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Nerdy Girl, Romantic Reads

Top Ten Tuesday: Best of the Interwebs

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I love my little blogging community. I hope you know who you are…and chances are, if you’re reading this, I’m talking about YOU! You rock, your comments make my day, I love peeking in on whatever you’re up to (even if I’m lame and don’t always comment myself), and you better believe I’m stalking you on Goodreads on a regular basis to look for things that belong on my TBR. Instead of picking just ten of you, which my heart simply will not allow, I’m sharing the other places around the internet where I read, listen, watch, and talk books.

I know this is a romance blog, but I need to get one quick thing out of the way. Obvsies, I love Harry Potter. It was my sassy, innuendo-laden inspiration for my blog after all. I have too much HP merch, I’ve been to Wizarding World a few times, and I have a patronus-inspired tattoo. It’s a whole thing. So before I get to the smut today, I want to call out perhaps one of my all-time favorite places to visit on the internet. (And no, I’m not counting it in my ten, because cheating!) It’s Sorting Hat Chats. This tumblr is so amazing. I loooove sorting people, things, animals I have met – and not just into Hogwarts houses. It’s a weird pastime (read: obsession) that I am strangely good at, and for the few people who have worked massive amount of overtime with me, or gone on long road trips together, or literally been in my presence longer than twenty minutes, they know. I always bring it up because the filter from brain to mouth is just barely hanging in there. If you’re into HP and you like psychology/personality tests, or you just need to settle a debate about which Avenger belongs to which house, you have to check it out.

Ok, now back to our regularly scheduled programming…I am leaving off the obvious places, like Amazon, Audible, and Goodreads – though heaven knows that is where I spend a lot of my time (cough, and money). I’m also not including things that are not online for all of us, like my local bookstore or library, but you better believe I look at all the end caps and staff recs religiously. In no particular order, these are my faves.

The Mega-Sites:
Bustle Books
Buzzfeed Books
Cosmopolitan Books

The Podcasts:
Smart Podcast, Trashy Books
When in Romance

The “I’m too tired I can’t read any more”:
Netflix’s Based on Books Category

The bookstore I want to wrangle my besties to go on a road trip to visit in real life:
The Ripped Bodice

The Celebrity Book Clubs:
Emma Watson’s Our Shared Shelf
Oprah Winfrey’s O Book Club
Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Book Club

Am I missing something awesome? Tell me in the comment!

XOXO

Three Things I’m Loving

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Man Seeking Woman – This is one of the most bizarre and surreal dating shows I have ever seen. I’m always surprised by the turns the episodes take. It’s grotesque and hilarious and I can’t help but keep watching.

Better Now by Post Malone – More stuff brought to you by “why do I even like this?” thoughts. I don’t know why I do, but I can definitely sing along to all the words on this song and do so regularly.

Notes in Books – Atlas Obscura is one of my favorite email subscriptions. There’s lots of off-the-beaten path travel things, but occasionally there are other random topics, like this one, which is all about found notes in books. I love used books, especially if they’ve been written in. The things people choose to say for the life of that book are so fascinating. Also…I’m a margins writer (controversial, I know) so this post just spoke to me.

XOXO

Waiting on Wednesday: The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

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Waiting on Wednesday: The Proposal by Jasmine GuilloryThe Proposal by Jasmine Guillory
Published by Berkley Books on September 4, 2018
Pages: 336
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The author of The Wedding Date serves up a novel about what happens when a public proposal doesn't turn into a happy ending, thanks to a woman who knows exactly how to make one on her own...

When someone asks you to spend your life with him, it shouldn't come as a surprise--or happen in front of 45,000 people.

When freelance writer Nikole Paterson goes to a Dodgers game with her actor boyfriend, his man bun, and his bros, the last thing she expects is a scoreboard proposal. Saying no isn't the hard part--they've only been dating for five months, and he can't even spell her name correctly. The hard part is having to face a stadium full of disappointed fans...

At the game with his sister, Carlos Ibarra comes to Nik's rescue and rushes her away from a camera crew. He's even there for her when the video goes viral and Nik's social media blows up--in a bad way. Nik knows that in the wilds of LA, a handsome doctor like Carlos can't be looking for anything serious, so she embarks on an epic rebound with him, filled with food, fun, and fantastic sex. But when their glorified hookups start breaking the rules, one of them has to be smart enough to put on the brakes...

What are you waiting on?

XOXO

Three Things I’m Loving

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The Middle by Jimmy Eat World – I can still vividly remember hearing this song for the first time (like 17 years ago). Every time I hear this song on the radio, I start singing and bopping along, and then all of the sudden the lyrics will hit me and I’ll get weirdly choked up, especially as I get older and they sink it a bit more. There is something very comforting about accepting being in the middle of the ride.

Neal Brennan: 3 Mics – I first saw Neal Brennan on Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, which I absolutely adore. Because of their chat, I sought out his comedy special on Netflix, and it is a really interesting concept. One mic for each comedy persona he wanted to put on that night: one-liners, emotional stuff, and stand-up. This is funny and poignant. If you have Netflix, you should be watching it.

I’m Fine, Just Tired – And the third and heaviest of this week’s things (apparently brought to you by my depression), is a series of tweets about what people with mental illness mean when they say they’re tired. When I’m not reading romance novels, I spend a lot of time reading about mental health issues – namely depression and anxiety – around the internet. I think we live in an interesting and complex time where there is still both so much stigma and triggers everywhere, but then you have all of these outlets to discuss mental health more freely and find people just like you. I’ve been having a very rough few weeks. I remember having dinner with my family and being really shut off. When asked if something was wrong, I said, “I’m fine, just tired.” Something I have said a million times. That night, I got home and found this article. I felt seen and understood. It’s my hope to share it in case someone else needs to feel that they’re not alone, even if just for a fraction of a second.

XOXO

Waiting on Wednesday: Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

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Waiting on Wednesday: Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina LaurenJosh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
Published by Gallery Books on September 4, 2018
Pages: 320
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Most men can’t handle Hazel. With the energy of a toddler and the mouth of a sailor, they’re often too timid to recognize her heart of gold. New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren (Roomies, Beautiful Bastard) tells the story of two people who are definitely not dating, no matter how often they end up in bed together.

Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun.

Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they met—when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes—to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.

Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them...right?

What are you waiting on?

XOXO

Top Ten Tuesday: There Outta Be A Movie

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This week’s topic is all about popular, hype-y books, which got me thinking of all of those fantastic books that become movies or shows. But I got to thinking, what about all of these books that I love that totally deserve some screen time, and *light bulb* this topic clicked into place. Here are my top ten books that always leave me thinking: there outta be a movie.

The Heist by Janet Evanovich
Bad at Love by Karina Halle
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes
The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert
Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

I kept this limited to contemporary titles, so there are many, MANY more books I wish were movies on my sci-fi and fantasy shelves…maybe a part two of this post will be needed in the future. What’s your favorite book you wish was also a movie?

XOXO

The Great American Read

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I’m taking a pause on romance today to talk about some bookish news. Voting is open for PBS’s The Great American Read! I have a lot of mixed feelings about this whole endeavor – I love that it’s discussing reading and books, I love voting on things, I looooove lists. What I am struggling with are some of the picks. Of the top 100, I have read 82. Thank you English degree for forcing my hand on that one. (The other 18 are not super likely for me to read.) Of those that I have read, if I had to create a list from scratch of the top 100 books, would all of those 82 be there? Hell no! Here is my rundown.

My favorites on the list: 

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

What did I wind up voting for? My one and only, desert island pick: 

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Titles I would swap in for authors already on the list:
(Yes, I know it’s supposed to be novels only, but for some their non-fiction is just better.)

Instead of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Dirk Gentley’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
Instead of Americanah, We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Instead of Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion by Jane Austen
Instead of Great Expectations, Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Instead of The Great Gatsby, Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Instead of Looking for Alaska, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Instead of The Stand, On Writing by Stephen King
Instead of One Hundred Years of Solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Instead of Beloved, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Instead of The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Books I’m really surprised to see on the list: 

I, Alex Cross by James Patterson
Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Authors I think are missing: 

Ray Bradbury
William Faulkner
Cormac McCarthy

In general, modern female authors are just fucking missing. There, I said it.

If I were creating this list, how would I pose the question:

If the earth was going to be destroyed by aliens or Day-After-Tomorrow-esque storms, what books would I most hope would be saved?

Be sure to check out the totally awesome posters that were created for some of the titles before you go. Are you following along with The Great American Read? Which books are you surprised by on the list, or which ones do you think are missing? What are you going to vote for? Let me know!

XOXO

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

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To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny HanTo All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
Published by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers on April 15, 2014
Pages: 355
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four-stars

What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them… all at once?

Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

 

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny HanP.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
on May 26, 2015
Pages: 337
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three-half-stars

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

 

 

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny HanAlways and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han
Published by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers on May 2, 2017
Pages: 336
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three-stars

Lara Jean is having the best senior year. And there’s still so much to look forward to: a class trip to New York City, prom with her boyfriend Peter, Beach Week after graduation, and her dad’s wedding to Ms. Rothschild. Then she’ll be off to college with Peter, at a school close enough for her to come home and bake chocolate chip cookies on the weekends.

Life couldn’t be more perfect!

At least, that’s what Lara Jean thinks…until she gets some unexpected news.

Now the girl who dreads change must rethink all her plans—but when your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to?

“I’m always wondering about the what-ifs, about the road not taking.”

Well, I’ve spent the last two weeks with Lara Jean and the Song girls. It was a very rough two weeks in my personal life, and I was so comforted by Jenny Han’s warm and charming trilogy. If you’re a regular blog visitor, you know I previously DNF’ed To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. When I tried the series in print, I found Lara Jean to be quite juvenile. I get that she’s a teenager, but she comes across as so young. On a whim, I decided to pick this back up because I saw it on the Audible Romance Package (heart eyes forever), and thought, eh I’ll just kill some time until I figure out what I want to read and it’s becoming a Netflix thing, so might as well. I am very grateful for whatever reason I decided to give this a second chance.

“My letters are for when I don’t want to be in love anymore. They’re for good-bye. Because after I write in my letter, I’m not longer consumed by my all-consuming love…My letters set me free. Or at least they’re supposed to.” 

I stand by my first impression of Lara Jean. She is impossibly young, to the point where my old soul was just shaking my head at this baby in the big bad world. But no matter how many times she made me say, “oh honey, no,” I never stopped rooting for her. From the very beginning, she has the heart and mind of a true romantic. She sees a boy and gets starry eyed at the possibility of them. Lara Jean loves love and it’s a bit infectious to see the world in her rosy-colored tint. I feel like it’s important to note, I did not feel a connection to any of the other characters across the three books. Her best friend I hated, her sisters were problematic, and I do not ship Lara Jean and Peter.

“People come in and out of your life. For a time they are your world; they are everything. And then one day they’re not. There’s no telling how long you will have them near.” 

I kept wishing that Lara Jean was real, and I could just tell her all of these things I have learned because there is this tiny essence of her that brings back memories of young Dani. She’s nostalgic in the present tense, she has old-lady habits and fashion sense, she’s utterly naive but also trying to be so grown up. Most importantly, she misses the whole point of being a teenager. All of that, I get, and I think Han beautifully and authentically captures pieces of what it’s like to be girls like Lara Jean and me.

“Sometimes I like you so much I can’t stand it. It fills up inside me, all the way to the brim, and I feel like I could overflow. I like you so much I don’t know what to do with it. My heart beats so fast when I know I’m going to see you again. And then, when you look at me the way you do, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.” 

The first book of the series is the only one that I would truly recommend, but since I connected with Lara Jean and wanted to see where her story lead, I carried on. I’m not at all disappointed that I did, but books two and three don’t have quite the same wholesomeness and comfort as the first. I wanted more emotional growth for Lara Jean, but I also can appreciate that the story stays very authentic to the character it chronicles.

“One day all of this will be proof, proof that we were here, proof that we loved each other. It’s the guarantee that no matter what happens to us in the future, this time was ours.” 

Now that I’m done, I am a little bit sad to part with Lara Jean. As much of a shock as it was, it will be sad to part with her simpler problems and that feeling of personal infinity every teenager has when the world and life is all waiting ahead. She’s a character I will fondly look back on for a bit to come.

XOXO

Three Things I’m Loving

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Back to You by Selena Gomez – I’ve been low key obsessed with this song since I first heard it on the 13 Reasons Why soundtrack. Seriously, the music on this show is totally awesome. Fast forward a few months and I still love it when this song pops up on a playlist…or when I seek it out and play it four times in a row.

Sexiest Cover Contest – Every month I wait with baited breath for my Goodreads Romance Newsletter. Why, you ask? Because every month there is a cover contest that is dripping with abs. Case and point, the link will take you to July’s selection. *drool* Pro tip: don’t read the comments. People ruin nice things.

The Bold Type – Show me a screen grab of three fierce ladies, and 9/10 times I’m going to watch that show. That’s exactly what happened with this one, I was scrolling and thought, hey, I bet they’re badass. And you know what, the ladies of The Bold Type are pretty awesome. They’re young, career-minded women making there way at a fictional magazine in NYC. This show is deceptively heavy. It might look light on the exterior, but it has a serious dose of current event topics that are so well done. I’m always excited to see a new episode in my queue.

XOXO

Waiting on Wednesday: Stripped by Zoey Castile

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Waiting on Wednesday: Stripped by Zoey CastileStripped by Zoey Castile
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation on August 28, 2018
Pages: 304
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Skilled, sculpted, and sexy, the men of adult entertainment are the kind of guys a woman reserves for her fantasies
,
not her reality. But is there more to these professional hotties than meets the eye? . . .


 The day Robyn Flores meets Zac Fallon is one of those days. You know, when you're already late for work. Mostly because you haven't really slept since your best friend abandoned you for her fiance and her exponentially better life. The kind of day you drag yourself to the cleaners to pick up your laundry, only to discover you've got the wrong bag--Star Spangled sequined thong, anyone? So Robyn is definitely not ready for the ridiculously gorgeous guy at her front door, except that they have each other's clothes. But then, is any woman ever ready to meet the love of her life?

There's just one problem: Zac Fallon is not the love of Robyn's life. Zac knows, despite the all-too-intimate dinner they share, he doesn't have a shot at her. Because the next time Zac sees Robyn, he's front and center of the male revue headlining her best friend's bachelorette party. So much for wooing the pretty schoolteacher, much less her impressing her old-fashioned family, with his upstanding lifestyle. Now he's only got one way to win his dream girl. It's gonna be the steamiest, most irresistible seduction she's ever seen. And this time it will be no act . . .

What are you waiting on?

XOXO