going to read them all. I was even a little worried I hadn't brought enough.

In reality though, instead of reading the many books I brought, I slept. Seriously, I practically slept the whole way there. I really only woke up when we stopped for food. I'd eat and be wide awake but once we were back on the road I'd be asleep once again. To say the least, that's not how I thought it was going to go. So then I was stuck lugging around that colossal bag of books from the car, to the hotel rooms we stayed at and back again.

Now a days though, I don't read in the car as much. Simply because now I'm the one driving myself to the places I want to go instead of my mom. Sometimes I wish I could get that time back to read books but until they come up with a way to safely read while driving, I'm stuck. But for now that's okay.  

No Time

Obviously, I love to read as this blog is focused around books and reading. I've always loved to read ever since I can remember. I think my mom instilled that in me. She is a big reader too. She has always encouraged my brothers and I to read. I remember every summer when she would take us to the library to sign up for the reading program. It was always a blast. I loved seeing how far I would come to get the prizes. Reading was a big part of my childhood and it still is today.

I'm the girl to always have a book with me. Wherever I go there is usually a book in my bag. Sometimes even two or more depending on how close I am to finishing the book I'm on. I bought a hipster bag from Vera Bradley online this past summer. It was a print that I've been wanting forever. I debated getting the bag because it looked fairly small. I wasn't sure if my wallet and a book would fit. Plus all the other random things that find their way into my bag. In the end though, I did end up buying it and I was a little worried that my books wouldn't fit. But when the bag arrived I saw that it was actually a lot bigger than I thought. Although, I soon realized that it was awfully heavy when everything was in there and the thicker books took a lot of shoving to make them fit. I carry a book with me pretty much wherever I go because you never know when there will come a time to read.

Now, though it had become increasingly difficult for me to find any time to read. Between work, school, friends, and trying to get any sleep I've hardly read anything at all. I think I've been carrying around the same book for at least four weeks and I'm only on page 68. When I usually can finish a book in about a week, maybe two if I'm busy, that's pretty bad. The really crappy thing about it is that its a book I've been dying to read. When by some miracle I actually have time where I could read, I just can't find the energy to pick up my book. This is the reading slump. Its that period of time when the thought of picking up a book makes you even more tired than you were before. For an avid reader like myself it is horrible. I hate the feeling of it too. Its like I want to read and I have all these books from the library that are just sitting on my shelf, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I wish there was more hours in the day to all that I want and need to do. But hopefully sometime soon I'll get out of this reading slump and back to the stories I love so much.

The Dud

Have you ever gone to the library, or the bookstore and found a book that sounds awesome? The cover makes your eyes pop. The title grabs your attention, and the dust jacket pulls you into the story. At this point, I'm pretty excited and this process happens with a few books in a trip to the bookstore. So, I add the book to my list (which never stops growing) and I'll order it from the library. Depending if its a popular book and where its being sent from it can take a few weeks before the book is in. Then there is nothing to do but wait, wait, and wait.....

A FEW WEEKS LATER....

Finally the book is in!! Then I head over to the library to pick it up. This trip usually ends with me leaving with more than books then I planned to leave with because I have to check out the new releases. Then I finally make it over to the check out counter, check out my book(s), and head home. Once I get home, I have a whole process of filing my books. When that is done I settle in and start reading my book. Now this is where things get a little dicey....

This awesome book that I've waited weeks for and had the anticipation build turns out to be a Dud. The Dud is the book that sounds great until you actually start reading. My experience is that it starts off kind of slow but some books take time to pick up. So I keep reading thinking that it'll get better. Unfortunately, that isn't the case with a Dud. The book doesn't pick up. It drags and drags. But I'm usually optimistic and I keep going. But when I do admit defeat it usually ends up that I'm already in the middle of the book and I that point I feel like I can't just stop. So I push myself to finish the rest of the book. What I thought would be a really awesome book turned out to be weeks worth of torture trying to finish it. I hate calling it quits on a book which is probably why I always end up in the middle before I call it what it is.

Duds really suck and that's putting it mildly. I think the Duds are some of the reason why more people don't read. They either keep picking Duds or found a Dud and lost interest. Another problem I find with them is that you never know if a book is going to be one. Any time I pick out a book there is a chance it could turn out to be a Dud. That's one of the risks with books but I believe that the great books far out number the Duds. In short, Duds are an inevitable part of reading but I think the risk is defiantly worth it, especially when I find books than keep me turning page after page.    

Old Tales

Books affect our life in so many ways. They can change the way we see the world. I think they bring back to us the magic and the mystery that we sometimes lose sight of. In my opinion, particularly children's books. I mean think about it, those are some of the first stories that you are exposed to. They open your mind to the possibility of the extraordinary.    

A few months ago, I went to Barnes and Noble with my mom to find a children's book for a baby shower. It was my stepbrother's wife that was having the shower. Instead of cards, she asked for books. I had so much fun looking through all the kids books. I saw quite a few books that I had read when I was little. Just seeing them brought back the memories of sitting with my mom, having her read to me. It was hard to pick just one book because their were so many that had brought happy memories to me growing that I wanted to pass along to this new family.

My oldest brother, Adam, grew up reading Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. My mom would read it to him all the time. My mom always instilled in us a love of reading. Adam is turning 27 this year, and yet this story continues to affect him. His favorite childhood book is now a tattoo on his arm. Whenever he looks at it, he is reminded of the many times our mom would read the story and the happiness attached to it. This story has stayed with him throughout all the triumphs and the sorrows. One of my favorite books growing up was Corduroy by Don Freeman. This was about a teddy bear who desperately wanted someone to buy him. When a little girl wanted him, her mother said no because Corduroy was missing a button. After looking all night for a button, the next day Corduroy was bought by the little girl and she gives him a button for his overalls. This book had a happy ending as most kids books do, but it also has a deeper meaning then what's on the surface. This book touches on that basic need to belong. We all want to be accepted and loved for who we are. I think that's a pretty deep message for a children's book to make. It goes to show that just because its a book for little kids doesn't older people can't benefit from it as well.

That's why I believe books change us. They help to shape who we are and how we see the world. They teach valuable lessens that we can take into adulthood. Take my brother for example. His favorite book from childhood was about a boy who doesn't fit in so he goes to this world of incredible creatures and learns that everything isn't always what it seems. I believe there are many lessons worth learning in not just kids books but in all books. From this one, my brother learned about making the right choice for you and to see that being different isn't something to be afraid of.