Five Things Friday #4

Happy Friday! Long time, no see. I wanted to come back and recap my week since I haven’t been as consistent as I have wanted to and I had a week of good things happening!

How was your week? What are you doing this weekend?

Have a great weekend,

Alyssa

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1. Currently Reading:

I am participating in #ARCAugust but just for myself, no posts or anything – so it’s not really official. However, I’ve completed 1 ARC so far and I’m currently reading my second ARC which is..

 

2. What I’ve Been Listening to:

 

DODIE IS MY QUEEN. I love her music and I have kept this album on repeat since it came out this week! My favorite songs are 6/10, In the Middle and Secret For the Mad.

3. What I’ve Been Watching:

I have been counting down the days until Monday, August 14th and I couldn’t wait to finally watch I Hart Food on Food Network!! YouTuber, Hannah Hart got her own show on Food Network and it met my expectations!! It was AWESOME and I can’t wait to watch more!!

4. GOOD NEWS!! GOOD NEWS!! READ ALL ABOUT IT!!

Ever have that life slump where you think everything is going shit and you’re doubting life?? well, that’s me, too.

but… this week I got A LOT of good news! who would’ve thought?

the biggest news is that I will be finishing up my last semester of community college and transferring to university in the spring semester!!! 😀 😀 😀 I’m so happy! I’ve been at CC for four years and I am ecstatic to get my Bachelor’s degree!

5. It’s Friday and my last day of my summer job!

I have two weeks off before school starts and I’m so excited! Plus, I get to participate in Bout of Books! I just love relaxing time 🙂

 

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Bout of Books #20 TBR!

I’m looking forward to another great reading month! So far, I’ve completed two books this month. Bout of  Books was one of my first readathons that I participated in, so I always like to do it when I can.  I love Bout of Books because they don’t have reading challenges, so my TBR is whatever I want to read! Luckily, this is my first week off of work and I can join in! Here is my temporary TBR.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 21st and runs through Sunday, August 27th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 20 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

el deafo by cece bell – geekerella by ashley poston – gena/finn by hannah moskowitz & kat helgeston – this adventure ends by emma mills – run by kody keplinger

lost girls by merrie destefano – fireworks by katie cotugno – 

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  This is just my temporary TBR! Most likely, I’ll get to read 3-4 books. But, I wanted some options! Are you participating?

Booktubeathon AND Summer Biannual Bibliothon Wrap Up

I managed to complete my WHOLE TBR for Booktubeathon and Summer Biannual Bibliothon. I did end up changing my TBR around but I completed most of the challenges that I had set to complete.

Books read: 5
Total pages read: 1,464

BOOKTUBEATHON:
1. Read a book with a person on the cover: Scarlett Espstein Hates It Here – I subsituted I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE by Maurene Goo because I forgot to finish it outside, which was it’s original challenge.

2. Read a HYPED book: Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett – this was AMAZING, the hype is worth it!!

3. Finish a book in day: Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol

4. Read a book with a character that is very different from you: Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde – autism, Chinese American character, Australian. GREAT REP. One of my favorite books I read from the week.

• finish a book in one day 

5. Finish a book outside – Finished Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here by Anna Breslaw outside!

BIANNUAL BIBLIOTHON:

Host’s Favorite Genre: Emma – diverse books – I Believe in A Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo

LGBTQIA+ Book: Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde 

Throwback: Graphic Novel — Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Read a book you’ve seen outside of Booktube: I Believe in A Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo, I first saw it on a book blog!

 

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WOW! I can’t believe I read ALL THE BOOKS. How did your Booktubeathon or Biannual Bibliothon reading go?

 

BOOKS I WANT ADAPTED AS FILMS

I’ve been meaning to make another list of ‘Books I Want to See Adapted Into Films’ and inspiration hit me when Jenny Han herself confirmed on Twitter, TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE IS BECOMING A FREAKING MOVIEEEE!!!!

If you haven’t heard, yes you heard correct. Go over to Jenny Han’s Twitter and Instagram, she’s been on set with the cast, I cry every time.

Oh, and also I just finished reading Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett which is about to film fanatics and has lots of film references.  Let’s get to the list!

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LOVE LETTERS TO THE DEAD BY AVA DELLAIRA

– This book is very deep and heavy but I think *if done correctly* it could be a great movie. The story focuses on Laurel, a girl who has just lost her sister and she writes letters to celebrities who have died.

THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING BY ROBYN SCHNEIDER

– This book is a roller coaster *pun intended* and I feel that with this great coming-of-age story, it could make a great film!

ON THE FENCE BY KASIE WEST (OR ANY KASIE WEST BOOK FOR THAT MATTER)

While I was reading this, I felt film-vibes. You know when you’re reading a book and you’re like “hmm…this would make a good movie”? It was like that. You have a tomboy girl who lives with her brothers and her dad, & needs a summer job to pay for a speeding ticket she gets. Also, she spends her nights talking to her neighbor, Braden over the fence. Rom-com material, for sure!

 

EVERY LAST WORD BY TAMARA IRELAND STONE

– I would absolutely LOVE to see this book turned into a film! I would hope that they would stay true to the OCD rep and I would just love to see Poetry Corner IRL!

THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS BY MARIEKE NIJKAMP

– I’m still a little wary about picking this because of the topic at hand; a school shooting. As this book is told in different POV, I could see it playing out as a film.

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Are there any books you want to see adapted?

Honey Girl by Lisa Freeman [spoiler-free review]

 

Title: Honey Girl
Author: Lisa Freeman
Paperback: 288 pages
Publication Date: March 17th 2015
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, LGBTQIA+
Rating:   

I was sent this book from the publicist for an honest review. This does not change my opinions of the book in any way. Set in the summer of 1972 in California, we follow 15 year old, Nani who is dealing with the loss of her father, discovering herself and trying to fit in with the honey girls on the beach. This story was very unique because it’s about a Hawaiian girl living in 1972 when girls were not allowed to surf and being gay wasn’t accepted. We see scenes of how you were treated if you were gay and it saddened me. There is a scene where a gay man is beat up and screamed at for being gay. It was fascinating to learn about how different it was then vs now. Nani is a complex character who is dealing with her mother, now a widow and living somewhere that isn’t Hawaii, her home. Throughout the story, Nani is focused on following rules she was taught to abide by to become a honey girl herself. Nani grows a liking to the lead honey girl, Rox and discovers that she likes boys and girls. Nani also gets involved in typical teenage drama with the group of girls they consider their enemies. However, the story was very slow for me and I didn’t feel that there was much emphasis on Nani having a crush on Rox. This story is full of emotion and grief while Nani is grieving the loss of her father and trying to figure out a way to dump his ashes into the ocean where he belongs. Honey Girl has a lot going on, having me confused at times but I did enjoy the read overall. The writing is easy to read and Lisa Freeman includes Hawaiian slang words which are explained in English plus there is a glossary of some of the words in the back of the book. It was fun to learn some Hawaiian words, it was very different! Historical fiction is not a genre I normally read therefore I cannot comment on the way Freeman executed it. But, it did feel like I was in the time period and setting in California. Freeman also includes mentioning of Nani’s father’s routine of  planting marijuana before his passing. I do believe that this is a great summer read for young readers because of Nani as a character and discovering her sexuality. I will be continuing on with the sequel, Riptide Summer. A link to my review will be posted here when it is live.

Biannual Bibliothon & Booktube-A-Thon TBR!

The two biggest read-a-thon’s on Booktube are overlapping each other. I like to participate in both, being in the Booktube community. So, I combined my TBR with the challenges from each readathon.

Booktubeathon is hosted by Ariel Bissett on YouTube, for other information there is a Twitter, Instagram and a YouTube channel announcing the readathon and challenges. There are also Instagram challenges you can take part in.

The Biannual Bibliothon is hosted by a group of Booktubers: Emmmabooks, Kelly’s Book Spill, Little Red Reader, Brittni’s Book Find, Little Book Owl, The Booktube Girl, and Meagan Precourt.  This readathon hosts Instagram challenges, and NEW! blog challenges that are being announced on the Instagram.

For more information there is a Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channel. 

For both readathons, I will only be completing the reading challenges & Instagram challenges not the video challenges.

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Onto the TBR…..

BOOKTUBE-A-THON: 

A book with a person on the cover: Scarlett Epstein Hates it Here by Anna Breslaw 

Read a HYPED book – I’m torn between two very popular and hyped books that I’ve seen on Booktube lately. My two options are I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson and Geekerella (which I’ve already read some of when I was sent the book for review, a few months ago). We’ll see what my heart desires!

Finish a book in one day – I chose a graphic novel for this because graphic novels are perfect for readathons. I’ve been enjoying them lately, and I’m sad this is the last one I own!

Read a character that is very different from you – I recently bought What We Left Behind by Robin Talley while I visited one of my favorite small bookstores on vacation. The MC is genderqueer and I’m excited to read more about it.

Finish a book outdoors – I have I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo for this challenge but it also fits the other challenges; person on the cover and character that is very different from you.

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Biannual Bibliothon: 

Host’s favorite genre: I chose Emma and her favorite genre is Diverse Books. I will be reading I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE by Maurene Goo for this challenge.

LGBTQIAP+ Character: I chose What We Left Behind by Robin Talley. The main character is genderqueer.

Throwback: Pick any challenge they have done in the past. Luckily, they had a graphic novel challenge which I’ll be reading Anya’s Ghost to complete this challenge.

Read a book you have seen outside of booktube (my suggestion!!) – I first saw I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE on book blogs and haven’t seen it much on Booktube.

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So, that’s my ambitious TBR! If you’re joining these readathons, I wish you good luck and happy reading!!

Currently…

I’ve been pretty inactive with blogging lately because of my full-time job that’s taken all of my time and energy. So, I figured I’d do this post for a change and update on what I’ve been currently liking.

Currently reading: Honey Girl by Lisa Freeman & I’m almost done!

Currently next on my TBR: Lucky in Love by Kasie West. My pre-order arrived early!!

Currently listening to: I’ve still been listening to After Laughter by Paramore because it’s on my iPhone and the most accessible. Also, at the moment Shape of You by Ed Sheeran is stuck in my head.

Currently watching on YouTube:  I rarely watch TV, so I watch a lot of YouTube. Lately, I’ve just been catching up on my sub feed but I’m really into vlogs. I like watching Monica Church and Jill Cimorelli (ExtraJill)

Currently eating: Chobani flip. I’ve been eating them recently for work, some of my faves: Cinnamon Bun Fun, Strawberry Summer Crisp & S’mores.

Currently drinking: While writing this post, I’m drinking my brewed coffee with cream and sugar. Lately, I’ve just been drinking water.

Currently craving: I crave random things because I’m always thinking about food. I’m craving a pretzel with cheese from Wawa, which is a store near me. They make some good pretzels with cheese.

Currently wearing: I’m going on vacation starting tomorrow, so I bought some new clothes. At the moment, I’m wearing a tie dye Vans shirt that I got from Poshmark & shorts because it’s going to be in the high 80’s today.

Currently anticipating this book release: What To Say Next by Julie Buxbaum

Currently recommending: The Sound of Us by Julie Hammerle, recently read it and it was amazing!

Currently editing: Reacting to Booktuber’s First Videos

Currently uploaded: Signed books and Author stories

Currently waiting for: VACATION!! I can’t wait to be on the beach and read the books I brought.

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I might be doing these more frequently, let me know if you enjoy these! 🙂 Have a great weekend.