My Month in Pics ~February 2015~

So it's been a week or so, but here's my February!

Starting things off with a cute kitty! Mighty was randomly in the computer room off and on all month. When he was slightly awake he hated my music and would bail, but one day he just chilled for like, 2 hours. Looking adorable like this. :)

It was Gem Show month! I was excited and scared because I was in charge of getting us registered, and went with first my mom and then my besties! (Just realized I'm missing my green kitty watch...WHOOPS!) I had a ton of fun and love the owl necklaces (and yes, the necklace on the left is also a watch)

My Tumblr has exploded. I gain at least 5 followers a week. It's crazy and blows me away to see it climb every day or two. And one day I opened up my activity and found 175 notes in the span of about 4-6 hours. That's insane! I'm very grateful for every follower, cuz I didn't know anyone on Tumblr except 1 person when I started my blog, and knew no one in the Booklr community, so all of them/you are amazing!!!

I sometimes pause my videos while editing and get faces like this. Yeah, don't know what I was doing...

Video Pictured

I had to share that tag. Too funny and really accurate.

Another funny post from Tumblr that I had to share. Cuz that's how I feel. Not how everyone feels, but that would be me. :)

So those were all the pics from February! Hope you enjoyed!

Monthly Favorites ~February 2015~

Sorry this took forever, I've been pretty busy! Plus those other blog posts are older. BUT! My monthly favorites are finally here! And trust me, I have at least 3 more posts ready for this blog this month, so no more blank months! (I hope.)

So here's what I loved last month!

Books

Brotherband: Scorpion Mountain by John Flanagan

Book Review

I started this right at the beginning of January, but didn't manage to finish it until the first. I adore this book. Love it, love it, LOVE IT! It's  much better than the last one, and reminded me why John Flanagan is an auto-read and auto-buy for me. 

Avatar the Last Airbender: The Search by Gene Luen Yang

In particular, parts 2 and 3, but I love all three. WE FINALLY LEARN WHAT HAPPENED TO ZUKO'S MOM!!! We didn't know with just part 1, but she's in 2 and 3! I was so excited to read these, and they were so well done. What happened was something I couldn't have guessed, proving once again that Avatar is unpredictable and IT'S AWESOME!!! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!

Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol 3: Death of the Family by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, and Timothy Green II

Arc Review

So I did a review of the entire arc for Death of the Family, and it's awesome. But each individual story has it's own flare. This one I felt did the most for the characters, which wasn't true for all of them, certainly not true for Batman or Joker himself. This is my favorite out of them, and raised the bar. What Jason goes through, and the demons he lets go and finally buries for good is awesome. If you want my review for this part in particular, check it!

TV Show

Star Wars Rebels

Okay, I haven't seen all the new episodes, but what I've seen, I've LOVED! I adore this show, and first they bring in Yoda, voiced by the master Frank Oz himself, then Lando by Billy Dee Williams, and then bringing in Tarkin! Oh man, and what happened when Tarkin arrived!!! Wow, this has blown me away, though I need to see the last few of this first season.

Videos

Lip Sync Battle with Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart, and Jimmy Fallon

This video is HILARIOUS. I literally cried, I was laughing so hard. And my stomach hurt. Last month was a tough one, with my depression hitting me pretty hard, but this helped a lot. You have to watch this!

Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars Perform Uptown Funk on Ellen

This song was one of my favorites this past month, but this had to be shown, because this is a phenomenal performance! I adore it and kept watching it, it was just too fun!!!

YouTuber

ThePerksOfBooks

YouTube Channel

I posted in my 2014 Year Favorites a video of hers, because it was hilarious. Well I subscribed, and I'm glad I did. She's hilarious, and fun to watch, which makes following her a blast. She's also done at least one music video, showing that she's incredibly talented.

Booklr

Marie the Librarian

Tumblr Page

Marie the Librarian is an amazing Tumblr book lover from Norway of all places, and just as her name says, she's a librarian. She doesn't do videos, but takes plenty of pictures, and loves showing off new books and cool desplays from her library. While I had some issues with my local library, I'd love to go to hers. Even though it's in a different country and I'm not sure how well anyone other than her speaks English...anywho! She's lots of fun to follow, and I was astonished when she suddenly followed me back! Maybe because I'm the queen of reblogs...I kinda don't post my own stuff over there very much... >.>

Music

1. American Beauty/American Psycho by Fall Out Boy

This album has been on repeat all month, and I still listen to it! I've heard the whole thing at least once just today. I adore this album, whereas none of their other albums have really struck my fancy. It's so well done! I love it to pieces! Definitely number one!!!

2. Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars

I told you I've been loving this song. This song only barely missed the number one spot, mostly because it's just one song versus a whole album. It's so catchy and fun, I dance around to it all the time. :)

3. Shut Up + Dance by Walk the Moon

This song I heard thanks to my alarm clock. It went off, and then I listened to the end of this song. When I got up I wrote down the only lyrics I remembered, and a few weeks later I found it online, and then on Spotify, and now I'm addicted. It's not a big fav, but it's still the second or third song I listen to on Spotify.

Honorary Mention: Sledgehammer by Fifth Harmony

This song was something I found one night while watching MTV. The video isn't that great, but the song got in my head, and I keep listening to it every so often. But for a while it was pretty constant.

So those are my favs! What book blew you away? Any good songs get in your head? Let me know!
:)

Books-Cupcakes February Book Photo Challenge Part 2/2

Okay, here's the last of these posts until the 15th of this month! Here's the last 14 pictures from February for Books and Cupcakes monthly Book Photo Challenge! Remember to follow me on Tumblr to see all the pics as I post them!

February Part 1
January Part 1, Part 2

Day 15: Books and Flowers

Okay, I only have the 1 book, as there weren't any flowers anywhere in southern AZ at this point in time. NOW there's flowers, lol!

Pictured: Allegiant by Veronica Roth (which I was in the middle of or had just finished)

Day 16: Sexy and Steamy

As I'm really religious I don't approve of sex in books...except between married couples, because that's hwen you're supposed to have it. Even then, I'm picky. But Wendy and Richard Pini handled it tastefully. This was the first time I read it and was complete fine with it. After all, Cutter and Leetah hadn't seen each other in months and months.

Pictured: ElfQuest Vol 2 The Forbidden Grove by Wendy and Richard Pini

Day 17: Standalone

Another genre of book that I rarely read, I only have 2 standalones on my shelves that I've read, even now. I adore both of these and I'm so happy that I own them both! Phenomenal reads!

Pictured: Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Engdahl, and The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett

Day 18: Classic Romance

This is literally the only "romance" book I've ever enjoyed. Plenty of books on my shelves have romance, but this is a typical, classic romance. I didn't go for a classic, but rather the book that comes to mind when you hear "romance". The Gladiator is from Steeple Hill, meaning there isn't any sex, of things in it that would upset almost any religion, because that's their goal. Carla Capshaw has quite a few books through them, but this is the best. It's AMAZING!!!! A must read if you don't mind the Christian themes. :)

Day 19: A Trilogy

Okay, I choose 2. Because these are the only trilogies I own in full. I haven't read Gemma Doyle, but have read Lord of the Rings twice.

Pictured: the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray, The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

Day 20: Currently Reading

When I took this picture these were the book I kept cracking open. I'm now on book 6 of the Jedi Apprentice series, and I'm still reading Dreams of Gods & Monsters.

Pictured: The Rising Force by Dave Wolverton, Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor, and The Dark Rival by Jude Watson

Day 21: Pink Cover

Not very many books have pink covers, mostly it's more red with gold, and less pink. Took forever to find these.

Pictured: Beet the Vandel Buster Vol 2 by Riku Sanjo and Kouji Inada, Pretear Vol 3 by Junichi Sato and Kaori Naruse, W.i.t.c.h. The Power of Five by Elizabetta Gnone and Elizabeth Lenhard, and Joust by Mercedes Lackey

Day 22: Historical Fiction

I'm ashamed to say I haven't read any of these books. Yeah, historical fiction isn't really my thing, obviously...

Pictured: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon; A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

Day 23: Reading Playlist

I don't really have a reading playlist, as it's more whatever I'm in the mood for (aka my monthly favs). However, I have editing playlists, as I'm LA Knight's (aka Ravyn's) beta editor, which means I edit all her rough drafts. Except now her writing is overwhelming (very few people on the planet can top Ray's writing amount, she literally does NaNowRiMo every single month, and can easily surpass that amount), so I'm just her final draft of her novels, and her only beta editor of her fanfics.

So for her two published novels in the Twilight Chessboard, as well as her fanfics I have playlists. This is the first half of the Twilight Chessboard playlist, which you can find on Spotify. My username is Lorien O'Brien.

Day 24: Heartbreaking

Oh man, this short story is heartbreaking in so many ways! First of all, this is the last story in The Black Jewels, one of my favorite series EVER. So that alone is heartbreaking. And then what it starts out with is heartbreaking *SPOILERS*

Jaenelle is dead. And Daemon is so heartbroken he can't function. Not for the first year, and not after for at least another decade. Then his dad Saetan dies. It's just so sad! I cried a lot reading this, and thinking about it makes my chest tight in pain. :'(

Pictured: Twilight's Dawn by Anne Bishop

Day 25: LOVE This Book

I went for a series, my fav manga series ever, Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa! If you saw my livetweeting of this, then you know why. :)

Day 26: Banned Book

I have a few others that fit this catergory, but I wasn't sure about them. However, I was in high school during the Twilight Craze (Breaking Dawn came out one or two years after) so I know about the banning of these books. My school didn't, as the library wasn't used very much except for books like these, but plenty of others did. The fanaticism was REAL, and it was crazy!!!

Day 27: Freebie

I decided to go with all the books I bought in February, minus one. Library sale and Good Will for the win! I think all together I spent $25 for all of this!

Not Pictured: Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex

Day 28: Read This Month

I only read 10 new books, and only 2 of them were actual books, the rest were graphic novels and manga. However I read 29 books in total, meaning 19 of them were rereads, a mix of manga, comics, and books. And I must say, I enjoyed it. I'm still 3 books ahead of schedule for my insane goal for the year, so I don't feel guilty at all, except perhaps that I'm out of books to review for Fridays...hopefully I'll be done with a book this week! :)

For more info, watch my monthly wrap up on YouTube!

Not Pictured: The Lightning Thief graphic novel by Rick Riordan, Robert Venditti, Jose Villarrubia, and Attila Futaki; Avatar The Last Airbender: The Search parts 1 and 2 by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiro; Red Hood & the Outlaws Vol 2: The Starfire by Scott Lobdell, Kenneth Rocafort, and Timothy Green II; and ElfQuest: The Hidden Years and Wolfrider by Wendy and Richard Pini

That's it for February! Once tonight's video is up, I'll link it in text! Now I need to start editing and reading for #AYearAThon!

:)

Books-Cupcakes February Book Photo Challenge Part 1/2

As promised, here's the first half of my Books and Cupcakes Book Photo Challenge for February! I think I'll keep up (as best as I can) with these two parts. It's easier than trying to do it every week, and keeps things clearer.

Check out January Part 1, Part 2!

Day 1: Reading This Month

My TBR looks big, but it wasn't really. I read almost everything, or at least started all of them, except for the Pokemon manga.

Pictured: Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor, Scorpion Mountain by John Flanagan, Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce, Captives of Blue Mountain by Wendy and Richard Pini, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelest Vol 7 by Kazuki Takahashi, Pokemon Adventures Vol 5 by Hidenori Kusaka and Mato, and the Jedi Apprentice Series by Jude Watson and Book 1 by Dave Wolverton.

Day 2: Dystopian

I am not a big fan of this genre. The idea of it bugs me. I didn't pick up Divergent until I'd seen the movie (I know, I'm terrible), and because I liked it so much I picked up Legend. But I randomly found and fell in love with the idea of the Shadow Children Series!

Pictured: Legend by Marie Lu, The Shadow Children Series by Margaret Peterson Haddix, Inside Divergent by Cecilia Bernard, Divergent and Allegiant by Veronica Roth.

Day 3: Made Me Cry

Oh man, these titles made me cry! Every time! Especially Harry Potter, I bawled like a baby!

Check out the top 20 books that had me in tears here!

Pictured: Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, Queen of the Darkness, and Dreams Made Flesh by Anne Bishop; Daughter of the Forest, Son of the Shadows, and Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier; Allegiant by Veronica Roth, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

Day 4: Couldn't Put Down

Plenty of books fit that description. Like seriously, over half my shelf fit that. BUT! I thought I'd mention some favorites that all were read in 1 day.

Pictured: The Black Jewels Series by Anne Bishop, The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling

Day 5: Makes Me Smile

My username on Tumblr is LorienKittyBooks, so kitties and books always make me smile! I also found it very fitting that my kitty's mostly black, and I have a manga called Black Cat, that makes me smile when I read it.

Another thing that makes me smile: the fact that my cat is terrified of cameras and now books. He looks really frightened because I cornered him to take this picture...and he looks like I hit him or something. Nope. What you see is what happened. My poor chicken boy!!! XD

Day 6: Romantic Comedy

This past month was full of love, a book genre I'm not a big fan of. However, back in high school my friend got my addicted to this manga, which is shojo, meaning for girls, aka mostly romance, or romance is a big part of the story. I only have 2 other shojo on my shelves, but out of the two I've finished reading, this is my favorite. I think it falls into the comedy genre because while is mostly a fantasy romance, the main character Noriko can't speak the same language as Izark, the dude. When flustered she tends to ramble on and on in Japanese, even after she learns his language.

Pictured: From Far Away Vols 1-4 by Kyoko Hikawa

Day 7: Female Author

Over half the books on my shelf are by a female author, but I decided to showcase my manga, which is mostly male authors, and Tamora Pierce. While I don't think Tamora is the best person (she's a misandrist, trust me, not a feminist) her books are amazing and really well done. She's an autobuy basically, and I will continue to do so.

Pictured: Fullmetal Alchemist Vols 1-10 by Hiromu Arakawa; The Legend of Zelda Manga by Akira Himekawa; Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Vols 1 and 16, and xxxHOLiC Vols 10, 11 and 16 by CLAMP; From Far Away Vols 1-4 by Kyoko Hikawa; Page, First Test, The Song of the Lioness Quartet, Shatter Glass, Street Magic, Magic Steps, The Circle of Magic Quartet, Young Warriors, Bloodhound, Mastiff, and The Tricksters Duology by Tamora Pierce

Day 8: Favorite Genre

This is a picture from January, because I was surprised that the exact same title was in two months in a row. But yes, fantasy. That will never change.

Day 9: Non-Fiction

I don't have many books that fit that description, but the ones I have pretty much are large books. I have even more, but I felt this stack was big enough, and my back was killing me enough with just these.

Pictured: The Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide by Brian Sibley; Divergent Official Illustrated Movie Companion by Kate Egan; Battle, War, Warrior, and Weapon by R.G. Grant; and Wicked The Grimmerie by David Cote

Day 10: Graphic Novel

Instead of trying to pick just one series, I decided to show all my graphic novel/manga section, minus my Shonen Jump collection. I love manga, and want to own so many more. In case you don't follow me on Goodreads, I read more manga/comics/graphic novels than books, and have been since just after high school.

Day 11: Books and Candy

I finally started Dreams of Gods & Monsters! Also went out and got a Crunch bar because yum!

Pictured: Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor

Day 12: Romantic Cover

Again, romance isn't really my thing. Dengeki Daisy is another favorite manga, perhaps my favorite shojo ever! However it isn't finished, so I'll reserve my feelings until I get to the last chapter! I thought the cover rather romantic, even though the romance isn't even part of the story at this point...

Pictured: Dengeki Daisy Vol 3 by Kyousuke Motomi

Day 13: Fictional BF/GF

While I've had quite a few fictional crushes in my day, most were on minors, and now that I'm not a minor, I've kinda outgrown them. BUT! One is an adult the entire series, and the other has grown up. Number 1 is Lucivar Yaslana from The Black Jewels--BOY is he SEXY!!! Love him to pieces! Him also being the funniest character helps :)--and number 2 is Dick Grayson aka Robin 1 aka Nightwing. He started in the comics with Batman, putting on the cowl at age 8, and by the time I was 12 I had a crush on the 15 year old Robin in Teen Titans. Well, in the comics he's grown up into Nightwing, with his own comic line that just ended and everything! So I can still say he is sexy and hilarious and amazing, cuz he's like 28 or so.

Pictured: Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop, image from Nightwing Vol 4: Second City by Kyle Higgins, Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, and Will Conrad

Day 14: Romantic Read

Okay, sooo over half of these are unread. Told you I haven't read much romance! I basically if it isn't Hawksong or manga I have read 1 page or less (1 page being just one of them). BUT! I own all of these and plan to read them! :)

Pictured: Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes; Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion by Jane Austen; Pretear Vols 1-3 by Kaori Naruse and Junichi Satou; Dengeki Daisy Vol 3 by Kyousuke Motomi; and Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

That's it for part 1! I'm not quite done taking pictures for February, so that'll be up later. I hope you enjoyed this!