February/March Wrap-Up

Personal Updates 

February and March were not great reading months for me, but I have a feeling April will be different. I put it down to watching way more TV in the last couple months. I've suddenly become addicted to Grey's Anatomy again after not watching for ages (I stopped watching after the season 6 finale- so it's been like 8 years!) 

I've also been watching the Simpsons here and there, while simultaneously being addicted to The Simpsons Tapped Out. Seriously this is probably the longest standing phone game that I've played. I remember 4 years ago being in University classes and playing. 

Easter weekend was amazing. Me and the fiance went to Tauranga for the long weekend to visit our close friends who we haven't seen since New Years. So I got some reading done on the road trip. I also got to soak up some sun on the beach and got introduced to the show Naked Attraction which is brilliant. (I highly recommend if you want something trashy and your Ok with some full frontal nudity.) Also did a little adventuring while we were down there and did a small hike to the gorgeous waterfall featured above.

Finished 

 

As I mentioned before February and March were not kind to me. Never Never was a great short little 3 part read. It had suspense and mystery that kept me turning the pages trying to figure out what the hell was going on. The Bone Witch was a little on the slow side. It was overly word heavy at times and seemed to draw the story out too much. Overall it was Ok, not sure if I want to pick up the next book but the cover is gorgeous. I remember reading The Wind Singer as a kid and absolutely loving it, and not much has changed. While it is a little on the juvenile side now, it still has the whimsical feeling it once had and the sense of childhood adventure. 

Up Next In April

   

 

        

Did you have a nice Easter? Tell me what you got up to in the comments below

Wrap Up (many, many months)

Finished 

  

  

  

   

  

So over the last couple...OK, OK, like 6 months I've dabbled in all sorts with my reading. I tried for the first time Bizarro fiction which wasn't altogether unpleasant. Definitely different and something I feel many readers that follow here probably haven't looked into before. Apeshit was kind of a mix of a terrible D-grade 80's horror movie. So absurd that it wasn't really scary, but lived up to it' namesake of bizarro fiction. There were definitely some WTF am I reading moments, and I was kept on my toes more due to the sheer nature of what insane debased thing the writer was going to come up with next than the actual scariness. Overall though it wasn't bad, and if you want to something a little (read ALOT) different I'd give it a go. 

I also went back and re-read the first 2 volumes of Paper Girls, and am awaiting the 3rd to come in at the library. My love for Brian K. Vaughan only grows with each new graphic novel I read of his. Ofcourse, I felt in the mood for a short classic at some point, and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley it was. I imagine it's along the same lines as 1984 by George Orwell (which I have still yet to read) and deals with a dystopian society in which the civilians are regulated meticulously in order to function at their most optimal. 

Jodi Picoult has always been a favorite of mine, and I was not disappointed reading Plain Truth, about an Amish family who are caught in a police investigation regarding the death of a newborn infant. The story seemed well researched and the insights into Amish life were intriguing, not to metnion the suspense in finding out what really happened.

Other honorable mentions, THRONE OF GLASS series, OMG. Ok I'm pretty late to the party on this one, I read the first book a few years back and didn't continue on (There's something wrong with me, I know) but wow, the emotional rollercoaster just in the first 2 books... and I just no there is more to come, my heart can't take it.!

Up Next In November

    

Other Updates 

I'm still loving Instagram, AGAIN I was a bit late to the party on this one, and only really started up this year with my Instagram account. It's a bit of a mishmash of things, boos obviously, but also food, nature and lots of animals.

Wedding planning has actually started...relative style and colors have been settled, budget set (if we can stay within it). For the mot part I think we've decided on a little place that was a vinyard but is now an arts centre. They have a cute little church onsite for the ceremony and we're going to rent this old rustic barrel store for the reception. The only fallback is that it's going to be alot of DIY, which is great because I can get my creative juices flowing and pinterest is a great help, but time constraints is going to be my biggest problem.

If you have any book reccomendations or even better, wedding advice. I would love to hear it. Until next time :)

Review- None Of The Above (I. W. Gregorio)

Synopsis

A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she was born intersex... and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between.

What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?

When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him.

But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned—something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts."
Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?

                     - Goodreads.com

Review 

After a bad experience trying to have sex after prom, Kristin visits her OB/GYN as a precaution as her mother had died a few years earlier from cervical cancer. However, the visit is more than she is expecting and after some questions and an examination, the doctor is suspicious Kristin may have a chromosomal abnormality which causes her to externally look female, but internally carry male hormones and have internal male structures. The book covers her life as she learns to accept her new diagnosis, which she is having a tough time dealing with. This is all made worse when people at her school find out. The lack of support she receives from her peers, and the start of bullying, both emotionally and physically at one point, go to show how ignorance breeds fear and hatred.

Kristin is a strong character overall, but also allows herself to show weakness. She has a tough time dealing with all the information being thrown at her all at once, and goes through the stages of grief as a result. The supporting characters were also important in the overall shaping of the novel. There are the best friends, Faith and Vee, who upon discovery of Kristin’s disorder attempt to be supportive but there is also tension and confusion for them as well. Then there is her dad, who tries to help in the only way he knows how, by researching everything from A to Z and offering his own support while encouraging her to reach out to others who are in the same position as her.

This book proved informative, while also remaining engaging and entertaining. There were a lot of important educational messages about AIS, along with messages on bullying and acceptance. The fact that it was written by a surgeon who has encountered people with this disorder before provides an authentic and likely well researched novel.

Diverse novels always leave me with a lot to think about. None of the Above was a particularly interesting one which brought to the forefront of my mind many a question of how I would feel in the situation of Kristin. If I had been told that I had internal male sex organs, or that my chromosomes weren’t the expected XX of a girl, how would I feel? How would I deal with this knowledge? How would I learn to adjust to the idea of never carrying a child of my own?

Reading these kinds of novels are so important for young and old alike, because it teaches us to empathize and put ourselves in the position of the characters, and just maybe if we do that in our everyday lives a little more often the world could be a better place.

SPOILER BELOW

So the romance between Darren and Kristin seemed somewhat unnecessary to me. I thought they could have just remained friends, instead of turning it into a romance and right at the end too. Or if the author was determined to make it into a romantic relationship then Darren’s girlfriend, who conveniently broke up with him right before him and Kristin get together seemed such an unnecessary character. She didn’t really serve any point to the plot, and if Darren had been single for the book the romance would have come across much more genuine at the end than the rushed and opportune ending that we were left with. Other than that I did like their romance and I thought it was particularly sweet, especially since they had known each other when they were much younger. 

My Rating 4/5

OMG My Boyfriend is Amazeballs

Ok so to start off, I went on a mini hiatus. Real life, pretty much got the better of me and I had no time to get on here and update. However I am now back...hopefully for good. :D So anyway back to the origin of the post... So my partner and I will be moving back in with my parents soon (oh joy!). We've been flatting for the last few months, but since life likes 'ripping me a new one' whenever things seem to be going well, we've hit a slight snag in the form of my recent unemployment. Hence I cannot afford to contribute to rent. Even though my wonderful partner has offered to financially support me so we can stay where we are, I feel that that isn't fear and would rather save money by moving back in with the old 'rents. 

Now despite how depressing this may seem (and trust me it is), my partner has decided to fully redecorate my old room before we move back. So 'bye bye' pink walls and frilly Hello Kitty decorative pillows, and welcome paradise of reading..... 

Yes, you guessed it. My Amazeballs partner has drawn up plans to build me a bookcase of a similar nature. After the shitty lemons life has been throwing me at the moment, this honestly made my day.

I'm not really one for material possessions and I have a perverse obsession with anything secondhand, antique or hand made. So this is the ultimate Christmas gift. I love that he knows me so well!

Ps. Sorry for this almost completely unrelated book post. But sometimes a girl needs a rant, especially when something good happens.