Book Chewers Linkup

I don't get to do these very often because I'm busy busy busy (Christmas break can't come soon enough) but this one sounded too fun not to do!

Here's the prompt: What are your favorite book covers? Why do you like them? Because it's simple, brightly-colored, mysterious? Make a list of at least three and explain why you like them!

It's going to be so difficult to choose just three! But, here goes...

This. This this this. This. I just recently discovered this cover, while writing my post over on The Book Chewers about Anne book covers. And I fell in love. It's just gorgeous that's all. I can't even think of any other reason that I like it so much. I think that pretty much says it all.

This is one of those covers that kind of makes more sense after you read the book. To me it's a really accurate picture of the way she just seems to pour the words from her coffee cup in her letter to Ed (which is essentially what the book is).

I had such a hard time picking a third one since there are just so many! But this is another one that I thought makes so much sense once you've read the book. The tiny plant growing up out of the hard, cold, snowy ground says so much about Lina during her time in the camp.

Feel free to link up yourself! They're always tons of fun.

The Impossible Bucket List | Linkup

This is also a mini-announcement, I suppose: I'm going to be a staff blogger on The Book Chewers blog. It's a great blog, and I'm so excited to be a part of it. Anyway, they're hosting weekly linkups, starting with this one: writing our literary bucket list. It sounds like a lot of fun, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Here's the "linkup" part:

And here's the bucket list part:
1. Spend a weekend (Or a month. Or a year) with Anne at Green Gables, or Windy Poplars
2. Sail on the Dawn Treader
3.Visit Aunt Beast on Ixchel with Meg
4. Have tea with Mr. Tumnus
5. Listen to music with Eleanor and Park
6. Visit Camp Half-blood
7. Read books with Liesel
8. Bake with Peeta
9. Go to the Anne Frank house with Hazel and Augustus
10. Kythe with Meg and Calvin

♥♥Kristin

The Summer Reading List

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This Summer I hope to get a lot of reading done. Frankly I don't have much time over the school year what with school work and my job. I have a reading challenge of sorts on my book tumblr (here) but of the fifty that I hope to read this year, I've read a measly twelve. I hope I can catch up. Here are some big ones on the list:

Re-reads:
The Book Thief: This book is among my favorites. I read it about a year and a half ago - a library copy - and then bought it for myself (Well, okay. What actually happened was that I told my brother to buy it for me for Christmas). I've never read my personal copy. Sad, isn't it?

The Little House books: These were my absolute favorites when I was little. I loved reading about Laura and her adventures. I think it's high time I revisited them.

The Anne of Green Gables series: Again, these were some of my favorites. As I've mentioned before, Anne is one of my favorite literary heroines. I especially want to re-read some of the later books in the series, such as Anne of Windy Poplars and Anne's House of Dreams.

New Reads:
And the Mountains Echoed: This is a new book by Kahled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I enjoyed his other books and I hope that I enjoy this one as well. I'm certainly looking forward to it.

Reached: The third book in the Matched trilogy. I just never got around to it but I'm determined to this summer.

The Austin Family books: These are written by Madeleine L'Engle, author of my beloved A Wrinkle in Time. I'm not sure why I haven't read them yet.

I'm sure I'll find even more books to read, and I'm sure this list will not be completed, but this is what's on my plate right now. What do you plan to read this summer?
♥♥Kristin

Things Books Have Taught Me

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As a voracious reader, I have learned quite a few things from books that go beyond the knowledge they contain.
1. Some of the best books start off slowly. The same applies in life: don't give up, and you'll be rewarded with a fantastic plot line, or if you're lucky, a fairy-tale ending.
2. No matter how much you may want to keep reliving the comfort of familiar words, you have to turn the page to find out what happens next.
3.  When one chapter is over it may feel like the end, but there's a new one unfolding and who knows? It may just make everything worthwhile.
4. You're not going to like every book and that's okay, because for every book out there that isn't worth your time, there are a dozen that are.
5. Here's the cliche one I'm sure you all knew was coming (that doesn't make it any less true): You really can't judge a book by it's cover: bent pages, cracked spines and horrendous movie remake covers can house the story that may change your life.

♥♥Kristin

Of Books and How They've Captured My Heart (Again)

Lately I'd been in the hugest book rut. I just couldn't seem to find a book that truly caught my attention and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't bring myself to actually start and finish a book. Even some of my old favorites weren't doing it for me. Then, one of my friends offered to let my borrow the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series that I'd been wanting to read for a while. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get into it. I even thought they might bore me, considering the fact that they were written for 12-year-old boys. Oh, how wrong I was. I was hooked from the first few chapters of The Lightning Thief (the first book in the series).
If you haven't read them, they're about a 12-year-old (in the first book) boy named Percy Jackson who finds out that he's a demigod, the son of Poseidon, god of the sea, and a mortal woman. His best friend, Grover, turns out to be a satyr whose mission was to protect him. He's taken to Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for half blood children of the gods like himself, where he meets Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. All the while, the world of the gods is on the cusp of a great war which Percy very quickly gets wrapped up in. He and Annabeth and Grover (along with other friends they meet along the way) are sent on numerous "quests" to try to save the world of the gods. There's also a prophecy involving Percy, but  I won't give too much away! Really, I highly recommend you read them. I'm not saying I believe any of that stuff about the Greek gods and such, of course, but the mythology sure is interesting and I feel that I've learned a lot through reading the books. It's so fascinating to me.
Anyway, long story short, I am now obsessing over this story and these characters. I've read more in the past few weeks than I had in a while. I'm already compiling a huge list of books to read once I've finished this series and the one that comes after it. You can find the list here on Goodreads. Between those books and my new tumblr, I'm falling in love with books all over again.
♥♥Kristin

Reader Quirks

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I like reading quite a lot, in case you haven't already figured that out. Yesterday I was shocked to learn that my friend didn't even know who Jane Austen was. There are things like that that I just take for granted that everyone knows. How can you live 18 years and make your way through high school without learning about or at least hearing mention of Jane Austen? It really made me think. I love being a reader. I love knowing things, little tidbits that I've picked up from the different novels I've read. I love knowing the answers to the literary questions on Jeopardy. I love feeling intelligent when people ask about the books I've read and the authors I'm familiar with. I love knowing the plots and being able to quote the "classic" books. I have this constant need to read more books. Any kind will do. Classic. Modern. Dystopian fiction. Fairytales. Even some horror books (more in the vein of Dracula and Frankenstein than Stephen King).
I'll be the first to admit that I have some reader quirks of my own. I rarely, if ever, use bookmarks. I know it's a horrible habit, but I just fold the corner of the page down. I often read a bit from the last few pages before I get there, or sometimes before I even start the book. Sometimes I read something important and spoil things for myself, but sometimes it gives me a reason to keep reading at a certain point in the book. I'll carry a book everywhere I go, even if I'm sure I won't need it. Because really, you never know. It's a large part of the reason I even carry a purse. I don't feel at all comfortable writing in my books, even to underline a quote I like. It just feels wrong to me somehow. I do like reading what others have written or seeing what they've underlined though.
So that's me. Bookworm. Lover of words. Reader. I wouldn't have it any other way.

In other news, and somewhat the inspiration for this post, I've started a book blog on Tumblr. I've wanted to for a while, and two days ago I finally went ahead and did it. I like to think of it as sort of making up for the 365 blog that I left miserably incomplete. I mainly reblog pretty book pictures and quotes I like, but I plan on posting reviews from time to time.
Check it out if you'd like: nofrigate-likeabook.tumblr.com
♥♥Kristin

Aunt Beast//A Wrinkle in Time

I know I keep going on about this book, but let me gush just a bit more.
I don't know how many of you have actually read the book, but I'm going to tell you a little bit about my favorite part (I'll try to keep it spoiler free!):
At one point, Meg and co. end up on the grey planet of Ixchel (Don't ask about the names, I honestly couldn't tell you). Meg is very ill and possibly close to death from a recent traumatizing experience. No one knows what to do. Soon they are approached by three of the planets inhabitants, creatures with four arms and tentacles for fingers and indentations on their faces where features would be. Of course the initial reaction is fear, but the beasts (for lack of a better term) promise to take care of Meg, to make her better. As there is nothing her friends could do for her, they have no choice but to agree.
Meg builds a special bond with the beast who cares for her, and affectionately calls her Aunt Beast. These creatures are like nothing she's ever seen before, and they'd certainly never known a human before. Still, they helped her, and she is overcome by gratefulness. These creatures are my favorite part of the book, and here's why:
They are the most caring, thoughtful, loving creatures. Meg notices that they have a wonderful scent, and thinks to herself, "I hope I don't smell awful to it...But then she knew with a deep sense of comfort that even if she did smell awful the beasts would forgive her."
Despite their unfamiliarity with her species, the beasts selflessly care for Meg and her companions in the most hospitable ways possible.
The beasts planet may appear grey and dreary, but there is so much more to it. There is music more beautiful than anything Meg has heard. They are one with their sun and the stars and nature in a very real way. They experience without seeing. Meg realizes that "It was she who was limited by her senses, not the blind beasts, for they must have senses of which she could not even dream."
Later on when it comes time to leave and for Meg to face her fears again, Aunt Beast selflessly offers to go along with Meg, "to hold her" even though she would be experiencing things she'd never known before and putting herself in danger.
These creatures have really imprinted themselves on me, and every time I read this book again I am reminded of it. They are the kindest, most selfless and giving creatures. They love and give unconditionally, even to an alien girl they barely know. This is the way more people should be. It doesn't matter how different one person is from another, unconditional love is all you need.
♥♥Kristin

Some Old Friends.

Since I have a lot of time on my hands, I plan to re-read some old favorites this holiday season. There's nothing quite like the feeling of reading a book that you've read so many times the characters are like old friends. You know what's going to happen, but it just feels so comfortable, so right. I've never understood people who don't read books more than once. There's so much more to a book than whatever you glean the first time you've read it. There are small intricacies, little details that you never noticed but that just make the whole story that much better. For me, those old familiar friends are the three following series in particular:

My old, much loved, often read copy of Anne of Green Gables

 The Anne of Green Gables series:  I have the first five books (the best, in my opinion) of the series. Anne is one of two literary characters who I most related to and most aspired to be like when I was younger (and, I'll admit, still do today). I loved her wild imagination, how she could make even the most ordinary and mundane things become exciting and new. She is such a bright and happy person that even the grumpiest of people can't help falling in love with her. Each of her escapades is so familiar and comfortable to me. She is one of my oldest literary friends.
The Little House series (or the Laura books, as I called them when I was younger): My mom read these books to me before I even knew how to read read, and they've stuck with me ever since. I loved hearing about all of the adventures that Laura had in the "Wild West." These books are the first that really got me started wanderlusting. They hold a special place in my heart. 

 The Wrinkle in Time series: I now own the entire five book set thanks to a recent indulgence. Unfortunately the last two that I just bought are not the same edition as the first three that I got when I was 13, but that's a rant for another day. Meg Murray is the other literary heroine that I related to so much when I was younger. She was average, and even considered herself below average, but she still went on these wonderful adventures. Not to mention, Calvin O'Keefe was my very first fictional character crush. I'm rereading these right now (I'm a few chapters into A Wrinkle In Time at the moment) and even though I have read them countless times and could quote whole lines, I'm falling in love all over again.
There's nothing quite like the nostalgia of old books to brighten your day. What are your favorite books to re-read?
♥♥Kristin

Some Word Love.

As you probably already know, I absolutely love quotes. Here are some that I have been obsessing over lately:

It's so true. We go our entire lives saying "maybe tomorrow" but what if tomorrow never comes? This applies to so many things. It really made me think.

This is from Anne of the Island by L.M. Montogmery. It describes November so well! Not to mention makes me want to visit Prince Edward Island even more.

This is something I too often forget.

"The funny thing about introverts is once they feel comfortable with you, they can be the funniest, most enjoyable people to be around. It’s like a secret they feel comfortable sharing with you. Except, the secret is their personality."

I don't know who said this, but speaking as an introvert, it's very true. It takes me a while to become truly comfortable with someone, but when I am I can be "normal."

I'm not much for the style of this quote, I think it's too dark, but I love the message. Too often, we put all of our faith in people and then feel so hurt when they let us down. We have to remember that God is the only one we should be putting our full trust in.

So, those are some of my favorite quotes lately. What are some quotes that have stuck out to you lately?
♥♥Kristin

Some Book Love.

Lately, sad to say, I've been in a bit of a book rut. Getting out of them can be hard. Usually, they stem from me deciding that I'm going to read all sorts of classics such as Les Miserables and Sense and Sensibility. Then, when I'm bogged down in 17th century wording and large words that make me stop to reread sentences, I get frustrated. Reading stops being fun for me and starts being a chore. That's when I have to remind myself why I fell in love with it in the first place.  Sometimes I just have to step away from the classics and go back to some modern-day, maybe less than perfect, sometimes mushy YA fiction. Though they may not be so intricately written or finely crafted as the classics, they never fail to pull me in (and don't get me wrong: I do enjoy a good classic now and again. Jane Eyre and Frankenstein are some of my favorites).

Some non-classic books that I'm enjoying right now:

I'm rereading this book. It's one of my favorites of all time. I definitely recommend it if you haven't read it. It pulled me in right from the start, and it's one of the few books that actually made me tear up. to quote the book, "It's a small story of, among other things, a girls, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter and quite a lot of thievery." It also produced one of my favorite love stories: Rudy ("The crazy one who had painted himself black and defeated the world") and Liesel ("the book thief without the words"). As you can see, I am in love with this book.

Another book by the wonderful Markus Zusak. This one took me longer to get into, but it was so worth it in the end. a favorite quote of mine from this book:
"sometimes people are beautiful.
Not in looks.
Not in what they say.
But in what they are."

I am reading this book right now, and while it wouldn't win any prizes for wonderfully crafted prose, the story pulls you in. It's one of those dystopian novels that seem so popular now what with the Hunger Games trilogy. It's one of those books that's so popular and mainstream that I almost feel guilty reading it and enjoying it so much. (I'm not a hipster or anything of the sort, but do you know what I mean?)

This is in the queue to read next. It's another dystopian novel. You could say I'm mildly obsessed at the moment. Also on deck is Brave New World. I had to throw at least one semi classic in there.

{{All images via Pinterest.}}

So what are you reading lately? Any books you're really loving?
♥♥Kristin