The school year is coming to an end which means more YouTube marathons and, of course, more reading! In the past year, I've been watching Youtubers such as danisnotonfire, Amazingphil, ThatcherJoe, Pointlessblog, Zoella (a little), Tyler Oakley, etc. And what I noticed is that all of them (in addition to others not mentioned here) have written some form of a book. It seemed a little strange to how everyone decided to write something. None of them are known for their writing, so what's the big deal with all of them getting published?
Each of them has their own story behind their published works. For example, danisnotonfire and Amazingphil are creating a book together about their lives - a memoir perhaps. Tyler Oakley says he turned down a publisher, practiced writing for many years, and then approached different publishers himself. And to be honest, I don't really care if these YouTubers writing books or not. I probably won't buy them; The Pointless Book seems like its title - pointless, and I'm just not interested. But if they want to make a book - whether its for the money or because they really like writing - more power to them.
What inspired me to make this post was an incident the other day while I was at my local bookstore. I had finally begun to read books again (I had forced myself to only read required books these past few months), and I need to replenish my to-read shelf. As a browsed the shelves, I noticed two young girls, one in middle school and one in late elementary school. They were looking at the books on the shelf parallel to the one I was at.
Inevitably, I was able to hear their conversation. Typically, I try to tune everyone else out when I'm shopping, but the mention of some familiar names caught my attention. One of them was on the phone with their dad, telling them about the books they were going to buy, and she had mentioned Zoella's book, Girl Online. She had paused as her dad spoke and then said, "Oh yeah, I'm going to get some real books too."
This surprised me because unlike Dan and Phil's book, Girl Online was suppose to be a fictional novel. What this made me realize was that some people don't recognize the credibility of some of these YouTubers, including their fans. I'm not saying that they should (or shouldn't) be considered credible, but it was interesting how even the most supportive fans, who even go as far as to purchase the books, may have an unexpected perspective.
I saw Mockingjay Part 1 yesterday! There were close to 200 people in the theater and a lot of the showings were sold out! I already want to go and see it again, hopefully sometime this week.
The beginning was somewhat boring. It lacked the action-excitement that the Games had brought in the previous movies. But one of the scenes near the end (I don't want to spoil anything!) was exactly what I was hoping for. I wish it had ended right after that scene though, but I suppose the extra bit was fine too.
I'm seriously considering rereading The Hunger Games series now! I was disappointed on how much I couldn't remember! Here's Katniss/Jennifer Lawrence singing The Hanging Tree from the movie:
Hey guys! It's been a while! There are a lot of big events occurring in the book and movie realm around now, and I have a lot I'd like to share! So mark your calenders; there's a lot of important dates coming up!
1. If I Stay on Blu Ray/DVD
If I Stay is going to be sold on DVD starting November 18, 2014! To be completely honest, I'm not THAT excited for the release date because (don't kill me) I'm not going to buy it.
If you've read my review for the book, then you'll know that I didn't enjoy it THAT much. It was a meh story in both the book and the movie (but the book was a bit better because I didn't particularly agree with the casting choices and their acting).
2. Maze Runner on Blu Ray/DVD
I thought this movie was aMAZE-ing in theaters, so I'm super, super excited for it to come out on DVD! It comes out on December 16, 2014, which happens to be right before Christmas...no coincidence there.
The film was pretty close to the book, as far as I can remember (although it's been FOREVER since I lasted picked up The Maze Runner). Sure, it's not exact, but we can't have our cake and eat it too (as the saying goes, although it really doesn't make any sense at all. What's the point in having a cake if you can't eat it? And is the opposite suppose to be true: you can't eat your cake and have it too? Because once you eat, I'm pretty sure it's yours...).
3. Mockingjay Part 1 in Theater
THIS AMAZINGNESS IS COMING OUT ON NOVEMBER 21, 2014 HOW CAN I SURVIVE UNTIL THEN?!?! It's so close, yet so far away...I have to finish a whole bunch of other crap before it comes out or I'll feel guilty watching it. Boo work.
The main thing I'm worried about is how crowded it's going to be at the theaters. Sure, it was pretty crowded on opening day (as in Friday, the actual opening day, not Thursday) for Hunger Games and Catching Fire, but the fan base is so much bigger now with those movies out and all the time people have had to read the books.
Lorde has released on song on the Mockingjay soundtrack! The original version of Flicker is about and the Kayne West rework is below!
4. Insurgent Teaser Trailer
Although Insurgent won't be in theaters until March 20, 2015, a teaser trailer was released on November 11, 2014.
I had been watching the trailer by myself, and I noticed that the beginning part was really quiet. But then I jumped because I was totally not expecting what happened in the trailer to actually happen (sorry if that's confusing; I'm trying not to spoil the trailer).
But what bugs me is that this scene isn't even in the book! Sure, I understand that they are going to be putting scenes in that are based off the book, but they spent SO MUCH time and effort with all of the special effects on something that doesn't even seem that important...!
People also seem to be upset by her short hair...but it actually doesn't bother me that much. In fact, I think I might actually prefer it; it's not like I liked her hair that much before, and it's not the weird haircut she had when playing Hazel.
As many people know, Divergent was released on the 21st of March, 2014. Many anxious Divergent fans have long-awaited this moment while also acknowledging the fact that pansycakes everywhere will claim to be Divergent fans when they didn't even read the book. READ THE BOOK; IT'S AWESOME!
Of course, the movie was good, but not as good as the book. One of the scenes that I anticipated the most happened to not make it in the movie (if anyone was wondering, the scene I'm talking about is the Peter, Edward, and butterknife bit).
Other aspects of the book were changed in the movie, such as Tobias/Four's age. In the book, Four is said to be 18, only two years older than Woodley's character, Tris Prior. Their age difference isn't that big and is accepted by most readers. HOWEVER, in the movie, Four is suppose to be 24 because the actor playing his character, Theo James, is 29 and looks it. This puts 8 whole years in between Tris and Four, which is unappealing to some, especially since Tris is still a minor while Four is not.
Obviously, the number of fears Tris has is not going to be very important in the plot of the movie. In the book, she has seven, a number that changes later on in the series. But in the movie, only five are shown. One of her fears, intimacy with Four, is portrayed as an almost-rape. I can't remember the movie as well as I did yesterday, but I don't think Four reacted to seeing that fear (since he was in the room during the final test) as he did in the book when Tris told him about it. In fact, I don't think Four reacted to it at all.
After seeing Divergent, I became very anxious to see TFIOS, which happens to be featuring Shailene Woodley as Hazel and Ansel Elgort as Gus. Both actors were in Divergent as bother and sister (Woodley played Tris and Elgort played Caleb). Luckily for TFIOS fans, Elgort is only 20 and will be able to pull off being a teenager. Woodley happens to be 22, making her older than Elgort, but I couldn't tell.
Anyway, it's a fantastic movie! I would recommend it!!!
Wow! I can't believe my favorite holiday is here again!
...not.
No offensive to anyone, but St. Patrick's Day seems like a pretty useless holiday to me. The only reason why I'm blogging about it is because I remember writing a blog post about it last year on my old blog. I had written what I though St.Patrick's Day was all about, and then I researched to see how far from the truth I was (and I was VERY far from the truth, if any of you were wondering). St. Patrick's Day is a religious holiday, and the guy called Patrick wasn't even Irish...jeez.
Happy New Year! It's been a long time since I've written an OTS, but I had nothing better to do today so...
Kidding, kidding, relax! I just came across some great writing material and thought that I might share it with y'all. For the first time in ages, I was browsing the internet and came across a blog called chocopal. The first post immediately captured my attention:
I mean, it's HARRY POTTER! However, I'm a bit ashamed; I couldn't remember which book this one was. I had to Google it, and I figured out that it was the first one and also goes by a different title. This blog post also mentioned it later on.
But the reason why I'm (in a way) reblogging this post is because of what was said really early on. I've been hearing the term Philosopher's Stone a lot recently because of the same reason why the blogger's sister knows of it.
"Me: Uhh… okay. Do you know anything about the Philosopher’s Stone? Before you read it, I mean? Mimi: Yeah! Me: *impressed* Really? How? Mimi: Fullmetal Alchemist!"
Completely read my mind.
So, this post is actually a lot shorter than I expected it to be. I might not be able to post a book blog for a while because I'm really trying to finish Great Expectations, and it's been a little hard...I've been limiting myself to a chapter a day on City of Fallen Angels, so that's going to take a while too...
Anyway, I hope you guys had a great year and that this year will be even better!
In my last OTS, I talked about City of Bones, and it's movie and sequel. I said, "I won't be able to read [City of Ashes] anytime soon". And while this was true at the time, I was able to obtain a copy the second time I stopped by the book store. I already posted the review for it! City of Glass is in my possession too, so that review should be coming sometime soon.
While reading the book and posting update (and such) on my progress with The Mortal Instrument series, I noticed that there is quite a large TMI fandom. Not as big as the Harry Potter fandom (I really want to reread the Harry Potter series; it's been so long since I've read it that I can't remember most of the plot), of course, but still big enough to be noticeable. I don't think I'll ever be apart of the TMI fandom because I don't like the books enough.
There are also other fandoms I noticed when I was on Instagram. Dr. Who is one I see a lot (I've never seen a single show) and all of the anime fandoms too (I'm part of a few of those). But intermixed in these fandoms, I saw another fandom; the My Little Pony fandom.
Isn't that show for five year old girls? I couldn't understand why older girls AND guys were so interested in this TV show. So I decided to watch an episode myself.
I did a little search on Youtube and came up with My Little Pony's Friendship is Magic Season 2 Episode 23 (watch the video yourself above!). I braced myself for the awesome magically power of the ponies. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The message of this particular episode was clear; don't spread gossip about other people. This was completely fine by me; it's a good message. However, the ending really, really bugged me.
You see, there are three ponies who work for the newspaper. Their editor-in-chief was pushing them to keep writing about gossip, and after the advisor for the newspaper found this out, the editor-in-chief was demoted to printing newspapers. She is seen wearing a visor (part of the uniform for her job), and the staff photographer takes a picture of her. The flash blinds her and makes her stubble backwards onto the printer, splashing black ink all over. This makes the three ponies (who I mentioned earlier) laugh at her expense.
Does anyone see anything wrong with this picture? They shouldn't have laughed at the ex-editor-in-chief; it spoils the message. And the show still seemed like a little kids show; I don't see the appeal. If someone can tell me exactly what the appeal of this show is, please, please tell me!
Yes, if you haven't guessed it already, I went to see the movie. Why? Because I was bored and had nothing better to do with my life. And I really wanted to see it.
Despite the fact that, in my review, I showed cleared distaste for many components of the book, I had very high hopes for the movie. When a story is in the form of a book, the reader is the one interpreting the story, making the scenery, characters, etc. in his or her mind based on how the author describes it. But on the screen, it's someone else's interpretation of the story. It's going to be different, even slightly, from the movie.
I was shocked. Everything seemed exactly the opposite. In the book, I hated Clary with a burning passion and loved everyone else, especially Jace. But in the movie, I LOVED Clary! Jace seemed like he was trying to be hot or something (I really hated his hair). Everyone else was just a bunch of background characters. Nothing important.
And then there was the kiss. I never realized how the kiss really played out until I saw it on the big screen. Every single person in the theater was cracking up (me included) when the sprinklers turned out. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go see it. You'll understand.
One thing I didn't expect was the humor. I knew from the book that there were a few clever/witty remarks that might pass as funny, but the movie is something else entirely. I laughed a lot more than I thought I was, and I probably laughed at some of the parts that weren't suppose to be that funny. But, hey, as long as I enjoy it, right?
The movie isn't my favorite. I think it could have been better. But I wasn't as bad I as feared it was going to be. Everyone should defiantly go see it.
Now, the other day, I made a stop on the way home to my local bookstore. Why? Because I knew I was going to see the City of Bones movie soon and that I'd probably want to read City of Ashes afterward. I rush over to the teen section and see a table stacked with Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices books.
Only to find that City of Ashes is missing from the stack. There was plenty of Infernal Devices books, about twenty copies of City of Bones, ten copies of City of Glass, and a few of City of Fallen Angels and City of Lost Souls, but not a single copy of City of Ashes.
What's up with that? Obviously, everyone was like me and decided to pick up a copy of City of Ashes on the way home. So, I won't be able to read it anytime soon. Don't expect a review for it anytime soon.
But, yeah, after watching the movie, I have high hopes for the Mortal Instruments. Maybe I'll actually like Clary in the books to come. Writing styles are always improving, especially throughout a series. If you haven't seen the movie, go see it. If you have City of Ashes, give it to me!
Happy Monday! I thought today would be a good day to update you on what's up, since my life has been going through several (minor) changes recently.
What I'm Reading
If you haven't noticed already, I'm reading TWO books instead of one this month! I started doing this on the last day of July, when I was reading Trickster's Queen and The Archive (I just posted the review for it, so you should go check it out!). But I had been too lazy to update the Currently Reading section, so the review might have seemed like it came from nowhere. But, trust me, I actually read it. I just finished it this afternoon.
I have started reading another book, Specials by Scott Westerfeld. It's been a while since I read the first two books, Uglies and Pretties, so we'll see how this review goes (I'll try to Uglies and Pretties in the future so that the whole series of reviews can be posted on here). Now, you might be wondering, "Why are you reading two books at once when you were perfectly content with reading one book?"
That, my dear children, is what I wanted to talk about. If any of you have read Tamora Pierce's books, you'll know that her writing style is very...detailed. She created this whole new world, which means a lot of development. And then all of the development has to be retained throughout the book, not to mention throughout the rest of the series. So it takes a bit more brain power than I'm used to.
Now, I DON'T have a problem understanding the book. That's not what I'm trying to say at all. I'm TRYING to say that, depending on how different the world created is from our lovely Earth, it's harder to absorb all the details of race, society, layout of the new world. And Tortall, although also similar to society today, has many differences; terms, geography, creatures, etc.
So, that aside, toss in some politics. Although politics can be appealing to a great number of people, it certainly doesn't appeal to me. At all. Especially if it's fictitious politics. Mix in a pot full of long, unfamiliar names, a handful of boring details and TADA! Trickster's Queen appears. I COULD just force myself to read it throughout the day, but I find it really hard to read when I'm waiting in a loud, noisy line at the grocery store checkout line, sitting in the room with the TV on, or trying to eavesdrop on people's conversations. I need a nice, quiet place to read without any interruptions to really get into the book, and the one time/place that happens to be is in my bed with the door closed, and my neighbors asleep.
Then I can finally get a good twenty pages in before I fall asleep, bored out of my mind. And NO, I am not going to NOT read it since I'm almost a hundred pages in already. Somehow, I will survive all four-hundred pages...
Rereads
As far as my future reading plans, I'm thinking of doing maybe a week of rereads. I'll probably reread White Fang and Cannery Row because they're classics and there's such much depth to them that I might not have caught on my first reading. Then I'm thinking of rereading the Magyk series in honor of the last book release! It's probably going to take me more than a week to achieve this, I know. But I'll try my best!
If any of you (no matter how few of you there are) have any suggestions on what I should read, please let me know. I have quite a few books I need to read FOR NOW, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do after that. So, I'd really like your suggestions! You can leave a comment or send me an email, whichever way you like. Make sure it's a YA, no horrors, thrillers, mystery (with exceptions).
So I just posted a very short review on John Steinbeck's Cannery Row. I can't believe how long it took me to finish it! Um, so check out the review.
Anyway, happy Friday! I've decided that I'm going to lay off the books for a while and just read some manga instead. I'll be changing the Currently Reading section (see the right sidebar) to the manga I'm currently reading, but you might not see a review for it. I haven't decided whether or not I want to write book blogs on manga since they're so short and all. And there are so many volumes...
You know, I have written one book/manga blog before on i am here! But the only reason why I wrote it is because I had so much to say about it. A lot of times, with other manga, I just start fangirling and spouting nonsense (I think I'm being a little redundant there). So I'm not sure. You'll just have to wait and see.
Look out for a new poll in about a week! It'll probably be about manga/book blogs/manga blogs (?). Please, please, please vote!
Like I promised in my first OTS, I am going to most of my footnotes from my old blog here. There will be a few that I will not be reposting, such as the ones about the progress of this blog.
A Little Crazy?
I just saw this and thought I'd share. I was looking at my Overview section on blogger for Information Forest and I realized that I had more site views on that blog than this one! I mean, seriously; is this blog that lame? Or is my other blog that helpful? I like to think of it as the latter.
Yeah. That's pretty much I have to say. I'm reading Darth Plagueis at the moment (yes, it IS a Star Wars book!), but I don't know how long it will take me to read it. Not long hopefully.
So, sorry for the very, very, VERY short blog post. Yeah. So. Bye.
Why People Hate Spring Yeah, I know. I've posted three times today!
I was sitting around, doing whatever I felt like doing (which happened to be breathing, sitting, and staring at static on the TV) when I suddenly realized why people don't like spring!
And to think, in that other post about spring, I couldn't figure out why people didn't like it!!! Don't worry people-who-are-allergic-to-spring! I understand all of your problems now.
...but spring is still my favorite season.
OMG IT'S A HARRY POTTER OWL!!! The Musical Saw Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't been posting anything I've been really busy. I should be able to post a book blog some time this week.
Since it's the weekend, I've had a bit of free time on my hands, so I was surfing the internet (and reading my book like a madwoman at the same time) and saw this really funny picture.
Isn't that just weird? I thought it was fake, like a lot of amazing/cool/funny pictures on the internet. But just to make sure, I did a little search on the internet and clicked on the very first link I saw (ha ha, saw! Get it? ...yeah, me neither.)
So, apparently, you can actually play a saw. I mean, if wikiHow can tell you how to do it, it must be possible, right? Well, no. I STILL couldn't believe that a tool used to split things in half could make music other than an inconsistent warbling sound it makes when you wiggle it by the handle. But I scrolled down a little bit and found a video of someone actually PLAYING one with a bow.
NOW I believe that you can play a saw! I thought that was pretty amazing. i guess that goes to show that music can be made with anything, huh? Did anyone else know about this? I tend to live under a rock so it wouldn't surprise me if I was the last one to know.
Blogs and Stuff I'm sick of reading for the week.
Don't look at me like that! I've finished four books this week, three of them in a row. And that's NOT including the manga. So it's a lot for me.
See? Look what you've done; you made me get off topic. See, since I'm taking an hour break from reading (I can't resist the urge!) I decided to use my precious spare time to do something worth while. Something that will help other people and make an impact on the world.
I surfed the 'net.
Don't worry; I didn't lie! I'm helping people by making observations of stuff I looked up and then spreading the word (like right now) of what I saw. That way, you don't have to search for it yourself (unless you don't trust me D: ). And I'm impact the world by...using valuable resources that could be used for more important things but instead was used for my brainless searches (I was too lazy to find a source or quote about how the Internet impacts the Earth)!
Speaking of the Earth, I had been searching the Internet about, well, the Internet, and I found this:
It's a picture of the Internet! I thought it looked like Spin Art (you know, where you have a spinning platform and you squirt paint on it like a mad man. Oh, and don't forget to put paper or something on the platform before you start), so I thought you guys would want to see it too. Isn't it pretty?
I completely lost my train of thought. I was going to talk about blogs. Do you see that little bar on the top of my blog? It has a search bar and some buttons for stuff. Well, I was clicking the next blog button and noticed a repeating pattern. They were all about babies.
What's with all these people blogging about their children? Sure, one or two is acceptable, but ten in a row? That just not acceptable. Where are all the book bloggers? Video game bloggers? KITTEN BLOGGERS?! Don't get me wrong; babies are cute and all. But I like looking at kittens better. The only blog that piqued my interest was one that mentioned Goodreads. Obviously, she wasn't a book blogger, but at the end of the post, she mentioned that she was on Goodreads and that we should all check her out. I was going to, but I accidentally (O.o) closed the tab. Oh well.
I guess the moral of this story is, "Create a blog and send it to me so I don't have to look at babies all the time." Please and thank you. :)
Um, I don't usually do this, but I have the urge to sign my name at the bottom of this post. So:
Emma Reader
P.S. Ryan Higa hasn't come out with a new YouTube video yet :(
Manga, Graphic Novels, and Other Picture Books
I've become an otaku recently, within in last half a year. It started with an anime...
I mean, what's not to love of Kaichou wa Maid-sama!? For those of you who don't know, the picture is of Misaki and Takumi (they're in love!!! Not that you can tell by that picture or anything. And sorry if I just spoiled the story for any of you). After that, I found the manga (online, I could figure out where I could buy a copy in English). And then I branched off to other mangas. I read Soul Eater, Fairy Tail (one of my favorites!), Pandora Hearts (another fav), Black Butler, Special A...I won't list all of them. There should be a widget on the side >.> with a bung of the manga that I like list on it. It's not a complete list; I don't think I included some of the manga I read online for free, but you'll get to see some of the stuff I've read.
I'm trying to branch out even more; so far, most of the manga I've read have English names (beside Kaichou wa). But I'm afraid to read it when I don't even know what the title means! I guess I'll have to conquer that fear sometime O.o Have you guys ever noticed that I haven't been doing book blogs on any of the manga I've read? There's reasoning behind that, y'know. Manga books are way too short and it's hard for me to pick out stuff that I DON'T like about it. Plus I'm not a good critic for pictures, which is why I tend to stay away from regular, non-manga books. That and the fact that they're meant for kindergarteners.
What really bugs me are graphic novels that are written/drawn originally in an English-speaking country. Like, I haven't seen too many of those, but I know there's a graphic novel for Maximum Ride and Beautiful Creatures. But then they're listed as a manga (or at least in my local book store)which really, REALLY bugs me. You're suppose to call them graphic novels!!! A manga reads right to left, not this left to right nonsense. I guess some people who don't know the true art of manga would be drawn to it, though. Almost all my friends (or are they O.o)think it's WEIRD to read a book BACKWARDS. C'mon, people! It's completely normal to read boos backwards. Right?... Alright, maybe not normal there life. But it's normal in Japan, so deal with it people-who-think-manga-is-weird.
Well, I'm tired of mini ranting about how manga is t appreciated. I'm done. Bye, and don't hate manga!!! Spring, Life, And Sleep
Hey everyone! I'd thought that I'd do another one of these footnote thing-ys since I haven't written one in a while. I just haven't had a lot of thoughts lately. Even right now, right at this moment, I really don't know what exactly I'm going to talk about. But whatever. I'll type up whatever comes to mind.
Spring is pretty awesome and is probably my favorite season of all time. It's warm, but cooler than the summer (unless you go up to the mountains or something. Then it's really, really cold and I hate it). And it's a lot prettier than the fall! Fall is kinda like the opposing season to spring. Instead of getting hotter, it gets colder. Instead of flowers blooming and trees become un-naked, the fall makes everything die and all the leaves clog up the sewers. Then you have to pull out your jackets and end up having to do more laundry and use more money to buy soap and things. But spring, on the other hand, is much better. Compared to the cold winter, the weather is considerably hotter (unless its raining or snowing, which is kind of a bummer. Why couldn't the sky finishing raining and snowing in the winter?) which means that you get to wear less clothes (a LOT less, for some people) and save a lot more money!!! But I guess that if you going spring shopping or whatever normal people do, you would actually be doing the exact opposite...but those people don't count. Summers alright except for the heat and the crazy little children that start running around without any clothes on. And in winter everyone smells like a wet dog. Yuck.
Life is alright. I had a friend hang around my house for a while and she kept waking me up WAY too early. But I ended up going to sleep earlier like a normal person (whaaaaaaaa?!) and I feel a lot better about myself now. I'm not as tired, I'm more relaxed. Truthfully, I feel great. Sure, I might not get three hours of work done now, but people can deal with themselves. Sleeping's a lot more fun.
Um, yeah. That's kind of all that I have to say right now. There wasn't anything else that's really on my mind other than sleeping and how hot it was today! That's one downer of spring; it can be really, really cold, wet, and windy one day, but cook-bacon-on-my-head hot the next day. Stupid weather.
Alright. Bye now. I've got twelve hours of work to catch up on.
Wattpad, Anyone?
I'm just wondering if any of you readers (which is probably none at the moment) have a Wattpad account. I have one, in case you don't know that already. I love reading. That's the simple truth and the reason why I joined Wattpad in the first place. I've also recently joined a site called Goodreads and have been absolutely obsessed with it.
For those of you who don't know what those two websites are, let me explain. Wattpad is a large community for readers and writers (or both, if you like to write and read) to come together. Writers can publish their books on the web and readers can read these books for free. Wattpad is a good site for writers who are looking for some direct feedback on their story. I enjoy the site, though it might not be for everyone. Users are suppose to be thirteen to join and for good reasons. Ninety percent of the books posted are romance and when there's romance...well, I think we all know what'll be inside. There are quiet a few people that try to use it as a social outlet. Sure, I'll go into the forums and talk to people, but I mainly use it for reading. Hopefully, I'll be able to publish a book on Wattpad to see if I'll have a chance at being a writer.
And then there's Goodreads. I knew of Goodreads way before I joined it. In fact, I still would not have been a member if a friend had not invited me to join. So now I am! I feel that Goodreads has a better connection to the real world. In Wattpad, teens (and adults, of course) can publish their books and become "popular". But these popular authors might be writing off of false feedback. Although there are some good critiques on the site, there are some that give out compliments without thinking about helping improve the author's book. And the truth is, they really aren't that popular, just in that one website.
Of course there are a few exceptions. But Goodreads deals with real, published, best-seller books. It helps you keep track of what books your reading and when you finished them. You can rate books, join book clubs, participate in different challenges, take quizzes, etc. It keeps me reading. I'm not saying that Wattpad isn't as good as Goodreads. They both serve different purposes (although Goodreads also let's you publish your own book on the site. However, this...attraction, for a lack of better words, isn't a popular as it is on Wattpad). But they do have something in common. They attract book lovers. And that's exactly what I need.
I don't understand how people can not like reading. Wait, no. I take that back. I actually do understand, or at least I did. There are so many other ways to spend the day; surfing the 'net, playing sports or video games. I used to spend the whole day watching TV. But then I found books. At first, I thought they were boring and pointless, but I later came to realize that it was like another form of TV. It's telling a story except through words. And, before I knew it, I almost constantly had my nose in a book, hardly even sparing a glance at the television. One thing I noticed is that people seem to be more impressed with you. They look in your direction and make a comment to their spouse about how it's good to still see younger people reading. Of course, that was a while ago and it only happened once. And they were my grandparents.
...
Anyway. Back to what I originally wanted to talk about.
I had been on Wattpad recently and, as I do on occasion, I looked at my reading list. As of the present, I have five reading lists; Reading, Finished, Read Later, Roleplays and Watching. They're pretty self-explanatory, but I think I'll be removing my Roleplay Reading List. I, sadly, don't have a lot of time to role play, so I have abandoned the role plays that I had joined. Sad, right?
So, I'm not sure when, but I had been viewing my Reading Reading List (haha, it looks like a typo!) a while ago. And then I saw that one of the books I had been reading had been deleted. Now, when this fact finally sunk in, I was shocked. And mad. You have to understand that this book was a really popular book. It had over a million reads which, in Wattpad, means that the writer is practically equal to J.K. Rowling. Maybe a bit less. Or a lot less. But that's beside the point. What's important is that you know that the book's popular.
But the sad thing about writers that are popular is that, despite their enormous amount of fans that support them, they tend to become really lazy. At first, they might promise to update at least once a day. The promise might hold for a while until their reads start racking up. Then it becomes two weeks. And then a month. Now, I know that these writers are busy, like the rest of us. But their "busyness" tends to get out of hand. It had been almost half a year since one of the so-called famous writers updated their book.
You might think I'm crazy right now. That I'm just a selfish, whiney little reader. But my whole point is that writers shouldn't make promises that they won't be able to keep. And if they're going to delete their book for whatever reason, they could at least offer an explanation. As a reader, I'd appreciate it, even if it's hard to believe.
This author (who's name I won't mention) deleted her book without reason. And it made me really mad. Anyone else get really mad when author's do unjustified stuff? Or do you completely disagree with me? Let me know by leaving me a comment!
Hey, everyone! Welcome to my grand opening of my new blog, The Giant Pencil!
For those of you who a here from my old blog, Emma Reader's Blog, things are pretty similar here. For those of you who are new, hi! I'm Emma! I blog about books mostly, but I'll post a completely random post from time to time.
I'm totally bombing this introduction.
Anyway, here are a few things you should know.
I have transferred all of my book blogs from my old blog to here. As far as my other posts, I will be taking them and combining them into one, big post.
I used to call my random, non-book blogs Footnotes. Now I call them Off The Shelf (OTS), as in, topics not on the bookshelf.
I got rid of the Booked Dates, another feature from my other blog. I felt that I didn't need to have a whole category designated only for blog posts on the holidays, so now they will be the same thing as OTSs.
I added a new feature! My newest book blogs will be featured on the top part of my blog, right underneath the tabs (Home, About, etc). If you're interested in viewing my review for a book, you can click on the corresponding cover!
A lot of the most necessary information can be found on the sidebars on either side. I hate adding pages, so you'll find that I put most of the important stuff on the left and the fun stuff on the right.
I'm still working on improving my blog, so you might see some changes!
