Monthly Favorites: ~July 2014~

Hey guys!

Today is the end of July 2014. Oh man, where is this year going? So much as happened already this year, and so much time has passed, and yet it feels like it should still be 2009 or something! At least it does to me. :)

Regardless, the end of the month means a Wrap Up video (going up tomorrow on my YouTube, so subscribe) and this post!

So lets get into the things I've been obsessed with this month!

BOOKS

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Dude. I read this for BookTube-A-Thon this year (link to the post all about it and it's vids here) as the challenge to read a book someone else choose for you. Ray/LA Knight choose it for me after a brief argument over another book I already said I wasn't gonna read, and BOY am I glad she did! I LOVED it. LOVED it!!! I'm gonna have a hell of a time trying to choose my top 14 at the end of this year, because I'm past that number of 5/5 stars, and this was yet another!

I did a review of this which will be coming soon on my YouTube channel.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

I've been rereading this, and finished both The Fellowship of Ring and The Two Towers this month, as well as the first half of The Return of the King. I've rediscovered why I write and read. I know I'd be a different person if I hadn't grown up on these stories. I'm glad I made the decision to reread this trilogy before the 3rd Hobbit movie came out!

MOVIE

Zapped

So this is a Disney Channel Original Movie, where a girl's cell has a freak accident, and suddenly her dog obedience app can control boys. It's a really different take on the lesson that you can't control others, only yourself, and how you should just accept others as they are. I really enjoyed it, and if I had to rate it, I'd give it a solid 4 out of 5 stars. Not wowing, but fun and cute to watch.

TV SHOWS

Girl Meets World

This is the sequel to Boy Meets World, where we follow not only an adult Corey as a father, but as well as his children, Riley and her younger brother Auggie. Lots of old favs from the show make appearances, and episodes follow the same kind of plot lines as the original, but with a modern twist, showing that we really are our parents' children. I LOVE this show, and it's so well done!

VIDEOS

The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies Teaser

In case you missed my last post here, I reacted to the awesomeness that is this teaser. When I showed my parents we watched it a second time. We love it THAT MUCH. CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!

Colbie Caillat - Try

Another Girl Power vid, about just being yourself, and not trying too hard. I really loved it, and it made me cry. Although I still wear makeup sometimes (like right now), but it's always a good reminder you don't have to try.

Glen Keane - The Duet

This mini video by Glen Keane is BEAUTIFUL! He worked for Disney (I think) at one point, and then made this beauty! A must watch!

YOUTUBER

Bookables

Heather's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bookables

Heather is a quirky booklover like myself, who is too old for YA, according to lameos. Regardless she has a wide love of books and is very fun to watch! Must subscribe!

MUSIC

Still I Fly (cover) by Kurt Hugo Schneider ft. Macy Kate and Austin Percario

I've had this song on repeat ever since I saw this vid. I thought it was official, thanks to all the clips from the movie, but nope. Just a cover that blows the socks off the original by a LOT!!! I *LOVE* this song, and only this version!

Too Much by Zendaya

Yeah, this is the theme for Zapped. And once the movie was over, I got it in my head and it WOULDN'T LEAVE! After listening to it on repeat every few songs I had to add it.

All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor

Link to video (which ROCKS) here

This song may sound like a lame pop song, but it is. Meghan isn't a skinny performer, but in her vid she dances around better than Britney Spears all about how "every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top". If that line isn't enough, you've got to see the vid or listen to it. (WARNING she DOES cuss, just twice, and I just mute it right then).

HONORABLE MENTION

Becky G

Becky G is a 17 year old who decided to try her hand at music. And BOY can she ROCK! She's awesome, and I have 6 songs of hers on repeat lately. I wanna rock? Listen to her. Wanna dance? Listen to her. I especially love her version of "Jenny from the Block", Becky from the Block. She tells about her background and what she's overcome. Very inspirational. Heard about her thanks to Disney, and she's amazing!

Those are the things I love. I've also been crazy about some more music and videos, but I shortened it so this post would go on forever! :)

What have you discovered this month??? Have you enjoyed summer so far? It's been cooler this past month than all of winter last year. That vortex that kept most of the country frozen kept us boiling. Christmas Eve was a record high, in the 80s! >< So cooler weather is nice!

:)

Batman: Court of Owls and The Hobbit Battle of Five Armies Teaser Reaction (vids)

Hey guys!

So I've been taking it easy, cleaning, reading, writing some, and editing for my girl Ray since BookTube-A-Thon ended. I've been so grateful for every day that I can sleep in, because trust me, I died during that read-a-thon. I haven't had enough pictures to do another Week in Pics just yet, but I may by Friday.

But the videos have continued on, and I've posted 2 since I last checked in. The first was an arc review, meaning more than one book in a comic series, and the second was my reaction to a teaser for the last of the greatest movie franchise in the history of cinema. Okay, maybe YOU don't feel that way about The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings, but *I* do.

So the first one is about why I have 8, yes, EIGHT DC comics in my house thanks to the library. As I've stated before, I wasn't really into Batman, only reading one or two graphic novel bind-ups every few weeks or even a few months. Then I picked up Batman: Night of the Owls. And I was hooked into the New 52, which I wasn't happy about happening when it did (hence why I hadn't touched it yet). Now I've read about 13 Batman Comics in the past 3 months, and am waiting on even more to come on hold for me at the local branch.

Here's everything about where you should pick up this New 52.





So this next vid was filmed on my cell phone, last minute because that's how I roll. No, I gave Ray her camera back for the first time in almost a month, thanks to me constantly reading. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies released their very first trailer, which is just a teaser, but still. Lots of BookTubers film their reactions, so I decided to. It's a tad boring during the teaser, since I can't play the audio or show the footage, only me watching it. But after it ends you see me fangirling hardcore. Seriously, that's my reaction every time, but now I actually filmed it. I was hopping around my house right after. :D





And here's the teaser itself!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpTEdwgoph4&index=1&list=FLaAuZ7-QAgDGk2g_IzAxXwg



Thanks for watching, and make sure to subscribe on YouTube so you can see all my fangirling before I post it here!

:)

BookTube-A-Thon 2014 Wrap Up and links to vids

Hey guys!

This was probably the craziest thing I've ever done, deciding to film every day, read 24/7 for a week, not do anything other than read. It was intense and very, very hard, especially as I was going from one week long readathon to another. I've never read so much so quickly. By Friday I was really at the end of my rope, crying because I'd gone a solid 10 days without enough sleep. Oh, I'm tired? Read. Oh, I really need to make some nice food? Nope, grab something and read. I read everywhere. I read in the kitchen, at parties, at church, at my friends. I had a book on me while driving. I went no where and did nothing without a book by my side. Sounds awesome for readers, but by day 13 I was exhausted. I just laid in bed, watched most of a movie, then slept for 10 hours. Even so, I had an alarm and woke up before I wanted to. But getting more than 6 hours of sleep was just what I needed.

I know, some people have it worse, of course they do. But for me this was trying. I mean, doing one thing all day every day for two weeks regardless of what it is, is hard as hell. Yes, I did take breaks, but I didn't have the time to just relax for 4 hours.

So I am doing BookTube-A-Thon next year, but I'm never doing two read-a-thons back to back ever again. WAY too damn hard.

So here's everything that I read during the BookTube-A-Thon 2014!!!

Also linked down below are all the rest of my vids I did for it! :)







TBR - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwPv-xsPvUk
Day 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7__ErVa9v4
Day 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqmDmx7I3sY
Day 3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FadKC2GLvRs
Day 4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arhb7PX2CkY
Day 5 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiEdG-HZECM
Day 6 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92EIMcbr7gA
Day 7 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IynnzA4BVU

My Week(s) in Pics ~6/30 - 7/21~

Hey Guys!

OMG it's been CRAZY! NEVER doing two read-a-thons back to back again! BookTube-A-Thon almost killed me! Friday I had several mental breakdowns and ended up just crying and trying to not punch people!

BUT I have pictures! I did take quite a few, so here they are!

Yeah I get this.

Soo, before the read-a-thon's got started I had to wake up early...and my alarm clock went off at about 3 times it's normal volume. And if you didn't know, I tend to dream about fighting and having to fight for my life. So that's what I was dreaming about when a rock song came on at 3x's the sound level. I fell out of bed. I'm not sure how, only that I found myself on the floor with this righteous bruise forming. I still have it. TWENTY DAYS LATER!!!! And this pic does NOT do it justice, it was all tie-dye and every few hours the colors would change. Now it's barely there but I can still feel it. o.o'

I kept my strength up during the read-a-thons by eating healthy! And this cookie cereal from Kroger (Fry's here) is actually not bad for you! Maybe it is if you eat as much of it as I have, but still. Yummy yummy deliciousness!

So on Pinterest I have reach over 400 followers! WOW! To all, seriously thank you! I'm glad you like all my randomness!!!

The same day I also got up and headed out with Ray to see Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier! I really loved it, and now LA is (of course) making a new fanfic separate from Darkness There and Nothing/Edge of Darkest Devotion. It's really good, at least the first chapter is, so I suggest you head over to her fanfiction page and check it out!

This is the most unflattering thumbnail my computer could have possibly created. Wow. Thank you, computer.

So yesterday I realized that my BookTube-A-Thon Wrap Up was nothing but blurry, so I had to refilm it. Then I decided to film several other things. This was the makeup look I did for the last video. Crazy and a little out there, I'd never wear this out (unless it was a great party or something). Any ideas on what it was I filmed? HINT: I read it during BookTube-A-Thon!

So that was what I've been up to! Make sure to check out my YouTube page for a run-down of all my vids I filmed, edited, and posted in the middle of these read-a-thons. Thanks for the support!

Also, my Wrap Up will be going up later today, so be subscribed to see it when it's live at 7 PM PST!

BookTube-A-Thon Announcement and Day 1 Challenge (videos)

Hey guys!

Since I did so horrible with #AYearAThon (my wrap up will be up later tonight), I decided like a maniac to do BookTube-A-Thon, another week long readathon with book and video challenges! o_o' Yeah, I'm that crazy!

So here's my announcement with what I'm currently reading, minus The Two Towers, as I did NOT finish it (again, more on that in my wrap up going up tonight).






It's already started, and while I didn't get that great of a start (some people have ALREADY finished their first books! O.O), I'm almost done with Two Towers. But as I mentioned before, there's video challenges. Every day I post a vid in order to meet these challenges. Now there's no prize for doing all of them, so I may not, but I'm gonna try. Speaking of which, I've got stuff to read, so PEACE!!!

Megan's 1st Vid and On My Shelf Videos + #AYearAThon Update

Hey guys!!!

So thanks to monsoon season, I've been having trouble being online for a whole day *crosses fingers cuz today's been pretty good*. That means I've cut back everything, including posting videos!

During storms I barely managed to get up Megan's first video, her doing the First Sentence Challenge! She did pretty good, better than even the creator of the challenge, kimberleyreads!

This video also proves that me, Ravyn or LA Knight, and IK Scott SUCK at counting! Oh man, we're so hopeless! ALL THREE VIDEOS we were SO off with our scores! But with this video, we do have a virdict of which of the three of us did the best with this challenge!

IK Scott (Megan) will have more videos, and she wants them all on my channel. I edited this one, but LA Knight's doing the rest. If they come at all. I think I'll post them towards the beginning of each month, and if Ray can't get them done fast enough I'll just take over.






I filmed this video a while back, but didn't post it because I was filming like a maniac back then. You can tell from how my shelves are just how old it is. I was supposed to upload something else earlier, but the formerly mentioned storms really hindered things. And the other video was just out of date. I'm going to refilm it and get it up in the future, but not right now.

I'm also ill right now, battling a pretty nasty cold. I'm feeling better right now than I have in a while, but Monday and Tuesday I was down. I laid for hours in my be Monday night, trying to sleep, but I couldn't. My body was so sick it wouldn't let me! So if this seems a little off in the editing, I was sick while doing this!






Because of the storms I'm uploading only twice a week. Honestly I do enjoy this schedule more, giving me a rest to just read and do other things instead of constantly worrying about being on time with my videos.

This week is #AYearAThon, and this illness isn't making things easier. I gave up reading Sense and Sensibility for now because my pounding head combined with difficult language made it terribly hard to read. I've moved onto The Two Towers. Speaking of which, I need to get back to read that, so that's enough for now.

Oh, and My Week in Pics isn't coming this week. I'm sick, not much to see, except the amazing disappearing tissue paper!

Laters! :)

Monthly Favorites ~June 2014~

The month of June has passed, so you know what that means: FAVORITES TIME!!!

There are some clear winners here, so let's get started!

BOOK

Divergent by Veronica Roth

So I finally picked this up (and I now own it!) and fell in love. Well, I fell in love with the movie, which is just like the book. Great book to movie adaptation!

MOVIE

City of Bones

This is another great book to movie adaptation. Okay, not great, more like really well done. There's 1 scene that bugs me, when they freeze the demons they just move past them, instead of killing them, which would've saved lives. -_-'

TV SHOW

Sherlock Season Three

So I finally saw the final episode this month, and got my girls to see it too! It's so amazing! Can't wait for season four!!!

YOUTUBE VIDS

Always #LikeAGirl by Always

This video challenges the insult "like a girl." That's insulting to every girl and woman on the planet. I love Always decided to challenge that. Although it's not the first time I heard that, Disney channel did it about 10 years ago with an original movie of theirs.

Not Sorry #ShineStrong by Pantene

Another video that went viral the week before #LikeAGril, this video points out a universal truth that's held women back in a lot of ways. Women are very good at apologizing for nothing, usually for just being there. Which makes no sense. I've heard it over and over again, that women are holding themselves back from promotions, raises and other things they need because of this random habit of apologizing. I've told my friends, and been told before to not apologize when there's nothing to apologize for.

Both of these videos should be viewed by men and women alike, especially the first one.

YOUTUBERS

I've got three of them, so here we go!

ke-sha Forsaken

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/theforsaken707

Ke-sha is one of the moderators for #AYearAThon, and since I posted my first video she's been watching my channel. We have very different tastes in books, which I think only adds variety to BookTube. She's funny, honest, totally herself on camera. I really enjoying watching her, so ya'll should subscribe! And I totally consider her my first YouTube friend!

Elizziebooks

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/elizziebooks

ElizzieBooks runs BookTube News, a helpful weekly series about the new things on YouTube, and a blog on tumblr! I've been featured on her tumblr quite a few times myself, and have found more than 1 awesome video or BookTuber thanks to that awesome series. I especially love how all her videos end: "Remember to Keep Reading."

WhittyNovels

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/WhittyNovels

Whitney is a 16 year old from Texas whose YouTube channel has just exploded. When I subscribed she had about 3000 followers, which has grown to about 12,000! And for a good reason - she's hilarious and fun to watch! She's so smart and reads whatever she feels like, not just because it's popular (although that too). Obsessed with Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (the author actually knows her, she's that obsessed), she started vlogging about books shortly after she discovered just how awesome they really are. A great person to watch, and I suggest you follow her tumblr, if only for her random pictures of her freaking out in bookstores. :D

MUSIC

Katy Perry - Prism (album)

(In Particular) By The Grace of God

The last week of June I just fell in love with this album. I just decided I wanted to hear all of it, and while I don't listen to all of it, on my Spotify playlist you can see what tracks from the album (it's most of it) I love. My favorite is definitely By The Grace of God. Such a beautiful song!

Timeflies ft. Katie Sky - Monsters

This song is incredibly personal to me, as it represents how I feel with my depression and anxiety are at their worst. I think I hate everyone and can't trust anyone. I feel unworthy of love. But I have people in my life, one person in particular, who are just like Katie Sky's part in the song, telling me that they know it's the depression and anxiety, not me. That it's okay and they'll help me battle my demons, my monsters, and refuse to let them win. This battle is very real, and hits me every few days. And I'm not the only one. Lots of my friends deal with this issue. I hope that I'm someone they can count on too.

Pentatonix - Love Again

This song is AMAZING! And as you can see from the picture, so is the video! But since my computer is used and sometimes barely works, I listen mostly on Spotify, where it's been on repeat all month! I can't help, no matter what, to stop and just rock out. Very helpful when Movie Maker keeps freezing (like it has today -_-+ ).

That's my June favorites! Have you discovered a song you can't get out of your head, or a new friend?

:)

My Week in Pics ~6/8 - 6/27~ + #AYearAThon Announcement

So, I'm not very good at sticking with not doing something. Seriously, not.

Which is why I decided to do this post no matter what! I guess I'll just do what I've been doing, and just post them sometimes. :)

So this is just a little update about how things are going!

After tweeting about how I was loving Divergent their official twitter followed me! Trust me, I've already filmed a book review about it where I was rocking makeup that reminded me of Tris (makeup I don't wear). I'll post about it when it goes up.

Follow me on twitter here.

BookTube News reblogged some of my vids again! Big thanks for the shoutout, Elizziebooks!

Follow me on tumblr here.

Bookmans also replied to my tweet about the library sale. Thanks for the view guys! And keep doing what you do, the store's awesome!

Watch the video here.

And in case you're tired of hearing about my shoutouts, this is the tumblr for Whitney from Whittynovels. She's only 16, incredibly funny and...whitty! (get it? Okay, I'm corny, but it's in her screen name!) She asked for people to criticize her page without sugar coating it, so I did. She's awesome and amazing, and this time the links to HER YouTube page, because she deserves it.

Her YouTube page is here!

That's what I've been up to! Okay, it's just from last week, since I wasn't taking pictures very much. I'll be better, I promise!

But as the title says, this isn't just about my week in pics, it's also my debut of my latest video, which is my #AYearAThon July Announcement!

This month the theme is Classics. I haven't had much success with reading classics. Pretty much if it's labeled a classic I don't like it. Things Fall Apart, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Scarlet Letter. All of these I had to read in school and I hated with a passion. So if it's called a classic, I avoided it, even if I liked the movie adaptation (I learned Hollywood is good at making them look better on screen with Count of Monte Cristo). But I decided to at least try and bought a classic, and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare at the library sale. Also decided that The Lord of the Rings is close enough to classics for me to reread them, or at least try. I'm close to the end of The Fellowship of the Ring and will be finishing that.

Here more about my plans in the video below! Hope you guys have a great week!