Ebooks vs real books

Let me start of saying that I enjoy reading both Ebooks and real books. With Ebooks I seem to read at a faster pace and I can read while I work and get away with it. Also I get almost all of my books from my local library and with Ebooks I don't have to worry about bringing the book back and I don't have to carry it around in my purse the whole time. Plus in some cities your local library may partner with an online ebook website that has thousands of books for free that can be transferred to a kindle or ereader or read on their website. I use one named Overdrive but talk to your local library to see if they partner with an online ebook provider.

Real, physical books have their own benefits too. For one, when you are done you can put it on your shelf and display it to anyone who comes into your house. It's your way of saying "Here are my favorite books. I am proud of them and I think you should read them too.". Another reason is that books have that book smell when you open them. Book nerds know what I'm talking about. That smell that tells you the history of the book without even looking at the cover. Some books you can smell the age on them, some smell like they came from a place surrounded by other books, and some smell so fresh, so new, like it was created just for you to read. Also, you can enjoy the cover more if its a real book. With an ebook you get a tiny cover that you only see when you first read it or when you click on the icon to select the book. With a real one you can feel the cover, see the effects like raised font, shimmer and glitter, the details that the author designed for you to see up close and in person, not from far away or a small version of. Also sometimes the hardback books have a better cover without the jacket on it. I always look and see when I'm reading a hardback.

The reason I go into this debate is because a while ago I picked up some Janet Evanovich paperback books at my local library's booksale. It was every almost every title in the Stephanie Plum series (except for like 4 or 5 of them). They take up almost a full shelf on my favorite shelf. I adore the series and want to reread them again after I whittle my to be read pile down a little bit. But the issue is that I found out that my local library now has her books online, so I can just check out a ebook whenever I want. This leaves me at an impasse. Part of me wants to keep the books just to display and read at pleasure. But another part of me wants to give them away to another reader and open up that shelf. I know its a stupid dilemma, but it brings up an important point... should we have a digital library instead of a physical library? There are some books I will never get rid of (One in particular is my signed copy of The One by Kiera Cass, even though I bought it presigned).

 I don't know what I will do, but I am leaning towards donating them. Let me know in the comments your thoughts on ebooks and whether or not I should keep them.

About me

“She read books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live.” – Annie Dillard

 

I had a family member post that on my Facebook wall, and I fell in love with that quote. It describes me perfectly. Well, who am I?

I am a 25 year old girl who is obsessed with books. Anything and everything, but young adult is my favorite. The reason I started reading it is that I wanted something clean, something where I don't have to worry about getting half way through a book only to find out that there is some crazy sex scene (Yes, I'm talking about you Wicked). I wanted to read a book with relatable characters and good story lines. That's when I found YA and fell in love. 

 About my reviews, I don't get paid for reviewing books (though I may be considering adsense in the future, but it doesn't affect my reviews). Everything I say is my opinion and my views. I'm also sorry in advance if you get a book based on my reviews and didn't like it. Liking a book is based on personal choice and as much as reviews can help, I cannot make you see why I love something.

At this time I am not open to reading books from others for reviews. I haven't had the best luck doing that in the past and my to-be read list and to-be watched on Netflix list is too long to do that now. Plus I also work full time (plus overtime) so whatever time I have is valuable to me. 

I hope everyone enjoys these blogs. If you have any suggestions please comment below or you can email me at jlwalk905@gmail.com

God bless you and have a great day!

Working on the blog

You may see some weird looking posts in the next couple of days. I'm trying to get a navigational bar set up and to do that I have to make the posts I need for the tabs. Its not how my blog will normally work, but it will have to do for now.
Thanks everyone for your patience.

The Silver Linings Playbook



This is one of those books that has been on my to-read list since I started Goodreads. My best book friend (or BBF for short) has been trying to get me to read this for over a year. Everyone online has loved this book, so much so that a movie was made about with book with two of my favorite Hollywood people (eyecandy Bradley Cooper and the amazing Jennifer Lawrence). But I kept putting it off and saying"I'll just read it later". Well, later has finally come and I am glad it has. The Silver Linings Playbook is the story of Pat Peoples. I don't like to know anything about a book before I read it except a general synopsis, so if you are like me and haven't read it yet then leave not. No spoilers but I will talk about the plot so if you want to avoid it that then you have been warned. (You can also skip to after the picture of the cover if you like to see the recap).

First lets talk about the updated cover. Since the movie came out they changed the cover for the better. While I haven't seen the movie I am in love with this cover. Its kinda hard to see, but while the cover is in black and white (except the title), the eyes of both characters are shown. While it has little affect in photo form it has a major affect on the cover. In fact, every time before I would read I would stare at eyes on the cover. I know its kinda creepy, but I love the eyes. I even had a photo I edited a couple years ago in B/W with just my dog's brown eyes showing. Its one of my favorite pictures of him.
This book takes you on a roller coaster ride through the eyes of Pat, who happens to be one of the nicest people who I have read as a main character. He is kind and caring and all you want is for him to get the happy ending that he deserves. I adore the kind of stories that keep you guessing, wondering what is true, what is real. This book only tells you what you need to know when you need to know it and I love it so much more for doing that. Its torturous at the time because you want to know what is happening right then and now, but at the end you respect the author and enjoy the suspense and the thrill of not knowing and waiting.

Overall, if you haven't read this yet then its worth reading. Even though it's not a Young Adult book it still reads as one. The story of Pat and his friend Tiffany are very entertaining. In fact, I loved this book so much that it was the reason I wanted to start a blog. I wanted to tell others who were maybe on the fence how much I love this book. Please check it out if you get the chance.

Everyone has to start somewhere

Some of my earliest and most favorite memories as a kid were when I was reading. If I didn't have a book I was reading the back of a cereal box or the label of a ketchup bottle. I even remember getting in trouble for reading too much. My most favorite memories though of reading were when I go to the tallest tree in my backyard, climb as high as I could, find a comfortable branch, and just sit up there and read for what seemed like hours. It felt like I was at the top of the world doing what I love the most. Looking back on it as an adult I can't believe I didn't fall or that I could even do that at all. Sometimes I would accidentally drop a book from that height, laugh and then climb down to pick it up and go back up to continue reading it. 90% of the time when I was up there I was reading a Shel Silverstein book. He made me not only enjoy reading but was the first one to transport me to another world.

I stopped reading as much as a teen, I had friends and people close to me tell me that "reading was dumb and only nerds read for fun". I don't remember exactly when I stopped but a part of me died when that happened. I only read every once in a while and usually only when required (the big exception would be Harry Potter). I also developed a habit of speed reading. Just glancing at the words, trying to get through it as fast as possible. Not absorbing what I was reading just trying to finish it so I could say that I read it.

This all changed for me starting in 2008. I started working in a retail store with some book lovers. One of them suggested that I read a series that they adored. It was a kids series so deep down I snubbed it a little, thinking "I'm too old for a children's series". But I read it anyways because she seemed to love it so much and I didn't want to hurt her. The series was Fablehaven, a fantasy series about a brother and sister who find that their grandparents have a sanctuary for magical and mythical creatures. I was pulled into a world full of color, fun and adventure at a time in my life when I needed it the most. Slowly as the years went by I started reading a little more and more. I became discovered young adult in 2013 after finding out that most of what I've enjoyed reading falls under that category. I didn't like that young adult had the reputation of "being a teen's book" and "spinoffs of Twilight full of vampires and werewolves" and was wary because of that, but I found that almost all of the books were unique, each one with its own soul and own world. I found that feeling again of being sucked in to a place that I had never been before. Fell in love with people I had never met and places I had never seen.... and I loved every minute of it. I even starting reading outside, in the woods or on a park bench, just reading outside restored me to what I missed before. I can't explain it, but there's something so great about reading in the outdoors, seeing the beauty and reading a good book.

I had never thought of writing a blog until the last book I read, The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick . There are books that are so great, that make you think about them after they are all said and done. Books where you don't think you are going to relate to them, but you end up doing so in a way you can't imagine. Books that are perfect (well as close as they possible can be) and you want to tell everyone about this book. This book made me want to blog and share my opinions on books and how I feel and love for them. Even if no one else cares its still nice to know my thoughts are recorded somewhere.
Hope you guys enjoy what is to come.