October Book Review (6) SPOOKY EDITION!

Happy Tuesday everyone,

Spooky edition is just me in my Halloween costume.

This months concept for the photos is just me in my costume eating McDonalds. If that ain't a mood.

The Eeyore on the right is my photographer Ana. G a.k.a. @anabanasphotography on instagram.

Sold by Patricia McCormick
I read this book in one sitting. I got up once for a snack and to go to the restroom. It's on the slimmer side of books and I just ate through it. That said it is a very tough read. It follows a young girl who is so poor she is sold into prostitution. She's only thirteen. Her story is not uncommon. We hear about these stories all the time. But when you're following a character and come to love that character it is so much worse. It becomes more difficult to ignore stories like these. I followed this girl, desperate to see her get home. One of the hardest parts to read was when Lakshmi, the thirteen-year-old girl, becomes friends with a younger boy who lives in the brothel with his mother. He teaches her how to speak and read in the new language and he gives her a pencil which she uses hers down to the very end. In thanks, she makes him a ball to kick around. His mother is so sick that they are faced with the choice to be thrown onto the streets or sell his baby sister to Mumtaz who runs the brothel. So they leave. That moment was so hard to read. Lakshmi had so little joys in the brothel. Some of the high points for her were receiving a pencil and book from the boy as well as tea and a soda from the boy who sells tea.

And the ending takes your breath away.

The Raft by Stephanie Stufe-Bodeen

It was a nice one tim read but not a book I am going to keep on my bookshelf. It was a bit young for me as far as reading level as well as the age of the main character being fifteen but it had an interesting story and a plot twist that had me wide-eyed.
A girl is in a plane crash sort of situation and lands in the water and has to survive on a raft. I asked my younger cousin if she wanted to read it and she seemed excited so she will be receiving it the next time I see her which will probably be Christmas. Merry Christmas.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin

As a book lover and an English major, I feel the need to read certain classics so I know what the heck everyone is talking about. As I didn't think Pride and Prejudice would be my cup of tea (pun intended... You know because they drink tea) I hadn't picked up a copy of it to read until I found this one. This copy is illustrated by Kriss Sison in the manga art style. It isn't a manga exactly, it's the original text featuring manga illustrations. Kriss Sison has also done this with other classics such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Peter Pan, andThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz. He also does other original mangas.

Even with the edition of the illustrations, I'm sorry to say I did not enjoy this read. I'm sorry die-hard P&P fans! I tried! I read the entire thing! I wanted to like it but again it's just not my cup of tea.


The Book of Mythicality by Rhett and Link

Rhett and Link are the host of youtube's Good Mythical Morning, and three other side channels; Good Mythical More (a continuation of the main channel), This is Mythical, and Rhett and Link. I love GMM. I watch it probably every day. It makes me feel better when I'm sad and it gives me a lot of comfort.

I really enjoyed the parts of the book that were sharing stories about Rhett and Link's lifelong friendship since the first grade as well as the pictures and other mementos they saved. They also included a chapter that had their wives collaborating with them about the beginnings of their relationship. I preferred the story-driven sections over the quizzes, games and other things that were included just for comedic value. Those parts are essentially what the show is and who Rhett and Link are so they were essential to the book.

Talking as fast as I can by Lauren Graham

If you don't know who Lauren Graham is she is the actress who played Lorelai Gilmore in one of my favorite shows, Gilmore Girls. I have been a fan of Gilmore Girls since I was a kid because my mom always watched it. Recently Gilmore Girls had a reboot on Netflix's and it inspired her book because she wanted to share the experience of going back to the show so many years later. There is a lot of other stuff in the book too but I mostly read it as a Gilmore Girls fan.




Some of the things I loved were the pictures, such as the one on the right. Lauren took a selfie with the jacket she accidentally kept from the first shooting of the show to announce that the reboot was happening.

I also loved the chapter, "Kitchen Timer" where Lauren shares a friend's writing method (I've included it as its own blog post via the link).

My very favorite part was the ending.

If you're out on the road
Feeling lonely, and so cold
All you have to do is call my name
And I'll be there on the next train

Where you lead, I will follow
Anywhere that you tell me to
If you need, you need me to be with youI will follow where you lead

everyone's an aliebn when ur a aliebn too by jomny sun

One of my friends loves children's books and shares this love with us via our group on snapchat by reading entire kid's books from their collection. This has escalated to reading Frog and Toad aloud at the park and stopping in the middle of stores to do what we call "Story Time". When I got this book I was tempted to share the whole thing on snapchat because I knew it was something my friends would love but it is very long, probably because it isn't technically a children's book. It was in the graphic novel section of the bookstore. It is such a good book that the friend that I mentioned came over to my house one night in need of a buddy and we read the entire book aloud.

Let me stop telling you how much I love this book and actually tell you about this book.

The story follows a little aliebn dude that is sent to earth to learn about humans. He meets a wide cast of characters along the way (Listed in order of apearance) including a tree (my favorite character), a snail, a bear, a flower, a bunch of bees, a turtle, a hedgehog, a dog, an egg, several otters, a caterpillar, a tadpole, a frog, several birds, a dead person, an onion, an owl, a beaver (my least favorite character), nothing (literally there is a character that calls themselves nothing), an apple, an acorn, a yeti/big foot looking dude from another planet named Mel (who partners with the bear) a pumpkin (I've included the pumkin page for Halloween, bottom right), a ghost, a butterfly, grass, a turkey, and a grape/raisin. I hope I got them all.


All the friends he made taught him about life, love, loss, death and so much more. This book really hits some tough and important subjects. This is such an important book. It presents really important ideas with adorable illustrations and silly puns. This is a must-read. I'm not just letting my friends borrow my copy. I'm throwing it at them and telling them to read it.

Totally Ky