Book Review: This Is Where It Ends

I have been in a reading slump lately. I haven't really found a book that I just had to read, so, I haven't actually read a book in over a month now. I go through times like this. Sometimes I am reading voraciously. I can finish 3 books in a weekend, and then I hit the slump, like a hitter who just can't swing and connect with the ball. Hopefully though that dry spell is over.

I have started reading This Is Where It Ends. It's a really tough book to read, not because of the writers ability, but because of the content. This book deals with a school shooting. Who wants to read about that? We see enough of it in our everyday lives now, and that is sad. That being said, Marieke has done a wonderful job catching my attention with this fastball. We are immediately drawn into this story. we have alternating viewpoints. At breakneck speed we are discovering the connection between this one boy and all the narrators in this story. I have a feeling, I will finish this book tonight. I have to find out what made this boy crack. Why is Tyler shooting up his school. I've already shed a few tears in this book, and I know I will shed more.

This book is set for release in January 2016. Look for it soon peeps.

An open letter to the world...

My heart is broken today. My heart has been shattered by the passing of the world I thought I knew. I thought I lived in a safe small community, but now I know that was a lie, because people on social media say it's so. The media too, tells me this is a lie. I don't live in a small and safe community, but in a much larger place. A place where decency and respect have fallen to the wayside. A world where people no longer take responsibility for their actions. A world where people think that their lot in life was cast on them by other people.

I grieve for Waller County. I grieve for its citizens. I grieve for the peace and quite that we once knew, but now has been shattered. I grieve for the family who lost a daughter, sister, niece and more. I grieve for the people who lost their friend. Suicide is a very ugly side of life. Never is it pretty. It always leaves people with too many unanswered questions. Suicide never hurts the dead, it only hurts those left behind in its wake.

My heart aches for the people who are so blinded by their anger and hate that they are no longer able to see the good around them. My heart cries out to those that have lost their way in life. My heart wants your heart to know that hate is not the answer. I know that these last pleas will fall on many deaf ears, be scoffed at and ridiculed. That's ok though, because just as you use your voice for hate, I will use mine to tell you that it's not too late to find your way back.


I leave you with one simple message: You matter, I matter, He matters, she matters-WE ALL MATTER.

How Do You Like To Read???

How do you like to read? Do you read sitting up, laying down or something else?

Do you read multiple books at one time or stick with just one?

Do you like e-readers, physical books, audio books or a mix?

That's quite a few questions! You would think I was conducting a survey. If you haven't gleamed it yet from my blog maybe now you'll see that I really like to read! Currently I find myself in an odd situation for me. Normally I'm only reading 1 book at a time. Well I guess that's a lie. In the last year I have started listening to audiobooks. In the past I couldn't pay attention long enough to gain interest in the audio. My mind was always flitting to one thing or another and then I would get lost. I finally decided to listen to a book I had already read, Innocent Blood by James Rollins. From that point on I was hooked. Now when I am in the car by myself I usually have a audiobook playing.

As usual, I have digressed from the original point of this blog...

I find myself right now with 4 books, 3 different formats, 2 genres and 1 me.

Here's what I got going on: While in the car I'm listening to the Mindy Kaling book "Is Everone Hanging Out Without Me?". When I'm at work I have "The Program" by Suzanne Young on my desk. While at home during the daylight hours I'm reading "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard. Then to top it all off at night after the lights go out I'm reading "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken in bed on my Nook. I'm not sure I've ever read 4 books at one time. Maybe it's because none have grabbed my undivided attention, YET! I have high hopes for the three YA novels.

What are you currently reading right now? Have you read any of these four books? Let me know in the comments below.

...and just like that she's back!

I totally disappeared on you for a while! This summer was totally crazy. We had the best summer reading attendance ever and of course that made me very, very, very busy. Hopefully though, all will begin to take on a slower pace now. School starts in just a smidge over three weeks. That will bring with it a whole new round of busy, but at a slightly slower, less manic pace.

With the school year also comes the hope of cooler weather and FOOTBALL! I freaking love football. I am so excited to meet back up with my Fantasy League for our annual draft day. We seriously have the best time. I may never live down selecting Hoyer in the first round, but when I get ribbed with that I just show that I came in 4th last year and beat out 8 other people! I'm really hoping to bring home a first place finish this year. I was dead last the first year, 2nd the the second year and 4th last year. Look out STILL CONFUSED LEAGUE, I'm coming for you!

I did get a chance to review a few picture books this past week and I found two that are incredible and that I can't wait to purchase for my library.

The first one was called SNAP!  This was a delightful book full of water color drawings. I was mesmerized by how the author took something as seemingly as simple as a crayon breaking and come up with an entire story! I know my kids want to throw away crayons as soon as they break. This child though found a whole world of things to do with broken crayons. It was quite lovely and I am so very excited to add this to a storytime in the near future! This book is set for publication on September 22nd. I hope you will fall in love with it as much as I have.

The other book was called The Night Children. The illustrations in this book are very reminiscent of Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are". Usually the illustrations compliment the text, but this was really the other way around. The illustrations were quite simply amazing! I loved them so much. They stole the show in this picture book. This book is set for publication on August 18th.

I hope that you will love these two titles as much as I did. I reviewed a few other picture books this week, but they weren't anywhere near as amazing as these two.

Did you like today's blog? Have any comments or questions? Let me know in the comments section below! Have a wonderful day

I'm A Grumpy Bear...

...Yes I'm a grumpy bear.
A not happy, big and grumpy bear.

I downloaded the song this morning, "I'm a Gummy Bear" or "Funny Bear" depending on which one you listen too. Now I have it stuck in my head and decided to make up my own rhyme. My poor kids got the brunt of my "grrrrr-ness" this morning. Poor kids. I'll have to make it up to them. If you are one of those people that don't know what The Gummy Bear song is, well here ya go! You're welcome!

Other than being grumpy I've also decided that I need to start worrying about me and less about other people. No matter how much I think the world should be fair or how much I gripe about someone else it won't change anything at all. All it does is make me an even grumpier person. See what I did there. I brought it full circle.

Ugh! I had other thoughts but my mind is too flighty right now to get them all down.I hope you all have a great day and if you have the grumpys too, I hope that you can Shake It Off!!!

Let me know what kind of day you're having in the comments below! I also promise to have a new book review very soon. I'm kind of in a reading slump right now, but I have so much that I want to read too!

Wonderful World of Words

Wow! So as you may know, Summer Reading is in full force. I had just started this weekly tradition of giving you a wonderful and amazing word on Wednesdays when I was suddenly hit with the lack of time to get it done! So today I bring you a new installment of the Wonderful World of Words!

Today's word you will not find in any dictionary, and you may never find it in one, but it is a word that resounds with me!

Dunandunate

verb- “to overuse a word or phrase that has been recently added to one’s vocabulary”, or to learn a word and then use it incessantly. 

 

 

 For me I know that I way over use LOL...ugh! I can't get it out of my system. It used to mean something, but now its just the passing comment on any random post or text or anything. I know I over use like. When I first learned discombobulate, I used that word like crazy! 

Are there any words that you overuse or that you are just so very tired of hearing? What words or phrases need to be dropped from all use in today's vocabulary all together? Drop me a comment and let me know.

Snail Mail

In this day and age when communication is instantaneous it is so wonderful to receive correspondence via the good ol U.S. Postal Service! Letter writing seems to be a lost art. I want to make a better effort at sending out a little piece of happiness a couple times a month!

Some might say, what's the big deal? The big deal is that someone took the time to sit down and write me a letter. Paid around half a dollar to mail it and actually dropped it in a mailbox. There's a bit more energy and effort required to send a letter. To put a cherry on top of this I also received pictures! Actual hard copies of pictures! Once again, in this digital world we live in, who has time for real pictures?

Thank you Marcie for your little piece of sunshine that came in the mail today! I loved everything about it, from the sunflower yellow envelope to the awesome return address logo! Was that a stamp? If so where did you get it made? I will definitely be returning the sweet gesture in the near future!

Until a few years ago I had a box full of notes that Marcie had written to me. One of my greatest regrets is that the box got ruined In a move. In school that was the best way to to tell your friend something. Even if it was just to tell them how bored you were. Even better were the doodles you would inevitably draw in the margins. Of course what note wouldn't be complete without your current crushes name! Please tell me kids still write notes to each other and that it's not just text mesages!

When was the last time you sent or received some good old fashioned snail mail? When was the last time you passed a note?  I encourage you all to put a little effort in your communication this week. Make someone's day with a letter or note. Include something fun in it like confetti or use awesome stationary!



Let me know what you think in the comments below!