How to Enjoy Reading.

 

     This post is going to be focusing on a question that I'm sure lots of you would like to know, but are afraid to ask.This is going to be talking about, how to enjoy reading. I wanted to do a post on this because of Elle Fowler a.k.a Ellesglittergossip or Allthatglitters21 on youtube, she did a video on this and I though that it would be a great topic to post about.

     Here are some of my personal thoughts on how to enjoy reading, as well as some thoughts that Elle talked about. 

     First off, I think that it helps to have a natural desire to read. I get my love for reading from my grandmother, she always has a stack of books next to her recliner, and her bed. I think that it comes naturally to people, but not always, you could also develop a desire as you grow older as well. I always loved reading books when I was younger, I read ZooBooks, Junie B Jones books, and so many others as well. But sometimes, people who have always despised reading, can develop a love.

     The next thing I'm going to suggest is find out what you enjoy reading. Don't think that you need to read what everyone else is reading because you want to look cool, read what YOU want to. What I suggest is to go into a library or a bookstore and just walk all over, check out every section, and if something interests you in the Non-Fiction section, GRAB IT. Don't feel like you have to read what everyone else reads, you don't. If you have an interest in books on interior decorating, get them, if you have an interest in horror, grab the book! I have a BUNCH of different genres that range from poetry, to a history book about the Titanic, and some young adult as well. So branch out and grab whatever interests you, if you don't like the book you checked out (if you went to a library) you can always bring it back. 

      Another thing, Reading in School!! Ugh, I know a lot of you probably made that noise. I did not like reading in english class, we read certain books in class that I didn't end up enjoying or remembering details of because I couldn't focus on the book. Reading in school could be a major bummer for those of us who dislike reading to begin with.A lot of kids in my class, when they found out that we had to read a certain book would purposly miss class so they didn't have to read the book. (I know that is a little extreme, but hey it's their choice) Being forced to read is one of the worst feelings in the world, especially when you dislike the topic you're reading about. In my class,one year, we read a book called Night by Ellie Wiesel, which is a book that talks about WWII. I don't like to learn about the Holocost at all, so having to read about it, from a Jewish person's perspective, really made me upset. 

     Another way to help you enjoy reading is to develop a routine to make your reading experience fun. So tonight, or whenever you have free time, try this method, grab the book you bought from the bookstore, or took out from the library, and read for 15 minutes. What I do sometimes, to make it more pleasureable for me, is I'll make sure I'm all cozy in my bed, turn the T.V off, and I'll sometimes make a hot drink, like tea, and I'll sit in my bed all covered up, nice and comfy, and just read. This is a great thing because if you're in a cozy, safe place, and you're reading you have no distractions and you could even finish your book. If you do all of this, and start reading but aren't enjoying the book, put the book down. Don't force yourself to read the book, it'll only make you upset. 

     I'm almost done, I have one more thing to discuss. find a book version of your favorite movie! There are a lot of book to movie adaptations, and nine times out of ten, the book is a lot better than the movie. The most common adaptation is Harry Potter! This is the most common book to movie adaptation, I made the mistake and watched the movies before reading the books. (Little secret, I haven't read all of the Harry Potter books) There are so many others that are newer adaptations, like Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars, and even The Hunger Games! All of these movies, I read the books first and I LOVED them. Anyways, my point is, if you enjoy a movie a lot but never read the book, read the book, and maybe you'll enjoy it as much, if not more than the movie!

     That's what I have for advice on How to Enjoy Reading, I hope you guys enjoyed this and I hope you try at least one of these methods. Hopefully these methods will help you to develop a love for reading, or increase your desire. Thank you so much for reading this! Hope you all have an awesome day.

I'm baaaack!!!

     Hey everyone! Where have I been, you may be wondering. I will tell you, I went through a terrible break up on December 15th. I found out that my boyfriend of 3 years, found another girl I found this out because I needed answers as to why he said he didn't feel the spark between us anymore,and I needed them right THEN so, since he was going to make me wait 3 days, I went on his facebook (I knew his password) and I found out that he was in a relationship with another girl! I was kind of upset as you could probably imagine, so the last thing on my mind was blogging, or reading or even making YouTube videos.

     But now, that its January 2015, a new year I'm going to say the cliche thing, new year, new me! This couldn't be more true, I'm going to be posting on this blog and my new horror blog, BournToScream, as much as possible!! I have SO many ideas to write about, I've also been starting to get back into making videos and even reading. It is a gradual process, but I know I can do it. I've also been taking counseling sessions, and because of that I've been diagnosed with depression and anxiety,which is another factor to why I haven't been active, I can not stay focused long enough. But I am chaging that as fast as I can.

     My posts that I have lined up for you guys are:

• 'How To Enjoy Reading?'
• End of December Book Haul
• New ideas for my channel

     Those and SO many more things are upcoming!! I hope you are all as excited as I am! 
I'm also working on a contemporary novel which is SUPER exciting. I used to write all of the time when I was younger, but I never finished anything I started. I'd write a little of something, say to myself "This is crappy, who'd want to read this?" and start something else. But this one, I'm going to stick to and edit it once I've completed it!
     Anyways, that is where I have been! But now I'm back and here to stay! I love blogging, it helps me to relax and it gets my mind working. Aside from a crazy kitten who steps on my laptop every 2 minutes causing things to pop up left and right, I'm happy with this post, and I hope you all enjoyed a little update and look forward to my 'End of December book haul' as my next post!!

Discussion: eReaders vs. Books!

     This was another thing I became inspired from by LittleBookOwl on YouTube. She had this discussion where she was listing the pros and cons for both eReaders and actual books, and also which one she prefers in various situations. That is kind of what I'm going to be talking about in this post. 

     Okay first off, I have a Kindle Fire and I love it. I love how it's synced with my Amazon account. I also love getting e-mails every day showing me my Kindle Daily Deals, which lists a bunch of apps, books, etc on clearance.But there are also some flaws about it. 

• You can't read it in the bath tub
• You lose the experience of going to a book store
• You lose the feeling of the book 
• You have to charge it when the battery dies
• You can't drop them in a puddle and still read them

    Okay, those are only a few flaws. Now there are a lot more good things about eReaders.
They vary anywhere from being able to eat with one hand and flip pages with the other, something you can't really do with an actual book. You can also, take a bunch of books with you at once! If, for example, you're going on a trip and you want to take some books with you, but don't want to wear down your luggage, you can download as many as you'd like on your eReader and take that with you instead. Another good thing about eReaders compared to books is the expense. For eBooks you'll pay a lot less on one book than you would if you went to a book store. 

     Now we're on to regular books:





          I do have pros and cons for physical books believe it or not. I do pick up actual books more than my Kindle Fire. Actual books, I feel are more "useful" at times than eBooks.


                                                                                                                                                                                                              The Cons of regular books are:

• When you eat, crumbs and other parts of your food can fall between your pages 

     That's really the only flaw I can think of with physical books. As you can probably tell, I prefer physical books over eBooks. I've aquired more physical books than eBooks, and I just love the feel, smell, and look of physical books. eBooks you don't get the greatness of feeling the cover of the book, or smelling the smell of some older books, (I hope I'm not too strange for saying I smell my books), and, they don't really have eBooks at the library. 

     So that is my opinion on eBooks vs. Physical books! I hope I share some of the same thoughts as you. Let me know! Thank you for reading this post, I hope you enjoyed it. 

Birthday Book Haul!

This is a post that is long over due! I'm so sorry! This is my birthday book haul!! I bought ten books with my birthday money! I will show photos of what I got below! I will also post my video talking about each book so that you know the descriptions of each one!

 

I'm so excited to read the books I bought! I'm currently reading, 'Boy Meets Boy' from this pile, I love it so far. Thank you for being patient with my lack of posting, I've been busy with work and such.
Here is my video so you can find out what the books are about:
http://youtu.be/9jZ6qGwLHTE

Comparing Books!

 

 Just be forewarned, this topic will cause me to ramble and rant.

    

     I saw this topic on Little Book Owl's YouTube channel and I thought it was a great discussion. 

    This is a topic that I didn't think would affect me so much but it does. I have also seen this with films too. People like to compare books because of certain elements and certain things listed in the synopsis. Take for example, 'The Bronze Horseman' by Paullina Simons, people read the synopsis and see that it takes place in the Soviet Union, in Russia and they automatically compare it o other books that take place in Russia, and don't read it because they assume that it's the same storyline somehow. 

   I also saw a comment on Little Book Owl's video from a girl saying that she has seen this happen with books that take place in Germany. She said that people see that the setting is Germany and they assume that it's automatically a WWII book. Really people? Its not just with the setting, it also happens with the genre.When people notice that a book is dystopian, they will jump right up and compare it to 'The Hunger Games'.  I apologize if you are one of these people that compare books but it just makes me angry. Give the books a chance, don't stray away from it just because of certain things in the synopsis or the genre or whatever.

     

     What are your opinions about this topic? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and if you'd like to know more about this, check out Little Book Owl on YouTube.

Traveling The World Through Books!

      Last night I was thinking to myself, 'I wonder if people know of books that are set internationally?' So, thanks to http://beckerry.blogspot.com/ for her title idea, I've come up with 'Traveling The World Through Books'. I'm going to talk about various books that take place in different countries, I'll mention books I own and books that I have heard of.  WARNING: SOME POSTS MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS!!

First up:

Synopsis:

It's just a small story really, about, among other things, a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery.

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist: books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids - as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

  

    I own this book,but have yet to read it. I love anything that talks about WWII, I love reading books about the Holocaust and Nazi Germany. I know it is a VERY dark and sensitive subject to talk/read about, but it's very informative and easy to read when it's in a book like this. Can't wait to read this!

Next up: 

Synopsis: 

The golden skies, the translucent twilight, the white nights, all hold the promise of youth, of love, of eternal renewal. The war has not yet touched this city of fallen grandeur, or the lives of two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanova, who share a single room in a cramped apartment with their brother and parents. Their world is turned upside down when Hitler's armies attack Russia and begin their unstoppable blitz to Leningrad.

Yet there is light in the darkness. Tatiana meets Alexander, a brave young officer in the Red Army. Strong and self-confident, yet guarding a mysterious and troubled past, he is drawn to Tatiana—and she to him. Starvation, desperation, and fear soon grip their city during the terrible winter of the merciless German siege. Tatiana and Alexander's impossible love threatens to tear the Metanova family apart and expose the dangerous secret Alexander so carefully protects—a secret as devastating as the war itself—as the lovers are swept up in the brutal tides that will change the world and their lives forever.

     I own this book, I've read it and I adored it! This is another book about Nazis and Hitler, but also a great love story mixed into it. This book was so great and even though there is the attack by Hitler and it's sad in some parts, the love story makes you forget about it all. Great book, 5/5 stars!

Next up: 

     Any book by Khaled Hosseini, they take place from Kabul, to Paris, to Greece. I own 2 out of 3 of these books, and I know that this author is popular and he is great at what he does. I love how Khaled Hosseini puts his culture, and writes about his home in books and lets people know that they aren't bad places and to open your eyes and see the country for what it really is.

Next up:

 

Synopsis:

In 1937 Shanghai—the Paris of Asia—twenty-one-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree—until the day their father tells them that he has gambled away their wealth. To repay his debts, he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from Los Angeles to find Chinese brides. As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pearl and May set out on the journey of a lifetime, from the Chinese countryside to the shores of America. Though inseparable best friends, the sisters also harbor petty jealousies and rivalries. Along the way they make terrible sacrifices, face impossible choices, and confront a devastating, life-changing secret, but through it all the two heroines of this astounding new novel hold fast to who they are—Shanghai girls.

     

    This book, I took out from the library and didn't have time to finish it, but I have heard on YouTube that it is a sad book and that the girls in this book get sold to rich men because their father lost all of their money and to repay his debts that have accumulated, he sells his daughters! That part made me angry when I read the synopsis, why would you sell your children?! But then I remembered, in China, families are only allowed to have one girl as a child, all the rest are left to die basically. I love anything having to do with the Chinese culture, so I really want to reread this book. 

And Finally:

Synopsis:

     Eleven-year-old Noi is learning to paint like her grandmother. She and her older sister, Ting, spend many rapt hours in the jungle watching as Kun Ya paints delicate silk umbrellas to sell at the market. But one day Kun Ma and Kun Pa announce that Ting must start working at a local radio factory to help support the family. As the days and weeks pass, Noi anxiously sees her own fate reflected in her sister’s constricting world. Can Noi find a way to master her fear of failure and stand up for her gift -- and Kun Ya’s tradition -- before the future masters her?
With spare, sure strokes evoking the customs and language of Thailand, the acclaimed author of THE GOLD-THREADED DRESS tells the graceful tale of a young artist’s coming of age.

 

    This is a middle grade book. It is, about Thai culture. Noi has the gift of painting. Her and her sister watch a man everyday, paint silk umbrellas to sell, Noi wants to do this, or something like this, but because of her sister's conflicting issue where she has to get a job, Noi isn't sure if she will see her dreams to be like the man who paints the silk umbrellas. Can't wait to read this book. 

    Wow, that was a longer post than usual, I'm sorry, and I'm truly sorry it's so late. I've been working, and this is a long post that I wanted to make look good. I hope you enjoyed! Thanks again to Becky for the title idea! In this post we went to, Germany, Russia, Kabul, Paris, Greece, China, and Thailand! If you know of any other books like these please leave a comment below!! 

                                                        

  Thanks for reading!!

 

Recent Book Haul!!

         These are the books that I bought from a library book sale yesterday. I know that I don't need anymore books, I have too many already. I went with my dad and we both got books and he got some audiobooks on tapes all for $6! I've read a little bit of 'Anna Dressed In Blood' by Kendare Blake before, but I got it out at the library and didn't have time to read it. What I did read though, was very good! I loved the idea of it and now that I have it, I'm going to be waiting until October to start it. I got 'If I Stay' by Gayle Forman mainly because I've heard the hype about it on booktube. 'Silk Umbrellas' by Carolyn Marsden I've never heard of before, but I love books about the Chinese culture.

         I already have SO many books, but I really wanted to support my local library and buy books. WHen I saw 'Anna Dressed In Blood' and 'If I Stay' I kind of squealed! People around me probably thought I was crazy, but I got two books I've always wanted, and that I can now take off of my Amazon wishlist!