BookTube-A-Thon 2016: A Big Fail

Hi everyone! As you know, I participated in this year's BookTube-A-Thon, like always. I did a blog post about my TBR for this year and it made me so excited that I was convinced I would be able to read a lot and to even post a few reviews during the week. However, it didn't exactly go as I planned, which you'll see in the summary of my reading challenges. I hope you enjoy reading it, and I'm sorry for the lack of blog posts!

Monday, July 18

On Monday, I was as motivated as anyone could be, so I tried reading a bit before I went to bed at midnight and I read while eating breakfast. I focused on Hearts, Fingers, and Other Things to Cross, since it's such a short book. I was working that day, even though I wasn't supposed to, so I didn't get that much free time after that.

Tuesday, July 19

On Tuesday, I was finally free, so I read as much as I could. I started reading Frankenstein, but only for about 50 pages. I finished reading Hearts, Fingers, and Other Things to Cross, which made me very happy. I gave it 3/5. At night, I started The Cinderella Pact, which I really liked from the beginning. 

Wednesday, July 20

Wednesday was my reading day. I read quite a big part of Frankenstein, but I also started listening to I Was Here. I continued reading The Cinderella Part as well, so although I didn't finish a book on that day, I did get some progress.

Thursday, July 21

On Thursday, I started panicking because I had only finished one of my seven books, so I almost finished Frankenstein in one more sitting. Then, I read Zenith in one sitting, because it's a lot shorter than I expected it to be. I gave it 3.5/5. Somewhere between Thursday and Friday, I finished The Cinderella Pact, which I gave 4/5.

Friday, July 22

On Friday morning, I finished reading Frankenstein. I didn't feel like picking it up one last time, but since I really enjoyed it, I gave it 4/5. I wasn't supposed to work that day, but I did anyways, so I didn't have time to read after that. 

Saturday, July 23

Things went downhill on Saturday, when I had a really bad day at work. When I came home, all I wanted to do was sleep, so after trying to listen to I Was Here for half an hour, I went to bed and didn't get out until my alarm woke me up the next day, instead of finishing I Was Here and starting to read The Story Girl like I had planned.

Sunday, July 24

Finally, on Sunday, I realized that I wouldn't be able to complete all the challenges. I did finish I Was Here, and I gave it 5/5, but I didn't touch The Story Girl or Matilda, since I wasn't feeling all that well and I simply didn't have enough time.

Overall, I'm happy that I read five books, even though I wanted to read seven. I wish I had completed more reading challenges though, because I only completed four of them. 

I've been extremely busy since then, so I haven't read much at all and I didn't have time to touch my computer, let alone write a review for one of the books I read during BookTube-A-Thon. I'm going on vacation tomorrow for one week, but I won't have my computer and there won't be any Internet anyways, so you guys won't here from me for a few more days. I'm really, really sorry about that, but I hadn't realized how crazy my life would be during this week. I hope to post again very soon though!

I wish you all a good day :)

BookTube-A-Thon TBR

Hi everyone! As some of you may know, I'm a big fan of the BookTube-A-Thon, which I think I'm doing for the third year in a row. Since I've had a bit of a reading slump recently, I'm really excited to start reading more. Also, I'm not working a lot during that week (July 18th-24th), so I'll have a lot of free time to read. There are seven reading challenges and I intend to complete all of them, so here's my TBR based on the different challenges!

You can find all the information about this year's BookTube-A-Thon here: http://booktubeathon.com/  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1UucWZ0Ylg

Challenges:

1. Read a book with yellow on the cover

Hearts, Fingers and Other Things to Cross by Katie Finn

It's on my summer TBR, it's bright yellow and I almost started reading it the other day, so it's perfect!

2.  Read a book only after sunset

The Cinderella Pact by Sarah Strohmeyer

I'm scared of everything, especially at night, so I have to read lighter books after the sun sets. This one seems perfect!

3. Read a book you discovered through BookTube

Zenith (The Androma Saga #1) by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings

I discovered this book because one of its authors is on BookTube (and a pretty big part of it, I would say), so this challenge is an easy one for me!

4. Read a book by one of your favourite authors

The Story Girl (The Story Girl #1) by Lucy Maud Montgomery

L. M. M. is by far my favourite author, but I'm guilty of not having read all of her books yet. This one has interested me for a very long time now, so it's about time I start reading it.

5. Read a book that is older than you

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

I really hope that I'll like this book, because otherwise, I feel like it'll be really hard to read it during BookTube-A-Thon. It's a challenge though, so I accept it!

6.  Read and watch a book-to-movie adaptation

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Believe it or not, I've only seen Matilda once, and I can only remember one moment of the whole movie. Since everyone keeps mentionning both the book and the movie, I've been trying to remind myself to read it at some point, so it's the perfect time to finally do it.

7. Read seven books

Since there are only six books on my TBR right now, I'll choose the final one during BookTube-A-Thon. Who knows what I'll feel like reading?

If anyone has recommendations for me, please let me know! I also want to see who will participate this year, so I can't wait until it's July 18th :)

Gimme a Call - Sarah Mlynowski

Goodreads summary:

A new life is just a phone call away!

Devi's life isn't turning out at all like she wanted. She wasted the past three years going out with Bryan—cute, adorable, break-your-heart Bryan. Devi let her friendships fade, blew off studying, didn't join any clubs . . . and now that Bryan has broken up with her, she has nothing left.

Not even her stupid cell phone—she dropped it in the mall fountain. Now it only calls one number . . . hers. At age fourteen, three years ago!

Once Devi gets over the shock—and convinces her younger self that she isn't some wacko—she realizes that she's been given an awesome gift. She can tell herself all the right things to do . . . because she's already done all the wrong ones! Who better to take advice from than your future self?

Except . . .what if getting what you think you want changes everything?

Fans of Sarah Mlynowski's Magic in Manhattan series will love this hilarious novel with a high-concept premise.


My review:

4/5

I think that the concept of this book is fantastic. I always wonder about the impact of a simple choice, so books about the different lives a person could be living because of some decisions they make are must-reads for me. This one is different from everything else I've read, so I was really interested about it and I wasn't disappointed.

I loved how the younger and the older Devi felt like two different people - which they are, in a way. They're the same person, but their life experience makes them two separate people, which we often forget about our younger self. This book really made me realize how much a person, including myself, can change in a few years only. Also, I've always wondered about what I would think of my older self and vice-versa, so seeing something like that in a book was very interesting to me.

Although it's not explained all that much, I loved seeing the relationship aspect of this book. Devi's relationship with Bryan has done bad things to her life, but it's not all black or white. Through this experience, older Devi learns a lot about life and about her relationships with everyone around her, which was nice, since it's like her younger self taught her a few things. I do wish that we could have seen more of Bryan, since 1) he seems dreamy, and 2) he's from Québec, where I live. I wasn't expecting that, but it made me like him even more. His relationship with Devi sounds pretty intense because of how much in love they are, but I would have loved to see some of it, because it sounds extraordinary.

I loved this novel more and more as I continued reading it, so I would absolutely recommend it. It's not too serious, but it makes you think about your choices in the present, but also in the future. I'll make sure to look up the author's other novels now, since it's the first one I read from her!

My Summer TBR

I've had a reading slump for my entire first month of summer vacation, so I really haven't been reading as much as I hoped to. Now that I'm getting back into it (slowly, so we're not going to get too excited in case it's a fail), I hope to read a lot more this summer, because it's definitely the best time for me to tackle my TBR pile. I'm going to make a list of books I want to read this summer to help myself whenever I'm looking for a new book to read, but this could also help some of you guys who want to know what to read next! I'm also open to recommendations, as always. Like all of my blog posts, the pictures will take you to the books' Goodreads page. 

YA

Summer in the Invisible City by Juliana Romano

This book is a new release that intrigued me a lot from the very beginning, so I couldn't resist buying it. It's set in NYC, where I've never been, and a lot of it is about photography, which is an awesome passion. I'm actually already reading this, because I simply couldn't wait.

When We Collided by Emery Lord

I've loved both of Emery Lord's first novels, so her newest one is definitely on my TBR. It doesn't seem as light-hearted as her other books, but her writing feels like summer and her romances are always great, so now's the perfect time for me to read it!

Shuffle, Repeat by Jen Klein

I was desperate to find a cure for my reading slump, so I started browsing new YA releases that sounded light and adorable. This one popped up and it intrigued me, even though it sounds predictable. I'll let you know what I think of it!

P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

Being away from Goodreads and blogs, I forgot that this novel was coming out this summer, which I wasn't proud of. If you didn't know, I'm the biggest Kasie West fan, because she's my go-to when it comes to light-hearted YAs. She writes the cutest stories and her love interests are always so swoony, so I cannot wait to pick this up. Also, it comes out only a few days before I go on vacation, so I know it'll be part of the entire library I'm bringing there!

The Cinderella Pact by Sarah Strohmeyer

This book came out about ten years ago, so it's not a new release, but I've been dying to read it for a really long time. In fact, even before I started reading Strohmeyer's novels, I watched the movie adaptation for this book and I loved it. Since then, I've probably watched it 5 more times, so I was really happy when I found out it was actually a book. I finally got my hands on it, so I can't wait to read this.

Wrecked by Maria Padian

I received this in exchange for a review and I think it sounds really interesting and different from the other YAs I mentionned, so I'm excited to read it!

Classics

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

I've always wanted to read this novel, but when my teachers started talking about it non-stop last semester, I knew I had to read it as soon as possible, so I'm hoping to get to it this summer!

1984 by George Orwell

I've started this book last fall, but I stopped reading and never got back to it. Since I loved Animal Farm and I've heard so many great things about this classic, I just have to read it this summer.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

I'm going to be honest here: I've never read a thing Hemingway has written, so I have no idea what to expect with this book, However, I'd really like to have an opinion for myself, so that's what I'll be doing this summer.



Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

I've read quite a few of Austen's books and I've loved all of them, so I want to keep going and this novel is the next one on my list. I downloaded the audiobook for it, so I might listen to it when I'm in the car.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn  by Mark Twain

I'm not sure if I'll be able to read it this summer, but I plan on doing it in the future because it'll be part of the season three of Crash Course Literature, which I love. Also, this will be my first Mark Twain book!

Romeo and Juliet  by Shakespeare

Since I have yet to read one of Shakespeare's plays, I decided on this one, because someone lent the book to me ages ago and I want to be able to give it back to that person (I'm the annoying person who has tons of books lent by other people, but it's simply because I didn't ask for them and I never feel like reading them. Also, I think everyone forgets about the books they lent to me). I'm actually really excited to read this!

Series

City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6) by Cassandra Clare

It must have been three years since I started reading this series and I still haven't finished it, so it's about time I read this. I think I'll bring it with me on vacation to motivate me.

Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1) by Cassandra Clare

Okay, so I won't lie, this book is pretty much the biggest reason why I'm finally going to finish TMI, because it sounds amazing and I really want to read it. Since I've heard that it's better to have read CoHF before reading it, I've been trying to refrain myself from picking it up, but it's a big struggle for me.

The Fiery Heart (Bloodlines #4) by Richelle Mead

I really want to read this novel, since I loved the first three books in the series, which I read this year. It's only a matter of time before I pick it up!

The Last Star (The 5th Wave #3) by Rick Yancey

I'm one of the only ones who liked the movie adaptation for The 5th Wave, so I really want to keep on reading this series, especially since it's the final book and it recently came out. It's one of the ebooks I always have on my phone and e-reader, so I'll pick it up whenever I'm somewhere I can read and I have one of those with me instead of a physical book.

Destined for Doon (Doon #2) by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon

I've had this book for months and I always want to read it, so I think it's finally time for me to do it. I really liked the first book, so I'm hoping that this will be just as good!

Hearts, Fingers, and Other Things to Cross (Broken Hearts & Revenge #3) by Katie Finn (also known as Morgan Matson, if you didn't know)

As a big Morgan Matson fan, I had to read this series, and I really enjoy it so far. This is literally the perfect summer book, so I can't wait to continue with this series!

Shattered (Slated #3) by Teri Terry

I have honestly loved the first two books in this series, so I bought the third one pretty much as soon as it came out, but I never read it (which is really stupid, I know). Since I own it, I should read it this summer, because I have to know what happens with the story (even though I admittedly don't remember much of it now).

Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas

I love this series more with every new book I read, so I am dying to pick this one up. It's been out for quite some time now, so I really have no excuse not to pick it up!

Re-reads

Sapphire Blue & Emerald Green(Precious Stone Trilogy #2 & 3) by Kerstin Gier

This is one of my favourite series of all time and I recently re-read Ruby Red, which got me out of my reading slump, so I just have to continue reading the series.

Rainbow Valley (Anne of Green Gables #7) by Lucy Maud Montgomery

LMM is my favourite author, and this is my favourite series, so I'm almost always reading one of the eight novels in it. I don't remember much about the last two, since I didn't read them as many times as the others, so I'd love to do it this summer.

Out of my Comfort Zone

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkings

I don't usually read thrillers, but I've heard great things about this one. Also, there's going to be a movie adaptation of it, so when I saw it on sale for one dollar, I had to pick it up. Again, it'll probably be part of my vacation library!

The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman

I would read this book simply because of its gorgeous cover and title, but I also think that the summary is incredibly intriguing. It's not really my usual genre, but I think I'll love it anyways, and since they're doing a movie of it, too, I can't wait to read it.

What Lies Within by James Morris

This is a book I received to review and I still haven't read it, which I feel really bad about. The only reason for that is that I'm not a huge fan of thrillers, so I never have the urge to pick one of them when I'm looking for a book to read, but I'll push myself to do it this summer, I swear.

The Choices We Make by Karma Brown

This is a little bit more like something my mom would read, but for some reason, it really intrigues me. I've also received it from its publisher, so it's one more reason for me to read it this summer!

There are a lot of books on this list, but I know I can easily read that many if I don't get any more reading slumps. I can't promise I'll only read these books though, especially since I already have some that I know aren't on this list but that I want to read, so I'm not sure if I'll tackle this entire TBR, but I'll try to! I'll make a readathon of my entire summer if I have to. Good luck on your summer TBR, everyone!

I'M BACK!

Hey guys! 

Before anyone mentions it, I'm going to state it clearly: I've been a terrible blogger. Awful, despicable, but mostly, just ABSENT. I do think that it's fine for me to be less active during the school year, because I am in college, so I should really do my best when I can, but the thing is that I didn't get back to it when I had the chance to do it. I could give you a thousand reasons for that, none of them being a lie, but the most important thing is, I believe, that I am incredibly sorry about that, and ashamed of acting like that, so I'll do my best to change the way things are right now. 

To do that, I have planned a few blog posts that I've been imagining over the past months, so I hope you'll enjoy those. I also have reviews planned, obviously, because reviewing is what I haven't been doing over the past six months or so. I hope I haven't lost all of my abilities in that specific kind of writing, because it's something I simply love doing. 

I hope all of you are doing well and will hopefully like the content to come!

Laurence

Blood, Ink & Fire - Ashley Mansour

Goodreads summary:

Imagine a world without books…
In the future, books are a distant memory. The written word has been replaced by an ever-present stream of images known as Verity. In the controlling dominion of the United Vales of Fell, reading is obsolete and forbidden, and readers themselves do not—cannot—exist.
But where others see images in the stream, teenager Noelle Hartley sees words. She’s obsessed with what they mean, where they came from, and why they found her.

Noelle’s been keeping her dangerous fixation with words a secret, but on the night before her seventeenth birthday, a rare interruption in the stream leads her to a mysterious volume linked to an underworld of rebel book lovers known as the Nine of the Rising. With the help of the Risers and the beguiling boy Ledger, Noelle discovers that the words within her are precious clues to the books of the earlier time—and as a child of their bookless age, she might be the world’s last hope of bringing them back.

Blood, Ink & Fire is a gripping, evocative tale that asks, who would we be without books?


My review:

3/5

This book made me shiver only by reading its summary. As someone who reads every day except for a few day-long reading slumps, I can't even imagine not being able to read. I knew I had to read this book to see what it could be like.

While the part about not being able to read was clear, the rest of this universe was pretty vague. I couldn't get an idea of what the world looked like, how it's ruled or how life in general is. We only see a day in Noelle's normal life before she's thrown into this big adventure to take Fell down, which doesn't let us really see what it's like to live with Verity, the program that watches them and tells them what to do and when to do it. I know we learn what immersion does to the population, but I couldn't really understand how Valers agreed to do it, because it didn't seem like it was really explained to them. Also, many things are different from our society, but I can't really see the explanation behind them, because they don't seem like improvement to me. I wish I had been able to learn more about this interesting world, because it looked like a poor imitation of The Giver's to me (sorry, but I had to say it).

There were a few characters that I really liked, like John, but I feel like we should've seen more of them. I think the big problem here is the fact that it starts pretty much into the action of this story instead of showing a bit more normalcy before truly beginning. This also made it hard for me to believe that Noelle would leave her house like she does after receiving John's gift in the very beginnning, because the instructions it contained weren't really clear to me and I would never expect someone who lives in a world strict like hers to do everything she does in order to meet her friend for an unknown reason. It was very brave of her, since she risked pretty much everything when she did that, but I think there should've been more of a build-up leading to that.


I loved many parts about books and "boolos", which is the word used to refer to book lovers. It's the whole reason why I read this book, so I hoped there would be some and I was glad to discover a couple of them. Noelle's ability to read was fun to read about, especially when she first started reading, because it impacted her a lot and she loved it from the very beginning. In that way, I could see a lot of myself in her.

Many readers could find an amazing book in this, because it certainly has great ideas. It might not sound like it in this review, but I actually had a nice time reading it, so I would recommend it to people who aren't too picky about world building in dystopian novels.

(Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

Dear November

Dear November,

You were quite a month. Every student has that horrible day/week/month when it gets to the end of the term and I can say I went through it quite victoriously, even though I struggled to stay awake (or alive) during many, many days. It was exhausting and my dark circles could prove it, but as I'm finishing my last essays and projects, I can't be happier to have more and more time to relax and finally sleep.

While everyone around me started decorating for Christmas, I couldn't help but feel out of it, which was incredibly weird for me, since I'm usually the first to start talking about Christmas. I guess finals put my mind somewhere else, but I really wish I could've started getting excited for the holidays sooner, because I'm not even sure if I'm in the Christmas spirit just yet, even though it's been December for a week. It's been lovely seeing all the Christmas lights, smelling all the spices and feeling cozy at night, though, so there is some good in this.

In November, I took the crazy decision to bring up my reading challenge to... 200! I didn't update it on Goodreads to feel less pressured, but it's been my goal for a few weeks now. It's absolutely insane, but with school almost done, I'm going to have much more time to read, so I'll do everything I can to read that many books.

I'm thankful for my friends' presence this month, because the distance that I felt growing between us completely disappeared. Since I went to college, I've started talking less and less to my best high school friends, which made me sadder than anyone could imagine. I'm always a bit paranoid, so I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought, but being together again made me realize how strong our friendship is. We did some crazy things over the last month, which made me go out of my comfort zone and it felt awesome. I feel like I finally started acting like a teenager, even though I'm almost too old to be one, but it's so exhilarating that I'm never going to regret it. As my group of friends is growing up, I think we're getting a bit more mature, but we can still have tons of fun and be as comfortable as ever together, so what else could I ask for? I'm feeling really lucky.

This month went by so quickly that it's hard to even realize it's over, but it's not a bad thing, now that it's over. I only hope that 2015 will end in a beautiful way and that December will bring me many wonderful things.

 

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Interview: Meagan Brothers

Hi everyone! Recently, I interviewed Meagan Brothers, who wrote Weird Girl and What's His Name. I loved this book and I would  highly recommend it, so if you're interested in it and you haven't read my review yet, you can find it here. For now, I hope you'll enjoy reading this interview, so please keep on reading!

 

Hello Meagan! I want to begin by thanking you for being here on my blog today. Let's start the interview with an easy question: can you explain what your latest novel, Weird Girl and What's His Name, is about?

Hi Laurence! I’m happy to be here – thanks for having me on your blog! Weird Girl and What’s His Name is about a couple of friends, Rory and Lula, who are kind of the unpopular nerdy kids at their school. They have a falling out, and have to try to put themselves back together again. Along the way, they’re also trying to make sense of their respective broken families and nascent love lives and what not. You know, the usual life drama stuff. 



What inspired you to write this story? 

Being kind of an unpopular nerdy kid! Actually, I had started the story sometime in 2007 – I had an idea to write something about a pair of friends, and I got as far as that first paragraph, which is actually opens the book now, fairly unchanged from its original state. I didn’t write any more of it, though, because I felt like my original idea was too similar to my first book. But then the next summer, I went to see the second X-Files movie on opening night. Seeing Mulder and Scully again took me back to being in high school and college, when the show was on, and I was watching it with my friends, or alone in a dark room and then going online to talk about it afterward. I don’t know what connected those things in my mind, but the week after I saw the movie, I dug up that paragraph, which was still sitting there in one of my notebooks, and, instead of working on my Supergirl Mixtapes rewrites, I wrote this short story instead. The story was basically a slightly shorter version of Rory’s half of the book. The next year, I wrote Lula’s half. I guess you could say the main inspiration, as odd as it may sound, was the camaraderie that I felt, between both friends and total strangers, that came from all of us watching a TV show together.

Who is your favorite character in this book and why? 

Ahh, it’s so hard to pick a favorite! They’re all like my kids. Even the old guys. It’s probably easier to tell you my least favorites, which were Andy and Lula’s mom, Christine. It was a huge challenge to stay empathetic while I was writing those two. I can tell you, though, one of my favorites who I thought would have a bigger part in the book was Midnight Pete, the college radio DJ that Lula and Seth both listened to. I kept trying to work him into the story but it was so peripheral it just felt distracting, so a lot of his backstory got cut. But I went back and gave him a bigger role in two different short stories, which made me feel a little bit better about axing the poor guy.



Is there a reason why you mostly write for young adults? 

Because I’m extremely immature. No, just kidding. Okay, only partly kidding. Actually, I like the lack of cynicism in YA books. I like feeling like I have free rein to write characters who are aren’t totally jaded yet. 



Your novels have such creative names: Debbie Harry Sings in French, Supergirl Mixtapes, Weird Girl and What's His Name, etc. How do you come up with these titles? 

I have to admit, with Debbie Harry Sings in French, it started out as a short story for a class I was taking in college, and it’s been so long since then, I have no recollection of how I came up with that title! Must’ve come to me on a flaming pie…. Supergirl Mixtapes was originally Citygirls and then Downtown at Dawn, but I wanted something a little less generic-sounding. Weird Girl… was called Teenage FBI for the longest time, which is the title of a Guided by Voices song, but my publishers at Three Rooms Press, Kat Georges and Peter Carlaftes, weren’t crazy about it. I think they were afraid people would think it was more of a straightforward mystery story, and I agreed. I’d actually been trying to think of a better title for a while, for the same reason. Peter suggested Weird Girl and What’s His Name. Suddenly, I was like: that’s it! Sometimes it takes another person to see something that’s been right in front of you all along.

In Weird Girl and What's His Name, Lula and Rory are part of a huge fandom and they take X-Files very seriously. Do you consider yourself a fangirl, too? If so, what are your fandoms?

Oh yes, definitely a pretty huge X-Files fan, too, going back to 1994! There are other sci-fi shows and movies I loved as a kid, and still love – the original Star Trek, Star Wars, Quantum Leap, Lost. All those cheesy sci-fi-ish movies from the 80s like Flight of the Navigator and The Last Starfighter and Explorers. But X-Files, yeah, that’s my jam. And I don’t know if you consider music fandom a “fandom” in the same sense, but I’m one of those people who goes to the record store on their lunch break at least once a week. On my desk currently is just a laptop surrounded by haphazard piles of used CDs. I should tidy up, actually.

Your characters grow up a lot during the story, especially while questionning their identity and their sexual orientation. What would be your advice for teenagers going through similar scenarios? 

The main thing is to be yourself and to allow yourself to love who you love. But if you’re in an environment where you’re being discouraged, threatened, or bullied by people because you’re gay, bi, or trans, I know that’s not easy advice to follow. If you’re not in a supportive environment right now, try to hang in there. Don’t listen to the negativity. Rise above it. Try to find some way to redirect your frustration and express how you’re feeling, whether it’s art or jogging or writing – don’t resort to self-harm, and don’t isolate yourself. Find people who are supportive – it may just be one friend right now, or an online community, or a teacher, or a pastor from a progressive church – and let that person know what’s going on with you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Don’t feel like you’re alone, because you’re not. There are so many people who want you to survive and thrive, believe me. It might feel like you’re fighting through each day right now, but trust me, you have a place in this world just the way you are, and it’s worth the fight. 



What was the hardest part of writing your novels and why?

Probably the hardest part is when you’re working on rewrites, and you know a scene isn’t working, but you don’t know how to fix it. That, and the selling part. When I’m supposed to be Tweeting and Facebooking and Tumblring about how great my book is and how you should buy it. My teenage self-loathing comes back in full force and I’m like “ehh, I wrote this book, but it’s not really that great. You can buy it if you want, or whatever. But, seriously, you don’t have to, like, read it or anything. Ugh.” 



What would be your best advice for aspiring writers? 
Keep writing, all the time. Don’t be afraid to be that nerd who carries a little notebook around. Find some quiet space away from your phone. Read everything you can get your hands on. Go to readings and book events, if they’re happening in your town. Try to make friends with other writers – they will be your lifeline. And go outside and walk around. Get some fresh air every once in a while. Exercise a little. Eat healthy food. Obviously, writing isn’t a contact sport, but you’re gonna feel too crappy to do it if your back goes out from sitting for 8 hours straight and your brain is in a Dorito haze.



What do you like the most about reading and writing?

I like those moments in writing when you break through. When something’s bugging you and you can’t put your finger on it but you sit down to write this poem or this character comes to you and you’re able to work it out that way. A-ha, that’s what I was afraid of! And reading is great because it’s so still. You get lost in the world of the book, and hopefully there are no distractions, no pop-ups, no message alerts. It’s just you, traveling without moving. Very magic.



Which author inspires you and why?

Ray Bradbury inspires me a lot, because he was a really pure writer. Woke up pretty much every day of his life and wrote. Robert Pollard inspires me for the same reason. Dude just writes songs every single day. Whatever your art is, it should be an everyday pursuit. 



What's your all-time favorite quote?

Probably it’s what the sculptor Constantin Brancusi said about being in a constant state of making art: “If one could create as one breathes, that would be true happiness. One should arrive at that.” 
That, and “there’s no crying in baseball!” from A League of Their Own.

What are your current projects? Is there anything you can tell us about? 

I’ve got four stories that are related to this book – well, three stories and a novella. They’re still a little rough around the edges, but if people like this book, maybe I’ll make them available online or something. I’ve got a new book plotted out, but it’s still pretty embryonic at this point. And the usual stuff on the side – poetry, a couple of short stories here and there. Maybe they’ll get out someday, who knows!

Where can we find you on your social media? 

I’m on Twitter (@meaganbrothers), Tumblr (actuallymeaganbrothers.tumblr.com), and on Facebook (facebook.com/meaganbrothersauthorpage.)



Thank you for answering my questions!

Thanks for having me!

Libraries

As a book lover myself, I've often heard fellow book lovers talk about how much they dislike renting books from the library because of how many other people read them. It's always been a mystery to me why this would be a problem to anyone, but I decided to explain why I love libraries, especially my local one, to death.

First of all, whether you like them or not, you can't help but be excited when you walk into a library if you only slightly like books. There's just so many of them, everywhere, and you feel like there are endless reading possibilities. Your eye might catch a great fantasy book, but then you'll find the most interesting sci-fi novel that want to start right away. Just like bookstores, libraries hold thousands of stories within their walls and you're happy as long as you're surrounded by them.

I personally love wandering between the rows of full and constantly surprising bookshelves, letting my eyes go from one cover to another, one title to another, one author to another. It's all about inspiration, whether it's from a colourful spine, a catchy title or a well-known author. Sometimes, I find myself renting the most unexpected book, simply because something in it caught my attention. I don't even care if the novels I picked out are going to be bad, because I still have to return them in the end, and I like to believe they attracted me for a particular reason. When you're doing some online shopping on eBay, Amazon or any other website, you can never get that amazing feeling of reading the back of a book simply because you were attracted to it. While I do try to find some books I've heard great things about and I'm excited to read, I prefer letting unread books find me.

The next reason might not be a good one for everyone: money. I am a teenager who's still desperately trying to get herself a job, so money is an issue for me. With what little money I get from babysitting once in a while and presents, I have a very limited choice of books to purchase. My worst fear when I'm thinking about buying a book is that I would end up really not liking it and having spent money for nothing. For this particular reason, I only buy books I've already read and loved. I'll still end up with a small collection of amazing books, but I would never expect to have rows and rows of books myself. I also ask for iTunes gift cards as presents to purchase ebooks I've been dying to read for a long time, like new releases or sequels that my library doesn't have yet. I need to be very careful when I'm spending money, so being able to read books for free is an amazing privilege.

The main reason where there's a debate is the fact that someone probably rented a book before you did, just like someone else will after you did. Some people hate not knowing what's going to happen with the book they're reading, afraid the next reader might alter the book's state. Although I do think it's important to take care of books so they stay in a good state, I love the idea of someone else imagining the story while holding the same exact book I held while reading. I think reading is sharing, from recommending a book to your friends to lenting it to others. While the next readers might not be friends of mine, they're readers just like I am, which brings us closer already, and the fact that we shared a book unknowingly is wonderful. It's like having hundreds of friends who don't even need to speak to stay connected with you, and I love it. I hate seeing my brand-new books stand on my bookshelf unread for years because I have no one to share them with, but libraries allow me to believe in the "reading is sharing" motto I've now had for years.

In the end, those facts about libraries, along with some more, are the reason why I would never want libraries to disappear. Go visit your local one, you might find a new favourite place, just like I did!

 

 

Reading is sharing.