Resolutions Shmesolutions!

“Each new year begins in a snow-storm of white vows.”

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions. I lie to myself practically every day, so why should those lies be any different than these lies? They certainly don’t deserve their own bullet pointed, color coded, sparkly sticker-d “BETTER ME” list to stare their judgmental stare at me from atop the refrigerator door! How about a big ol’ NOPE to any empty, and unrealistic Resolutions of 2017?!

“Are we really doing this again, SG?”
~ signed, Resolutions Past

I just read an article/post on Buzzfeed that made me think “Here’s a realistic resolution that I can really get behind!” (yes, my inner voice talks like Dr. Seuss.) It IS going to be a difficult promise to keep to myself, though – some quirks run deep, and habits are hard to break. Bear with me on this long & winding road that is my thought process…

“A resolution is usually to avoid an evil,
but in most cases the evil is far more advanced.”

I was looking over my Books of 2016 (on Goodreads), and so many thoughts started going through my mind – “Ooo… I really liked that book, why didn’t I continue with the series?”, “OMG – that was on my MUST READ list – WTF?! Why haven’t I read it yet?”, “Shit, I promised so and so that I’d read that book s/he really loved…” (or some other version of a “OMG YUS!! I can’t wait to never read that!” promise), and 42 other questions that are tripping over themselves trying to be the first in line for some brain time.

So… In MY case, what is the main reason that so many books get neglected?
I think I waste so much precious reading time because I feel guilty if I stop reading a book as soon as I realize it’s boring AF, and/or I hate it! “I’ll give it a few more pages/chapters.” “Well, I might as well finish it now.”  And, there is also that little FOMO twinge I get right before I shelf/window a book. You know what I mean –“What if it gets really good just after the point where I stop reading?!” Then I usually continue to bore myself, and hate what I’m reading even more.

This year I say “NO MORE!”  ⊗  My motto for 2017 ~ “Just ‘SHELF IT’!”

2017 Resolution ~ “Actually, no, I didn’t read that.” ::beams, pats self on back::

This year I am going to make a solid effort to put down any book that I’m not invested in by a certain point – TBD on a book by book basis.
I will [try to] not force myself to finish ANY book, under ANY circumstances [if I don’t want to].
I realize that life is too short, and my TBR list is too long to endure the pain of just getting to the back cover.
* You know that I will NOT shelf/window any book just because of this blog post. Every book will have different considerations, I’m sure.  If I’m feelin’ it just because I dig the author’s choice of font – I’m still feelin’ it.  I have no set of hard and fast rules anywhere in my life!!
And there will be certain exemptions, of course. Like I said in the 5 Signs You’re Reading A Bad Book post – Sometimes the actual story may not be the problem. I’ve picked up unfinished books at a different points in my life only to realize how amazing they truly are – I just wasn’t ready for them the first time.

I’m curious about what YOU do in a ‘bad book’ situation!
Check out the 5 SIGNS YOU’RE READING A BAD BOOK post, and answer the poll at the end – ‘You’ve reached the 100 page mark of your new book when you realize that you’re never going to ‘feel it’. What do you do?’

 

Trolling With Fake Book Covers

* Original post by Mat Whitehead on Buzzfeed 

Watch what happens when Scott Rogowsky and Akilah Hughes secretly record peoples reactions as they ride the subway with brilliant mock book covers. I love every single thing about this!

The Buzzfeed article and this video led me to the original Taking Fake Book Covers on the Subway YouTube video –

I wish some of these titles were real!

#ReaderProblems

19 Pictures That Accurately Describe What It’s Like To Finish A Book: Originally posted by Mathew Guiver on Buzzfeed Books ~ 10/ 20/15

1. THE PAIN!

2. The struggle.

3. It’s a bittersweet feeling.

4. So many emotions…

5. Literally THE WORST kind of hangover.

6. The best recommendation EVER!

 

7. Autocorrect knows.

 

8. Non-readers just don’t get it.

9. The outpouring of emotions.

 

10. It can be too much!

11. Goddamn overwhelming.

 

12. What book lover hasn’t had a text exchange like this?

 

13. The red section should probably be bigger, right?

 

14. Missed, but NEVER FORGOTTEN!

 

15. This.

 

16. An ~endless~ cycle.

17. It might take while to get into the next one.

18. But inevitably you’ll be right back to this:

19. TRUTH!

Can You Guess The Horror Story From Just One Quote?

You can take this fun Halloween-ish book quiz by Alex Alvarez on Buzzfeed Books, and check back here to share your score in the comments!

 

1. What horror novel is this line from?

   
   1. Pet Sematary, by Stephen King
   2. The Fall of the House of Usher, by Edgar Allan Poe
   3. The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson
2. Which short story is this horrifying description from?

   
   1. “Click-clack the Rattlebag,” by Neil Gaiman
   2. “The Colour out of Space,” by H.P. Lovecraft
   3. “I Have no Mouth and I Must Scream,” by Harlan Ellison
3. Whence this troubling thought?

   
   1. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
   2. Dracula, by Bram Stoker
   3. Carmilla, by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
4. What chilling work gave us this line?

   
   1. American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis
   2. The Silence of the Lambs, by Thomas Harris
   3. Carrion Comfort, by Dan Simmons
5. What book is this unsettling line from?

   
   1. The Ritual, by Adam Nevill
   2. The Cipher, by Kathe Koja
   3. The Ruins, by Scott Smith
6. What short story produced this moment of horror?

   
   1. “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
   2. “The Infamous Bengal Ming,” by Rajesh Parameswaran
   3. “A Rose for Emily,” by William Faulkner
7. Which Edgar Allan Poe story gave us this classic line?

   
   1. “Morella”
   2. “The Tell-Tale Heart”
   3. “The Black Cat”
8. Which short story has this as its opening?

   
   1. “The Dunwich Horror,” by H.P. Lovecraft
   2. “Snow, Glass, Apples,” by Neil Gaiman
   3. “Out of Skin,” by Emily Carroll
9. Which novel includes this beautiful, frightening statement?

   
   1. Anno Dracula, by Kim Newman
   2. The Vampire Lestat, by Anne Rice
   3. The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill

 

 

 

As for my score…

Shadow Girl is a Master of Fright
You got 7 out of 9 right!

‘When it comes to all that is gruesome, horrific, and frightening, no one holds the candle to you. Or a crucifix, for that matter.’

BUZZFEED: Struggles Only Book Nerds Will Understand

The struggle is very, very real.

23 Struggles Only Book Nerds Will Understand on Buzzfeed Books

Making a literary reference that no one else seems to get.

23 Words For Book Lovers That Really Should Exist.

New words for the people who love them.

Originally posted on Buzzfeed Books on Jan. 5, 2015, at 2:51 p.m., by Alex Alvarea

 

1. A word for the smell of a new book.

Smells like freshness and adventures to be had.

2. A word for the smell of an old book.

3. A word for the guilt you feel when you accidentally tear part of a book.

I never meant to hurt you.

 

4. A word for the exquisite ache you feel when waiting for the paperback version to publish.

5. A word for owning 7,852 bookmarks yet never finding one when you need it.

6. A word for reading something you’ve always felt, but could never articulate.

7. A word for never wanting a book to end.

8. A word for finishing a book out of a sense of duty.

9. A word for that one book you read over and over and over.

10. A word for not remembering whether something happened to you… or you read it in a book.

11. A word for the totally unnecessary annoyed feeling you get when seeing a book you love reissued with a movie poster as it’s cover.

12. A word for the despair you feel when someone spoils a book’s ending for you.

The ultimate betrayal.

 

13. A word for laughing in public because of something you’ve just read.

14. A word for feeling such a close kinship with an author that you feel they’re writing just for you.

Kindred spirits, by pages bound.

 

15. A word for when you read a steamy section of a book in public and sense that EVERYONE KNOWS.

16. A word for knowing that you cannot fully understand a person unless you see what’s on their bookshelf.

17. A word for the kind of crush that develops on a person after seeing what they’re reading.

I love your brain.

 

18. A word for being so engrossed in a book that you begin thinking and speaking like its characters.

19. A word for the realization that there is such a thing as “bookstore porn.”

20. A word for the creeping horror you feel when someone informs you that “I never read.”

21. A word for owning more books than you technically have space for.

It’s not a problem. It’s a challenge.

 

22. A word for reading a phrase in a book and needing to pause and just bask in its beauty for a moment.

23. The word for the special love that blooms when you lend someone a book and they love it just as much as you do.

BuzzFeed-Books: The Great Debate!

The Great E-Books Vs. Print Debate
On which side do you stand in the Battle of the Books?
Six BuzzFeed employees engage in a vicious debate to decide which books are better, printed or electric.
Moderated by Nathan Pyle

Originally posted on BuzzFeed Books – click HERE to see the vicious debate between six BuzzFeed employees.
Then, come back here so we can have our own debate!
I’m curious to hear everyone’s thoughts on this.

Since we have to choose a side, (for this discussion only), once you choose, don’t hesitate to share why you love them both!

I love the smell of literature in the morning…

I use my e-dictionary & highlighting options DAILY.

Personally, for the ME I am right now, I have to argue on the side of e-books. Don’t think that I don’t love everything about a printed book – the feel, the smell, the pride of looking at your collection…::sigh:: I’ll try for three Pro/Con points –
$ £ One of my arguments for e-books is COST.
I’M BROKE. Not just the regular “If I eat Top Ramen twice a day, then I can justify buying the new Laurell K. Hamilton hardcover this week,” broke. No. I’m at the – “If I don’t want to die, I can eat Top Ramen twice a day, and still afford to drink something other than water,” kind of broke. Having an e-reader allows me an escape from this one room slice of paradise located in the seventh circle of Hell, (take a left at Albuquerque, exit just past Xibilba). Without reading, I’d die.
☼ ☀ READING IN BED has many perks –
I can use ‘night mode’, (black screen w/white lettering), and read all night without the light disturbing my husband. Having to get out of bed to turn off the light, right at the perfect moment to close my eyes & drift off), isn’t a ‘thing’ anymore. Positional comfort and page turning without uncovering my [covered] ‘warm arm’ are other pros. Let’s not forget the possibility of monsters getting me when I set my feet on the floor to go switch off the light! No longer an issue!
♪♫ Here’s one I’m probably alone on, TTS.
Short of hiring a midget to stand by the headboard and tell you a story, you don’t have a Text To Speech option with a printed book. If you have any device other than a Kindle, the TTS options are pretty awesome these days. I love IVONA, and have two (free) voices for the program. Kendra is my US voice, and Jennifer is my UK voice. I adjusted the pitch and speed for both, and got them to sound really good. HOWEVER… I only have Ivona on my cell. My Kindle still uses the factory voice, but, I got used to it pretty quick. Now, if my eyes are sleepy, I don’t have to stop the story. I listen to books on my way to & from work, and I look forward to my walks! TTS has made a HUGE impact on my life.

I adore my printed books though. (I have 5 next to me right now.) But, for the purposes of this debate – I chose to stand on the side of EVIL.
Now, IT’S YOUR TURN!
Use the social media buttons at the bottom, and share this with your master-debater, book-loving friends!
Make your choice, aannndddd… GO!

You Are What You Read – What Type Of Book Are You?

Original BuzzFeed post by:
Isaac Fitzgerald ~ BuzzFeed

You are what you read. ~ What Type Of Book Are You?
Take the BuzzFeed Quiz HERE to find out!

ShadowGirl, You got: Bathroom Book
You’re anything but pretentious. No matter what else might be happening (*ahem*), you love to laugh, educate, and entertain. People can always count on you, and you don’t play games. Unless it’s sudoku!

6 Ice Cream Flavors Inspired by Books (BuzzFeed)

These are too awesome for words, glad a pic is worth a thousand of em!
See the original BuzzFeed post HERE.

I’d eat this!!

17 Problems Only Book Lovers Understand

I wish I could take credit for being this clever, but, since I’m not….
This is a BUZZFEED post that I wanted to share, but because I don’t think enough people actually visit links to see posts in their entirety, I’m copying the BUZZFEED page, posted on August 16, 2013 at 3:02pm EDT & contributed by ‘a member of the BuzzFeed Community‘. Please, click the links and visit the original post. Thanks!!
P, L, & N ❤
~sg

If you’re a self-proclaimed bookworm –
(or a bibliophile in denial),
you can probably relate to these 17 problems.

#1: When someone asks you what your favorite book is and expects you to pick just one.

#2: When someone interrupts your reading.

**** Because, really, a book is basically a Do Not Disturb sign.

#3: When the movie version of a book gets everything wrong.

#4: And completely ruins your mental images of characters.

#5: When someone you like tells you they don’t like to read.

#6: When you forget to eat or sleep because a book is so good.

#7: When your favorite character dies.

**** And you pretend they’re still alive but it’s just not the same.

#8: When a book you love gets a harsh review.

#9: When an author stops writing mid-series.

#10: When someone spoils the ending of a book.

**** Or worse, the ending of an entire series.

#11: When you walk into a bookstore.

#12: When you lend someone a book and get it back in terrible condition.

#13: Or never get it back at all.

#14: When you finish a book and have to wait a year for the sequel.

#15: When a book makes you cry hysterically in public and everyone thinks you’re crazy.

#16: When no one gets your obscure literary reference.

#17: When someone says you read too much.

**** Because you know there’s no such thing as too many books.