#TBT: My First Review

So, when I first started this book blog thing....I never thought it would last this long.  Never thought that it would take off as it has (I've got my base followers and figure it can only go up from here right?).  My first book review was clunky, and I honestly had zero clue as to what I was doing or if I was doing it 'right' or not.  Four years and one day since I posted my very first review over on my old blog site. 

I'd originally set up over on wordpress, Confessions of a Bibliophile was born.  A thought, a whim, and ultimately it became something that I grew to love and adore doing.  Stresses of life not withstanding, I've weathered many a storm and still bounced back and provided quite a bit of reviews and a variety of other things since that very first day.  My blog had originally been a personal one, that I shifted to a book focused blog because my life is so centered around books.  I read as often as I can, and ultimately tried my hand at book reviews. 

So, today, I share with you my first review, for The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, which you can read by clicking here.  Since then I have had the opportunity to meet so many fantastic authors and read so many wonderful books. I hope that the next four years bring me many more wonderful experiences and books to read and review!  

Love you all! 

What was your first review?  First author interview?  First experience book blogging? 

Round-Up: July in Review

This has been me lately.  I honestly, have had the motivation to do absolutely NOTHING most of the time except stick my nose in the ABSOLUTELY wonderful books that I've taken out from the library, gotten from friends, and the one that I've purchased for myself in the last month.  So, here is this month in review!  **Some edits will come later.  I know some links are missing.**

Books I've Read

1. Fablehaven - Brandon Mull
2. The Tiger's Wife - Téa Obreht
3. The Society - William Wilde (Review requested by Author)
4. Prudence (The Custard Protocol #1) - Gail Carriger
5. Landline - Rainbow Rowell
6. Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1) - Beth Revis
7. A Million Suns (Across the Universe #2) - Beth Revis
8. Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) - Sarah J. Maas
9. StepShifter (books 1-23) - Ophelia Sikes 
10. If I Stay - Gayle Forman
11. Bittersweet - Sarah Ockler
12. White Oleander - Janet Fitch
13. The Young Elites (The Young Elites #1) - Marie Lu
14. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Sisterhood #1) - Anne Brashares
15. The Giver (Giver Quartet #1) - Lowis Lowry
16. Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) - Tahereh Mafi
17. Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell
18. Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) - Gail Carriger
19. The Lost Days (Emily the Strange #1) - Rob Reger
20. Dark Times (Emily the Strange #3) - Rob Reger
21. A Midsummer Night's Scream - R.L. Stein

Book of the Week

1. July 5-11: Anna and the French Kiss
2. July 12-19: Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)
3. July 26-Aug 1: Wicked

Book of the Month

1. July: 

#TBT

1. Ultimate Survivors
2. High School Reading List
3. Touch of Disney

What's On My Kindle?

1. Charles Dickens

Bibliophile's Wish List

1. Physical Books
2. Hardcover Beauties

Reviews

1. Eighth Grade Bites - Heather Brewer
2. Wizard of Time - G.L. Breedon
3. The Moon Dwellers - David Estes (Audio review - given by the Publisher)

I did participate in a Book Photo Challenge, but only made it through I believe the 14th due to the fact that my motivation simply flew away and I spent the rest of the month having the urge to do nothing more than sit on my behind and read.  However, if I attempt another one in August, hopefully it will be more successful!  You can find the link to the photos that I did complete in the sidebar to your right! 

#TBT: Touch of Disney

This week's #TBT is a touch of Disney.  I moved to Florida when I was five, and have lived here since - going on thirty years I have been in Florida and I've fallen in love with Disney and yes (Disney addicts please put your pitch forks down...) there are times when it does annoy the crap out of me.  However, I will forever love going to the parks and spending all day there just wandering, snapping pictures, meeting characters, and riding the rides.

There are also books that have been adapted by Disney, some of these are my favorite renditions of the stories, and others...well, not so much.  However, there has been a few characters that have always been among my favorites, and their books among my favorite childhood memories and comfort reads.  Here are a few of them.

Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Rabbit, Owl, Tigger, Kanga, Roo...Christopher Robin..all of them are childhood favorites.  However, it was Winnie-the-Pooh, that rolly, polly, stuffed with fluff teddy bear that had my heart from the beginning.  I have several Pooh bear items - key chains, beanie babies, pillows, and I think at one point I had a complete bed sheet set.  Yup, I was addicted.

I have -always- been a fan of Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, etc.  The world created by Lewis Caroll has always fascinated me.  The stories that were spun about Wonderland and the people that inhabit it have always been ones that fascinate me.  Cheshire I think is one of my all time favorites from this series - though I have been known to be as spastic as the White Rabbit and as annoyed as the Queen of Hearts.  Some of my favorite scenes are the tea party, the conversations with Caterpillar, and falling through the rabbit hole.  I think I actually had this particular version of Alice in Wonderland when I was a kid. Though, I could be wrong.

#TBT: High School Reading List

I think I might have been the only one that was absolutely thrilled and  excited to get the reading list every year for my English classes.  Why? Because it meant a trip to the bookstore to buy my favorite thing on the planet, MORE BOOKS!  Because I needed them, wanted them, and would own a copy of all the books I wanted to read on that list. 

I know it usually said we only had to read one or two books to fill the requirement, but I usually picked about 3-4 books and read all of them throughout the summer.  I absolutely loved all of them.  Here are some of the ones that I read throughout my summer breaks in high school. 

These were just a few of the ones I've had to read.  However, looking at my old high school's current summer reading lists....damn I wish I was in HS now! I know exactly which ones I'd read! 

Here are the reading lists for my current high school for the 2015-2016 school year, where the projects are due the 1st day of school: 

9th Grade:

• Unwind by Neal Shusterman 
• Gone by Michael Grant
• We Beat the Street by The Three Doctors
• An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
• The Future of Us by Jay Asher

10th Grade:

• You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle
• Noggin by John Corey Whaley
• The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu
• Foul Trouble by John Feinstein
• NIL by Lynne Matson

11th Grade: 

• Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
• Fake ID by Lamar Giles
• To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
• Avalon by Mindee Arnett
• You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle

12th Grade: 

• The Impossible Knife by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Caged Warrior by Alan Sitomer
• The Program by Suzanne Young
• The Winner's Curse by Jennifer Smith
• Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

The projects are awesome too...ranging from create a movie poster, a book jacket, a book journal, for the regular English class to create a book talk, a soundtrack, and other awesome projects for the Honors English.  Seriously, what the hell...can I please be back in HS nao! Though to be honest, some of these are already on my TBR list...and my wish list over at bookdepository :D

#TBT: The Ultimate Survivors

This week's #TBT is one that is near and dear to my heart.  One of my favorite periods in history to study is the Holocaust during World War II.  People have called me morbid because of it, but that doesn't change the fact that it is a truly fascinating time period to study.  It shocks and saddens me that so many people, so many nations turned blind eyes to what was really happening in Germany and the surrounding countries. 

The stories written by survivors, the tales of the nightmares that they have endured, and will continue to endure until their last breath takes them to a place of no suffering are the ones that tend to stick with me, more than any fantasy story written. 

These are some of the books that have impacted me the most, and further encouraged me to read the stories of survivors, visit the memorials, the museums that are set up to remember, remind and honor those who were among the millions that lost their lives in the face of hatred. 

I read this in high school. I own a copy, I will always own a copy of this book.  This book more often than not brings me to tears every time that I read it.  I do not blame him his hatred for God as he comes face to face with evil at its most vile, and his reminder that this horror should never be forgotten and never be allowed to repeat. 

Who has not read this tale?  If her story does not bring you to tears, then there is something seriously wrong with you.  A young girl, one of many, who were forcefully separated from her family after they managed to hide for so long.  Eventually, I want to go to the house where she was hidden, walk the paths that she took within that house and see how she lived, fearing that the next moment could be her last moment of freedom.  

When I was attending Flagler College, I had the honor and the privilege of meeting a Holocaust survivor.  There is not a lot of his lecture that stayed with me, however the fact that he survived.  He survived that horror is enough for me to know that the man I met was meant to survive that atrocity and share his story with the world.  I wish I could even recall his name, it saddens me that I cannot even do that.  

Bibliophile Round-Up: June In Review

Where You Can Find Me:
Goodreads §§ tumblr §§ Twitter §§ Facebook

Welcome to June's Round-Up!  Here you'll find a collected gathering of everything that happened in the month of June...including all the books that I've read this month!  As you can see, this has been a very active month for the blog...mainly because I finally decided to force myself to find time to kick things up again...and I'd been neglecting my reading.  Hopefully starting in July, I will have some reviews going up (because I really, really do miss writing them!).

What I Read

1. Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer
2. The Wizard of Time by G.L. Breeden
3. Feast, Stray, Love by Kevin Anthony
4. Roasting in Hell's Kitchen by Gordon Ramsey
5. Hoo-Doo Country Horrors by Johnathan Moon
6. The Pursuit of Happiness: 21 Spiritual Rules to Success by Jennifer O'Neill
7. Soul Enchilada by David Macinnis Gill
8. The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
9. 3500: An Autistic Boy's Ten-Year Romance with Snow White by Ron Miles
10. The Somali Doctrine by James Grenton
11. A Child al Confino: The True Story of a Jewish Boy and His Mother in Mussolini's Italy by Eric Lamet
12. Tales from the Crib by Jennifer Coburn
13. Champion by Marie Lu
14. Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez
15. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
16. So Long, Lollipops by Sarah Lyons Fleming
17. Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic by Meghan Ciana Doidge
18. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
19. Bound in the Boardroom by Jenna McCormick
20. Wetter by Harper Bliss
21. The Shadow in the Garden by Braden McElroy
22. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
23. The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
24. The Moon Dwellers by David Estes
25. Grave Witch by Kalayna Price
26. Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
27. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
28. Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
29. The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
30. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
31. The Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner
32. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Books of the Week

1. May 31 - June 6: The 5th Wave
2. June 7 - June 13: The Name of the Wind
3. June 14 - June 20: The Tapestry
4. June 21 - 27: Game of Thrones
5. June 28 - July 4: Looking for Alaska

Book of the Month

1. June 2015: The Moon Dwellers

What's On My Kindle?

1. Episode Thirteen: Stephen King
2. Episode Fourteen: #TeamLexy
3. Episode Fifteen: All The Feels

Bibliophile Eats

1. Meat Pie
2. Fast Food Moments

#TBT

1. Lord of the Flies
2. Drums of Autum

Bibliophile Wish List

1. Julie Kagawa

#TBT: My First Historical Romance

So very, very true.  This week's Throwback Thursday (#TBT) is a book that is very near and dear to my heart.  This book was given to me when I was sixteen, it was sent to me by my Aunt as a birthday gift.  At the time, I had no idea that it was the fourth book in the series, all I knew is that I'd fallen in love with the characters, the world, the history that enriched every page of this very large book - 1,070 pages.  

At the time, I'd never read anything in this particular genre.  Nor, had I read anything this large (aside from textbooks because I was in high school at the time).  The size of this book intimidated me, it made me nervous.  Could I actually read a book this large cover to cover?  Would I like it?  Why had my aunt sent me something so big? My fears were at the time well placed, and ultimately the reason she'd sent me the book was because she knew I loved reading and thought I'd like the book.  I did read it.  No, I devoured it - cover to cover.  All one thousand and seventy pages.  Did I like it? More than like, I loved it.  

What book am I talking about? Diana Gabaldon's Drums of Autumn book four in her Outlander series.  Jamie and Claire easily became my all time favorite couple, Black Jack Randall easily became my favorite villain.  I loved absolutely everything about this story, to the point that when I was attending college at Flagler in St. Augustine, FL, there was a second-hand bookstore close to campus and I bought the first three books in the series, as well as book number five.  I am still missing book number six in the series.  

When I heard that Outlander was going to become a television series, I think I seriously fangirled.  I absolutely love the fact that this world has been brought to the screen and everything about it is perfect, is wonderful, and I'm reminded of all the reasons I fell in love with this series in the first place. 

#TBT: The Lord of the Flies

Welcome to the revival of my throwback Thursday theme! Each week I will revisit a book that has a memorable impact upon me in the history of me reading.  This week's book is definitely one of those that has had a great impact on me and is one of my best memories from high school.

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Most of you know the premise of this book, what it stands for and what it exposes about our society in general.  This compelling novel is as much a provocative, debate starting book as it was in 1952 when it was first published.  This is one of the few books that will ALWAYS be in my library in some way, shape or form (digital or print).  

I do enjoy reading it and taking it in and allowing it to remind me of exactly what humanity is capable of when pushed to its limits.  Not all situations are ideal, not all outcomes are ideal.  

My most memorable interaction with this book was in my 10th grade English class. This was shortly after I'd changed schools thanks to moving literally across the street from where I'd been living before.  We spent a couple of weeks to a month working with this book between tests, papers, projects, and reading the book.  

During each class meeting, we would have five minutes at the beginning of class and about five to ten minutes at the end of class where we would be allowed to interact with the teacher.  The moment the lights flicked off and then back on, we were essentially in an environment where we were not allowed to interact with adults (namely the teacher - with exceptions of course).  We were given our assignments and had to complete them together to the best of our ability.  

I remember my final project for this particular unit, and wish I could find the picture (I might have it somewhere if one exists).  I created an edible version of the island where the boys spent their time. It was cake, and various little plastic pieces that could be removed - and there was green frosting, and the whole nine yards.  I'd gotten an A in the course.