Books... Mer!

 

This is exactly how I feel right now... if you add highly aggravated to the mix.

You see, I was reading The Fall of Five, which is the fourth in a series of I-don't-know-how-many.  And I was reading it quickly because it was making me really mad.  It was a good book, don't get me wrong.  But, you see, I saw it coming.  And none of the characters saw it coming, but they should have.  It was so stinkin obvious.  Why didn't they see it?!  Mer.

And then the book ended at only 88% on my Kindle.  I thought I had 12% left for things to resolve a bit and get even just a teensy bit better before the end.  But NOPE.  POW!  The End!

GGGGGRRRRRRRR!!!!

So, yeah.  That's how I'm feeling at the moment, and I thought I'd share.

Inconsistency...

...When it comes to blogging, I've got it!  My birthday/anniversary week, I did so great, tons of posts.  And then I just magically fall off the face of the planet for two weeks.  Boo.  I annoy myself.

In my defense, this week has been busy.  Last week though, there's really no excuse; I just read a couple of really good books.  Band camp started on Monday.  Yes, I'm a nerd.  I'm twenty-five years old, and I still go to band camp.  In fact, I just counted, and this year marks my 14th band camp.  Wow.  I'm such a nerd!

Anyway, other than sweating my butt off in the hot Florida sun everyday this week, not much is going on. Band camp is pretty exhausting.  However, here are a few minor updates.

• I finished The Book Thief (a while ago), and I really liked it.  The storytelling was so interesting from "Death's" point of view.  It was an interesting story about what one little girl's life could have been like during World War II.  It was a very enjoyable read.
• Thomas and I just went to see "The Wolverine" today!  And it, of course, lives up to the X-Men tradition.  It was a truly enjoyable two hours!  And there's an Easter egg at the end!  (Those are always one of my favorite parts!)
• Also on the movie front, I cannot wait to see "2 Guns" this weekend.  Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg are both stellar actors, and this movie looks like the perfect blend of action and comedy!
• We're having some new friends over for lunch tomorrow!  Woot woot!  I love having people over.  It's so fun, and it really brings out my "Suzie Homemaker" side.
•  During the busy days this week, these verses brought me comfort.  Here, the Lord is speaking to his people, Israel, during a time of rebellion, and yet He loves us.

"But now, this is what the Lord says-- 

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you. O Israel:

'Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; 

the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.

Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you,

I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.

Do not be afraid, for I am with you"

Isaiah 43:1-5 (NIV)

Hopefully it won't be two weeks before the next post!!!

Randomness Stuff

What a great, specific, and descriptive title that is!  I had a recipe all queued up for today, but on a whim decided that it can wait.  I have noticed recently that I seem to be really good at posting on Mondays or Tuesdays, but then I sort of slack off the rest of the week.  So, this week I tried to prepare some posts ahead of time.  Overall, it has worked pretty well, but I also don't love that the posts don't reflect my mood of the day.  So, long story short, today I'm breaking free!  Lol.

Anyway, random thing #1:  Tomorrow is Thomas' and my fifth anniversary.  And yes, I know, Tuesday was my 25th birthday.  Yes, my birthday and our anniversary are only three days apart.  And yes, I also know that we got married pretty young.  All I can say is, when it's right, it's right.  And I knew we were right before we even started our senior year of high school. But that's all a long story, so yeah... anyway, I'm super excited about our anniversary tomorrow because Thomas has some special surprise planned and will NOT tell me what it is!  I absolutely love surprises, but they also just about kill me because I want to know what they are soooooo bad!  I can't wait.  And trust me, I'm sure I will share the surprise on Saturday!

Randomness #2:  This last b-day present arrived a little too late to make the birthday post!

Canisters to match all of my other kitchen stuff!!!  They're so adorable!  Thank you to all of you who helped to make my birthday special!  I love you all so much!

Random Thing #3:  My current read is The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak.  This is another "teen" book; in fact I'm pretty sure it was on the Florida Teens Read list or something.  Anyway, I've seen it all over and have been pretty curious about it.  So, I got it from the library without even reading the description.  Yep, I just checked out a book that I knew absolutely nothing about.  That's why it's free, right?!  Anyway, I'm only about 4% into the book (according to my Kindle), and so far it is very interesting and a little confusing.  The book is set in Nazi Germany, and the main character is a young girl who steals books.  The thing that sets the book apart (so far) is that the story is told by "Death", yes like a grim reaper character.  So, Death's storytelling style is a bit different than a normal style. So, disclaimer: I am a really good reader, meaning that I can generally read fast while still comprehending and retaining information, and this book takes some concentration.  Just because the style the author has written in is a little hard to follow; you really have to pay attention.  But, like I said, I'm still at the beginning, so we'll see how it pans out.

Random Rachel #4: We just got back from seeing "White House Down" at the movies.  And I thought it was pretty good.  Thomas and I both walked out of the theater feeling like we got an enjoyable two hours out of it.  However, it is impossible to get around comparing it to "Olympus Has Fallen" that came out in March.  They're basically the same movie with slight plot changes and different actors.  The White House gets taken over by some bad guys and it's up to either Channing Tatum or Gerard Butler to save the president, the country, and the day.  They're both highly enjoyable movies if you like people getting beat up and explosions and stuff.  And quite honestly, between the two, I just like whichever one has Gerard Butler in it better ("Olympus Has Fallen").  You could switch up everything else in the movies, and I would still like the one with Gerard Butler better.  (He's my favorite actor, and I will like just about anything he's in because he is totally awesome, on-screen and off.)

I was going to have one more, but this post is already really long; I still have to check it all for spelling and grammar and stuff; it's getting late, etc, etc, etc.  So, I'm signing off.  Woot woot, tomorrow's my anniversary!!!  I love summer!

Recent Reads

Well, here's a peek into another part of my life that summer allows me to enjoy:  reading!  I absolutely love to read.  There are very few things that are better than sitting on the beach all day reading a good book.

However, there is a disclaimer to this post and any future posts that talk about books I read.  I don't read a lot of adult books.  I could say that I just came out of two years of high school where I wanted to read teen books to relate to my students more, but that would really just be an excuse.  I really like teen fiction.  I get caught up in a good "fantasy" story.

See, here's my opinion.  If I'm going to spend a considerable amount of time reading a book, then I want it to be about something that I can't flip on the tv and see on the news.  Most of the books I read take place in fictional worlds, and I love that about them.  There is a plethora of sources I could get information from that involve our own world, so I like my reading to be more creative, more unique.

It's not like I'm trying to convince you to like the books I like, but I just want you to know why I like them.  Also, though I am very secure in knowing what I like in a book, I will say that I have read and liked some books that I am a bit embarrassed about.  I tend to read books that are very popular, and therefore, I sometimes come off as a 15 year old girl in my taste.  Oh well, that's who I am, but it is sometimes embarrassing talking to adults and confirming that I have, in fact, read the Twilight series, and I did actually like them.  Ya know, especially when I'm supposed to be an adult.  (Just between you and me, I'm just waiting for the day when word gets out that I'm an "imposter adult", because I never did really grow up in some areas.)  : )

Anyway, here are some books I've read recently and enjoyed.  Not that you'd like them, unless you are actually a 15 year old girl!  Lol.  Just kidding, I'm pretty sure a lot of grown-ups secretly still like teen books!  Just FYI though, I can't guarantee that you'll like any of these books; they're just my personal preferences.

• The Maze Runner Trilogy by James Dashner - I really liked these three books that are quite popular right now.  I'm on a post-apocalyptic kick, and these were an interesting take on trying to remake the world after the end has come.  It starts out with a bunch of teenage boys dropped into the middle of a maze with no adult supervision, and they must survive.  The books evolve a lot from the original scene and scenario, and I was constantly wondering what was going to happen next, who was really on which side, and which characters I should trust.  These three novels were action packed and suspenseful.
• Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth - These two books burst onto the scene just after The Hunger Games (another series I love) and have been making waves.  There is a movie being made and the highly-anticipated third book comes out later this year.  These are another post-apocalyptic set of books where the surviving population is set in highly separate factions.  The main character, Tris, seems to be going about her life semi-normally until things start happening and the world begins to change.  They're really great and just the perfect blend of action, suspense, romance, etc. for me.
• The Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore - If you pay close attention to movies, you may have heard of one called "I am Number Four" that came out a couple of years ago.  The movie was based on the first book in The Lorien Legacies.  The series is really hard to explain mainly because it involves two separate races of aliens hiding on Earth and trying to kill each other.  (Trust me, I do know how ridiculous that last sentence just sounded.)  But they're really interesting if you're into aliens and superpowers and stuff.  (Wow, I'm just going to move on... I'm sounding more convincing by the minute!)

So, those are a few of my recent reads.  However, just in case you were wondering, here's a photo of my book case so you can see some of my favorite reads!  (The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis are my all-time favorite.  And here's proof:  I own seven different copies of the series in all different formats.)  As you can tell, I'm also obsessed with hardbacks... if it's not a hardback, I basically don't buy it.