Blog Archives

My Ramblings on Vacation Reads

3/30/2015

I took a mini-vacation this past weekend to KY for a race, which means I spent a lot of time waiting for and flying in planes. Which means I had a lot of time to read. So without further ado... a quick rambling about my min-vaca reads.

The Bridge from Me to You by Lisa Schroeder

I loved this book. I mostly love everything that Schroeder writes, but I really felt like this book was a showcase for all the things she does best. This book combines poetry with traditional prose and it create a great give and take between the two main characters. This is a great story about figuring out who you are and where you belong and it again reminded me of what a great author Schroeder is.

Summary:
Lauren has a secret. Colby has a problem. But when they find each other, everything falls into place.

Lauren is the new girl in town with a dark secret. Colby is the football hero with a dream of something more. In alternating chapters, they come together, fall apart, and build something stronger than either of them thought possible--something to truly believe in. (goodreads.com)

The Raft by SA Bodeen

One would think that the last thing you'd want to read about while taking a 2 hour plane ride is a book about a plane crash. I get it, but... this was a pretty good little book, that is only minimally about a plane crash. It's more about how a girl goes from being a little afraid of the world, to discovering just how brave and resourceful she can be when she finds herself suddenly stranded at sea alone. There were a few things that were missteps for me. One was the journal she was reading and the other was how quickly she recovered after being rescued. That said- the parts of the story where she is adrift at sea and trying to survive on the island were great.

Summary:

Robie is an experienced traveler. She’s taken the flight from Honolulu to the Midway Atoll, a group of Pacific islands where her parents live, many times. When she has to get to Midway in a hurry after a visit with her aunt in Hawaii, she gets on the next cargo flight at the last minute. She knows the pilot, but on this flight, there’s a new co-pilot named Max. All systems are go until a storm hits during the flight. The only passenger, Robie doesn’t panic until the engine suddenly cuts out and Max shouts at her to put on a life jacket. They are over miles of Pacific Ocean. She sees Max struggle with a raft.

And then . . . she’s in the water. Fighting for her life. Max pulls her onto the raft, and that’s when the real terror begins. They have no water. Their only food is a bag of Skittles. There are sharks. There is an island. But there’s no sign of help on the way. (goodreads.com)

Pretenders by Lisi Harrison

So here is a book that I mostly loved while reading it, and then wanted to throw out of the plane window when I finished. It's amazing how one page of a book can absolutely destroy all the good will built up in the previous pages. It's probably not fair, but alas, it's the way it is for me.

On the positive side, the book is very well written. Harrison does a great job capturing the personalities and writing styles of five very unique individuals and that is not an easy task. I loved the idea that the book is actually a series of journal entries by the characters as part of a writing assignment at school. It means that we are getting multiple perspective on the action and each person brings a different flavor to their tale.

What I didn't like was how it ended. Part of this might be the set up from the back of the book. It gives the illusion that this story is about these five kids and how they are the Phoenix Five. Instead the book ended with a "to be continued" and without resolving any of the issues of the book. It was a half-story. The book described on the back cover is not the same book that is between the covers and that was a disappointment, especially since the story was good, just incomplete. I think what was supposed to leave me wanting more, instead left me wanting to throw the book out the window.

Summary:

My picture is on page eighteen of Noble High's Phoenix yearbook. I am one of the Phoenix Five. You nominated me. You thought I was one of the most outstanding students in our freshman class. You were wrong.

Still, I accepted my award. I acted special. But I couldn't help wondering what it was like to be that way for real. So I broke into Ms. Silver's safe in the faculty lounge and stole all five of our journals. I'm not exposing them out of jealousy or anger. I'm doing this because I am tired of the lies. The bar is too high, and cheating is the only way to reach it. Instagrams are filtered, Facebook profiles are embellished, photos are shopped, Manti T'eo's girlfriend was a fake...is anything real anymore?

I found the answer in our journals. These are 100 percent real and 100 percent unedited. The proof is in the pages:

0 Comments

My Ramblings on Run the Bluegrass

3/30/2015

0 Comments

This past weekend I ran the 7 mile course at Run the Bluegrass. From registration to the after party, from the start line to the finish, this race was one of the best experiences I've had at a race. That isn't to say that there weren't some hiccups, but the Race Director (Eric Marr), and everyone else involved in running this event, made sure that issues were heard and resolved in the most efficient way possible, all while staying very transparent about what was going on. the best part was I got to run it with my best friend and a bunch of other members of my running group- The Princess Posse.

I feel like I could go on and on about this race, but instead I'll just bullet point some of the highlights.

The race shirt: this went from a negative to a positive pretty quickly. The tech shirts that were initially ordered were for some reason no longer available, so Marr and company quickly found another option. Great light weight hoodies. Turns out I prefer this to tech shirts since I can wear it whenever. They did run out of shirts, but it seemed like that too was handled pretty professionally and shirts will be mailed out as soon as they are ready.

7 miler v. 13.1: This event has both a half and a 7 miler and the course is HILLY. My friend and I chose to go with the 7 miler and I'm really glad we did. It was long enough (and hilly enough to be a challenge), the views were still spectacular and we still felt great when we finished.

Packet pickup/Expo: this was a small, but really well laid out Expo. Traffic flowed pretty much in one direction and you had the opportunity to get your bib, shop, take official race pictures and get your shirt. I was really impressed with the variety of vendors and also the chance to check out the Bourbon (in commemorative bottles).

Course: Like I said- Hilly, but beautiful. And on the course there a bunch of water stations (4 on the 7 mile course) as well as one fabulous beer and twizzler stop at the top of the longest hill. the support on the course was great- even though the stations were spread out, the enthusiasm of those on the course- and especially the finishers chute was awesome.

Race Director/Organization- I can't say enough about how this event was run. Eric was seemingly everywhere. We bought Bourbon from him at the Expo, he was running around before the race and he was announcing and handing out high fives (and witty comments) at the finish. As far as I can tell, he was incredibly approachable and made runner feel welcome and helped to ratchet up the excitement. My running group (of about 25) even got our own tent and sign. It was great to not just be at a well run race, but to see that the director and his team really cared about the runners.

Pictures: There were not a lot of race photographers out on the course, especially for the 7 mile course. I was a little disappointed, because I love pictures, but in the end it was alright. I ended up getting about 13 pictures from the race, expo and after party and they were at a great price, so I don't really have any major complaints there.

After party: The other thing (besides the hilles) that was unavoidable, was the weather. I had hoped that going to KY would result in warmer temperatures, but it was not to be. It was about 18 at race start and only climbed to the mid-20's by the time we finished. This put a little bit of a damper on the after party. It was just too cold to stay too long. That said- it was pretty great and I wish was able to enjoy it more. There was free Papa John's slices and a taste of beer, plus multiple food trucks to buy from, a live band and the expo was open for last minute purchases.

Over all this was a great race and I can't wait to come back down next year.

0 Comments

My Ramblings on Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

3/24/2015

0 Comments

My Ramblings:

I finally finished Blue Lily, Lily Blue and it was a strange sort of read for me. I love Maggie Stiefvater's writing and whenever I picked the book up I was sucked right in and couldn't put it down. I read at lunch, so I'd have to put it down after about a half hour, but it was reluctantly! What was odd was that once I put it down, I wouldn't pick it up for days, sometimes weeks, and then when I did finally pick it up I'd be sucked right back in again. Stiefvater's writing is fabulous as usual and I loved following up with Blue, her family and the Raven boys.

This book finds more strands in the web being woven and others being frayed- which lends itself to an at times confusing plot. I found myself sometimes forgetting which side people were on, or what they were trying to do. Some of that I think was intentional, because in this book things shift like the wind and Blue has to figure out who to trust and who will help her get her mother back.

I had initially thought this was the final book in the series and it struck me about 30 pages from the end that there was no way this was getting resolved, and low and behold, there is another book, The Raven King, coming out in September. I really am excited to see how this one all wraps up. I've grown very fond of the characters and although I know it's unlikely that they all end up happily ever after, I do hope that the ending stays true to the story laid out so far.

More about the Author

Website
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
The Raven Boys Website

Summary:

There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.

(from goodreads.com)