"Netflix" for Books, huh?

This post was reblogged from Ani's Book Abyss.  (That's me! )
Originally posted at:  http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/932919/netflix-for-books-huh





I've been seeing a lot of these ads around in the past year.

Oyster -- $9.95 monthly for unlimited access to over 500,000 titles.
Scribd -- $8.99 monthly for unlimited access to over 400,000 titles.




And now Amazon (whose goal is world domination, I assume), is launching Kindle Unlimited with a $9.99 monthly subscription fee.  They're boasting unlimited access to over 600,000 titles as well as thousands of audio books!  (Source: The Verge)

Always needing to one up each other, aren't they, these kids?

Go here to check out their subscription trial as well as seek more information from Amazon.  There's even a nifty little video to go with it!

Now, I'm not a part of the "Amazon is the evil anti-Christ" group out there--I'm a happy consumer who is always grateful to spend less money on certain purchases.  Money is definitely limited, you see.  And I've bought my fair share of Kindle books which is really the only thing I use Amazon for aside from the occasional purchase of some cheap material goods I can't get cheaper in a local retail store.

However, I am also slightly frustrated that it's so hard to find a good bookstore around town anymore because the Big Dogs are edging out the Independents (yes, You've Got Mail was one of my favorite rom-coms).  And now Amazon's flexible pricing and convenient shopping is starting to edge out actual, physical book stores on their quest to take over the world.

But you still have to admit: they're pretty good at knowing how to win the hearts of consumers of all ages.  Pricing has a lot to do with it and ease of access as well as those "one-click" purchases allowing one to shop in the comfort of their own home...  I'm a hermit and a 3rd shift worker, so it's kind of nice not to have to wait around for store hours to do my browsing and shopping--my sleep schedule isn't exactly the kindest one.


But let's backtrack to the whole book subscription thing.

These sites might have been around longer than the past year I've been noticing them, but I'm not the most observant person around (for one); and also, I've never really thought to pay for a book subscription of "unlimited access to over x00,000 titles" for a specific monthly fee.  I mean, my city has 8 different branches in our public library system and a continuously growing e-book selection.  I've also discovered recently our statewide online libraries, though their selections are much skimpier than expected.  All of this is for free and the only thing you have to really do is wait in line.  Not all books are readily available and not all books you'd like to read are available through the local library--it's not a complaint, it's just a fact of life.

Even book stores won't always have what you want to read and the difference is that you don't have to spend any money at a library unless you forgot to turn something in on time.



Nonetheless, the library is still the first place I think about whenever I want to read a book, but I don't know if I should pay to own it.  Also, there's always this cozy, at-home feeling whenever I walk into a library (despite the kiddie crowds during the summer time reading programs) and it gives me a reason to be somewhere else aside from hiding in my house all day long.  And they DO have a fairly wide selection.  Aside from a rough percentage of titles, the library has always been quite satisfactory in appeasing my bookworm needs.

Waiting in a hold line to check out a book has never been a problem for me mainly because I have a long list on my TBR shelf anyway.  Just pick up a different book and wait for a desired title to become available.

And if they don't happen to have a title, I go to a used book store to see if I can't find the book for a cheap price, read it and then decide if I want to resell it or donate it to the library so that they DO have the title for future book nerds like myself or just keep it for my future private library.

So book subscription sites have always been noticeable, but continue to fly under the radar for me.  I'm in a "Currently Considering" mode, and this mode can last a couple years before I decide what I want to do.




Of course, now with these free 30 day trials being offered, I might think about giving these book subscriptions a shot.

I did my math--sort of.  Contrary to popular belief, Asians are not all good at math, so bear with me here as I round off numbers and make wide guesstimates.

If I were to subscribe to one of these book services, it looks like we'd be averaging about $9 a month depending on which one I wanted to subscribe to (see beginning of this post for pricing).  I read a calculated average of 14.33 books a month (yes, I've been keeping track this year; yes, I AM that OCD), and if I went by the cheapest title sold through Amazon at roughly $1.99 a book, I'd be spending around $27 a month on books if I only ever bought the books that I read.  Assuming that I continuously choose to read my books through one of these book subscriptions for a good part of the month, the deal isn't all too bad.  $9.99 versus $27 dollars monthly is no contest.

Don't even get me started on paperback books, because even the used ones in this city go for around $3 to $4, plus tax and that's assuming you find what you want.  New books are an average of $7.99 if you're lucky and it's not a new release.

Keep in mind, though--I don't buy all the books that I read.  More on this later.

I allot myself $25 a month to spend on books anyway (if I didn't budget myself, I'd go too crazy, as I discovered before I started keeping track of my book spending habits), totaling $300 a year with give or take for over or under spending.  (Last year I spent nearing $500 on books until I decided to put a leash on myself and track my spending more strictly.  This year I've spent about $150 so far, and most of that spending happened in June when I allowed for splurge to celebrate my birthday.)  I'm still a realist about my book spending habits, and so while I'm paying more attention to how much money I put into purchasing books, I know that spending a lot of money on books is inevitable.

Anyway, back to the rough math:  If I subscribed to, say, Kindle Unlimited for the $9.99 monthly, that's about $119.88 for the full year, minus the free 30 day trial (we'll also give or take for any time I decide to cancel my subscription and save a few payments during the year.

Still... it's not a bad deal.

Of course, then we have to factor in the fact that, if I liked the book enough, I might go out and buy it for full price.  And that's a guess as to how many books I'll love enough to want to own them permanently.  Will that end up being more or less added onto my book spending?

The main factor that gives me pause, however, is this:  How often will I actually be using these "unlimited access to x00,000 titles" services?


Ever since I spotted the first ad for Oyster, I'd been wondering whether or not these types of services were really worth it.

I have a Netflix account (one that I've barely been using lately, but my parents use it, so whatevs).  Netflix (the streaming part of it) gives you unlimited access to a wide selection of television series, movies, documentaries, concerts... etc.  My current fee is $7.99 a month, though I know that new users are now being charged $9.99 a month and that I get to continue enjoying my $7.99 a month for the next two years until Netflix decides that I need to start giving them more money.

I chose to subscribe to Netflix because RedBox requires getting out of my house and driving to the nearest retail store and standing in front of a box outside of said store while choosing a movie.  And to be totally honest, I'm not enough of a movie buff to spend my time browsing movie titles for my evening entertainment.

So Netflix was the way to go.  Of course, their selection of movie titles and television series is quite limited.  And their navigation sucks too.

And yet... I still have the account... just in case I ever want to watch anything.  Like paying for cable and just letting it sit there until I'm bored enough to watch something random, or interested enough to go searching for something to watch.

I'm contradictory in my consuming habits.  I know that.  I'm willing to drive all around town to find a book I want to read, or collect all four books to a series I'm interested in from three different libraries, or run across town to the chain used book store we have to find books not available at the library... but I'm sitting here contemplating whether or not it would be worth the money to spend a monthly fee on unlimited access to any book I might find interesting.

And that's the thing.  At least half of the titles I read each month are borrowed from the library rather than bought.  So would I technically be spending more money or less money since half the books I read don't cost me anything aside from the time it takes me to run to the library and the gas it requires to get me there?

This is where my conflict lies.  I could spend the $9.99 a month to be able to read any book at anytime for as long as I want.  But I could also not spend any money and still have access to that book, so long as I have a little bit of patience to wait my turn.

How desperate am I to "have that book and read it right now"?

My logic only really makes sense to me, to be honest.



You would think that I would be one of the first people to jump on these platforms and use it for all its worth.  And I don't know what's holding me back.  I have a Scribd account already, but not a paid subscription, so only certain books and documents are made available to me.  I have browsed through the selections on both Oyster and Scribd, and I did a cursory skim-through of Kindle Unlimited this evening, and decided that their selections are fairly varied and plenty.  (Well, except for Kindle Unlimited.  Their selections are kind of skimpy and I'm not sure I've found enough books I want to read to merit a "I must get this subscription now!" reaction.)

So, yes.  Still in contemplation mode.

Maybe it's just that change is something hard to jump-start on.  It took me a long time to even contemplate picking up an e-reader since I've always been in the "real books 4 teh win" type of reader.  Now I'm crazy about the ease of access and convenience that having an e-book library provides, despite still loving the feel of having a paper bound book in my hand.

And the more I talk about these book subscription services, the more I'm contemplating giving them a try.  It probably wouldn't hurt to take advantage of that 30 day free trial.
If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.  Also, I only really did a cursory search through of these book subscriptions platforms, so it's not like I know much about them aside from what's being advertised.  If there's something I missed, by all means, let me know.  It'll at least help me make my decision.

Reading Challenges of 2014 -- Progress Report

I got too lazy to continue posting progress reports each month.  It happens.  So now that I'm in the mood for it, I'll post a somewhat update of my reading progress so far this year.  And yes, I'm very OCD about lists and keeping track of what books I've been reading.  It's a madness, really...





Anyway, as far as progress goes:


Goodreads 2014 Reading Challenge -- My List
BookLikes 2014 Reading Challenge -- My List
Goal: 100 books
Progress:  96/100
See full list on my book shelf under 2014 Reading Challenge.

It's only a little over halfway through 2014 and I'm closing in on my general Reading Challenge goal.  Of course, I need to account for the number of manga and short novella's I've always included into the list, but that can be easily remedied by reading more books, of course!

I'm sure I'll have to bump my goal up after I officially reach 100 books, considering I haven't counted all of my books into other Reading Challenges (see below), which will require my general challenge to be bumped up to at least ~115 to 120 books.

I might still be reeling about that number because it seems so high, but I DO still have six months (including this month) left to read another 20 to 30 books if applicable.

We'll see how things end up.  I've no doubt I'll be at 100 books before July is over.  After all, I have seven library books lined up to be finished and returned by the time August rolls around.


***

 

100 Books in a Year hosted by Book Chick City
Progress:  81/100
See full list on my book shelf under 2014 100 Books in a Year Challenge.



2014 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge hosted by The Book Vixen

Getting my heart rate up -- Read 1 - 5 more books -- This one
Out of breath -- Read 6 - 10 more books
Breaking a sweat -- Read 11 - 15 more books
I'm on fire! -- Read 16+ more books 

Goal:  Read 1 to 5 more books
(Last year's total: 101  -- Means I need to read 102 to 106 books)
Progress:  81/102
See full list on my book shelf under 2014 Outdo Yourself Challenge.


The above two challenges (100 Books in a Year and Outdo Yourself Challenge) are an extension of my general Reading Challenge.  Due to the fact that I haven't counted all of the books I've read into these two challenges, my goal is actually a lot higher than 100.  See above explanations.

Anyway, crossing my fingers that I don't suddenly lose my steam and stop reading steadily.  My pattern seems to be the same:  Few books read at the beginning of the year, more and more books read towards the middle of the year, number of books tapers off to an average of 1 to 5 books per month by the time the time October rolls around.

I wonder if I'll hold strong or if the same patter will come about.

***

 
2014 TBR Pile Challenge hosted by Roof Beam Reader
Goal:  See Ani's 2014 TBR Pile Challenge -- includes full list of books in this challenge
Progress:  5/12
See also: 2014 TBR Pile Challenge (RBR) on my book shelf


I have made no progress on this particular reading list since May, I believe.  It makes me wonder if I should have chosen books I'd have had a better chance of wanting to read, though the whole point is to read the books you haven't been motivated to read that you've been wanting to read... right?  Unfortunately, there are at least 2 books on this list right now that I have no desire to actually read... which means that I'll have to use my alternatives.  And even THAT thought is kind of iffy.

This challenge may end up being incomplete this year.  And next year I'll really have to choose my books wisely.

***

 
2014 TBR Pile Challenge hosted by The Bookish Team

1-10 - A Firm Handshake
11-20 - A Friendly Hug
21-30 - First Kiss
31-40 - Sweet Summer Fling
41-50 - Could this be love?
50+ - Married With Children

Goal:  Sweet Summer Fling (31 to 40 books) --  COMPLETED May 5, 2014
Next Goal:  Married With Children (50+ books) -- COMPLETED June 2, 2014
Progress:  75/50
See full list on my bookshelf under 2014 TBR Pile Challenge (Bookish).



This challenge is complete.  The goals looked overwhelming at first, but really, since my general goal was 100 books anyway, it's not like I wouldn't have been able to finish it.  So there you are!


***

 
2014 Series Challenge hosted by Read. Sleep. Repeat.

Ani's 2014 Series Challenge post -- includes full list of books read for this challenge.

Bronze Badge:  1 - 3 Series
Silver Badge:  4 - 6 Series
Gold Badge:  7 - 11 Series
Platinum Badge:  12 or more Series

(1/14/2014)
Goal:  Gold Badge (7 to 11 series) -- CHALLENGE COMPLETED --
6/3/2014 -- 11th series finished --> Black CATs by Leslie A. Kelly

(6/3/2014)
Updated Goal: Platinum Badge (12 or more Series) -- CHALLENGE COMPLETED -- 6/6/2014 -- 12th series finished --> Mindhunters by Kylie Brant

(6/14/2014)
Latest update:  12 or more COMPLETED series -- CHALLENGE COMPLETED -- 6/14/2014 -- 12th COMPLETED series finished --> Gamble Brothers by J. Lynn

(7/17/2014)
Latest update: Previously stated personal goal officially completed.
New Goal:  Read 12 or more completed series (first book to last)

Progress:  18 series completed/caught up with for 2014.
See 2014 Series Challenge on my bookshelf for a list of books completed for this challenge.


I just recently updated a progress report for this challenge.  See this post for details.

***


2014 1st In A Series Challenge hosted by Darlene's Book Nook

Ani's 2014 1st In A Series post -- includes full list of books read for this challenge.

There are four levels for the challenge:

a. Series Novice: Read 5 books that are first in a series.

b. Series Lover: Read 10 books that are first in a series.

c. Series Expert: Read 20 books that are first in a series.

d. Series Fanatic: Read 30 books that are first in a series.

My Goal: Series Fanatic -- 30 1sts -- CHALLENGE COMPLETED -- 7/17/2014

Completed:  30/30

See Also: 2014 1st in a Series Challenge shelf

***


2014 Romantic Suspense Reading Challenge hosted by The Book Vixen
The Goal is to read 10 Romantic Suspense Novels.
Completed:  34/10

See also: 2014 Romantic Suspense Challenge Shelf

Ani's 2014 Romantic Suspense Challenge post -- includes list of books read for this challenge.

CHALLENGE COMPLETED!  As of May 9, 2014, I've finished reading 10 Romantic Suspense novels!

6/3/2014 -- Completed 20 Romantic Suspense novels.  See shelf for list of titles.

6/29/2014 -- Completed 30 Romantic Suspense novels. See shelf for list of titles.

***

I Love Library Books 2014 Reading Challenge hosted by Book Dragon's Lair

Ani's I Love Library Books 2014 Challenge post -- includes full list of books read for this challenge.

Levels:

• board book - 3
• picture book - 6
• early reader - 9
• chapter book - 12
• middle grades - 18
• Young adult - 24
• adult - 36
• just insert IV - 50

My Goal:  just insert IV - 50
Completed: 42/50
See Also: 2014 Library Books Challenge shelf

***


So there we have a cumulative update of all the challenges I'm participating in this year.  Four challenges are officially completed (Series Challenge, 1st in a Series Challenge, Romantic Suspense Challenge, and Bookish's TBR Pile Challenge).

I only need to read 8 more library books to finish the I Love Library Books Challenge, which won't be hard--I've currently got 5 books checked out from the library to be read.  It'll only be a matter of checking out 3 more and there are so many I want to check out right now it's not even funny.  After all, I'm still in the middle of one pile before I can start a new pile.  /sigh

Man... there just doesn't seem to be enough time in the world...

Amateur Mini Book Club, Day One

Day One

Location -- Noisy Coffee Shop where I prove that I CAN be much noisier than the noise.

- Goodreads

- BookLikes

- Amazon

This is pretty much how it went down in a not so very brief-tastic summary with probable exaggerations and some paraphrased conversations because my memory sucks at exact details and maybe I should have been recording everything, but I didn't.  Anyway, long day aside, this is my best friend and my first attempt at committing to something like a book club.  But we tend to be more or less easy-going about books, so we agreed on simply discussing how we feel about the book thus far with no "high school style" deep analysis.

The session was overall pretty laid back, and as my best friend likes to remain anonymous within the online world (she doesn't even have a social networking account of any kind outside of her GR account that she rarely frequents), I shall refer to her as BFF.

Me: 

Shows up 15 minutes late and immediately starts talking about how life sucks and our table is in the middle of too much crowd.  Wonders what kind of fattening fancy coffee shop drink to get.

BFF:

"Yeah, it's really crowded tonight."  Proceeds to talk about book and how she had wanted to read more than our agreed upon ten chapters because she was enjoying it.  "I read all ten chapters in one whole sitting... then I sort of started on the next chapter a little bit..."

Me:

"Oh right.  The book."  Plops down onto the chair.  "Um... I'm enjoying it too.  But honestly, I liked Puck's portion of the narration more than the other guy."  Because Puck sounds wittier and livelier and I like wit and sarcasm and liveliness.  And I also like the relationship between Puck and her brothers.

Gives very brief "I can relate" segway with a roll of the eyes and wave of the hand about Puck's relationship with her brothers.  Continues to wonder what type of fancy drink to indulge in.

BFF: 

"I thought of that too!"  Proceeds to flip through book to end of Chapter 3 after Puck's elder brother, Gabe, announced that he's leaving the island... for good.  Puck feels abandoned, little brother Finn is semi-trying to keep the peace.  Puck tries to act nonchalant and brave.  

"I especially made the connection at this part," points to book, "here when Puck goes to her room and says something like, 'Jackass', or whatever.  I thought it sounded like you and your brother."

(Random tangent)

Well, the actual line is, "Selfish bastard," right before Puck sobs into her pillow after putting on a strong front and proclaiming that she's going to participate in the races that could get people killed because they'll need the money if she can win it.  But nonetheless, the sentiments and the feelings are there.  And yes, while I don't relate with Puck too much (she's pluckier and has more determination than I do), I can relate with her situation somewhat.  The difference is that her parents are gone and mine are still here, but between the "selfish bastard" big brother and the strange little brother with disjointed behavior and unpredictable color commentary, I think that's pretty similar in some ways.

(Random tangent end)

Me: 

Talks about the difference between Sean and Puck and why Puck is more easily related to than Sean.  Sean is too dark and broody -- dark and broody doesn't always work for main male characters.  

BFF:

Talks about some lines in certain chapters she has highlighted and why.

Me:

At some point during the discussion that I can't quite remember, points at a nearby taller table that just got vacated.  With a happy grin: "Window table."

And so the two of us scramble to the new table with our crap in tow as I finally decide that I need to get me one of those fancy coffee shop drinks before we get serious.  Moments later, when I return to the table, we start chatting about the book again, but there is a very distinct agreement between the two of us about certain things:

1)  The book is enjoyable and Puck is a nice, fun girl to follow.

2)  Sean is too broody and we both found his parts of the story too somber and too monotone so far.  We understand that he's broody for a reason (he'd recently lost his father to a water horse "accident" and watched his father die and he's stuck in this endless cycle of the Scorpio Races where everyone wants his opinion), but we believe that broodiness is just his way of being male and dramatic at the same time.  If he were a woman, people would be telling him to build a bridge.  

Also, we determined that Sean seems to have this complex where he seems to see himself on a different level than everyone else around him, in an arrogant, "I know more than you about these water horses" type of way which we think makes him feel superior to everyone else.

And the idea that Sean is drawn to the water the same way that the water horses are drawn to the sea... a little disturbing.

(Random personal tangent): When I first read the description of this book, I had pictured Sean as some gangly, young kid with a big-person ego too big for him to handle.  I was thinking of him as some stubborn child wanting to prove a point by racing in the Scorpio Races against professionals.  And now after reading the book, I realize that my pre-impression of him was quite wrong since he is obviously the Water Horse Yoda on the island.  Go figure.  (Random personal tangent end)

3)  BFF and I are both interested in seeing the first interaction between Sean and Puck with their differing personalities.  Puck lost her parents to water horses during one of the annual races as well in a "tragic accident", but she maintains a rather light view of life as seen here:

Setting them out on the table, three lonely plates where once there would've been five, depresses me, so I busy myself making some mint tea to go with them.  As I arrange and rearrange the teacups by our plates, it occurs to me, too late, that mint tea and apple cake might not go together.

The way in which Puck's mind operates is hard to grasp since these tiny little details also tells so much about how she feels, bringing a possible somber, melancholic moment into a more thoughtful, puzzling moment.  This is also setting aside the fact that the siblings are having apple cake for dinner.

4)  Water horses are super creepy.

5)  Maggie Stiefvater is awesome!

Okay, maybe that last one was all me, but there is no amount of words I can use to describe why I love Maggie's writing.

Moving along, we make other comments about the book.

My BFF seems to like big romantic ideals and gestures, so she points out that she highlighted the moment when Puck first sees Sean as he rides past on his red stallion... and then is known to her as "the rider on the red stallion" (BFF:  "That just sounded so hot!") until she learns his real name not long afterwards.  We both take note that Puck is attracted to Sean first (since he is obviously good looking as a main YA male character) and because he's "kinda hot" as the "rider on the red stallion". In hindsight, I agree that it was quite the description and rather grand; I take note and file the idea away for further blogging.

Surprisingly, despite my being a hopeless romantic, that moment that BFF mentions was completely overlooked by yours truly.  I seemed to have veered more towards the sibling relationship and enjoyed more moments between Puck and Finn:

- Puck and Finn racing in the first chapter.

- Puck and Finn having stilted conversation after Finn is shaken by the encounter with the water horse.

- Finn making hot chocolate in the morning for himself and Puck, but managing to botch it somehow and leaving the smell of burnt something on the stove as this exchange happens:

"You made this?"

Finn looks at me.  "No, Saint Anthony brought it to me in the night.  He was very put out I didn't give it to you right then."

[...]

I am shocked, both by the reappearance of Finn's humor and the gift of the hot chocolate.  I see now that the counter is an absolute mess of pots that Finn used to distill a single cup of cocoa, and I'm certain now that the odor hanging on the air is the smell of milk spilt on the hot burner, but it doesn't matter in the face of his intention.  It sort of makes my lower lip not quite sure of itself [...]

And basically the entirety of the whole hot chocolate scene makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, because despite the sarcastic bantering and jibes, you can tell that these are siblings who care about each other a lot.  And it reminds me of my own relationship with my younger brothers.  I'm curious about Puck's relationship with Gabe, pre-"Gabe-is-a-selfish-bastard-who-is-abandoning-us", because I want to see what it was like.

And then we go into another 45 minute segway, detouring back to the sibling relationship as relates to Puck, Gabe and Finn... until we segway completely into the relationship between myself and my brothers.  And then we talk about work and life in general and about how my mother is super human; and some guy nearby shoots me frustrated looks as he puts on his head set because I am getting too loud.  And then I need another scone.  But none of that is really too important, though I have a feeling we'll keep coming back to the sibling relations as relates to myself and my brothers...

By the end of the little mini book club meeting between me and my best friend, we've decided that maybe 10 chapters was a little short and we were unable to grasp completely what's going on in the book as of yet, but that we are extra excited to continue.  Although I have a feeling that the excitement is really reserved for the fact that we are book-clubbing more so than for reading the book itself, despite how enjoyable I find it so far (because while enjoyable, it hasn't quite hooked me yet).

Due to my extremely good fortune, I have a mini-weekend and so we've agreed to try to finish another ten chapters by the next day and meet up again for more discussion.  Maybe this time I'll try harder to record our conversation so that it may be transcribed into blog form a bit better than what I managed this time around.

Although, to be fair, I DID show up late and hadn't had a chance to set up my laptop for note-taking on this session.  And then I just got lazy.

Finally, BFF will be reading this blog and will be allowed to demand editing of said transcript if she so desires.  I'm sure she'll appreciate the liberties I took to spruce up our conversation a little bit with my own perceived version of our amateurish mini book club discussion.  In all honesty, we're not very exciting people, but I try to make it sound like we are if I can.

I wish we could include other, more experienced book-bloggers, but we are also a bit concerned about sounding stupid in front of other people rather than sounding stupid between ourselves.

Until next time... which won't be long.

This post originally posted at Book Abyss @ BookLikes.com

Annnnd... here's a new book (of all the many, many books I'm already reading)!

Available at:

Amazon

Smashwords

In an entirely biased opinion, I will read anything that these ladies write (whether or not I like or agree with them is a different story), so when I learned that they were pushing out a book about their opinions on K-drama pop culture, I was pretty ecstatic.

So here it is, and so far, it's been pretty informative and lots of fun.  Available in e-book format only, here's a quick post update from them about the book itself: 

Why Do Dramas Do That?: The Book Launch

If K-dramas is also your thing, here is a link to their blog that I may or may not follow a little too religiously... sometimes... or almost every day... 

Dramabeans

The Iron Fey Series

Let the marathon begin!

Four books, four weeks.  I haven't been to the library in FOREVER!  Think I can do it?  Pfft...  As if that question even needs to be asked.  On top of that, I've got another three new book releases I'm looking forward to this month.  Looks like ani's not going to be getting much sleep in the next few weeks. 

Long week... short week...

It's strange to be awake this early in the morning. In fact, it's been strange for me to actually be living normal people hours this entire week. Sleeping around midnight and waking up six hours later in the A.M. rather than sleeping during the day and being awake most of the nighttime.

I can say that I am definitely NOT looking forward to being back at work in a few days. Vacation (or in my case, a "stay-cation") doesn't really help a third-shifter at all. In a few days, I'm going to have to rearrange my sleeping schedule again. I don't want to do that!

It feels like it's been a long week, and yet it's been a really short week at the same time. Well, if that makes any sense. I'm ready for work, but I'm not ready for work; and then I really just want to get my regular schedule back in line.

In a way, I just feel exhausted even though it's been a rather productive week.

Am I making any sense at all? It must be that I'm a bit disoriented from being awake at 10:00 A.M. because it's usually unheard of.

***

那麼就醒有一點點奇怪。 其實這個禮拜就是很奇怪，因為倒是跟其他人一樣。 夜晚零時誰，六個鐘後起床；不是早上睡眠，夜晚醒。

我可以說，不是很想回到工作。 在家度假不是對夜班工作有幫助。 在過幾天要該睡覺地時間。 我不要!

這個禮拜很長，也有好似很短一樣。 好像說不通媽？ 我準備上班，但是也不是很準備的；其所，我只是想回返原本的作息時間。

可以說，雖然這個禮拜做的很多，但是我只是真的很累很累。

說的通不通媽？ 或者我好亂。

And now... we're probably not quite back, but what're ya gonna do?

I can't believe it's been about... well, almost a year since the last time I wrote something more personal than what I like to read. It looks like I managed to turn my blog into a book blog for a good part of the year. And then we tanked. I pretty much have accepted that I won't be finishing my Reading Challenge and that I should have stayed at 20 books to make my goal possible. I could probably go and change my goal, but that would be cheating and I don't like cheating when it comes to books.

Blogging really has been the last thing on my mind lately. Basically, there are not enough hours in the day to do everything that I want to do each and every day. There's work (8 hours) and there's sleep (6 to 8 hours on good days). That leaves approximately 8 hours to get other things done... or so one would think. I now also take approximately 1 and a half hours spent at the gym to reach a very long drawn out goal. Then there's driving which takes about twenty minutes in one direction and another twenty minutes in the other direction. Half an hour in the shower, an hour winding down before I go to sleep and an hour slacking off before work starts up at night.

So in the end, I'm left with approximately 4 hours to spend my day (on work nights). I hate to look at my days in terms of time and hours, but that's just the way that America is structured anyway. Every single moment of your life is based on how much time you have to get from Point A to Point B, how much time you spend at Point B before you must return to Point A, and then how much more time you spend at Point A before having to move on to Point B again. In between, you calculate how much time you have to spend doing other chores or leisurely activities. You need to take half an hour or so to do the laundry, cook dinner, wash the dishes and take out the trash. You need to take a little more time if there are other things to accomplish: vacuum, finish the laundry, grocery shopping. And then maybe you have an hour or two to either relax and watch an episode of a series you're following, or just to chill around with your family and have idle chit-chat.

Or maybe you're like me and you're devoting an hour-ish of your extra time to doing some personal studying. I'm currently teaching myself Japanese and have been in the process of learning for about a month now. I'm not good at it, but I can break down a sentence and tell you what it says in my own way -- it'll just take some time. I'm also devoting some random moments here and there to improve upon my Chinese reading and writing skills -- I mean, really, just being able to converse in my native tongue is just not good enough for me and I feel like I should have learned how to read and write in Chinese ages ago.

So I guess unlike the last couple times I've posted a blog article, I actually have a lot more going on in my life than I give credit for. I mean, life still feels monotonous, but it's not like I'm not being productive. Take, for instance, my newest improvement: the regular gym-going routine. It's a miracle that I can even make it to the gym before my brain kicks in with laziness and I decide to go home instead cause I'm "just too tired for the gym this morning." It's a BIG feat for me to knock that thought out and subconsciously make myself drive straight to the gym anyway. And once I'm there, a work-out is pretty much cemented.

Now I'm not hardcore or anything when it comes to working out. I've tried that before where I force myself to work out until I collapse. And you know what ends up happening? I quit going to the gym for about three months before I feel guilty about being a lazy slacker and start up again only to recycle the same process. So I pretty much made a deal with myself where I wouldn't kill myself. If I feel like I've had enough, then I've had enough, because some activity is better than no activity. With that thought in mind, I've been able to slowly build my endurance and create a routine where NOW I can try to kill myself working out and not feel burdened by it.

For instance, today I did my usual cardio work-out followed by some questionable ab work-out that I may need to consult a trainer about, then I went and lifted for three sets of fifteen. Then I followed through with an intense Zumba class (which was tons of fun now that I can actually keep up pretty well).

I'm on a roll, so I intend to keep up this roll for as long as I'm motivated, which I really, REALLY hope is a long time to come.

Just this morning, getting out of the shower, I've decided to create a new, long term goal and to modify my current goal a little bit. Having it written down, however, I hope doesn't kill the foundation I've been building for the last two months (because a vacation and my period almost did it).

Long term goal: By this time next year, I will be my ideal weight and size. What that is, I don't know yet, but we'll figure it out as we go.

Short term goal: By the end of the year, I will hopefully be twenty pounds lighter and five inches thinner in the waist. I'm shooting for twenty pounds, but in reality, with only two months left to go, I'm pretty sure I'll only make it to fifteen pounds less than what I started at two months ago... mostly because some serious slacking and a vacation had only given me leeway to losing approximately seven pounds since I first made my commitment.

Maybe by some miracle there'll be some sort of strange logarithmic increase in the number of pounds I'm losing in the next few weeks to come and I'll reach my goal... and then some. But I'm not banking on it. I'm a realist and we need to stay within the reality scope of things.

Anyway... for having not written in so long, I guess I still have it in me to ramble on endlessly about things that probably no one else cares about. Ahhh.... the beauty of having a personal blog that no one really reads.

To end off my post, here's a little bit of my own achievement to boost up my spirits:

私の目的を見失わない. 頑張ります! I won't lose sight of my goal. I'll work hard!
(I hope I wrote that correctly. More than likely, it's wrong, but I didn't have any examples to work off of...)

Just in case, anyone out there who is interested in learning Japanese with me, has interest in learning Chinese with me, or is really good at either of the two languages (written, spoken, whatever) let me know. I could use a study buddy since my only other source (the little brother) is busy with school.

Thoughts on Princess Academy, by the chapter

I don't really fancy myself a book blogger. In fact, even with my other blog (which is on a bit of hiatus, sadly) I still don't think of myself as a professional review blogger. Everything that comes out just ends up being my own personal opinions, packaged in as nicely a format as I can manage.

And that's that.

For some back story...

I first picked up Princess Academy about three, maybe four years ago at a local Target. My best friend and I love to roam around the store at random moments and look at things that we won't be buying. We peruse DVDs, CDs, books, magazines, and different household items with our own color commentary about who uses this stuff, what use it would become if we bought it, and whether or not it would rate high in our own consumer ratings. With DVDs we would tell each other what kind of movies are good and which ones we have seen and which ones we want to see.

It happens like this a often and repetitively, but it was a nice, lazy way of wasting away the rest of the evening after dinner.

And then sometimes we end up in the book aisle and silently walk around.

I'm a book nerd (as everyone probably has guessed). Whenever you lead me into a book section of a store, it could be at least thirty minutes to the hour before I'm willing to walk away. If you take me to an actual book store, be prepared to spend four to five hours just looking at books with me while I decide what I want to buy and what I know I should spend money on. (Of course, some things have changed now that e-books are the big trend and I can very easily look up a book I want and buy it with a simple push of a button. SO DANGEROUS for my book addiction.)

Anyway, I came across Princess Academy at Target and couldn't help but be drawn to it in every way that makes you know you want to buy that book, on the spot. First off, the cover was pretty attractive, even if quite simple. Its perfect as a young adult, fairy-tale-esque type of story book. Next, the title was just interesting the moment I read it: "Princess Academy. Now that just screams all sorts of adventurous fun with a large group of characters and a learning experience." If you know me well, you know that I'm particularly keen on story lines that boast a sort of "youth group get together" feel. Multiple characters of the same young age living together in a boarding school-like plot device makes for some of the most colorful, entertaining, fun character interactions. (Case in point: Harry Potter was one of my more favorite fictional world settings.)

If it's one thing about a story that draws me in, it's the character interactions. I'm a firm believer that in order to bring characters to life, you must allow the characters to propel the story in their own way, not let the story itself dictate how the character's life will end up. It's sort of a foil to the "Writer is God" idea.

But then again, I' man amateur writer at best, so what do I know?

Coming back to Princess Academy, the final factor that had me excited about the story, was, of course, the overall summary. And this is where the excitement of this adventure begins a new chapter for me.

***

A few months ago, I came across the announcement of Shannon Hale's newest book, Palace of Stone, hailed as the sequel to Princess Academy. Immediately, I was drawn to it. While Princess Academy might not be my favorite Shannon Hale book (Book of a Thousand Days is my favorite), it is still a beloved Shannon Hale read that I really enjoyed. In fact, Princess Academy is the first Shannon Hale book that I laid my hands on, so it's got its own memorable value.

So I'm excited for the new sequel to be release in August (among many other things) and with the upcoming release, I came across a proposed Princess Academy book club activity from Shannon Hale's blog. Each day in July, she will read one chapter of Princess Academy and do an "author's commentary" for all of her reader fans to follow along with.

And I thought to myself, "I had planned on rereading Princess Academy to prepare myself for Palace of Stone's release anyway." And since I wasn't sure how I'd incorporate Princess Academy into my slightly hectic book and drama series itinerary, this was actually a really good proposal. I could follow along, read a chapter at a time (maybe two or three), and slowly have the entire book re-read by the time its sequel is released. At the same time, it doesn't cut into any other books I'm reading, AND I can take a little time out of my day to give a quick summary slash opinion of what I'm thinking.

I've already read the first chapter, but since Ms. Shannon Hale won't be starting her part until tomorrow, July 2, I might give it until tomorrow to post my first set of thoughts on Chapter 1, just so I have time to collect my own thoughts and do a comparison.

***

In other news, my work days are getting quite chaotic (with overtime and my trying to figure out when to sleep since I'm trying to include a routine work-out schedule as well). There are also some family issues happening, involving my grandmother, a total knee replacement, and lots of family visitation.

Finally, one of my best friends will be arriving in town this week for a few days and so there are more things I'm looking forward to as well as some things I'm not too keen on.

I'm keeping myself excited and preoccupied with the two leisurely activities I love the most: reading books and watching Asian drama series. I'm keeping myself updated on what new books will be released when and what new Asian drama series and/or movies will be accessible soon.

Other than that, life has been pretty monotonous, but at the same time, peaceful and fulfilling.

Looking forward to a new book: Palace of Stone

Goodreads Page

Sequel? Where was I when this was announced?

Ahem... Let's not answer that question, because I know where I've been for a while. And we'll leave it at that. There is very little news or commentary about what this sequel to Princess Academy will be about. Either that or I'm not looking hard enough, but I'm still very excited about it. Ever since I first discovered the cute little book and it's cover as my very first Shannon Hale delight a few years ago, I've been in love with all of her work.

To date, Book of a Thousand Days remains my favorite Shannon Hale book, and possibly one of my most favorite of all books I've ever read. She does an excellent job infusing young adult material with fairy-tale fantasy with a side dish of romance and adventure. It just hits all the right spots and it's also a bonus that her writing is so witty and detailed as well.

And now a sequel to Princess Academy? I'm ecstatic and waiting for the moment that I can add it to my collection. The conflict, do I want to buy it in e-book format first or physical book format first? If it's really that good, I'll have it in both formats, much like I have Book of a Thousand Days in my Nook as well as in paperback (it is, so far, the ONLY book I have bought twice).

Princess Academy was the very first Shannon Hale wonder I picked up, so hopefully the sequel will be just as wonderous! Here's looking forward to it!

In which I make a new goal...

This is technically my second time using the Nike+ technology, but with this particular run, I was finally able to calibrate the sensor a bit more properly. It was pretty much a "start up sensor, run, pause sensor, walk, un-pause sensor, run, pause sensor, walk, walk, walk, un-pause sensor, run..." Rinse, wash, repeat. Nonetheless, it didn't take long for me to finish "running" that one mile even if there were multiple "walks" in between.

Here's hoping that sooner or later I'll be able to run more than two laps without hyperventilating. This new goal will require a LOT of motivation and a LOT of discipline. The only thing that kept me going was a little bit of "Only four laps left... two... one..." And then let the huffing and puffing commence.

Yea... I feel like a dead turtle right now.

Hopefully I'll be able to make it again tomorrow morning?

Lunar New Year of the Dragon

Happy New Year to all of the Asian and non-Asian community out there!

I typically have more of a sense of excitement for our culture's new year than the universal new year. Call it tradition or even call it just a sense of fondness for something that NOT everyone else in this country celebrates, but I'm fairly content. For one, the new year allows us more food and festivities than the typical universal new year invokes.

On December 31, 2011, I awaited patiently for the new year to approach while sitting (bored) at a bar with friends all around. It wasn't like I didn't enjoy myself, but to be totally honest, I'm not a bar person and I'm not a heavy drinker. And we ALL know that I am the last person in this world to initiate being a social butterfly. But spending time with friends was great, so there are no complaints there.

As for this upcoming Chinese New Year (which I simply refer to as a new year), our festivities have always included visiting family, receiving lucky red envelopes (with money, of course), and eating ton-loads of great traditional Chinese dishes made by either Mom, Grandma, or some random relative. There are also lots of candies and gifts passed around.

It's typically a pretty nice time and I am honestly a tad more excited for this particular holiday than I have been for others from the most recent line-up. I know I don't look enthused, but the extent of my emotions is only so wide.

So anyway, here's to the new year, Year of the Dragon, and let's hope that we have a good one!

My Bon Voyage Treats

Technically it's not like I'm really going anywhere, but as the "official" last night working 3rd shift at one campus in our hospital network, my manager brought in cupcakes. Aren't they pretty? I especially love the cupcake stand (never thought that I would actually be squeal-y about a cupcake stand). It's so cute that I want one even if I never really eat cupcakes (I'm not a fan). This little set up is especially nice because of all the pretty colors.

I didn't even want to make a big deal about my "going away" since I'm pretty much a prime candidate to return to help cover shifts if it's necessary. And it's not like I'm going away forever either. But anyway, it's all good. I had my celebratory "congrats on full time position and we'll miss you, but not really" dinner with my only few coworkers from 3rd shift and now cupcakes on my last night.

So sweet! (No pun intended.)

Good old Fairy Tales...

What else is there for a hermit to do other than sit around all day long and live in a fictional world? Reading, watching television, playing games... That's life (or lack thereof).

During my perusing of something new to do (after finishing another marathon of a Korean drama rom-com), I suddenly had the urge to check some other old television series classics (or at least the cult favorites). That eventually lead me to remembering a series that my friend had brought up a while back that I had intended to check out, but got side tracked with other things instead.

Once Upon A Time is currently airing on ABC and has a little modern-day slash fantastical Fairy Tale twist (Yes, Fairy Tale MUST be capitalized). For a summary on the series itself, feel free to Google it, but for a quick down low, basically, Emma Swan is brought to a place called Storybrooke when her long ago given up son comes tracking her down. He's got this wild imagination that all the people of Storybrooke are trapped in a curse and that Emma is the only person who can save them. Running parallel to the modern setting is said Fairy Tale wherein all the Storybrooke characters are introduced through various episodic story arcs as their Fairy Tale counterparts.

To be totally honest, for a better summary, you wouldn't be reading my version, because while I'm kind of enjoying this little adventure, I'm not quite certain I know what's really going on aside from the curse and Emma Swan's role in breaking it.

We are told that the entire Fairy Tale debacle is quite real through that parallel telling, slipping back into the Fairy Tale back story while moving right along with the modern day Storybrooke version. But as you flip back and forth, part of you can't quite keep from wondering whether or not this Fairy Tale and curse might not really be a figment of young Henry's overactive imagination -- maybe he IS compensating for his loneliness by creating a fantastic world simply because, as he says in Episode Five, "There's gotta be more to it." (Or something like that, because I'm terrible with quotes, so forgive me.)

I didn't start getting into the series until about Episode Three when we back-pedal into the brief "How Snow White met Prince Charming" love line. And to be totally honest, I'm kind of digging the Fairy Tale story line more than the Storybrooke telling -- I guess I'm just a sucker for Fairy Tales and some adventure. Without this parallel story telling, it would be quite hard to suspend that disbelief that everyone in Storybrooke could be Fairy Tale characters who just don't know it because of a curse that has kept them suspended in a prison of time standing still without their memories. It's a long shot, but I think with more development, the series will come together.

Ginnifer Goodwin does a rather good bumbling Mary Margaret Blanchard as the Storybrooke version of the character, but then she switches gears pretty quickly to become a rather kickass Snow White for the Fairy Tale version of herself. Good touch.

The only complaints I have are the CG and magic illustrations, which look pretty awkward and comedic (it's not a good kind of comedic). The Fairy Tale world is a bit of a "fusion" of American cultural tones (from speech to analogies) which gives it a pretty interesting spin.

My hope: That this series doesn't end up dragging itself out like the typical American television series does (for five seasons with extensions). After spending so much time with Asian series, there's much to be said about having a finite quality for many, many story lines, television series included. The one thing that American series suffer from is their lack of a defining ending that hadn't been brought about by dropped ratings or loss of new material to write about. For this reason, some series would probably do much better as a mini-series while sometimes there ARE series that have it in them to be ongoing for four or five years.

Once Upon a Time, unfortunately, can only be taken so far before the writers run out of ways to continue on without solving the main issue. So, like it or not, this is one of those series that would do well as one with a projected ending rather than a hoped for extended, ongoing series with multiple seasons.

But what do I know. I just watch for entertainment and the series will entertain me until... well, until it stops entertaining me. Then I move on to other things.

***

Still continuing on with reading Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston. It's getting exciting, but there are some complaints I have about it, which I don't quite know how to pinpoint yet. I've put A Great and Terrible Beauty on hold for the time being as it just wasn't drawing me in. But I need to finish reading it when I get the chance, if only because I want to tell all the people who recommended it to me as "an awesome book" that I just didn't enjoy it. Because, as I mentioned to a friend, so far, aside from the attention to detail in the author's writing style (some cute little analogies and the female lead's cynical sarcasm) I'm not quite sure I'm getting what's going on.

It wasn't like reading The Hunger Games where I suffered from a "Let's read one more chapter then go to sleep" dilemma, where about six hours later, I've done gone through ten more chapters and am already more than halfway through the book when I'd just started reading it.

Anyway, I guess that's life.

The little things in life

I realized just now that, while perusing my storage of pictures, I have never talked about my wonderful new E-reader. The Nook Simple Touch, which has been named simply, Nook has taken over as THE Nook... if that makes any sense. Another way of saying this is that now the original Nook that first came out has been cast aside as "1st Edition Nook" and whenever you say the word Nook, you are almost always supposed to be referring to the Nook Touch.

Yea, a lot of marketing mumbo jumbo, but I learned this a little after I went and bought one. When I told them I wanted "that new Nook" the question I got was, "Oh, the Nook or the 1st Edition?" Oh... So the other one has been grounded already, so much for loyalty. Not that I blame them, I wouldn't have bothered to get this E-reader had I not found out that it was much improved for the 1st Edition -- pearl e-ink with smoother page turns and easy to use navigation.

The only complaint I have about having a Nook (which I'm sure is probably the same with any other E-reader out there) is that it is extremely dangerously easy to buy a new book. I actually had to force myself to quit reading from the Nook for a while so that I wouldn't think about spending more money. I mean, with the touch of a button, you confirm a buy and then "ZIP!" the book is now part of your library.

Case in point, within the past two weeks, I ended up pre-ordering three books and buying three more. While you don't get charged for the pre-ordered book until it is actually available, you've still spent that money.

Otherwise, I love my Nook! No one seems to understand just how much of a bookworm I am and just HOW much I love that I have an entire library in one little package. Yes, I still have a bunch of paperback books to try reading, but I'm still in that "My Nook is so cool to make use of" phase that I don't care to pick up a real book and flip through real pages again... at least not for a while. I still have dreams of owning an entire library fit with rolling shelf ladders, a giant fire place and cushy seating and all... but that doesn't mean I have to read ALL of those books. Although it would be cool if I can claim to have read all the books I own.

Once again, the book worm nerd in me is all squee about stuff like that.


In other news, the holidays are approaching and one of my closest friends will be coming back for some relaxing and hanging out and fun.

Otherwise... well, not much else is going on. *sigh*

squinty eyed sleepy makes for cranky too

courtesy of urban distortion

Currently I feel like this. I've had about four and a half hours of sleep... so what am I complaining about, right? Well, the plan had been to get five and a half hours of sleep. So I'm a bit distraught that I was awoken before I intended to be awake. Having set my alarm for noon-thirty, I was ungracefully awaken by the sound of my dog barking up a storm an hour earlier. It was like an extremely unpleasant alarm that you couldn't hit snooze on.

Yes. Aggravating.

But it's my fault, really... I'm a workaholic and I chose to have a strange and hectic work schedule. Going from a third shift (10:30 PM to 6:30 AM), coming home to sleep for whatever hours I can grasp and then waking up in time to get to second shift (2:15 PM to 10:45 PM) was my own choice. I don't like that choice, but as I keep telling everyone: "Work is work. The hours don't matter to me, because it's a job."

Well, I can really only say that when I'm NOT still half asleep and feeling like the world is spinning marathons around my brain.

It's also a cold morning too... afternoon?... And so it doesn't help that I really just want to crawl back under my covers.

I think this is the most excitement I've had in real life in a LONG time. Well, at the very least it's the most blog-worthy excitement I've had since September... or earlier, I guess since my last two posts were really just elaborating on history. And to be honest, history is just filler right now.

Sad.

***

In other news, I guess I'd never truly mentioned other exciting things. My parents went to Vancouver for a few days to visit and have a mini-vacation. It was great for them and great for us, if only because they got to have a relaxing trip away from home, and I got to learn the horrifying facts about my own brothers' domestic common sense. Apparently, outside of dropping debris in the trashcan, there is very little else they will do in the manner of house chores. Oh wait... sometimes they don't even do THAT either.

This house is like a hotel to them. They sleep, they shower, they sit around and relax, they work on job related stuff, they play... and that's about it. Sometimes they don't even really present themselves at home long enough for me to see them and then other times they come upstairs long enough to tell me that they aren't staying home for dinner. I guess the latter part of that isn't too bad; it means I don't have to cook anything. But then if I don't, when they wake up in the morning and are scrounging through the fridge, there will be no leftovers for them to try to reheat for sustenance.

I pity the women who have to spend the rest of their lives with any of my brothers. Then again, I'm kind of looking forward to seeing it, because those dorks will find themselves shocking surprised that not every girl in this world will be willing to take on their daily domestic chores.

Then again, with MY luck, when any of them DO finally get married, they might miraculously know how to wash dishes and take out the trash. Then I'll just be sneering because right now, it pains me to have to tell them over and over again that trash goes into the trash can and dishes don't wash themselves. "Please, when you open a package or a box, throw away the trash that comes with it, into the trash can." But no, it gets left sitting on a counter or on the kitchen table and all I can do is stare at it and frown really hard, hoping that somehow it'll entice my brother to come back and deposit his garbage somewhere more appropriate.

And so said trash article sits on the kitchen table until I can't take it anymore or Mom shows up to casually toss it into its haven.

***

In other news, I have been steadfastly reading books and watching my beloved drama, Asian style. It irks me that saying the words "Asian drama" comes with some negative connotations of teeny bopper chick flicks, but I guess I have to forgive the masses for being ignorant. Asian drama series encompass the same excitement and wonder as any television series you see on American television; the only differences are the culture and the structure.

So I've been keeping myself quite occupied with fictional worlds. That may or may not be a good thing. My real world consists of work, work, house chores, work, house chores... and then more house chores. Speaking of which, my laundry has yet to be finished even though I started it sometime yesterday...

Book-wise, I've taken on a new genre, although I've realized that the trendy new dystopian fantasies for young adults has been marketed on too extreme. Having finished reading The Hunger Games trilogy, I found myself picking up similar types of stories. But unfortunately, either my first dystopian novel ruined the rest for me, or the rest really just aren't as good because they dive into the same concepts and same ideals with different characters and different situations. Nonetheless, even with an overused cliche, a good book doesn't make you feel exhausted. I just haven't found a good one yet, I guess, to rival my first experience of Hunger Games.

Although it's not like dystopian novels haven't always been around. I think that for me, Hunger Games pretty much brought the idea into a more popular light. So I'll have to keep looking for more books until I can find one that I like.

On a side note, I've had thoughts about writing an essay-like post on my blog detailing the concepts and ideas of dystopian literature... Even had a whole discussion with my brother about it. But outside of "Dystopian literature is defined as (insert proper definition here)...." I haven't quite figured out what else I could write about it. I'm thinking I should at least read some more books and familiarize myself with the subject before attempting anything.