Thursday, December 29, 2011

go hard or go home.

So, I know this isn't really sticking to what I should be reading but I just was reeaaallyyy looking forward to reading this. I was going to order a hard copy and then I got my Nook. I'll rave about this here so I won't annoy my friends with my overzealous rants that they probably could care less about, lol. I'm so pleased with this book. I'm kinda stingy and buy books as cheap as I can get 'em (or for free, hence the websites) but this book was worth the 15 bucks I spent. Mindy doesn't get enough airtime on The Office but her character is always really funny. Her book is incredible though..she totally seems like someone I would get along with and befriend instantaneously. She's a little quirky but I kind of love it and she can come off really educated using all these SAT words but still describing her experiences in a more relate-able way (i.e. when she describes a dance audition she went to and said she looked like "a fucking idiot.") She also gets pretty personal while keeping a really affable tone and has really learned from what she's been through. I thought I was the only one that got depressed with relationship articles saying marriage was archaic. I don't know if I'm a feminist per-say but I admire her, Amy Poehler, and Tina Fey for being able to keep up in a male-dominated field so well without resorting to posting up a slutty video on YouTube. It means there's still hope in the world. I loved every single page, which is why I finished this in one day. I don't think anything has grabbed my attention like that in a while. Go hard or go home.


'til next time, stay classy ♥

Monday, December 26, 2011

the calm after the storm.

So...I have really been distracted. It's that Christmas rush. I was surprised at how pleasant it was. Even the meeting with my dad's part of the family was fun (and that's normally pretty bland). I guess it's the peace you feel when you have God on your side. It's the first year but I feel a major difference a in my attitude. I haven't been reading as much though. :( I'll post next time with a review. I've been pretty busy...and met someone who's pretty awesome. Anyways, just checking in to let whoever reads this know I'm still alive, haha. Happy holidays to all!


Here's also a video. I like the version by Lil' Wayne (it's a lot calmer/ more tame than his usual stuff) but this guy's rendition is awesome. Also, the dancers are awesome.



'til next time, stay classy♥

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

quick read.

I bought a lot of Nicholas Sparks's books on Ebay because I wanted to read this one. Also, I had read The Wedding and wanted my own copy (since I had returned the book to a friend a while back). I plan to resell the lot on ebay but thought I should check out a few of them beforehand. I read reviews to this book before and bad ones made this book seem completely disappointing but I happened to like it. Maybe because I'm not a loyal reader of his novels or maybe because it was just fun to have my imagination run wild for the first time in a while. The other books I read were thought-provoking but mostly due to self-evaluation. This book reminded me why I used to love reading so much. I do agree with some of the comments on the bad reviews though: 
*Kevin's character was really deranged and seemed repetitive but maybe that was the effect Sparks was going for. The constant Bible references that motivated his psychosis were a bit much though..not too sure how I feel about that.
*Alex and Katie's romance did seem to just sprout a little out of nowhere but the dialogue was endearing so I could forgive the lack of character development.
*I didn't expect for it to get as dark as it did in the second half (which was a major complaint of Sparks' lack or originality) but it kept me glued to the pages. It's supposedly "a carbon copy of Sleeping With the Enemy" but since I haven't seen that movie, this story line achieved its purpose to shock and awe me. 
*I didn't see the ending coming. 
I guess it was just juicy to me because it was a change of pace from all the Christian books. Finished it in about 3 hours so it apparently sat well with me. Reading this was better than watching TV but I'll just have to go through a few more of his novels before I could have a concrete opinion of his style. 


'til next time, stay classy♥

Saturday, December 3, 2011

epic.

Before this review, I thought I should post this really awesome video my best friend pleasantly surprised me with!
This is a book I bought (not got for free in lieu for a review) and it was worth every penny. Other than Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley, this is probably the most powerful book I've read this year. I'm not the only one who agrees..this is the only book I've looked up on christianbook.com that got all its reviews with a 5 star rating. This one is different from Andy's because this one isn't a self-help. It's definitely focused on Jesus. His use of analogies was superb and so was the tone of the book overall. Usually, when authors use asterisks/cliffnotes it's for clarification purposes on background information or translations but this asterisks always surprised me with jokes. That was an interesting and fun way to keep the audience engaged and on a good mindset since this book does get pretty heavy sometimes. The concept of yada came up in this book (like it did in What Are You Waiting For?) and just emphasizes the kind of love God knows and wants us to know. He also stresses the importance of being authentic over being perfect, focusing on relationship rather than rules, and on following over believing. The quote used on the cover of the book pretty much summarizes my feelings. "Kyle's words are, at once, profound and practical." -Max Lucado. He has this way of writing to where you feel like it''s relatable (like from a friend) yet coming from a really wise mentor (like someone who you respect more than treasure as a friend). He clears up what a real invitation to follow Jesus looks like and challenges you to question whether you're a fan or follower. It's really amazing in more ways than one and it would take me forever to elaborate so I'll stop here (lol). His "Not a Fan" testimonies were awesome too. Just a great concept overall that was worded in a way that was deep yet clear (when writing is usually one or the other).


'til next time, stay classy ♥