For Fun [1] - Bookish Shuffle Tag

The Bookish Shuffle Tag is something done on many Booktube channels, but I'm not up to doing videos right now, so I thought I'd just make it a post! I wanted to do this after watching Kimberly Reads tag video, so go check it out!

The rules are simple: put your iPod/iTunes/whatever on shuffle, and for each song that plays, pick a book to go with the song. Because I have a bunch of ambient sound tracks and audio books in my iTunes, I did have to do some skipping, but otherwise the songs came up as listed.

Along with listing the songs and my book choices (which are all physically on my shelf and have been read), I try to explain why I picked each book. Because this was so much fun, I ended up doing fourteen (which is one of my favorite numbers). Follow the links to find out more about the books and songs. ^_^

Song 1: Fix A Heart [Demi Lovato] ~ Book: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Dreamland is (as far as I've read) the darkest of Sarah Dessen's books and by the end, while the main character is on the road to healing, she's not there yet.

Song 2: December [Sara Bareilles] ~ Book: New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

This is definitely not my favorite of the Twilight books, but most of New Moon is Bella dealing with the sudden change in her life that makes her extremely depressed, and on top of that, December is one of the months she loses to her depression.

Song 3: Home Again [Grand Vanity] ~ Book: Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

This song reminded me of the beginning of this book where Lenah wakes up to being human and without her lover Rhode.

Song 4: Infinity [The xx] ~ Book: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

My love for this book knows no bounds, and for me the vibe of this song just fit the characters, while the lyrics could be related to a certain rough patch they go through.

Song 5: Go Back [Marketa Irglova] ~ Book: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

This song, about a relationship that is wanted but may not be fated, immediately brought to mind Hallowed, the sequel to Unearthly. I'm Team Tucker all the way.

Song 6: Honey Honey [Feist] ~ Book: Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Lena and Ethan could not have been farther away from each other in this book and this song has an unearthly sound that, in my mind, matches their situation.

Song 7: These Hard Times [Needtobreathe] ~ Book: The Savage Grace by Bree Despain

In The Dark Divine series, Grace is trying her best to get through the craziness that has become her life, and in this last book, she needs all the help she can get to make it through and find happiness and hope again.

Song 8: Fairytale [Sara Bareilles] ~ Book: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

While it doesn't exactly match the true tone of the song, Cinder and its sequels are definitely about fairytale heroines taking their destinies into their own hands.

Song 9: Paris [Grace Potter and the Nocturnals] ~ Book: Infinityglass by Myra McEntire

A song this bad-ass and sexy can only fit Hallie Girard.

Song 10: Holland Road [Mumford and Sons] ~ Book: What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang

This song moves from sad to hopeful, and it reminds me of the relationship between Eva and Addie.

Song 11: Yellow Sun [The Raconteurs] ~ Book: Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

The vibe of this song and the fact that it seems to be about werewolves (or some other nighttime monster) brought to mind Scarlett's fierceness.

Song 12: The Heat [Needtobreathe] ~ Book: Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson

This book is all about the crossroads between emotions and senses and the song reminded me of Alison's thoughts upon seeing an out-of-this-world vista.

Song 13: Islands [The xx] ~ Book: Timepiece by Myra McEntire

Timepiece is about two people with secrets and walls built-up finding each other and becoming islands no longer. The cool/sexy vibe of the song is also quite fitting.

Song 14: Chartreuse [Capital Cities] ~ Book: The Selection by Kiera Cass

This song makes me think of a fashion show, and while The Selection isn't about a fashion show, it does deal significantly with the girls of the selection being made up to fit a certain persona and also having to act differently than how they would in normal life.

T10T [4] - Books I Loved Before Becoming a Blogger

Ink to Image [1] - The Twilight Saga

Hey quirks! I've decided to do a new feature that focuses on books that have been adapted for the silver or small screen. Rather than just reviewing the books/movies/shows, I plan to discuss what makes one or the other better, why I chose to read the book or watch the movie/show, and my plans, if any, on continuing to read or watch. I kind of want to give you an idea of how this will work, so for my introductory post, I decided to use a franchise that is well-known, well-loved, and well-hated: The Twilight Saga*.

I'll begin with 'Which came first, the chicken or the egg?' question: Did I read the books or watch the movies first?
I had just started reading the first novel, Twilight, when I watched the movie, so I say I watched the movie first. But for the rest of the series, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, I read the books first.

Which was better?
Neither the movie franchise nor the book series is the best of what each medium has to offer and the pitfalls of both have been well-documented. Still, I found both forms of the story to be entertaining, and each had some great aspects. I liked some of the additions in the films, specifically the twist in Breaking Dawn Part 2 and the higher level of action throughout the series, but overall I think I enjoyed the books more because of all the details that were in the books but ultimately left out of the movies. (This is a common issue with book adaptations and will likely be mentioned frequently in my Ink to Image posts.)

What made me read/watch?
The Twilight movie buzz was just a hum when I became aware of it, but then some of my friends who had already read the first book invited me to come along when they went to see the movie. Having been informed by them that it was based on a book, I decided to read the story as well. I was more interested after seeing the movie, and then became enthralled (like pretty much everyone else) after finishing the first book, so I completed the series.

Will I read/watch more if available?
I do not think the world of Twilight needs to be revisited on screen for a very long time. That is not to say I wouldn't eventually watch a related film or show, but I would do so reluctantly if they appear within the next decade or two. However, if Stephenie Meyer wrote more Twilight stories/books, I would definitely read them. Not only do I want to know more about what happens to certain characters (not the main two) but I enjoy the lore. I read the novella that came out a while back (The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner) and loved it. I think not only does Meyer have some good story foundation to go with but she is also getting better as a writer, so it would be great to see her do something else with it beyond the scope of Bella and Edward.

That's it quirks, short and sweet! I hope you enjoyed my first foray into this feature. What are your thoughts on this book to movie comparison? Let me know in the comments! ^_^

*Click on a book's cover to be taken to the book's Goodreads page and click on a movie poster to be taken to the movie's IMDB page.

Why I Love YA (+ giveaway from Beth Revis)

My high school library was tiny and outdated. It was one room, about the size of a standard classroom, and held all the different kinds of books you were supposed to find in a full size library, complete with card catalog cabinet and giant dictionary open on a pedestal, which only took up valuable space.

I read everything I could get my hands on, from Catch-22 to Dick Francis's horse related English mysteries, to thrillers by David Baldacci, and to the stuff that was YA before YA was a thing, like Lois Duncan's books.

I love Lois Duncan. Those were the ones I wanted more of and could hardly find. I could read all the adult mysteries and literary fiction I wanted, and I enjoyed them, but they did not speak to me.

Even now, they do not speak to me. They are good books, to be sure, and can be nice escapes for me. But I will never be a CIA agent tracking down a serial killer. I will never be a man in a war. More than likely, I won't even be a woman embroiled in a life or death mystery, à la Mary Higgins Clark.

But I have been a teenager.

I think it is safe to say that the feelings associated with adolescence -- discovering things about yourself, trying things for the first time, finding your place in the world, longing for something more, wanting freedom -- those are not things you grow out of. They start in those important teenage years, but we never stop dealing with those issues. They may shift and change over time, but they never really go away.

When I dropped out of college at 21, I moved back home, full of anxiety and severely depressed. I got a good full time job that I was horrible at and eventually I felt miserable every single day. One of the perks of that job was that we could listen to audio books or music while working, and one of the ladies had a binder or two full of books on CD. I listened to a lot of adult books and they entertained me enough to keep my mind focused while at work.

But then I bought a YA audio book at the bookstore because it was on sale. The premise sounded cute so I thought I would try it. It was like a breath of fresh air after being trapped under ground for years on end.

Then someone gave me Twilight and Harry Potter. Not only was I entertained but I was enthralled. These books gave me something to be excited about because I could see myself in these stories in a way I could not with the adult books.

That is why I love YA. I can relate. I can relate because I have been through those feelings, those life-altering events that sometimes take place only within, and I may still be going through them now though in a slightly different way.

I will never be a teenage spy like in Ally Carter's Gallagher Girl series, that YA audio book I picked up at the store, or a teenage art thief like in her Heist Society series, but I know what it is like to be good at something and not sure you want that for your life.

I will never be a teenage cancer patient, but I do know what it is like to not understand the things happening to you, to be sick in a way no one else seems to understand, and what it is like to lose someone you love dearly, like in The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

I was not a girl who had to deal with physical abuse from a boyfriend, but I did know what it was like to lose my way, which is why Sarah Dessen's Dreamland hit home for me so much when I read it in high school. I have not read one of those thrillers or mysteries that I used to read in high school in years, but I have and will read any of Dessen's books I can get my hands on.

This is why I love YA. No matter the story, the setting, even the genre label, YA is what I love to read because it speaks to me, to the me that was a teenager, to the me that is still growing as a person and has a human being.

And now that I have been all sentimental, time for the fun stuff!

Because Beth Revis loves YA, she is going to give one lucky winner an entire library of signed YA books!

Just click the graphic below to enter!