The Words That Made Me Think

Everyone has that one thing that they run to when they feel the weight of the world crashing down on them. A favorite movie, a song they play on repeat, or even a friend to lean on, but for me I found my peace of mind in books. When life became a little too much I would slip between the pages of a book. The words blurred and black and white text turned to vibrant colors, intense emotions, and life lessons. All of them playing out before me as if I was watching it unfold in real life. I soon came to realize that these words that so simply built worlds became my home. It was in those words that I was able to find strength when the real world became a little too much. 

So here are some of my favorite quotes that I go back to when I have lost my way. If they hit home with you I suggest picking up the very book they can be found in. The story that these quotes come from will mean so much more if you do.

"Don't cry. Don't cry. Breathe. Concentrate. Breathe. One, two, three. Remember how this goes, remember you can do this. When everything falls apart, when everything is strangled and taken from you and nothing is left, not even the tiniest glimmer. Remember the rules. Don't back down. Don't run. Don't quit."  -Jessica Shirvington: Embrace

"There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief... and unspeakable love." -Jessica Shirvington: Embrace

"If I spent all my time fearing the things I should, I'd never stop screaming." -Jessica Shirvington: Embrace

"And when you're the girl who's known for for being invisible, there's nothing quit as scary as being seen." -Ally Carter: Gallagher Girls

"Not knowing you can't do something, is sometimes all it takes to do it." -Ally Carter: Gallagher Girls

"Its the people you hold close to your heart that have the power to make you bleed." -Ally Carter: Gallagher Girls

"There are memories that time does not erase...Forever does not make loss forgettable, only bearable." -Cassandra Clare: City of Heavenly Fire

"Don't ever change yourself to impress someone, cause they should be impressed that you don't change to please others." -Cassandra Clare: The Mortal Instruments

"The more you try to crush your true nature the more it will control you. Be what you really are no one who really loves you will stop you." -Cassandra Clare: The Infernal Devices

"Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater. But sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it is nothing more than gritting your teeth through pain, and the work of every day, the slow walk toward a better life. That is the sort of bravery I must have now." -Veronica Roth: Allegiant

"Be sad, be sorry, but don't shoulder it." E. Lockhart: We Were Liars

"I will prove myself strong when they think I am sick. I will prove myself brave when they think I am weak." -E. Lockhart

It would be simple for me to type up pages upon pages of quotes that really taught me something or helped me through a tough time. The heart of every good novel has a message that will hit each reader differently. I hope that some of these will hit home with you and inspire you to read the entire novel. The point of all of this is that quotes are huge when it comes to reading, because it is the content that readers pick out of all of the other sentences that make up the book. The part that really makes you think and helps you to grow. So thank you to all of these amazing authors for helping me even when they didn't know they were. 

A Love of Reading

When I was younger I despised reading with a passion...obviously my view on the topic of reading has changed and all it took was one book. I was lucky to have found a book that changed how I saw reading and thought, "why not give reading a chance". Growing up a lot of kids are turned away from reading because of the content they push on them. How do you develop a love of reading, if you hate what you're reading? Not everyone happens to give it a chance like I did. 

You see as everyone grows up they are taught how to read and how to interpret what is being read. English teachers force novels on us that are sometimes hundreds of years old. Let's take Shakespeare's plays for example, or Catcher In The Rye, how about How To Kill a Mockingbird. While some of these aren't hundreds of years old, they aren't from our time and somehow they are considered classics. Now these are all classic books with bigger themes that can be interpreted, but how can we teach a love of reading when our teachers are forcing books we may not care for on us. If the content doesn't interest a student they will space off, even if they are trying to read the material. So how do we develop a love of reading? In my opinion it's a simple two step process.

First all it takes is the right book, so you have to let the student find it. Give more assignments that focus on novels that the students pick out. Giving them the opportunity to learn from the author themselves. I know when I read I pick out the bigger themes, enjoy, and honestly take to heart what I learn from my books.

Second, if you want to read a novel as a class go for current series that are making an impact on society today. Harry Potter, Divergent, The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner,  The Fault In Our Stars, If I Stay. These are all big name novels that students know well, and they all have themes just as large and serious as the older books. The current novels will help spike the students interests.

So how is this two step process working? Well students will start to enjoy themselves, and it won't work for all, some people just aren't readers, but it will work for more students than it is right now. You see we need to teach the "love of reading" not the pain of forcing a student to read a novel they don't care about. It turns them away from reading and this isn't what we want. Being a reader makes you a better writer, speaker, and person in general because a readers imagination is a hundred times the size of a non-reader. You see readers live the lives of thousands, we walk in the shoes of others every time we open a new book. So we know what it's like to stop and think that someone might be seeing the situation completely different.

There are so many upsides, so why not give it a shot. Teach the "love of reading" not the pain that so many people see it to be, but I guess thats just what it means to me.

My Top Three

Through the years I have read over a hundred books, so many so that I started to log every book I have read. If I listed them all this post would probably be over ten pages long, so I am going to focus on the ones that really hit home. These are the ones that made me cry, laugh, and scream in anger at the pages. The ones that when I re-read them I feel like I am coming home. These are the books that created a family and taught me so many of the life lessons that I live my life according to to this very day. Below is the list in order of my top three books that I would highly recommend. It states the series, number of books, author, and what it's all about.

1. The Mortal Instruments (6) - Cassandra Clare

"It's your gift to see the beauty and the horror in ordinary things. It doesn't make you crazy just different." -Cassandra Clare, City Of Bones

Not everything you see is what it seems. Clary Fray's world turns upside down when her mother goes missing and the glamour begins to peel back, exposing a world that people only dreamed of. If that isn't bad enough Clary might just be something more than mortal. As she meets Shadowhunter's Jace, Izzy, and Alec she has to face the fact that her mother has been keeping something huge from her. Clary pulls you in from the very first page as you are quickly thrown into a world that you won't want to leave. You fall fast for the characters and putting the book down will not be an option until you have finished the book. You'll be dying to read the next one because these books leave you with thousands of questions swirling in the dark corners of your mind.

2. Die For Me (3) -Amy Plum

"Luck, normalcy, fate... none of those seemed to be on our side. Our very being together went against all the odds. All I knew was that something good had begun. A flame had been lit. And the whole universe was watching to see if it would be blown out. All I could do was hold my breath. And wait." -Amy Plum Die For Me

Have you ever laid eyes on the Eiffel Tower? Spoken french? Wandered down the streets of Paris? No? Do you want to? Amy Plum's Die For Me series takes place in Paris, France and by the time you are done reading the series you will feel as if you just took a long vacation in Paris. Kate is recovering from the death of her parents as she moves to Paris with her sister Georgia to live with their grandparents. That's where she meats Vincent. The dark haired hottie with a huge secret. An epic tale of love and loss unfolds on the streets of Paris and by the time you close the final book it should leave you slightly breathless and a little sad.

3.Gallagher Girls (6) -Ally Carter

"Sometimes people run... to see if you'll come after them."-Gallagher Girls, Ally Carter

People may say that these books are for a younger audience, but the characters grow with every book and by the time you finish the series you have also grown with them. Cammie and her friends attend Gallagher Girl Academy, but this is no ordinary school. You see Cammie is a spy and not too long ago her father disappeared. As Cammie faces school, love, and that daunting question of what happened to her father a bigger plot unravels. These books hit home when it comes to the bigger picture. They are filled with adventure and what it truly means to be a friend. It teaches us how much someone can grow and change and how they handle pressure. These books are full of twists and turns that you'll never see coming.

Each of these series is unique in its own way. Give them a shot, you never know until you try. You might just find that these characters and their stories will mean just as much to you as they do to me. It is between the pages of a book that I have found a home, friends, and lessons learned. If I can share that with you through these books then I have done my job passing on the message that these books are more than just words on a page.

Maximum Ride Forever

Warning: Slight Spoilers Below

When I was younger I had to read the Maximum Ride books by James Patterson for summer reading and I was livid. How was I supposed to remember such ridiculous names like Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy? Well, obviously the books hit home because it's simple for me to recite their names and tell you everything about them. I was devastated when the series ended in 2012, so imagine my surprise when three years later I found out there is one final book coming out. I was over excited. I had missed my flock and I felt like this final book would redeem the last one which had left too many open ends. Two days ago I finished Maximum Ride Forever and I was a little disappointed. 

*** Maximum Ride Spoilers Ahead ****

I feel (and I have heard much of the same from other fans) that the characters got lost somewhere along the way. While I love the flock and still enjoyed the twist, turns, and 'what will happen next!?' throughout Maximum Ride Forever, I missed what really drew me in in the first place. 

What happened to the flock? I get families fight and have their problems, but when they split again I was just tired of it. I missed the flock who did everything for each other, who were a tight knit group that had created their own family. I also missed all of the humor. My past five maximum ride books are worn and torn because I have re-read my favorite parts so many times. However, for me, the minute Maximum Ride: Fang ended with Fang leaving something just wasn't right anymore. 

Fang would never leave Max and vice versa. So when he left again in this novel it really tore me up. The humor, the trust, the ride or die family theme that was the flock was just... gone. Everyone was so broken and not overcoming the fact that they all needed to get back to being a family like the first five books. Max was still questioning everything and I felt like she herself was lost in this novel. 

I love the first five Maximum Ride books and while I really thought that Maximum Ride Forever would get back to the roots of the series it didn't. It's a great read and if you're a fan of the series I would say still read it because I did. I had to know how it all ended. However, if you're not a fan, I would say just enjoy the first five. Those are the books and characters I fell in  love with. I feel like the rest just got lost along the way.

Hunter Hayes: 21

Thursday night I sat waiting for the countdown on Hunter Haye's site to reach zero revealing his new single. To my surprise I found out just how interactive Hayes was looking to make the release of his new single. 

Hayes had decided to only release the single on Spotify where fans could listen to it for free. He also had a mosaic of instagram photos that fans were sending in to form the name of his new single 21. Ten or so days before the release of the new single Hayes blacked out his twitter and instagram sending fans into a frenzy, that is until I saw the countdown on his website. 

The whole experience was really interactive and fun. It gets the fans pumped up and questioning just what the clues meant. He posted twenty one black screens, later a green screen, finally a picture of a two, followed later that day with a one. 

It goes to show how involved an artist can be with their fans through social media. I know I became really excited and curious when he pulled the black out. His new single 21 will be available on iTunes on May 26, but until then go have a listen on Spotify! It's a great upbeat song that you won't be able to get out of your head. Check out what Hunter had to say about his new single here.

Summer Reading: Where To Start

Last year I read sixty four books over the course of summer and this year I do plan to beat my last number. Now my friends jaws normally hit the floor when I tell them this. How could I read a six hundred page book in one day? Sixty four! Are you serious? Doesn't it get boring? Well obviously not for a book nerd. 

This year I already have several series lined up for my summer reading. The first book on my list is Maximum Ride Forever by James Patterson. I have followed the Maximum Ride Series for several years and read the "final" book Nevermore back in 2012. So imagine my surprise when James Patterson announces one final book. Now my jaw was hitting the floor, because one of my favorite series that was supposed to have ended with Nevermore had one more book. 

Long story short I was overexcited. The book follows Max and her flock after the devastating ending of the last book. The book will be released tomorrow and I already have plans to spend my entire day reading every last word. Following that I plan to finish the fifth novel in The Covenant Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. 

From there I go to webistes like goodreads and window shop at Barnes and Nobles as well as the library to make a list of books I would like to read. It's really quit easy to figure out your summer reading list. It's a great time to sit in the sun and lose yourself in a different world entirely.

goodreads

Being a reader means that you view the world differently and sometimes your friends and family just don't get it. If you are a reader then you understand my pain. I can't even begin to tell you how many times some of my closest friends have said the dreaded words..."It's not real." Well obviously that doesn't go over well and I have to sit there for a second and think 'they just don't get it'. They never will...but that's ok.

You see goodreads has created a world where readers and authors can go to get away from all of the non-believers. The people who stare at words on a page and all they see is well... words. They make it possible for readers to interact and discuss their favorite books, make wish lists for what to read next, etc. It is a site that has come a long way to make a community for readers.

I would highly suggest looking into it if you are an avid reader who has no one who cares to listen to you talk about your favorite books. This is what being a reader is all about. The community, the world the books create, and the stories being told. So take advantage of this site and see what you can find. If you love to read and need a place to get recommendations, become part of a community, and just immerse yourself into the world of books goodreads is the way to go.