Tag: 50 Random Facts About Me

I was tagged by the lovely Allison, whose blog is actually titled The Lovely Grace. :P

And without further ado, here we go!

3 Month Blogoversary!!!

I was going to have pictures or something to make this post look nice and whatnot, but I'm worn out and tired and have nothing exciting to show or giveaway, SO.

But anyway, today is my 3 month blogoversary! I've come far since I've started, but I'm still not as well established as some of my other fellow 3 months or so bloggers. BUT THAT'S OKAY. I like being a small blog at the moment. Although it's a bit hectic, I can get away with not posting much some weeks because of school. I know I'll still have people that will read my blog posts and that understand.

As I said, I've come a long way since July. I've really tried to improve the quality of my posts and reviews, although I still need to work on balancing book reviews with music, TV show, and movie reviews. Back to the positive though, I've "met" some amazing people and though I may not know much about them personally, I call them my friends, and I truly love and appreciate every one of them. I have more than 10 GFC followers, which is quite a feat for me. I also have 576 Twitter followers (!). I have been reading more than I have in probably the past 3 years combined. I've learned about so many books I never would have known about. I've talked, via Twitter, to a couple of authors. I've received emails from authors asking me to review their book. I've received ARCs, books, and swag from authors (usually via bloggers). I've been approved on NetGalley. I was invited to be on a street team. I've bought more books in 2 months than I have in the past 2 years. I've stayed up past 1:00 on a school night mainly for reasons that don't include because I was procrastinating by watching TV shows (now it's because I'm blogging, reading, or talking to bloggers). I've gotten rid of my Tumblr obsession, although it's more because I've been so busy blogging that I've neglected my Tumblr. I've participated in author chats on Twitter. I've kept this up for longer than I ever thought I would. And I've been having a great time!

And before I finish, I want to say a few things.
1) THANK YOU to anyone that has ever taken the time to talk to me, help me out, give me advice, cheer me on, comment on a post, read a post, featured me in a #FF on Twitter, followed me on my blog/Twitter/bloglovin', watched one of my videos, or even came on this page and stayed on for longer than a minute.
2) The authors that have been so kind, especially those that have sent me stuff or talked to me on Twitter. (I still freak out every time, and I probably have a screenshot of at least one of your tweets to me on my iPod.)
3) Websites and blogs that have really helpful suggestions and tips and tutorials.
4) The friends I've neglected on my personal Twitter, Tumblr, or otherwise because of this blog.
5) And last, but no least, a few bloggers/friends/people that stand out above the rest for just everything. You guys have helped me so much, and I'm really glad to be able to consider you all my friends. I would not be here after 3 months if it weren't for you. You know who you are, even if I weren't about to list you all out. (Also, if I leave you out and you think you should probably be on this list, it's probably not because you don't deserve to be on the list. I might have forgotten to add you because I'm beyond tired.)

• Nova--You and I are so alike in so many ways, and you've always cheered me on and supported me. You've helped me so much, and I just love talking to you. You're one of the few people that get it, and you're an awesome person. I am honored to be your blogging older sister. :D (ALSO! Sorry, but I still haven't gotten Winner's Curse, and no, sorry, you still can't have it, no matter how much I love you.)
• Meredith--New Yorkers unite! I've only known you for a a bit, but you've been so kind to me. You've cheered me on since we started talking, and I just really enjoy talking to you.
• Stacie--Like Meredith, I've only known you for a bit, but you've always given me advice, talked to me, and cheered me on (I really need another phrase to use). Also, you seriously said that you might be sending me a bday present, which is huge, and you don't get how much it means to me.
• Crystal--Like the lovely bloggers already mentioned, you've supported me ever since we started talking. You're always there to cheer me up, and you're just fun to talk to!
• Kayla--WHY ARE YOU GUYS ALL SO NICE?! Basically the same as everyone else above. You always cheer me up, and you're really encouraging! I love talking about NCIS, and our conversations are always fun, and they make me smile.
• Momina--You're so sweet, and I always love talking to you!
• TAYLOR--You've literally supported me since the beginning. I don't know if you look at all my posts, but I'm always glad when you comment on one of my posts. You're the one person I knew before blogging, and I probably would have quit a long time ago if you hadn't encouraged me. <3 you!

And some honorable mentions (aka I haven't really talked to you much or gotten to know you, but I appreciate everything, and I'd love to get to know you better):

• Melissa
• Jessica B
• Katie
• Allison
• Laura--I have to add a little something for you because I'm really glad to have found a fellow blogger that doesn't just blog about books (though it sometimes seems like I'm just a book blogger). Also, I love responding and reading your comments! Thanks so much!
• Candace
• Vanessa (aka my sister)

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

Features Update

So I have decided to cut down very slightly on my features.

At the moment, I have decided to discontinue doing Flashback Friday. I love the idea of it, and I think that it was one of my more creative feature titles (which is not saying much). I'm not going to keep doing this anymore just because then I feel like I'm tied down to reviewing older books/movies/TV shows (or episodes I guess)/music. This doesn't mean that I won't continue to review them; it just means that it won't be a set feature. They'll just come up as they do. :)

I'm also going to make Talk About It Thursday a little more random. Sometimes, I'll get ideas for discussion topics, so I'll schedule them one right after the other (in terms of weeks). Then other times, I'll have nothing to talk about or discuss, so I just won't have them for however long that lasts.

For now, the other features will probably remain the same.

I am also thinking about adding a feature involving letters, as I've mentioned before. It'll probably be something that I would invite others to do as well. It's just for fun and much more arbitrarily posted than other features. I'm thinking that it's basically going to be me writing letters to people, whether they be authors, characters, bloggers, other friends, relatives, etc. Of course, bashing and hate will not be permitted, but I love the idea of writing letters, and I'd do it more often if I could. So that's kind of where this came about. The people they're addressed to aren't necessarily supposed to read it. Letters written to people "in real life" will be addressed as Dear Whomever It May Concern, or some version of that (just as long as it's not their name. This is my own set rule, but you're free to do otherwise. Also, if I know it's a positive message or not as personal, I may just address the person by name.)

I don't really know how I feel about the idea yet, and I'm trying to come with a name for it. The main one that's been sticking to me has been Letters To No One because they're not really meant to be written to be sent, if you know what I mean. It's not that the person isn't supposed to read it so much as that you're not actually sending it to them. Does that make sense?

What do you think of my new feature idea? Do you have a suggested name/title for it?

NaNoWarmUp with Kat Zhang and Savannah Foley

Firstly, if you don't know Kat or Savannah, I suggest fixing that right away!

Secondly, you should know that I participated in NaNoWriMo last year, and I plan to again this year (more on this in October). As it turns out, Kat and Savannah have also participated in NaNo, and they both love it.

So the two of them came up with this idea. It's not always easy to suddenly write 50,000 words in a month (~1667 per day). And so they decided to create something called NaNoWarmUp for the month of October. The goal is to write 25,000 words (~800 per day) to get back into the flow of writing and get ready for NaNo. And they've invited us to join in!

Since I know I'm going to have a hard time (again) this November, I decided, why not? I need motivation to finally finish Book 1 of my series so that I can start Book 2 in November. That being said, it may mean less time for me to read and watch TV and watch movies and review and blog in general. (Maybe music though? Sometimes I write with music...)

Feel free to join us! You can find more information and sign up here.

Thanks for sticking around! <3

~Jess

Banned Books Week (9/22-9/28/13)

(Source)

So today is the first day of Banned Books Week. Thus, I decided to talk a bit about it. I assume you know what Banned Books Week is.

It honestly makes me sad that people would go so far as to ban books. If you don't like it, can't you just simply not read it? Plus, most of the reasons books are banned are relevant to life. It ranges from sexually explicit language and themes to language to religious reasons to violence to homosexuality. But all of these topics are important in life. Language? Go to almost any high school or even middle school, and you'll find kids using curse words. They're already exposed to that. It would be realistic to have that in books. Violence? What about all those shootings or bombings or even wars going on all over the world? And religion and homosexuality/sexuality make me the most upset. First of all, who gives you the right to deem what's correct/incorrect or acceptable/unacceptable?! A book talks about or supports Satan? FINE. A book has a homosexual character? FINE. A book has a heterosexual character? FINE. A book talks about or supports Catholicism? FINE. I don't see how the last two are any more appropriate than the first two. They're all FINE.

The thing is, if you don't support these, fine. It's your life and your choice. But don't stop others from reading those books. Don't ban them from libraries and book stores. I would go so far as to say don't keep your kids away from them. It's important to read and learn about these subjects, whether you support them or not. Books affect people differently, and people interpret books differently. Just because you don't like the lessons it teaches or the language that's in it or the themes in the book doesn't mean that the book shouldn't be out there.

And to anyone that's been told not to read a banned book, I say go ahead. Read to your heart's content. Don't let someone determine for you what you should or should not read. Don't let someone determine for you what's appropriate and what's not. Figure it out for yourself. Don't read books you don't want to read (unless it's for school...then sorry). Read what you're comfortable with, but don't take away what you don't like from others either. Sure, give them a warning if you'd like. But let them decide, just like you'd like to decide on your own.

As for myself, I'll read whatever I'd like. I'll choose what I want to read. I'll choose what I don't want to read. I'll read banned books and celebrate them, especially Harry Potter. I'll treasure books that have touched me or helped me or changed me or shaped me, and I'll treasure books that have affected me in one way or another, whether banned or not. I'll still recommend books I love to people, whether they're banned or not. Because other people's opinions shouldn't shape my own.

What are your thoughts on Banned Books? What are you doing to celebrate Banned Books Week?

How Blogging Has Helped Me With My Tumblr Obsession

The title really says it all.

I, like many before me, got sucked into Tumblr the moment I joined. I have some friends there, and I definitely have some awesome followers. I would queue hundreds of post and like ten thousand more (to be queued later...and that I never got to...whoops). So you could say that I was a bit obsessed. I was always trying to improve my Tumblr. I was always trying to get new followers. I was always trying to come up with a new URL and a new queue tag (and I still am...for both).

And I would procrastinate. A lot. And go on Tumblr. A lot. Maybe more than a lot. -.-

But then this blog came up! So I'm trying to do many of the things I did on Tumblr in some sense. I wish I was creative enough to come up with a better URL. I wish I could be creative enough to make my own header or button. I wish I was more technologically smart so that I could have a snazzy cool theme. (Or I at least hoped it would be as easy to find amazing themes like it is on Tumblr. Alas, it works VERY differently. And I still have no idea how to code anything for either.) I try my best to increase my viewership, though it's a lot harder here.

But this blog also means that I'm not on Tumblr anymore. Like almost at all. In the past month, I've rarely posted (for a couple of reasons, not just because of this blog). But really, blogging takes up SO MUCH TIME. A lot more time than Tumblr. This blog requires reading, watching TV shows and movies, listening to music, writing reviews, exploring, connecting, etc. And Tumblr has a lot of that too. But it's different. There, you can just reblog something. I can get away with not watching a show. I can get away with not posting. I can get away with just procrastinating. Here, yes, I'm still procrastinating, but it's a different kind of procrastinating. At least I'm still reading and writing. Yeah, it's a TON more work, but it feels a lot more fulfilling (okay, that might not be true. whatever).

So I guess there wasn't really a point to this post other than to admit that I've hardly been on Tumblr (sorry followers and friends!) because I've been so preoccupied with blogging (and related things, especially Twitter and author chats and the whole shebang). Maybe it's better. Maybe it's not. I definitely don't have the same kind of followers here, but blogging has it's fair share of drama (Goodreads anyone?), and just like Tumblr, it takes a lot to establish yourself and get yourself out there. Am I up for it? Maybe. Maybe not. Will I ever abandon this blog and go back to being Tumblr obsessed? Maybe. But I'm willing to give this blog a chance. One day, it'll be worth it, I hope. I'll have blogger friends. I'll read so many more books. I'll learn more about books and writing and craft and awesome-ness. I'll connect and chat with authors and other cool people. Most importantly, I'll continue to have fun.

Are you Tumblr obsessed? Have you had a similar experience?

News/Announcement/Something Awesome!

Holy cow, guys! I'm nearly at 400 Twitter followers. So a lot are from the book blasts, but nonetheless, I want to THANK YOU ALL. So someone suggested a giveaway. You have no idea how much I'd LOVE to do a giveaway. But I don't have nearly enough money to get books for myself even (library books FTW). The few books I do have, I treasure dearly and bought for an important reason since I can't pre-order/buy many. Plus, there's also the issue of my parents. See, the thing is, I honestly haven't told them about this blog almost at all. Whoops... They'd disapprove. They'd say it's just a distraction (okay, it is in some ways).

So, I wanted to know your thoughts. What would you like me to "give away"? I'm still a newbie with very few followers. See above for my hypothesis as to why I have so many Twitter followers. (The thing is, I might not do it as often anymore because then I don't get a sense of accomplishment. I don't feel like I earned half, if not more, of those followers.) BUT STILL. Do you have a proposed solution?

My biggest thought is that I may be going to a book signing at Books of Wonder this weekend. Perhaps it would be a good time to tell my parents about this blog. And maybe I could get something to give away. We'll see. But please let me know!

Thank you so much!

~Jess <333

EDIT: I just remembered, thanks to my sister, that I still have an extra copy of The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson. I'm sure those who wanted the book got it long ago, but that's always a choice too. (It's the second book to the series, and it's fabulous.)

EDIT II: I also realized I should make this open to music/movies/tv shows as well. So I was thinking maybe like a personalized mix? It could either be digital or physical. You could pick a theme or book/tv show/movie that you'd like it to go with, if at all. You could request genres. You could just ask for my favorites so that you can maybe find new music. Or really just about anything. (Just PLEASE don't mention rap, kay?)

Question Time (It's Not As Scary As It Sounds)

Okay. So this is me basically asking you guys what you'd like to see more of (probably less book reviews, more other types of reviews, but let me know if that's the case too). It's hard when I have school and everything, but my blog feels so empty and boring on days when I just have something like Music Monday (aka today). I was thinking about starting a feature/meme/whatever you want to call it that's a bit more personal so that you guys can get to know me better. Plus, it's probably slightly more feasible for me.

I was originally thinking of some drabbles or song pieces, but that's also slightly time consuming (probably less so if I have ESP, but whatever). My other thought was something relating to me writing letters to people that I know. I'm not going to give away a lot of personal stuff, but I think it's a good way for you guys to get a look into my head and my personality. I don't really know how I want it to work exactly just yet, but I do like the idea, especially since I've always had a fascination with writing letters for some unknown reason.

But please let me know if you have any ideas AT ALL (including POST MORE TYPES OF REVIEWS, although let me be honest, it's because I'm trying to get into the book blogging community a bit, but I get it). :D

Thanks as always!

Jess <3 (<--I also plan to make this more creative soon...and same for my features and stuff. It just hasn't happened yet...)

Exciting (Personal) News!!!

To take a break from all these blog-related posts, SOMETHING JUST LITERALLY HAPPENED THAT HAS ME FLAILING AROUND.

If you know me well at all (don't worry if you don't), you'd know that I love dance. I've been dancing since I was 3. Dance is my life it seems at times (no, I'm not going professional, though I'd love to if I could). And since I was young, I've wanted to compete. The thing is, my dance school, which is local and fairly small, doesn't allow ballet or pointe routines to go to competition. No big deal, you might be thinking. Except that I've only been allowed to take Ballet/Pointe for the past who knows how many years. Then, this past school year, my parents finally realized that if I ever wanted to go to competition, I'd have to start taking some other form of dance. And thus, I started taking Modern.

Book Tour and Book Blast Announcement!

Hello! So I'm tired and currently procrastinating (already!) because today was my first day back at school, and I already have a lot of homework. But that probably doesn't matter to you guys, SO!

First, this is long overdue, but I'm participating in a Book Blast this month! It's for the book For Nick, which you will obviously learn more about in the blast! It'll (probably) be up on September 10th, so that's soon!

And secondly, you may have spotted that I added another upcoming book tour! This tour is also hosted by Candace, and it will be for the book Rook. It will stop here on November 8th, so keep an eye out for that! I'll be reviewing it and maybe giving a list of songs that go along with the book (that second part is still up in the air right now). I'm looking forward to reading the book! (Sorry I'm not giving more info like I did for Lethal Circuit. I'm just really worn out.)

New Look!

It's fairly late at night right now, but after working for hours on trying to make a drop-down menu, I gave up. Instead, I added social media buttons, and I clearly changed up the theme color a bit. I'm still not sure if I preferred the brown, simple one better or this new one, but we'll see! If anything's too hard on the eyes, please let me know because I'm drowning in color now and can't tell. Thanks!

Jessica <3

(Audio)Book Tour Announcement!

I just wanted to announce that this blog is one of the stops in the Lethal Circuit audiobook tour!

Here's some info on the book! (It is an adult book!)

(Source)

From Best-selling Amazon author Lars Guignard comes the number-one turbo-charged, action spy thriller Lethal Circuit. 

A Chinese satellite is on a crash course with Earth.  

It contains enough plutonium to irradiate a large city. 

And that's the good news...


Michael Chase is a twenty-six year old backpacker, a recent college graduate, an amateur. He flew to Hong Kong to find his missing father. Four hours later, he's running for his life. The Chinese Secret Police want him dead. The Conspiracy wants him dead. And the one person who he thinks is on his side, may want him dead too. If Michael is going to live, he'll need to find a hidden piece of Nazi technology lost since World War II. And he'll have to do it before anyone else. Because if he doesn't, a little plutonium is going to be the least of his problems.

Can Michael Chase team up with a beautiful but deadly MI6 agent to locate a lethal piece of Nazi technology that will save the world?



If you can't get enough of the action of Lee Child and Vince Flynn, the intrigue of Robert Ludlum, and the adventure of Clive Cussler and James Rollins, you are going to LOVE Lethal Circuit!

This tour is hosted by Candace, and it will stop here on November 21! There are still slots open, so if you're interested, head over to Candace's page!

No Post on...Friday? (aka GMA tomorrow!)

Hehe. I'm quite proud of that title. I know...it's lame. Sorry.

But anyway. I was going to post a review tomorrow (Friday), but I'm going to be really tired and worn out because I'm going to The Wanted in Central Park tomorrow morning (for Good Morning America), and I'll be up at around 3:30-ish. The Wanted are a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, but I'm SO excited. I'm going with my best friend (she was the one that got me into them in the first place).

I'll try to make a post about it on Saturday, but I have auditions in the morning, and then I have to pack. So basically, I may or may not post anything for the next few days/weeks (unless I procrastinate or actually find time to write a review). Also, my friend and I may or may not be starting a writing project soon, so if that happens, I'll be sure to share!

Thanks for sticking around (those of you that actually read my posts :) ).

Introducing Set Up Sunday and Other Features

This was meant to be up yesterday, but I got home from volunteering and was just so exhausted, so I left it for today. My apologies!

Today, I'm going to introduce some features that are going to be implemented onto the blog! Although I list how often each will occur, they're always subject to change depending on my schedule and how busy I get once school starts. If a post comes out late, I'll explain that it was meant for another day and will label it as I would if it were on time.

Something Strange and Deadly Discussion #2

So this is for week two of Susan Dennard's Strange and Deadly book discussion!

The question: Magic and ghostly elements frequent the Something Strange and Deadly series. Even though corpses do awaken from time to time and hauntings are hardly that uncommon, the people of Philadelphia seem determined to pretend the Dead are not a growing threat.

Do you think that’s part of human nature? To push on and ignore the danger at our door? Or do you think Philadelphia’s ignorance—or for that matter, any ignorance/false sense of safety in modern days as well—can be pinned on politicians? Can you think of any examples where something similar happened, but rather than the Dead, it was a natural disaster/growing crime rate/etc.?

Something Strange and Deadly Discussion #1

First, let me introduce what this is. Basically, I just recently finished reading Susan Dennard's Something Strange and Deadly, which I'm going to review soon. She's hosting a "book club" discussion in the month of August, so anything with a similar title to this one is related to that discussion. (If you'd like to join in, check it out here!)

Note: These posts may contain spoilers!

Introduction

Hi! My name is Jessica. I'm 16, and I live in New York.

I'm American, Brazilian, and Chinese. Strange, I know.

Anyway, this blog is going to be a place where I write book reviews, movie reviews, TV show/episode reviews, music reviews, and whatever other types of reviews I want to write. I'll give recommendations for these things as well.

Some things I may end up reviewing that I like already (just to give you a quick look into things I like; there are certainly others that I'm into):