Randomness, if you please

My creative writing teacher has contributed to my dislike for 1st Person narratives. Figures our first writing assignment would be a story written in -- yes -- 1st Person.

She liked it though, as did my classmates, so that's exciting! Maybe I'll be a novelist one day after all. *wink*

I finally got The Outsiders today. It's such a thin book! I'll have it finished in no time ((I hope)). I've started reading it a little before I got distracted, and I've enjoyed it so far. The tone is very much that for a fourteen-year-old boy. Very convincing; I appreciate that.

I got another award ((displaying proudly on the left-side column))!! That was sweet! So thank you to Parajunkee, and I promise to pass it around soon!

Finally, I'd like to plug another blog and giveaway. Revenge of the Book Nerds! is having a Austen-themed giveaway. I'm pretty stoked about it. Check it out, for sure!

Now, I have reading and writing to accomplish.

Good evening!

Blog Awards (Like, Whoa), New Book & Such

First, I'd like to thank Amy from My Overstuffed Bookcase for giving me my first two awards. Completely unexpected, and I'm a little giddy about it. (: Thanks so much!

Now, I'm supposed to pass along these awards to five other people. So, here goes::

Sheila from One Persons Journey Through Books
Erica from Soon Remembered Tales
April from Good Books & Wine
Dixie from A Few of My Favorite Things
& finally the blogger from Secret Forest. I have no idea his name, but he was my first comment ever, and I thought I'd give him some recognition. (:

Moving along...I'm loving Jane Eyre. It's quickly becoming one of my favorites. I've had little time to read the past week, but I keep trying -- and then I have difficulty putting it down. Reading before falling asleep is probably my favorite time. Snuggled deeply in thick covers with an engaging book for the win.

Reading Bronte's work is going to continue even slower as I've been assigned to read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton for one of my online classes. My sister, who is now a senior in high school, mocked me because apparently she read the book in 8th grade, while I've never heard of it. Ha, ha, Sister Little, haha.

I went to the library to get it -- all three copies were checked out. Isn't that just my luck? lol. So, hopefully, my sister will remember to pick it up from her school library so that I can start on it. I have to write a paper on it as well. Doing it for a grade isn't quite as fun.

*sigh* Going back to school for a second degree probably wasn't one of my brightest moments...

Helpful Plugging!!

I'm slowly getting the hang of interacting within the blogging community. It's so much fun, and greatly addicting -- which is the last thing I need right now. *eyeroll*

While marching through the many wonderful, wonderful blogs, I discovered another blogger's giveaway for Atonement by Ian McEwan. Now, I mentioned having borrowed that book from the library -- twice -- without being able to read it; I was too embarrassed to check it out a third time. Needless to say, I'd really like to own the book, so I'm gonna try and enter. You should, too!

Check out the Book Rat's blog for details and awesomeness. It ends September 15th so be sure to get your name in before then. (:

Giveaway:: High Maintenance by Jennifer Belle

This book was published in 2001, so it's a bit dated. I don't know if you can tell, though, while reading. The timeline might be ambiguous, but I'm not sure.

Here's the blurb:

Liv Kellerman has just left her cheating husband and -- more tragically -- their
fabulous duplex with its Empire State Building views. Now Liv -- alone for the
first time in her life, with few marketable skills, and crammed into a crumbling
"fixer-upper" in Greenwich Village -- is contemplating her next move....

I'm providing a picture. This book is a little worn -- similar to that of a library book. As the arrows point, there are a few creases in the corners, on the cover. The spine is in good shape, though. Barely any creases there. And the pages seem excellent.

The best part:: it doesn't smell!! ((You can't tell me you haven't received a used book that was a little bit musty, a little bit questionable.))

I can honestly say this book is the one in the worst condition. Every other book is in better shape, if missing a dust cover.

Hope you're interested!


I'll keep this open until Tuesday, September 8th. If you're at all interested in receiving the book, just leave me a comment stating such. If I happen to get several people interested in the book, then I'll draw names from a hat. Or a bag. Or a sock, or something. Then I'll have you email me your address and your new book will be on it's way!

***Sorry, but only U.S. Residents, please.



Since this book is the most dated and not in perfect condition, I understand if no one is interested; I'll try again with a different book the following month.

Thanks!

Giveaways?

Hello readers,

I'm not precisely sure if I have enough traffic to try and do this, but I desperately need to pass along some books. I recently bought a five-shelf book case ((putting that together was ridiculous)) and it's completely full. I still have books in boxes beneath my bed.

Now, I've come across books in a variety of different ways. Most of the books I've received ((specifically the books mournfully hidden beneath my bed)) were given to my from a co-worker. She just needed to get rid of them. Unfortunately, most of them are titles and authors that I've never heard of before -- although there are authors I know are fairly popular -- and the blurbs just don't catch my attention.

Of course, since I'm trying to branch out you'd think I'd keep them and try to read them anyway. I think I have enough on my plate, thanks.

So, at any rate, I have a box of books I'd like to give away. If this first attempt goes well, then I'll continue the next month until they're gone. If not, I'll just keep hold of them until I can pass them along to someone else ((I should mention I've tried the library, but most of the titles they already have too many copies of -- go figure. I never sell anything on Amazon anymore, probably because no one will rate me and everyone thinks I suck!)).

Also, I should let you know that most -- not all -- of these books have been read through. I'm going to be completely honest in their appearance so that you know what you're receiving. I'll probably throw in pictures, too. On the other hands, some of these books have never been read, I know, because I received them from the Literary Guild and never read them.

I'll come back on the first ((9/1)), once I get everything in order, and try my first giveaway. No pressure, anyone.
For now, here's some of the author's I'm dealing with::

Jennifer Belle
Jilliane Hoffman
Lisa Jackson
Sandra Brown

Those are the names I'm unfamiliar with. However, I do also have::

James Patterson
Nora Roberts (J.D. Robb)
Danielle Steele
Janet Evanovich
Stephen King

I'll Scream Later

Truly and honestly I enjoyed this book. And since I'm being honest, I wasn't 100% sure I was going to enjoy it. I didn't want any sort of biography or auto-biography; it's just not my cup of java. But since becoming fascinated with the beautiful and talented Marlee Matlin I knew it was a book I just couldn't pass up. It truly was fabulous.

There are so many things that I respect about her book. The fact that she's so candid and fearless. She delves deeply into her past, plucks out her demons and puts them on display for her readers. She's real. I loved it. And she just seems so down to earth.

For those of you who do not know, Marlee is Deaf. And for those of you who do not know the difference, Deaf has a different connotation than deaf. The capitalized D means that the individual -- or group, for that matter -- is proud of their deafness. And, possibly most importantly, Deaf person is not disabled.

On the other hand, being so profoundly Deaf ((and I mean proud)) can be...well, a turn off. ((For me.))

I took Deaf Culture and History two years ago. I received my Associates Degree in American Sign Language Communicatons and Interpretation. I've been in love with ASL since seeing the movie Children of a Lesser God. And through my college courses and getting out and meeting people in in the Deaf Community, I've learned so much. And unfortunately, one thing I've learned is that the Deaf Community can be brutal. If you're not Deaf then you're most likely ousted from the community. If you go mainstream ((public schooling, not a residential school specifically for the Deaf)), then you're almost traitorous. Often times if you speak, as opposed to signing, or are pro-Cochlear Implants you're accused of not being proud of who you are.

To me, it seemed a little too much like prejudice.

Now, allow me to say that not every D/deaf individual that I meant has shared that mentality, and after reading I'll Scream Later, I've realized that Marlee didn't either. At least, she appeared not to be. In fact, over the course of her career she's received a lot of flake from the Deaf Community. If she didn't do something to their liking then she was "unsupportive."

Anyway, the fact that she is so incredibly down to earth in that aspect and has found away to exist in both Deaf and Hearing Culture is something I admire and appreciate so much. She seems like such a sweetheart.

Now that I'm off my little pedestal -- lol -- I just want to say that this book is definitely an excellent one to pick up. It's motivational. It's funny and witty. Definitely it can be dark, what with her mention of her on-going struggle with addiction and her abusive relationship with William Hurt.

That, I think, would have to be the only thing negative to say about the book. It is one-sided and it's difficult to remain unbiased or arbitrary. I try not feel anger towards this Academy Award winning actor I don't know, but it's tough. *shrug* Maybe I'll read his biography, if he ever gets around to writing one.

Next, from my booklist I'm going to read Jane Eyre, and then I think I wanna try this new book I found:: Echoes by Maeve Binchy. I've never heard of the author. Any of you? I hope I like it! *crosses fingers*

Confessions of a Shopaholic

I was certain that I'd enjoy this novel. After discovering Sophie Kinsella's Remember Me? sometime last summer, I knew her writing style would be something that I could fall into easily -- that's including her use of 1st person, which I'm sure is evident by now that I don't really care for. With that said, I was surprised at how much Confessions of a Shopaholic infuriated me.

Trust me, though, that's a good thing. The novel was great. It was written well; it had me laughing -- literally -- out loud. I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable (and quick) read, considering how much I've failed at life recently. What had me so infuriated wasn't the novel so much as it was Becky Bloomwood.

In the beginning, she was cute and funny, if a little idiotic and immature, but I thought those characteristics were endearing. It wasn't until the story progressed and she lied to a mutual acquaintance-(later)-turn-boyfriend about a dead aunt (which, really wasn't resolved to my liking), chucked every VISA statement and letter from her bank, and utterly refused to acknowledge reality did I get a mite annoyed.

Obviously this book was about a shopaholic who gets herself in a monetary bind (understatement), so I should have known what I was getting myself into. But some things were a little too much for me. Namely the dead aunt thing. Not cool, Miss Bloomwood.

Despite that, I really did enjoy the book! I'd say the amount of times I rolled my eyes in annoyance were outweighed by the times I giggled and "awwww'd". The awww-ing was mostly in regards to her relationship with her friend Suze. Suze was such a sweetheart. I would have liked more awww moments with Luke, but I guess I'll have to read the rest of the series to get those.

At any rate, good novel. Not my favorite by Kinsella, certainly not my favorite in general, but it was a pleasant enough read for me to want to continue with the series.

Next, I'm gonna tackle I'll Scream Later. Pretty stoked about that one.