Molly's June 2014 Wrap Up!

Hey y'all!
So the month of June is coming to a close and that means it's time for a monthly wrap up! I've read more this month than I have all year to be completely serious. I finished four books this month and I was planning to read five but I'm satisfied with amount that I've read. All of these books have been on my TBR list for a while and I'm glad that I finally read them. The only book that was on my June TBR that I didn't read was Game of Thrones which is completely okay. I enjoyed all of the books and I'll have all of the reviews linked below! I hope July is just as good of a month as this one was!

1. The Time Traveler's Wife
2. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour
3. It's Kind of a Funny Story
4. Anna and the French Kiss (review coming soon)

Talk to you guys soon!
Molly :)

Lending Out Books

Hey everyone! Sarah here! Recently, my friend and I decided to do a book swap. We both have been recommending books to each other for ages and thought it would be fun to swap. This got my thinking about how anxious I get when I lend out my precious books. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of books that I love and want others to read and love them too, but I'm not a library. I just don't want them reading my copy...IT MAKES ME NERVOUS!!! 

I don't know about you guys, but my books are very special to me. I like to keep them in decent condition. No screwed up binding, rips, folds, tears, food stains, etc. When I give people my books, I don't know what they are going to do with it. Will it come back in one piece? Who knows? UGH! I also feel very anxious, like I need it back ASAP or I can't function. One time I lent my friend this book to read and I got it back a year later. If she had lost it...well...*pounds fist into hand*. 

Over the years, I have not taken awesome care of books. My Twilight pages have been dog eared in places I like and my copy of Beastly is throughly worn out. Since then, I try to treat my books with utmost care and lend my books to people I can trust will not damage them, lose them, and will return them promptly and in one piece. I even have made some rules:

1. No dog earing pages
2. Do not read near large amounts of food, water, or other liquids
3. Do not rip any pages
4. Return it ASAP
5. Don't bring it anywhere you might lose it
6. Do not fold back the cover
7. Do not drop it
8. If hardcover, don't lose the jacket
9. Don't lend it to anyone else
10. Enjoy it!!! :)

Do you guys have any book lending anxiety? Any book lending horror stories? Please tell me I'm not alone in this...

Peace. Love. Read On.

xoxo Sarah

Molly Reviews: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Title: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

Author: Morgan Matson

Pages: 344

Publishing Company: Simon & Schuster Books for Young People

Publication Date: May 10, 2010

ISBN: 14169906666

My Rating:    

Synopsis: Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar - especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory - but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

Review: This book was the most adorable thing I have ever read. I've been having some serious wanderlust recently and this book definitely didn't help! Amy and Roger have to get Amy's car from California to Connecticut and they decide to take a completely different route than they originally planned. The book includes pictures and playlists and other little tokens, such as receipts, scattered throughout it. I thought it was really cute how Morgan Matson actually went on the trip herself so all the pictures that were in the novel were actually hers.
One thing I definitely loved about this book was how it wasn't really a book about romance. There wasn't any real action between the two protagonists until there were about 40 pages left in the book. This book was more about Amy coming to terms with her father's death and putting herself back out into the world. I really think this book is amazing and I highly recommend it! This book is definitely one of my new favorites :).
Be sure to let me know what you guys think of it!!

Love, Molly

SARAH'S BOOK CON ADVENTURES!!!

Bookcon 2014 can only be described as a beautiful disaster. It was crazy, hectic, energetic and a blast! I was a little dissapointed but overall, I really enjoyed myself. Let's get to the break down.

My friend and I got to the convention center around 8 and there was already a line outside waiting for autograph tickets. We freaked out, rushed inside, registered and quickly went outside to get in line. We waited for not even 5 minutes when they told us they ran out of tickets for Cassandra Clare. Sadness. We sadly got out of line and as we went into the building I SAW THE BOOKTUBERS! I freaked out, but actually. Finally seeing the booktubers I loved and admired was insane! We went up to them and Jesse (JessetheReader) gave us booksplosion bookmarks. SCORE! Then I took a picture with Ariel (arielbissett) and Liz (elizziebooks), with whom I talked about booksplosion and the rise of booktube. She was so nice to talk to. Then I took a picture with Kat (katytastic) and Christine (polandbananasBOOKS). Christine is one of my fave booktubers and I was actually shaking. They were super nice and despite the sad start to the morning, I considered my day already successful just after meeting them. LOOK AT THEM!!! AAAHHH!

We then waited in line to enter the center when it opened at 9. The first thing we did was wait in line to meet Julie Kagawa, one of my friend's favorite authors. She was signing ebooks of The Forever Song. Awesome-sauce! After that we wanted to head over to the Bloomsbury booth and were dismayed to find that almost half the convention center was closed off unless you had a BEA badge. W.T.F!!!! I was super frustrated and annoyed. In the tiny section they shoved us into, the booths barely gave out books and most you had to purchase. UGH! Don't even get me started about the lines...

At 11 we went to the Alexandra Bracken signing. I was ecstatic to meet her and brought my copy of The Darkest Minds from home. When we got there, the line was INSANE! And I mean insane. We were probably seconds away from a fight breaking out. After a huge mosh pit and a few minutes of confusion, my friends was able to talk to the people and get us into the line. Phew! We waited in line for about an hour but it was sooo worth it! Because there were so many people, she wasn't taking pictures or personalizing. However, I had her sign The Darkest Minds, got a new hardcover of Never Fade (a signed one ;)), and this cool postcard. Alex was super nice and I was so happy to meet her. Later, we also met Alex London (author of Proxy) whose line was not hectic. I never read Proxy but heard good things about it. He was also amazingly nice and I got a nice signed copy of his new book, Guardian.

The next highlight of our day was the booktuber meet up. It was awesome! I met even more amazing booktubers (and some I already met... #noshame) who were fantastic and super nice! After that, the excitement of the day was beginning to wind down. We did some wandering after that. The panel lines were insane and our phones were dying, so we called it a day.
 
Bookcon was such a crazy experience, but I can't wait to do it again next year!!! :)

Peace. Love. Read On.
xoxo Sarah

Molly Reviews: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Title: The Time Traveler's Wife
Author: Audrey Niffenegger
Pages: 546
Publishing Company: Mariner Books
Publication Date: July 5, 2003
ISBN: 015602943
My Rating:     
Synopsis: A dazzling novel in the most untraditional fashion, this is the remarkable story of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who travels involuntarily through time, and Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Clare's passionate love affair endures across a sea of time and captures the two lovers in an impossible romantic trap, and it is Audrey Niffenegger's cinematic storytelling that makes the nobel's unconventional chronology so vibrantly triumphant.

Review: Wow. This book was absolutely thrilling. Niffenegger is an amazing storyteller. I'm simply blown away by how fantastic this book was. I don't think I've ever been so impressed by a piece of literature before. The story is unconventional and something that definitely has to be read more than once to be completely appreciated, but it has definitely made a lasting impression. I don't think I'll ever find a book as unique as this one (probably not true).

If you're looking for something interesting or something to jump back into reading with, I recommend this book. This book is written through two points of view and jumps around throughout time. It reminds me of a book we just finished in English class called The Color of Water but that one had more structure to it than this one. The chapters vary in length and they also can get a bit confusing if you aren't paying attention to the dates and who's POV you're reading. Otherwise this book is the most fantastical thing and you should definitely pick it up and read it.
Now it's time for me to watch the movie. Bye guys!!!!!

-Molly

Molly's June TBR

Hey y'all!
It's Molly and I'm back with my June TBR. I'm hoping to fit in five books this month and hopefully I'll be able to read all of them! I'm super psyched to read all of these and they've been on my shelf for a while. I'm finally get around to reading them. Yayyyyy!

1. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
This book is one of my friend Linda's all time favorites. I'm about a third of the way through currently and I can totally see why. I'm probably going to wind up watching the movie after I finish this. I'll possibly review it too!

2. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
I've been wanting to read this book for the longest time and I'm finally getting around to it. I'm super excited for it and have really high expectations. It looks absolutely adorable.

3. Game of Thrones by George RR Martin
This is definitely the longest book on the list. I'm going to read this one after I finish all the rest of them. I won't be too upset if I don't finish it though since it's so lengthy.

4. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Another one I've been super excited to read. Everyone talks about how much they love this book and all of Stephanie Perkins' novels. Cannot wait to start it.

5. It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizini
I've wanted to read this novel since I read Perks because everyone says that the two are somewhat similar. I'm excited to read it because I think it's going to be a lovely story.

That's all for this post! What books are you guys planning on reading this month? Have a great day!
Love,
Molly

Sarah Reviews: The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Title: The Archived
Author: Victoria Schwab
Pages: 328
Publishing Company: Hyperion
Publication Date: January 22, 2013
ISBN: 1423157311

My Rating:   

Synopsis:
Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.
Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often—violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.
Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.
In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

My Review:
I was really surprised with where this story went and enjoyed it a lot. The Archived is filled with mystery, action, and suspense. We are immediately thrust into Mackenzie's hectic and strange life. It is a lot to take in at first but you just roll with it. I found the world of the archive to be so fascinating and unique and filled with lies and deceit. I LOVED Wes, a lot. I wished Mackenzie would have opened up to him more and finally have someone she could be completely honest with. Their relationship really grew throughout the book and you could see how they were helping each other and making one another stronger. This book had such an amazing kick-ass female lead who was also easily relatable. Every teenager has times when they lie and I loved how Victoria Schwab described it as a pie needing to be cut into nice, neat pieces. The mystery was also very spooky but some things I could see right through and were predictable, while others were not. Overall, this is definitely one of my top reads of the year so far. If you love mystery, suspense, action, and a dash of romance, pick this up ASAP! So good! I need The Unbound like now!

Until next time fellow readers, keep practicing those lying skills!
xoxo Sarah