Book Review: Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

Wintersong: A Novel by S. Jae-Jones, St. Martin's Griffin 2017

One of my goals for 2018 is to get back into a regular reading habit, and one of the ways I hope to do that is by keeping up with recommendations from you guys and from the other members of the Creating and Co. Book Club. The December club choice was author S. Jae-Jones' debut Wintersong. From reading the synopsis, I wasn't sure it was something I'd be into - goblins? - but I got an e-mail invitation from Netgalley and decided to take it as a sign. After reading the first chapter, I got sucked into the novel's dark magical world, and would recommend it - with some reservations.

Wintersong's main character, Liesl, lives in Bulgaria with her family. There's her alcoholic father, who was a famous violinist in Salzburg. Her hardworking mother, who runs the family's inn while Liesl looks after her siblings. In fact, she's so selfless that she is happy when her beautiful sister Käthe becomes engaged to the boy she liked, and when her musically gifted brother gets an opportunity that may take him far from home. Liesl shares the family gift for music, her talent lying in composing rather than performance, but will never be able to achieve fame for it because she is a girl. There's also her superstitious grandmother, who warns the children about the Goblin King, Der Erlkönig, and though Liesl is too old for such nonsense she has fond, vague memories of a childhood spent playing with a strange little boy in the wooded area she and her siblings called the "Goblin Grove." 

Though Wintersong is a fantasy, references to real musicians like Mozart place the storyline in the 1790s or early 1800s. With this setting, it was easy to forget that Jae-Jones based the novel on the 1980's Jim Henson movie Labyrinth, but both stories share a common initiating event: a sibling stolen by the Goblin King. When Käthe goes mising, Liesl must travel into the underworld to free her from the beautiful, frightening ruler - and in doing so, finds her own power. Jae-Jones is a self-professed English literature nerd, and there are shades of Jane Eyre in Wintersong - along with moments that reminded me of Beauty and the Beast and the story of Hades and Persephone. Her prose style perfectly suits the dark fairytale flavor of the novel, though she does have a few overused words and phrases - I got tired of the King being called "austere," Liesl's "décolletage," and the underworld's many "objets d'art." I did love that Wintersong's Der Erlkönig has different-colored eyes, a subtle shoutout to David Bowie and Labyrinth's King Jareth.

Remember this guy?

School Library Journal recommends Wintersong for grades 9 and up, and it's marketed as YA, but I would not feel comfortable putting it in a ninth grade classroom library due to several romance scenes that, while not as graphic as an adult romance novel, leave little to the imagination. I also feel that narratives about relationships like Liesl's with the Goblin King - in which the lonely girl "fixes" a cruel, controlling man with her love - can be downright dangerous to some young women readers. For me, this book belongs in the New Adult section, and maybe that makes me an old prude. That said, this old prude will be seeking out the sequel, Shadowsong, to find out what happens next for Liesl and Der Erlkönig.

Books I Wish I'd Read Sooner: Revolution by Jennifer Donnely

Every now and then (maybe more often than not) I totally miss the boat on a stellar YA book, and when I finally discover it for myself I wish I'd read it sooner. In the case of Revolution by Jennifer Donnely, I'm tempted to blame the blurbs I'd read, which, combined with something about the cover art on our school library's copy, really gave me the wrong impression of this book - I was thinking that time travel would be a major piece of the plot. It's not that I don't like time travel, but I had an Outlander hangover at the time. Spoiler alert: there might not be any actual time travel involved. I'm so glad I gave Revolution a chance, because it's now one of my all-time favorites.

Not only did I overcome my wrong impression about the structure of the book, I was also almost turned off by its opening scene - our narrator, Andi, is doing drugs with a bunch of pretentious rich kids with ridiculous names who she doesn't even like. If I know I probably couldn't keep a book in an eighth-grade classroom library, I'm a lot less likely to stick with it. But I did, and thankfully Andi left that uncomfortable world fairly quickly - for a combination of reasons I won't spoil, her father forces her to accompany him on a work trip to France (poor kid, right?).  I ended up connecting with Andi for a lot of reasons - I could, after all, write my own book about an artistic high achiever who deals with depression and almost self-destructs after losing a family member in December. Andi's grief over her younger brother's death is keeping her from moving forward, and her father is hoping the trip to France will help her clear her mind and finish the work required to earn her high school diploma.

"Every heart is made of stories." 

- Jennifer Donnelly, Revolution

Andi's father, a genius genetic scientist, and his colleague, a historian, are studying the preserved heart said to belong to Marie Antoinette's son, Louis XVII, who was imprisoned in a tower following the French Revolution. Andi finds a diary written by a girl her age during the Revolution and most of the novel's historical fiction element comes through the diary entries she reads. Everything I know about the Revolution comes from Les Miserables, so I learned a lot from the rich historical detail Donnelly includes in the story.  I loved the French setting, my heart ached for Andi's Revolutionary counterpart, Alex, and I was rooting for Andi and her sweet new friend Virgil. Donnelly's teen characters speak with a Gilmore Girls level of clever and sarcasm, and when the story does break away from dialogue, her prose, in Andi's descriptions of modern-day Paris and Alex's passionate diary entries, is lyrical and lovely

my march favorites.

Here's what I've been loving this month...

1. American Shakespeare Center - Did you know that the world's only re-creation of Shakespeare's indoor theatre, the Blackfriars' Playhouse, is in Staunton, Virginia? I went with friends to see a production of the parody The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) in college, but hadn't been since. My co-teacher's parents got tickets for our whole English team for Christmas, and we had a wonderful day driving up to see The Merchant of Venice and eat dinner at the Mill Street Grill.

2. The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima - Several of my male students had recommended this fantasy series to me, so I was surprised when I finally got around to checking out The Demon King from the library, with its super-masculine cover art, and finding out that one of the main characters is a feisty princess! The other MC is a streetlord who's basically a combination of Aladdin and Han Solo. These are definitely time-consuming books to read (each one weighs in at over 500 pages), but I really enjoyed getting lost in the unique fantasy world Chima has built, which includes a matrilineal society that feels medieval, an indigenous culture based on eastern Native American societies, and a magical college.

3. Old Navy Clover Necklace - I picked this dainty necklace up around St. Patrick's Day, but it's also perfect as a 4-H necklace for me :)

4. REN Evercalm Rescue Mask from Sephora - When I got back from my business trip to Indiana last month, my skin was a mess from staying in a hotel and air travel - I had acne on my cheeks, which is really unusual for me. I had a little sample bottle of this mask from Sephora, which is a little thicker than a normal day moisturizer. I used it morning (under makeup) and night (after washing my face) for about a week and it made a huge difference. The full-size version is a pricey product but I feel like it'll be worth it if used sparingly for skin emergencies!

5. Indoor Rock Climbing - The Bible study I've joined tries to have a fun activity in the community each month, and this month we visited a rock climbing gym in Roanoke. I hadn't done any climbing since I worked as a 4-H camp counselor in college and was surprised by how easy it was to pick back up. I didn't realize how much my upper body strength had improved since I've become a yoga junkie! It doesn't hurt the fun factor that the River Rock gym shares a building with Wasena Tap Room!

lately in entertainment.

lately in entertainment - april/may 2016

movies.

Captain America: Civil War - Though it often feels like yet another Avengers ensemble film (only Hulk and Thor are absent from the lineup), the storyline of Civil War is driven by Steve Rogers' priorities coming into conflict with Tony Stark's values. Already under a microscope after the disaster in Sokovia (the end of Age of Ultron), the Avengers are basically grounded by the U.N. after Scarlet Witch accidentally sends an explosion into an occupied building. Just as he had to face the consequences of being an arms dealer in the first Iron Man movie, Tony Stark is confronted with the human collateral damage caused by the Avengers, and supports international oversight for the superhero team. Captain America doesn't trust the plan - as he puts it, "the safest hands are still our own." Where I thought I was going to clearly side with Steve going in to the movie, the film actually forces viewers to consider and understand both points of view - and to see the blind spots in each hero's vision. 

Steve's blind spot, of course, is his best friend turned supersoldier, Bucky Barnes, who is on the run from authorities after being framed for a bombing attack, and who the Internet has convinced me is a precious cinnamon roll. In pursuit of the real bomber, Steve teams up with Sam Wilson, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, and Scott Lang (Ant-Man), who is just thrilled to meet big-name superheroes, with sneaky help from Agent 13 (Sharon Carter). Tony teams up with Rhodey, Black Widow, Vision, Black Panther, and his ringer, Spiderman, who's freaking out even more than Scott. The resulting fight is the most comic book thing I've ever seen on screen, complete with a Spider-Man who is finally an actual teenager narrating his experiences the whole time. Obviously, someone's going to get hurt with that much muscle and power facing off, and the characters end up learning a lot of things they never wanted to know. I'd be fine with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely writing and Anthony and Joe Russo directing everything Marvel from now on - every character had clear, often conflicted, motivations that seemed completely believable.

The Huntsman: Winter's War - Since Thor isn't in Civil War, we also had to show our love for Chris Hemsworth by seeing his current film with "war" in the title. I was surprised by how much I actually loved Snow White and the Huntsman, but was a little skeptical about this prequel until I read a newspaper review that described it as the kind of movie that's so bad, it's good, and classed it with Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. Far from the gruff, silent Huntsman of the original film, Chris Hemsworth chews up the scenery and seems to love every minute of it. At the beginning of the movie, we learn that even though Snow White's kingdom is at peace, the mirror is driving her mad. She orders the mirror to be taken to Sanctuary so that the kingdom will be safe from its dark magic - but it is stolen along the way. Her husband, King William (hello there, Sam Claflin), and dispatches Eric, the Huntsman, to find the mirror, along with a couple of dwarves who insist on accompanying him (Nick Frost reprises his role from the first movie). This storyline allows the filmmakers to include Snow White in the form of a disheveled Kristen Stewart stand-on shown only from the back, then move the plot away from her kingdom so it's less strange that she isn't in the film. The threat to the mirror turns out to be Freya, Queen Ravenna's younger sister who basically turned into an evil version of Elsa from Frozen when she was betrayed by her lover. She's the one who kidnapped Eric when he was young and turned him and an army of other children into her elite Huntsmen, and the one responsible for the apparent death of his wife, Sara (if you've seen the commercials, you've surely worked out that Sara is alive). Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, and Jessica Chastain all seem to have a great time playing badass women in this movie, and there are even female dwarves this time around.


books.

Our Own Country by Jodi Daynard - The American Revolution isn't a period of history I've done much reading about, but I got sucked in to this historical fiction novel. The main character, Eliza Boylston, is the daughter of a wealthy merchant and lives a charmed life in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While it's completely normal to her to visit homes staffed with stableboys, coachmen, footmen, maids, butlers, and cooks - all slaves - Eliza's one real quirk is that she feels most comfortable in the kitchen, and her family's cook Cassie is her one real friend. For Eliza, there has never been any doubt that Cassie and other slaves are human, but she has never had to question their standing in her privileged society. As the Revolution comes close to home, Eliza's parents can no longer pretend that concessions like wearing homespun fabrics instead of imported gowns are mere inconveniences, nor can they ignore their son Jeb's participation in the rebellion when he marries Elizabeth Lee and moves to Braintree, home of John and Abigail Adams and "the despicable Quincys." Eliza takes for granted her family's beautiful home and wealth until personal tragedies devastate her and Cassie, forever turning her against her family's idea of "society." In 1775, the Boylstons have to leave Cambridge to seek refuge with an uncle in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where she falls in love with a slave named John Watkins and makes a choice that will change her family forever. Though the synopsis I read led me to believe Our Own Country would be a romance novel, I would classify it as a bildungsroman - Eliza's coming of age and transition from naïveté to independence.  Though the Boylstons are fictional, Daynard obviously conducted intense research to write this novel, and it made me want to learn more about the Adamses, the Quincys, and their pastoral home.

How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran - I'm going to try to keep up with Emma Watson's Our Shared Shelf book club picks, and luckily my local library has British journalist and feminist Caitlin Moran's book available in ebook format! As Moran's wry personal essays (with titles like "I Become Furry!" and "I Need a Bra!") make clear, becoming a woman is very confusing and happens, whether we want it to or not, without a manual. Moran's writing is reflective of her working-class British roots (the very first page had me Googling to find out what a Yob was), pop culture literacy, and intelligence. Raised in cramped public housing with five younger siblings by parents who were the only hippies in town, Moran's pubescent milestones were common knowledge. Her focus as a feminist, and the lens through which she presents the instances in her life when being a woman was most perplexing, is not "on the big stuff like pay inequality," but on "all those littler, stupider, more obvious day-to-day problems with being a woman," or, in other words, "All the Patriarchal Bullshit." Her response is to "look it in the eye, squarely, for a minute, and then start laughing at it."

The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima - Finally got around to reading the second book in this series recommended to me by several of my students and I liked it even more than the first because the two main characters' storylines finally came together for good - at a magical school! Is there a better setting for YA literature? As the book begins, former streetlord Han Alister and his best friend Fire Dancer are headed to Oden's Ford, the campus that is home to Mystwerk House. Princess Raisa is masquerading as a cadet at Wein House, the military school, to escape themarriage her mother tried to force on her. Their mutual enemy, wealthy and powerful Micah Bayar, and his twin sister are also bound for Mystwerk House, meaning that Han and Raisa both have to keep their guard up. At Oden's Ford, finally surrounded by people from all walks of life, Raisa learns that she will need to understand much more than politics to be a good queen, and Han finds out that the Bayars aren't the only ones after his secrets. Chima combines effortlessly lovely prose with witty dialogue and action-packed suspense.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a digital ARC of Our Own Country free from the publisher through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

valentine's book tag.

Book tags are by far one of my favorite solutions to blogger writing block. When Ashlee from Her Geekery posted her answers to this tag, I knew I had to get on board, even though we're a little past V-Day now.

Standalone Book I Love

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater - Maggie is my favorite YA fantasy author, and in The Scorpio Races she takes the Celtic myth of the water horse and creates a tiny, magical world: the island of Thisby, where brave and foolish men race the dangerous creatures each November. The main character, Puck, is a tomboy who dreams of racing and hopes to hold her family together.

Dystopian Book I Love

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld - I fell in love with this series while I was still in college and I'm still amazed that it's not more popular. In the society where Tally lives, teenagers receive plastic surgery that makes them perfect and beautiful - but not everyone is on board with the procedure or the society's ideals. I loved that the series is really about Tally's relationships with her friends and how those ties are challenged as teenagers develop their own interests and passions and try to create an "image" for themselves in an world that is obsessed with appearances. I also enjoyed the standalone book Extras, which complements the series and serves as a commentary on our social media addicted society.

A Book That I Love But No One Else Talks About 

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi - This YA science fiction series is romantic and creative - Aria, a girl from the most technologically advanced part of society, where life is lived basically in virtual reality and people are protected from the elements, must brave the wilderness to find her missing mother. She meets and falls in love with Peregrine, who lives in a tribal society "Dwellers" like Aria consider savage. The worldbuilding, and the romance between Aria and Perry, are so compelling, and this series deserves just as much acclaim and fame as The Hunger Games and Divergent.

My Favorite Book Couple

Jamie and Claire from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - I don't think I'll ever get tired of gushing about the Outlander series or my darling Mr. and Mrs. Fraser. These two are completely protective of and devoted to each other, and they don't hesitate to put each other in their place when needed. 

They have an electric love that spans time and distance, from the Scottish highlands to the royal court of Paris, and a romance that is both tender and passionate. Diana Gabaldon is one of few authors that can get me to read 800+ pages at a time, and I keep coming back for more.

A Book That Other People Love But I Haven’t Gotten Around To Reading

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson - I added this book to my to-be-read list after listening to Kristin from My Life as a Teacup's review on her YouTube channel. Just based on the cover art alone, it looks awesome, and the fact that it's about a supervillain's sidekick is so creative and unique - as much as I love swords and sorcery, I always enjoy sarcastic takes on the genre. I suppose until I do finally get my hands on the book, I should check out the original webcomic by Noelle Stevenson.

A Book with Red on the Cover

The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank - One of my all-time favorites, I discovered this bildungsroman, in the form of a collection of short stories, when I was in college, and the timing was perfect because I identified so much with a lot of what the main character, Jane, was going through. In the book, she deals with childhood friendships, changing relationships with her parents and brother, her first career in publishing, and several relationships. Bank's writing style is simple and funny, and Jane's voice came through as if the book was a memoir.

A Book with Pink on the Cover

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling - The book of essays that officially made me want to be Mindy Kaling's best friend. From her lack of athletic ability, to her move to New York, to "types of women in romantic comedies who are not real," to Irish exits, I laughed out loud so many times while reading this one The fact that I cannot currently call Mindy Kaling from my bathtub and share stories and giggles with her proves that we live in a fundamentally unjust world.

You Were Given A Box Of Chocolate, What Fictional Boyfriend Would Have Given Them To You?

Carswell Thorne from the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer - Although the chocolates would probably be stolen and Captain Thorne would surely have some sort of ulterior motive in giving them to me, how can anyone resist a character who is basically a younger, sassier version of Malcolm Reynolds?

You Are In The Book Store, All Of A Sudden You Get Shot With An Arrow By Cupid. What New Release Will You Love? 

Nicole Burstein's Othergirl - this book came out in 2015 and sounds adorable. From Goodreads: "Louise and Erica have been best friends since forever. They're closer than sisters and depend on each other for almost everything. Just one problem: Erica has superpowers. When Erica isn't doing loop-the-loops in the sky or burning things with her heat pulse powers, she needs Louise to hold her non-super life together. After all, the girls still have homework, parents and boys to figure out. But being a superhero's BFF is not easy, especially as trouble has a way of seeking them out. Soon Louise discovers that Erica might be able to survive explosions and fly faster than a speeding bullet, but she can't win every fight by herself. Life isn't a comic book - it's even crazier than that."

lately in entertainment.

concerts.

Fleetwood Mac at John Paul Jones Arena - I was ridiculously happy when I found out that Fleetwood Mac would be coming to Charlotteville, and even more happy that three of my cousins were able to come with me. Family bonding and amazing music, what could go wrong? Charlottesville traffic is what could go wrong. There was basically no police presence between Barracks Road and the John Paul Jones Arena, so traffic was at a standstill, and "reserved parking" was a joke. Being late to the concert even though our hotel was in walking distance was a little bit heartbreaking. We still got to hear most of our favorite songs, and it was kind of surreal seeing the band I've listened to my whole life as real people on a stage. Stevie Nicks interacted with the crowd the most and told the story behind the line "now I'm back to the Velvet Underground, back to the floor that I love" in Gypsy and talked about loving Charlottesville before "Landslide." Mick Fleetwood's drum solo after "World Turning" was awesome, and the crowd participation during "Don't Stop" was probably the best I've ever seen at a concert.



books.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater (YA fantasy) - The Raven Cycle continues as Blue Sargent and her boys search for the resting place of a Welsh king and for Blue's missing mother in the mountains of Central Virginia. The characters' relationships grow more complicated in this addition to the series, as Gansey and Blue each rail against their attraction to one another and Adam realizes that Ronan's feelings for him go beyond friendship. Goodreads may classify the series as "urban fantasy," but I would argue that Stiefvater has made Rural Fantasy a Thing. Passages like this are why I love this series so much:

Blue had discovered that there were two distinct stereotypes for the rural population of her part of Virginia: the neighbors who loaned one another cups of sugar and knew everything about everyone, and the rednecks who stood on their porches with shotguns and shouted racist things when they got drunk. Because she grew up so thoroughly entrenched in the first group, she hadn't believed in the second group until well into her teens. School had taught her that the two kinds were almost never born into the same litter.

Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich (mystery) -When I am super stressed out with school work or have been reading a lot of serious books, Stephanie Plum books are the perfect anecdote. In Hard Eight, our favorite bail bonds agent enters unfamiliar territory, child custody bonds, when she is asked to track down a missing seven-year-old and her mother. Stephanie's past comes back to haunt her, as the missing girl's father is connected to scary Eddie Abruzzi, who "owned" the boxer Stephanie killed in One for the Money. Stephanie's still caught in a love triangle with Trenton cop Joe Morelli and beefy bounty hunter Ranger, both of whom come to her aid when Abruzzi's antics go from creepy to horrifying.

movies.

 

The Book Thief -  I'm so glad I finally got around to seeing this film based on one of the most moving books I've ever read. The movie didn't disappoint me - the characters were so well-developed (Papa! Mama! Rudy!), the attention to detail was perfect (The alphabet wall! The library!), and since I'd read the book, I had that experience where your heart breaks right before things happen on screen.

Furious 7 - While I'm relatively sure I have missed most of the movies in the Fast and the Furious franchise, it didn't really affect my ability to enjoy the new movie (although I think seeing #6 probably would have helped).   The main villain, Deckard Shaw, played by Jason Statham, has sworn to get revenge against Dom and Brian's team. He attacks Hobbs' and Elena's office and bombs Dom's house, nearly killing Dom, Brian, Mia, and little Jack right before they learn that Han has been killed in Tokyo. At Han's funeral, Brian promises that the team will only go to one more funeral - Shaw's. The team gets assistance from a private special-ops force led by Kurt Russell's "Mr. Nobody," who promises to help Dom catch Shaw in exchange for the team rescuing a computer hacker who has been kidnapped by terrorists. What follows is pretty much the craziest action movie ever, complete with cars crashing through high-rise buildings, cars parachuting out of planes, and a fight scene between Letty and my favorite MMA fighter Ronda Rousey as a bodyguard in Abu Dhabi. The end of the movie includes a tribute to Paul Walker (some of his scenes are actually CGI because they were filmed after his death) and a fitting farewell to Brian.

television.

Agent Carter - Marvel had a tall order with Agent Carter - a sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger, a prequel to the one-shot about Peggy Carter, and Marvel's first property with a female main character - basically, the geek community had super high expectations for this one. Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter was my favorite thing about The First Avenger, and I got pulled into her postwar adventures, trying to balance working for  the Strategic Scientific Reserve while protecting Howard Stark, now suspected of treason. I was really delighted by little Marvel details like Edwin Jarvis as Peggy's sidekick and a nemesis, "Dottie," trained in the Black Widow program. I really appreciated that Marvel committed to producing a series about sexism in the workplace - Peggy goes from a position of power during the war to basically being treated like a secretary afterward and manages to use her coworker's underestimation of her skills to her own advantage. I really hope ABC renews this series!

The Night Shift - I feel like this medical drama series is still finding it's way, but the characters are very compelling and the crazy medical mysteries the writers come up with are interesting as they unfold. This season, the most interesting character is probably Paul, who comes from a family of famous surgeons and has a hard time adjusting to work in the emergency room - his storyline right now reminds me of Noah Wyle's Dr. Carter from E.R. You know a show has some serious drama when there's an infographic to help fans keep track of the past and present relationships.

The Middle - I've written before that what I love most about The Middle is that the Hecks feel like a real working-class American family. This season, where the ongoing storylines have been middle child Sue applying to college and youngest Brick learning to be more social, has been so much fun, especially the most recent episode where oldest child Axl's girlfriend, Devin Levin, tricks him into pretending to love Sue when she visits campus.

My January {Fab} Favorites

Disclaimer:  Amazon links contain an affiliate code.  Thank you for supporting Beyond the Aisle!

1. Marc Jacobs Salty Pretzel Stud Earrings - These were my special Christmas gift from Mr. Q this year.  I'd had them on my Pinterest forever, but apparently they'd gotten really popular and he had to order from a store in London, England to get the rose gold - which, to me, makes them even more special.  I had a pretzel (and beer cheese, let's be honest) obsession in 2014 that I don't see stopping any time soon.  They're a great conversation piece - I wore them on a teacher workday and got a lot of "are your earrings pretzels?!?!"

2. Xhileration French Terry Lounge Pants - My mom got me these pajama pants for Christmas and they are the greatest - they are styled like jogging pants but made of super soft jersey.  I pretty much put these on every single day when I get home from work (sorry, Mr. Q.)

3. Orange Circle Studio 2015 Wall Calendar by Katie Daisy - I've seen several of Katie Daisy's lovely watercolors online (her Etsy shop is full of awesome), so when I saw a whole wall calendar of her work with nice big boxes for writing I knew it would be perfect for the new year.  It includes quotes from Shakespeare, Rumi, and Emerson among others and it's so cheerful!

4. Old Navy Fleece Dress - My love of sweatpants material really knows no bounds and this dress is my own personal heaven.  I wore it with tights, boots, and a cardigan to a baby shower and no one called me out on basically being in sweats.

5. Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater - Finally got around to the newest book in my favorite YA series.  This one's got a lot of material from Blue's point of view, as well as Adam's, which I appreciated because I missed his voice in The Dream Thieves.  I'm hoping that the fourth book will have more chapters from Gansey's perspective.  

6. Bath and Body Works Cinnamon Caramel Swirl 3-Wick Candle - Another Christmas gift from my mom, this candle is the current key to creating cozy in my house.  Be careful, though - with all three wicks lit, it doesn't take long for a whole room to smell like the inside of a cinnamon bun, and it can be a little overwhelmingly spicy.

my late summer in entertainment

my late summer in entertainment

books i read

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (Memoir) - Since this book is insanely popular (and for good reason), I'm sure you already know that Cheryl Strayed, aka advice columnist Dear Sugar, dropped everything and hiked the Pacific Crest Trail.  That's what I knew going in, anyway. I'm glad I finally got around to reading this one, because it kind of blew my mind and challenged the way I think about many aspects of life.  Before Cheryl hikes the PCT, she is in a terrible downward spiral following her mother's death.  In said downward spiral, she makes the kind of choices that would usually lead to me putting down a book, but her writing style is so honest, straightforward, and funny even when describing bleak situations, that I had to keep reading - I was rooting for her to turn things around even when I wasn't sure she was capable of doing so.  On little more than a whim, she packs her very heavy bag, puts on some hiking boots that don't really fit, and takes to a trail that will guide her through California, Oregon, and Washington in every climate imaginable.  The idea of doing something like what Cheryl did - hiking alone, as a woman, through unknown territory - absolutely terrifies me. But Cheryl proves that terrifying things can be done, one step at a time.  I can't wait to see Reese Witherspoon play Cheryl in the film version, especially since much of the dialogue in the trailer is straight from the book.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (Historical Fantasy) - When I heard that a new television series was coming out based on a series of novels about a womanwho travels through time to 1700s Scotland and falls in love, I decided to check it out - I mean, how could you go wrong with a little bit of fantasy, a little historical fiction, and a lot of romance?  Unfortunately, I didn't pay attention to the detail that the show is on Starz, which we don't get, but fortunately, I did fall head-over-heels in love with the book.  Claire, the main character, is already feeling out of place in 1945 when she and her husband, Frank, are finally reunited after their years of service in the English army - Claire as a combat nurse and Frank as a spy.  She and Frank are on a second honeymoon of sorts in Scotland, and Frank, a history professor, is fascinated by the traditions they observe on their trip, especially the Druid ritual they see the local women participating in around a circle of standing stones.  When they return to the site of the ritual, Claire is transported to Scotland in 1743, where danger is a constant fact of life, feudal society is still in full effect, and her nursing skills come in very handy.  She is taken in by a highland clan, including dashing young Jamie McTavish.  While the love scenes in this book are a little more scandalous than what my YA-loving heart is used to, I can't resist the romance between Claire and Jamie, and it's hard to put the book down when someone is in danger of being murdered in basically every other chapter.  


Everneath by Brodi Ashton (YA Fantasy Romance) - I checked Everneath out of the school library because one of  my students said it was the best book she'd ever read.  The book reminded me pleasantly of other YA folkloric retellings I've enjoyed, like Carrie Jones' Need and Nancy Werlin's Impossible.  Everneath puts a modern, high school spin on the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades.  At the beginning of the novel, Nikki has just returned to her regular life after being, by all accounts, missing for six months.  Through flashbacks, we learn that reeling from her mother's death in a car accident and believing her boyfriend, Jack, has been unfaithful, Nikki had happily accepted her rock star friend Cole's offer to take away her pain - by taking her to the underworld, where he would feed off her energy for what felt like a century.  Nikki's return is anything but smooth, and she has only six months to smooth over the relationships with Jack, her best friend, and her distant father before she must return to Cole and the Everneath - unless she can find a way to remain on the Surface.  There were definitely some plot holes - her father, the mayor of the Utah town in which the book takes place, seemed to accept not knowing where his daughter had been for six months - but overall I enjoyed reading this new twist on a familiar myth.

movies i saw

Guardians of the Galaxy - As much of a geek as I can be, and as much as this movie was promoted, I still didn't really know what to expect going into the theater.  While I was basically familiar with characters like Iron-Man and Thor going into the previous Marvel movies, I really didn't understand how there could even be a successful series including (what look like) a raccoon and a tree as major characters.  However, from pretty much the first strains of 80's music, I was along for the ride.  My love of Chris Pratt is no secret, and he brings a lot of heart to one of my favorite storytelling tropes - a ragtag bunch of misfits saving the world.  Zoe Saldana is awesome as always, Dave Bautista is surprisingly funny as a warrior who takes everything literally, and the "raccoon" and "tree" ended up being my favorites after all.  There's so much quirky goodness in this movie.

The Croods - When I am home alone, I like to watch cartoon movies.  I don't know why, it's just my thing.  I remembered the previews for this one looking cute when it was in theaters, and Emma Stone voicing a cavegirl is kind of an irresistible premise.  What I did not expect was that a movie about a family of cave people escaping from catastrophic natural disasters would make me ugly cry.  The overprotectice cave dad/rebellious and independent cave daughter dynamic really got me in the feels.


television favorites

You're the Worst - A show on FX that has at least three different kinds of warnings on it is not my usual fare, but I guess I've really been mixing it up lately and I gave this comedy a chance this summer.  The show begins when Jimmy, a sarcastic and oblivious writer, and Gretchen, a public relations agent with self-destructive tendencies, meet at the wedding of Jimmy's ex - he's basically there to heckle the bride and Gretchen is stealing gifts.  Their "what could it hurt?" one-night stand gets complicated as they realize that they actually kinda like each other, at least better than anyone else.  The subsequent episodes have been less raunchy and way funnier than the pilot and the show has a weird sweetness that has really grown on me.

What's been keeping you entertained lately?  Do 

you have any recommendations for me to check out?

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