Emperor Fuzwarts: The Main Cast

Hey, everyone! It's time for my second update on my current WIP! (So excited! If the over use of exclamation points wasn't getting it across.)

WIP Codename: Emperor Fuzwarts
Progress: First Draft
I'm very early in the first draft of this story. I'm still ironing out the plot and characters and world building.


Now, allow me to introduce you to the three main characters.

Kyran Vaile

Kyran is kind of - okay, okay - majorly abrasive. He acts cold and aloof all the time and has a sarcastic response to anything and everything that he doesn't want to give an honest reply to. Which is pretty much everything. He doesn't have friends, merely people that want something from him, as he says with that 'don't you dare pity me' glare.

Fallon Temple

The guy you go to if you want a party - especially if you want him to be the life of the party. Fallon is friendly and approachable and so not at all what he first appears. He's kind of flirty to everyone, usually just to make them blush or get them flustered. There are plenty of people that like him, but none that take him seriously.

Tanith Avery

Tanith is hotheaded and somewhat violent. Her answer to picking a lock is breaking the door down instead. She's physically strong and is perfectly willing to use it, but also friendly and outgoing. Plenty of people consider her a friend, but she always thinks they either want something from her, or don't know her at all.

And, that's it. Can you believe I am trying to tell a fantasy story with only three main characters?! So, what do you think of them? And, no, they totally do not dress like that. Well, not if they have a choice ;)

I own none of the pictures or the characters depicted therein. Found on Zerochan. If someone would like to do fan art for me, I would love you forever in a totally not stalker way.

Not really sure what next month is going to bring, but hopefully I've accomplished a lot thanks to November being NaNoWriMo. *crosses fingers*

Rereading From Your Childhood

For the past couple of months, my mom's been doing some major cleaning and going through some really old stuff - like some of it's from before we moved seventeen years ago. Because of this, I've been coming across some old books of mine - books I either had or bought since the move, but because my bedroom was about a third of the size it used to be, I didn't have room for them so they went into storage.

Most of these books fall into a couple of categories, I either forgot all about them and I really don't want them now, I want to keep them and read them for nostalgias sake - or I've actually been wondering where they are. Books like my Wishbone books, Scooby-Doo mysteries, Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books. (As of writing this, I've not found them yet but I also have some Baby Sitters Club and Trixie Belden books somewhere.) And I've been rereading some of them.

Now, these books really don't have the crossover appeal that a lot of YA books nowadays have - and even some of the MG books. In fact, if I hadn't read them when I was a better age for them, I'm not sure I'd like them now. But I'm having a lot of fun rereading some of them. ('Cept I can't stand Ned Nickerson. He's like wallpaper paste.)

I know that a lot of people in the book blogging community - especially the part that I'm most active in - read young adult books. But these are mostly new books, which leaves me wondering; do any of you go back and read books from your childhood or youth? I'm not talking about the books that were actually for adults (that would be like me rereading Agatha Christie books) but the books that were for younger readers.

Honestly, what I find very fascinating is how most people read these books when they're young, but then they hit a certain age and think they're 'too childish'. Then, quite a few of these people find their way back to younger books over the course of their lives.

Do you ever come across some of those old books you read before you became a teen? Do you still like them? (Would you like them if you read them for the first time now?) Do the books just not hold up well? I'd love to know what you think.

If These Songs Were Books (Plus One That Kind Of Is)

This is an idea that just came to me one Saturday morning when my clock radio was going off and I thought 'I'd love to read a book like that song'. (More on that later.) This got me thinking about all the times that songs have made me think of a specific storyline or a general plot. I don't know if this will become a regular feature on my blog, but I do hope to make a few more of these posts.
Warning: This is a video-heavy post. If your internet connection is poor, you might want to save this for later. ;)

Reading Challenge Update: 3rd Quarter

So, I've been being lazy and totally not reviewing books the way I'm supposed to be and don't have a review to post for today. Which is actually good news, because I get to take another look back over my year of reading.

I've read 96 out of 85 books. Considering that I finished my reading challenge back in September, I upped the amount 'unofficially' to 104. I've still got a bit to go to hit that amount, but I've made my original target.

Of those 96 books, 3 have been audiobooks. I'm actually super surprised that I've listened to that many audiobooks this year because this is something I seldom do.

These 96 books total 30,028 pages. However, while I've read 21 more books than last year, I've only read 1,762 more pages than last year. That averages out to only 84 pages per book over what I read last year. (I'm actually planning on challenging myself to read longer books next year, partially because of these numbers!)

Finally, my average rating of books is 3.57. Honestly, I don't know if that's a good number or not, but I have managed a lot more DNF's this year than I usually do. I think I'm finally training myself that if the book isn't good in the first 30 pages, I can find something else I'll enjoy more.

Anyway, looking at this had actually made me really excited to do a end of year survey kind of thing!

How has your reading been this year? Are you on track with how many books you wanted to read? Do you compare one year to another? (Personally, I love comparing numbers! Does that make me a nerd?) Is an average 3.57 rating for books high or low?

A Week of Winter Wrap and Apple Cookies

I can't believe it! Today is the release day for Winter. Now, I don't have the book yet - I'm going into walmart tomorrow and hoping that they have it. First up, I want to thank everyone that stopped by my blog to read my Week of Winter posts. I had a blast and hope you did too. (*Already planning what other books I can celebrate the release of and how.*)

So, first I am going to share this totally cute - and perfect for Winter - cookie idea.

Bitten Apple Cookies!

I wanted to make these myself - to pig out on while reading Winter, of course - but by the time I remembered them and discovered that I didn't have an apple cookie cutter, it was too late to get ahold of one.

If you want to see the step-by-step how too, come visit the website here. I am so picturing these tasting like spiced apple and maybe some apple cider to go with them. Or is that too much?

But, seriously, aren't they adorable?


In case you missed it...

Introducing a Week of Winter
The Lunar Chronicles Survey
Snow White Retellings
My Lunar Chronicles Soundtrack
My Lunar Chronicles Fan Cast
Amy's Ten Steps to Reading Winter
Why The Lunar Chronicles Are So Awesome
The Lunar Chronicles Cover Compare
If You Like The Lunar Chronicles, Try...


Related...From the Readalong

Rereading The Lunar Chronicles: Month One: Cinder
8 Cinderella Retellings
Books With Royalty
My Favorite Sci-Fi
Cinder Talk
6 Little Red Retellings
Scarlet's Lemon 'Cake'
Little Red References in Scarlet
Scarlet Talk
A Few Rapunzel Retellings
The Lunar Chronicles Book Tag
Thoughts, Predictions and Hopes for Winter
Cress Talk


Thanks again, everyone, Hope you've enjoyed this because I know I sure have. For those of you that are already reading the book, how is it? (NO spoilers, please, but is it as awesome as we hoped?)

Top Ten - and I'm Talking Movie Adaptations

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

As much as I love reading and movies, I usually just don't do a very good job actually watching movies adapted for books. Maybe because it seems like they seldom make movies of fantasy books - but more likely, because whenever I do sit down to watch a movie (which is like once a month) I want to watch a superhero movie. (I've got an ever growing collection of Marvel movies that I love rewatching.) However, there are some books whose movie I want to read - and some movies whose spawning book I want to read.

I've Read the Book - Now to Watch the Movie...

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
I know, I know, I suck. It feels like I read this book six months ago (by now it might have been) and I've been wanting to see the movie ever since then.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
So, I didn't love the book. At all. Mostly because of the problems I had with the main guy. But, I am much critical to my movies and I really would like to see it. Eventually.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman
I won't go into my problems with this book, or my inability to actually even finish it. I will say that I've heard the movie is a bit different and the changes are things that I think might make it more palatable for me.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
There's like a bajillion adaptations of this out there and as someone that loved the book when she read it - more years ago now than I'd care to admit - I have never seen any of them. I want to, though. Especially the one with Keira Knightley








I've Seen the Movie, Now to Read the Book...

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
I saw both movies years ago and thought they were fun. The books have been dancing around in my subconscious and I know next time I want a read like this, I will pick it up.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
I saw the movie (or, one of them, anyway) a couple of times years ago. Ever since then I've told myself I should read the book. I never have. I should though.

Inkheart Cornelia Funke
Seen the movie. Kind of love the movie. My immediate thought after finishing it was that I needed to read the book. Still haven't read it. Unfortunately, I would have been more likely to read it if it was the story within the story - because that one sounds awesome. 

Stardust by Neil Gaiman
So, I've seen the movie a couple of times and really enjoy it. I've heard that the book isn't as good, but I've also heard that it's better. Eventually I'd like to read the book for myself.

The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle
Not so much the movie, though I did see a miniseries, but the awesome, awesome TV show. There's one reason I've not read this book and one reason only: I'm afraid of it making me dislike a show that I love. (Besides, I know it'll be totally different.)

Dinotopia by James Gurney
Does this count? Anyway, I'm going to admit that I adore the corny show - much more than the miniseries - and that I do know this doesn't even follow the same people. But I have heard about the pictures in here. I want to read it just for them, regardless of anything else.




I actually didn't have to dig for these as much as I thought I might. Especially once I remembered dinosaurs. So, let me know what I should read/watch and what I might just be better skipping.

How To Get The Most Out Of Goodreads: Exclusive Shelves

I love using Goodreads. I know, there have been a lot of issues that have cropped up even of the few years that I've been a member - but I've yet to find a website that works so well for me. I use Goodreads more as a way to find books to read than as a social platform and I think it works wonderfully as that. (Because as a social platform, I'm either doing it wrong, or it's awful.)

Bookshelves
I think my favorite thing about Goodreads is the way you can use their 'bookshelves' option. Now, I'll admit, it took me a distressing amount of time to truly figure this out. Ever since I first joined, I've organized books by shelves. Usually by genre. That worked out fine until I created a little thing called a tbr-jar shelf. I didn't want those books mixed up with my 'to-buy' books, so I had to create another shelf. Then my shelves got even messier. Then I discovered a wonderful little thing called 'exclusive shelves'.

Exclusive Shelves
Basically, what this means is that a book can only be on one exclusive shelf. When you first join Goodreads, you have three exclusive shelves. 'Read' 'Currently Reading' and 'To Read'. Any book you add has to be on one and only one of those shelves. However, you can add exclusive shelves.

To add an exclusive shelf, all you need to do is click on the 'edit' next to 'bookshelves' (up there by the top edge of my arrow). From that page you can create new shelves and make any of them exclusive.

This has helped me organize my books so much and hopefully you'll find it useful too. If there's anything you'd like to learn how to do on Goodreads, leave me a comment and I'll see if I can help you out.