Summer Reading List

Every summer a magical window of free time opens up and I find myself a regular at the local library, checking out a book one day, returning it the next. Something about summer screams "time to read!" to me, and always has. So with a couple weeks (really, a handful of days) in between classes, I can't wait to sit down with some of the books I've been looking forward to the most.

 What's on my summer reading list? How does all 354 books on my "to-read" Goodreads shelf sound? HA! Yeah, right. Even if my summer were less chaotic and fairly normal, I still wouldn't be able to make a dent into the ridiculous list I've created for myself. But seriously? Here's what I'm hoping to get to before August comes to an end:

• The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Neil Gaiman) - Neil read a pretty sizable excerpt from this when I saw him speak on Stardust last November. It was the most entranced I'd ever been from hearing a story, and I cannot wait to read it! 
• A Dance with Dragons (George R.R. Martin) - I just couldn't tackle 1,000+ pages during the term, so I've got to catch up on the books before the show does. Or, y'know, I'm sure I'll at least beat Martin to writing the next one. 
• Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn) - This is been on my radar for a while, at the recommendation of many, many people who don't always share similar tastes. I'm a bit behind, I know, but I'm getting there.
• The Fault in Our Stars (John Green) - Ditto above. I started reading the sample on my Kindle, not because I was wary of the book, but because I couldn't wait to start it. And now I 'm hooked. Also, I stumbled across his literary crash course series on YouTube, which is pretty fantastic and hilarious on its own. After an embarrassingly long amount of time wondering if that was the same John Green, I've now come to the realization that I need to read more of his books (and we need to be best friends). Library patron - please return this soon so I can read it!  Check!
• A Moveable Feast (Ernest Hemingway) - I've been on a Hemingway kick lately. I just need to bury myself into another one of his books, pronto. There's such a heartbreaking tenderness and humanity about them, that I can't help but love Hemingway to pieces. Also check!
• Etiquette & Espionage (Gail Carriger) - Gail Carriger really tickles my Victorian-steampunk-snarky-heroine fancy. I really enjoyed the Parasol Protectorate series and can't wait to see what else she's got up her sleeve. 
• The Diviners (Libba Bray) - Libba Bray is another guilty pleasure that I'm not very guilty about. I read A Great and Terrible Beauty and the rest of the Gemma Doyle series some years ago and remember getting lost in it. I can only hope this is as magical and enchanting.
• The Accursed (Joyce Carol Oates) - Joyce Carol Oates does some crazy awesome stuff. I need to read more of hers, and have resolved to do so ever since reading some shorts in college. This novel from her gothic saga caught my eye, and I'm hoping I get reeled in like the rest of her stuff!
• Equilateral (Ken Kalfus) - Just go read the synopsis. I'm wildly intrigued.

What's on your summer reading list?

Things I Love Thursday

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How's your week going? I feel like I say "what a busy week!" every week, but I've been keeping busy lately in the best possible ways. Each thing I do feels like it's for a reason, that I'm really being productive and getting things done as opposed to slipping into a lazy stupor some days, haha.

And I don't even know what happened with last night's Penguins game xD A 7-3 win though? Outrageous! I'll totally take it.

♥ I'm apparently the resident blogger of my graduate classes, which sent me into a fit of giggles :) I don't really think twice about being a blogger - it's just a part of what I do now - but I still tend to keep it on the down low. Not for any reason in particular, but I know some people who just look quizzically at me, like "blogging? What language is that?". But now the cat's (semi-)out of the bag and it's kind of exciting!

♥ All of the lovely comments from you on my comic strip have been a joy to read! It feels great just to draw something, anything again, and I've had so many encouraging words that I can't help but take a step back and really appreciate all of you who come and visit my little corner of the interwebs on a regular or not-so-regular basis. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

♥ Having a small class, and having said small class in a coffee shop each week. There are seriously only four of us, and it runs kind of like a book club. It's so nice to sit and just discuss ideas versus trying to do this or that assignment. It reminds me of my days in undergrad, and I really kind of miss that.

little loves

brainstorming sessions ♥ iced coffee - I used to not be a huge fan, but lately, a nice cool iced hazelnut macchiato hits the spot on these hot days ♥ grapefruit everything. I'm pretty sure everything in my bathroom at this point in time is grapefruit scented ♥ Hoot Suite - I think I prefer it to Tweet Deck... ♥ lilacs, which smell absolutely wonderful! ♥ girls' night after a few weeks hiatus ♥

What are you loving this week?

The Blogcademy: The Blogcademy Babes vol. 1

Somehow I missed the memo that it's 2am. 

That's because I've been up frantically coloring my Blogcademy scholarship entry, with the added company of No Doubt to keep me on task :)

What is The Blogcademy, you ask? It's a two-day blogging workshop headed by three fabulous headmistresses - Gala Darling, Shauna Haider, and Kat Williams. To say that these ladies are an inspiration is an understatement. One of my first ever blog posts was actually my own take on Gala's Things I Love Thursday posts! 

And so I decided to bust out my art supplies - which I'm pretty sure I haven't done since high school - and draw a comic explaining why I want to attend the upcoming Blogcademy session in New York. And what's a comic without a delicious looking two-dimensional birthday cake and magical girl allusions? Also, how much Sailor Moon have I been watching lately? Not enough, that's for sure.


( click through for bigger versions!)
In case it's hard to read (my scanner didn't make legibility a priority, or my totally fab colored pencil job) here's a transcription:

"Hi, I’m Kristin. I run a blog called My Life as a Teacup where I write about the things that inspire me (and sometimes make me go “hmm...”). For me, blogging has been one part creative outlet, one part learning about the world, and one part a journey in self-discovery, with a generous sprinkling of great friends along the way. 

My Life as a Teacup turns 3 years old this year. I’m so proud of how far I’ve come as a writer and blogger (and savvy media gal!), from my early days as a LiveJournal-er extraordinaire to having built a community around literature, productivity, and positivity. But I feel like my blog’s growth has come to a halt. As if the stars that I'm aiming for are just beyond my reach... 

I know I can reach those glittering, fabulous constellations if only I had a little boost. I could really use the magic of you Blogcademy Babes to do it! Won’t you please help make my transformation complete?"

I am incredibly proud of myself and all I've done with My Life as a Teacup over the past three years. We all need to take a moment and pat ourselves on the back, because honestly, when's the last time you said to yourself, "Hey, self, you've done some pretty amazing things"? I know I haven't stepped back and reflected on my own accomplishments as much as I should have. I've poured a lot of my self into blogging. I've established features that I enjoy writing. I've taken risks with the topics I've written about, like stereotyping the Japanese major and being honest with yourself. I've learned how to use technological features that would make my stats professor proud (okay, sort of proud. I'd still probably get a 'B'). This little blog has come a long way since 2010, and for me, the magic hasn't faded. I just feel like I'm at a standstill and I'm not quite sure where to go from here.

I'd love to be able to jet to New York for a Blogcademy workshop and take My Life as a Teacup to the next level with such inspiring role-models and a community of amazing fellow bloggers by my side. I've been working on amping up my blog, one step at a time, and think I've done a pretty good job navigating the blogosphere so far. There's so much more for me to do with My Life as a Teacup, however, and I find myself in the car or the shower dreaming of all the ways I can make this blog the best it can be. I want to stop dreaming, I want to make it happen. It's time for me to stop putting the things I truly love doing on hold and start making them more than a dream.

I'm sure a little love from you guys wouldn't hurt my chances either! :)

What's something you've accomplished recently that you're proud of? Wish me luck!

For the Love of a Linguaphile v.52

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apiary n. [ā-pē-ˌer-ē]: a place where bees are kept (via) 

A local apiary was among the shops at the market, selling fresh wildflower honey by the bottle.

For the Love of a Linguaphile is a weekly series where I share the joys of being an English major and language lover with a useful new vocabulary word or definition that keeps popping up lately. Hopefully you can incorporate a new word into your vocabulary, or even share one of your favorite words!

words of wisdom

( from here - if you know the source, please let me know! )

Happy Sunday!

snippets

Things I Love Thursday

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Ahhhhhhh!!!

That's been the little voice in my head all week. Go go go, do this this this. In a good way! I'm alive. I think. Between going to my internship, going to class, watching my sister, trying to set up school observations (and I'm supposed to go tomorrow but they still haven't emailed me back -.-) I'm just trying to take a minute to breathe. And not die. Hence the alive part. So I'm just going to end this before I start making even less sense.

But first, here's this week's For the Love of a Linguaphile. Which I only now just realized that I tweeted out, but never took the link off of draft -.- Winner. It's a good one too - the smell of rain? It's pretty amazing.

♥ It feels great to be in a small, cozy class of four other people and actually be treated like peers. It's more of a book club, in a way, but it really lets us talk about the things that matter, from the text, from our observations, in our experiences. And class is outside. I will never get tired of classes outside.

♥ Hemingway, Paris in the 1920's, and getting utterly lost in the magic of his descriptions. I used to not be terribly interested, but after giving him a chance, I'm in love.

♥ The Pens have moved on to round two! Such a relief - they played pretty crappy in the first round. But Tuesday's game was much better, and I had far fewer heart attacks.

little loves

A Moveable Feast ♥ classical and instrumental music, which I've been driving around listening to all week (especially beautiful in the rain) ♥ S.H.I.E.L.D getting picked up! ♥ great warm mugs of coffee ♥ did I mention class is outside? ♥ lemons ♥ discovering new roads and shortcuts ♥ a moment to collect yourself ♥ fresh raspberries ♥ seeing family, even when it's not what you expected

What are you loving this week?