Quite by accident, last Thursday I was lucky enough to see two movie adaptations in theaters. The first was a last-minute plan to see one of my friends from middle school again - we both love the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, so we saw the new Sea of Monsters movie. Later that day I learned that several of my friends were going to see City of Bones at this crappy little theater on Queens Boulevard, so I ended up going to the movies with them too :) It was a marvelous, mindless movie-watching sort of day. Yes I just alliterized. Yes I just invented the verb form of 'alliteration.' Anyway. Movie review #1. The book The Sea of Monsters is the second book of a YA series following the adventures of Percy Jackson and his friends, who live in modern-day New York City but are the magical offspring of Ancient Greek gods and humans. The beginning was very promisi...
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I have some terrible, terrible news, everyone: my blogging partner Grace is away at sleepaway camp, where she will be deprived of Wifi, cell service and electricity (?) for the whole summer. This means that, despite my crippling loneliness, the job of keeping this blog going will fall to me and only me for the next two and a half months. I am very much afraid. But don't worry! We can make this work. In honor of my current desolate state of mind my first post of the summer is going to be a list of great books about heroes who travel in time and space - a very lonely occupation, I've heard. 1. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: I am currently reading this crazy collection of 5 novels and enjoying every minute. The book follows the adventures of a group of hitchhikers of various species as they make their across the galaxy saving planet...
Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan Today after school I met up with a friend, changed into a homemade flapper dress,cloche, and Art Deco earrings, and headed to the cinema at Union Square 14th street to see - what else? - the Great Gatsby. I had been looking forward to this moment for a long time, ever since I put down my copy of the book over a month ago. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a real American classic, and I think everyone interested in seeing the movie should read it first. It's about this dreamy, almost foolishly optimistic young man who calls himself Gatsby and the crazy things he does out of love for Daisy Buchanan, his teenage sweetheart, who is now married to a powerful but unfaithful heir. One of the most striking things about it, besides the amazing portrayal of this crazy time in history, is how brutally honest and relatable the story is even after all these years. Gatsby's perennial and...
When a girl begins to run low on bat mitzvah money or retirement savings, what's the first thing she worries about? Not how she is going to pay the mortgage or finance her online shopping, no; she wonders where her books are going to be coming from. And with good reason, too. Ninety-five percent of bookworms perish miserably within 48 hours of finishing their last book and being unable to afford another. How can we end these senseless deaths and avoid meeting the same fate ourselves? By sourcing reading material from the venues listed below, of course. 1. Second-Hand Stores: It may take a while to dig past the crappy mysteries and romance novels slightly creepy covers, but once you do, you may find some really great books, some for under a dollar each! 2. Library Sales: A library sale is when a library wants to get r...
Ok, so first I would like to say a huge I'm sorry to everyone, I know I am not putting up nearly as much content as I had originally planned to . So IM SORRY!!!!!! On to the book I am discussing today, this book is A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer. Now warning, this book is not for those who have weak stomachs or hearts as it horrifyingly describes the TRUE STORY of one of the worst child abuse cases in history. I can't say this enough times, this book is a MEMOIR! David was abused by his mother for years and looks back on how "the mother," as she is referred to, brainwashed him and the rest of the family. David actually believed that he deserved what he got sometimes! I found this book powerful because the author does not hold back any details and describes exactly how he felt throughout his entire life with "the mother." When reading this book I was fighting back tears and most of my classmates thought I had problems or something. I found it...
This is a book every girl should read (if you're a boy and non-chauvinistic, you'll like it too!). If you judge Beauty Queens solely by its cover, you would think it was a trashy beach romance, but really it's a parody of that type of book, and of every stereotype that is pushed on girls today. In it, an airplane full of beauty pageant contestants crashes onto a deserted island, forcing the girls to band together and learn what it means to survive, as well as what is important outside the realm of reality TV. It is hilarious, ridiculous, and a fairly easy read, but it's also poignant and just really, really true. It deals with sexuality, friendship, racism, love, sexism, insecurity, and what it means to be a girl today in the least preachy and most fantastic way possible. The themes in this book are not the best part, though. The characters and the way they develop throughout the book contributes to the flawlessness of this book t...
Are you out of space to put your burgeoning collection of books? Or are traditional shelving units just too mainstream? Never fear: Today's post is all about interesting, maximum-space-saving new ways to store your books! Try: 1. A hollow ottoman/coffee table! 2. A painted bookshelf! Ok, so this isn't a space-saver, but it's just so pretty... 3. A trundle bed book drawer! 4. A bookshelf chair! 5. A carved-up staircase! 6. Replace your wall with a solid bookshelf! 7. Hanging bins! 8. Make furniture out of your books! 9. Use your closet! Because who needs clothes when you spend all your time indoors, in the dark, reading Harry Potter?! 10. Embrace the clutter! There comes a time in every bibliophile's life when she must admit that there is no organizing this mess. Once you understand this, you have achieved literary Nirvana. Love and clutter, ...
This first thing I have to say about this book is that it is NOT Fifty Shades of Gray . This is a book about the gulags not sex. Between Shades Of Gray by Ruta Sepetys is about a 15-year-old Lithuanian girl who is taken to a Siberian labor camp under Stalin's rule. We follow Lina from the day she is taken by the NKVD (a secret soviet police) all throughout the time she spends at the camps (called gulags) to when she is set free again. Because Lina and I are very close in age I find it easy to connect with her. This helps me to empathize because I have never been in a situation even remotely close to what she went through. Lina is an artist and in the book she vows to draw everything that happens to her and bury it in a jar so that one day someone will know her story. One of the most captivating aspects in this book is it's imagery. Lina tells the story using what she sees and how she translates that into her own mind. The result is some powerfu...
This is our first recommended reading list!!! We will put out a new one every Friday. All the books on this list are flawless and majestic and the reading of these books should become your #1 priority from now on. The Cold Awakening Trilogy 1. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys: This is about a 15-year-old girl named Lina who is taken to a labor camp in Siberia under the rule of Stalin. 2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: The love story of two teenagers with terminal cancer - but, the characters' words, this book should not be mistaken for a 'cancer story.' 3. Before I Fall By Lauren Oliver: A girl who dies in a car crash finds herself repeating the day of her death until she figures out what really important. 4. On Writing Well by William Zinsser: This should be every writers' Bible. 5. Gone With The Wind By Margaret Mitchell: While very long, a timeless classic about southern views throughout the Civil War....
Hello, our names are Grace and Carly. We are high school bibliophiles who live in New York City. When we are not reading we are either reading or gushing about books we have read. We sometimes go to school as well. A a result of our obsession we have driven off most of our friends and have turned to the internet for solace. This blog is a way for us to reach out to other (earth dwelling) bibliophiles and share our thoughts on anything and everything related to literature. Hope you like it! P.S In order for you all to know who is recommending what we will be writing in different colors. Grace will write in green Carly will write in white