Sunday, December 21, 2014

#4.14: Read 25 New Books; #6.9: Read BuzzFeed's 21 Best YA Books of 2013 – Being Henry David

101 in 1001

BuzzFeed's 21 Best YA Books of 2013







"How can you move on with your life when you can't even remember it?

He wakes up in Penn Station with no memory of who he is. All he has in his possession is a worn-out paperback of Walden by Henry David Thoreau. All he knows is that he's on the run. 

And so he becomes Henry David, "Hank" for short. With the book as his guide, he sets out for the only destination he can think of: Walden Pond. There, while sleeping in the woods and hiding around town, it seems like he can begin again, with new friends and a girl he can't stop thinking about. 

But when pieces of memories start coming back, Hank realizes the stranger he fears the most is himself. What's in his past that his mind won't let him face?"


I've been pretty impressed by all of the books on BuzzFeed's list so far, including this one (I guess being a well-written book is a prerequisite to making a list entitled 21 Best YA Books of 2013?). Again, this book had a plot that I hadn't experienced in books before; it was suspenseful and exciting, but was also romantic and sweet and I 10/10 recommend ok


Thanks for reading, no one!

Autumn

Thursday, December 4, 2014

#18.1: Make 10 DIY Projects – Advent Calendar

101 in 1001 

It's no secret that I really like Christmas. I'm a pretty festive person, especially October through December, and Christmas is without a doubt my favorite holiday. My birthday is actually on Christmas Day (I know, I'm better than you), so that may have something to do with it.

I figured out what advent calendars are last year, and by the time I realized how cool they were, it was too late to make one. The idea to make one popped into my head again after I saw this video on YouTube. It seemed fairly easy, and I liked how you could customize it however you wanted.

I actually didn't realize that making this fits in with my 101 in 1001 challenge, and didn't take any pictures of the whole crafting process. But here it is anyway:




The pouches are made from cardboard tubes (I used empty wrapping paper rolls, but paper towel or toilet paper rolls work just as well). To decorate them, I used Christmas-themed washi tape, ribbon, silver and gold glittered paper that I cut into various, Christmasy shapes, scrapbook embellishments, and different gift tags. The black tags are actually chalkboard tags. Each pouch was filled with chocolate and a little tag with a different holiday activity:



These were from the first three days that we already opened:



 And here are all the tags close up:







 It took me a while to figure out how I was going to hang it up. At first, I was just going to use twine, but all the pouches just stupidly collected in the middle when I tried to hang it up. Then, after unpacking the christmas decorations, I saw that we had an extra yard of this greenery (wth is the name for it?). I put it on the wall and hung each pouch like an ornament. Here's how it looked the night right after I hung it up (do a shot for every 'hung/hang' in this paragraph):




I think it turned out alright. I've never really done a DIY type thing like this before, and I learned a lot from it. What do you think? What's your favorite pouch/day on my calendar?


Thanks for reading, no one!

Autumn

#4.13: Read 25 New Books; #6.8: Read BuzzFeed's 21 Best YA Books of 2013 – Out of The Easy

101 in 1001 

BuzzFeed's 21 Best YA of 2013



So, it's been about a year since I started this challenge (actually, 11 months today), and it's just hit me how little I've accomplished.

SO MANY FEELINGS SO MUCH ANXIETY

But anyway, I read another book. This was another that wasn't part of a series, and I picked this to read next because the premise was so interesting:



"It's 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secret, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. She devises a plan to get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in a police investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street.

Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in a quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.

With characters as captivating as those in her internationally bestselling novel Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys skillfully creates a rich story of secret, lies, and the haunting reminder that decisions can shape our destiny. 


I loved this. It had elements of romance, which we all know I love, but was also suspenseful. It had murder, violence, and mystery, which is something I love in film but hadn't ever really experienced in books before.


Thanks for reading, no one!

Autumn