The New Project: DSED!

I'm not giving up on Bookshelf Reminisce. I'm just going to be doing two projects at once. (Well, you'll see two projects. I actually have 5 different projects going on at once. It's nice to be busy!)

Anyway, this new project is called Do Something Every Day, inspired by Scare Yourself Every Day, and consists of 200 things to do before December 21, 2012. I don't actually believe in the whole 2012-end-of-the-world thing, but it's good to have a deadline. From tomorrow (April 10) to December 21, there are 255 days. I only made a list of 200 things because a) it's hard to come up with these and b) I need plenty of legroom to mess up and take days off, especially if I'm on vacation. So I get 55 free days. Eesh.

I separated the 200 things into five categories:

1. Things that will require money. Some crafts, some trips, some gifts, etc.
2. Things that will require participation from other people. Photo shoots, parties, and various adventures.
3. Things that will require some advance planning. There aren't many of these, but they're the most awesome ones.
4. Things that need to be done by a certain date, for instance my birthday or the Bon Festival at the Morikami.
5. Everything else. I tried to come up with things that I could do in a day, that were challenging but doable, that were fun, and that I wouldn't normally do.

I came up with most of the assignments myself, but when I looked for outside help, I greatly appreciated these websites:

http://www.lists-galore.com/

http://perfectbucketlist.tumblr.com/

http://www.learningtoloveyoumore.com/

http://pinterest.com/

http://scareyourselfeveryday.com/

BR #7: The Host by Stephenie Meyer

(This post is part of an ongoing project. See more here.)

I know, I know, I skipped number 6, but I only have Bree Tanner as an ebook so I read The Host first. Now! On to the gushing!

Things I Realized About The Host:

1. I love it. I love it so much. It's the best book in the whole world and I will reread it over and over until the day I die.
2. It is physically painful for me when I think about the fact that the sequel isn't out yet, despite the fact that Stephenie finished writing it years ago!!!! WHAT. THE. HELL.
3. Jamie is a beautiful name and such a wonderful character and reading about him made me miss my Jamie and love him that much more.
4. From now on, when I get nervous that people won't like me, I'm going to pretend that they're all souls and will always think the best about me. Maybe that will boost my confidence.
5. A song by Eisley was in the playlist that Stephenie listened to while writing the book!! How cool is that? I freakin' love Eisley. I'm impressed now.
6. I want to be more like Wanderer.
7. Reading Stephenie's writing has inspired me so much, now that I'm planning my own book. I hope I can have one-tenth of the character development and beautiful prose that she has.

And that's all! Stay tuned for another cool project I'm about to start. Woohoo!

BR #5: Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

(This post is part of an ongoing project. See more here.)

I actually read Midnight Sun while I was reading Twilight. I would read a chapter of Twilight, then a chapter of Midnight Sun. I love Edward's point of view so much. He's one of my favorite characters of any book ever, and not because he's good-looking. I just love his take on things, the way he over thinks everything (the same way I do!).

And seeing Bella from his eyes made me realize just how perfectly Stephenie created her. Most of the time when a book is told from first person, the narrator kind of falls to the background and becomes a non-character, even though everything is happening to them. It's easy to not give them a personality at all, but Stephenie did such a great job with Bella that I feel I would know her reactions to just about anything.

I really wish she would finish Midnight Sun someday. Actually, I wish she would write anything at all. It's been far too long since I've had a new book on my top shelf.

BR #4: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

(This post is part of an ongoing project. See more here.)

I skipped numbers 2 and 3, New Moon and Eclipse, because I didn't feel like dealing with Jacob's bitterness right now. I'm so glad I did, though! Going from Twilight straight to Breaking Dawn was an interesting experience. It was amazing to see how much Stephenie grew as a writer, but without making Twilight look bad.

It's amazing to realize over and over again how detailed the plot lines were in the series, and how everything led up to the last book. Breaking Dawn takes my breath away every single time. I think it might be my favorite, but it's hard to choose...

BR #1: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

(This post is part of an ongoing project. See more here.)

I hadn't read Twilight in awhile because after the movies came out, I couldn't read about Bella and Edward without thinking of Kristin Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It was like trying to eat your favorite food while someone talked about dog poop. Blecgh. That finally wore off, though, and I'm glad it did.

I really thought I was getting over this obsession, but now I can see that the feelings had only faded because I'd forgotten how truly wonderful the books are. When I started reading, I was viewing them objectively and I could see how people would be irritated with Bella and view her as some sort of emo kid. But then I got sucked back into the story and my love for it returned full force.

Now, I've matured somewhat in recent years (just a little bit, mind you) and I can talk rationally about things that are serious, things that really matter. If you want to have an adult discussion about religion or current issues or whatever, sure. I can do that. But when it comes to something unimportant, like my opinion on a book, I give myself full freedom to be as ridiculous as I may want to be.

I say all that to say, I'm unashamedly, unconditionally, irrevocably in love with Stephenie Meyer and the worlds she creates through her writing. My dad says that someday I'll be embarrassed by how I've acted over these books, but I really don't agree.

The End of the Saga

Well, my hair is finally back to normal! I seriously can't thank Karissa enough for seeing me through this whole ordeal. I don't really regret dyeing it blonde because it was a fun experience, but I'm so glad to be natural again.

And I know, I look high as a kite in the before picture. It's just a natural side effect of being as awkward as I am.

Before:

After:

Bookshelf Reminisce

Out of the blue, I've decided that once I've finished the 900-page book I'm reading now (seriously, this thing will NEVER END) I'm going to read all my favorite books on my bookshelf again. I'm so excited, it's kind of stupid. I want to make a blog post as I finish each book and maybe write something new I got from each book, which will be hard for some of them considering I've read Twilight at least 12 times... :D

Posts relating to this project will be titled like this: "BR #1: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer". BR = Bookshelf Reminisce. Once I've finished a book and written the blog post for it, I'll link it here.

Here's the list of books I'm going to read:

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
2. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
3. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
4. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
5. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
6. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
7. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
8. Broken by InuSaga
9. The Siren by Kiera Cass
10. The Selection by Kiera Cass
11. Peony in Love by Lisa See
12. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
13. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
14. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
15. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
16. Vamped by David Sosnowski
17. Rapture by David Sosnowski
18. Impossible by Nancy Werlin
19. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
20. Wasted by Marya Hornbacher
21. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
22. Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
23. Runaway by Wendelin Van Draanen
24. Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
25. Gone by Michael Grant
26. Hunger by Michael Grant
27. Lies by Michael Grant
28. Plague by Michael Grant
29. Brightly Burning by Mercedes Lackey
30. The Fairy's Return by Gail Carson Levine
31. Ever by Gail Carson Levine
32. Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
33. The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine
34. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
35. The Wish by Gail Carson Levine
36. Gossamer by Lois Lowry
37. The Giver by Lois Lowry
38. Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
39. Sierra by Kathleen Duey
40. Chat Room by Linda Hall
41. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
42. Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
43. Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
44. Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever by James Patterson
45. Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson
46. Maximum Ride: The Final Warning by James Patterson
47. Maximum Ride: Max by James Patterson
48. Maximum Ride: Fang by James Patterson
49. Maximum Ride: Angel by James Patterson
50. Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala
51. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
52. The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
53. Fear by Michael Grant