25 Bookish Facts About Me!

Hello!

   So, I was watching a video of Sasha Alsberg on her youtube channel a bit ago and she did this really fun tag where she listed really funny, quirky and interesting facts about herself that all related to BOOKS!! I totally related to several of them! So, I thought I'd post some bookish facts about myself here! I mean, why not?!

25 Bookish Facts, here we go!

1. I am currently supposed to be editing my book! lololol

2. I don't understand when people say the love the smell of books. Some books smell like just plain paper and others smell like straight up vinegar. WHY?!

3. I am a slow reader.

4. I am totally into books with Angels and Demons right now!

5. I like mysteries!

6. My favorite genre is dystopian. 

7. I like fantasy too, though!

8. I am currently "reading" three books.

9. I usually carry a book in my purse, making my giant and already heavy purse feel like I'm carrying a toddler around.

10. I love ebooks.

11. I really enjoy audio books. I like to listen while I multitask. Like when I clean or while I'm being crafty or whatever! 

12. I just started a job at a county Library!

13. My job title is Circulation Clerk. Unfortunately I am not a librarian. :(

14. My all time favorite book is The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis.

15. I like to drink coffee while I read! 

16. While reading the Hunger Games series for the first time I had a box of Red Hots candies on which I snacked. So, now, anything cinnamon reminds me of The Girl Who Was On FIRE!!!!

17. My books on my shelves are arranged in the order in which I read them.

18. My bookish Instagram account is @LiteraryCanary.

19. I don't have a goal set for the year as to how many books I want to read but I do have a pretty long TBR list.

20. Riders by Queen Veronica Rossi, Passengers by Alex Bracken and The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis are some of the highest on my TBR list.

21. My favorite book tubers are Sasha Alsberg of abookutopia and Tasha of Tashapolis

22. I have 2 ebook copies of Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout. One on Kindle and one on Play Books! lololol.

23. I totally judge books by their covers. If a book is ugly or tacky I assume the writing is too and look for something prettier. That's mean I know. #shameface 

24. I prefer to read before bed, but sometimes you get a book that's just so good you read all day or all night or both!!!

25. This took me way too long! back to my beta reader's notes on my current writing project!

Feel free to consider yourself tagged and post 25 bookish facts about you on your blog! :)

Thanks for reading!

Sarah

Book Review: The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

I was told repeatedly by one of my best friends, Ashley, to “read Ava Lavender.” “Read Ava Lavender!” “READ AVA LAVENDER!” and I am beyond glad that I did.

Initially I thought about posting a one-liner review and simply saying, “This book is the single most beautiful work of art I have, and possibly will ever know.” or something like, “Three words come to mind after reading The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, beautiful, masterpiece and melancholy.” But there is so much to be said about this story that my brain can’t process it all without sounding lovesick. I fell in love with Ava, and her family. Undoubtedly, you would too.

The book is not entirely about Ava, it starts off with the sorrows of her grandmother, Emilienne and her own strange and beautiful life. Her sisters who tear their own hearts out, turn into canaries and a brother who is more beautiful than the girls. Later on Emilienne has a daughter of her own, Vivian, who of course, too has strange and beautiful sorrows, such as heartbreak, which can be one of the most beautiful of sorrows. And then comes Ava. Ava’s ancestors were in fact odd and peculiar what with having a canary as a great aunt and the ghosts of her grandmother’s siblings quietly hanging about the house but never was there one born with wings as Ava was. In this beautiful tell of confinement and freedom, love and loss, I found myself really feeling for the characters and sympathizing with them, happy for them and wanting to avenge them when they weren’t treated fairly. I’d say that author Leslye Walton succeeded in her endeavors as an author quite well. The book was extremely well written and very poetic. For a first time author it seemed like she really knew what she was doing.

Recommended age:

15+

On to the ratings!

Stars..

0 = None 10 = Tons

THE FEELS:

I experienced a lot of emotions while reading this book! I was shipping and hating and loving characters! Haha!

8/10

Violence:

Two scenes in particular stick out for me in this area. They were violent and just horrible. Bodily mutilation.

7/10

Sexual content:

There isn't much, a few times sex is mentioned but never in detail.

5/10

Crude language:

There were curse words used throughout. 2 religious profanities, 1 f-word and one or two of “hell” and “damn”

Other elements/comments:

Suicide is involved in the book as Emilienne’s sister Margaux takes her own live and the ending of the book in unclear if it is some type of metaphor for suicide or literal. If you read the book you'll see what I mean.

Overall:

Over all I fell in love with this book. It’s one of my favorites now and was so beautifully written. The only thing I didn't like was the use of the strong language, which seemed out of place for such a beautiful book.

9/10

Xoxo

- Sarah