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2020 Dystopia Reading Challenge: January-June Link-Up

Welcome to the first half of the 2020 Dystopia Reading Challenge !! This will be the first of two bi-annual link-ups for your reviews! So this link-up will cover January, February, March, April, May & June! The link-up will always be easily accessible by hovering over Dystopia Reading Challenge tab and selecting Review Link-Up from the drop down menu. :) HELPFUL LINKS: Dystopian, (post-)apocalyptic and sci-fi YA of 2016 Best Dystopian & Post-Apocalyptic Fiction Best YA Dystopia Novels LINK-UP GUIDELINES: Link up your book reviews under "Review Link-up" as follows: Name of book @ Your blog name, Goodreads, Shelfari, Booklikes, etc. Make sure to use an email you check, because if you win the giveaway, I'll be using that email to contact you. Remember, each review you link up is an entry into the giveaway! :) Giveaway is open international as long as the Book Depository ships to you! :) Try and stop by some other reviews! Lets create a sense of community and get to t...
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The Secret

The Secret

Review - Rurally Screwed by Jessie Knadler

Title: Rurally Screwed My Life Off the Grid with the Cowboy I Love Author: Jessie Knadler Publisher: Berkley Publish Date: Apr 3, 2012 Hardcover, 336 pages GoodReads Barnes and Noble Amazon I went in to this book thinking it would be very similar to Pioneer Woman's book Black Heels to Tractor Wheels about meeting her husband, but I was surprised that it was really different. It had a similar feel, but otherwise it was it's own book. Jessie is a woman living in New York striving to find out who she is and what she can do in the magazine world, but things just don't seem to be working out. In fact, they go horribly wrong and she is fired which leads her on a journey to being a freelance writer in cowboy town - ironically her home town. She grew up on the farm and did everything she could to get away and have a more city-fied life. Then she meets a man she falls in love with, but he has designs on staying a cowboy, living on a ranch and doing the things you do in a small rur...
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Review - Thumped by Megan McCafferty

Title: Thumped Bumped #2 Author: Megan McCaffery Publish Date: April 24, 2012 Publisher: Balzar + Bray Hardcover, 304 pages GoodReads Barnes and Noble Amazon Right away I was wondering why I liked this book so much better than the first book, Bumped. It took almost three chapters for me to figure out that Megan McCafferty dropped many of the weird ways the girls spoke. She did leave a few in, "I was so . . ." was one of my favorites. Though she used so many "fertilicious," pregging, egging. The first book almost required a few definitions from the religious talk of Harmony to the excitable, teen talk of Melody. The second book however, was toned down and made this book so much easier to read and in retrospect more enjoyable. I'll be honest though, I am a bit bummed that this is the last book. I was hoping for a trilogy to find out exactly where Harmony and Melody actually found their happiness. Do they decide to eventually have kids or will they forever be witho...
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Review - Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Title: Born Wicked The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1 Author: Jessica Spotswood Publisher: Putnam Juvenile Publish Date: Feb 7, 2012 Hardcover,  330 pages GoodReads Barnes and Noble Amazon Oh my goodness this book was SO GOOD!!! Seriously could not put it down. Every single character in this book was superbly written. Even the ones I didn't like, I still loved. Jessica Spotswood developed each character with such splendid patience without overloading the book with descriptions. I was hooked on every single word. And yes it is part of a series!!! I am so disappointed it took me so long to read this. Cate is the oldest of three sisters, who are coincidentally witches, as was their mother. But they must keep this a secret because the Brotherhood is constantly on the look out for witches to punish. They like their women insipid, pretty and obliging. A few months before needing to proclaim her interests, Cate's old friend returns to ask her for her hand in marriage. She is surprised and...
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Tuesday - Tune in and Teaser

My boyfriend left yesterday to go back to the big ol' city and if I didn't feel so overflowing with love, I would feel devastated. Maybe I know I feel devastated somewhere deep inside, but he has such faith in our love and our relationship that even when I feel we struggled all week to communicate and connect, it took less than a one hour conversation - me bringing up all the feelings I have kept inside all week during our phone conversations and texts - for him to shrug and say he loves me. Really? To him, our disagreements are so minimal and to me, each painful comment is a knife in my heart. I find it so refreshing that no matter what we go through he is so calm about the whole thing. He always knows we are good. One thing to look forward to is learning this technique from him. This song must have something to do with the way I feel - Carrie Underwood, I Unapologize   Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gillman The day went so well at first. I rented a bicycle a...
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Title: Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven Author: Susan Jane Gilman Publisher: Grand Central Publishing Publish Date: Feb 8, 2012 Paperback, 320 pages GoodReads Barnes and Noble  Amazon Here is where I wonder what type of review to write as I didn't necessarily enjoy this book, but at the same time I found it incredibly enlightening. Do I tell that I am left with so many questions regarding this endeavor of Susan's that it frustrates me? If I was her, I would need more closure. Will she be writing a sequel? I sure hope so because it kills me to not only to not know what really took place, but to be left without answers too. It is justifiably crazy talk. This book is the prime example of why I chose not to have roommates after I divorced. People are plain crazy and you really don't know how cookoo til you live with them. And by then, what are you going to do kick them out on their arses and leave them to fend for themselves? Not me. I am a bit too kind-hearted for that. Damn...
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Review - Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Title: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail Author: Cheryl Strayed Publisher: Knopf Double Day Publishing Publish Date: March 20, 2012 Hardcover, 336 pages GoodReads Barnes and Noble Amazon I absolutely love this book!! It was so funny and so incredibly honest. Couldn't put it down and recommend it so highly!! Cheryl has had a really hard life. Her mother has died from Cancer and she had to watch her go through it all. And Cheryl has punished herself the entire time with drugs, strange men and all the while pushing her husband away from her. Not the greatest beginning. At a low point, she is standing in line and sees the book about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and buys the book. And in that one small moment her entire outlook changes. She will go hike this trail and see where it leads her. The very first chapter tells of her losing her book over the side of a mountain. Irretrievable, she tosses her other boot over as well. In the middle of nowhere, without her boot...
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Review - Some Assembly Required by Anne Lamott

Title: Some Assembly Required Author: Anne Lamott Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover Publish Date: March 20, 2011 GoodReads Barnes and Noble Amazon Not my usual type of book to read, not that I have one, but this one just pulled at my heart strings and longed for me to read it. I haven't read her first book, Operating Instructions, but was pulled in immediately. The way Anne Lamott wrote this book is like wonderful poetry. She has letters from her son, his wife incorporating how they are doing as new parents. Anne deals with the trials of being in the middle as a grandparent, but trying to stay out of all the controversy. She wants to tell her son what to do and yet, she chooses not to. Anne Lamott is an incredible writer who spills her heart out in this book. Summary - In Some Assembly Required , Anne Lamott enters a new and unexpected chapter of her own life: grandmotherhood. Stunned to learn that her son, Sam, is about to become a father at nineteen, Lamott begins a journal about ...
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Wordless Wednesday - Grandmother-made quilt

Wordless Wednesday
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Tuesday - Tune In & Teaser

I rented the new Footloose and though I enjoyed it, it wasn't as good as the original. All the characters I preferred from the first one even the preacher, but Dennis Quaid was good. I absolutely love Willis! A Walk in the Woods Bill Bryson "When guys in campflauge pants and hunting hats sat around in the Four Aces Diner talking about fearson things done out-of-doors, I would not longer have to feel like such a cupcake. I wanted a little of that swagger that comes with being able to gaze at a far horizon through eyes of chipped granite and say, a slow, manly sniff, "Yeah, I've shit in the woods."
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Review - Crushed by KC Blake

Title: Crushed The Witch-Game #1 Author: K.C. Blake Publisher: Createspace Publish Date: July 30, 2011 Paperback, 262 pages GoodReads Barnes and Noble (Nookbook $2.99) Amazon I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but it was on sale, it had some pretty good reviews amongst the blog world, so I thought I'd give it a go. Oddly enough, it was lots of fun. I really enjoyed it. These girls have a game they play every year. They pick boys that they can "crush" which equates to blowing witch dust on them and controlling them. They make fun of them, they play tricks on them and basically make them their slaves. It is cruel, but they don't seem to realize. Until they crush the wrong guy. Zach is a boy with special powers as well. But how long will Kristen try to play with him before he unleashes his fury? Summary - The Noah sisters rule Titan High with their beauty, brains, and magical powers. Each year they play a secret game: Crushed. The girls pick their ...
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Wordless Wednesday - Claire Thomas from Food for Thought

I got this recipe from Claire Thomas who hosts the TV Show Food for Thought . She is the cutest, sweetest and so far my favorite tv chef. Her recipes are so easy and she seems to have a talent for making every recipe seem doable. I actually set my alarm on Saturday mornings to get up in time to see her show (when I am not working). This past week, she featured her Australian Pasta which you should really visit her blog and read the back story to why it is named this. Funny!! I also got a wild hair and decided to make her Cream Scones . Here is the pasta sauce while it is simmering. Here is the final dish. Australian Pasta with strawberries (just finished cutting them for the week's snacks, so I threw a few in) and her scones (bc I didn't make bread). Also, Claire if you are reading this, QUESTION - On your blog recipe, you didn't specify searing the sausage and taking them out of the pan while the onions and garlic cook. But in your show, I distinctly remember you keeping t...
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Tuesday - Tune In & Teaser

Out of nowhere I started singing this song at work. I couldn't stop. It was in my blood. And all anyone could say was, "That is the saddest song." But it's also incredibly beautiful. So I bought it on iTunes. Pearl Jam - Last Kiss Wild by Cheryl Strayed The trees were tall, but I was taller standing on a steep mountain slope in Northern California. Moments before, I'd removed my hiking boots and the left one had fallen into the trees, first catapulting into the air when my enormous backpack toppled onto it, then skittering across the gravelly trail and flying over the edge. It bounced off a rocky outcropping several feet beneath me before disappearing into the forest canopy below, impossible to retrieve. I let out a stunned gasp, though I'd been in the wildness thirty-eight days and by then I'd come to know that anything could happen and everything would. But that didn't mean I wouldn't be shocked when it did.
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Yoga and the Scowl-ey face

I am about 30 minutes out from my favorite class of the week - All levels yoga. This class is so wonderful for so many reasons. It is the one class where we work on the wood floor, so doing any standing poses is easier than the carpet, bounce floor that they use for ballet and the other yoga classes. The first 20 minutes or so is pure breathing and slow moving poses. It can be killer to hold a pose, but at the same time I take really long breaths so there are times I have trouble keeping up. But not for the first part of this class. It is built for me. I can really stretch in to each pose and perfect my technique. We have a ton of bodies in this class so the energy level is so brilliantly positive. It's like a body of it's own. If I am struggling to focus, I can listen to others breathing in and out to help center me. If I can't remember what the pose is that he called out, I can casually look up and see so many people around me doing it. All levels so I get to see some rea...
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Bài đăng phổ biến từ blog này

90% Raw

I have been working on going raw for over a week now. Seems minimal, but I feel pretty good. So far. I did experience a HUGE day of food withdrawal. Sadly it was at work. LOL My poor boss. I lost it before lunch knowing I was going to have to eat my healthy lunch and all I wanted was crap. It was horrible. I was literally nuts for 20 minutes. Him pushing me to eat crap is what helped me choose to eat my healthy lunch. Ironic, huh? About two hours later, I felt the relief of normal again . (well semi-normal) So far I have struggled the most with making my lunch for work. I have to start making it the night before because I keep hitting snooze til I am running late. Damn. I have to get to sleep earlier. I am trying to leave leftovers in an easy to sort out container that I can just grab and go. My favorite part is grocery shopping. lol And enjoying my meals once I sit down. I am realizing that I am eating much slower and really tasting my food. I still read while I eat, but I notice I am...
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Book Review: Unseen by Stephanie Erickson

Title: Unseen The Unseen Trilogy Book 1 Author: Stephanie Erickson Publisher: Pickles Press Publish Date: November 19, 2014 Goodreads Amazon It has been quite the ride this week with fantabulous book after fantabulous book!! Stephanie Erickson kept me in the book hangover with The Unseen. Mac has always been odd because when she was a little girl she realized she could read others thoughts. A doctor provided her with iLs. Mac wears this device on her ears. It plays music and drowns out the thoughts of others allowing her to concentrate. Ever since she was little, she has always wondered why she has this ability and if she is as alone as she feels. One day she sees a man watching her and from there, things change. She has hard choices to make and it will always change her. I am looking forward to the following books in this series to see if Stephanie Erickson develops the others in the Unseen that appeared occasionally while Mac was in training. I am so enamored with the back stories of...
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Book Review: Imitation by Heather Hildenbrand

Title: Imitation Clone Chronicles #1 Author: Heather Hildenbrand Publisher: Accendo Press Publish Date: March 12, 2013 ebook, 272 pages Goodreads Amazon It is funny how there are so many times during life that I feel like everyone is exaclty like me and I am like no one. We all struggle to fit in and then one day, we struggle to be unique. At what point does this change? Imagine being made to to the replacement of your true self, but when you are finally called forward, it will be your death. This is the life of Ven in Imitation. She is happy and content in her current life being the product of a real person. But she is called forth to do her duty. When this happens, her entire world falls apart. it is exactly like she never knew it would be. There is a tyrant controlling her every move with motives she may never know. She meets true friends and those friends who are really enemies. She begins to learn who she really is and can be, by becoming another person. Her imitation. Looking for...
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