What thoughts do eggs have?

Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too by Jomny Sun was an odd little book.  The reader follows our main character who is an alien (or aliebn if you prefer) sent to earth to learn about humans but because he's never met one he assumes every living thing he sees is a human. Therefore, he becomes good friends with a tree, beaver, egg, etc. Reminiscent of Find the Good, this book is chock full of life lessons about what truly matters. Our little alien friend learns how to be content and happy, what loneliness is, how to be a good friend, the value of creativity, and most of all how to accept oneself. There's also an underlying message about doomsday and what the planet would be like without human habitation. Is this actually an apocalyptic tale cloaked behind a cute alien story?  I have to point out that the misspelling (as you see in the title) was highly annoying even after I managed to somewhat successfully ignore it and took away some enjoyment from the overall reading of the book. However, if you are able to look past that (and I was mostly successful) then it's a nice little read with great messages. This author isn't afraid to tackle tough subjects and I believe he does so with sensitivity and insight. This would make a great gift for that introspective friend (or a great addition to your own collection). I'd say it was a solid 7/10 because while it was a really nice book it didn't blow me out of the water. (The best graphic novel remains The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins.)

Source: Barnes & Noble

Source: Sweet

What's Up Next: Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan

What I'm Currently Reading: it's 1 day til Christmas...do you think I'm reading?

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Quick review: An Age of License

I finally opened up all of my little sticky tabs so that I could mark passages from the book I just finished. This is the first book that I've tabbed since I was in college. Therefore, it's reasonable to assume that this is one killer book, right? RIGHT. An Age of License: A Travelogue by Lucy Knisley was a curve ball that totally surprised me. Did I mention that this is a graphic novel? O_O Yes, I've once more gone into the breach and emerged triumphant. (I hope you imagined a fanfare playing while you read that.) It's about a trip she took in 2011 to Europe and the shenanigans that ensued. I enjoyed not only her drawing style but her approach to storytelling. I never felt lost among her drawings like I have in other graphic novels. Her drawing style really appealed to me. An Age of License is the story of a woman who found herself one of the remaining single women in her friend group who was at odds within herself with what she really wanted. I may have related somewhat...oh and the FOOD. She has other books out which are even more food focused so I'm definitely going to be getting my hands on those. Not only did this book make me reflect on my own life and how I approach it but it also made me want more. I can't even explain to you how excited I became when I looked up her biography and...well I don't want to give it away. ::maniacal laughter:: I think if you're into memoirs, coming-of-age stories, food biographies, and/or you're looking to try graphic novels this is a great choice. 10/10

Here are the pages that I marked:

I think I must be living in the L'Age Licence.

I TOTALLY get this.

This just amused me.

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Remembering 16

Firstly, The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Short Stories was written while Susanna Clarke was still working on Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell which I just found out took her 10 years to complete...so I guess I won't hold my breath on her next novel. Secondly, this was a great short story compilation, ya'll. This was especially great if you are thinking of reading Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell but you're not sure if you want to commit yourself to such an epic length book. This will definitely give you a taste of her narrative style as well as the world that she has created (Faerie! Also other places!). Honestly, I can't say enough good things about this author. I am super excited to see what else she comes up with but as I said a few sentences ago she does like to take her time (and she's also been ill so don't be too hard on her). Go check this book out!

Now onto why I titled this post 'Remembering 16': To Hear the Ocean Sigh by Bryant A. Loney (who is only 18!). I was sent a copy of the book by the publisher, Verona Booksellers, a few months ago and I've just finished reading it. This is the story of an 'every man' named Jay Murchison who is just trying to get through his sophomore year of high school (and become popular in the process). There's typical teenage angst about what it means to be 'popular' but embedded within that is the question of what it means to be authentic to oneself. I found the book to be at times poignant (the reason behind the title kinda blew my mind a little bit) and pedantic (I don't need to know every single move that Jay makes throughout his day especially when it's a mundane everyday activity). If you're a fan of John Green style young adult novels you'll most likely enjoy this one.

Sticking to the young adult theme, I'm about to be caught up with the Lunar Chronicles series because I've just picked up Fairest: Levana's Story. Each of the previous books in the series focused on different characters from fairytales with a twist. This one is all about the villain of the series, Levana. I'm excited to learn the backstory of the one character that so far has seemed pretty one-sided. On with the reading!

Can you ever truly know another person?

It must be said that John Green is an absolutely phenomenal writer. The only experience I had with his writing was The Fault in Our Stars which is completely different from Paper Towns (except for the main characters being teenagers). There is another similarity in that you are made more aware by reading this book. It's an excellent book for introspection. You're almost led to believe that the book is about Margo Roth Speigelman when in point of fact it's about Quentin "Q" Jacobsen and in actuality he is really just a stand-in for the reader. (This book is also a love letter to Walt Whitman. Seriously.) This is the story of someone who everyone felt they knew but at the same time was unknowable. It is more the story of someone who wanted to know that person as utterly and completely as they knew themselves. We are all so many facets and pieces put together and what we choose to show to the world may not even be a true reflection of what lives inside of us. John Green somehow articulates this and makes it okay that it is not always possible to get to the root of a person and that even if you do you might discover that what you find there is nothing like what you imagined or hoped. 10/10

I'm definitely the kind of person that sees a commercial for a film or tv series and when I see that it was based off of the book I immediately write down the title. That's how I came to discover Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. This book is 1,006 pages long. Nope, that wasn't a typo. It's the story of two very different magicians living in the early 19th century in England. They join forces to fight in the war against France but for one of them there is a pull toward the dark side of magic and everything is in danger of collapse. I like magic. I like the early 19th century. I definitely like England. This should hopefully be a no-brainer.

If you're a longtime reader of the blog, thanks for making my blog a part of your life and I hope that you're getting as much out of it as I am. If you're new, I encourage you to take a look through my posts either randomly if that's your thing or by using the search bar to look through the tags. No matter what camp you fall into I hope that you drop me a comment and let me know if you're reading the same book or if you have any recommendations for me. HAPPY READING!!

2015 here I come! OR This blogger gets a little introspective.

(I seriously spend more time on my blog titles than the actual body of my posts sometimes and the above is the result of my diligent labor. I'm not even sorry about it.)

Beware! Soppy blogger notes ahead!!
When I first started this blog, I had a couple of goals in mind. The biggest was that I wanted to encourage reluctant readers to give reading another try. I thought that if I blogged about a variety of genres and used books both contemporary and 'dated' that I would appeal to a larger audience. I wanted to share my passion and enthusiasm for the written word in the hopes that it might inspire others into nerding out over literature. I had no idea that I would find the practice so rewarding or that I would look at it as a profession rather than a hobby. Yet here I am 3 years later reviewing books and loving it. My hope is that I have somewhat attained that big goal. I hope that some of you found your way here on a whim and decided to stick it out and read right along with me. For all I know, you guys have been reading the same books as me all along. (If so, please comment and tell me about it because I love reading your comments!) At any rate, I just wanted to say thanks SO much for reading the blog and I can't wait to continue this journey with you guys in the years ahead!

Oh yeah and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It was a busy week...

I finished up Notes from Underground and loved it.  It had just the right amount of snarkiness and introspection to do it for me.  I enjoyed the narrator's voice throughout and his observations about humanity were both insightful, delightful sinful, and hilarious.  While he talks about himself constantly you never really know the real man behind the words.  He contradicts himself at every turn and keeps the reader wondering what he'll say next.

To continue with my classical reading I next read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.  I have to say straight up that I went into this with high expectations and Stevenson did not disappoint.  I turned the pages of this book so quickly I swear I got page burn.  The characters felt so real and I had to know what was going to happen next.  This book is both a thriller and an insightful look into the duality of man.  I definitely recommend it.

The next read is World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks (Mel's son) which was lent to me by my good friend, Eric.  It's a chronicle of the zombie apocalypse.  I think that might say it all.  I'm going to try to start it up tonight but I'm not sure I'll be awake long enough.  It's been a looooong week! :o)