Stories Are Perfect

Shadowhunters Tuesday's @ 9pm on FreeForm, the new name for ABC Family.

So me and Tyler thought I'd be cool to write our Shadowhunters, series premiere review in a kind of back and forth chat format. Now I am going to just throw this out there, even though Shadowhunters is slightly different from the books it is still our favorite characters and settings. I hope that all the fans learn to enjoy the changes and get excited like I did when noticing things the director throws in that only the readers would get or notice. That being said we are focusing on the pilot and not necessarily all the differences from the books.

Makayla: So I guess we can start off with the total badassery going on in the beginning of the episode, I mean our favorite trio looked awesome doing a flip off that bridge.

Tyler: 

Makayla: So we get a flashback to eight hours earlier before the shadow world collided into Clary's. She walks into The Brooklyn Academy of Art and surprise surprise she gets in! 

Tyler:(delete later; talk about Simon and Clary at Java Jones) 


Makayla: I have to admit Alberto and Kat really are great as Simon and Clary, especially Alberto playing Simon because he acts just like book Simon!

Tyler:

Makayla: I saw a bit of foreshadowing with the biscotte, did you catch that?

Tyler:

Makayla: So back to Kat playing Clary, a lot of people didn't think she was a good actress, I mean I can't blame them. They only showed us the outtakes in sneak peeks and such, but I actually thought her acting was good. What about you?

Tyler:

Makayla: The only actors I felt needed to work on their acting was the Circle members who Magnus told to get out. Their timing was a bit off but Harry Shum Jr.'s acting definitely made up for it.

Tyler:(delete later; maybe talk about the fighting scenes and how that could have been better or other things you noticed)

Makayla:  So other than the acting improvements, what changes did you like? Personally I kind of like that they made Luke into a cop, it gives them more free range to get away with some demon killings and more access to find people, or at least that's what I think.  

Tyler:(talk about Dot/Madame Dorthea?)

Makayla: Another change I saw was Maureen, I didn't actually know she was cast let alone going to be in the first episode! So I wonder how Maureen's story will play out considering us readers know her fate. But I'm excited to see how they play it all out! Speaking of Maureen... SHE BROKE THE FOURTH WALL!!! (Here is some lines she spoke while sitting with Simon and Clary on Simon's van in front of Pandemonium.) "You guys don't think that's a little bit suspicious? You not knowing anything about your family? Your mom could be hiding some deep dark secret." (Finally a logical person!)

Tyler: (delete later; talk about Simon/Alberto can sing?)

Makayla: Even though Jace's lines were a bit well, a lot cheesy, we still got some snarky Jace attitude. "Nice choice Izzy, demons dig blondes." haha.
Tyler: More cheesy lines include: "How can I not know who you are?"

Makayla: "Which is what makes you so interesting, Clary Fray." *Jace smoulder*

Tyler: (delete later; talk about pandemonium)

Makayla: I felt like the stunt team could have helped the actors make the fight scenes look more real, especially in the pandemonium fight scene.

Tyler:

Makayla: So I noticed some things that the creator through in that only the reader would notice like for example; Clary's room was painted orange... well that it before Jocelyn burnt down the place. Did you notice anything else?

Tyler:

Makayla: Overall I really liked the pilot it was good, of course like all pilots it could have used some help, but I liked it. I felt like it was very similar to the books but also was kind of a new set up but still the same story. I can't wait to see more of Clary, Jace, Izzy, Alec, and Simon's adventures as the season progress'.

Tyler:(delete later; ending overall thingy like I did above.)

Makayla: Also don't forget, if you download the Freeform app on your mobile device you can watch the second episode and let me tell you it is really good, even better than the first episode.
Tyler:(delete later; end)

Well! It's 2016! The last half of 2015 was a bit of a bust for me, but I'm ready to have a fresh start in 2016! Here are some of my most anticipated releases and my reading plan.

Find it on Goodreads!

Find it on Goodreads!

Find it on Goodreads!

So, you just finished reading Eleanor & Park and don't know what to do with yourself,  well I'm going to help you out!


Firstly, what is a book hangover or a reading slump?

THE BOOK HANGOVER: The feeling you get after staying up all night to finish reading a great book. Then you realize no other book could possibly live up to the expectations of it and you never want to leave the characters because they are your babies and you just need a couple of days to take in that ending.
Okay, so here's another explanation... After staying up all night to finish reading a really good book (which you hadn't read a good book in a while) that by the end of the book you are extremely attached to those characters and you don't want to move on and let them go. The story was just so great that you want to read it over and over. But then again you can't and so you write your review, look up as many book review videos of that book as you can, fangirl about it online, and force your book buddies to read it so you can squeal in delight.

And then you fangirl so much that you can't even pick up a new book. Which leads us too...








THE READING SLUMP: It's been months, years (well maybe not years :P) since you've picked up a book and read it front to back, or even you know... the first page. It starts off with over fangirling, then you forget to read for a while and you pick up other things like; watching reviews, discovering booktubers, and the next thing you know you're...
 FALLING INTO A NETFLIX HOLE.

 Yep.
Who knew Netflix could be so bad? Let's face it we all knew Netflix is bad for us. Well.... okay okay.
But what do you do when all this happens? Who do you turn to in this time of need? Books. When Netflix asks if you're still watching (or maybe even before) just pause and exit Netflix. Close your laptop give it to someone, tell them to change the password, lock it in a safe, take that safe and ship it to the North Pole because hun, you need to read.





Tips to get your reading game on:

1. If you don't succeed, try and try again... Meaning if you just can't get into the book you're reading just put it down and set it aside, you can always come back to it! Forcing yourself to read a book you aren't in the mood for will most likely make your slump worse because instead of reading you'd rather watch another five and a half hours of Friends and Gilmore Girls on Netflix, and why is that? Because you aren't enjoying reading! So just remember, it's okay to set a book aside for a while.

2. Opposites attract! Try reading the opposite genre, even if you don't know what you want to read pick something up and if you aren't in the mood for it try reading something in a totally different genre. For example read a contemporary if you aren't in the mood for fantasty, or try out an autobiograhy (there are a lot of new YouTuber's books!) 

3. Maybe you just aren't in the mood to read, so try listening! You can most likely borrow your books audio version from your libraries online catalog (if they have one it would be the site they link you to to find ebooks) or you know try out Audible (there are a lot of free trials for new members offered by YouTubers) I find that I really like listening to the audiobooks more! It helps you get more into the story when a voice actor narrates the book, plus you can multitask while listening! Ex: washing clothes, folding clothes, cleaning your room, driving, playing apps (I like to play CutePolish's new app called Polish Splash, it's free on your app store and super addicting. I'm on level 130. Shoutout for that free promo :P), rearranging your bookshelves, etc.

4. Set yourself some goals. Setting some goals for yourself to get back into reading is a great way to encourage yourself to enjoy reading again. What I like to do is mark every fifty pages or so, (I like to end mine at the closes chapter meaning it could be a little before or slightly after fifty) and make it a goal to read fifty pages a day. Doing this will allow you to finish the book within a reasonable time range but still pace yourself. 



5. Get a book review/notes journal. You can buy a simple composition notebook or a fancy journal from Barnes & Noble, it doesn't matter just get what you like. You can use this to write notes, a TBR, books you want to read, etc.

6. Write notes frequently! I can't stress this enough, you can find out a lot through your notes. You can write better reviews, figure out story settings you like and don't, and keep track of when you started a book and finished it.

7. Make a TBR for the month. Nothing gives you more satisfaction than being able to mark something off a list. It makes you feel productive and you can give yourself a break for the month and only read a few books or a challenge by reading eight. It's all up to you to choose!


8. Lastly, try reading an ebook. Sometimes it's more convenient to carry your kindle around than a thick hardcover. Also it's easier to hold when trying to find that perfect reading position laying in bed.



I hope at least some of these tips help you and you get back into reading as soon as possible! 

We weren't tagged by anyone to do this, but I was researching fun posts and really liked this tag! Let's get started!

“We’re here, and then we’re gone, and it’s not about the time we’re here, but what we do with the time.” ― Rick Yancey, The 5th Wave 
 

My Rating: ✮✮✮✮☆ 4/5

 Non-Spoiler Review: 

The first thing I'd like to say is even people who don't like sci-fi will like this book! I'm not a big fan of sci-fi myself and so I never really got around to picking this up until I; 1. heard about the movie and, 2. Found out that Rick Yancey was coming to Ya'll Fest (he didn't end up being about to come because he was sick :/ )
I really didn't have any expectations going into this book, I knew nothing about it other than it was sci-fi and I didn't really like sci-fi, so I did what I always do when I find it hard to pick up a book...I listened to it on Audible. I actually ended up listening to the whole thing on Audible because the voice actors were so great! I found it much more interesting to listen too! The writing (what little I read on the actual page and what I listened too...) was easy to read, but very flowing and not too simple. I really enjoyed The 5th Wave and actually ended up buying the second book; The Infinite Sea. 


 

'Maybe some people are just meant to be in the same story.'

My Rating: ✮✮✮✮☆ 4/5

Non-Spoiler Review:

I have to say starting this book wasn't so easy for me, the chapter were long and I wasn't into the story much at first, but when you hit the first hundred pages and you meet more characters you won't want to put it down! This book left me in awe, Jandy Nelson's writing is fantastic and captivating! I can't wait to read more of her works!




















Spoiler-Review:

I related a lot to this story, Jude and Noah being artists really got me back in my drawing mood and I often had to stop reading and sketch. Also I found this book to be a very unique contemporary, it felt very real and plausible but at the same time it was still interesting. The way the story is told in two different point of views through the chapters and then intertwine to reveal what happened between the twins was the perfect way of writing this book. Each point of view makes you love that character even more. Sometimes you want to read about Noah more than Jude and vice-versa. The cliffhanger  chapters really make you want to keep reading and never stop!