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I Promise, I’m Not a Flake. June 24, 2009

Posted by bookbutterfly in authors, blogs and blogging, books, movies, music, quizzes, reviews and reviewing.
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I promised I’d do blog maintenance. I didn’t.

I promised I’d write more reviews and post them. I didn’t.

I promised I’d write a blog post about my sophomore year. Didn’t do that either. Didn’t start writing a WORD of it.

And I promised I’d record myself singing my own song. Which I DID do. And failed. My microphone stinks. Terribly.

So besides discovering the fact that I’m a singer-songwriter failure, what DID I do this whole weekend?

I promise, I’m not a flake. But I was busy.

  1. I watched Up, and that’s a HUGE deal for me because I NEVER go to the theaters unless it’s Harry Potter or a movie my family or I was DYING to see. In this case, obviously it was the latter (though I AM going to see a certain movie July 15…PSYCHED!). I don’t think I even saw a single movie at the theater last year. Sigh.
  2. I finished Enna Burning. Now THAT ought to be something worth not blogging for a whole weekend, right? And I have yet to write the review for it (and I pinky-promise I will…before the year is out, at least :P ), but allow me to tell you now that I love it. I’m currently obsessing over it still. Kind of like I did after I read Book of a Thousand Days (though I’m not at the point of naming anything having to do with fire, haha), and a bit more than I did after finishing Princess Academy. But I love it. If somehow you randomly popped up onto my blog and are reading this and thinking, “Who the hey is this nerdy freak?”, read it, and you will understand. ;)
  3. I started River Secrets. Not that that took so much time (I just started the second chapter :P ), but I really, really love it so far. I think the Books of Bayern get better and better by the book!
  4. The biggie…SAT prep classes. I took my first test Monday and pretty much failed (I got a 1700). Then I had to do corrections (do you know how long that would take if you missed that many questions?? Plus, I stayed up until almost three o’ clock in the morning doing it, did some before lunch, and finished up a tiny bit more on the way there), and the next day (Tuesday), I got more homework. I didn’t have class today (phew), and haven’t started homework yet, since it’s not due until next week. But I have been studying and will be starting homework either later today or tomorrow. Tomorrow will be the last class of the week, and I’m praying for now more homework.
  5. The thought of other things I must do…like APUSH notes, which I haven’t even started yet. Sigh.

So, as you can see, I was PLENTY busy. I hope I can still blog, read, review, and have a NORMAL life this summer. As of now, it’s not looking very pretty. I guess I’ll just have to try to do better on Monday tests. :P

AND I got a Facebook. I am psyched. That’s another thing that has been diverting my attention away from blogging and stuff. Ha.

♥BB

P.S. I’m making a Facebook quiz (one that will actually have intellectual substance, unlike most of the ones that you’ll find on there :P ) called something akin to “Which Shannon Hale Character Are You Most Like?”. I’m thinking of doing just the leading ladies and our swoonable guys, but I need your help. I just need a few adjectives that you’d describe the following characters’ PERSONALITIES as:

  • Ani/Isi
  • Geric
  • Enna
  • Finn
  • Razo
  • Dasha
  • Miri
  • Peder
  • Dashti
  • Tegus

Can’t wait to hear your responses! :D

Praise Be! June 18, 2009

Posted by bookbutterfly in blogs and blogging, books, friends, holidays, movies, school and other academic stuff.
2 comments

Summer is here.

Did I just say that?

Summer is here.

At last.

OMG.

Crazy.

This year has been…amazing. Wonderful. Last year left a lot of loose threads. But sophomore year has really tied them together, brought them around into full circuit, making me feel…whole again. It’s given me the opportunity to heal.

So. I shall give a full-blown break-down of every single thing that happened this year (it will be called “My Sophomore Year in a [Real] High School in Review”) tomorrow (if I have the time; I’m going to see Up in three-d tomorrow, and am I PSYCHED!!), BUT that’s the post I said I would private. And this is the post I said would explain why it’s privated. Reason being is that there might be a handful of ridiculous stuff I don’t want read by some schmoe, as well as…well, yes. Maybe a tad bit of boasting. I don’t brag often, but I will be listing awesome stuff. Like accomplishments that I’m proud of. If you want to be “in the know”, the post will have the same password as the other password-protected posts, so no surprise there. If you don’t know the password, e-mail me. Or if you’d rather not hear read me drone on and on about me, me, me (because I really, really, really hate doing that. I’ll refrain from sounding egocentric, I promise), you can chat with me about it.

Again, this summer will be filled with MANY things I’ll be doing. One being maintaining this blog, and POSSIBLY privating it to add some stuff in the meantime.

I shall be doing some (more) literary stuff though. I’m halfway through Enna Burning at the moment, and have thirty-eight more books to read before the month is out (eep!). So I shall read, or maybe do some Goodreads-ing.

Today, I plan to convince my father once and for all to set up a Facebook so he can deem it safe and I can get one myself. Then later I plan to record myself singing AND guitar-playing MY OWN SONG. Cripes. I may do other things. Technically, my summer vacation (if “summer vacation” is defined as a time during the summer when you can do whatever you want) lasts for only three days: tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday. And then it’s done. *weep*

Man. It’s almost seven o’clock. That means the seniors at my school will be graduating in five minutes. *sniffle* I’m not worried for my senior friends, I know they’re going to successful young adults. It’s just that it’s going to be really sad not seeing them around anymore. Now I’m not so happy as I was when I began writing this post. There is something quite bittersweet about the last day of school. Of course, I skipped a whole year of a proper last-day-of-school-sending-off. But that’s a whole ‘nother story. No need to get into that.

♥BB

Blogging Hybernation…and Other News June 14, 2009

Posted by bookbutterfly in blogs and blogging, books, friends, holidays, music, reviews and reviewing, school and other academic stuff, writings, yearbook.
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6 comments

As much as I’d very much like to go right back into my blogging mojo, I just can’t. My conscience (which, you may care to know, is named Hermione Granger) is telling me that I have five finals coming up next week and I better get cracking on four of them. So I must undergo a blogging hybernation, but I would love to blog more than once a week. *glares angrily at Hermione* But I shall be back on Friday.

Actually, scratch that. I will, but I won’t. I’m going to private this blog–as well as Butterfly Forest–for some major blog maintenance (or at least, I hope to do so). Don’t freak out (like don’t think I’m blocking off my blog to the world or something, ha), just keep coming back and checking. When they do reopen, I should have several new sections, no new layout (because I love this layout; the header picture just totally fits in with the quote up top), but two new posts on here (one will be privated, the other will be explaining why it is privated) and a new review (with another following) on Butterfly Forest.

And then…SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Man, I just canNOT wait for that horrible, ear-tearing beautiful bell to ring at last (though it will be, I must admit, bittersweet). I already have a to-do list, and since this is my little corner of the net to ramble, I shall lay out my to-do list right here, right now.

  • Blog maintenance (as just stated)
  • Karoke (because I haven’t used my karoke machine in over a year now :P :( )
  • Write a TON of reviews
  • Read the thirty-nine books that I’ve kept for years now and that have been patiently waiting on my shelf
  • E-mail everyone I meant to e-mail (I’m so, so, so, so, so sorry to everyone who has been e-mailing me, but Hermione someone has been banning me from doing so)
  • E-mail my portfolio project to everyone who helped (because, as I have previously stated in other posts, you all ROCK!!!!!!)
  • Call all of my friends (and probably end up talking for hours on end) and finish up a video with animeactress (girly, we need to talk!! :D )
  • After June 30, take a trip to the bookstore to “restock”, and try to figure out how to snag amazing ARCs (and if I don’t like them…well, maybe I will give them away on Goodreads or hold contests over at Butterfly Forest for anyone who wants them, haha)
  • Netflix for the whole summer (w00t! w00t! My family and I NEED to finish I Dream of Jeannie!!)
  • Figure out how to get to interview authors
  • Manage my Goodreads to-read list
  • Edit my stories so that they are at least somewhat presentable to all my friends who requested copies of them
  • Make my “Portable Mini-Quote Wall” where I include inside jokes, quotes, and conversations from LRRH, Twitter, yearbook, and other random places (I will need your help on this one)
  • Figure out more books I want to-read
  • Do some amazingly cool picture editing stuff like what Delaney is PRO at
  • Add lyrics to my iTunes library (because that would be AMAZING to have the lyrics to some of my songs on my iPod)
  • Get back on the treadmill and bike over the weekends, since I am officially not sick anymore
  • YEARBOOK CAMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D

So, as you can see, I will have an amazing summer. As long as these (see below) don’t spoil it.

  • SAT Prep camp (which is three times a week, about five hours each session *already feels worn out*)
  • Trig/PreCal tutoring
  • Driver’s ed
  • APUSH summer assignment of five chapters (which, thankfully, I’ve already read, back a few months ago) all HAND-WRITTEN :o

Hm. I’m quite convinced there was more than that. Oh well. I’d like to think that’s all there is, when there is a whole bunch more fun stuff I will be doing this summer.

But first things first. Finals. Better get back to studying for them now. What finals are you all (or did you all, for those of you whose summer vacation already began, and phoo on you for your summer starting beforehand *is jealous*) take this year? Wish me luck! :D

♥BB

P.S. I know I said I would leave, but I just had to do this now. Reviewer X is having this fantastic giveaway of Lisa Mantchev’s debut novel, Eyes Like Stars. She just made a “Pub Story” about Lisa here, but you can enter in the fun here. Good luck! :D

Just a “Nota Bene” June 7, 2009

Posted by bookbutterfly in blogs and blogging, books, friends, survey.
3 comments

I love Google Reader. But not Blogger so much. And it’s just irritating when the two are combined. So. I just want to let those of you who use Blogger to make sure you guys don’t totally freak out and get ticked off with me just because I happened to be your only follower (or one of your few followers) and all of a sudden I’m not following you.

I stopped using Blogger’s “follower” system for the reason of it combining with Google Reader. Like I said, it’s annoying and irritating. And I just labeled all my blogs (stuff like “Friends’ Blogs”, “Author Blogs”, et cetera), so it’s equally more annoying when not all of your blogs are under “Blogs I’m Following” when, technically, I’m following all of them. I read them all, which is the same as following. But Blogger doesn’t think so.

So now I’m just unfollowing all the blogs Blogger says I’m following. Plus, I lost track of all the blogs I forgot to label as “following” on Blogger. It’s just easier to make things simple. HA.

Another thing: I really, really, really want to subscribe and read more book review blogs. Any suggestions from you guys? Also, if you know of any great Jane Austen blogs, I would love to know about them. Please give me a URL!

Last thing before I wrap up: take the poll below! I really want to know your opinion.

♥BB

P.S. Remind me to tell you guys about the new swoonable fictional guy I met… ;)

Um…hi? June 5, 2009

Posted by bookbutterfly in authors, blogs and blogging, books, friends, school and other academic stuff, survey, writings, yearbook.
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I know I haven’t blogged in forever. I missed blogging. I even wrote a whole body copy thingy-ma-bobber on it for yearbook. I feel like such a hypocrite; I almost made it seem like I “forgot” about my blog (which I didn’t, just so you know), and I went around parading about the glories of blogging and begged wonderful people for surveys. And I bugged you all. Massivly. So. With that said, I want to give a huge

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

to everyone who helped. Because you all seriously rock. Not only because you are all so literary, but because you’ve been so supportive and thoughtful to help me out. :D A few honorable mentions:

Miss Clark, for spreading the word about the survey and collecting votes to me. You’ve been such big help!

Wisdom of Youth, for forwarding my messages about the survey to your friends! Whether you read this or not, I truly appreciate it. Your friends have been sending me e-mails. :D

Chloe, for being my main “feedback-giver” throughout the whole process! You may not get to read this, but thanks so much, chica. I don’t know what I would have done without your thoughts and opinions. (Chloe pretty much saw the “evolution” of my spread from the time it was a blank page to its current, almost-finished state. :) ) Also, special thanks to Juvelyn, who occasionally helped with my spread.

All the lovely ladies who did the surveys where you actually had to write down responses. Priya, Maya, Spider, Anilee, Ina-chan, Danielle, Faith, Delaney, anime, Erin, and Ashlee, you girls are AWESOME. But you should know have known that anyway, since I’m sure I’m not the first to tell you all that.

And, of course, thanks to EVERYONE–the personal and online friends, the blogger reviewers, and the authors (this was AMAZING that AUTHORS responded. Seriously, I fangirl over authors on the Internet more than I would if a top celebrity passed me by on the street) who responded to the “Three Newberys” poll/survey. And even bigger THANK YOU to those whom I’d never met (even in through forums, blogs, et cetera) but were simply friends of friends, friends of friends of friends, friends of friends of friends of friends….ok, I’ll stop. ;) But really, THANK YOU. The fact that someone who doesn’t even know me but wants to help me out is absolutely amazing. It makes me feel better about the world, despite how much I agree with Lizzie Bennet’s quote, “The more I see of the world, the more I think less of it.” Perhaps things are indeed looking up in the future. :) (BTW, I’m not sure if that quote is correct verbatim. I just tried to remember it from the 1995 version. I haven’t seen it in awhile, come to think of it!)

Hm, should I continue talking? I have a lot to blog about: memes, yearbook (we distributed it today and I have an artistic-y story I would like to share with you all!), writings (including what I wrote for yearbook for my portfolio that you all helped me with!), my ridiculous cold (though I think enough has been said on my Twitter about that, ha!), my computer breaking down and my new computer (though I’m typing away on my dad’s at the moment; plus, I’ve ranted enough on this subject on Twitter).

So all I’ve been doing is Twittering this whole time. Yes, Twittering. Which reminds me of another thing I must blog about….

I really do have a Notepad on my computer where I jot down blog topics. So in case I ever get blogger’s block again, I will always have an idea. :) Now I think I will get into what Summermoon once called a blogger mojo.

And, though you all know already, I LOVE all your blogs. They really make my day. No matter what. I love y’all for that. :D

♥BB