Sunday, March 23, 2014

A Day in the Life (7)



AGGGHHHHH!! I'm starting to feel like I'm never going to get anything done ever again!  Sorry I've been so absent/lazy on the blog, I just have NO time.  I haven't practiced in a week now which is seriously stressing me out, but I just haven't had time between opera, final papers, and the biggest thing going on right now, which is going through all my old stuff!  Admittedly, that is kind of fun (and kind of sad).  

My mom really needs me to downsize all the things I've left at home (especially since half of my things are in our old house still.  It was quite lucky my mom's best friend moved into that house and has been so cool with storing all my stuff for the past two years haha), so I've had to say goodbye to a lot of childhood things.  It's always tough for me to do because either I had a large attachment to the item or it was given to me by someone special but....you can't keep everything for your entire life, so things have to go.  And obviously 3/4 of my things are books haha.  Like you guys ever thought 3/4 of my possessions weren't books haha.  It's crazy because my mom has some awesome antique books that she's given me over the years, and my grandmother has given me some of her old books, so I have really lovely copies of things (particularly poetry).  And then there's all my childhood picture books...I think I finally eliminated that pile to less than 20, which was no mean feat.  Which kind of surprised me as I haven't been into picture books for years...but a lot of these aren't books you can find these days.  My family has traveled a lot, so I have books from all over the world which is awesome!  And I've got an autographed copy of Madeline in America, which I didn't know and I'm super excited about!  I'm not doing so well getting rid of the books teenage me loved though haha.  I am growing a little concerned as I have only found two Anne of Green Gables books, one Tamora Pierce series (and it's not the Alanna one!!!), and NO Harry Potter books...but I keep trying to reassure myself that I still have like 30 boxes of books to go through between their garage, attic, and our storage unit.  (How have my parents not killed me for this outrageous level of hoarding?!)  But on the upside, I think I've found all the Redwall books!  I have to call my brother and see if he wants any of the doubles, seeing as there were blood and tears involved over who got to read the next book in the series first haha!  And he's got these beautiful leather bound copies of The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion that my grandfather gave him...which I tried to commandeer, but unfortunately my mother informed me that I am required to give them to my brother.  But he's across the country and my bookshelves are closer...I could just keep them on my bookshelves for safekeeping until he is able to have them...right?

Going through everything has been a lot of fun...especially with the books.  Seeing old books you really loved is always like greeting an old friend (I figure you guys will get it if none of my friends do as I know mostly nonreaders haha).  It's also a bit cathartic getting rid of things to be honest, even if I feel bad doing it.  Eventually it starts feeling good seeing all this space opening up.  It feels more productive than the musical aspect of my life because you can actually SEE your progress, which is pretty nice.  Whereas music feels like I'm constantly going on a treadmill and going nowhere.  I'm not, it's just harder to notice when the treadmill is gradually picking up speed...if we're keeping to the treadmill simile which on review isn't working so well haha


Bookish Links


Trailer for The Giver  - Guys, I hate to say it, but even though this is one of my ALL TIME favourite books, and it has Meryl Streep AND Jeff Bridges...things aren't looking good. And it is also looking distinctly Divergentish which is...WHY??

How To Relationship: Corey Ann Haydu - I thought this post was so awesome, and it touched on something with YA relationships that I hadn't consciously figured out was bugging me.
The Best Books for Readers in Every Divergent Faction - I was surprised at how well this list was put together, actually
10 Most Annoying Teens from Books - You might be surprised who makes this list...
What It's Like Being a Mood Reader - As a mood reader myself, I totally feel Jamie's love/hate relationship with this
Manga Focus: CLAMP - Steph gives all the goods on CLAMP, a group of story writers/artists (who I just found out are all women!).  They produce some of my all time favourite manga and they have a wide range in genre, so if you haven't read any of their series and are interested in manga, you really should!  This is a spoiler free post, so go explore!
All the things she read: Graphic Novels! - Come on, admit how much you love that title.  And now the song is going to be stuck in your head all day.
Sometimes I Don’t Like Books with Feels - I feel you, Sophie, I really do.  Fantastic post!



Nonbookish Links

A Brand New Trailer for The Boxtrolls - ZOMG this is so freaking adorable!

Warning: New Full-Length Maleficent Trailer May Cause Chills, Dragon Chills - This looks SO AWESOME

10 Toxic Relationships in Teen TV and YA Books - My nonbookish links lists was looking lonely so I moved this down here
Let's Sort the Muppets into Hogwarts Houses - These are perfect!! (And hilarious)
Hobbit News - Basically why Desolation of Smaug ended where it did and why the dwarves have been split up between locations
Top Five Reasons to Date a Musician - AHAHAHA oh this list!!  It's perfect.  Both as a musician and as someone who dates a musician, this is perfect.  And so, so funny!
Tom Hiddleston the Singing Pirate - Thought some of you might appreciate this!
Website Shows You Exactly How Hard Your Favorite TV Shows Started Sucking Over the Years - These are interesting, and kind of funny haha.  And also they look pretty.  I'd hang these up on the wall!
Ghostbusters III Might Actually Happen, And If This Director Rumor Is True We Might Want It To - Ok, so some of you might not be as optimistic (or even care about Ghostbusters), but I hope this happens!
In Typical Fashion, Hank Green Has Some Smart Stuff To Say About The Importance Of Consent - Yay, Hank Green!  And he's now introduced me to Sexplanations which you guys should all check out!
Genderbending Disney Characters - I am SO OBSESSED with the genderbending version of Elsa!
Felted Pokemon Characters - These are adorable!

10 comments:

  1. Man, cleaning out your childhood is painful. I will say that I found it easier to let go of my stuff once I had a kid. Of course, then I'm all nostalgic about THEIR stuff...so I'm basically back where I started. LOL.

    You always have the best link list!! Thoughts:
    1. Top Ten Annoying Teens: Yes. Every single one. The whining and self absorption kills me every time. And Ugh, Amy. Seriously.
    2. Books about The Feels: I also agree. I like action, romance, but I don't want to be tortured. Also, can we PLEASE stop saying The Feels? When bloggers talk about The Feels is makes me think I am dead instead because I was not affected by the book in the same way. Rarely, RARELY do I get The Feels. I feel like I'm missing something.
    3. Toxic Relationships: They totally missed Vampire Diaries - lol. Oh man, that show. But the worst one I've read recently was Scarlet. Bloggers love this book but I could not get behind Robin Hood and Scarlet's relationship.
    4. Gender Bending Disney: Male Elsa strikes me as a Sturmhond. ;)

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  2. I so need to do a clean out, but I don't even know where to start D: that's always the problem, so it never happens lol

    My Mum made me go through all my childhood books about 10 years ago now and we decided on a small pile to keep. I can't remember which ones we gave away, but I am so very pleased with the ones I've got! I may occasionally pull out a picture book and read it just because I can, it's enlightening going over them with adult eyes :P

    I hope you enjoy going through the rest of your books, even if it is a bit of a bittersweet experience (and yes, you should totally mind your brother's books for him!)

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  3. Definitely - I could care less about my baby clothes but she had such a hard time going through them!


    1. Amy was THE WORST. I wonder if LMA had a sister she hated because she must have based Amy on her.
    2. I know! That was The Dream Thieves for me. There have been a lot of books I really enjoyed, but not necessarily had heart palpitations for haha
    3. I haven't read Scarlet (but this makes me worried) or VD (teehee), but judging by the rest of the list they sound spot on haha
    4. Can you believe I haven't read that yet?! It's definitely at the top of my never ending TBR because I haven't heard a bad thing about the series and everyone is obsessed!

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  4. It's so overwhelming! And it's amazing how much you can find in picture books that you didn't realize were in the book as a child. Going through the books has been mostly fun luckily, since I know if I suddenly NEED to have a copy of most books, I can just go buy one. (And I called my brother and guess who's going to have FANTASTIC copies of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings decorating my shelf!)

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  5. Whhhhaaaattt. You haven't read Shadow and Bone?! Get thee to a bookstore! ;)

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  6. I find it really hard to let go of childhood mementos, too. Who am I kidding, I still find it hard to let go of any mementos! It must;ve been fun to go through your old books, though. SINCE YOU MENTIONED ANNE, I should let you know that after everyone voted, Anne of Green Gables is going to be our April readalong book! So please join in if you can. :)

    Understand about being busy, too. I feel like there's never enough time in the day to do everything I want to. I mean, here it is at 5:30 am and I haven't gone to sleep yet, I'm here on your blog, hah.

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  7. You will be pleased to know that I just won a giveaway and I get to pick any ebook I want - well I picked Shadow and Bone just because you told me to read it :) (well ok, also because I really have been meaning to read it, but it saved me hours of painstaking deliberation on what book from my TBR to choose haha)

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  8. Yayayay!! I voted for Anne so I am quite pleased :)

    And are you insane?! You need to get more sleep woman!

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  9. I know EXACTLY how you feel haha! I just got it today so as soon as I finish a couple ARC's that's definitely next on my list!

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  10. Ooh, I am VERY pleased. I'm so curious to see what you think!! I really hope you like it. I'm always so nervous to recommend books I love because it makes me sad when someone doesn't like it!!

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