Since I've Been Gone

So no, I have not read Since You've Been Gone. I really want to though.

Yea, I've just been gone for a little bit again. First, I was busy with Youtube. Then I was busy shutting out the world. So yes. I do have a few more videos up than what I have put a post on here for. If you want to check them out, you can follow my link:

https://www.youtube.com/user/sinistergrl0314

I will posting some more videos very soon!

I also have some reviews that I want to get to, and a TON of books to read!

I was actually thinking about just getting rid of this blog, because clearly I'm just not very good at posting regularly on here. The only time that happened was when I did the 30 day challenge and that was fun but at the same time was not. 

I think I might make some posts on what I'm currently reading, and how I'm feeling about it. Yea? Yea.

The Great Gatsby: A Review.

So if you do not know what The Great Gatsby is, first of all you have been living under a rock; and second of all you are missing out.

The Great Gatsby is probably F. Scott Fitzgerald's most notable novel. It is considered a classic and an overview of the overly decadent 1920's. 

The Great Gatsby is a story that is told from the perspective of Nick Carroway, a stock broker from Illinois and currently living just outside of New York in West Egg. Nick just happens to live next door to the infamous Jay Gatsby, known for crazy parties, and even crazier stories about himself. 

One day, Nick is invited over to Gatsby's party, where he learns what all the noise has been about. There is drinking, eating, dancing, singing, and just all over mayhem sprinkled with expensive everything. 

Nick just so happens to be cousins with Daisy Buchanan, married to Tom Buchanan (major jerk). Little does Nick know that his mysterious neighbor has a history with Daisy until Gatsby asks him to set up a meeting between the two. Enter chaos.

My Thoughts

Having seen the movie with the handsome Leonardo DiCaprio before reading the novel, I'm actually pretty glad that I did. I really liked having Tobey McGuire's voice in my head for Nick's narration. I thought it was kind of odd that we are following the story of someone and we do not even get his name until around page 86. Nick himself, I actually kind of didn't like. I thought he was way too full of himself and thinking that he was better than everyone else, except Gatsby of course. There's even one part where he says that he is "the most honest person he's ever known." Bring your ego down a little there. I did like how invested in Gatsby he became though, sticking with him until the end through everything that happened.

I thought it was just the movie that I did not like Daisy in, but nope. I do not like her in the book either. She seems like a spoiled brat that just wants attention from anyone that she can get it. It's all about her and she does not care about the consequences of her own actions.

Tom Buchanan is a misogynistic jerk. He has way too much money. He has way too many women. And he gets away with everything he shouldn't. Not a fan.

Gatsby, what is there to say about Gatsby. He's the heart of the novel. I love how everything he does is to bring him to be the person that he believes that he is meant to be. He believes that he should be a rich, well educated man of society, and he becomes that. I feel so bad for him at the same time because his imagination is so strong and the reality of how everything should go never seems to live up to the dream. Gatsby is not perfect in any means, and does some questioning things, but he was a pure person deep down and the end makes me very sad.

I gave the book 3.5 stars. I did really like the book, but it wasn't quite good enough for me to be like, I REALLY liked it! I'm really glad that I finally finished this classic though.

New Video up! Readathon Wrap Up :)

So as I mentioned in a previous post, I was going to participate in the #shitIhavetoomanybooks readathon! I had a TBR that was pretty much my goal to go through. I wanted to get all of my books on my Currently Reading shelf done.

If you want to see how I did, I'm going to leave the link down below for you to check out!! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aixKKT-ULtU

I made a youtube channel!

So I have been watching a LOT of booktube videos lately. It's pretty much all I've been doing besides reading. So sad, I know. BUT I decided that I was just going to go for it and start uploading some of my own booktube videos! 

So far, I have made and uploaded my quick intro and my first book haul, which I will link to. I also plan on at least doing the booktube newbie tag, as well as a readathon wrap up video.

If there are any types of videos that you would like to see, leave me a comment down below!!

 Booktube Intro

 First Book Haul

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes: A Short Review

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is probably my least favorite of the Holmes books so far, and that is mainly because of the last short story in the book. Here are the titles of the stories in the book:

Silver Blaze

The Yellow Face

The Stock-Broker's Clerk

The "Gloria Scott"

The Musgrave Ritual

The Reigate Puzzle

The Crooked Man

The Resident Patient

The Greek Interpreter

The Naval Treaty

The Final Problem

The Greek Interpreter is actually one of my favorite episodes of the older Sherlock Homes show, so I really liked reading the story. The Resident Patient is also a really good one. 

My really only problem with the whole collection is The Final Problem. HOW DO YOU INTRODUCE THE GREATEST CRIMINAL MIND LIKE THAT??? It was like, all of a sudden Sherlock mentions that this guy is the greatest criminal mind, but all he says is that he's been behind a bunch of stuff. We don't get ANY preview of his criminality. We don't get to see him behind any crime. We don't get to see Sherlock going after him. Ughhhh. You could make a book just about the tet-a-tet between Sherlcok and Moriarty, but noooooooo. Why would we get that? 

Also, I hate the end. I understand that Watson couldn't be there because that would ruin it, but that also means that we don't see it. I also understand that is kind of the point so that he believes that Sherlcok is really gone, when duh-duh-duh he's not! :) I don't know. I just didn't like any of the story. I was so disappointed.

All in all, I still gave the book 5 out of 5 stars. I love Sherlock Holmes and all of the details in the stories to follow, and the characters. I will continue my Sherlock Holmes kick.

Readathon Yay!!

Reagan, from Peruse Project on Youtube is hosting a chill read-a-thon, and guess who's joining?

Me :D #shitIhavetoomanybooks

It's kind of hard to do read-a-thons since I have to work 40 hours a week. (Don't get a real job! They ruin everything!! lol)I am totally going to try and get some reading done, which actually, I have been on top of lately ;) I just really want to get my currently reading shelf caught up. I have had one of the books on there since November. November! 0_0

So here are the books that I am definitely planning on getting to between May 19-26.

Thank goodness I have 3 days off in there. I will probably add on some other books to this. 

I can't wait to get started!

Let me know if you have read any of these books! What did you think of them? Do you like doing read-a-thons?

What's an Epigraph??

So for the longest time, I never knew what an epigraph was! Obviously, I had seen quotes in the pages before some of the books that I have read, I just never knew that they had a specific name. Personaly, I actually really love epigraphs. I feel like the lead the reader to a certain frame of mind before they ever even begin to read the story. If the author is astute enough, and chooses a perfect quote to encapsulate the book that the reader is about to read it lends a whole new level to the book itself.

These are the books in which I found my favorite epigraphs of any others in my collection.

From "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown there is the epigraph: 

I actually haven't read the book, so I don't know if it encompasses the book or not. I do really like the quote though. 

From "The Jane Austen Book Club" by Karen Joy Fowler

First of all, it's Jane Austen. Second of all, this not only encompasses all of her writing, but it certainly encompasses this book. Yep. Just love it.

From "Old Magic" by Marianne Curley

This book is all about the links to the past, so this epigraph definitely goes well with the book. 

Those are my favorite epigraphs of the books that I own. ^_^ Do you have any epigraphs in books that you like? Have you read any of these books?