on inspiration

I just read Golden by Jessi Kirby.

In a sort of oblique way, the novel deals with the idea of inspiration and goals. A recurring quotation is "what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

Art by Simini Blocker for GoodReads

It makes me want to answer that question myself.

I love books like this that make me want to go out and do something, make something. Sometimes it makes me feel inferior because instead I drown my sorrows and pent-up inspiration in tumblr, twitter, and pinterest.

I'm a creative-thinking person, not a creative-doing person. (It's a never-ending cycle, a self-sustaining prophecy and I can't. help. but believe it.)

Look to this as an example. It's a ramble. It has no point. It isn't inspiring. It won't make sense if you haven't read Golden. (It may not make sense even then.)

Nothing gold can stay.

But why would I want it to?

Honestly, life would SUCK if it were to always stay the same. I'm a restless person. From late August until mid-November, I slept in the exact same bed every night. It was stifling. In the past month, I've slept in three beds (mine at the Bird House (aka home, home-home, or my parents' house), mine at school (aka the Dorm), and my cousin's bed when I went up to her house last weekend) and travelled a little more, gotten off campus a couple of times and oh lord it is
still.
not.
enough.

My mum's often talked about her belief that young people should have "little gypsy feet" (and while some days I want to rant about gypsy stereotypes, other days I take it for the metaphor it is) and this is something I've internalized. I'm never quite happy enough in one place. I get tetchy. I want to move around. See new things. A six hour car ride? Cake. A plane? Even better.

It isn't even that I want to backpack around Asia or go on some grand "world tour" to see the seven wonders of the world or anything. I don't want that.

All it is, for me anyway, is a thirst for knowledge.  I want to know about your life. And his life, and hers, and theirs. About life in Canada and Michigan and Hawaii and Egypt, the Phillipines, Japan, China, Russia, South Africa. Life then, life now, what we think life will be. How we express these thoughts -- does culture play a part? does gendereducationlocation


and

then

I

just

stop.


…

…

…













It feels like my brain is stuck on a loading screen.

The countdown says "5 more seconds", but it has to be a lie.

It's said that for ten minutes now.



It's a sign from the universe to me to stop. Wait. Explore. Be in the now. Worry about the future in the future. Plan for the future when plans are needed, but not before.

Above all, enjoy

this wild and precious life

because if I don't do that,

how can I do anything with it at all?

The Test of Time

You know how it says on the sidebar that this blog will stand the test of time? Well, it hasn't. It really hasn't.

I just suck at blogging. I always have. I've always sucked at keeping a daily journal or diary too. Schedules and I… we just don't get along. It's something I'm working on.

I want to use this blog more. Maybe as a catchall.

Short stories and pictures and thoughts and rants.

It's gonna be part of  my resolutions for 2014.

Not that I've ever kept my resolutions either.

But I'm going to try.

Sea of Monsters Movie mini-review

When you read a book, you have a picture in your head of what the characters look like, right? And sometimes, when there's a movie made where the actor looks nothing like you pictured, you can't help but be a little disappointed.

That happened to me yesterday.

I went to go see Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters with my two best friends from elementary school, who were the ones who introduced me to the series. We did not have high hopes. Therefore, we were pleasantly surprised! The movie got the broad strokes of the book right, and overall, even as an adaptation, it wasn't bad. We agreed that Clarisse was a little too small and we were all SUPER DISAPPOINTED at the lack of guinea pigs, sirens, and man-eating sheep, but overall, well worth the six bucks we paid.

But one thing majorly kept throwing me. Tyson. The guy who played him was great, and perfectly fit my mental image, except for one fact.

He was white.

In my head, Tyson is a big, African-American-looking dude. He's dark. Darker than Grover, even! So when this pasty white kid shows up with dreads and one eye, I had to do a double-take. It kept weirding me out, even though I don't think it really caused too much of an issue -- the guy was spot on in every other characteristic.

Now, it's been a solid three years since I've read any of PJO. I've read some of Heroes of Olympus since then, but it's been a couple years on that front as well. I have no idea what the canon description of Tyson is, but I'm fairly sure that his race is never explicitly stated. But still -- I think it would have been awesome to have a little more diversity with the campers. Luke, Annabeth, Thalia, Clarisse, Percy, they're all white. At least Grover provides a LITTLE color.

*sigh*

Oh well. Maybe in the next one?

(THEY LEFT OUT THE PARTY PONIES WAIT A SECOND THIS IS NOT OKAY.)

A to Z Book Survey

Created by Jamie of Perpetual Page Turner

A to Z Book Survey

Author you’ve read the most books from:

I think the honor here goes to Ann M. Martin. Babysitters' Club, Babysitter's Little Sister, the Specials, Super Specials, the mysteries... I read most of them! 

Best Sequel Ever:

Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta

Currently Reading:

Eleanor and Park, Intuition, Parallel, The Queen of Attolia... and those are just the ones I can see from where I'm sitting!

Drink of Choice While Reading:

Usually just water, if that. 

E-reader or Physical Book?

Physical books all the way! I only have books on my phone when they're e-shorts as yet unreleased in book form.

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:

No one immediately comes to mind, but give me a while to think.

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:

The Book Thief, by Markus Zuzak

Hidden Gem Book:

My Most Excellent Year, by Steve Kluger. Almost no one has ever heard of it, but it is FANTASTIC

Important Moment in your Reading Life:

When I saw one of my friends reading Gregor the Overlander and immediately got it from the library to read myself. From there I discovered The Hunger Games  and the whole wide world of YA!

Just Finished:

A re-read of The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read:

Anything super-Christian. I'll read overtly Jewish, overtly Muslim, overtly some made-up religion, but Christianity in novels usually rubs me the wrong way. (Disclaimer: I identify as Christian.)

Longest Book You’ve Read:

I guess The Hobbit? Or Gone with the Wind. But I read those back in fourth grade. I don't think I've recently read anything anywhere near that long.

Major book hangover because of:

Anna and the French Kiss  by Stephanie Perkins

Number of Bookcases You Own:

I have four in my room right now, for a total of 27 shelves. Most are double-stacked, and some of the books I share with my sister are in her room, and the ones I share with my dad are elsewhere. Also there are piles. Piles everywhere.

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskins. 

Preferred Place To Read:

Anywhere I can scrunch down and put my feet up.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read:

"Let me tell you about it," from Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak

Reading Regret:

I regret giving away all my Charlie Bone books before the whole series was out. 

Series You Started And Need To Finish(all books are out in series):

I rarely rarely rarely actually finish a series. Right now, the Hourglass trilogy and the Attolia books are at the forefront.

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books:

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger, and When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Unapologetic Fangirl For:

Harry Potter. After all this time, you may ask? Always.

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. The wait for this is KILLING ME. 

Worst Bookish Habit:

I dog-ear my pages. 

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet

Your latest book purchase:

 Intuition by CJ Omololu

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

The Old Blog

Hey, you've reached the end of my blog if you're going backwards! To read even further back into the archives, visit my old blog, ; However,!

If you've landed here from ;However,, welcome!