amarisafloria

I brought Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan along with me on my six-day vacation last week, hoping to read it during my downtime. It ended up staying in my suitcase for the whole trip.

Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting to finish the entire book. But I thought I'd pick it up at least once or twice during waiting periods. (All my days ended up being stuffed with things to do!)

I realized this as I was unpacking and it left me thinking—do you make time to read even while you're on vacation? I love reading but I feel like if I'm somewhere new, I owe it to myself to explore as much of the area as I can and do things I can't do back at home. I wouldn't go as far as to say I wouldn't bother picking up a book, but I felt like I was too tired not only to read, but to keep my eyeballs open! (It was a struggle to even take a shower ...)

Do you bring books with you on vacation? I guess it also depends on who you go with (family, friends, etc.) I don't have much experience going with either friends or family, so I'm curious!

Although today's topic is supposed to be related to book covers, I decided to choose a different one from four years ago :p I thought it would be fun to revisit my childhood favorites and share them with you! They aren't in any specific order—I just wrote down the titles that popped into my head as I thought of them. Let me know what is on your list and if any of these sound familiar :)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
I'm sure that mentioning this is far from a surprise. I still remember the boy in my third grade class (hi Norman, if you happen to magically be reading this) who told me to read this during a trip to our school library! I had a slow start, but I knew I had to continue the series after completing the first book.

Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
Such a silly book, but a smart way to teach someone the difference between figurative and literal speech. I still vividly remember the one where Amelia dresses a chicken by putting clothes on it, haha!

Goosebumps by R.L. Stine
Specifically the ones where you can choose your own adventure. My mom never let me or my brothers purchase a copy for ourselves, so we borrowed all that we could from the library :p

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
I first read this in school and loved it so much. I can't remember what grade I was in, but it was one of the first books I've ever read.

The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
The first series, aside from Harry Potter, that I loved dearly. All the scary parts made my heart pound so much as a child, but I insisted on finishing them anyway. I'm hoping to give this a re-read in the near future—my boyfriend has generously donated his copies (1-9) to me.

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
This book was so hilarious and weird, but tons of fun to read. Sadly, I have no recollection of how I was introduced to this.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Even as a child, I've had a fascination with stories relating to the Holocaust. I recently read it again and loved it all the same.

The Witches by Roald Dahl
My fifth grade teacher read this book to my class at the end of each day before we were sent home (I hope teachers still do this!) and it was such an enjoyable time. We also watched the movie, which was so creepy.

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Another book my fifth grade teacher read to us. We even had a little inside joke during graduation about it :)

The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin
Putting this on my list makes me want to go back and read the whole series! I don't remember exactly which books I've read in this series, but I know I liked it a lot and was torn between wanting to be a babysitter and wanting to be the little sister.

I hope this list has reminded you of some of your childhood favorites! I can't wait until I have children (if God allows me to) so I can read them bedtime stories.

reason for reading
I remember enjoying some of the books that Jennifer Echols wrote in the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedy series (The Ex Games, Major Crush, etc.) back when I was in middle/high school, so I thought I'd pick this up and give it a shot. It also helps that the cover is very cute!

thoughts
If you've read my Goodreads review, you already know this book was a little ... spicy for me at some points. Don't get me wrong, I knew what I was walking into when I started reading it (Exhibit A: the title) but I wasn't expecting it to get real hot real fast.

Although I liked the witty banter between Tia and Will, I would have loved to see more development of the characters that Jennifer Echols introduced. I felt like there could have been more written about Tia's best friends, her dad, her sisters, etc. and her relationships with them but they were all kinda ... just there. There wasn't anything about them that stood out to me, which left me feeling indifferent about them. Not only that, but there were also a lot of questions left unexplained.

It may seem like I didn't enjoy the book, but I did. It's a book you'll want to read in one sitting (and that I did do!) Tia and Will had a lot of flaws, but that's how people are in real life. If you're looking something fun and drama-filled, you'll probably like Biggest Flirts.

I had a lot of feels for The Selection and The Elite, so I decided to do a little book talk. It is something out of my comfort zone, but I really wanted to create a place where we could all share our thoughts and have a nice discussion.

I haven't read the last book (The One) yet, but as soon as I get it in my hands I will be reading it. If you've read these two books or even the entire trilogy, let me know if you liked it!

Yep, you read the title right ... I have a June TBR.


After Hazel from Stay Bookish introduced the #30daysofbookstagram (with day one being "your June TBR"), I decided to snap a photo of the books I really wanted to finish this June. I've already finished The Selection and The End or Something Like This (which, btw, I have a review on!) so I'm making good progress! I don't normally have a monthly TBR because I am terrible at following them, but I thought I'd give it a shot since I have a lot of extra time this summer.

I was supposed to read Unravel Me two months ago when I made my first Friday Reads video, but I ended up neglecting it ... I think it's about time I tackle this one. Love and Other Foreign Words was just a random sighting at the library and It's Not Summer Without You, Paper Towns, Lola and the Boy Next Door, Eleanor & Park, and Scarlet are all books I have been meaning to pick up for a really long time.

As for my June anticipated releases, I only have two:


Dark Days by Kate Ormand, released on June 2nd, is about a world divided into different sectors. Apparently, there is a robot army that enters and attacks each sector with the goal of weeding out those who are weak. This book follows Sia, a girl who doesn't think her and her family will be able to survive the attack but refuses to give up that easily. I believe this is Kate Ormand's first novel, so I am really interested to see what her writing style is like.

The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummins, coming out on June 10th, is about a society where the murder rate is higher than the birth rate. I don't know anything else about it, but that in itself sounds scary ... and I'm wondering how a story could be built around that. (P.S. — the background image on this cover is really creepy.)

As it is the middle of the year (how crazy is that?!), I thought it would appropriate to provide a little update on the six reading goals I hope to accomplish this year.

1. Read 50 books
I originally chose to read 50 books for this year without knowing exactly how much I could read and, to my surprise, I have already read 33! So I've decided to increase my goal by 10 books, making my new goal 60 books. I plan to keep it at 60 for the rest of this year, even if surpass it early, and increase the number in 2015.

2. Go back and read at least one book from high school
I haven't started this goal yet, but I do know that I want to re-read 1984. I don't remember most of what happens and although it is a small book, I imagine I will spend a lot of time unpacking the content. Since I'm on summer break now, I'll hopefully be able to start it while I have the time to!

3. Read one classic
Whenever I decide to read a classic (or any content-heavy book), I like to do this thing where I choose a lighter book and read it at the same time. Well, not the EXACT same time. What I mean is, I like to give myself the option to choose one book over another if I don't feel like tackling the content-heavy book.

I'm currently reading The Great Gatsby, but I'm finding myself more interested in whatever I've chosen to read alongside it. I'm not exactly forcing myself to read The Great Gatsby (I genuinely DO want to read it and am interested in the storyline) but it's hard for me to get through a classic. I think I'm going to try and read about 10 pages a day, just so I'm not hit with so much information at one time.

Do you treat classics differently than you do other books? If so, what is your game plan for reading classics?

4. Finish the Delirium trilogy
I own the last two books in this trilogy, but I have yet to pick them up. My current mindset is "start as many series as you can!" which is definitely not something I should be doing if I want to finish this one. I've also heard a lot of mixed reviews about the rest of this trilogy and how the ending doesn't bring closure, so I've been avoiding this one ...

5. Re-read the entire Harry Potter series
I read the Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets back in February for the #AYearAThon and the Prisoner of Azkaban in the middle of April, so I'm making some sort of progress! I know the Goblet of Fire is going to take me a while to read because it is a thicker book, so I'm planning to spend some time on it over the summer.

6. Read five already-bought books
Out of all six goals, this is probably the one most unlikely to be completed. I've read one (Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher), but I haven't been making an effort to reach for "old" books. I know, I'm terrible. I have a problem with constantly buying new books ... maybe I need to stop checking Book Outlet every day.

After visiting the library and randomly picking up this book, I went into it with no expectations because I had no idea what it was about. After reading about 50 pages, I realized that I didn't like the writing style and format because it was a little unorganized. The narrator seems to be spitting out her thoughts (similar to Shatter Me, but a little more juvenile) like she's writing in her diary. (However, I DID like the writing style of Shatter Me. I guess it just depends, in my opinion, on whether or not it's a good fit for the storyline.)

The first half of this book was a little boring. I know that it is supposed to be "background knowledge" for the rest of the story, but I felt as if it could have been a little more captivating. However, throughout the entire book, I did enjoy learning about Emmy, the main character, and her friendship with Kim. They were both very unique and quirky, which was quite refreshing to read. The exploration of how Emmy deals with Kim's death was truly intriguing and different than anything I've ever read.

The whole "seeing ghosts" thing was the only paranormal part of this book, and I surprisingly liked it! Her conversations with her science teacher and other ghosts added depth to the story and made it a little more interesting to read.

I would recommend this book for you if you liked If I Stay by Gayle Forman (past/present perspective) or Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira (dealing with a lost one), as they are both similar in style.

I was recently tagged by Sarah at BeautyAndTheBooks to answer these questions, so here's an impromptu video! My favorite question would have to be #6 (which fictional sidekick would you pick?), so leave your response in the comments so I can read them :)

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly link-up hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Anna & the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins The Summer I Turned Pretty - Jenny Han The Truth About Forever - Sarah Dessen Open Road Summer - Emery Lord Just One Day - Gayle Forman

Lola & the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins Second Chance Summer - Morgan Matson My Life Next Door - Huntley Fitzpatrick Pushing the Limits - Katie McGarry Along for the Ride - Sarah Dessen

Hello everyone! Because I completely missed my wrap-up for the month of April, you will be getting both April and May's today (also known as a huge post that you can just scroll through and look at the book covers.)



I read Panic by Lauren Oliver back in April for the "Booksplosion" read-along and thought it was just okay. I didn't really care for most of the characters, but the game itself was thrilling to follow along with.

One of my friends, Stephanie, graciously lent me her copy of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I ended up finishing it in an hour or two, and I really loved the narrator's quirkiness.

Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill surprised me a lot — it wasn't as "cliche" as I initially thought (Meant to Be as a title is cheesy enough), and it had an interesting twist at the end.

After reading Meant to Be, I wasn't in the mood to read anything except Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, which I loved. My favorite part is when Harry and Hermione go back in time to save both Buckbeak and Sirius!


Toward the end of April, I picked up Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo after seeing it marked as five stars on a friend's Goodreads page. Unfortunately, I didn't like it and thought it was dull.

I quickly moved on to The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry and enjoyed the storyline, but found there were a lot of problems that could have been fixed. (This story didn't even take place during the summer!)

Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott was a really good read. Although the pacing was a bit slow, I loved the action and events that happened. A lot of people are comparing it to The Hunger Games ... yes, there are some similar things, but I felt that it was a unique book and should be enjoyed for what it is!

On the day I found Perfect Lies by Kiersten White at the library, there was an evacuation drill right before I was about to check it out. Luckily, I placed it somewhere random and was able to pick it back up when I returned inside. Perfect Lies was a satisfying ending to the Mind Games duology. I really liked reading from two different POVs, especially during times of Fia's sassiness.


I really wanted to read more about Annie and Fia after Perfect Lies, so I read a short story titled Annie and Fia by Kiersten White. I didn't expect it to be as short as it was, so I was quite sad.

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira was (and is) a beautiful book about a girl who lost her sister and how she deals with it. I wasn't that into it during the first half, but the last part was written very well. It's written in letter form, which makes it quite easy to read, but the themes presented were woven so nicely throughout the entire book.

Although the Bout of Books 10.0 read-a-thon landed on the week of my finals, I decided to participate anyway. (I ended up reading on five out of the seven days.) If you want to know what I thought about The Here and Now by Ann Brashares and Open Road Summer by Emery Lord, check out my progress posts here and here :)


I wanted to read If I Stay by Gayle Forman after finding out it will be released as a movie later in August. I liked it, but I expected a lot more from it.

After hearing tons of people talking about Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, I FINALLY read it. And yes, it is as cute as everyone says it is! It's the whole Paris atmosphere and foreign cute boys thing that makes readers fall in love with this book. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that St. Clair (the love interest) had a girlfriend while he was clearly interested in Anna.

After three/four months of reading Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes, my small group and I finally finished it and had our last meeting at the end of May. If you are wondering what it means to be woman of God, I highly recommend this book. Barbara Hughes talks about many relevant topics (such as singleness and marriage, submission, and contentment) and really challenges you to be, like the title says, disciplined in all aspects of your life.