End to Another Unannounced Hiatus!!

Whoops! So I didn’t mean to literally disappear for weeks, but I’ve had RL taking over with a vengeance.

In the last month, I’ve been to five different funerals for five different friends. And ALL FOR GRANDMOTHERS. (Watch out, folks! It might be an epidemic!) I swear, if all of mine weren’t already gone (Rest in peace grandmammies. <3) ) I’d legit be worried right about now.

At any rate (and besides how I feel on the INSIDE), I think all of the death and sadness and mourning is more or less over (good grief, its gotta be!) So I’m back now! I’ll be starting off with some book reviews and maybe a few features that have caught my attention recently.

And as usual, our weekly scheduled Reckless Beats on Mondays as per usual. Since yesterday was the funeral for yet another dear sweet grandmother, this week’s Reckless Beats will be a little somber to reflect that.

Expect your weekly dose of music in a couple hours when I can get away from work. ❤

[Reckless Beat & SOTD] Paul Rey – Good As Hell

RECKLESS BEATS is a musical feature where I incorporate a little music into this bookish blog.

 

I know today isn’t Monday, but I felt this needed to get on here ASAP.

Today’s song of the day is… ugggghhh, this song is my jam right here. I would even go so far as to say it’s my song of the year. (I’m not joking here.) Literally one of the most inspiring and uplifting videos I’ve watched in awhile. And the lyrics?

Oh… This song that speaks to me on a soul deep, personal level.

I’ve been in a sorta dark place for a while now (YEARS, if I was being completely honest…), and when I first heard this song, it was like… like I had been waiting for the universe to say, “Enough was enough. You need to remember something important about yourself.” And… next thing I knew I sort of recharged my battery and got back into the groove of things. I wrote another book, I got a new job, and I got rid of all the people in my life that were dragging me down with their negativity and unsatisfied, always complaining nature. I reminded myself of what it felt to just… feel good as hell again.

In some ways I hadn’t even realized I was in such a dark place because I’m a very driven person. Sadly, I can let that drive turn me into a tunnel-vision workaholic that drowns out all the bad around me in my work without feeling anything but the negativity as fuel to keep me going harder and sinking deeper and deeper into myself. I realized it wasn’t self-doubt or any failure I saw in myself that had me in such a dark place. It was… the injustice of the world around me, and the way people I thought cared about me had been treating me and others like me as though we were something to be taken for granted. That my kindness and willingness to help was something that was just a given right instead of a gift and a way for me to show I care —

But lemme not get into this right now.

For want of not turning this into a personal entry instead of a musical one, I’m just going to say that anyone feeling like they’ve hit rock bottom or that no one understands what you’re going through, or that everyone is just against them… know that you’re not alone, and even more so, that you’ve got keep trying, keep moving forward.

Not for your mother, your father, your sister or brother, your daughter or son, your loved ones…

Don’t do it for anyone else, but yourself.

Don’t try to live up to anyone else’s expectations but your own. Live for yourself. Feel incredible for being YOU.

You have the right to feel good as hell for simply trying every day — just keep on keeping on. I swear to you, one day you’ll stop and look at the world around you and realize how amazing you are, even if no one else sees it. YOU DO. You will.

So without further adieu, here’s Good As Hell by Paul Rey!

LYRICS:

Broke free from your chains and the things that used to hold me back
You’ve lost the grip but I feel the print from your hand
Now I’m finally able to figure it out and
Understand
Who I am

Took control even though I thought I was too late
On the right track, but I was going the wrong way
They say dig where you stand
But I can’t stay
And dig my own grave,
Today I say

I feel like screaming till my lungs have no air
Feel like running, though I don’t know where
Feel like laughing till I’m drowning in tears
For the first time in years I feel…

I feel good as hell…

Broker than most though I feel richer than them all
Counting blessings as the rain begins to fall
Growing stronger, holding on to what I
Want
But I won’t

Brake down, hold my chin high never face down
That same old path again
Promise I will never look back again, cause…

I feel like screaming till my lungs have no air
Feel like running, though I don’t know where
Feel like laughing till I’m drowning in tears
For the first time in years I feel…

I feel good as hell…
I feel good as hell…
I feel good as hell…
For the first time in years I feel good as hell

And I won’t come down
Cause now I’m headed up
I can show you how
If you had enough
(just) pick yourself up
From the ground
Don’t you think of
Giving up now
Let’s walk down this road cause I know

I feel like screaming till my lungs have no air
Feel like running, though I don’t know where
Feel like laughing till I’m drowning in tears
For the first time in years I feel…

I feel good as hell…
I feel good as hell…
I feel good as hell…
For the first time in years I feel good as hell

Just a week left until Halloweeeeen~ (Mwahahahaha~)

I don’t know about all of you, but I’m excited for next weekend. I haven’t had the opportunity to really enjoy All Hallows’ Eve for at least a year or more, so this will be a super special day for me. *fingers crossed* The weather seems to be cooperating here on the East Coast. (At least, for now.) We’ll see how everything turns out as the week progresses.

Just some fun things to make mention of:

1. HauntoberFest is almost done! (Okay, so this isn’t really a happy thing to mention, but it is important.) I’ve had so much fun sharing some haunting titles with you all. I hope you’ve enjoyed the process. This week will be filled with some more promising tales, so look forward to it! 🙂
2. Friday night/Saturday morning will be our final HauntoberFest playlist! (…okay also not so happy news, but STILL IMPORTANT!) I’ll also be linking all the weekend lists in this post, so if you’ve missed anything, you can find them all in one place. Definitely enjoyed sharing some of my music with everyone. I hope you were able to find some new artists and songs to enjoy during the season.
3. NANOWRIMO IS ABOUT TO BEGIIIIIIIIIIIIIN! (First, TRUE bit of good news thus far <3) I wait every year for this magical month of writing to start. It’s truly my time to bang out some incredible works. I’ll be making my first official post about the writing event Halloween night/All Saint’s Day. I’ve already come up with an idea, a title, and a plan. I am set to go! Anyone else planning to join this year’s National Novel Writing Month?
4. The Secret Santa event is now only a month and a week away! I’ll have more details soon enough. For now, you can check out this post for current deets on the event. I hope we get lots of participants!
5. Lastly, I’ll be starting back with book reviews and the like in Novemeber. I have a HUGE backlog that have sorta been put on the back-burner during October. I may or may not just dump them on here like a maniac over the course or a week. You have been forewarned. xD

Now here’s my question for you:

What’s your favourite thing about the season?

Is it the holiday itself or the shenanigans that occur all around the world? Is it the creepy aspect or fun lovin’ trick or treatin that makes you feel like a kid again?

Tell me in the comments! I’d love to get a discussion going. All opinions are welcome~

 

---

If you’ve missed anything from the HauntoberFest event, you can check out the tag: HauntoberFest 2015 or HauntoberFest playlist. You can also check the archive.

Discussion post – “You know you’ve read a good book when…”

This is why fanfiction was born, y/y?

I was having this conversation just the other day with a mate of mine… He was going on about his first bookish and anime loves, and how he just couldn’t deal with how the series eventually resolved (or DIDN’T resolve) situations and relationships, which is why he eventually turned to fanfiction.

I had to agree.

Sometimes – I won’t lie – I was perfectly happy with how the book/anime/whathaveyou ended things… but I just couldn’t get over the fact that it was DONE. I wanted more and the author sure as hell wasn’t providing me with any. It was a fix I needed to sate, and fanfiction was my drug.

I’ve read SO many phenomenal books that just… ended. Nothing more. No sequels. No movie deals (at least not then, and in some cases even to this day). No… anything.  Fanfiction was my way to keeping that exceptional book, story or tale alive for days and weeks and months (and year, aha~) to come.

Anyone out there fanfiction advocates?

And if not, what did or do you currently do to deal with “saying goodbye” to a great read?

Discussion post – Every book is a Tardis

Who else agrees? I know it’s been the truest statement for me since BEFORE I was able to read. I know that sounds funny, but if you think about it… we’ve all been “reading” before we could actually do so ourselves. Parents, relatives, friends of the family, nannies, care providers, librarians and teachers have been filling our heads with wondrous tales from (hopefully) birth.

When someone used to read to me, I would go on such epic adventures and dive into the wonderful worlds hidden within the pages of a favourite tome. True fact: some of my favourite books as a child were poetry books since that was the one thing my mother used to read to me ALL THE TIME.

What books do you love to unleash and bury yourself in when you need to travel to distant lands and shores?

World Book & Copyright Day 2015!

How many of you knew that April 23rd is the official day of the annual event: World Book & Copyright Day?

I haven’t participated in it “officially” for at least… three years (Damn! That long????) but my heart is still behind it and its mission. I usually choose the day to talk about the importance of books and copyright, but… I had a tour yesterday which was unavoidable, so… today I’ll give the talk instead.

So — picture this! A world where… books belong to no one. Not even the ones who created them.

Picture this: A world where authors aren’t paid for the works they put their hearts and souls into, that they slaved over for hours and hours… days and months and YEARS.

Imagine a world where no laws protected author, publisher, book, or reader. Where anyone could claim a book was theirs, or distribute it however which way they pleased, or deface it, plagiarize it, rewrite it, destroy it, because… well… who would be able to contradict it? How could you make a claim in court about theft when there were no laws applying to it?

Imagine, authors… growing weary of such a world.

Imagine publishers… booksellers… making no money from their publications and shutting down en masse. Disappearing off the face of the planet. (They are part of the corporate world, after all. They need to make money in order to survive.)

So. Imagine.

Imagine authors no longer writing.

Imagine BOOKS NO LONGER BEING PUBLISHED OR RELEASED. ANYWHERE.

….

Have I scared you shit-less, yet?

This is what a world without copyright… without protection for book, author, publisher, and YOU, would be like.

Scary, isn’t it?

Until a truly ideal and downright utopian world springs up from the ashes of our current reality, copyright laws will ALWAYS BE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU COULD ASK FOR.

 

But those are just my thoughts.

What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you agree? Do you think I’ve blown this waaay out of portion? Do you understand copyright law and its role in the life and creation of that lovely, gorgeous thing you stack away on your shelves or download into your eReaders?

Let me know! I’m rearing to see how this discussion takes off. 🙂

TONIGHT — as in RIGHT NOW — IS WORLD BOOK NIGHT! :) What are you reading?

A Little History

World Book Night was first celebrated in the UK and Ireland in 2011 on 5 March. In 2012 it was moved to 23 April, the international day of the book, and was also celebrated in the USA and Germany for the first time. Its purpose was, quite simply, to encourage more adults to read. In late 2013 World Book Night became part of The Reading Agency and is now run as a Reading Agency programme as part of its work to inspire people to take up reading and celebrate the difference that reading makes to their lives.

2015 will be the fifth World Book Night celebration.

So, what does that mean for the rest of us?

Well. Whether you’re 5 or 50, 10 or 100… you should be reading. It’s the most beautiful thing that can happen to a person, and I’m saying this wholly biased as I’ve been reading my whole life and NEVER plan on stopping. ❤

Tonight, I haven’t the slightest idea what will catch my eye — But know this: I plan to read.

And I think that’s half the battle right there. Plan to read. Don’t put it off for “another day” or “when you’re less tired” or keeping saying, “there’s always tomorrow.” Just pick up a book and get to it!

Plan for it, or be spontaneous! Either way, get to reading and don’t find excuses for not doing it.

We can use anything to dissuade us from picking up a book… “My cat needs feeding.” “My car broke down, and I have to fix it.” “I have other things – more important things – to do.” “I have nothing to read.” “It takes too long, and I have a short attention span.” “My favourite show is on TV.” “Oh look! — Is that a UFO hovering above my neighbor’s house?”

. . .

Well, okay. So that last one is actually a legitimate reason to put down your book and take a peak. BUT YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY PICK IT BACK UP AGAIN ONCE YOU’RE SURE THE NOSY BASTARDS WERE TAKEN AWAY TO BE EXPERIMENTED ON. 😀 😀 😀 (I’m talking about your neighbors, by the way, not the aliens. I mean. Who needs ’em, right? Always borrowing things… Stupid neighbors.)

Right now. So where was I?

…oh yeah!

Get reading!

Which brings back me to my original question.

What book are you planning to read tonight? What book already has your interest and attention (which is why you’re only seeing this in the middle of the day instead of at night when it was posted XD)? 

Comment below and let’s get a discussion going on your favourite recent reads!

 

Sunday, Oh Sunday. How I love thee!

---

I’ll admit, I’ve been a little preoccupied lately and haven’t gotten to the massive pile of books STILL PILING on my kindle, computer, and bed.

(Yes, you read that right. I’m one of those. Piling books in their bed as permanent nightly companions for unsolicited enjoyment of the most invigorating kind: ALL NIGHT LONG. xD)

HOWEVER! I plan to rectify this immediately and get through at least two books today.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

Haven’t a clue which ones I’ll start with, but definitely looking forward to a full day (and/or night) of joyous Sunday reading. ❤

What are your plans this Sunday?

Are you thinking of whittling down your TBR list or finishing that book you’ve been putting off because of a little thing called “LIFE?”

Let me know! Leave a comment with the name of the book so we might discuss the awesomeness! 🙂

 

Discussion Post: WARNING! MAY BE HABIT FORMING.

(Source: http://bit.ly/1wSq3WP.)

Uh, y’think? XD

Just how compulsive a reader are you? Do you read every single night, or every week? Or do you read and get consumed in reading at any given moment – regardless of what you’re doing or what’s going on around you?

Discussion: What’s Your Winter Weather Survival Kit?

I recently found this image that sums up one bookstore’s idea of the perfect survival kit.

I can agree on about half the things on this list, and change/add a few. Like changing “Hot Chocolate” to “Hot Coffee or Tea,” and adding “crazy comfy comforters,” “good music,” and “lots of wifi.”

What would make your list? I’m really curious to know how you usually weather your winters. 🙂