Top 15 Books of 2015 According to Moi

Now in years past with this blog feature as well as with some inspiration from Stephen King, I asked myself this question -- Did I have a great year pop culturally speaking? Instead this year I decided to focus on books as I wrote about latest releases, did book reviews, and read a lot more than usual this past year. Did I have a good reading year --  I would have to say yes.. Here is a list of 15 books that made me squee with bookworm fandom. So as the great John Dargo would say...enough of this palaver...let us get this ride started!

1: The Girl on the Train: A Novel by Paula Hawkins:

My lovely boyfriend has gotten me hooked onto psychological thrillers with a true crime edge. So when I read the description for this, I had to get it. Plus it is called "Hitchcockian". Who can not love something that is compared to Hitchcock? This book was released on January 13, 2015 and it took me two days to read. I also hear it has been optioned for the big screen. Here is the book description: Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

2: Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falloff

Who does not enjoy a good mystery with some love and entitlement? This girl does! This book was released on January 27, 2015; I am currently reading it, and here is the book description: Part mystery, part love story, and part coming-of-age tale in the vein of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Spectacular Now. There was a party. There was a fight. The next morning, Sam's best friend, Hayden, was dead. And all he left Sam was a playlist of songs and a suicide note: For Sam—listen and you'll understand. To figure out what happened, Sam has to rely on the playlist and his own memory. But the more he listens, the more he realizes that his memory isn't as reliable as he thought. And it might only be by taking out his earbuds and opening his eyes to the people around him that he'll finally be able to piece together his best friend's story. And maybe have a chance to change his own. Playlist for the Dead is an honest and gut-wrenching first novel about loss, rage, what it feels like to outgrow a friendship that's always defined you—and the struggle to redefine yourself. But above all, it's about finding hope when hope seems like the hardest thing to find.

3: H is for Hawk by Helen McDonald

One of the many conversations my love and I have had is our love for birds of prey. Him -- its all about the red tailed hawk. Me -- its all about the owl. So when I saw this book in one of my many book blogs that I follow, I took it as a sign of fate. This book was released on March 3, 2015 and is optioned to become a movie! Here is the book description: When Helen Macdonald's father died suddenly on a London street, she was devastated. An experienced falconer—Helen had been captivated by hawks since childhood—she'd never before been tempted to train one of the most vicious predators, the goshawk. But in her grief, she saw that the goshawk's fierce and feral temperament mirrored her own. Resolving to purchase and raise the deadly creature as a means to cope with her loss, she adopted Mabel, and turned to the guidance of The Once and Future King author T.H. White's chronicle The Goshawk to begin her challenging endeavor. Projecting herself "in the hawk's wild mind to tame her" tested the limits of Macdonald's humanity and changed her life. Heart-wrenching and humorous, this book is an unflinching account of bereavement and a unique look at the magnetism of an extraordinary beast, with a parallel examination of a legendary writer's eccentric falconry. Obsession, madness, memory, myth, and history combine to achieve a distinctive blend of nature writing and memoir from an outstanding literary innovator.

4: The Prom Goer's Interstellar Excursion by Chris McCoy

One of the many advanced reading copies I received at New York Comic Con in October of 2014 and I was very excited that this book saw the light of day. It is time travel that meets Spaceballs. SIGN ME UP. This book was released on April 14, 2015 and it took me one day to read; with breaks of course.Here is the book description: It’s Superbad meets Spaceballs in this hilarious extraterrestrial road trip! Just a few days before prom, Bennett pulls off something he never imagined possible: his dream girl, Sophie, agrees to be his date. Moments afterward, however, he watches Sophie get abducted by aliens in the middle of the New Mexico desert. Faced with a dateless prom (and likely kidnapping charges), Bennett does the only thing he can think of: he catches a ride into outer space with a band of extraterrestrial musicians to bring her back.
Can he navigate alien concert venues, an extraterrestrial reality show, and the band’s outlandish egos to rescue his date in time for the big dance?

5: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast? Sign me up...well since I am the living and breathing Belle and I am getting my library from my own Beast. This book was released in May. Here is the description: When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin-one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world. As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin-and his world-forever. Perfect for fans of Kristen Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

6: Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

Apparently this book is being touted as another version of Gone Girl, but instead the heroine is a teenager and not bat shit crazy like Amy in Gone Girl. I will admit, I was not a fan of Gone Girl at first but it grew on me, so upon reading the description of this I figured, yet again, lets give it a shot. Apparently that is my motto for my reading this year -- hey lets give a shot! This books was released on May 12, 2015 and it is being adapted for a movie. Here is the book description: HER PERFECT LIFE IS A PERFECT LIE. As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve. But Ani has a secret. There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything. With a singular voice and twists you won’t see coming, Luckiest Girl Alive explores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to “have it all” and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that's bigger than it first appears. The question remains: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for—or, will it at long last, set Ani free?

7: A Field Guide to Awkward Silences by Alexandria Petri

Every girl in their teenage/early 20's have had their bouts with awkwardness and fear. Not this girl. She, in my opinion, is a role model for all of us awkward girls out there. Her memoir was released on June 2, 2015. Here is the book description: Most twentysomethings spend a lot of time avoiding awkwardness.Not Alexandra Petri. Afraid of rejection? Alexandra Petri has auditioned for America’s Next Top Model. Afraid of looking like an idiot? Alexandra Petri lost Jeopardy! by answering “Who is that dude?” on national TV. Afraid of bad jokes? Alexandra Petri won an international pun championship. Petri has been a debutante, reenacted the Civil War, and fended off suitors at a Star Wars convention while wearing a Jabba the Hutt suit. One time, she let some cult members she met on the street baptize her, just to be polite. She’s a connoisseur of the kind of awkwardness that most people spend whole lifetimes trying to avoid. If John Hodgman and Amy Sedaris had a baby…they would never let Petri babysit it. But Petri is here to tell you: Everything you fear is not so bad. Trust her. She’s tried it. And in the course of her misadventures, she’s learned that there are worse things out there than awkwardness—and that interesting things start to happen when you stop caring what people think.

8:The Bourbon Kings by JR Ward

I have never been so excited for a book in a long time and because of my excitement I received an ARC of this at Book Con in May. Just read the description below and hopefully it will pull you in too. This book is was released on July 28, 2015. Here is the book description: The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood delivers the first novel in an enthralling new series set amid the shifting dynamics of a Southern family defined by wealth and privilege—and compromised by secrets, deceit, and scandal.... For generations, the Bradford family has worn the mantle of kings of the bourbon capital of the world. Their sustained wealth has afforded them prestige and privilege—as well as a hard-won division of class on their sprawling estate, Easterly. Upstairs, a dynasty that by all appearances plays by the rules of good fortune and good taste. Downstairs, the staff who work tirelessly to maintain the impeccable Bradford facade. And never the twain shall meet.For Lizzie King, Easterly’s head gardener, crossing that divide nearly ruined her life. Falling in love with Tulane, the prodigal son of the bourbon dynasty, was nothing that she intended or wanted—and their bitter breakup only served to prove her instincts were right. Now, after two years of staying away, Tulane is finally coming home again, and he is bringing the past with him. No one will be left unmarked: not Tulane’s beautiful and ruthless wife; not his older brother, whose bitterness and bad blood know no bounds; and especially not the ironfisted Bradford patriarch, a man with few morals, fewer scruples, and many, many terrible secrets. As family tensions—professional and intimately private—ignite, Easterly and all its inhabitants are thrown into the grips of an irrevocable transformation, and only the cunning will survive.

9:Barbara the Slut and Other People by Lauren Holmes

How can you go wrong with a title like that? This book was released on August 4, 2015. Here is the book description: A fresh, honest, and darkly funny debut collection about family, friends, and lovers, and the flaws that make us most human. Fearless, candid, and incredibly funny, Lauren Holmes is a newcomer who writes like a master. She tackles eros and intimacy with a deceptively light touch, a keen awareness of how their nervous systems tangle and sometimes short-circuit, and a genius for revealing our most vulnerable, spirited selves. In “Desert Hearts,” a woman takes a job selling sex toys in San Francisco rather than embark on the law career she pursued only for the sake of her father. In “Pearl and the Swiss Guy Fall in Love,” a woman realizes she much prefers the company of her pit bull—and herself—to the neurotic foreign fling who won’t decamp from her apartment. In “How Am I Supposed to Talk to You?” a daughter hauls a suitcase of lingerie to Mexico for her flighty, estranged mother to resell there, wondering whether her personal mission—to come out—is worth the same effort. And in “Barbara the Slut,” a young woman with an autistic brother, a Princeton acceptance letter, and a love of sex navigates her high school’s toxic, slut-shaming culture with open eyes. With heart, sass, and pitch-perfect characters, Barbara the Slut is a head-turning debut from a writer with a limitless career before her.

10: Nightfall by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski

I scored an ARC of this back at BookCon in May and was so excited to get it as it reminded me of Wayward Pines. This book was released on September 22nd. Here is the description: A story where edge-of-your-seat horror meets post-apocalyptic thriller, perfect for fans of Lois Lowry and The Mazerunner --Night is coming. On Marin’s island, sunrise doesn’t come every twenty-four hours--it comes every twenty-eight years. Each sunset, the townspeople sail to the south, where they wait out the long Night. None of the adults will tell Marin, Kana, or their friend Line exactly what happens when they leave the island, but when the three are accidentally left behind in the gathering dusk, they learn the truth: at Night, their town belongs to others, and those others want them gone. Fleeing through the now-alien landscape that used to be their home, the three confront shocking transformations and uncomfortable truths about themselves. They are challenged to trust one another or perish. Marin, Kana, and Line must find their way off the island . . . before the Night finds them.

11: The Sculptor by Scott McCloud

I first heard about this book from the YouTube channel The Peruse Project. I was able to find it on Amazon and dove right into it. Can relate a lot to it and it is a great read. This book was released on February 23, 2015. Here is the book description: David Smith is giving his life for his art―literally. Thanks to a deal with Death, the young sculptor gets his childhood wish: to sculpt anything he can imagine with his bare hands. But now that he only has 200 days to live, deciding what to create is harder than he thought, and discovering the love of his life at the 11th hour isn't making it any easier! This is a story of desire taken to the edge of reason and beyond; of the frantic, clumsy dance steps of young love; and a gorgeous, street-level portrait of the world's greatest city. It's about the small, warm, human moments of everyday life…and the great surging forces that lie just under the surface. Scott McCloud wrote the book on how comics work; now he vaults into great fiction with a breathtaking, funny, and unforgettable new work.

12: The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow

It is set at the United Nations. SOLD. In case you have lived under a rock and do not really know me, one of my dream jobs was to work at the United Nations as a translator/lawyer. I wish I picked up this book at Book Con but it is all good as this book was released on September 22, 2015. Here is the book description: In the future, the UN has brought back an ancient way to keep the peace. The children of world leaders are held hostage—if a war begins, they pay with their lives. Greta is the Crown Princess of the Pan Polar Confederacy, a superpower formed of modern-day Canada. She is also a Child of Peace, a hostage held by the de facto ruler of the world, the great Artificial Intelligence, Talis. The hostages are Talis’s strategy to keep the peace: if her country enters a war, Greta dies. The system has worked for centuries. Parents don’t want to see their children murdered. Greta will be free if she can make it to her eighteenth birthday. Until then she is prepared to die with dignity, if necessary. But everything changes when Elian arrives at the Precepture. He’s a hostage from a new American alliance, and he defies the machines that control every part of their lives—and is severely punished for it. Greta is furious that Elian has disrupted their quiet, structured world. But slowly, his rebellion opens her eyes to the brutality of the rules they live under, and to the subtle resistance of her companions. And Greta discovers her own quiet power. Then Elian’s country declares war on Greta’s and invades the prefecture, taking the hostages hostage. Now the great Talis is furious, and coming himself to mete out punishment. Which surely means that Greta and Elian will be killed...unless Greta can think of a way to save them.

13: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

This book....this book was the talk of Book Expo America, BookCon, San Diego Comic Con and by me. I am so excited for this series! I haven't been this excited for a book since Neil Gaiman announced a prequel for The Sandman as well as Chuck Palahniuk announcing a graphic novel sequel for Fight Club. I pre-ordered this book back in August. This book was released on October 20, 2015. Here is the book description: For fans of Marie Lu and James Dashner comes the first book in an epic new series. “Brace yourself. You're about to be immersed in a mindscape that you'll never want to leave.” —Marie Lu, New York Times bestselling author of the Legend trilogy. This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto one of the evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit. But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it’s clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again. Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

14: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Another book that I was excited about. Eleanor and Park was so good and resonated a lot with me; especially with the kind of relationship I have with my symbiote so...I have to read everything from this author now! This book was released on October 6, 2015. Here is the book description: Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who's ever been chosen.That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right. Half the time, Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here -- it's their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up. Carry On - The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a ghost story, a love story and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you'd expect from a Rainbow Rowell story - but far, far more monsters.as you'd expect from a Rainbow Rowell story - but far, far more monsters.

15: Winter (The Lunar Chronicles Book 4) by Marissa Meyer

The trend of reimagining/rewriting fairy tales for modern day is still alive and well. I, usually, do not like remakes when it comes to movies/television shows but with books I do not mind a new spin as long as it is original. This series just does that. This book was released on November 10, 2015. Here is the book description: Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana. Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won't approve of her feelings for her childhood friend--the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn't as weak as Levana believes her to be and she's been undermining her stepmother's wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long. Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters? Fans will not want to miss this thrilling conclusion to Marissa Meyer's national bestselling Lunar Chronicles series.

Well there you have it. What books or pop culture did you enjoy in 2015?

December Advent Calendar 2015

Besides Halloween, I will admit I still get excited for Christmas time. Things just seem to be more magical in the month of December. Maybe it is because of finally finding the love of my life or maybe it is due to still working in Kindergarten; I do not know. For the fourth year in a row, I am doing an activities Advent Calendar to count down to Christmas after reading some great articles online about it. I am big on traditions so here is an outline. Most of the things will be done either by myself, with George, or with my family. Also, just because there is a date attached does not mean it will happen on that date -- it is more of a checklist.

November 29th: Give George his Countdown to Christmas advent calendar (25 wrapped books. He opens up one a day to countdown until Christmas.)(Done!)
November 30th: Watch the 50th Anniversary Special of Charlie Brown/A Charlie Brown Christmas (Done!)
December 1st: Gather clothes and bring to The Bowery Mission.
December 2nd: Make Christmas mix CD for George. (Done!)
December 3rd: Get holiday cards. (Done!)
December 4th: Wear mistletoe headband.
December 5th: Watch the movie Scrooged.
December 6th: Get some chocolate coins and give them to people who make me smile. (Done!)
December 7th: Wear Christmas ornament earrings, get some hot chocolate at Hu Kitchen & walk around Union Square holiday market. (Done!)
December 8th: Watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
December 9th: Start writing out holiday cards. (Done!)
December 10th: Get a holiday inspired manicure. Make sure one nail is sparkly!
December 11th: Watch A Nightmare Before Christmas.
December 12th: Attend CZW Cage of Death with George. (Done!)
December 13th: Mail holiday cards (Done!)
December 14th: Watch He-Man & She-Ra A Christmas Special
December 15th: Get a holiday inspired candle from Bath and Body Works.
December 16th: Make Star Wars themed glitter snowflakes.
December 17th: Go watch some ice skaters in Bryant Park.
December 18th: Watch one of my favorite movies Untamed Heart and have a good cry.
December 19th: Cozy up in some pajamas and watch the Pee Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special.
December 20th: Give my Funshine buddy her present.(Done!)
December 21st: Watch The Original Christmas Classics (Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, The Little Drummer Boy) on DVD.
December 22nd: Make sure all of my gifts are wrapped. (Done!)
December 23rd: Wear ugly Christmas sweater to work. (Done!)
December 24th: Go Christmas caroling in Washington Square Park. (Due to the weather, I didn't go.)
December 25th: CHRISTMAS!!! Open presents and watch The Muppets Christmas Carol.
December 26th: George visits to celebrate Boxing Day and Christmas. Go and see Star Wars: The Force Awakens, go to dinner, and just celebrate our time together.

I hope all of my readers are enjoying this holiday season! What did you do for the season? Leave a comment below to let me know!

What Am I Reading: November Releases + To Be Read

Where in the heck did this year go? Lots of fun times with my love and lots of great reading happening thats what! But this year is not over yet. Almost at my reading goal (Read 52 books in a year) and this months new releases and to be read will just push it over the edge! Well enough of this, as the great Harold D. Saxon, John Dargo, and Don Swanson would say -- ENOUGH OF THIS PALAVER LETS GET THE SHOW ON THE ROAD!

New Releases for the month of November
1: Winter (The Lunar Chronicles Book 4) by Marissa Meyer

The trend of reimagining/rewriting fairy tales for modern day is still alive and well. I, usually, do not like remakes when it comes to movies/television shows but with books I do not mind a new spin as long as it is original. This series just does that. This book is set to be released on November 10, 2015. Here is the book description: Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana. Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won't approve of her feelings for her childhood friend--the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn't as weak as Levana believes her to be and she's been undermining her stepmother's wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long. Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters? Fans will not want to miss this thrilling conclusion to Marissa Meyer's national bestselling Lunar Chronicles series.

2: Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins

Okay time for a Dani confession....sometimes she likes to read cheesy romance novels that have a paranormal edge to them. But this one does not appear to be that cheesy. This book was released on November 3, 2015. Here is the book description: Country clubs and garden parties. The last thing Cassandra wants is to spend the summer before her senior year marooned in a snooty Massachusetts shore town. Cass craves drama and adventure, which is hard when she just feels stuck. But when a dreamy stranger shows up on her family's private beach, claiming that it is his property-and that the year is 1925-Cass is swept into a mystery a hundred years in the making. As she searches for answers in the present, Cass discovers a truth that thrusts Lawrence's life into jeopardy. It won't matter which century he is from if he won't live to see tomorrow.Desperate to save the boy who's come to mean everything to her, Cassandra must find a way to change history...or risk losing Lawrence forever.

3: The Bassoon King by Rainn Wilson

As many of my readers, friends, my love are aware -- I identify myself as a geek girl. It is refreshing to see memoirs coming out nowadays about fellow geeks finding their place in the world. From Simon Pegg to Felicia Day and now this, I am excited! This memoir will be released on November 10, 2015. Here is the book description: For nine seasons Rainn Wilson played Dwight Schrute, everyone's favorite work nemesis and beet farmer. Viewers of The Office fell in love with the character and grew to love the actor who played him even more. Rainn founded a website and media company, SoulPancake, that eventually became a bestselling book of the same name. He also started a hilarious Twitter feed (sample tweet: “I'm not on Facebook” is the new “I don't even own a TV”) that now has more than four million followers. Now, he's ready to tell his own story and explain how he came up with his incredibly unique sense of humor and perspective on life. He explains how he grew up “bone-numbingly nerdy before there was even a modicum of cool attached to the word.” The Bassoon King chronicles his journey from nerd to drama geek (“the highest rung on the vast, pimply ladder of high school losers”), his years of mild debauchery and struggles as a young actor in New York, his many adventures and insights about The Office, and finally, Wilson's achievement of success and satisfaction, both in his career and spiritually, reconnecting with the artistic and creative values of the Bahá’í faith he grew up in.

What I am Reading in November
1: Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix

I have a lot of friends who work in retail -- namely Walmart. Once you read the book description, you will understand why I had to read this, especially this month. Here is the book description: Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking. To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

2: The Sculptor by Scott McCloud

This graphic novel came as a recommendation from Reagan on BookTube. It is hitting close to home so far. Here is the book description: David Smith is giving his life for his art―literally. Thanks to a deal with Death, the young sculptor gets his childhood wish: to sculpt anything he can imagine with his bare hands. But now that he only has 200 days to live, deciding what to create is harder than he thought, and discovering the love of his life at the 11th hour isn't making it any easier! This is a story of desire taken to the edge of reason and beyond; of the frantic, clumsy dance steps of young love; and a gorgeous, street-level portrait of the world's greatest city. It's about the small, warm, human moments of everyday life…and the great surging forces that lie just under the surface. Scott McCloud wrote the book on how comics work; now he vaults into great fiction with a breathtaking, funny, and unforgettable new work.

What are you reading this month? Let me know in the comments below!

What Am I Reading: October Release + To Be Read

Well I guess it is finally time to wake up and enjoy some books! This fall, especially October, has a lot of books coming out that I am throughly excited and ecstatic for. Well enough of this palaver like Harold D. Saxon would say....Lets get this show on the road!

New Releases for the month of October
1: City on Fire by Garth Risk Halberg

This book is set to be released on October 13, 2015. Here is the book description: New York City, 1976. Meet Regan and William Hamilton-Sweeney, estranged heirs to one of the city’s great fortunes; Keith and Mercer, the men who, for better or worse, love them; Charlie and Samantha, two suburban teenagers seduced by downtown’s punk scene; an obsessive magazine reporter and his idealistic neighbor—and the detective trying to figure out what any of them have to do with a shooting in Central Park on New Year’s Eve. The mystery, as it reverberates through families, friendships, and the corridors of power, will open up even the loneliest-seeming corners of the crowded city. And when the blackout of July 13, 1977, plunges this world into darkness, each of these lives will be changed forever. City on Fire is an unforgettable novel about love and betrayal and forgiveness, about art and truth and rock ’n’ roll: about what people need from each other in order to live . . . and about what makes the living worth doing in the first place.

2: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

This book....this book was the talk of Book Expo America, BookCon, San Diego Comic Con and by me. I am so excited for this series! I haven't been this excited for a book since Neil Gaiman announced a prequel for The Sandman as well as Chuck Palahniuk announcing a graphic novel sequel for Fight Club. I pre-ordered this book back in August. This book is set to be released on October 20, 2015. Here is the book description: For fans of Marie Lu and James Dashner comes the first book in an epic new series. “Brace yourself. You're about to be immersed in a mindscape that you'll never want to leave.” —Marie Lu, New York Times bestselling author of the Legend trilogy. This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto one of the evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit. But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it’s clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again. Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

3: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Another book that I an excited about. Eleanor and Park was so good and resonated a lot with me; especially with the kind of relationship I have with my symbiote so...I have to read everything from this author now! This book is set to release on October 6, 2015. Here is the book description: Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who's ever been chosen.That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right. Half the time, Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here -- it's their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up. Carry On - The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a ghost story, a love story and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you'd expect from a Rainbow Rowell story - but far, far more monsters.as you'd expect from a Rainbow Rowell story - but far, far more monsters.

What I am Reading in October
1: Cell by Stephen King

Another book recommendation from the Mister. I asked him about which book I should start next and this was brought up and he said I should start this one as it has a Walking Dead feel to it. I was sold. Here is the book description: The next call you take could be your last in this terrifying #1 New York Times bestseller by Stephen King. WHERE WERE YOU ON OCTOBER 1ST AT 3:03 P.M.? Graphic artist Clay Riddell was in the heart of Boston on that brilliant autumn afternoon when hell was unleashed before his eyes. Without warning, carnage and chaos reigned. Ordinary people fell victim to the basest, most animalistic destruction. And the apocalypse began with the ring of a cell phone....

2: Speaking of The Walking Dead -- I have volumes 22,23,and 24 to read. So that will be done this month too.

3: Almost done with the Farscape graphic novel series too! Have volumes 5,6,and 7 left. So that will be done too. I hope.

So what do you plan on reading this month?

Countdown to Halloween -- 2015 Edition!

My favorite holiday, besides my birthday, is Halloween. I am drawn to all things Halloween/Autumn -- vampires, zombies, werewolves, cheesy 80s horror movies, dressing up, anything pumpkin flavored or scented, sweater weather... Just love it! With that said I thought it would be cool to do a COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN activities list. Most of this stuff will be done by myself or with George. Yes I know there are dates attached but I am using it more as a check off list.

October 1st: Watch the movie Frankenweenie.
October 2nd: Watch the movie Paranorman.
October 3rd? Watch the movie Hotel Transylvania.
October 4th: Watch the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas.
October 5th: Try the pumpkin spice chai tea at Argo. (Done!)
October 6th: Sweetest Day with George.
October 7th: Wear skull hand hair clip to work. (Done!)
October 8th: Watch the movie Hocus Pocus.
October 9th: Watch the movie The Shining with George.
October 10th: Watch the movie Hellraiser.
October 11th: Attend South Jersey Wrestle Fest with George. (Done!)
October 12th: Watch the Universal classic horror movies Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein.
October 13th: Watch the movie Nightmare on Elm Street (original with Robert Englund) (Done!)
October 14th: Get candles with a cinnamon or pumpkin smell from Bath and Body Works for my room. (Done!)
October 15th: Watch the movie Beetlejuice.
October 16th: Watch the movie Psycho (original Alfred Hitchcock version).
October 17th: Watch the cartoon Its the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Done!)
October 18th: Go to the NYC Zombie Crawl. (Done!)
October 19th: Watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
October 20th: Watch the movie The Evil Dead (original with Bruce Campbell)
October 21st: Watch the movie The Craft (Done!)
October 22nd: Get a beauty treatment that is pumpkin/fall inspired. (Done!)
October 23rd: Get some Halloween inspired stickers for my students.
October 24th: Attend On Point Wrestling with George. (Done!)
October 25th: Watch the movie Friday the 13th Part One
October 26th: Wear cat ears to work. (Done!)
October 27th: Visit a farm and pick a pumpkin!
October 28th: Watch the movie Teen Witch
October 29th: Get a fall inspired color manicure. (Done!)
October 30th: Watch the movie The Lost Boys.
October 31st: HALLOWEEN!!! Blood Manor, Ripley's Believe it Or Not museum, Jekyll and Hyde Club for lunch with George! (Unfortunately plans with George fell through. I still did Blood Manor as he insisted I go and have fun.)

What are you doing for October/Halloween?

What Am I Reading: September Releases + To Be Read

Whoa! September seems to be a good month for new releases that I am excited about! Let me not keep my excitement bottled in any longer!

New Releases for the month of September

1: Nightfall by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski

I scored an ARC of this back at BookCon in May and was so excited to get it as it reminded me of Wayward Pines. This book has already been read by me and will be passed on to my lovely boyfriend but if you are interested in this -- it will be released on September 22nd. Here is the description: A story where edge-of-your-seat horror meets post-apocalyptic thriller, perfect for fans of Lois Lowry and The Mazerunner --Night is coming. On Marin’s island, sunrise doesn’t come every twenty-four hours--it comes every twenty-eight years. Each sunset, the townspeople sail to the south, where they wait out the long Night. None of the adults will tell Marin, Kana, or their friend Line exactly what happens when they leave the island, but when the three are accidentally left behind in the gathering dusk, they learn the truth: at Night, their town belongs to others, and those others want them gone. Fleeing through the now-alien landscape that used to be their home, the three confront shocking transformations and uncomfortable truths about themselves. They are challenged to trust one another or perish. Marin, Kana, and Line must find their way off the island . . . before the Night finds them.

2: The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume 1: At The Edge Of Empire by Daniel Kraus

I will admit -- I am not a huge fan of gangster/mob stories but do read them from time to time. Add that with the movie Black Mass coming out as well as my boyfriend's love of gangster book and films -- I had to add this book to the list. This book is also set to release on September 22nd. Here is the book description: A murdered teen is resurrected to walk the earth for centuries in this sweeping historical epic in the spirit of The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, from the author of Rotters and Scowler. Twenty minutes after his murder on the shores of Lake Michigan in 1896, seventeen-year-old Zebulon Finch awakens, resurrected to suffer an eternity upon the planet. But of all people...why him? Is it because he was a violent Chicago gangster and this is his chance at redemption? Is it because he is a modern-day Job whose suffering is beyond human comprehension?
Over the next century—or two—he will try to find out. With a sly aristocratic voice and a healthy appetite for women and anarchy, Zebulon Finch spins a tale of his travels across a young America, watching the country grow and mature, knowing that his mind and body will never do the same.
Yes, he is witty. He is also vain. Absolutely brilliant, too. And he is always entertaining. But have no doubt—Zebulon Finch has a heart as vulnerable as anyone’s. Too bad he doesn’t learn to use it till after it has stopped beating…

3: The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow

It is set at the United Nations. SOLD. In case you have lived under a rock and do not really know me, one of my dream jobs was to work at the United Nations as a translator/lawyer. I wish I picked up this book at Book Con but it is all good..I can wait. This book is set to be released on September 22, 2015. Here is the book description: In the future, the UN has brought back an ancient way to keep the peace. The children of world leaders are held hostage—if a war begins, they pay with their lives. Greta is the Crown Princess of the Pan Polar Confederacy, a superpower formed of modern-day Canada. She is also a Child of Peace, a hostage held by the de facto ruler of the world, the great Artificial Intelligence, Talis. The hostages are Talis’s strategy to keep the peace: if her country enters a war, Greta dies. The system has worked for centuries. Parents don’t want to see their children murdered. Greta will be free if she can make it to her eighteenth birthday. Until then she is prepared to die with dignity, if necessary. But everything changes when Elian arrives at the Precepture. He’s a hostage from a new American alliance, and he defies the machines that control every part of their lives—and is severely punished for it. Greta is furious that Elian has disrupted their quiet, structured world. But slowly, his rebellion opens her eyes to the brutality of the rules they live under, and to the subtle resistance of her companions. And Greta discovers her own quiet power. Then Elian’s country declares war on Greta’s and invades the prefecture, taking the hostages hostage. Now the great Talis is furious, and coming himself to mete out punishment. Which surely means that Greta and Elian will be killed...unless Greta can think of a way to save them.

4: The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands

Murder mysteries? Puzzles? Codes to decipher? S O L D. This book is set to release on September 8, 2015. Here is the book description Following a series of murders, an apothecary’s apprentice must solve puzzles and decipher codes in pursuit of a secret that could destroy the world in this suspenseful debut novel.Christopher Rowe, apprentice to Master Apothecary Benedict Blackthorn, is learning all his master’s secrets—like how to decipher complex codes and puzzles, and how to transform simple ingredients into powerful medicines, potions, and weapons.
Christopher’s beloved master guides him with a firm, steady hand—a confidence even more vital as Christopher learns of a mysterious cult preying on London’s apothecaries. The murders grow closer and closer to Blackthorn’s shop…until Christopher is torn from his home with only a cryptic message and a warning from his master: “Tell no one what I’ve given you.”
Aided by his best friend, Tom, Christopher must race to decipher his master’s message—and follow a trail of deceit toward an unearthly secret with the power to tear the world apart.

5: The Killing Lessons by Saul Black

Blame le love of my life for getting me into crime fiction. Damn do we love reading! This book will be released on September 22, 2015. Here is the book description: When the two strangers turn up at Rowena Cooper's isolated Colorado farmhouse, she knows instantly that it's the end of everything. For the two haunted and driven men, on the other hand, it's just another stop on a long and bloody journey. And they still have many miles to go, and victims to sacrifice, before their work is done. For San Francisco homicide detective Valerie Hart, their trail of victims--women abducted, tortured and left with a seemingly random series of objects inside them--has brought her from obsession to the edge of physical and psychological destruction. And she's losing hope of making a breakthrough before that happens.
But the murders at the Cooper farmhouse didn't quite go according to plan. There was a survivor, Rowena's ten-year-old daughter Nell, who now holds the key to the killings. Injured, half-frozen, terrified, Nell has only one place to go. And that place could be even more dangerous than what she's running from. In this extraordinary, pulse-pounding debut, Saul Black takes us deep into the mind of a psychopath, and into the troubled heart of the woman determined to stop him.

6: The Appearance of Annie van Sinderen by Katherine Howe

New York City. Seances. Psychics. Psychological Thriller...yes I want. This book is set to be released on September 15, 2015. Here is the book description: It’s July in New York City, and aspiring filmmaker Wes Auckerman has just arrived to start his summer term at NYU. While shooting a séance at a psychic’s in the East Village, he meets a mysterious, intoxicatingly beautiful girl named Annie. As they start spending time together, Wes finds himself falling for her, drawn to her rose-petal lips and her entrancing glow. There’s just something about her that he can’t put his finger on, something faraway and otherworldly that compels him to fall even deeper. Annie’s from the city, and yet she seems just as out of place as Wes feels. Lost in the chaos of the busy city streets, she’s been searching for something—a missing ring. And now Annie is running out of time and needs Wes’s help. As they search together, Annie and Wes uncover secrets lurking around every corner, secrets that will reveal the truth of Annie’s dark past.

What I Am Reading in the month of September
1: The Diviners by Libba Bray

1920's. New York. Mystery. Murder. Paranormal. SIGN ME UP. This book was released in 2013 and the sequel, Lair of Dreams, just came out last month so I better get a jump on this series! Here is the book description: Do you believe there are ghosts and demons and Diviners among us? Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It's 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult. Evie worries he'll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer. As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfurl in the city that never sleeps. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened....

2: Clumsy by Jeffrey Brown

You know how you just find a book that goes "I can relate to this". Well say hello to this graphic novel. Here is the book description: Clumsy is Jeffrey Brown's debut work Clumsy is the bittersweet story of a year long, long distance relationship, told through snippets of everyday life, drawn in a simple and elegantly awkward style that heightens the emotional impact and leaves you reminiscing about your own past love affairs. Oh, and it also has a lot of sex.

What are you reading for the month of September?

What Am I Reading: August Releases + To Be Read

With July in the background now and with the wish of time slowly down....here is what I am excited about in the realm of books in the month of August.

New Releases For The Month of August

1: Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

To be released on August 18, 2015. Here is the book description: A lonely young woman working in a boys’ prison outside Boston in the early 60s is pulled into a very strange crime, in a mordant, harrowing story of obsession and suspense, by one of the brightest new voices in fiction. So here we are. My name was Eileen Dunlop. Now you know me. I was twenty-four years old then, and had a job that paid fifty-seven dollars a week as a kind of secretary at a private juvenile correctional facility for teenage boys. I think of it now as what it really was for all intents and purposes—a prison for boys. I will call it Moorehead. Delvin Moorehead was a terrible landlord I had years later, and so to use his name for such a place feels appropriate. In a week, I would run away from home and never go back. This is the story of how I disappeared. The Christmas season offers little cheer for Eileen Dunlop, an unassuming yet disturbed young woman trapped between her role as her alcoholic father’s caretaker in a home whose squalor is the talk of the neighborhood and a day job as a secretary at the boys’ prison, filled with its own quotidian horrors. Consumed by resentment and self-loathing, Eileen tempers her dreary days with perverse fantasies and dreams of escaping to the big city. In the meantime, she fills her nights and weekends with shoplifting, stalking a buff prison guard named Randy, and cleaning up her increasingly deranged father’s messes. When the bright, beautiful, and cheery Rebecca Saint John arrives on the scene as the new counselor at Moorehead, Eileen is enchanted and proves unable to resist what appears at first to be a miraculously budding friendship. In a Hitchcockian twist, her affection for Rebecca ultimately pulls her into complicity in a crime that surpasses her wildest imaginings. Played out against the snowy landscape of coastal New England in the days leading up to Christmas, young Eileen’s story is told from the gimlet-eyed perspective of the now much older narrator. Creepy, mesmerizing, and sublimely funny, in the tradition of Shirley Jackson and early Vladimir Nabokov, this powerful debut novel enthralls and shocks, and introduces one of the most original new voices in contemporary literature.

2: Barbara the Slut and Other People by Lauren Holmes

To be released on August 4, 2015. Here is the book description: A fresh, honest, and darkly funny debut collection about family, friends, and lovers, and the flaws that make us most human. Fearless, candid, and incredibly funny, Lauren Holmes is a newcomer who writes like a master. She tackles eros and intimacy with a deceptively light touch, a keen awareness of how their nervous systems tangle and sometimes short-circuit, and a genius for revealing our most vulnerable, spirited selves. In “Desert Hearts,” a woman takes a job selling sex toys in San Francisco rather than embark on the law career she pursued only for the sake of her father. In “Pearl and the Swiss Guy Fall in Love,” a woman realizes she much prefers the company of her pit bull—and herself—to the neurotic foreign fling who won’t decamp from her apartment. In “How Am I Supposed to Talk to You?” a daughter hauls a suitcase of lingerie to Mexico for her flighty, estranged mother to resell there, wondering whether her personal mission—to come out—is worth the same effort. And in “Barbara the Slut,” a young woman with an autistic brother, a Princeton acceptance letter, and a love of sex navigates her high school’s toxic, slut-shaming culture with open eyes. With heart, sass, and pitch-perfect characters, Barbara the Slut is a head-turning debut from a writer with a limitless career before her.

What I Will Be Reading in August
Like in July: As I said above, with myself being on summer break, I have plenty of time to read...when I am not swimming, taking driving lessons, going out, or other life things happen. Here is what I have decided to read in the month of August.

1: I am in a psychological thriller kind of mood. Think I will finally reading The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I wrote about this book back in January 2015. Check out that blog for the book description.

2: I am also in a light and fun kind of mood. So with that I think I will read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz.

Here is the book description: This Printz Honor Book is a “tender, honest exploration of identity” (Publishers Weekly) that distills lyrical truths about family and friendship. Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

3: Will continue to read the graphic novel series of Farscape.

What are you reading this month?

What Am I Reading: July Book Releases + To Be Read

With Book Con and work behind me and summer break in front of me -- plenty of time for reading! I have upped my reading game and try to read at least three books a week; graphic novels included. No slump for this lass! In any event, lets get this show on the road!

New Releases for July

1: Ink and Bone: The Great Library by Rachel Caine

This book sounds like a modern retelling of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I do not mind a modern retelling, remakes/reboots no. This book is set to be released on July 7, 2015. Here is the book description: In an exhilarating new series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time.…Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden. Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service. When he inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life—and soon both heretics and books will burn.…

2: The Bourbon Kings by JR Ward

I have never been so excited for a book in a long time and because of my excitement I received an ARC of this at Book Con in May. Just read the description below and hopefully it will pull you in too. This book is to be released on July 28, 2015. Here is the book description: The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood delivers the first novel in an enthralling new series set amid the shifting dynamics of a Southern family defined by wealth and privilege—and compromised by secrets, deceit, and scandal.... For generations, the Bradford family has worn the mantle of kings of the bourbon capital of the world. Their sustained wealth has afforded them prestige and privilege—as well as a hard-won division of class on their sprawling estate, Easterly. Upstairs, a dynasty that by all appearances plays by the rules of good fortune and good taste. Downstairs, the staff who work tirelessly to maintain the impeccable Bradford facade. And never the twain shall meet.For Lizzie King, Easterly’s head gardener, crossing that divide nearly ruined her life. Falling in love with Tulane, the prodigal son of the bourbon dynasty, was nothing that she intended or wanted—and their bitter breakup only served to prove her instincts were right. Now, after two years of staying away, Tulane is finally coming home again, and he is bringing the past with him. No one will be left unmarked: not Tulane’s beautiful and ruthless wife; not his older brother, whose bitterness and bad blood know no bounds; and especially not the ironfisted Bradford patriarch, a man with few morals, fewer scruples, and many, many terrible secrets. As family tensions—professional and intimately private—ignite, Easterly and all its inhabitants are thrown into the grips of an irrevocable transformation, and only the cunning will survive.

3: What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss

This one is a no-brainer for me since I am an educator. Granted, I am not a fan of rhyming books but whatever gets children to read correct? A never-before-seen Dr. Seuss book? Children’s releases don’t get much bigger than this! The book focuses on the life lesson that while it may be hard to make up your mind, sometimes you just have to do it. The book is set to release on July 28, 2015.








What I Will Be Reading In July
As I said above, with myself being on summer break, I have plenty of time to read...when I am not swimming, taking driving lessons, or going out of course. Here is what I have decided to read in the month of July.

1: The Bourbon Kings by JR Ward. Read description above.

2: Friendship: A Novel by Emily Gould:

I happened to stumble upon this on BookOutlet.com and remembered that I had it on my Amazon wish list. It looked interesting so I bought it. Here is the book description: A Wall Street Journal Favorite Book of the Year · A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice · Named a Best Book of the Year by Vol. 1 Brooklyn and The Globe and Mail (Canada).Bev Tunney and Amy Schein have been best friends for years, but now, at thirty, they're at a crossroads. Bev is a hardworking Midwesterner still mourning a years-old romantic catastrophe that derailed her career. Amy is an East Coast princess, whose luck and charm have, so far, allowed her to skate through life. Bev is stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of temping, drowning in student loan debt, and (still) living with roommates. Amy is riding the tailwinds of her early success, but her habit of burning bridges is finally catching up to her. And now Bev is pregnant. As the two are dragged, kicking and screaming, into real adulthood, they are confronted with the possibility that growing up might also mean growing apart. Friendship, Emily Gould's debut novel, is the story of their relationship-a searching examination of a best friendship that is at once profoundly recognizable and impossible to put down.

What shall you be reading in July?

The Q&A Twitter Chat That Went Incredibly Wrong

This afternoon I hope readers of the Internet had their bowls of popcorn ready. Why do you ask?

This happened today:

It became a big huge fireball of failure. E.L. James is doing some publicity campaigns for her latest dren which included a Twitter chat. Unfortunately, she is not answering any more questions, or any questions with actual relevance, but there were some amazing Twitter users asking the important questions filled with snark -- from asking about her “inspirations” and to the blatant call out of James’ horrible glorification of an abusive relationship.

Most people know about my disdain for E.L James. If you do not, here is my opinion in a nutshell -- the 8th grade class from this year who I had when they were in the 3rd grade have written essays, prose, poetry, and narratives with better quality and imagination than this author. Plus, I do not agree with the glamorization of domestic abuse and rape culture. Furthermore, while I do not know about the lifestyle that she horribly wrote about in great detail, I have heard various accounts that she misrepresented it.

I’m not sure which member of the marketing team thought that an open Q&A on Twitter was a good idea. In any event, I did partake in this hashtag and here is what I submitted: ‪

#‎AskELJames‬ Give advice on how you found a editor/publisher that was dumb enough to accept your mindless poorly written drivel.

#AskELJames Must feel great to dismiss an audience as you rack in their money for having no talent and misrepresentation of a lifestyle.
#AskELJames Do you realize that your chat is sponsored by a country that has no regard for women's rights?

#ASKELJames How does it feel to misrepresent an entire lifestyle to a group of women who've never before been exposed to it?

#AskELJames Have any advice on how single women can bag successful British screenwriters so their mindless drivel will get published?

#AskELJames How much breath have you baited for Stephanie Meyer's next novel?

#AskELJames How many nickels did you get for the overuse of the words "and" "then" "said"?

#AskELJames What is the safe word for "stop writing such crap"?

#AskELJames Are you considering retelling the story from the perspective of someone who can actually formulate a coherent sentence?

#AskELJames Have you decided to do research on erotica before publishing another book?

#AskELJames Are you aware that the majority of your writing is compared to that of a middle school student?

Now time to get back to my scheduled reading of English literature.

What Am I Reading: June Book Releases + To Be Read

Well hello there June! So nice to see you. This month is the greatest month in the lives of teachers, especially this one, as it is THE LAST MONTH OF SCHOOL! Which means more reading and not having to get up at 6am, even though my body is already trained to do that. In any event, lets get this show on the road!

New Releases for June
1: Even When You Lie To Me by Jessica Alcott

I love a good love story. It seems that June is coming up with a lot of them but none has me as excited as this one! This book is to be released on June 7, 2015. Here is the book description: Fans of John Green's Looking for Alaska as well as Lauren Oliver and Sarah Dessen will embrace this provocative debut novel, an exploration of taboo love set against the backdrop of a suburban high school. Charlie, a senior, isn’t looking forward to her last year of high school. Another year of living in the shadow of her best friend, Lila. Another year of hiding behind the covers of her favorite novels. Another year of navigating her tense relationship with her perfectionist mom. But everything changes when she meets her new English teacher. Mr. Drummond is smart. Irreverent. Funny. Hot. Everyone loves him. And Charlie thinks he’s the only one who gets her. She also thinks she might not be the only one with a crush. In this stunning debut, Jessica Alcott explores relationships—and their boundaries—in a way that is both searingly honest and sympathetic.

2: Blackout: Remembering The Things I Drank to Forget by Sarah Hepola

What a lot of people do not know about me is that my uncle suffered with the disease known as alcoholism. He wouldn't remember breaking my cousins arm twice, beating up my aunt/his wife, and other various abusive issues. Therefore when this book is released, I will get it and try to relate as best as I can. This book is to be released on June 23, 2015. Here is the book description: "It's such a savage thing to lose your memory, but the crazy thing is, it doesn't hurt one bit. A blackout doesn't sting, or stab, or leave a scar when it robs you. Close your eyes and open them again. That's what a blackout feels like." For Sarah Hepola, alcohol was "the gasoline of all adventure." She spent her evenings at cocktail parties and dark bars where she proudly stayed till last call. Drinking felt like freedom, part of her birthright as a strong, enlightened twenty-first-century woman. But there was a price. She often blacked out, waking up with a blank space where four hours should be. Mornings became detective work on her own life. What did I say last night? How did I meet that guy? She apologized for things she couldn't remember doing, as though she were cleaning up after an evil twin. Publicly, she covered her shame with self-deprecating jokes, and her career flourished, but as the blackouts accumulated, she could no longer avoid a sinking truth. The fuel she thought she needed was draining her spirit instead. A memoir of unblinking honesty and poignant, laugh-out getting yourself back in return.

3: A Field Guide to Awkward Silences by Alexandria Petri

Every girl in their teenage/early 20's have had their bouts with awkwardness and fear. Not this girl. She, in my opinion, is a role model for all of us awkward girls out there. Her memoir is due out on Tuesday June 2, 2015. Here is the book description: Most twentysomethings spend a lot of time avoiding awkwardness.Not Alexandra Petri. Afraid of rejection? Alexandra Petri has auditioned for America’s Next Top Model. Afraid of looking like an idiot? Alexandra Petri lost Jeopardy! by answering “Who is that dude?” on national TV. Afraid of bad jokes? Alexandra Petri won an international pun championship. Petri has been a debutante, reenacted the Civil War, and fended off suitors at a Star Wars convention while wearing a Jabba the Hutt suit. One time, she let some cult members she met on the street baptize her, just to be polite. She’s a connoisseur of the kind of awkwardness that most people spend whole lifetimes trying to avoid. If John Hodgman and Amy Sedaris had a baby…they would never let Petri babysit it. But Petri is here to tell you: Everything you fear is not so bad. Trust her. She’s tried it. And in the course of her misadventures, she’s learned that there are worse things out there than awkwardness—and that interesting things start to happen when you stop caring what people think.

What I Am Reading in the month of June
This month I am going to try and keep my TBR open but will attempt to read a book a day since I will be on summer break. These are the two titles that I know I will be definitely reading.

1: Yes, Please by Amy Poehler:

Dani needs some laughs and apparently this book, as I am told, will give me just that. Here is the description: Do you want to get to know the woman we first came to love on Comedy Central's Upright Citizens Brigade? Do you want to spend some time with the lady who made you howl with laughter on Saturday Night Live, and in movies like Baby Mama, Blades of Glory, and They Came Together? Do you find yourself daydreaming about hanging out with the actor behind the brilliant Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation? Did you wish you were in the audience at the last two Golden Globes ceremonies, so you could bask in the hilarity of Amy's one-liners? If your answer to these questions is "Yes Please!" then you are in luck. In her first book, one of our most beloved funny folk delivers a smart, pointed, and ultimately inspirational read. Full of the comedic skill that makes us all love Amy, Yes Please is a rich and varied collection of stories, lists, poetry (Plastic Surgery Haiku, to be specific), photographs, mantras and advice. With chapters like "Treat Your Career Like a Bad Boyfriend," "Plain Girl Versus the Demon" and "The Robots Will Kill Us All" Yes Please will make you think as much as it will make you laugh. Honest, personal, real, and righteous, Yes Please is full of words to live by.

2: H is for Hawk by Helen McDonald: I wrote about this book in March of this year. Now I am just getting to it.

What Am I Reading: May Book Releases + To Be Read

It is May 6, 2015.

I usually have this blog feature posted on the 1st of each month.

What the heck happened Danielle? Usually you are very meticulous with your deadlines and your writing! This is so unlike you! What the frell???

Now while the above statement is true, I just have one thing to say -- FUCK IT. Life happens. New hobbies happened. Spending time with the love of my life happened. Avengers 2 released!

But I could not leave my fellow readers without this faithful feature. So lets get this palaver started!

Here are the book releases for the month of May that I am excited about as well as what I will be reading this month.

New Book Releases for the month of May
1: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast? Sign me up...well since I am the living and breathing Belle and I am getting my library from my own Beast. This book was released yesterday, literally, and here is the description: When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin-one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world. As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin-and his world-forever. Perfect for fans of Kristen Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

2: Day Shift (Midnight, Texas) by Charlaine Harris

Charlaine Harris has embarked herself onto another series, this one title Midnight, Texas. The first book in the series, titled Midnight Crossroad, came out last year in May and the sequel, which released yesterday, is titled Day Shift. If you are a fan of the Sookie Steakhouse series as well as vampires, you will enjoy this series. Here is the description: In Midnight Crossroad, Charlaine Harris “capture[d] the same magic as the world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, and [took] it to another level" (Houston Press). Now the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels returns to the one-traffic-light town you see only when you’re on the way to someplace else… There is no such thing as bad publicity, except in Midnight, Texas, where the residents like to keep to themselves. Even in a town full of secretive people, Olivia Charity is an enigma. She lives with the vampire Lemuel, but no one knows what she does; they only know that she’s beautiful and dangerous. Psychic Manfred Bernardo finds out just how dangerous when he goes on a working weekend to Dallas and sees Olivia there with a couple who are both found dead the next day. To make matters worse, one of Manfred’s regular—and very wealthy—clients dies during a reading. Manfred returns from Dallas embroiled in scandal and hounded by the press. He turns to Olivia for help; somehow he knows that the mysterious Olivia can get things back to normal. As normal as things get in Midnight…

3: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

This book has come up in my recommendations on Amazon a lot as well as receiving a lot of great reviews and it is inspired by the folk tale A Thousand and One Nights. When I read the description, it sounded interesting so why not give it a shot? This title will be released by May 12, 2015. Here is the description: Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend. She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

4: Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

Apparently this book is being touted as another version of Gone Girl, but instead the heroine is a teenager and not bat shit crazy like Amy in Gone Girl. I will admit, I was not a fan of Gone Girl at first but it grew on me, so upon reading the description of this I figured, yet again, lets give it a shot. Apparently that is my motto for this month of new releases -- hey lets give a shot! This books will be released on May 12, 2015. Here is the book description: HER PERFECT LIFE IS A PERFECT LIE. As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve. But Ani has a secret. There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything. With a singular voice and twists you won’t see coming, Luckiest Girl Alive explores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to “have it all” and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that's bigger than it first appears. The question remains: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for—or, will it at long last, set Ani free?

5: ReJane by Patricia Park

Another modern day retelling of a classic; this time it is Jane Eyre. Out of all of the Charlotte Bronte novels out there, this one has to be the one that did not put me to sleep. So upon hearing of a modern retelling of this, figured...say it with me my faithful readers....HEY LETS GIVE IT A SHOT! This book was released yesterday. Here is the book description: Journeying from Queens to Brooklyn to Seoul, and back, this is a fresh, contemporary retelling of Jane Eyre and a poignant Korean American debut -- For Jane Re, half-Korean, half-American orphan, Flushing, Queens, is the place she’s been trying to escape from her whole life. Sardonic yet vulnerable, Jane toils, unappreciated, in her strict uncle’s grocery store and politely observes the traditional principle of nunchi (a combination of good manners, hierarchy, and obligation). Desperate for a new life, she’s thrilled to become the au pair for the Mazer-Farleys, two Brooklyn English professors and their adopted Chinese daughter. Inducted into the world of organic food co-ops, and nineteenth–century novels, Jane is the recipient of Beth Mazer’s feminist lectures and Ed Farley’s very male attention. But when a family death interrupts Jane and Ed’s blossoming affair, she flies off to Seoul, leaving New York far behind. Reconnecting with family, and struggling to learn the ways of modern-day Korea, Jane begins to wonder if Ed Farley is really the man for her. Jane returns to Queens, where she must find a balance between two cultures and accept who she really is. Re Jane is a bright, comic story of falling in love, finding strength, and living not just out of obligation to others, but for one’s self.

What I am Reading in the month of May
1: The Duff by Kody Keplinger

This is the book I am currently reading and is part of the "The Book is Better" campaign since it was made into a movie. I have not seen the movie yet and will not until I finish this book to give my opinion. Here is the description: Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper may not be the prettiest girl in her high school, but she has a loyal group of friends, a biting wit, and a spot-on BS detector. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush, who calls Bianca the Duff--the designated ugly fat friend--of her crew. But things aren't so great at home and Bianca, desperate for a distraction, ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him. Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

2: This stack of Farscape trade paperbacks. And maybe give them to my love, if he isn't being evil. Oh you know I am going to pass on the goodness...who am I kidding.

Now it is going to be hard to give a description for each and every trade paperback here so I will give you a general synopsis of what Farscape is all about: Thrown into a distant part of the universe, an Earth astronaut finds himself part of a fugitive alien starship crew. Sounds simple right? It truly is not and is one of those television shows that networks missed the mark on. Watch it on Netflix, get a copy of The Peacekeeper Wars, then get your hands on the comic trade paperbacks. You will be hooked. Sorry for ruining your life. ;)

I am pretty sure I will read other books but this is it...what are you reading in May?