I Hate Nightmares

On Saturday night I had a horrible nightmare!

My husband had died, and I planned his funeral. I had to conduct the funeral, and I couldn't make it through. I had to take care of all sorts of affairs including writing a blog post about how I was taking a break from blogging. I couldn't eat or sleep. I just mostly cried. The worst part was it seemed so real! The pain of losing my husband hurt! I literally felt pain in my stomach. It was awful.

I woke up, clung onto my hubby and cried! When I have nightmares, the feelings from them linger for a while. It is awful. My stomach ached and felt tight, I was panicky and shaking, I couldn't stop crying from sadness, and I felt exhausted! My hubby was very sweet and held me until I got over it. I had to take a little nap even though I had just woken up from the night. Like I said, I felt exhausted from my dream. I slept for a few hours and felt a lot better afterwards.

People tell me I have a really strong imagination, and that is why my dreams always feel real, and the feelings from them linger when I wake up. My brother says it is from reading too much. I guess you really can have too much of a good thing! I'm not going to stop reading though! 

The African Queen

Goodreads Synopsis:    A classic story of adventure and romance - the novel that inspired the legendary movie starring Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart

A fast-moving tale and a very good yarn...Mr Forester again and again proves himself a master of suspense - New York Times Book Review

As World War I reaches the heart of the African jungle, Charlie Allnutt and Rose Sayer, a dishevelled trader and an English spinster missionary, find themselves thrown together by circumstance. Fighting time, heat, malaria, and bullets, they make their escape on the rickety steamboatThe African Queen...and hatch their own outrageous military plan. Originally published in 1935, The African Queen is a tale replete with vintage Forester drama - unrelenting suspense, reckless heroism, impromptu military manoeuvres, near-death experiences - and a good old-fashioned love story to boot.

My Thoughts:

-    This was an enthralling and adventurous story! I loved the story about two people and their journey down the Ulanga river!

-    There were some thrilling moments and calm moments. I liked the part where they navigated the rapids. It was exciting, and the thrill from adrenaline that Rose and Charlie had after the rapids made me excited.

-    I liked that Rose and Charlie found joy in working and working together. They worked well together, and it was nice to see that in a man and woman.

-    The romance was an epic one! Their companionship from working together was wonderful, but their joy from being in each other's presence was very tender and heart warming. They had common goals and created a close friendship and bond. Their relationship is how all marriages should be. They helped each other and complimented each other in every way. I love the way they admired each other for their strengths and weaknesses! They put their whole heart, soul, and body into what they were doing together!

-    I watched the movie last month, and that is what inspired me to read the book. The movie was amazing, and the book was amazing! I feel like because I watched the movie, it made the book more exciting, but I also feel that the book makes the movie more exciting in return. It is a weird phenomenon that has never happened to me before. The book and movie compliment each other and make each other better!

-    Rose's plan was a daring one, and the anticipation about if her plan would work or not really carried the book along. Especially towards the end, the anticipation and tension was killer! I loved every minute of it!

-    I liked the ending in the movie better than the ending in the book! The book ending was really anti climactic and horrible! I still enjoyed the book a lot, but I wish it ended better! 

-    I wish there were more Charlie and Rose books. Their chemistry was so great, and I would love to read about more adventures they had together!

Top Ten Tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Things That Make Your Life As a Reader/Book Blogger Easier

Oooooo! Interesting topic! It might be hard to list 10. Here we go!

Blogging friends:    Blogging would be a lonely thing if it wasn't for my blogging friends and the great community we have! Friends help me find new things to blog about!

Blogger:    I do not have the skills or money to create my own website, so I'm glad there are blogging websites like Blogger.

Goodreads:    I LOVE Goodreads! It is so helpful to organize all the books I've read, want to read, etc. in once place. I love how user friendly Goodreads is, and I like connecting with people. 

Public Libraries:    I love being able to go to a place that lets you check out as many books as you want! It is so convenient and better for my checking account! I don't like buying books I haven't read, so libraries are a must for readers/bloggers!

Events:    I love blogging events like Utah Book Month, Bloggiesta, Read-a-thons, etc. They give me something to look forward to, and something fun to a part of. 

Twitter:    Twitter helps me stay connected to what is going on in the blogosphere! I like keeping up with blogging friends, and it helps promote me and my blog. 

Bloglovin:    Now that Reader is gone, I've had to switch to Bloglovin. I like it, it is convenient, and I like how easy it is to navigate to blogs I follow. 

Blogger Help Websites:    I love all the blog posts and websites that help with all the technical stuff about blogging. I am not a code person, so it helps a lot when other people have figured out a code, and I can just copy and paste.

Internet/Laptop:    This one might be cliche or whatever, but I'm grateful that we are able to have computers to blog on, and I'm grateful for a good internet connection. Our previous internet was crappy, so having a better internet provider definitely makes a difference! I'm grateful for a laptop that works!

Smart Phone:    This one might be cliche as well, but I am grateful for my phone. It makes twitter easy to access. I love Instragram! I like getting emails, texts, etc. It is nice to be up to date on everything the moment it happens!

I liked this topic. It is good to remember the little things that make life easier!

The Book Thief Read Along

Bust out your copy, borrow it from a friend, check it out of the library, download it on your Kindle/Nook, or whatever! You're gonna need one of these:

 

 

Beautiful covers to go along with a beautiful book! Get ready people! The Book Thief is being released on the big screen in November! If you haven't read it yet, NOW IS THE TIME!!

I am proud to announce:

The Book Thief Read Along

Hosted by:

Suey from It's All About Books

Kathy from Read This Instead

and yours truly!

We'll be having discussion posts, twitter chats, and whatever else we feel like!
You can follow the happenings on twitter with #bookthief

I'm SO excited! This is one of my all time favorite books with some of my all time favorite characters! You can view my thoughts about this amazing tale here! I think it is one of my best posts!

We are starting our funtastic read along on SEPT 1!!

If you are interested in joining us, please sign up with the linky below! Tell your friends, and have them sign up too!!

Oh! We'd also like to invite everyone to see the movie with us in November! I'm really looking forward to this!

Utah Awesomeness

Since we are celebrating Utah books, bloggers, and authors this month, I wanted to share other things I love about our Beehive State!

I love seeing all the LDS temples in our state! There are 14 temples in Utah plus 3 under construction! These buildings are so beautiful, and we are so blessed to have temples all around us.

I couldn't live anywhere that didn't have mountains! I love being surrounded by these beauties! They make me feel safe.

Going along with the mountains, Utah has awesome hikes! This is me and my fam hiking to Stewart Falls. We hike this every year! It is my favorite!

We have a lot of beautiful buildings in Utah, but one of my favorites is the Provo Library! I love this building (interior and exterior). I have made a lot of fun memories in this building.

I have no idea why this hasn't caught on all over our country! Fry sauce people!! It is awesome!!

Since Utah is a high elevated desert in the Rockies, we get awesome seasons! I love having seasons, and I'm excited that fall and everything pumpkin is just around the corner!

Utah is home to FIVE national parks!! My fam and I finally went to Arches this year! I am going to visit all 5 some day. Bryce Canyon is next on my list. Our state is so pretty! 

Last but definitely not least, I love the book community here in Utah! I love all my blogger buddies and all our awesome authors that call Utah home! We rock!

Monsters University

My Thoughts:

-    Monsters Inc. is one of my favorite Pixar films, so I was really excited when Monsters University was announced. It didn't disappoint!

-    Overall, this movie was funny, charming, and super cute! Throughout the movie I laughed, smiled, and went awwwww!

-    Little Mike was hilarious and so cute!! I want one!

-    I think Billy Crystal and John Goodman should do more movies together. Their chemistry is so great! 

-    I liked seeing the rivalry of college, especially the rivalry of Mike and Sully. It is weird to think that they weren't always the best of friends. It was fun to see their friendship grow. In some ways it was a chick flick, but for friendship and not love.

-    Mike has a lot of courage, ambition, and guts! I love his character! 

-    The new monsters were fun and added a lot of humor, but it was also fun to see cameos of some of the old monsters!

-    This is such a great "prequel" to Monsters Inc. At the end, it shows how Mike and Sully climb their way to the top. 

-    The movie was very clean! I really liked that there weren't innuendos, college drinking, or anything like that. It was good wholesome entertainment! I took my 3 year old, and she loved it!

If I Forget, You Remember

Goodreads Description:    Twelve-year-old Elyse's plan to write an award-winning novel during the summer is interrupted when her grandmother, who has Alzheimer's disease, moves in with the family.














My Thoughts:

-    This story wasn't as inspiring and emotional as other books by this author, so I was a little disappointed.

-    It would be hard to have someone in your family have Alzheimer's. I don't know how I would react or treat that person. To be honest, I would probably keep my distance because I was afraid or felt awkward.

-    I loved that this took place in Orem!! I live in Orem, so it was fun when the book mentioned places in my town. The Orem Library and it's beautiful windows made an appearance in the story.

-    Elyse was a fun character, but she was a little snot at times. She was only 12, and she definitely acted like it, so I guess I'm happy about that. I don't like books where the kid seems way older than they are.

-    The relationship between Elyse and her grandmother was a touching one. I never really had grandparents, so I really appreciated what Elyse had and was losing. 

-    I wish there had been more emotion. I love books that make me feel, and this didn't make me feel much. 

-    Besides a 12 year old girl dealing with a grandmother with AD, there wasn't a lot that went on. Elyse helped some friends with a neighborhood newspaper, and there was a couple bullies, but not a whole lot happened in the book. There wasn't much of a plot. It was just life!

Meet Stephanie

Blogger Spotlight

Stephanie and I have not have the pleasure of meeting face to face, but from what I gather from our brief emails and her blog she is a lovely and ambitious person! We are both gamers and love animals! I thought that was pretty cool! I'm excited to share my interview with her and introduce you to her blog!

Without further delay, I'd like to introduce you to Stephanie from:

What Utah author would you choose to write your biography and why?

Jessica Day George. I like her writing style. She's one of the few authors in the world who've managed to land on my "buy without question" list. Meaning, for me it doesn't matter what she writes (within reason), I'll be buying it. I think she could make even my boring life history funny with her humor and witty style.

What do you love about blogging?

I love that blogging made me several good friends over the years. Friends who've become a listening ear when I need to vent or when I'm ready to throw in the towel on writing. Even friends who've become listeners for the non-writing part of my life.

What do you hate about blogging?

The pressure to reinvent myself with each blog post yet stay the same so I maintain an audience. After four years of blogging that pressure has grown exponentially.

What book would you love to have turned into a video game?

I would love to see Tamora Pierce's books turned into video games. Either her Song of the Lioness series or her Immortals series. Especially if Lego got involved and made it into one of their awesome games. If they did that, I'd be scrimping and saving to buy whatever console they released it on in addition to the game.

Who is your literature crush?

My literature crush is probably a tie between Belgarath (I know he's wicked old but he's hilarious and totally awesome so my crush is absolutely platonic. I just adore him.), Silk (also from David Eddings' series of the Belgariad and the Mallorean), and George Cooper, from Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness series.

For you, what does the perfect story have in it?

The perfect story has characters I want to root for and action beyond "get character A and character B to kiss and be a couple." Sorry, romance writers, but I need more than just will-they-won't-they action.

What is your favorite thing about Utah?

My favorite thing about Utah is that I always know which direction I'm going and how to get to most places in the valley. I studied abroad one term in college and lived in Colorado for just over a year. Both times I was completely disoriented every time I had to go somewhere. I never knew which direction was which. Also, I adore the grid system.

What is the book and/or series that made you love reading?

For this one, I probably have to go with either Nancy Drew or the Saddle Club series. I loved both as a kid and had dozens of the latter. I was notorious for staying up until 2 in the morning in elementary school to finish another book.

Did your parents read to you as a kid? If so, then what was your favorite bedtime story?

My parents did read to me. The first books I ever remember reading on my own were ones my dad helped me learn to read with. And those books still hold a dear place in my heart. If I'm ever asked for my favorite books of all time they're top on that list. I also distinctly remember a phase where I made my mom read "Horton Hears a Who" every night before bed. It's a long Dr. Seuss book so it was probably a delaying tactic when I didn't want to go to bed. But never deny books to someone.

What is your favorite fairy tale and why?

My favorite fairy tale is probably "Spindle, Shuttle, and Needle" collected by the Brothers Grimm. I like the message it sends a lot. Sure she ends up with the prince, but only after she's already made a modest success of her life and she is active in getting the prince. And the prince is awesome because he's looking for a girl who's happy with the barest of basics, not some spoiled rich girl/princess.

Thank you so much Stephanie for this fun interview! I'm glad I got to spotlight you!

To get in contact with Stephanie you can find her here:

http://www.stephanie-mcgee.com/
stephanie@stephanie-mcgee.com
@StephanieLMcgee

Katamari Damacy

My Overall Thoughts:

-    This was a really addictive and fun game, but it was too short! It only took me an hour or two to beat. I wanted more! Since I became addicted for a couple days, I replayed some levels over again, but it wasn’t the same as more content.

My Thoughts on Gameplay:

-    To be honest, I’m not sure what the storyline was. I skipped the cut scenes with the weird square legoish people. From what I gather, the King (who is kinda creepy and has a bulge), is making his son, the prince, roll up a big Katamari ball so he can make a star out of it. He also makes constellations and the moon out of big Katamaris.

-    A Katamari is a little sticky ball that you roll around and pick up stuff with. You start out picking up small things like thumb tacks, and the Katamari slowly gains mass and gets bigger. When it gets bigger, you can pick up larger objects. It is really fun to see your Katamari grow, and it is fun to start picking up larger and larger things. Like I said, it is addictive.

-    Making the little stars was sometimes frustrating because of the time limit. I just wanted to play until I hit the goal target. I hated that stupid time limit, and I hated the stupid siren that went off during the last minute!

-    Making the constellations was fun because you had to pick up the sign for each constellation. For instance, for Tauras, you had to pick up oxen or cows. One of them you picked up ladies, one of them was twins, one was crabs, etc.

-    The moon was the most fun to make. The Katamari started out really small, but by the end, you’re picking up land masses, clouds, tornados, and other giant things. It is awesome!

My Thoughts on Control:

-    There is a long intro and control guide at the beginning of the game.  Not gonna lie, there is a big learning curve to the controls! It took me a while to finally figure out how to move the Katamari ball where I wanted it. The larger the Katamari, the more difficult it was to move. I still don’t fully understand the turbo roll thingy. The Katamari also got stuck a lot, and that was frustrating.

-    My biggest complaint was that I had no control over the camera, and the camera was awful!

My Thoughts on Graphics:

-    Everything is blocky and looks like toys, but I think they did that on purpose. The color was really dull on everything. I thought some things were funny, but overall, I think they could have done better!

My Thoughts on Sound:

-    The music was the best part of the game! I loved all the Japanese influenced songs! The whole game is very Japanese, but I loved the music the best!  Gnome loved dancing and singing the songs! It was funny.

                

-    I also loved it when the people screamed when you picked them up or when you picked up a building. I got a lot of pleasure out of scaring the crap out of people.

The Secret of Shadow Ranch

Goodreads Synopsis:    Nancy Drew arrives in Phoenix, Arizona, eagerly looking forward to a fun-filled vacation at Shadow Ranch, but abruptly finds herself involved in a baffling mystery. The ranch is being haunted by a phantom horse and maliciously damaged by an unknown enemy. Local people believe that the ghostly animal is carrying out the curse of Dirk Valentine, the romantic outlaw who was killed many years ago at Shadow Ranch, where he had gone to fulfill a promise to his sweetheart.Suspecting that a treasure hidden by Valentine may be at the root of the Shadow Ranch mystery, Nancy undertakes a challenging search, aided by her friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne. The first vital clue is found in an antique watch and sparks a series of clever deductions and dangerous developments. While seeking further clues, the girls' investigation in a ghost town ends in near disaster when Nancy is trapped inside a building that is toppled by a rockslide -- a rockslide which is deliberately caused. But the pretty titian-haired detective remains undaunted in her determination to solve the mystery.

For those who enjoy a suspenseful thriller, Nancy Drew's first Western adventure makes a great listen.

My Thoughts:

-    Another fun and satisfying Nancy Drew mystery!

-    I like that Nancy Drew went all western in this story. It was a western treasure hunt! Great stuff! I love that each Nancy Drew is so different and unique. The hunt for an outlaw's treasure was cool, and I wish there had been more back story on Valentine. 

-    A girl named George?

-    Nancy knows a lot of people! She has friends everywhere! I guess it is no surprise. She is very polite and kind, and I would like to be her friend.

-    I feel like a character is more heroic and macho when they are on a horse. It might be just me, but I liked that Nancy was an experienced rider.

-    The phantom horse was a fun element to the mystery, and I liked how Nancy and Chief figured out how the phantom horse thing was pulled off. 

-    Nancy is so clever and lucky! She can put clues together, and determine what others will do, and I also think she is incredibly lucky!

-    When reading these books, you can't let your eyes glaze over or zone out. Things happen fast, and I sometimes had to go back and read a couple paragraphs. Some important event will occur, and it takes place in one or two paragraphs. The story moves fast! I like that there is no fluff.

Previous Nancy Drew Book

(Click on cover to see my thoughts)