Top Fourteen (or more) of 2014

Okay, so. I read a lot. I buy a lot of books, I forget I have them, I go to the library, I subscribe to free book newsletters...look, I really love books. This year my Reading Challenge on Goodread was to read one hundred books. I challenged myself to that same number before but didn't make it, so I wasn't very hopeful that I'd make it this year.

I've read one hundred and fifty-four books.

Yeah, I read a lot.

In celebration of the end of 2014 I've decided to dedicate this post to my fourteen favorite books of the year. These books are in no particular order except in the order of which I read them.

Graffiti Moon 

Cath Crowley

This book is told in the alternating points of view (POV) Ed and Lucy. Lucy is in love with Shadow, a graffiti artist she's never met and Ed spends his time admiring Lucy from afar. This book is full of fun and crazy teenage antics. Oh, and of course a precious romance and the "WHEN WILL SHE FIGURE IT OUT" thing. Totally cute and worth it. Also by Cath Crowley: A Little Wanting Song. 

Me Before You

Jojo Moyes

I pride myself on not being really super-duper emotional, (it's a control thing, I'm working on it), but this book seriously killed me. I remember melting into the couch after I finished it because I was so emotionally spent. (All your fault, Steph.) It's such a crazy journey with Louisa and Will: to watch how Louisa brings Will back to the land of the living and how he, in turn, makes her crazy and allows her to be herself, no matter what. Jojo knows how to pull just the right strings to leave you face down on the sofa. If you give this one a try, give me a call. I'll hold your hand. 

Anna and the French Kiss

Stephanie Perkins

I just want to pinch this book's cheeks, it's so damn cute. Anna is an American teenager at a French high school in Paris, the city of love. She becomes fast friends with a crazy group of kids that include St. Clair (or Etienne) and the rest is history. Okay, not really, but I don't want to spoil it for you! This book is totally full of cuteness and Etienne (probably my favorite book boy of the year, even though my sister hates him). Guaranteed to make you smile. Also try: Lola and the Boy Next Door and Isla and the Happily Ever After.

The Distance Between Us

Kasie West

Again, the cuteness is off the charts here. (You'll find that's a pattern in some of the books I read.) Caymen (really) works at a family owned creepy doll store selling creepy dolls to old ladies when enters Xander. The only problem is Caymen's mom, who doesn't like "people with money" and had a REALLY BIG SECRET. Xander is basically perfect and doesn't care if he and Caymen are different and swoons ensue. 

The Giver

Lois Lowry

I never read this as a kid so I took a few days this summer and read the whole series. I've read many dystopian novels and I feel like this is probably the most tame of them all. The people live in sameness, have no feelings, no sense of...anything. When Jonas becomes The Receiver he begins to learn about the past as well as things that are happening around him that he doesn't approve of. The movie version has Jonas as a sixteen year old, but in the book he is twelve, so it's really interesting to see that a young person like him can tell the difference between right and wrong and want to do something about it. The follow ups are a little lacking, but everything ties up nicely in the end. 

Sharp Objects

Gillian Flynn

Gillian Flynn's mind terrifies me. Meaning: I'd really like to be inside of it, just for a day. Most people know about her because of Gone Girl but, in my opinion, this book is the most messed up of what she's has out. Camille ends up back in her hometown to do a story on two murders and uncovers some really, really creepy stuff. Also, she's got serious issues with drugs and self-harm and still manages to be the only normal character in this book. 

The Thousand Dollar Tan Line

Rob Thomas

A Veronica Mars book?! YES, PLEASE. Mystery! Murder! Snark! Long lost mothers! (Needs more Logan Echolls, that's all.)

Wonder

RJ Palacio

I spent a lot of this summer on middle-grade books, but Wonder was by far the best of them. In the story Auggie is headed to a real school for the first time in his life. He's going into fifth grade and his whole family is freaking out. The summary of the book is that Auggie is an "ordinary kid with an extraordinary face", but Auggie's face is really what the problem is. Some of the students are asked to show Auggie around but once school starts, they seem to scatter. This is a great story about bullying and being yourself no matter what you look like. I think adults could learn a lesson from this book just as much as kids can. 

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee

2014 was kind of the year of the classics for me. This was a reread from high school, and I really feel like some things are better read when you're older. The language takes some getting used to, but it's also like you have to step back in time to fully accept what this book is. It's a great example of what racism can do to a town, how children are more brave than we realize, and how we should never judge a book by its cover. This book goes on my Top List for Life, to be honest. 

We Were Liars

E. Lockhart

So, I went into this book thinking it was a cute little Young Adult story about rich kids causing trouble on their own island. I was thinking shenanigans and eye-rolling would happen. That is most definitely not what happened with this book. This book is laced with loss, illness, and regret. The kicker? You obviously have to wait until the end to figure it all out! 

I am the Messenger

Markus Zusak

Ed's a slacker and doesn't really care about improving his life. His mom hates him because he's just like his dad, his best friend Aubrey doesn't give him the time of day, and he drives cab for a living. One day he gets a strange package of cards with clues on them that change his life. I love Zusak's words (hello, The Book Thief, anyone?) and this story is great for character development and making something out of your life when no one though you would. 

Love in the Present Tense

Catherine Ryan Hyde

Bachelor Mitch gets stuck with five-year-old Leonard after his mom runs off and is never heard from again. I love the dynamic Mitch and Leonard's relationship, even though we don't get a lot of early glances. Eventually Leonard is adopted into a family that still allow Mitch to see him, but Leonard (a child prodigy) wants nothing more than to find his mother who has been missing for over ten years. Mitch, of course, does everything in his power to help Leonard and, of course, uncovers some pretty dark secrets while he's at it. 

Tell the Wolves I'm Home

Carol Rifka Brunt

This book is told from the POV of fourteen-year-old June who loses her uncle to AIDS. They never say what exactly the illness is, but you can inference enough to figure it out. June is devastated, her uncle was her best friend, so when she spies a stranger as his funeral she does what she can to figure out who he is. This is an excellent depiction of the way people deal with loss, grow friendships, and learn forgiveness. There's also some funny business with a famous painting, but you'll have to read to find out. 

My Life Next Door 

Huntley Fitzpatrick

I L-O-V-E forbidden love and swoony boys. That is this story. Jase's family is wild and multiplying while Samantha's mother is a politician and very snooty. Naturally, they fall in love, but Samantha can't bring herself to tell her mother about her new guy. It isn't until something tragic happens and everything seems to implode around her, that she faces the truth. And, like I said, swoony boys. 

This Sky

Autumn Doughton

Okay, this is a bonus one because I couldn't leave this author off my list. There's something about broken people making the most of their flaws that get me. Gemma is coming out of a very bad, very public break up and Landon, he's got some skeletons in his closet too. Really, though, what I love about books like this is character development. I love to see how they change from the beginning to the end and how they help each other to become a better version of themselves. Also by Autumn (a Florida native!): In this Moment and I'll Be Here - guaranteed to make you stay up past your bedtime. 

Wow. That was really hard to narrow down. I could have added plenty more to this list but I felt like fourteen, okay fifteen, would do for now. Books are great fun, even when they're super depressing and leave you face-down on the sofa waiting for the ending to change. I hope you pick up some in the new year, and then share them with me because I'm never done reading. If you want to check out other books click on the Goodreads box on the right, or just click here. 

Happy reading!

Vacation: All I Ever Wanted

Teachers get a lot of crap about summer vacation. That usually sparks someone (who is probably not a teacher) to create a list of "What You Think/What Actually Happens" and try to debunk all the rumors of what teachers really do on vacation. 

The list has things like Pinterest-ing, creating projects, shopping for classroom supplies, and making lists for the new year. 

Guess how many things on that list I've done so far this summer? 

Zilch. Nada. Nothing.

Now, plenty of my friends are posting things and that's fine. Receipts from school supply stores, pictures of fun new items, Pinteresting the crap out of classroom posters and projects. (Okay, I admit to Pinteresting some stuff but mostly I'm there for the food and funny pictures.) I just choose to do my summer vacation a little differently.

For example: 

Early on this summer I took on the challenge of watching all three seasons of Veronica Mars in a week. Fine, it didn't really take me a whole week to watch it. It also didn't take me a whole week to gain my first four pounds of the summer. To me, that's what summer is all about! Lounging around and doing whatever the heck you want. If watching all the television you missed while cramming that twelve months of work into 180 days is what you want to do, do it. It's okay! (PS - Sorry if you have kids and can't do that.) 

Me.

I like challenges, so each year I challenge myself to read a certain number of books. This year it was one hundred. So, from January to December I'm supposed to read one hundre books. I reached that goal yesterday. Okay, I'm at one-oh-one now. That's thirty-nine books since school let out. Some of you probably think this is because I have no life (you're probably right), but it's also because I DO WHATEVER I WANT BECAUSE I'M ON VACATION. If you aren't a reader I hope you found something else relaxing to do with your time. This is just what I like to do. 

Never happens...

I posted early this summer about my trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Islands of Adventure. A couple weeks after that I got up at 3:30AM and made the trip back to Orlando for the opening of Diagon Alley in Universal Studios. Basically is was the dumbest and most awesome thing I've ever done. I didn't do a lot of "traveling" this summer, but the little I did was so worth it. Of course, I've been following all my friends' travels on Facebook and, while it looks awesome, I'm glad I only traveled a few hours away from home. Besides, being in Orlando is basically like being in a different world. 

BRB, going to the Ministry of Magic.

I also challenged myself to go to the gym and workout this summer. If we're friends on Facebook you've probably seen my posts about weight gain. Yeah, it's not muscle I've gained. Kudos to those of you who have had the strength and motivation to workout. I've had a hard enough time getting out of bed, so I've passed on the gym stuff. I'll just pretend to workout my brain by reading a lot of intelligent books (lolz). I did run three 5Ks this summer, which is working out...to me. 

But really, that's the beauty of summer vacation: lounging, reading, traveling, and doing what you love. I don't have to spend time shopping and creating and pinning. If I actually want to lie on the couch all day and read all day I will. If I want to go to the pool and read, I might. If I go to the beach to read I'm kind of pushing things, because I'm not too crazy about leaving the house unless I absolutely have to. 

The point of this is probably to tell you to enjoy your summer vacation. You worked hard this year and you earned it. Don't sweat the new year just yet. Trust me, August 11th will be here before you know it and then you won't have pool time or book time or lying on the couch time, you know? It'll be seating charts, grading papers, classroom management, lesson plans, meetings, paperwork (are you depressed yet?), and all that other stuff that comes with having the best job in the whole world.  

So, just chill out. 

Twenty more days. 

XO, 

Ash

True Story: Books Ruined My Life

This is the true story of how books ruined my life.

You think I’m joking. Well, I’m not. Books are life-ruiners and it’s about time someone stood up to them. (Or ranted about them a little, whatever.)

I started reading at an early age: letters and sight words and little books. I’m kind of smart that way. Of course, I’m really dumb in other ways, so the reading thing makes up for it, yeah?

My earliest obsession with books started simple enough: Baby-Sitter’s Club Little Sister series and Sweet Valley Twins. Eventually I graduated into the older versions of these series and continued the obsession. Seriously, though. Who didn’t want to be a Wakefield twin growing up? I always favored Elizabeth (Jessica was a flake). And I totally wanted to start my own babysitting club, too. For the record, Mary Anne was my favorite babysitter. She was quiet and nerdy and hey, so was I.  

Don't they just scream "cool"?  

My problem with books started early, obviously. When I was growing up the closest Walmart was an hour or so. I would beg my mom to buy me a book. Not a toy or a new Barbie, a book! So, she’d buy me the book. Then I’d make my parents leave the light in the car on so I could read the book on our way home. I didn’t care if they “couldn’t see” while driving, I needed to read.

I was usually finished with the book by the time we got home. We had that place called a “library”, but renting books really wasn’t my thing. Truth is, it still isn’t. I like to buy and keep. If it’s something I don’t like I usually donate it or take my chances with the used bookstore and earn some credit to buy, you guessed it, more books.

#1 way books ruin my life? They cost money.

#2 way? I don’t have enough money to buy all the books I want.

But I digress. This really isn’t about money or not having enough books. It’s about loving, or loathing, the ones you have.

This weekend I spent a lot of time facedown in the couch because of all my feelings.

#3 way books ruin my life? ALL THE FEELINGS. (Or FEELS.)

Look, if you’re reading this and think I’m weird, that’s okay. Books make me weird. Books make me weird because books make me think and thinking…man, thinking does stuff. The feelings are intense, though. I’ve read so many books in the past few years that sometimes it’s hard to explain what one is about or just exactly why I loved/hated something. There are always that few that stick with you forever, though.

Those are the life-ruiners. I can tell you at exactly which point I lost it Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Only JK Rowling can make you cry with the use of the word “laugh”. Or rather, “last laugh”. (RIP, Fred.) I know the one phrase in The Fault in Our Stars that still gets me teary even though I have yet to bring myself to reread that beautiful piece of words.  

Good books, books that tell about life and relationships and make you a part of that world without even trying…those are the best kind. The ones above are just a couple of the ones that have cut my heart out in the recent past. Also, anything else by John Green can be including. To me he's the #1 Life-Ruiner Ever. I read a lot, okay. Sometimes Kindle .99 cent deals, sometimes the classics. To me, if you think it's good, it's good. If you love the characters and you love the story, that's all there is to it. 

Yep.

Of course, then there’s books like Gone Girl that make you hate every single character and you wouldn’t even care if the earth opened up and they all died. (Secret: Sometimes I feel like this about the Twilight series even though I once loved it so much. Okay, except for Leah. She’s cool.)

But yeah, man. Books. Books are my weakness. When people can put words together to make you fall in love or hate or hope or cry…it’s like magic, you know? It’s magic that people have the guts and the capability to just create people, places, and things and make you love them. That’s how I feel about books. I love them. Okay, I loathe them sometimes, too. Especially when I end up with a tear-stained couch and three days of my life I”ll never get back. 

Also things that are life-ruiners: book to movie adaptions. DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED.