quotes Elisquared likes


"Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I notice that you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan. Why is that?' In fact, it seems to me that most contemporary insults are pretty lame. Even 'lame' is kind of lame. Saying 'You're lame' is like saying 'You walk with a limp.' Yeah, whatever, so does 50 Cent, and he's done all right for himself."— John Green

8.25.2015

Teaser Tuesday (72)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following!
  • Grab your current read.
  • Open to a random page.
  • Share a few teaser sentences from somewhere on that page.
  • MAKE SURE NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (you don't want to give too much away and ruin the book for other readers)
Share the title and author too, so that other readers can add your book to their TBR list if they like your teaser!
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Uprooted
Naomi Novik
May 19, 2015



      Our Dragon doesn't eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. 
(pg. 1)













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I can't gush enough about this book!  As you can see, from line one the narrative grabs you and takes you on a journey.  It is a journey both familiar and alien, like you're stepping into a dream you once had.  Each character in this book is necessary to the story, and feel like whole, complete people, even if they are only in the book for a few pages.  Novik is a craftswoman at the highest degree, and I want to live in the world of Uprooted.  If you don't read but one book this year, make it this one!


8.20.2015

Visual Inspiration - Uprooted by Naomi Novik




Pictures/Art/Photographs all help me see the books I'm reading.  Often, while I'm online, I stumble upon images that remind me of the book.  These visuals add layers to the stories, and can be used to offer hints to the plot.  So I've decided to put out "Visual Inspirations" in order to spark readers' interests in those books that I love.  Please feel free to join in; hopefully you'll get some new books to read in the process!

This is one of my favorite books of 2015.  To celebrate this I give you inspiration this week from:

Uprooted by Naomi Novik


Oh I wonder what this could all mean?

Check the book out at your local bookstore or local library.  If you even like fantasy a tiny bit, you will fall in love with this book!  The mythos is so intricate and beautifully thought out that I feel like I'm walking along Agnieszka's side.

8.19.2015

Waiting on Wednesday (89)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming/recent releases that we seriously can’t wait to read

Here's my pick for the week, that I seriously can't wait to read:



Silver in the Blood
Publication Date: July 7, 2015


Society girls from New York City circa 1890, Dacia and Lou never desired to know more about their lineage, instead preferring to gossip about the mysterious Romanian family that they barely knew. But upon turning seventeen, the girls must return to their homeland to meet their relatives, find proper husbands, and—most terrifyingly—learn the deep family secrets of The Claw, The Wing, and The Smoke. The Florescus, after all, are shape-shifters, and it is time for Dacia and Lou to fulfill the prophecy that demands their acceptance of this fate . . . or fight against this cruel inheritance with all their might.

With a gorgeous Romanian setting, stunning Parisian gowns, and dark brooding young men, readers will be swept up by this epic adventure of two girls in a battle for their lives.

(Summary from Goodreads)


I love that this has a werewolf (?) twist to it.  I love that it is set in the 1800s, and focuses on the glamour of being the "It" society girl of that time.  I love that it has some mystery and secrets.  I love that everything will turn on it's head for these two girls.  I love this description: "With a gorgeous Romanian setting, stunning Parisian gowns, and dark brooding young men, readers will be swept up by this epic adventure of two girls in a battle for their lives."

What book are you waiting for?

8.18.2015

Top Ten Tuesday (42)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because they are particularly fond of lists there at The Broke and the Bookish. They'd love us to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!
Each week they will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of their bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on their post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share.  If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. 
The topic this week is:
Top Ten Of Your Auto-buy Authors



1. Cassandra Clare  2. Laurie Halse Anderson  3. Francesca Lia Block  4. John Green  5. Jonathan Maberry  6. David Levithan  7. Beth Revis  8. Leigh Bardugo  9. Tamora Pierce  10. Ellen Wittlinger 

Look at those amazing authors!  Each one of them, I don't care what the book is about, what genre it tackles, or how expensive it is, I am OWNING it!!  These aren't listed in any particular order; but some have been my tried and true loves long before others (I'm looking at you Ellen Wittlinger).   

Each author, whether it be their prose, their worlds, their characters, or their plots, has captured me in some way and worked their dark author magic, making the money disappear right from my bank account.  I'm going to list one book from each author that I suggest you pick up. 

1. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
2. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
3. The Hanged Man by Francesca Lia Block
4. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
5. Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
6. The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan
7. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
8. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
9. Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce
10. Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger

Each title links to the Goodreads page, so PLEASE go check them out!!  They are all marvelous, and some are lesser known titles that I think really deserve more attention! 

Who are you're Auto-buy Authors?  Leave a comment below, or do your own post and link me!!




8.16.2015

Let's Talk Slumps

Adventure Time

I have been in a real reading slump since late 2014.  Yes that's right, 2014.  For a book blogger and a life-long reader, this long of a slump is really defeating.  This isn't to say I haven't read any books.  I definitely have read quite a few over the last year and a half (I even managed to review most of them :O).  But the volume of my reading and the enjoyment I get from reading has taken a slow descent.

I can pretty much pin point where the slump started and when it got really bad.  In January 2014, I was promoted at my job.  This job, in general, is my first "big girl" job.  It's a full-time career with the potential for continued growth.  It's in a field I find fascinating, but is also full of high stress situations.  And when I got my promotion, I had only been working in my previous position for 6 months.  So I felt more pressure to "perform". This led to me being very stressed and tired at the end of each day; I had no desire to do anything, let alone read.

Luckily, I was still in graduate school and that required me to read as I was getting my degree in Library Science.  Yay, a reason (beyond wanting to, because at this point that wasn't a good motivator) to read YA/Children's lit.  This had me on a good path; not as productive as previous years, but still reading. Then two major things happened: (1) I graduated from graduate school; and (2) I got my second promotion to a Team Manager, which is essentially being one of the bosses in my office.  This led to almost a complete halt on my reading.

I'm not exaggerating that I have so far only read 4 full books this year, when in the past I well surpassed 50.  This has led to me being in a slight depression, further fueling my lack of passion for reading.  It's been a whole big mess, but I think I'm finally coming out of it.

I know I'm not the only one out there who has felt the same, so I thought of some things that have helped me deal with this, and have finally turned it around.



1. Mix Up the Genres - I typically read young adult, and a lot of sci-fi/fantasy within that umbrella.  However, I mixed it up, and not only changed genres but also switched "age levels" moving to adult fiction.  I read more magical realism and contemporary fiction with some suspense thrown in.  Now that I "cleansed" my palette, I'm ready for young adult again.

2. Re-Read Favorites - I have three books that I consider my go-to favorites: Sandry's Book (Circle of Magic, #1) by Tamora Pierce, Searching for Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #2) by Patricia Wrede, and Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger.  I can re-read each of these books, and they bring me to my happy place.

3. Change Up the Visuals - Comic books were a big thing for me at the end of last year; my sister has always been a big collector, but now that we both have steady, well-paying jobs, comics have become a thing for me too.  I love sharing this with my sister, and I know that comic books count towards reading, but when I talk about my slump I strictly mean traditional books.  I've been devouring comics like crazy actually, which I think has helped jumpstart me on the path back to reading books.

4. Plan a Time to Read - Scheduling reading time has really gotten me back on track.  I know it may seem weird to make it an action item for my day, but I work really well with structure and I'm use to reading for school.  So I make a point of having a designated reading time each day where, no matter what, I read.  It can be for 5 minutes or it can go for two hours (depends on the book), but I end up reading each day.

5. Remember That Reading is Fun - This is the most important  piece of advice I took for myself.  I had to remember how much I like to read and why.  One of the MAJOR ways I am doing this is that I, along with one of my good friends Erin who blogs at Uniquely Geeky Girl, started a book club.  It's called Gone with the Book Club, and it focuses on YA books.  I'm really excited about it because while I can obviously geek out over books with all of you and on social media, doing the whole community building, face-to-face thing is something I miss.

So there you have it, my woe is me reading slump tale.  I'm trying to get back into the swing of things not only with my reading, but also with my blogging.  Hopefully I succeed and I'm back to the Eli you all know and love.

If you've ever experienced a book slump, let me know in the comments what you did to snap yourself out and hopefully if you're in a slump, my suggestions can help a little!



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