amarisafloria

Hi guys! (Well, mostly gals ... but I never say "gals" in real life so it just looks strange.) I hope you read a lot of books in August, because I sure didn't ...


Yes, your eyes do not deceive you. I only finished two books in August. It's quite embarrassing because I didn't start school until the 25th, which means I had plenty of time to read. I got through most of Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid, but I had to return it to the library. I'm in a bit of a reading slump right now, so hopefully I come across some good books in September.

• The Giver by Lois Lowry — my family has had this book for ages and I still haven't gotten around to reading it. The movie is already out and I won't watch it unless I've finished the book.
• Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver — one of my reading goals for this year is to finish the Delirium trilogy, which I was planning to do this month but ... as you can tell, that didn't turn out well.

At the beginning of August, I met Gayle Forman, Nina LaCour and Jandy Nelson at a book signing! It was my first time at a book-related event, so I was really excited to finally meet some authors :p I got to the bookstore two hours early (just in case) and bought The Sky is Everywhere and Everything Leads to You.

The day after that, I attended a pre-screening of If I Stay (thank you, Refinery29!) It was a beautiful movie, and I'll definitely be watching it again in theaters. Gayle Forman, Chloe Moretz and Liana Liberato also stopped by to introduce the movie, so that was pretty cool.

I don't normally attend concerts, but Ed Sheeran was going to be around so I had to buy tickets. Seeing and listening to him LIVE was a ton of fun. It was just him, his guitar and a loop pedal — crazy how good it still sounds!

• I bought some new books and took a picture.
• I bought some more new books and filmed a video.
• I read some ebooks and tried to convince you to do the same.
• I tried to get you to watch some new TV shows with me.
• I made a list of ten books I want to read but haven't bought yet.

Because I only read two books this month and did not complete any of my reading goals, I'm going to save myself from humiliation and refrain from posting a reading challenge update :p

There are a million and one books I'd love to read but don't own yet. My TBR pile is already something I never want to think about or look at, but add all the books I want to read and it's trouble. What's even worse is that I'm terrible at prioritizing the books I'd like to read vs. books I borrow from the library — I tend to save all the books I really want to read, which basically means I don't read the books I REALLY want to read. But that's all a different story ... SO, here are the books I'd like to own and read someday (but not before I finish the books I already have!):


1. Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
I went through a (very short) phase where I would not read a book if I didn't own it, even if I REALLY wanted to. Thankfully I realized that I was being dumb, but I still haven't made time to pick this up yet! This would have been a perfect summer read.

2. Alienated by Melissa Landers
I borrowed this from my school's library last semester but I didn't get a chance to finish it. The concept is really strange but cool, so I'm hoping to pick it up again and continue onward.

3. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
This book (and entire trilogy) has been out for such a long time, but I'm having a difficult time choosing the covers I want ... yeah, #firstworldproblems.

4. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
All I know is that I need to hurry up and read this already.


5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Yes, I STILL haven't read this after I talked about it in my "Top 5 Most Embarrassing Unread Books" post. I really want the B&N collector's edition, but I'm also trying to hold back on buying too many books.

6. Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
There was so much buzz after a bunch of booktubers got together and read this one. The cover is very girly and I heard it was funny. Funny's my kind of thing. So me and this book should have a pretty fun time.

7. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
Another book I haven't read but really need to. I haven't heard a single bad thing about this one and I really love Jenny Han.

8. Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover
I don't think I've read a single new adult romance novel, but I really want to read this specific one after hearing how much Kassidy and Riley loved it.


9. Landline by Rainbow Rowell
This one is a recent release so I'm not too mad at myself about this one, but I love everything that Rainbow Rowell writes and need to read everything she has ever written. If she wrote an essay on physics, I'd like to read it right now please.

10. Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman
This one makes me so sad ... I don't know what else to say because I sound like a recording machine but I NEED THIS ONE SO BAD.

I feel overwhelmed after looking over the books I'd like to own and read. There are way too many and I know I could never finish all the books. Can publishers please stop publishing books for like one year and let me catch up?! That would be kinda nice.

Which book would you recommend I read first? Have you read any of the books I mentioned? What is on your list of "books I want to read but don't own yet"?

Although there are plenty of shows I'm planning to continue watching in the fall (The Vampire Diaries, The Mindy Project, Once Upon a Time), these five are a handful of the new ones that I'll be tuning in to. I've also linked each trailer in the title under their respective images, so click 'em and let me know which ones you'll also be watching!

What if a hospital was your high school, boarding school and summer camp rolled into one? What if it was the place where you fell in love for the first time and made friendships that lasted a lifetime? And what if it was all weirdly hilarious and the most fun you ever had in your entire life? This is the world of RED BAND SOCIETY.

This reminds me of The Fault in Our Stars in the way where illnesses don't define who the kids are. They're falling in love, building friendships, displaying emotions, etc. I feel like this could either turn out really great or really sour. It could be a great way to show what kids in a hospital may be feeling and how they live everyday, but it could also distort the image of what really happens. I hope it does well — I do think it has some potential.

PEOPLE YOU MAY RECOGNIZE:

• Ciara Bravo (Kendall's little sister, Katie, from Big Time Rush)
• Dave Annable (Jake Adams from What's Your Number)
• Octavia Spencer (Minny Jackson from The Help, Johanna from Insurgent)

Eliza Dooley has 263,000 followers who hang on to her every post, tweet and selfie. But one lonely day she has a revelation: being friended is not the same as having actual friends. She asks marketing guru Henry to 'rebrand' her self-obsessed reputation and teach her how to connect.

I don't think this'll last longer than one season — I like the idea of turning an obsession with social media into a comic relief, but I can't picture anything eventful happening throughout the course of this show. It seems like it's really funny, which is why I am going to watch it, but that's about it.

PEOPLE YOU MAY RECOGNIZE:

• Karen Gillan (Amy Pond from Doctor Who, Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy)
• John Cho (Harold from the Harold & Kumar movies)
• Allyn Rachel (Rachael from New Girl)

Have you ever wondered what your date was thinking? This romantic comedy exposes the differences between men and women through the unfiltered thoughts, and often contradictory actions, of a new couple who have just begun dating.

First of all, LISTS!!! And secondly, I'm a total sucker for romantic comedy. The plot seems to be more fit as a movie than a TV show and just like Selfie, I don't think it'll last but I'm interested to see how it turns out.

PEOPLE YOU MAY RECOGNIZE:

• Jake McDorman (Evan Chambers from Greek)
• Jade Catta-Preta (Serena from 2 Broke Girls)
• Kurt Fuller (Coroner Woody Strode from Psych)

Andrew Lofland, while a guy's guy, has always been a secret romantic ... not above crooning to Celine Dion while driving to work, with dreams of finding "the one." He imagines her to be just like that shimmering beauty he spotted that night in that silver dress at that concert two years ago. Zelda Vasco is a no-nonsense lawyer who has strong feelings about being her own person and prefers the control of online dating. However, when a computer glitch sends her a total mismatch, she's asked to come in for an interview at Wallflower Online Dating, the agency where Andrew works.

Andrew and Zelda meet for the first time and despite their differences, sparks fly. She thinks it's chance. He thinks it's fate. After all, he's convinced she's the shimmering girl in the silver dress. Is it true love forever or just a detour in destiny?

If I were to guess whether Manhattan Love Story or A to Z would end up having more seasons, I'd say A to Z. It seems like a story that could head off in many directions — see for yourself! According to Entertainment Weekly, you can stream the pilot episode on NBC.com or Hulu.

PEOPLE YOU MAY RECOGNIZE:

• Ben Feldman (Michael Ginsberg from Mad Men)
• Cristin Milioti (Tracy McConnell from How I Met Your Mother)
• Hong Chau (Cook Pu from How I Met Your Mother)

Barry Allen was just 11 years old when his mother was killed in a bizarre and terrifying incident and his father was falsely convicted of the murder. With his life changed forever by the tragedy, Barry was taken in and raised by Detective Joe West, the father of Barry’s best friend, Iris. Now, Barry has become a brilliant, driven and endearingly geeky CSI investigator, whose determination to uncover the truth about his mother’s strange death leads him to follow up on every unexplained urban legend and scientific advancement that comes along.

I've never seen Arrow (The Flash is the spin-off series) and I don't know anything about DC/Marvel, but this looks really cool. From previous experiences, CW has come out with really great TV shows so I'm hoping this will be good — even for people who aren't educated in the world of superheroes. Plus, the main character is pretty cute.

PEOPLE YOU MAY RECOGNIZE:

• Grant Gustin (Barry Allen from Arrow, Sebastian from Glee, Campbell from 90210)
• Rick Cosnett (Dr. Wes from The Vampire Diaries)
• Danielle Panabaker (Faith from Summerland, Ariel from Grimm, Penny from Justified)

Are you looking forward to any of these shows? What are some shows you're planning to watch, or catch up on?

For a very long time, I refused to read a book if I could not physically flip through the pages and hold it in my hands. I like being able to look at different fonts in each individual book and the progress I'm making from time to time. However, moving around from my parents' home to my apartment at school means traveling lightly and taking public transportation, so I've grown to really like ebooks. I still prefer buying physical books, but I'm a lot more open to reading electronically now.

If you are on the fence about trying an ebook, here are four reasons to just do it.

YOU CAN READ ON ANY TYPE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.
If I'm headed somewhere in the car or on a bus, I get a headache from reading even a paragraph of text. MIRACULOUSLY, I read Branded by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki on my iPad (using the Kindle app) during a two-hour bus ride and I didn't throw up or die so YAY.

NO WAITING!
After reading The Selection and The Elite by Kiera Cass, I couldn't want to read The One. My only problem (which really isn't a problem) was that I couldn't purchase The One because it hasn't been released in paperback yet. I decided to request it from my local library and ended up being the 60th person on the list. Two months later, I finally turned on the lightbulb in my head and borrowed it as an ebook. There wasn't anyone on the request list, so I received and started it ten seconds later. If you purchase an ebook, you don't have to drive out to the bookstore or wait for it to be shipped.

THEY'RE (ALMOST ALWAYS) CHEAPER.
The library, depending on where you live, can be a great place to borrow ebooks for free. If you want your own copy of a certain book, there are tons of websites that offer free ebooks. For newer books, you'll probably have to purchase them, but there are ALWAYS deals. (Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout is FREE right now!!!)

MULTI-TASKING? NO PROBLEM.
I like to read while I eat, but I don't do it during my bigger meals because I don't want to accidentally get soda or pizza sauce on any of my books. I guess you can risk getting food on your iPad or Kindle if you read an ebook, but you can always wipe it off the screen.

I thought it would be fun to start this feature (it's the exact same concept as "Stacking the Shelves", but I wanted to change up the name :p) and share some books I've recently bought/received in photo form. It's my attempt to be creative and interesting, haha.


I've been meaning to read Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout for the longest time, but I didn't want to buy it in the old cover because of the final book's cover change. Interestingly enough, the publishers decided to create a bind-up of the first two books (as well as a bind-up of books three and four) and call it Lux: Beginnings. I personally don't mind this change and am excited to have a copy for myself!

Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth was a must-buy for me. The novellas came out separately a while ago, but 1) the covers were disastrous and 2) I didn't like ebooks back then. To be honest, Four is probably going to be the only book (out of the three) that I may read in the month of August. I buy books even though I know I won't get to them immediately to have the option of picking it up whenever I feel like it. Is this the same with you too?

Everyone and they mamas have read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I haven't heard a single bad thing about this book, so I would really love to start it. It'll definitely be something new for me (I don't normally read fantasy) but I thought I'd give it a try.