Sara's Required Reading 101

Hey--really quick, before I start my post--please take a moment to read this post by Carolina Valdez Miller. She's going on a medical mission to Haiti, and she could really use our help. I hope you'll donate if you're able! And even if you aren't, you could always show your support in the form of a kind comment . . .

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Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

Today's topic: In high school, teens are made to read the classics - Shakespeare, Hawthorne, Bronte, Dickens - but there are a lot of books out there never taught in schools. So if you had the power to change school curriculums, which books would you be sure high school students were required to read?

My answer: Oh mans. There are too. many. books. that come to mind. I'm going to narrow my list down to three, so you're not stuck reading the never-ending post of all posts. And, for the same reason, I'll (try my hardest to) keep my explanations down to one sentence.

Wish me luck.

(Seriously . . . )

1. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Beautifully written and engaging story--as a reader, I came away from it with new level of consciousness about the little things in how I live my life that can make a huge difference in other people's.

2. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi. Gritty dystopian with a realistic premise--it's another one that will push teens into thinking twice about the world we currently live in.

3. The entire Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. Because every teen (every person, really) deserves the chance to believe in magic, even if just between the pages of those books.

Hey--look at that--I kept my number down to three!

Though, honestly, I'd make my list required reading for all people, not just teens. Why should adults miss out on these fabulous books just because they're not in high school anymore? And just because the protagonists are teenagers, it doesn't mean people of all ages won't come away a slightly changed person for having read them.

For the record, a few of the other books I'm dying to mention include:

*takes a deep breath*

*spits out book titles with rapid-fire quickness*

The Book Thief-Jellicoe Road-The Sky is Everywhere-Before I Fall-The Chronicles of Narnia-When You Reach Me-The Hunger Games-Ender's Game--

*runs out of air*  

Hm. Guess I wasn't able to keep it at three after all . . .

 *shrugs*

Click here to see what other Road Trippers had to say about their own required reading suggestions!

I mean, I really couldn't have said it better . . .

source

So, what's up with you guys? Reading anything that's got you spellbound these days? 

Two books recently affected me this way: Chime (Franny Billingsley) and Blood Red Road (Moira Young). I so so SO highly recommend them both!

Also, how fabulous is Colin Firth? I adore him.

xoxo

Pretty, pretty

You know what I define as a perfect day?

The day I get new bookshelves and get to play for hours organizing them!!

Sooooo, they started out like this:

And ended up like this:

And, in case you were dying for more angles:

    

Unfortunately, I still have lots and lots of books that don't fit on those shelves (not just the pile you see by the side, either). So I'll have to get another bookshelf, or two. Darn it! <----sarcasm

Anyhoo, after trying out a bunch of different organizational methods, I just went with alphabetical by author. So allll my genres are mixed together. Fantasy*, contemp, sci-fi, romance, classic, thriller... YA, adult, MG. I love it! Authors that would never otherwise share shelf space are hugging in my shelves :) Except for the top shelves--those I saved for my super old books. You know, the ones that smell so freaking good? The ones from this post: The Smell of Old Books <---click it to see, I swear the pictures make it almost as good as a scratch and sniff blog post!

Also, my TBR is way smaller than I thought it was--but I've still got a long way to get to the bottom of it!

I need some help deciding what order to read everything in--but we'll save that for a later post :)

PS. School me, readers: should I be using the term bookshelf, or bookcase? Or does it even matter?

*Obvi, I'm a fantasy girl at heart... 

Thanks for stopping by! 

♡Sara

Parents: You Tell Me... Punishment Through Books?

When I was younger, I used to get in trouble for reading long after my parents told me to turn my light off and go to bed. All. The. Time. Seriously, my dad often came in and took the light from my room, ha ha. (Joke was on him, though, I had a stash of flashlights!) I'd also frequently get in trouble for reading instead of doing my homework--which just meant I'd have to do my homework at the kitchen table where my parents could see me. Fine, no big deal. I get it.

But the other day, on one of my pretty much weekly trips to Borders, I walked into the store behind two parents. The father was complaining. He said (verbatim): "I can't believe you're buying her a book. After the way she's been acting, she doesn't deserve one."

The mom looked at him, said "you're right", and they turned around and left!! My jaw was left somewhere near my knees. I just can't see withholding books as punishment for a child. Or, for that matter, ever thinking a kid doesn't deserve a book.

Okay, okay--and maybe there were extenuating circumstances. Maybe the child in question has tons of books. Maybe money was tight and a new book was hard to afford, especially if she'd been acting up (though they drove off in a shiny BMW, so I don't think that was the case). Maybe... I don't know, I can't really think of anything else... I mean, I could see using a book as incentive to reward good behavior. But would there ever be a reason to keep a book from your child as punishment?

I'm not a parent, so I really don't know the answer to that. Obviously, I'm inclined to think if your kid likes to read, you should be happy about it--and not deny their love of reading to make a point about something else. (Unless maybe they're sent straight to bed without being allowed to read for a night here or there... And that's a BIG maybe.)

What's your take?

Alice in Wonderland: The movie, the book, the POLISHES...

(image found here)

THE MOVIE

I saw Alice in Wonderland two weekends ago. It. Was. Amazing.

Ay-may-zing.

It's PG. Usually I see a PG rating and head for the hills, but I just couldn't pass this one up. I loved every second of it. Johnny Depp is phenomenal as the Mad Hatter. Anne Hathaway played a great White Queen (even with her weird hand motions all over the place--they kinda grew on me, and I loved that she had that fascination with dead things/potions) and I loved Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen.

I saw the movie in 3D, which I highly recommend--though I'm sure even visuals in the regular versions are outstanding. The visuals--the creatures and the landscapes and, gosh, EVERYTHING--outstanding. At times, I definitely similarities to some of the scene/settings from LOTR, but I didn't mind even a little bit.

THE BOOK

A couple weeks ago, I posted about these awesome old books I now own. And one of them? You guessed it--Alice's Adventures in Wonderland! AND it's a two-part book that also includes Through the Looking Glass. It was printed in 1946 and it's even illustrated. It's not in good condition, but as you already know (if you read the other post about old books) I could care less. I love it just the same!!

I took some pictures of fun things inside--enjoy!

I just love the little font representing the little voice!

THE POLISHES

In one of the prize packages for my contest (which ends today btw) I'm giving away a mini OPI Alice in Wonderland nail polish set. All the colors rock, but I got two colors for myself when I ordered the gift set. And I am OBSESSED. So I thought I'd show you what the colors look like in real life. To be honest the pictures don't really do them justice, because in real life these polishes POP. Trust me.

I definitely need to thank Derek Molata for introducing me to the OPI Alice in Wonderland polishes. While I sit here and stare at my blue sparkling toes, I can't help but to smile--and I owe it all to him! What can I say? The guy knows his polishes!

First up, we've got Mad as a Hatter:

It's pretty fierce. I painted a dark purple base underneath to keep the color a little darker, but it really is a glitzy glitter rainbow when you see it in real life. A definite keeper!

And next is my current fave--Absolutely Alice:

I love the royal blue glitter--and there are these super awesome flecks of gold... I'm a huge fan!

Let me just extend that a bit and say that I'm a huge fan of ALL things Alice in Wonderland! In case you didn't get that from this post =)

Have you seen the movie? What'd you think?

♥ me

The Smell of Old Books.

What is the most precious, the most exciting smell awaiting you in the house when you return to it after a dozen years or so? The smell of roses, you think? No, moldering books. ~ Andre Sinyavsky

That aroma, bookish and musty and... mmmm I can't even find the right word to describe it. But it's one of those things that uplifts me no matter WHAT type of mood I'm in.

Alexandra is blogging about old books today. When she told me, I jumped at the chance to post about the same topic!! (Make sure you read hers too.)

You see, I recently received some books from my Nana. They're in way bad condition, but they are also WONDERFUL.

I LOVE THEM!

I don't have a place for them yet. I'm kind of envisioning our next house having shelves built into the walls in a writing study. They would look so pretty lining built-in shelves. Even in the condition they are!

For now, I'm just enjoying staring at them, and opening them at random to sniff. Eventually, I'll start reading them.

They're all really great, but before my battery died I took some pictures of a few of my faves:

1st Edition of Jungle Tales of Tarzan

A note I found in Legends and Lyrics. SO COOL.

Only 1000 copies printed! 

I could seriously post a million pictures. I LOVE this stuff. And I can't tell you how badly I wish I could blog the smell. It's enough to make a girl swoon!

I'm sooooo tempted to list an inventory, but I can already see your eyes glazing over while thinking about it. So I'll spare you. For now. dun dun DUNNNN.

Old books that have ceased to be of service should no more be abandoned than should old friends who have ceased to give pleasure. ~ Sir Peregrine Worsthorne

Do you keep old books? If so, do you actually read them--or do you just enjoy the look/feel/scent from time to time? :-)

♥ me