UUGGHHH

I haven't read in almost a week. I have been trying to think of what has caused this, and the only thing I can think of is that the book I am in the middle of still hasn't grasped me and I am not invested in the characters at all, and therefore I don't feel like picking it up to finish it. I know this is awful, because I just want to finish it and get it over with, so I am bribing myself with the Harry Potter Challenge.

See, I am the last person on Earth who hasn't read the Harry Potter books. I am very interested in them, particularly because of all the amazing people who are involved in HP-awesomeness. I mean, if the books can inspire people to write music about the wizarding world, then they have to be amazing, right? The reason I never read them as they were coming out is because my Mom read them, and throughout those years I was determined to like or enjoy anything that she did, because I was a bratty teenager. But those years have long since passed, and it is time that I relinquish my pride, suck it up, and just read the damn books!

So tonight I will finish Get Well Soon, and then I will read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I may end up reading all the HP books at once if I enjoy it as much as I expect to. I definitely feel as if I've missed out on them, just from watching the Vlogbrothers and FiveAwesomeGirls. HP basically brought those 5 girls together, since it was the largest thing they had in common, and now they are all close friends as a result of their year long youtube challenge. John and Hank Green were so excited by the last book coming out, that Hank wrote the song "Accio Deathly Hallows," and he's a nearly 30 year old man. So really, I am ready to read these books.

It's true, I lie.

Instead of reading or writing yesterday, I went to work (both jobs) and then went out for Thursday dinner with Jackie. We went to Target first, because Target is our favorite store, and bought cheesy Halloween T-shirts with goofy looking sparkly ghosts in true teenage fashion. We also tried on as many pairs of ugly shoes and boots as we could before getting dirty looks from the young lady rearranging all the shoe shelves.

We then went to TGIFridays for our usual dinner, were seated at one of the awkward little tables that is half booth/half chairs, and enjoyed the waiter who was still in training. He was actually one of the best waiters we've had there, because he was obviously a little nervous and trying to make sure we liked him and a good time at dinner. He was funny and joked back and forth with us, and he was very polite. Usually we get a female waitress who looks like she's on her last leg and wants to poison our potato skins. It's a good thing we tip well, because with the number of times we go there, we'd surely end up dead.

We then took the long way back to Jackie's apartment, where we watched the Degrassi movie from earlier this Summer and then the second episode of The Vampire Diaries, finishing up with the first episode of the new Melrose Place. In one night I went from being a normal 23 year old female to a ridiculously cliche 16 year old girl. I have to say, I enjoyed every minute of it. I love Degrassi, and have since I was in high school when the main "the next generation" characters were Emma, Paige, Ashley, Manny, etc. Now there are a ton of new kids that I don't really like, but the show is so ridiculous that I still love it. The movie focused on a lot of the characters from the earlier years of this batch of Degrassi, like Manny, Paige, Marco, Ellie, Craig, and Jay. It was good except for the part when the DVR didn't record the whole thing, so we still have no idea how it ends. Fantastic.

The Vampire Diaries was so terrible that it was almost amazing. The acting is really bad, and apparently the actors all learned how to be "vampy" from Twilight, because the "good" vampire brother on the show does the "Edward Brooding Look" where he furrows his brow and looks like he has amnesia. The girl, Elena, is actually the girl who played Mia on Degrassi, who was one of my favorite characters. But she can't act all that well, although I don't think the show is giving her much to work with anyways, so it's a tough call. The writing is really just awful, I don't know if I can blame the book series author or the script writer, but either way, I'm glad I never read the series.

Melrose Place was actually really intriguing. I never watched the original series, and I'm not usually into soap operas (except for One Tree Hill!), but the cheesy soap opera dialogue worked well for what the show is trying to accomplish. They did a good job of introducing all of the residents of "Melrose Place," and I am thoroughly confused about who killed the landlady. It's funny to see Ashlee Simpson acting again, since I remember when she was cute and blond and on 7th Heaven. I like her better as an actress than as a singer, I have to say.

So while I didn't spend my night book worming it up, I did spend it being a giggly 16 year old girl, hanging out with my best friend, and eating lots of sugar-coated Donettes!

Bruins, ANTM, and Not Reading

I didn't read at all today. I mean, there's still time, but it's already 10:30 pm and while I have looked at my book many times, as it's sitting right next to me, I haven't even touched it.

This morning Mike and I went to the Boston Bruins practice in Wilmington. I posted some of the pics to my flickr and on my facebook page. It was a lot of fun seeing the new guys practice with the more seasoned players. The practice time was split in two, with the guys who were going to play in tonight's pre-season game practicing first and the rest of the guys going on second. Bergeron, Ryder, Begin, Rask, and Thornton were among the guys on the first practice. In the second group were a lot more of the players we've seen before, like Tim Thomas, Chara, Sturm (glad he's back!), Savard, Lucic, Kobasew, Recchi, and Krejci. There were a lot of the rookies out there too, making the practice a bit crowded, but also very exciting. Coach Julien was out there during the second practice too, which was awesome because you can tell he gets really fired up about his team, and it's nice to see that he just wants them to succeed and improve as players.

The guys that played in tonight's pre-season game did pretty well. There were some rough spots that the rookies will need to work through, but it's to be expected when it's your first time playing in the NHL and you're probably a bit jittery from nerves and excitement. The Bruins won 3-2 over the Toronto Maple Leafs. There were a lot of fights, which is fun to watch, especially when the fights involve the rookies and you're not sure how well they will fair. The goals the Bruins scored were from Begin, Marchand, & Wozniewski, all players who are new to the Bruins (either from another team or rookies).

I only saw parts of the game because today's Wednesday and that means one of my friend's comes over to watch America's Next Top Model. Yes, I am aware this show is terrible, and that Tyra Banks is certifiably cracked, but I still love every minute of it. The girls are usually a bit on the dumb side and somehow manage to make Tyra look like a genius, and there are always some girls that just stump you on how they got on the show. One of the girls, while sweet, looks like Mena Suvari, and another of the girls looks genuinely manly. Two of my close friends and I have been watching the show together every week since freshman year of college, but now one of them lives too far away, so the group is now me & the two Mikes. It's still fun, and has actually forced me to start cooking again, though I'm just making simple things like Sloppy Joes and Tacos. Both are still delicious though.

This leads me to the topic of cooking. I just can't bring myself to do it unless people are coming over. I know, I should be all wife-to-be and cook my fiance dinner sometimes, but the most I can manage is tuna melts and instants mashed potatoes... Sorry, Mom! I just hate making a mess in the kitchen when it's just for the two of us. Cooking itself is kind of fun, because you get wrapped up in thinking about the food and therefore can't really worry about anything else (which is great for me, since I worry all the time about anything and everything!), but I don't like cleaning up afterwards and the mess just seems so much bigger than the meal. Maybe I will get over this. But for now, I am a sandwich and microwavable soup kinda gal.

Tomorrow is going to be kind of busy for me, but I think it will be a good day. I have "Job A" in the morning, followed by "Job B" for about an hour, and then Thursday Dinner! I love Thursday Dinner. It's this tradition my friend Jackie and I started the beginning of this year. We have dinner at TGIFridays every Thursday (not to be funny, just because it's delicious!) and usually hang out for a bit afterwards. It's such a nice way to kick back and have some fun before the work week is truly over, and we always manage to laugh non-stop the whole time we're there. We've switched Fridays locations though, due to the location of my coaching job, which is fine, because people were starting to recognize us at the other location! It was always the same host who would open the door for us upon arrival and one time he was like "Wow, you girls must like it here," which was so awkward, and then once we had a waitress who we had never had before and she asked us if we had one of the Fridays "Give Me More Stripes" cards and was surprised that we didn't have them, because she thought she us in there a lot. That was even more awkward. Someone we'd never had as a waitress before knew we were there every week... needless to say, the change in location was welcome.

Now that I have rambled sufficiently for a Wednesday night, I am going to get back to watching "Lockdown!" on NatGeo. I don't know why we watch this every week, because I've never had an interest in the prison system, and I don't know what Mike is so fascinated by about it, but I don't think we've missed a week since earlier this Summer. Weird.

I promise tomorrow night I'll have a book update!

OH and Happy Birthday to HayleyGHoover!

AND: a photo I took last weekend, for your enjoyment:

A Little Bit Extra

I forgot to mention earlier, that Get Well Soon is the 41st book of the year, according to my not-so-reliable list. See, what happened was that I didn't keep track of the books I was reading until the middle of June. So I wrote down all the books I could remember reading (there were only 12... way below average) and continued from there. I'm like 93.6% positive that I read some other books in there, but I can't remember what they are, so I'm okay with starting at 12 and keeping good record of the rest of them. I may up my goal number to 75. But that might be too ambitious for me. I think I can do 65 safely, so maybe I will try for 70 and if I hit 75, that will be all the more impressive. To me, at least.

In other news, I am watching QVC now, and the product they are showing is a foot buffer. The feet they are showing as the "before" feet, are abosulutely the most disgusting feet I have ever seen. It's kind of like the Ped-Egg commercial, only worse, because the hosts are using it! The guy on now has the most roughed up hobbit-like feet I've ever seen. I know they don't hire you at QVC for the quality of your feet (or really, the quality of anything about you), but I just can't look at them the same now.

If you can't tell, I watch QVC and HSN fairly frequently... as in anytime nothing else is on TV. That probably sounds like I am one of the little old ladies who call in to talk to "their favorite" and tell them that they "feel like old friends, they've been watching them for years!" But I assure you, I am not best buds with any of the hosts. I watch QVC and HSN purely for the comedy. The clothes are always hideous and in no way flatter anyone's figure. The jewelry is usually so huge that it looks like it was made for the benefit of the blind. And the woman who comes on to sell tupper-ware is always dressed in a bright purple chef's coat that makes her look like Grimace from the MickeyD's gang. If you ever want to feel better about your life, just put on a home shopping network and, as long as you don't buy anything yourself, you will feel better for knowing that you have no need for a Diamonique fake engagement ring and for being shown that somewhere out there, someone does feel the need to own one.

Fall Has Begun

Yesterday was the first day of my Fall schedule. I can't really say if I am excited about this schedule or dreading it. I will be at "Job A" 3 days a week, for 5-6 hours on each of those 3 days. I will be at "Job B" for 6 days a week, only for an hour or so each day.

"Job A" is a secretary-type job, doing random office stuff, like labeling envelopes and looking things up online. It's not very interesting, but I amuse myself with the names I have to write envelopes to. I came across someone who's name was "Genipher" once, and couldn't get over why anyone would change the spelling of Jennifer when all it's going to do is confuse and baffle people. I also like that I work with one of my best friends at that job, and while we don't get to be too goofy when the boss is around, we do get to eat lunch together and listen to good music when no one else is in the office.

"Job B" is my coaching job. I'm a figure skating instructor and coach. I teach group classes and private lessons, and while the two are very different, they are both amazing and fun. I've been skating since I was 4, so to be able to continue being involved in the sport and help little kids develop a love for the sport is just awesome. Plus, little kids are hilarious.

The problem with this Fall schedule is that my only full day off each week will be Wednesday. Monday, Thursday, and Friday I will be at Job A until I have to leave for Job B for 1-2 hours. Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday I have to be at Job B for roughly 2 hours. It's kind of a lot of driving, which might drive me crazy (ho ho that was a pun!). So I'm not really complaining, I am just hoping that everything goes well and I can get from one place to another without hitting any crazy traffic or using up too much gas!

I am currently reading Get Well Soon and so far I like it, though it didn't suck me into the story as I had thought it might. It's written in letter form, from the main character Anna to her best friend while Ann is in the adolescent ward of a mental hospital. It sometimes seems more like diary form than letters because of how much is written each day. I'm only about a third of the way into it, so there's plenty of time for it to suck me in and change my mind.

Three Books

Since my last post I have read three books: After the Moment, The Miles Between, and Emily.

After the Moment, by Garret Freymann-Weyr, was very touching. It was a love story, that started with the end first, which isn't something I usually like. I don't like knowing the end without knowing how the end came about. I like a nice linear storyline. Leigh, the main character, is 21 or so as he is telling the story, but the majority of it takes place his senior year of high school. Leigh was sweet and kind, and also very confused about his future and how to be a good man. Maia was, in her own words, a train wreck, with multiple disorders and emotional problems, but she was very caring and smart, and seemed to be more and more comfortable with herself as time went on. I liked them as a couple, though they seemed more in tune with each other as friends. The ending was okay, though I much prefer clear and concise endings instead of endings that leave me wondering if they end up together or not.

The Miles Between, by Mary E Pearson, was fantastic. I loved Destiny as a character, and all her quirks and stunted emotions. The road trip with her friends seemed so fun and also so eye-opening as they each learned to see the others as more three-dimensional people. I thought it was funny that Destiny thought they became her friends that day, when it seemed that in their eyes they already were her friends and cared for her as such. I wasn't expecting the intensely emotional parts towards the end, where we learn the truth about Destiny and her parents. I literally could not get over it after reading it, I will tear up if I even start thinking about it. And while getting upset or sad because of a book isn't exactly fun, it is wonderful when a book or story can move you that much.

Emily is from the Louder Than Words book series, which are books written by girls who have been through some type of struggle or hard time. Emily is a girl from a large menonite family in Oregon who gets sick more than the average person. At the beginning of her senior year in high school, she finds out she has contracted West Nile virus. Her story is taken from her blog posts from that time and covers roughly one year of her life. She went through a lot, enduring sickness and loneliness, and also missing her friends since she was too weak to go out very much. It was a very honest account, and she never seemed to feel sorry for herself, I think because of her belief in God and that He would only the things that were supposed to happen to happen to her. I hope that Emily is feeling better now, she does still keep a blog I believe, and I'm glad that her struggle that year and the time following have made her stronger.

The next book I am going to start is Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern. I was browsing around Barnes & Noble today and came across it and a few other books that seemed interesting, including Stiff by Mary Roach, which is all about the various uses for our bodies after our souls have left them.

After

Last night I started and finished After by Amy Efaw. It's about the 10 or so days following the main character, Devon, after she gives birth in her bathroom without actually knowing she was pregnant before those moments. Devon was 15 or 16, I forget, and she was a star soccer player and student. After she gives birth, she puts the baby in a trash can, and though the baby is found, she is arrested for attempted murder and abandonment. One of the most important parts of the book is the trial to determine whether she will be tried as an adult or as a juvenile. I could tell that the author had to put a lot of research into the book and that she cared a lot about the topic to write such a sensitive account of a story that happens a lot more often that you would expect it to.

Most people wouldn't be able to fathom putting their own child out with the trash, but after reading this book, I can understand that Devon did not have a bond with the child because she didn't know she was pregnant and therefore didn't spend time loving the baby before it was born. Giving birth is painful as it it, but at least most people are expecting it and know they already love their child, Devon didn't have that and probably just wanted to get rid of the source of pain, which was the baby. The trial was very interesting, and I really liked Devon's lawyer. Her lawyer was smart and well-spoken and taught Devon to be strong throughout such a tough time. Devon's mom, on the other hand, disappeared after her daughter was arrested and didn't show up til the night before the hearing.

I liked following Devon's emotional journey, and though we are left not knowing about her actual trial or sentence, it is nice to know that the judge thought she could be rehabilitated and had potential to give back to the world by keeping her in the juvenile system.

I'm now starting After the Moment by Garret Freymann-Weyr. I think it is supposed to be about young love and how sometimes it doesn't work out how you want it to. I'll let ya know.

Pretty Little Liars

I wouldn't say that Pretty Little Liars was a fantastic book, but I did enjoy it very much. It was a nice, easy read and was definitely a good choice to go for after finishing Catching Fire. I liked the chapters focusing on the different girls and their secrets, though I kept wishing people would get over themselves and just be honest. It was nice that the girls weren't annoying and that they really seemed like people, with thoughts and fears and emotions.

I liked Spencer a lot, and I kept feeling bad for Hanna because her mom just sort of dismisses her, even when she ends up at the police station twice in a week. Emily seems like the nicest and the most confused, and I really like Aria for being sort of different. "A" is very interesting, and I want to know who it is that knows all this stuff, maybe they're the person who killed Alison, and they made her tell her friends secrets or something.

I really want to know what "The Jenna Thing" is. If I read more of these books, that will be the main reason. I am very curious about it, and I want to know why Spencer seems to know more about what happened with it than the rest of them.

Alison seems like maybe she wasn't a very good friend to them all when she was alive, although it's hard to judge someone based on who they were in 7th grade. Most people grow a lot and stop being bratty or manipulative at some point. I was sort of hoping it wouldn't be her body that was found, so I was actually sad when it came time for the funeral. But I really liked that it brought the other four girls back together. Maybe they will get a little closer as time goes on, even though they are all so different from each other.

All in all, I would say it was a good read and that I enjoyed it. It wasn't life-changing or thrilling, but it was entertaining and had a good bit of mystery to it. I might pick up the second book sometime when I need another break from intense books like Catching Fire. The prequel-ish book to Graceling by Kristin Cashore (it's called Fire) comes out next month, so maybe that will be how I let my brain relax after it.

Next up I am reading After bye Amy Efaw, which the jacket says is about a girl who is charged with attempted murder for putting her newborn baby in a trash can, after she apparently didn't even know she was pregnant til it was time to give birth. I'm expecting this to be a quick read, but maybe not an easy one, since it's about a very emotion-filled topic. We'll see how it goes and I'll keep you posted.

Next on the List

Next up for books is the first in the Pretty Little Liars books by Sara Shepard. I had vowed not to start reading any series that already has more than 3 books out (like the House of Night, A-List, Private, and Vampire Academy series). Not only because they take too much time away from other books, but because, for the most part, they are terrible.

Yes, I've read the Twilight books, and no, I don't think they're any good. I read the Uglies series, and really enjoyed it. I haven't read the fourth book though, but I will soon. I read the first two pages of Marked (a House of Night novel) and couldn't go any further because the dialogue was terrible. I read the first book of the Private series, and I enjoyed it, but then they just kept coming out with more and more and I didn't want to devote that much time to characters I didn't care that deeply for. I've read a lot of the Gossip Girl books, and I enjoyed them for easy Summer reading, but I haven't read any since the TV series came out because the TV show was so different that it was hard to go back and forth between all the differing story lines.

So you can see my apprehension at starting a series that follows this sort of trend, but I've heard really good things about the Pretty Little Liars books and I'm going to read the first one and see if I like it, and how much I like it. If it's just a good read, but nothing that makes me that invested in the characters then I'll call it a day and not buy the others. But if it's as good as I've heard, then maybe I'll pick up the second book sometime when the rest of my list isn't calling to me.

I may start reading a couple chapters now, before I have to get ready and pick up Mike for dinner at my parents' house. My brother and his girlfriend are coming over to grill some halibut they caught in Alaska. My brother is a chef at a local restaurant and I'm looking forward to the meal. Although they did also mention something about grilling some summer squash with the fish, and that is just unappealing to me, since I think squash is disgusting. Hopefully they pick up some other good veggies while they're at the store.

I'm also going to continue to find the worst music I can on iTunes so I can have a fantastically fulfilling dance party in my dining room. The only creature that can make fun of me at the moment is my cat, Ollie, and I think he would rather just dance with me than make the effort of leaving the room.

Caught Fire

I stayed up late last night reading Catching Fire from start to finish. I started it at midnight, which was probably a poor choice on my part, and didn't finish it until the dark night sky was replaced with the soft blue-gray of early morning. I tried to put it down and fall asleep a few times, I really did, but each time I couldn't fall asleep because I just needed to know what was going to happen to Katniss and the other characters.

I don't want to spoil the book for anyone, so I won't go into details, but I am so incredibly intrigued by the last two pages of the book. The last sentence alone had me staying up even past when I'd finished to try and work it out in my head.

I really like how Katniss has developed as a person, and I love that she lets us in on all the turmoil inside of her and the guilt she feels no matter what decisions she makes. I feel like her character grew a lot throughout the two books.

I still love Gale and now I even really like Peeta, since he obviously cares for Katniss more than even she knew. I can't wait til the next book comes out, I need to know where Katniss and the others are now and what happened in District 12 and the other Districts during the Quarter Quell Games. I NEED TO KNOW!!

Sorry for the outburst, but really, these books have got me hooked and have crawled into my brain. No two books have surprised me and shocked me and completely turned me around more than The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. I love reading them, and then I am in a state of distress when they are done because I want so badly to know what happens to Katniss, Gale, Prim, Peeta, and even Haymitch.

If you haven't read these two books, they will seriously change your life if you give them a try. They're well-written, adventurous, terrifying, and very different from any book I've ever read. You'll enjoy them.

It's Time!

I finished Redwall last night and now I can start Catching Fire! I am so, so excited, and so far all I've heard about the sequel is that it's amazing. I know it's going to have a lot of twists thrown at Katniss, and it's probably going to leave me bewildered and wanting more, but I am SO ready!
I won't get to start reading it until a bit later on today, since I have to get ready and drive to my parents house now, and then visit some friends for dinner possibly. But I will probably end up staying up really late tonight, because if it's anything like the The Hunger Games, I won't be able to put it down for anything less than a house fire.

So close

I am so, so close to being done with "Redwall." I only have about 50 pages left, but I have the feeling they're going to be pretty intense as the battle gets amped up, Matthias encounters Asmodeus the snake, and I'm assuming many of the creatures Matthias has encountered throughout the story (Sparrows, Shrews, the cat, Captain Snow the owl) will come back in to play an integral part of the fate of the Abbey.
Usually I wouldn't write about a story so close to finishing it, but I had to put the book down and get ready to go to The Killers concert tonight in Boston. I'm very excited to see them live, though I have no idea who is going to open for them. We shall see.
I JUST WANT TO FINISH THE BOOK THOUGH!
Going to try and get ready quick and maybe I'll have time to finish reading before my friend gets here for the concert.

I'm concerned about your Wallaby

"Redwall" so far:

I really, really like it. Even though it's about woodland creatures, Jacques manages to make you feel like you are there, defending Redwall Abbey from the rat army. Matthias is a very courageous little mouse and I love the scenes with him and old Methuselah. Constance the badger is very amusing and kind of a bad@$$. Cluny is so viscous, but he is also very smart, and even though I don't like him, I love finding out what he's going to do next in his plans to attack the Abbey. I'm a little over halfway through the book, and I think I will pick up the next couple of books in the series because they are so well written and adventuresome. I'm definitely a fan.

Other happenings:

Yesterday morning Mike and went to the Ristuccia Memorial Arena in Wilmington, MA to watch the Bruins end-of-Summer practice. The Globe site said they'd be there everyday this week starting at 11:30, but I guess they started earlier than that because we got there after Thomas and Sturm had already left the ice. But we did get to see Lucic, Bitz, Ference, Wideman, and a few of the new guys. The practices this week are just informal skates & goalie practice, so there aren't any coaches or trainers. They did a half ice scrimmage and seemed to be in good spirits. I posted some video from the practice on my youtube channel. And you can really see the difference my new camera makes when compared to my videos of last Summer's practices.

I think the rest of the day was pretty lazy, because I can't even remember what exactly we did. So I'm assuming it wasn't of any interest. Though later in the day we did watch Twilight with the RiffTrax for it... which was amazing. RiffTrax are from the same guys that did Myster Science Theater 3000, but they just provide the commentary track and you can sync it up to the DVD. The one for Twilight is so funny, because it's everything you want to say about the movie out loud, but can't, because every 13 year old girl in a 10 mile radius will come beat you up. If you're an MST3K fan, you should check it out here.

Speaking of MST3K, I got home tonight from work & dinner out to find Mike and a friend watching the MST3K episode "Future War," which is a really good one because it so ridiculous. It's like the writers tried to fit in as many different plots and background stories as they could into this one terrible movie. There are dinosaurs, time traveling, prostitutes reformed into nuns, cyborgs, more cardboard boxes filled with air than you will ever see again, and an excess of flannel. After "Future War" they put in the episode "Werewolf." I hadn't seen this one yet, and neither had Mike. The main actors are all foreign, but not distinct enough to tell what exactly their accents are, but just enough to give them terrible pronunciation of words like "werewolf" and "well-being." The main girl says "wurrwolf" every time, and when she says "I'm concerned for your well-being," it sounds like "I'm concerned for your wallaby" (Not that a wallaby wouldn't be cause for concern). The crew of MST3K do a song sketch in the middle of the movie reminiscent of the movie Grease. The song is "Where Oh Werewolf," and contains the line "Where, oh, Werewolf, I've looked every where, Wolf." It's one of the funniest skits I've seen them do, and you can watch it here. Another great part of the movie is when a security guard gets scratched and turns into a werewolf while he's driving. It's like the crazy grandma driving clips where they exaggerate turning the wheel and look like a bat out of hell. I never new werewolves could drive, but apparently they can, although not very well since he did end up crashing and blowing up the car...

My plans for the rest of the night include watching Blood Sport (for the 756435652yth time) and finishing Redwall.

Catching Fire

After dropping off this months rent I went to Barnes & Noble to get "Catching Fire", the sequel to "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. I am SO excited to read this book! It's hard to put it on hold while I finish "Redwall", but I know it is worth waiting for. "The Hunger Games" is fantastic and well-written and unique. I didn't used to like stories that took place in the future, because they all seemed so unrealistic, but "The Hungers Games" is so captivating that it definitely changed my mind about reading similar books.
While I was at Barnes & Noble I also picked up a couple of the books on my "To Buy" list. I got "The Miles Between" by Mary Pearson, "After the Moment" by Garret Freymann-Weyr, and the first "Pretty Little Liars" book by Sara Shepard. But obviously, they have to go on hold for a while so I can catch up to the other 5 million books on my lists.
After stopping in at B&N I went through the Drive-Thru Panera (So awesome!) because I really just wanted one of their lemonades. Their lemonades are amazing, I don't even know why! I'm trying to savior it and make it last, but that's a battle fought in vain.
Now, time to get back to "Redwall," because the sooner I finish it, the sooner I can dive into "Catching Fire" and see what's going on in the world of Katniss and Peeta! I also have to figure out what's wrong with my desktop computer, it's being a bit feisty and I have to go put it in its place.