I’m back on track.  For the past two weeks, I’ve been eating healthy and watching my calories.  I already feel so much better and I’m down another 3 lbs!  I don’t know why I have such huge cravings for bad food because it just makes me feel sick after I eat them (e.g. french fries, other fried foods).  I do still fight sugar cravings almost daily.  But, as long as I eat sugar in moderation, then I still feel okay.

I still haven’t got back into exercising regularly, though. I need to because I feel better when I do and I sleep a lot better, which has a been a problem the past few weeks.   Since I haven’t put a lot of effort into exercising, I’m not sure how my Skecher Shape-ups are doing.  I have noticed that my walks seem more productive when I wear them, though.  By productive, I mean I can feel more of a burn when I walk.  I’ll try to be better at exercising in the name of research.

*****

I feel like I’m in a catch-22 situation every day when I go to school.  I really enjoy walking to class because it gives me some exercise, some alone and relaxation time, I get a chance to be outdoors for a bit, and I can listen to music or an audiobook while I walk.  But, I also like to have Corey drop me off because that means we get to spend a few extra minutes together.

*****

I finally have all my midterm scores back and I’m very pleased.  As I’ve already stated, I got a 95% on my Doctrine and Covenants midterm and 90% on my Japanese written midterm.  I found out that I got an 89% on my Japanese oral midterm, and after the curve was applied to both of my Japanese scores, my written score went up to 122% and my oral score went up to 108%. The score I was dreading the most was my English midterm, but I was pleasantly surprised with an A-.  However, ironically, I did worse on the written essay questions than I thought I did and I did better on expressing the main idea of the essays we had read in class.  Go figure.

*****

I still miss reading for pleasure.  I haven’t had much time lately to even crack open Elantris, so I’m still only a third of the way through.  (I don’t think I’m going to hit my 35-book goal this year.)  It’s killing me not to know what’s going on in Elantris!  But, I’m being responsible and doing my homework instead.

Luckily, I have had some non-thinking type projects to do at work lately, so I’ve been listening to audiobooks.  I finished Twilight a few weeks ago, New Moon a couple of weeks ago, and I’m listening to Eclipse right now.  I’ve decided that I really enjoy listening to audiobooks because I can still satisfy my cravings to “read” my favorite books without them pushing books I haven’t read and want to read farther down my to read list.  Also, the readers do such a good job at reading with emotion and animation that they bring the characters and story to life.  Audiobooks are so much better than movies made from books because you still have all the elements that make you love the book.

*****

I joined and added Google Friend Connect to my blog.  Join us or die … er … join if you want to know when I’ve made a post. It’s near the bottom of my sidebar, under my shelves.

*****

I’ve decided that I’m going to reply to comments via commenting rather than sending an e-mail to each individual person.  My friend Brodi replies to every comment made on her blog and I really like the way she does it.  It works out well.  Although, she is much funnier than I am.  Anyway, when you post a comment, don’t forget to click the “Subscribe to this post’s comments” link, so you’re notified when I (or even someone else) replies.  (Click here for instructions if you need them.)  I’ll also post a reminder on my next few posts, so you don’t forget until it becomes a habit.

I wasn’t looking forward to last weekend because I had to decline the invitation to join my friends in St. George for another murder mystery party because of my midterms.  (I got a 95% on my Doctrine and Covenants midterm and 90% on my Japanese written midterm.  I still don’t know how I did on my Japanese oral midterm or my English midterm, but I’m hoping it wasn’t too bad. )  Luckily, my weekend took a turn for the better when I received a tweet from Natasha inviting me to the book blogger social she puts together twice a year.

I felt really privileged to go, honestly.  I had seen Natasha’s post about it on her blog, but I wasn’t going to go because I didn’t think I’m a “true” book blogger nor am I a member of the Utah Book Bloggers group (soon to be remedied; my membership is pending).  But, I guess I post enough book reviews and talk about books and my interactions with authors enough to get an invite.

The evening was full of fun, food, and lots of social interaction.  Natasha told us that this was the biggest turn out yet.  Lucky for us! It was so much fun to socialize with book bloggers and authors.  It’s always fun to socialize with others that share my same interests.

I sat at a table with my friends Debbie and Catie.  And, because of Debbie’s and my connections to our soon-to-be-published-author friend Brodi Ashton, we also got to sit with Brodi, Bree Despain, Sydney Salter, Emily Wing Smith, and Ann Bowen.   I had already met Bree and Sydney thanks to Debbie and Brodi’s connections, but it was fun to see them again, and meet Emily and Ann.

After dinner, we had a book exchange.  I got Jaleta Clegg’s book, Nexus Point: The Fall of the Altairan Empire.  After the exchange, Jaletta came over and signed it for me.  The book looks really interesting and I’m excited to read it.  Kristyn Crow also gave me one of her books to read: Bedtime at the Swamp.  It looks very exciting and I love the artwork.

I was happy to see Karey Shane at the event.  I met Karey at the Children’s Book Festival last May when she told me about her upcoming book Secret Speakers and the Search for Selador’s Gate.  I’ve been keeping tabs on her ever since and I’m so excited that her book will be released on April 6!  It has been a whirlwind of events to get her book published, but her time, dedication, and persistence is about to be paid off! I was lucky enough to get a copy of her book in January when she printed a run of ARCs.  Unfortunately, because of school, I haven’t had the chance to read it yet.  It’s the next on my list, though, once I finish Elantris.

I also had the chance to meet James Dashner and because of my interaction with Brodi on her blog, I felt like I was part of the “in” crowd when I talked to him.  I spent a couple of quality minutes with Shannon Hale discussing a fun event my group of friends had with her last September and a charity event Kristyn Crow and other authors will be hosting this August.  (I’ll post more details about it when I have them since I’m sure it will be fun and a good cause!)

I also met Ann Cannon, Becky Hall, Jean Reagan, and a few other authors of whom I can’t remember their names.  It was also fun to meet not only Natasha, the overseer, but Rachelle Rogers Knight, another book blogger and publisher of reading journals, and Suey, another book blogger.  I know I missed out on meeting a lot of bloggers and a few more authors, but I hope to meet them next time.

I’m glad I had a chance to go to this event.  It was so much fun!  I hope I can go to future ones as well.

Yesterday evening, I had the chance to meet a few book bloggers and authors who live in Utah.  I’d post a recap of the fun I had, but I’m waiting for a picture.  So, I’ll post more when I receive it. 

At the party last night, I explained to many of the authors and some of the bloggers that I wasn’t a reader until two and a half years ago.  As I was explaining this, I realized I didn’t really have anything posted about how I found the passion to read on my blog.  Since I blog about the books I read, I thought it would be fitting to post my story.  Lucky for me, I just wrote about this in my English class a few weeks ago.  Because my English essay was so eloquently written ( ), I’ll post it (with a few minor changes) rather than writing it again.  (It’s kind of long, so enjoy if you take the time to read the whole thing.)

*****

I avoided reading at all costs when I was in high school and during the first couple of years of college.  I knew it was important, yet it didn’t interest me.  When I was assigned a book to read, I’d hunt down obscure movies or read the summations in CliffNotes to pass my quizzes and tests rather than cracking open the dreaded novel.  If there weren’t summations or a movie, I guessed my way through the assignments and was even content with failing that part of the class if it happened.  (It was the one thing in which I didn’t have to be perfect.)  Unfortunately, I missed out on a lot of good novels at a young age.

During high school, I had the opportunity—or should’ve taken the opportunity—to read classics, such as The Lord of the Flies and To Kill a Mockingbird, yet the only two books I read were The Scarlet Letter and Dune.  It was only because the stories interested me enough that I endured the arduous task of reading.  Historical, religious fiction (particularly those dealing with World War II or religious persecution) and science fiction had always captivated me.  Up to that point, however, the only exposure I had to these genres was from movies and television shows.  When I read the synopsis for The Scarlet Letter and Dune, I decided to give them a try.  Even though I enjoyed both novels (Dune being one of my favorites), I still didn’t want to read anything else.

Years after I graduated high school, my interest in reading finally began to peak.  When I saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the theater, the complexity and excitement of the story interested me so much I had to know more.  Corey had bought the leather-bound edition of the first book a few months before, but until I saw the movie, I had no interest in it.  I began to read feverishly, hanging on to every word on the page, and finished the book in two days.  After I finished the first book, I didn’t want to wait for the long hold times at the library and I couldn’t afford to buy the next book at the time, so I borrowed the second and third books from one of my nieces.  I finished both of them in three days.  At that point, I had to know what happened to Harry and his friends in the fourth book.  My niece was currently reading it, though, and I was too impatient to wait for her to finish.  I bought the fourth book, even though it was financially unwise, and read it in three days.  It was unheard of me to read a book in less than a week and I had read not one but four books in just over a week.

After I finished reading the books in the Harry Potter series, I still didn’t quite have the desire to read more than I already did.  I loved the Harry Potter series and each time a new book in the series was published, I’d reread all the books to prepare for the new adventure.  But, I didn’t branch out more than that.  I’d make up excuses to not read, like “I just don’t have the time,” “I don’t know what to read,” “It takes too much effort,” or “Nothing interests me” because I was simply too lazy to change my attitude toward reading.

In 2007, my co-worker Becky recommended Twilight.  My excuses were still in full force, but, amazingly, I decided to give the book a try.  I had always had an interest in vampires, having watched a couple of television shows and movies, but I was too afraid to venture into that realm of fiction because I had heard the books were extremely scary, gory, and usually contained explicit content—something I wasn’t willing to read.  The world around me ceased to exist (much to Corey’s dismay) while I was reading Twilight; the only thing that mattered was what happened to the characters.  I felt like I was there, experiencing everything they did.  After two days of non-stop reading, I completed the first two books in the Twilight Saga, and all at once my love of reading was ignited.

From that point on, I have felt exhilarated every time I have picked up a novel.  I always want more, so I continue to read more and more books.  (As I mentioned in my previous post, I really miss reading for pleasure right now.)  I’ve even read books I never had any interest in before, like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Secret Garden, and Mansfield Park, because I wanted to broaden my horizons.  I was amazed when I finished an astonishing 31 books last year.

Because my love for reading didn’t develop until I was nearly 30 years old, I feel like I have to make up for lost time.  I’ve made a list of all the books I want to read (see my Shelfari and Goodreads shelves), including The Lord of the Flies and To Kill a Mockingbird.  Even though my list has hundreds of books on it, I look forward to reading them all and enjoying the feelings of wonder, awe, and exhilaration each time I start a new adventure.

A couple of my friends post random ramblings every now and then and I thought it would be fun to give it a try.

Because of my last post, some of you may be thinking that I’m not enjoying school.  That’s not it at all.  I absolutely love school.  I enjoy every minute of it, including the homework and tests.  I just hate trying to decide what I want to do with my life.  I’d rather go to school just to go to school.

*****

I feel like I’m not doing very well with any of my goals this year.  I just can’t seem to get my head in the game.  I keep giving myself permission to slack off (not in terms of school).  I really need to focus and get back into things because I felt so much better when I was following my goals.

*****

One of the things I miss the most with my crazy schedule is reading the things I want to read.  I’m doing plenty of reading and I find the essays my teacher assigns interesting.  I just miss reading for pleasure.  (I never thought I’d say that when I was younger.)

When time allows, I read a couple of chapters of Elantris by Brandon Sanderson.  I’m nearly through a third of the book.  I’m really enjoying it and I want to know what happens.  I wish I could read it more often. Oh well.

*****

Midterms are here and I get to take a midterm for all three of my classes on Monday, so I’ll be studying my heart out this weekend.  I’m not worried about my Doctrine and Covenants midterm because it’s not cumulative.  It’s just the second test in the class.  I think I’ll do okay on my English midterm, but I’m a little worried about the essay questions.  I hate essay questions with a passion!  I’m most worried about my Japanese spoken midterm because I don’t feel like I’ve had enough time to devote to Japanese.  I’m sure I’ll do fine because I’ve been doing great in class.  It just freaks me out a little bit.

*****

I handed in my research paper for my English class yesterday.  I chose to write about the frustrations of being left-handed.  It was really fun to research this topic, although I could be biased since I’m left-handed.  Still, I look forward to seeing how I do on this paper.  I think I might actually pull off an A.

In Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other.  Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past … and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack.  And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves … and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love–the light and the dark, the warm and the cold–in a way you will never forget.

Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.

Enter to win an advanced review copies of Linger, Sisters Red, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Replacement on Maggie’s blog.

I know the best combination when reading a novel is to have good prose and a good story.  However, in many cases, novels don’t always have both.  Most often if a novel has good prose, it’s difficult to understand, takes more time to read, and is hard to get into (e.g. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Mansfield Park by Jane Austen).  Whereas, a novel with a good story, is usually easy to understand, a “fast read,” very easy to get into, and in many instances has sub-standard writing.  (I don’t think I need to name names. )  Which do you prefer to read?

Personally, it all comes down to why I’m reading a particular novel.  Am I reading it to gain knowledge, increase my vocabulary, or to become well-read?  Or, am I reading it for entertainment, to escape the mundane, etc.?  For an everyday read, I would choose a good story over good prose.  Although I find eloquently written works to be refreshing from poorly written ones, I just don’t seem to enjoy them as much because it takes more effort to read them.  Let’s face it; I’m lazy and I want things to be easy. But, on the other hand, I have enjoyed reading a few “classics” in the last couple of years.  I’ve enjoyed broadening my horizons and becoming well-read.  I think the key for me is to find a good balance, so that reading is more than just entertainment all the time.

I posted this on the forum I share with my friends. But, I wanted a broader range of opinion on my musings, so I decided to blog about it too.

I know some of you aren’t as gung ho about Twilight anymore (or never were for that matter).  I understand completely because I’m not nearly as obsessed with it as I was anymore either.  I still have a soft spot for the saga, though, because it ignited my love for reading and gave me amazing opportunities–most importantly the friendships I’ve made and still have two and a half years later.

I do still enjoy the anticipation of the movies, even if/when they don’t meet my expectations. And, I would also love to spend time with Stephenie Meyer on a more personal level if that opportunity ever became available.  But, the only reason I think about Twilight now (if I even do) is because someone (or something) mentions it in passing (or when reading another book).  And, the only reason I’m thinking so much about it now is because I’m listening to Twilight on audiobook at work right now.

I don’t feel a huge drive to read the books anymore, but that’s mostly because I have so many others I want to read.  However, I’ve noticed that when I still take the time to read (or listen to) Twilight, I still get that giddy feeling I felt when I read it for the first time.  That feeling isn’t nearly as strong as it was the first time because the mystery is gone now, but for some reason this story speaks to me.

I still find myself comparing other books to Twilight when I read them and I know it must get old for some people.  I don’t compare the stories because they’re all so individual and I don’t always compare writing (sometimes it’s inevitable, though), but I do compare feelings.  I don’t mean to, but for some reason if two characters have the same chemistry, angst, tension, etc. that Bella and Edward (or even Bella and Jacob) had, then I seem to be drawn to them much more.  There’s just something about that type of chemistry that makes a good story in my opinion.  (Some of the books I’ve recently read with those same feelings are The Dark Divine by Bree Despain, Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, The Mortal Instruments trilogy by Cassandra Clare, and Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.)

Anyway, I have an onslaught of questions I’d like to ask you because I want to see how different or the same we are.  I know there are a lot, but I would appreciate it if you took the time to answer them.

1. Do you ever do the same thing, meaning compare books to Twilight or another series that has meant a lot to you?
2. Are there any books that seem to just speak to you?
3. Why do you enjoy reading as much as you do?  Or, what do you hope to get out of reading?

For those that are/were Twilight fans:

1. How do you feel about Twilight now that all the hype (other than the movies) has died down?
2. For those of you that had a hard time with Breaking Dawn, did it change your opinion of the entire saga so you can’t enjoy it as much as you did?  Or, do you just ignore Breaking Dawn and/or enjoy it for what it is?
3. Did the whole Midnight Sun fiasco (whether you view it as a black mark against the fans or a black mark against Stephenie Meyer) change the way you feel about the saga?
4. Do you hope Stephenie Meyer continues to write?
5. Do you just wish Twilight would die, so you never have to hear about it again?

PS – I just realized that it may sound like I won’t like a book if it’s not like Twilight.  That’s not the case at all.  I just meant that if the feelings between characters are similar, then I’m more drawn to that kind of story.  And, the only reason I compare most things to Twilight is because it was the first time I experienced those types of feelings while reading a book.