Celebratory 'The Fault In Our Stars' Nail Art!

In celebration of the theatrical release of The Fault In Our Stars I decided to revamp the nail art design I did lo so many years ago (actually, it was just 1-2 years).

This time, the design, though very much like the previous ones (which you can find here and here), is much more glittery, with a backdrop that is meant to resemble the starry night sky.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this nail art look. I am always surprised by how difficult it is to create clouds, despite their existence as non-specifically lumpy blobs.

And before I jump right in, I wanted to mention that I'll be attending The Night Before Our Stars tonight! I can't wait and have been feeling nervous/anxious all week.

Okay, time for the nail art!

Book Haul [Library Edition]: May 2014

So, this book haul was supposed to go up last night, but as usual I fail to meet deadlines.

But moving on, today I have a mini library book haul.

I'm rather happy that today's haul is smaller than usual. Picking up my usual amount from the library can be rather overwhelming.

Today I just have a couple comics, a children's book, an adult contemporary fiction and a non-fiction.

And lucky for those of you reading this, I'm feeling a little less chatty today than usual, so I'll wrap up the intro and get right into the haul.

TAG: Goodreads

My current boyfriend (then, friend), knowing my love for reading, told me a few years back (~2009/2010) that I should join Goodreads. But I didn't take his advice until December 2012 and I absolutely love it. I don't use it as a social networking tool but for organizational purposes. As a result, it's like my diary in books and I don't add friends. I realize that sounds odd, but if I want to know what my friends are reading/they want to know what I'm reading, I'd rather just have a conversation about it. That may change in the future but not anytime soon.

I got this tag from a blog I follow, Behind Green Eyes, and it's a fun one. If you want to do it too, go for it! And let's get into it..

CONTEMPORARY | Collection: The Fault In Our Stars (John Green)

As with many book lovers, I have a book buying problem. I try to relieve it with library loans, but that only solves a small portion of the problem.

A large part of my book buying craze stems from the desire to collect- and that desire cannot be extinguished from the library.

I love collecting different editions of books. First printings of first editions are fun. And whenever a publisher decides to change the covers of books? My money goes straight into their pockets.

(That said, I do draw the line at paying hundreds for first printings.)

This post in particular, if you can't already tell from the title, will be the start of a new series all about my book collection, starting with my collection of The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I have been a fan of John's for many years and can't resist the temptation when his books are released in newer, different covers. I will probably do posts involving his other books in the future.

**disclaimer: Before I go further, I want to add the disclaimer that I'm not trying to show off in any way. All these books were purchased over the course of years. I did not pay obscene amounts for any of these books and, even if I did, it is ultimately my decision on what to spend my earned money on. Thank you for your cooperation on this matter. ;)

CONTEMPORARY | Review: Me Before You

My first contemporary-focused week!
I'm surprised it's taken me so long to do one, but here it is at last.

And to start it off I have a book review for Jojo Moyes' Me Before You.
Me Before You is a contemporary, romance novel that I had been meaning to read for quite some time. It's received rave reviews on Goodreads.
Now, if you read my Which is Which guessing game, than you already know how I feel about this book-thoroughly disappointed and unsatisfied. This book gave me a serious case of "did-I-read-the-same-book-as-everyone-else"-ism. But if you stay tuned, you'll get a more in-depth explanation about why I feel the way I do.

Unfortunately, this will be one large review of why I think this book was horrible.

**ALL MY BOOK REVIEWS ARE SPOILER FREE

Title: Me Before You
Author: Jojo Moyes
Genre: Contemporary > Romance
Pages: 480
Released: January 5th, 2012
Links: Amazon | Goodreads

My rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars


DESCRIPTION (courtesy of Goodreads)

"Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.
 
What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.
 
 Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.
 
What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time."

Which is Which: A Book Guessing Game

Today I have (what I hope) to be a fun, short guessing game.
Here is how it will go: I will showcase two books-one I really like and one I really don't like. It's up to you to guess which is which. I thought it'd be a fun way to quickly mention a well-loved book as well it's opposite.

For today's books, I have Jojo Moyes' Me Before You and Annie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner's These Broken Stars.

Me Before You (Moyes) is a contemporary adult novel of romance and life.

These Broken Stars (Kaufman, Spooner) is a space novel of survival and romance.

One of these I really enjoyed, and felt incredibly sad to have finished. The other, I felt myself wanting to gag nearly all the way through.

Which is which?
Keep reading to find out (and feel free to put your guesses, whether correct or incorrect in the comments).

Also, I like to keep everything SPOILER-FREE so everyone can enjoy!

CHILDREN'S | Lists: If You Love Your Children #2

I don't usually put up posts this late, but my body's reaction to the rise in temperature has been to vegetate. And now that the temperature has dropped, I can bear to be closer to my computer. 

Today's post, as you can see from the title, is a continuation of a series I started back in March. (If you want to see If You Love Your Children #1, you can find it here).

In this particular series, I go over some children's books that I recommed-ones I would personally purchase if/when I have my own children. I try to get a mixture of illustrated, elementary, and middle school books, but some posts will be uneven according to what I've been finding.

And, lastly, even if you don't have kids, and you just love children's book such as I do, then you can still get something out of these.

So..let's get into it!