Saturday, March 9, 2013

Things I Love: Book Stuff

I've been really enjoying spring break for this past week. I haven't done much except go to a few auctions last weekend, and I managed to workout 5 days this week! I also saw The Hobbit last night (finally). I loved it and highly recommend it. I think (in my humble opinion) it was better than the Lord of the Rings movies, but I also prefer The Hobbit book to the Lord of the Rings books.

Speaking of books, here's some of my favorite book-related things I've found on the internet lately:



These tees from Mental Floss are great! I truly am a Harry Potter nerd, and who doesn't love book-related puns?


I would go crazy with this personal library kit (also from Mental Floss). I actually used to dream of starting my own private library when I was a kid.

Source: assouline.com via Dena on Pinterest

A candle that smells like books? What!? As a book-sniffer, I love this idea :)

Source: buyolympia.com via Dena on Pinterest

I actually have this bumper sticker and just haven't put it on my car yet. I can't wait to though because really, what better way to let everyone know how awesome books are?

I know some people have yet to start spring break and some aren't even in school (what does that even feel like? I can't remember), so have fun if you're just starting! And just enjoy the quasi-spring weather if you don't get a break!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Snow Day

The view from my car.



















Today we had a nice snow for a while, but it was mostly melting away by the time evening rolled around. I love these snowy days though.

I've been making plans for this blog and some of the features I'll have on a regular basis. I'm really trying to get a regular rhythm going. I have a few recipe ideas I've been experimenting with, and I will be posting some pictures of my latest vintage finds soon!

Other than the snow, I've also been super excited about this week's Entertainment Weekly issue.


Not only is their feature article on the upcoming Star Trek sequel (can't wait!), but it also mentions Warm Bodies, which is one of my favorite new movies (and the book is just as good, check it out). Plus there's an article on the new Boy Meets World reboot. I grew up with Boy Meets World, so I'm really excited to see what the new show will be like. I have a feeling it will either be really great or absolutely horrible (fingers crossed it's the former).

Finally, I'm reading Jane by April Linder

Source: amazon.com via Dena on Pinterest

It's a young adult adaptation of Jane Eyre. I'm excited to get into it as it seems pretty good so far.

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend! - Dena

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Lately I've Been...

Doing homework. Yuck. Grad school has turned out to involve all sorts of things I don't want to do. Yeah, so wondering why I decided to do this, but then I remember that I actually enjoy school, and it doesn't seem so bad.

Mini roadtrip. I went on a one-day roadtrip with some family to Richmond so that I could visit the wonderful Apple Store! I finally got my iPad fixed up and a new battery for my laptop, so it's kind of like having all new stuff. Well, ok, not really, but my computer finally works. And yes, I was one of those people who cracked my iPad screen. Sadness. However, I feel proud to say that my method of cracking said screen was pretty unusual. My iPad was just lying on my bed acting all innocent when I pulled my iPod out of my pocket and tossed it onto the bed before I left my room. I have a feeling there's some sort of blood feud between the two that Apple's been keeping under wraps because my iPod totally went all Jackie Chan on my iPad and left a lovely little crack in the screen. I mean, I would totally be mad too if some other guy ripped off my name and my style and then everyone loved them more than me. 

Listening to new music! I've finally been able to buy some music I've had my eye on: 

Source: amazon.com via Dena on Pinterest

I'm loving Ed Sheeran's album. I woke up at 2am this morning and realized it was still playing on my iPod.

Source: amazon.com via Dena on Pinterest

And Fun. of course.

I know, you're probably wondering where I've been (hello! these albums came out like a year ago!). Well, I was probably listening to the country music station. Also, I have a love/hate relationship with music. But I've been branching out in my music tastes (disclaimer: I don't only listen to country music, but for some reason my radio is always on the country music frequency. Probably because I live in the south.)

Anyway, I also highly recommend Mumford & Sons, the Lumineers, Of Monsters and Men, The Honey Trees, Josh Groban, Taylor Swift, First Aid Kit, Maroon 5, I could go on, but you really have no reason to trust me when it comes to music. I do play the flute and dabble in guitar every now and again, but seriously, I have no real musical taste. Up until maybe 8 years ago I pretty much didn't like music at all (weird, right?).

All right, I'm done for now. Good talk.

- Dena

Friday, January 25, 2013

On my bookshelf


So, I read several books at once. I've never been very good at sticking with just one book at a time, and while school is in session, that's practically impossible. From top to bottom, my current reads are:

1. The Passage by Justin Cronin

This is really good so far. I'm about a quarter of the way through or so. I love post-apocalyptic stuff, so this one is right up my ally. I did get a bit bored at first because so much time passes at the start of the book, and I was kind of sad to leave behind the characters that the book starts with. 

2. Emma by Jane Austen

I actually just started this after watching Clueless for the first time (having grown up during the '90's I don't know why I hadn't seen it before). The movie was hilarious. I've also always liked the two Emma adaptations with Kate Beckinsdale and Gwynyth Paltrow. Sense and Sensibility was my first Austen novel, so I'm looking forward to this being my second. 

3. Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gehrman

This one is a young adult (YA) novel that I finished reading last week for a YA fiction class I'm taking in school. It's an adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. The author is hilarious and slightly irreverent (if you're anti-offensive language you may want to skip it). The story's pretty standard and follows the play pretty closely. It's a great read though even if you've never read the play. 

4. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

I also started this one over break. I'm loving the gothic tone of the novel, and the style of writing is beautiful. It's a great winter read.

5. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

This is another one for my YA class. It's an adaptation of Peter Pan, and so far is pretty good. I love that it's written from Tinkerbell's perspective. I haven't yet read Peter Pan, but it seems like this one is a lot grittier than the original. Having seen the Disney movie though, I'm guessing the book doesn't end well (at least for Tiger Lily). 

6. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

I actually started this quite a while ago. I really love Russian lit, but I tend to take my time with it. The language so far is beautiful. I plan on reading it slowly in between other books. 

This is a pretty good representation of what I read on a normal basis. I like to mix up classics with more modern books. I've been trying to read more modern adult books (e.g. The Thirteenth Tale) because I tend to stick with YA, classics, and mysteries (not actually represented here, but I'm a fan of Evanovich, Grafton, and Christie). 

Later, Dena

Friday, January 18, 2013

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Clarity

This blog has sat blank for some time now. I first started this back when I was an undergrad, and it wound up being a quasi-diary thing that was amazingly embarrassing. Luckily I believe it was rather anonymous. However, I've finally had a moment of clarity as to what I want this blog to be.

As a creative writing graduate student in the middle of Virginia, I want this to be about my love of books. I enjoy reading and writing (necessary for being a creative writing student), but I also love vintage things, especially vintage office supplies and books. I just recently got ahold of a vintage fan that is a gorgeous green color.

Anyway, I want to fill this space with all things vintage, book, and writing related. That will also probably include things that are dog and cat related as I think both go well with books. I'm probably going to be thinking about these things for a while, but I'll be back. One of my goals for the year is to blog regularly and meaningfully.

And now a picture of something both vintage and book-related. My life will not be complete until I acquire a beautifully old card catalog. I can still remember Marian our elementary school librarian (no joke, her name was actually Marian) showing us how to use the card catalog.



Incidentally, I spent a lot of time in the library in elementary school. My mom was very anti-DARE program, so during the DARE program in fifth grade I went to the library. Apparently my mom either thought teaching me not to do drugs insulted my intelligence or she figured if I knew about drugs I would immediately seek them out. Still not sure, but I like to think her reasoning was in line with the former.

Goodnight...Dena