Most of these (though not all!) are massive reads and rated mature for various reasons. I also haven't finished all of these, because I have no self control - if they end badly, no blaming me. Complete unless otherwise noted.
Fanfiction, defined: fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series, movie, etc. I've been reading fanfiction for over a decade and am an avid reader besides. Many turn their nose up at the idea of amateur writers dreaming up new ideas of characters they love, but I say don't knock it until you've tried it. Here's a list of my favorites from over the years, all Harry Potter, of course, and most feature everyone's (okay, maybe not, but definitely my) favorite heroine, Hermione Jean Granger.
Most of these (though not all!) are massive reads and rated mature for various reasons. I also haven't finished all of these, because I have no self control - if they end badly, no blaming me. Complete unless otherwise noted.
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I've gone over to the dark side. About a year and a half ago, I decided to try out a shampoo bar. Then I bought another when it ran out. And another, and so on. I don't wash my hair with typical shampoo and conditioner anymore, and I'm loving it! A few years back, prior to my shampoo bar experience, I saw a lot of women on Pinterest and Facebook talking about the "no 'poo" method of using basically baking soda and vinegar as a sort of organic shampoo and conditioner. I tried it out for about two months -- this was a poor decision on my part. So when this shampoo bar thing came along, I was skeptical but decided to take the leap anyway. I do so love the ease of use that we have these days with all our hygiene products, but I've always been concerned with all of the strange and unknown chemicals we put on (and into) our bodies. Shampoo bars lack these ingredients that only a small percentage of the world can pronounce, and are supposed to be better for your hair, too. They clean your hair using natural condensed oils and cleansers.
Most people brush off heartbreak. Those people have never been through it or have forgotten the pain, because having your heart broken changes you. And I don't only mean romantic relationships. Lots of things can break your heart, like the end of a friendship, or a parent's divorce. For the sake of a dear friend of mine that is going through something right now, we're going to talk about those of the romantic variety.
I know I'm only twenty, and some might say I haven't even started living yet. But it sure feels like it. This week, a friend and I went to Cici's for dinner and unexpectedly spent a while talking about how different life is than we had imagined. We thought we might be married, or at least engaged. We thought we would have our life together by now, or at least have a plan.
As a self-labeled introvert, there have been many circumstances in my life where I thought I was weird because of my dislike for certain situations. I am weird, but that’s neither here nor there. The situations I mean are the stereotypical ones: the big groups, times with lots of chatter, meeting new people, things of that sort. I hate those situations. It’s not because I’m rude or selfish. It’s because it mentally exhausts me to spend a lot of time with a large group of people or meet 15 strangers in a row. It makes me merely uncomfortable now, whereas at a younger age, it made me extremely irritable and emotional, often to the point of tears. From talks with my more extroverted friends, they simply don’t know people like us exist. They don’t know that there are people who sometimes need to be alone, just for a little while.
Always.
At the age of 20, most would say I should’ve outgrown this love of the wizarding world by now, but there is no end in sight. And on the off chance you’ve never heard of this book series or the movies based off it, let me lay it down. The "Harry Potter" series is about (gasp!) Harry Potter, a boy of 11 who lives in a closet underneath the stairs at his horrid — and possibly negligent — aunt and uncle’s house. He finds out he is a wizard. Harry gets to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the series follows his time at the school. The books came out a little before my time, but I caught up as soon as I could read chapter books. Thus began a lifelong love story. You'll probably never read this, and that's just as well, because I know that our relationship is water long gone under that bridge. But there are things I want you to know. You did the right thing by breaking up with me, though it has taken me three and a half years to understand and accept that. We aren't made for each other, and we never were. We just found similar qualities in each other that we thought would make a relationship, but we both know now that it takes a lot more than just liking the same books and jokes.
"Mary looked at Kate, who shook her head in disbelief. Mary shrugged and walked toward the exit, smiling. She felt very good about what she had just done. After all, if you didn't call a pig a pig, it might never know it was one." Second Street Station by Lawrence H. Levy is the Nancy Drew series for the mystery-starved adult. Only, instead of sweet, kind, Nancy Drew, we have the witty, bold Mary Handley. Honestly, when I first got this book, I was skeptical. It seemed very John Grisham-ish. I was TOTALLY wrong. This book, while not quite a page-turner, certainly has the basics of one. Three or four mysteries begin separately and end up to be related. Loosley based on a real event and with big name characters like Thomas Edison, J.P. Morgan, and Nikola Tesla, this book is certainly worth your while. If you're anything like I was, you're probably RIDICULOUSLY excited to go on that big shopping trip for college and get everything on your list. You are totally ready to pick out your bedding, towels, backpack, even your first-day outfit (or maybe that's just me). And all that is awesome, and you have every right to be excited, maybe even a little scared. But right now, I'm making a list of things I need to pack to go home for the summer, and there are a few things you need to know. |
grow a beautiful garden Book FavsI Hunt Killers - Barry Lyga
Anything by Sarah J. Maas Outlander - Diana Gabaldon Sword of Truth - Terry Goodkind A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness The Venatrix Chronicles - Sylvia Mercedes Archives
July 2020
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