Okay, okay, I know that the title of this post LOOKS bad, but read on. You'll understand. xD 

You Might Learn Something

Learning... WHO WANTS TO LEARN ANYTHING ANY MORE?!?! I mean, why learn about pride and prejudice and sense and sensibility from Jane Austen? Why do you want to even think (because thinking is VERY VERY bad) about, well, anything!?!? 

You Might Become More Creative

THIS IS A TRAGEDY. Creativity.. I don't get it. Who in the world would want to become more creative? The imagination has to go. We need a blander, less exciting world. Enough said. 

You Might Enjoy It 

This is the biggest reason I have to present against reading. You might actually enjoy it. And who wants to enjoy a good book? I mean, laughing and crying with the characters, getting lost in wonderful, fantastical worlds and having your family ask what's wrong with you during certain parts (it happens, guys).... HOW TRAGIC. DEFINITELY DO NOT DO IT. NO READING!!!

 So... What did you think of my reasons? Obviously, this post was pure sarcasm. xD I LOVE READING. But honestly, can you think of ANY reasons as to why people should NOT read books? And why should people be encouraged to read books? What benefits do people get from having a love of reading? Are there any problems with loving to read (crying in bed over a character's death maybe...)? Let's chat, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope that you all are having a wonderful holiday season this year. =) If you’re like me, you’ve been watching sappy holiday movies, listening to lots of Christmas music, and munching on a TON of quite a few cookies for awhile. As I write this, I can hardly believe that Christmas is only a few days away! I think I might be more excited than my four year old brother...

I haven’t been so great about posting on here because I am a lazy blogger and not afraid to say it, but don’t worry. I'll be back with a (hopefully) more regular posting schedule next week. =) But I do have a couple announcements for you right now.

First of all, I finally got a Goodreads account! =D I’m officially addicted, and this is only helping me grow my already mountainous TBR list. I think I’ll set a reading goal next year—something totally unreasonable probably, but who can be reasonable when it comes to books? xD Click here to see my shiny new profile! =D

Secondly, along with a more regular posting schedule, I also have my one year blogoversary (would someone please tell my spellcheck that blogoversary is totally a word?) coming up in the near future! Or rather, January 1 to be exact. How exciting is that? I’ll be having a big celebration here, with a giveaway, games, and LOTS of confetti. So be sure to check back for that next month. =)

I hope that you all have a very merry Christmas! =) 

This Quiet Sky Book Review

Christmas season is here, which means it's time to curl up with a good book and a mug of cocoa next to the Christmas tree. If you're like me, you can't only stick with Christmas books (but I highly recommend The Shoe Box by Francine Rivers), you have to have some good tried and true reads on your side. Something like This Quiet Sky...

My Rating: Five Tins of Shortbread out of Five 

Back Cover Blurb (Taken from Amazon)

There is nothing extraordinary about Tucker O’Shay’s dreams. Go to college. Become president. Fall in love.

And pretend like he has enough time to get it all done. 

Sixteen-year-old Sarah Miller doesn’t expect anything out of the ordinary when she begins her first day at the one-room-school house in her new hometown of Rocky Knob. But when she meets seventeen-year-old Tucker O’Shay—the boy with the fatal illness who volunteers to tutor her in algebra—she finds herself swept up in a friendship that changes the way she sees the world and a love that changes her life.

What I Loved

Sarah and Tucker. Sarah is probably one of my favorite MCs of all time. She's so realistic and so strong, but in a quiet sort of way. I can definitely relate to her in her problems with algebra. xD I love how she interacts with the other characters, especially Tucker. And Tucker... Well, he's TUCKER. What's not to love? 

Aaallll the feels. EVERYTHING about this book pulled at my heartstrings. I found myself smiling one minute, sighing the next, laughing a little bit, and then wanting to bawl my eyes out a few pages later. This is definitely heartfelt fiction. 

Joanne Bischof's writing style. If you've stuck around my blog for awhile, you know that Joanne Bischof's other book, To Get To You, is another favorite book of mine, and one of the top reasons that I love this author's books is because of her writing style. Just read the quote below. YOU WILL UNDERSTAND.  

What I Didn't Love

There wasn't anything that I didn't like about This Quiet Sky. It's that good. 

Overall

I loved everything about This Quiet Sky and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good weekend read or a Christmas present for a bookworm who loves sweet reads. =) 

About the Author

A Carol Award and three-time Christy Award-finalist, Joanne Bischof writes deeply layered fiction that tugs at the reader's heartstrings. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her three children.

www.joannebischof.com

INSTAGRAM @masonjarbooks

FACEBOOK Author, Joanne Bischof
Buy This Quiet Sky
View This Quiet Sky on Goodreads

Have you read This Quiet Sky? How about any other books by Joanne Bischof? What do you think makes main characters unforgettable? Have you started Christmas shopping? I haven't-yet. NO JUDGING. What's your favorite type of cookie? Tucker's is shortbread, but mine is dark chocolate salted caramel. Also, my friend Ada just started her own blog, Sketching out Your Life! Go visit her and follow her and give her lots of cookies!!! 

It's The Little Things

It's the little things. The little things that make me smile.  The little things that make my heart swell up in my chest. The little things that make me want to sing and dance, despite the fact that I am most certainly not talented in either area. The little things that make me sigh.

It's the little things...

A good laugh. A glowing smile. A sappy Christmas movie. A salted caramel mocha from Starbucks. Rain. Lights outside the house at night. A sigh-worthy poem. The smell of a Christmas tree. Cinnamon rolls. Crisp, cold air. Text messages from my dad. The rustle of the pages of a book. Christmas songs lilting like lullabies.

...That remind me of how blessed I am. Yet, there are also the not-so-little things as well. 

A God who loves us so much that He sent His son down to earth as a baby to save us. Family that never stops loving. Friends that make me laugh and smile so hard that my face hurts. A puppy with feet that look like they’ve been dipped in white paint.

It's the little things. It's the not-so-little things. They all remind me, like a whisper, like a shout, that all of us are blessed and loved by a God whose love knows no bounds. 

What about you?

What little things remind you of how loved and blessed you are? Not-so-little things? Let’s get some mochas and chat in the comments, friends!

The Movie Book Tag

Lights, cameras, action!  Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for me to unveil a tag of my own invention: THE MOVIE BOOK TAG. *throws popcorn and confetti* I can't believe that I have finally gotten around to making my own tag! And it's about books. Books and movies. Almost as good as books and cookies, right? =D 

The Rules

Thank the person that tagged you and link back to the original creator (ME!). 

Answer all eight questions.

Tag at least two other bloggers. 

The Questions and Answers

Books or movies, which are better? 

Books. Hands down, books. Why have I even included this as a question?! *see above gif* No offense, movies, but you don't smell as good or look as pretty on shelves. Just saying.

What book needs to be made into a movie RIGHT NOW?

For me, it’s a tie between Nadine Brandes’s A Time To Die and Joanne Bischof’s To Get To You. Both would be such epic movies, with aaaalllll the feels and shrieks and confetti and the need for sequels. *sighs*

What movie adaption of a book has disappointed you the most?

The entire Percy Jackson movie series. I watched the movies and died a little inside. *insert popcorn throwing and weeping here* First of all, the movies barely even stuck to the true story in the books. Second of all… The books are just so much better. Period. *more weeping*

What movie adaption of a book has made you throw confetti and walk away happy?

The Hunger Games movies left me a very happy human being—the only one that disappointed me was Mockingjay Part One. *Snoopy happy dance* But other than that, I felt that they did a pretty good job staying true to the original books, not to mention the superb acting brought Katniss and the world around her to life. *throws confetti* MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR.

What movie adaption of a book have you seen, but never read the book it’s based on?

Gah, I am SO guilty of watching movies and yet not seeing the books that they are based off of. But if I have to pick one that I REALLY need to read, it'd be The Book Thief. I loved the movie so much, and now I need to read the actual book. Wow, every time I do a post, I end up with a longer TBR list. #bloggerproblems

What book have you read, but never seen the movie adaption of?

*puts on a thinking cap* I don't think that I have ever read a book and never seen its movie adaption. It's usually the other way around (see above). Which is SO SAD. That just means I should be reading more.... *barricades self in room with aaaalllll the books* 

Who would star in the movie adaption of your current WIP? 

Ooooohhhh this is a hard one! *takes a look at my character board* For Second Star To The Right, I'd pick Georgie Henley to play Jane Darling. She just looks like Jane and seems soft-spoken and gentle yet strong-like Jane. Peter would be the hardest for me to cast, since he's once of the most complicated characters in the whole story. Maybe Josh Hutcherson?

Captain Hook is easier though. He'd just be a teenage version of Colin O'Donoghue,you know, the guy who plays Captain Hook from Once Upon A Time. He's seriously the best Hook EVER. Don't argue with me, because you KNOW it is the truth, okay? Okay. Now, next question...

When the credits roll after the movie adaption of the WIP you discussed above, what song will be playing?

Ruth B's "Lost Boy" for SURE would be playing in the credits. That's the song that has inspired this whole story, the one that has put fairies and never growing up and Lost Boys in my imagination. *insert happy, dreamy sighs here*

The Questions (Again) xD

1. Books or movies, which are better?

2. What book needs to be made into a movie RIGHT NOW?

3. What movie adaption of a book has disappointed you the most?

4. What movie adaption of a book has made you throw confetti and walk away extremely happy?

5. What movie adaption of a book have you seen, but never read the book it's based on?

6. What book have you read, but never seen the movie adaption of?

7. If your WIP was turned into a movie, who would play the main character(s)? 

8. When the credits roll after the movie adaption of the WIP you discussed above, what song will be playing? 

I Tag...

Anyone who wants to do this tag (yes, I know, I'm breaking my own rule)! I'd love to see lots of you take this tag and have fun with it. =D If you do, you can use the graphic at the tippy-top of this post for your post. And let me know if you do this tag so that I can hop over to your blog and check out your answers! =)

Since we're not in a library or a movie theatre, now we get to TALK!!!! Will you be doing this tag? Which do YOU prefer, books or movies? What is one of your favorite books? One of your favorite movies? Grab some popcorn and a soda (or cookies and cocoa, whatever you'd like) and let's chat in the comments! 

New Look + I'm on the Rebelution!

So, as you all can see, I've made a couple changes to the blog. xD I absolutely LOVE the new design and features, don't you? I mean.... It's a TYPEWRITER on that header, and the fonts and colors... *insert happy sigh here*
Also, guess who just did a post on The Rebelution? Click here to read it! =D I hope to see you all over there!

Flashback Friday-The Odd One Out

Happy flashback Friday! Today, I'm looking back on all the good times I had on my old blog, Ramblings of a Writer, with one of my favorite posts I put up on there (slightly edited). I hope you all enjoy, and don't worry, I'll have a new post up next week. =)  

Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong? Like you were different? That you were the odd one out? I have. In fact, I know what it’s like to be the odd one out very well.

A few years ago, my family and I lived overseas in the little European country of Belgium. In Belgium, I knew I was different. I was an American in a foreign country. I spoke a different language. I had different customs. I believed in different things. I had a different way of life. When people met me, they could immediately tell that I was an American. Being the odd one out wasn’t always fun. At times, I felt alone. I missed America, where I felt a sense of belonging.

As Christians, we are different. We are the odd ones out. We are pilgrims in a foreign land. And it isn’t always the most enjoyable. Because of our beliefs, we are sometimes singled out. Ridiculed and persecuted. Branded and cast away.

We. Are. Different.

Sadie Robertson shares a story about a time when she had the opportunity to travel with a Junior Olympic basketball team to Austria in her book Live Original. On that trip, she realized how different she was from her friends. She was the only Christian in her group, and they behaved and spoke differently than she had been taught. She was called an old, broken down lawn mower for not participating in nightly parties and staying true to her values.

Sadie wasn’t the only one who realized she was different. Her coach told her that there was something different about her, to which she explained that she was a Christian.

Back then, I did not really understand that believers are different from the rest of the world. We need to be different; that’s part of what it means to follow God.

-Sadie Robertson, Live Original

Different is good. Sadie learned that on her trip. As Christians, we are called to be different. We are called to not follow the ways of the world, but to follow in Jesus’s footsteps.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing, and perfect will.

-Romans 12:2

Hold your head up high. You’re different according to this world, and that’s good. Follow Jesus, not the world. It’ll surely put a smile on the Father’s face.

Do you have an old blog? If so, what's one of your favorite posts you put up on it? Have you ever felt like the odd one out? How did you react to that feeling?  How can you follow in Jesus’s footsteps today?  Let's chat, friends! =D