The Reading Room (10)

The Reading Room is a weekly update on books I'm reading and planning to read. It was inspired by the feature On Myshelf at the blog All By Myshelf.

First off, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! I hope you had as wonderful of a day as I did. (It included Star Wars Valentines and way too much chocolate, Audrey Assad's new album "Heart" coming out on iTunes and some lovely flowers from my boyfriend.) And I'd like to send a <3 to all my followers. You guys are awesome for finding my blog interesting enough to read.

Anyway. Back to books. I finished most of the books I mentioned in my last post; Ballad was as spectacular as Lament, Firebirds Rising as amazing as Firebirds, and Tiger's Curse wasn't quite as stunning but definitely left me eager to read Tiger's Quest. I also finished Incarceron, which kept me up WAY too late Saturday night because it was impossible to put down. If you'd like to take a look at some of my full reviews, you can see them on Shelfari.

I'm also still reading The Gift, the second book in James Patterson's Witch and Wizard series, and all I have to say is that if all his books are this good, I'm definitely going to have get my friend to let me borrow her copies of the Maximum Ride series. The Gift is even better than Witch and Wizard - there's more characterization, which I love. Unfortunately, neither the school library nor the public library have The Fire...which, I suppose, just means I'll have to download it on my Nook.

The school library does have Cleopatra's Moon, the first book on my reading list for the YA Historical Fiction challenge I'm participating in. (Check out my Reading Challenges page for more information.) I'm really looking forward to reading it - I love historical fiction and have been meaning to read it for awhile, and it sounds really interesting. Cleopatra VII is one of my favorite historical figures, but I've never read much about her daughter, Cleopatra Selene, who is the book's main character.


The other book I picked up while I was in the library was The Iron King by Julie Kawaga. This would almost be one of those moments where I could joyously proclaim, "I was a fan before they were cool!" as I do in almost every conversation I have about Owl City, because I first saw this book a year and a half ago in a bookstore while I was homecoming dress shopping. Unfortunately, I don't get my triumphant I-beat-the-trend moment, because I didn't buy it. (I bought Clockwork Angel instead, incase you were wondering.) Oh, well. That doesn't mean I'm not extremely excited to start reading it now. Four of my bookworm friends have highly recommended it, and we have very similar tastes, so I have a feeling I'll like it. I'll be sure to post a review somewhere once I've read it.

In other reading news, I joined the Reading Competition at my school last week. If you're unfamiliar with the concept, several members of the team read books from a list, splitting it up so that someone on the team has read each book. Then, we go to the school where the competition is being held, and the team answers questions about the books. It's a pretty awesome setup for several reasons: The other people in it are all extremely cool, we get out of homeroom every Thursday and get to hang out in the library listening to music, and we miss school for the competition. It's hard not to gloat. I get to miss school to talk about books.

~blackandwhitedreamer

Inspire (3)

Inspire is a weekly writing prompt or writing exercise, posted on Mondays. Anyone who's interested can participate, and you're more than welcome to share what you've written by posting a link in the comments.

This week's prompt is to write about something strange. Write about an unfamiliar culture, an eccentric character, or an unusual event - anything out of the ordinary. Try to describe it the best you can, especially the qualities that make it so weird. Add in other character's reactions if you want. Change it around and make something you see everyday seem suddenly foreign. Show modern objects that we take for granted through the eyes of a character from the past (and try to describe the shock of seeing them in a new way that you're not used to seeing in any kind of time/dimension travel books.) Anything that you think is strange. 

Have fun with this one!

~blackandwhitedreamer

I'm back!

Hello, everyone! I just wanted to apologize for being MIA for the past week. I was having some login problems with my account - I'm not sure what happened, but there was a mix-up with my email address and somehow my password got reset, along with a few terrifying days when I couldn't even view my blog when I entered the URL, but luckily I managed to sort things out, and I'll be back to regular posting this week.

Also, for anyone participating in my Short Story Challenge 2012, I've created a shelf on GoodReads of collections of short stories, incase you're looking for some suggestions. If anyone has any recommendations, let me know and I'll add them. You can take a look at the list here.

Well, that's all for now. Once again, I'm sorry about the delay, and glad to be back!
~blackandwhitedreamer

Loving Your Enemies...and the Enemies of Your Friends

Quite awhile ago, I talked about the possibility of religious-themed posts on Sundays as a regular feature. I always meant to follow through with it, but I never did - I never felt like I had anything worth sharing. Now, I do, and so I'm going to revive the idea and try my best to post something like this every week. I'm not trying to push Christianity on anyone, but I definitely feel like it's a way I can use this blog to serve God.

So, onto the topic of this specific post. In the past week, I had an experience that I feel like God was using to teach me something. We were playing volleyball in gym class, and one girl was saying some really mean things about another girl, who's not very athletic and wasn't participating much. She was making fun of her for not hitting the ball, to which the girl's response was, "If I try, it won't do any good, and you'll still yell at me."

I felt horrible about the whole situation. I wanted to say something, but I was too afraid - the girl who was making the mean comments has a reputation for being nasty, and I didn't want trouble with her. Looking back, I wish I had spoken up.

That night when I got home, I prayed for the girl who had been made fun of. I didn't even have to think about it; it was obviously the right thing to do. I prayed for myself, that the next time I was in a situation like that, I would have the courage to speak up. But then I realized that there was someone else I needed to be praying for - the girl who had been making the nasty comments. Based on the way she'd been acting that day and how she'd acted in my other encounters with her, she obviously needed it.

This was kind of a startling thought to me. Matthew 5:44 says, "But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Praying for the people who attack you and your faith is rarely easy, but to me, it's always been manageable. But what about praying for people who attack your friends - or, in my case, people who you don't even know very well? The Bible tells us that we should stand up for the weak; in Proverbs 31:8 it says, "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute."

But when we're defending someone, it's easy to hate the person attacking them, when in reality, the attacker needs God's love just as much as the one they're attacking. I've been told many times that I'm an empathetic person and I think that's true, so praying for someone else's enemy is almost harder than praying for my own enemy. God still loves them, though, and He tells us to love them too.

I hope that you were able to get something out of this entry, and I encourage you to strive to love the enemies of your friends as well as your own enemies. My eyes have certainly been opened by this experience, and I'll try my best to do the same.

~blackandwhitedreamer

Song Wars (1)

Song Wars is where I compare two songs with similar titles, meanings, or lyrics, different versions of the same song, or an original song and the covers that have been made of it. I'll discuss what I like and dislike about both songs, then decide which one I like better. 

The exact format of Song Wars has taken awhile to figure out, which is the reason I didn't start posting it last week and part of the reason I'm not writing this post until late this evening. (The other reason is that I've developed a nasty cold/sinus infection and haven't felt like doing much of anything until now.) For a quick overview of how this post and the others will be structured, I'll start with the two songs I'm comparing and how they're similar. Then, in a format similar to the awesome Books vs. Movies reviews found here, I'll compare different aspects of the songs and decide which song is better in each category, which will definitely impact my overall decision of which song is better. 

Now, without further ado, (sorry, I love that phrase), the first official Song Wars post!

This Week

"Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele vs. "Fire" by Ingrid Michaelson

What They Have in Common: Similar titles and somewhat similar meanings and lyrics

Title: The titles are the first and most obvious similarity between the songs. Both of them fit their respective songs perfectly, and I wouldn't change either one of them. However, while I like the simplicity of "Fire", "Set Fire to the Rain" is just a better image in the title. It's unique, and it makes you interested in the song before you've even heard it. So the winner of this round is definitely Adele. 

Lyrics: Both songs have lyrics that are absolutely phenomenal, although in different ways. Each one creates a distinct image that pulls you into the song; while "Fire" has more metaphoric verses, "Set Fire to the Rain" is more descriptive. It's honestly hard to say which lyrics are better. The verses are my favorite part of "Fire", and I definitely like that and the chorus more than the bridge. There's nothing in the lyrics of "Set Fire to the Rain" that I dislike, although I think I like hopeful tone in "Fire"'s verses a bit more. However, the bridge of "Set Fire to the Rain" is beyond amazing. The whole song is more intense, although that doesn't necessarily mean anything either way. This is such a tough decision that I'm not even sure I can make it, so I think I'm going to have to declare the lyrics round a draw. 

Music: The music a song is set to can make it or break it for me. Most of my favorite songs, I love because  of the music. It's the main reason Coldplay is my favorite band - their instrumentals are stunning. So this is definitely a significant category. 

It's also one that's easier to decide than the last one. I cannot get enough of the strings on "Fire." Oh, my goodness. I love string instruments of any kind, possibly more than I love piano instrumentals, which is saying somethings. The best part is right after the first chorus, but all throughout the song, they provide the perfect backdrop to the lyrics. Ingrid Michaelson and "Fire" have this round won hands down. 

I'm definitely not criticizing the music in "Set Fire to the Rain" at all, though. It's nice, and there's some pretty piano at the beginning, but it's not what stands out about the song, and the instrumentals on "Fire" feel a lot more layered to me. 

Singing: I'll start this off by saying that I love Ingrid Michaelson's voice, and that both songs fit their respective singers perfectly - I can't imagine either one being sung by a different artist. That being said, I think most people could guess that the winner of this round was going to be "Set Fire to the Rain." Her voice is just so powerful, and there's only a few artists that I can think of that might have her topped.

Meaning: Overall, these songs are pretty similar in their overall tone and style. They're both about relationships (unless there's some hidden meaning I'm not picking up); "Set Fire to the Rain" has the message of, "You're too flawed for this to work, but you still have my heart; I know we can't continue, but I'll still miss you, even though I shouldn't", I think "Fire" is about the intensity of being in the relationship and how it changes your outlook on life - based on the lyrics, I think for the better. That's why "Fire" comes out slightly ahead in this round. "

The songs came out tied this week, but overall, I have to say that I like "Fire" more. It was very close; "Set Fire to the Rain" is still an amazing song and Adele is an amazing singer. "Fire" is just my personal preference, mainly because I like the music and the meaning better, even though there places where I liked the lyrics of "Set Fire to the Rain" better. If either song had been just slightly different, it easily could have gone the other way. 

So, what do you think? Which song do you think is better?

~blackandwhitedreamer

Inspire (2)

Inspire is a weekly writing prompt or writing exercise, posted on Mondays. Anyone who's interested can participate, and you're more than welcome to share what you've written by posting a link in the comments.

I hope everyone enjoyed last week's writing exercise. This week's prompt is a little simpler and gives you some more freedom with what to write: it's a one-word prompt, and the word is "animal." The idea is to write anything that comes to mind when you see this word: it can be a poem, a story, just random thoughts, or anything you can come up with. The best advice I can give is not to give yourself any limits. Try to keep your thoughts related to the original word, but otherwise, just let your mind go.

Have fun!

~blackandwhitedreamer

The Reading Room (9)

The Reading Room is a weekly update on books I'm reading and planning to read, and was inspired by the feature On Myshelf at the blog All By Myshelf.

I'm still working my way through my list of books from last week, so there's not much new to post. I finished Lament the same day I wrote the last post, and the ending was just as amazing as the rest of the book. I also started and finished Witch and Wizard, which also far exceeded my expectations - it was amazing. Still working on Dracula - once again, I like the book and reading it on my nook is awesome, but I've been distracted by other (slightly more awesome) books. I also started reading Tiger's Curse last night; although I'm not sure I like the writing style, it looks promising otherwise. Incarceron and Firebirds Rising are still patiently waiting on my to-read list.

Since I loved Lament and Witch and Wizard so much, you can probably guess the two books I've added to my reading list this week: The Gift (2nd book in the Witch and Wizard series) and Ballad (Sequel to Lament.) My to-read pile it still pretty significant, but I can't wait to get my hands on these books. I ran into math class today desperate to find out if my friend had returned The Gift to the library so I could check it out, and when my partner for the history project left Ballad on her desk, I was so obviously tempted to pick it up and start reading instead of working on the project that she offered to have the librarian hold it for me once she returned it.

So my reading list just keeps growing. Exactly the way I like it, although I'm not sure when I'm going to find the time to read all these books. Unfortunately, school just takes up too much time. 

Eager for summer, or at least the weekend,

~blackandwhitedreamer