Please feel free to ignore this post. I feel a need to both kvetch and document this horrendously busy week

What I have done/has happened this week:

• Written a paper on the cognitive development of adolescents
• Analyzed A Streetcar Named Desire (blegh)
• Made 3 different posters for costume design
• Taken a mathematical task design test
• Solved the area for any three-dimensional step-wedge
• Graded about 30% of the papers I need to grade (I have over 100)
• Designed the costumes for my favorite musical
• Taken my brothers to school/piano/scouts every day
• Fed said brothers
• Fought off a cold
• Watched A LOT of crime dramas (they're easy to watch while you're doing something else)
• Had my iPhone finally kick the bucket (it was an iPhone original. A dinosaur, but I loved it)
• Spend $50 I don't have on a loaner phone
• Had to learn how to text using T9 again (#FirstWorldProblems)
• Leftsideofmy spacebar doesn'twork anymore

What I still have to do tomorrow:

• Continue to make sure my brothers stay alive
• Go WATCH the show I costumed
• Figure out how to get a new iPhone (I can't live this way!!)
• Write a lesson plan on how to do character analysis
• Write a MAP (mathematical analysis paper) on my proof of the 3-dimensional step-wedge
• Finish this blog post
• Make fliers for Writing for Charity
• Choose a scene from Streetcar to over-analyze and blah
• Figure out where I put my pants
• Remember all the things I have left to do.

What I have not done (and feels like I will never have time to do again):

• Read
• Written
• Blogged

The end.



P.S. I've noticed that my happiness level DRASTICALLY decreases the longer I go without reading a novel. Am I the only one who feels that way?

This is a post all about my pet peeves. So if you're in an irritable mood... I wouldn't read this. This is an opinion post. Please respect my right to an opinion, even if you disagree. I'm not trying to insult anyone, but I am going to talk about things that bother me.

Am I the only person who has noticed that written English has taken a spectacular dive since the influx of texting and the Internet? Suddenly there are wild and crazy abbreviations (most of which don't make any sense) and capitalization and punctuation are a thing of the past.

I was recently tweeting with fellow blogger Emily about a comment she got on her blog. The comment began:

WTF!!! FURST OF ALL...

And then continued in a similar manner.

WTFreak? Is this person trying to be ironic? Do they know that's not how you spell "first"? Also, what's up with the all caps? Yes, I understand that you're angry. But do you know that you'll come off a lot angrier if you select only CERTAIN words to put in all caps?

But there is the other extreme:

i love this post haha it just looks so cool n interesting haha n i really want to read all those books haha and i think ur supernifty haha ne way i just wanted 2 let u no.

Um... do you know that I is always capitalized? And why do you keep "haha"-ing? Are you a villain? Do you laugh maniacally? And why is it that "haha" has taken the place of punctuation? This is all one big sentence.

Granted, most of you are very literate people, and your comments are quite readable. However, I do occasionally get a comment like those illustrated above and I just kind of... stare. I honestly want to know: do these people know how grammatically incorrect their comments are? Is this some kind of youth-protest? Or are there people out there that really think that's how you type?

For example, let's talk abbreviations. Oh boy. First if all "NE" is only ONE LETTER off from "any." Is it really that much hard to just type "any"? And "N." Since when is "N" an abbreviation for "and"? And isn't "&" just as easy? I'm okay with some abbreviations. Like, BTW. This is for three separate words: By The Way. And it's significantly easier to type BTW. But I feel like if you're typing "NE1", then you're just crying for attention.

Now let's look at punctuation. First of all, the period is dead. I have decided this. When people use punctuation, it's either ! or ?! and sometimes a solitary ?. Which is fine. We're just a society of constantly surprised/excited/confused people. I find myself overusing all of these. I'm especially fond of the ?! one.

However, when people do use periods, they use them like this ". . ." Do you know what those are called? Those are ellipses, and they have specified uses. You can't just toss them around willy nilly into a sentence! I feel like ellipses are really abused. Ellipses (as far as I am aware) are used for omissions, pauses in thought, and sometimes to lead you onto the next idea. There is a DREADFUL use of ellipses that I pass on the freeway almost every day:


And there are tons of people who just seem to neurotically use ellipses when they write e-mails, FaceBook posts, and blog comments. I don't even think I can create an example for you, because I'm not sure what the thought process behind this is.

I know that I'm certainly not perfect when it comes to proper gramatticallizing stuff. I'm a math major. I don't use words a lot. That's one of the reasons I love blogging. It forces me to write, when I otherwise wouldn't write at all. I struggle with spelling sometimes, and I wonder if spelling will become a lost art now that we have spell check (which I adore). I also know that I have a tendency to over-italicize and I REALLY overuse commas. I didn't know what the purpose of a semicolon was until high school. But no one really seems to use those anyway.

But even though I'm not perfect, I'm not terrible. I know the difference between than and then. I know FANBOYS (though I don't use it as much as I should). I always try to use proper spelling, capitalization, and punctuation in texting, on twitter, and when commenting on blogs. And I did get 34 and 36 on the English and Reading portions of the ACT, respectively.

I still use BTW, and BRB, and G2G. I still randomly switch into ALL CAPS. But that's 'cause I'm doing it for a purpose. There's meaning behind my madness. And sometimes I get a comment on my blog/YouTube and I just don't know if that person realizes how crazy they sound.

Do you think this has anything to do with texting/Internet? These grammar-less people seem to still be in the minority, but is it spreading? Do you think something like Twitter (which forces you to stay under 140 characters) is making it worse? And the really big question:

Does it matter?

Should we care that there are people like this? Or is this just the direction language is going? No one says "thee" and "thou" anymore. Did the olden-times people mourn the loss of that? I don't know. As I've said a million times before: I'm no expert. I'm just a girl with a computer.

Today I'm going to talk about one of the HARDEST things in book blogging: negative reviews.

Negative reviews have always been particularly hard for me because I have an insatiable need to be liked. If someone ever gives me the slightest impression that they don't like me, I instantly assume the "tail between my legs" posture. Head down, shoulders slumped, maybe some slight whimpering. I hate it.

To compensate for this, I often find myself being very hard-skinned. I pretend that things don't bother me and that I don't care about what people think.

To compensate for that, I'm always very careful about how I word things. If I want to be rude, I'll be rude, but I generally try to keep things polite and considerate. (Because remember that I need people to like me) This works pretty well for me in my real life because I have always been a very good public speaker.

This doesn't work so well for me in blogging. When you write something, you can't add the emphasis you want as delicately as you can while speaking. This is why I italicize a lot of things, in the vain hope that you will understand what I'm trying to get across.

Negative reviews are just a part of blogging. You aren't going to like every book you read. There are some bloggers who choose not to review books they didn't like, but I don't think that's quite fair. If all I ever see online are positive reviews, I'm going to read the book. But what if there are even more people who didn't like the book, but I'll never know because they never posted?! No. It just doesn't work.


If a book is published, that means someone loved it enough for it to see the light of day. That person may be an agent; an editor; or, in the case of self-pubs, an author! Someone loved this book so much that they wanted the whole world to be able to read it. Therefore, who has the right to murder a book by a bad review? No one! Just because you and I aren't friends doesn't mean I'm going to sneak into your room at night and stab you to death!

Therefore, I've started trying my hardest to make sure that people understand that when I write negative reviews I am writing purely from my own perspective. Is everyone going to feel the same way I did? Absolutely not! Will one of my readers read and [hopefully] love the book? Probably!

In all of my negative reviews I always try to include one thing that's positive. For example, in my review of Die for Me I was sure to mention how much I loved the original paranormal twist. And I was also sure to mention that this book came into my hands at a very bad time, when I was coming to the end of my paranormal romance rope. I thought I managed to balance the fact that I didn't like it, but it was still a book worthy of someone's love.

But later that day, my mom told me "Wow. You really didn't like that book."

And that's when I realized that all my efforts might be in vain. Despite the fact that I desperately try to remain kind and courteous while writing a negative review, it is still a negative review. And if people want to see compliments as patronizing, kindness as sarcasm, or gentleness as polished-cruelty, then they're going to! And since you're reading this and not speaking to me face-to-face, my intent could be easily missed. People read into things what they want to. What's important is what you mean.

Therefore, I'm writing this post so that I can link it in my future negative reviews. If you want to believe that I'm trying to be mean or cruel to a book, then there's nothing I can do to stop you. But with all the finality in my body, I declare that I am always trying to be the nicest person I can be. And if I mean to be rude, you won't be able to miss it, but that's a rarity.

However, I am also striving to be as honest as I can be, and therefore I can't just pretend to like everything I read. Some books won't be up my alley. Just because that's true, doesn't mean no one else will like them. Perhaps someone will read my review, and my negativity prompts them to pick up the book. Who knows?!

Negative reviews are hard. They're especially hard when they're for a book by an author you love, or if you want every author to be your best friend (*points at self*). The important thing is to stay true to yourself. For me, myself is someone who wants to be liked, wants to be nice, but also wants to be honest. And that's how I write my reviews, good and bad. Is it easy? NO! I'm terrified every time I post a negative review. But it's what's right for me.

And if you don't like it you're welcome to leave a rude comment, just know that I will then spend the next hour hiding in a corner.

Release Date: May 10th, 2008
Genre:  Romance, Paranormal
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 352
Rating:
Amazon Link*: Click Here
Goodreads Page: Click here
Summary:

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.

Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.

Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.

While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family's—in jeopardy for a chance at love?

Review: Y'all are smart people. And as smart people you have probably noticed that this is the first book review I posted since my rant. Does that mean that this book is the inspiration for that rant? Oh yes.

That is not to say that this book is the only reason for for the rant, but it was the final straw. (If you have not yet read the rant, you should probably do so. Otherwise this review may be a little confusing)

This book had SUCH POTENTIAL! When we were introduced to the paranormal element I gave a little "squee" of delight! I've never read anything like that before. What an amazingly original idea! I was so excited to read on about how this paranormal phenomenon would affect the characters and the world they lived in.

And then I read 300 pages about teenage angsty romance. BLARGH! Where was this awesome plot I was expecting? Is it buried somewhere under the hormones? I can't see it!

Oh, naturally there was a very dramatic, action-filled ending... which lasted about 20 pages. Other than that it followed this basic formula:

GIRL: "I think I like him. Does he like me?"
BOY: "I like her. I want her to like me."
GIRL: "I'm going to be incredibly nosy and stalker-ish"
GIRL: "Oh my! I want to like you, but now that I know this thing, I dont' know if I can."
BOY: "Please try."
GIRL: "Okay!"
GIRL: "Wait, no! I changed my mind. Goodbye."
BOTH: "I can't live without you! Let's be together again."
BOY: "I'll protect you! I'll kill the evil!"
GIRL: "Oh no! BOY is not here to protect me! What will I do?"

THE END.

Now, as always, I am not trying to be rude when I post this. This formula is NOT based solely off of Die For Me. Off the top of my head I can list *quickly lists in head* at least four books that follow this EXACT formula (perhaps with some genders changed).

In conclusion, Die for Me came at a really bad spot in my reading career. If I had read any other paranormal romance right now, it would have gotten the same response. As I said before, I'm tired of saying this over and over. I'm done. And Die for Me wasn't a bad book to end on. It had a really great paranormal twist/element, but it got buried under the romantic debris.

I hope and pray this is the last review I'll ever have to write like this.



*I am an amazon affiliate. If you purchase this book using my link, I will get a tiny fraction of the purchase, which goes toward contests.

I'm done. Through. Finished. That was the final straw. I'm at the end of my rope.

I'm done with paranormal romance.

No joke. I'm finally declaring my independence from a genre which has repeatedly disappointed me. From now on I'm only going to be reading paranormal romances from authors I know and trust.

Is it so much to ask for a story that doesn't depend on sexual tension? A plot that isn't based on on pining? Action that isn't driven by amorous liaisons? No! Good heavens, no! (If you'd like to read my rant that is all about this phenomenon, click here)

I'm like an abused puppy. I read a PR, it disappoints me to no end, and yet I then go out and find another one and think "maybe this time it will be everything I dreamed of. Maybe the paranormal will outweigh the romance." But it never does.

Well, that's a generalization. It sometimes does. But usually not.

I'm sick and tired of writing reviews that say "This book wasn't a paranormal story, it was a romance story." And "This was just like all the other PRs out there." I feel like a broken record. And it terrifies me that the word "paranormal" is slowly starting to imply romance.

I just can't take it anymore!!!!

I'm not asking you to join me. There's nothing wrong with these PRs, and their authors need your support. However, I'm feeling buried under the slew of new PR releases and I just want it to stop. Therefore, I am banning myself. Unless it comes recommended from a trusted source who knows my tastes, or unless it is written by an author that I already know and love, I will no longer be reading paranormal romance. And in case you doubt my seriousness, I made a button (albeit hastily).


How long will this self-proclaimed boycott last? I don't know. Until I have scrubbed my mind with enough non-PRs to be able to enjoy PRs again I suppose.

And since today was the last day of class, and one week from now I will officially be FREE until September, I need your help. I have amassed quite a pile of books that I intend to dig into as soon as finals are over. However, maybe some of these will need to be removed from my list due to my boycott. Can you look my list over and tell me what you think?

I should clarify that it isn't the paranormal romance genre that I'm having trouble with. It's the paranormal romances that are 75%+ ROMANCE. If it's mostly paranormal/action, or even a 50% split between the two, that's fine. I just don't want to spend 300-400 pages reading about some inter-species relationship anymore, ya know? I love romance as a plot element. I don't love romance as the WHOLE plot.

With that said, here's my list:


What say you? Any I should avoid? Any I should move to the top of the pile?

Thank you for reading my rant. I'm done now.

Now I usually stay out of controversial issues. I didn't participate in Banned Books Month/Week, I didn't talk about the "Speak Loudly" issue, but I can't stay quiet about this, because it is just WRONG!


He lied.

Most of the book was made up.

But it gets worse.

Now, Frey has developed something called a Fiction Factory. In which he hires authors to WRITE BOOKS FOR HIM. And his genre of choice? Young Adult.

I am going to kill this man.

Nicole led me to this all-tell article. I'm so upset I don't yet have the self-control to properly articulate my feelings on this issue, so this next portion of this post will be my annotations and emotions I went through while reading this article. Hopefully, rather than forcing my own opinion on you, this form of rant will help you develop your own opinion. Enjoy, if you can.

Frey said he was interested in conceiving commercial ideas that would sell extremely well. He was in the process of hiring writers

HIRING?! Hiring writers?! EDIT: As was rightly pointed out to me in the comments. Hiring writers in itself is not wrong. But if you read on, you will see it is very wrong in this case.

We were desperate to be published, any way we could. We were spending $45,000 on tuition, some of us without financial aid, and many taking out loans that were lining us up to graduate six figures in debt. A deal like the one Frey was offering could potentially pay off our loans and provide an income for the next decade. Do a little commercial work under a pseudonym, sell the movie rights, and never have to suffer as a writer in New York. We wouldn’t even need day jobs.

These are students talking. People, if you are being forced to write under a pseudonym, that means you don't get any credit!

Frey handed him a one-page write-up of the concept, and Hughes developed the rest of the outlined narrative.

He just handed him a one-page write up?! And suddenly he's writing books? Dang. I wish that worked. I have about fifty-million one-page books. The whole point of writing is writing! Not just thinking up a story.

But here comes the part that's especially sad to me:

Frey’s idea was a series called “The Lorien Legacies,” about nine Loric aliens who were chased from their home planet by evil Mogadorians and are living on Earth in the guise of teenagers.

WHAT?! I Am Number Four is a result of this fiction factory? I really liked that book. But I wish I could like it for the right reasons.

One Columbia student, Jesse Thiessen, submitted an idea about high-school theater students who coalesce around a father figure who develops skin cancer; Frey’s assistant replied, “I’m sorry, but we’re looking for high-concept ideas that we can pitch in one sentence. We know it sounds cynical, but it’s what we know we can sell.”

Oh. The pain. Commercialism.

In exchange for delivering a finished book within a set number of months, the writer would receive $250 (some contracts allowed for another $250 upon completion), along with a percentage of all revenue generated by the project, including television, film, and merchandise rights—30 percent if the idea was originally Frey’s, 40 percent if it was originally the writer’s. The writer would be financially responsible for any legal action brought against the book but would not own its copyright.

So basically, you get all the crappy stuff, and they get all the good stuff.

Frey and Almon told me they would send me a contract but warned me that I shouldn’t bother trying to negotiate. They weren’t acceding to other writers’ requests and wouldn’t accede to mine.

AKA We are the boss of you, mindless slaves!

He encouraged me to start imagining product placement—“think Happy Meals”—because merchandise is where you make money in these deals. He mentioned the Mogadorian swords in I Am Number Four, which were described with unusual specificity. “We added that after Spielberg told us he needed stuff to sell.”

I'm going to cry.


No matter which way you look at this, it is WRONG. He is taking YA literature and turning it into mass-produced and commercialized sweatshop material.

Writers! There are other ways to help your book get published, you don't need to sell your writing soul. If it's your book, you deserve the credit both good and bad.

Stephanie wrote a great post on this issue where she quoted John Green:

YA author John Green has spoken about this—the more Twilights there are and the more books purchased at Wal Mart, the fewer unique titles actually get produced.

While I am not actively writing now, I do hope to someday write a YA novel and attempt publication. How can this be possible if we're being swarmed by these massed produced commercialized books?! The worst part for me is that these books are good. I really enjoyed I Am Number Four but why can't we just give the actual author credit? And changing a book just so you can produce toys? I just... I'm speechless.

Once again, I don't usually comment on these sorts of issues. I apologize if I've offended anyone, but I just can't abide this. If you don't think this is wrong, PLEASE contact me. I'd love to see how this could be justified, because I just can't fathom it.

If you'd like to read the full article, you can click here. However, be forewarned, Frey has a bit of a potty-mouth.

I hate being angry. I just want to curl up under a rock.

Yours in abject horror,

I’m going to be reviewing quite a few books this week, and before I review them I’d like to get this rant out of the way. Brace yourselves. Feel free to look away now. Maybe go enter some of my contests. Visit some other book blog. Or stick with me, because here I go.


It seems to me like ALMOST every YA book nowadays has a plot that is utterly dependent on love. As in: if you took the love out of the story, you would have no more story. Or at best a TERRIBLE story. These books are being branded as paranormal, supernatural, dystopian, but really THEY’RE JUST ROMANCES!

I have never liked the purely romance genre. I’m a HUGE love-skeptic (as y’all are probably aware of by now). I like sweet love, I like true love, but I despise (yes, despise) love that is either purely sexual or superficial. Blah. It bothers me.

I also get really annoyed in books where the two love interest are not the same SPECIES! But that’s a rant for another time.

But why, why must nearly every YA book written recently be dependent on love? Were Alanna’s adventures hinged on her relationship with George? No! Did Sophie pine and moan on ever other page about how Howl wasn’t paying her enough attention? Certainly not! Did Gen challenge the gods because he wondered what Attolia would think? Preposterous!

And yet was there love in these stories? Oh yes. And it is delicious, and wonderful, and makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

But the romance was just the spice of the story, not the meat. These kind of stories fall under the genres of fantasy, paranormal, supernatural, horror, historical fiction, etc. and they all have a SUB-genre of romance.

But now there are DOZENS of stories coming out who fall under the GENRE of romance, and the SUB-GENRE of fantasy, paranormal, supernatural, horror, historical fiction, etc. And it’s not just me calling them romance. If you open them and look at the subject it usually says “1. Romance” or (and I find this hilarious) “1. Interpersonal relations” and then it’s followed by “2. [insert sub-genre here]”

You all know the books I mean. I’m not going to name any names, because I don’t want you all to get the wrong idea.

I am not saying these stories are badly written! Some of them happen to be my favorites. Those sub-genres are what pushes these books into the light. It just bothers me when a story tries to get passed off as something it’s not! If you’re a romance story JUST SAY YOU ARE A ROMANCE STORY! Don’t try and disguise yourself as your sub-genre!

Do you guys agree with me? Why do you think books are doing this? I personally think it might be because the romance genre gets a bad rap(as I have clearly illustrated). Authors/Publishers are scared of labeling their book as a “romance” book because people usually imagine covers with lots of glistening skin. *shudder*

I guess what I’m trying to say is: if you’re a romance YA book BE PROUD! I bet people will still pick you up! All of these quasi-romance books have actually started to warm people up to the idea. All I know is, when I pick up a book that claims to be about fallen angels, and it turns out to be all about people falling in love with fallen angels, I get a little miffed.

The same is true for vampires, werewolves, humans, aliens, etc.

EDIT: I guess it should make it clear that there are 2 parts to this rant

1) It bothers me when books are branded incorrectly as "paranormal" when they are really "romance."

2) It bothers me that so many of these books are being written! What happened to the old style of YA? Where the protagonist was okay with being independent, but there was still some love on the side. Eh? Where'd they go? Because goshdarnit it BOTHERS me when I go in expecting something fantastical and paranormal, and come out with nothing but [usually petty] teenage romance!


*deep breath* all right I’m done now. Feel free to go wild or stay silent in the comments*. I’m prepared for either or neither. Please be aware that, like all of my rants, I am not trying to be mean. I believe that EVERY book is meant to be loved by someone. And even if that person isn’t me, it doesn’t give me any reason to call that book a “bad” book. No book is bad. Some are just… misrepresented.

If you’ve made it this far. Congratulations. You deserve a medal.

Happy reading of whatever genre you choose,